The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 119: Lu Bu is a good card, don't waste it
However, the military advisor of Xuzhou got married, and the whole state was filled with joy.

Less than two days later, another happy event occurred.

Taishi Ci, who went out to Liaodong to buy horses, returned safely!

Taishi Ci is indeed a man of unparalleled trust and loyalty, and he will always accomplish his mission.

If you say you will come back at the end of the year, then you will come back at the end of the year.

He was very familiar with the Liaodong section and returned much earlier than Liu Bei and Li Yi expected.

When Liu Bei saw Taishi Ci return safely, he was overjoyed and immediately rewarded him generously.

Afterwards, Taishi Ci reported the results of the mission to Liu Bei.

After meeting Liaodong Governor Gongsun Du, Taishi Ci stated his purpose and presented him with fine salt and silk fabrics from the Central Plains.

As a gift, as a gesture of friendship.

As Li Yi expected, Gongsun Du was the powerful ruler of Liaodong.

With his keen political sense, he realized that Liu Bei was a new and rising force worth winning over.

He immediately agreed to sell the horses to Taishi Ci, and expressed Liaodong's willingness to trade with Xuzhou and strengthen trade relations.

Among them, fifty fine horses were purchased.

This kind of horse grows in Liaodong, is six feet tall at the shoulder, and is top-notch in strength and speed among horses.

It must be used to arm the most elite warriors.

There were one hundred regular war horses, and the shoulder height of these horses was generally over four feet four inches.

It just meets the standard of cavalry armor, and the price is not cheap, generally ranging from 80,000 coins to 100,000 coins.
Due to different qualifications, the prices are different.

But Gongsun Du was still very generous and sold them to Taishi Ci at a uniform price of 80,000 coins per horse.

Then came the field horses, of which he bought two hundred.

This kind of horse is one level higher than a war horse, but it is also much faster than a regular horse.

Therefore, it is often used for hunting, so it is also called hunting horse.

When necessary, it can also be used as a war horse.

Finally, there were three hundred slow horses.

This kind of horse is considered to be the passing line for a war horse and can basically be regarded as a substitute for cavalry.

A standard cavalryman has at least one warhorse as a backup.

Most of the time, slow horses are used as backup options.

Unless you can be as magnanimous as Emperor Wu of Han and equip every infantryman with a horse.

"I didn't expect that Governor Gongsun would be so generous and actually sell so many war horses to Xuzhou."

Liu Bei looked at the war horses brought back by Taishi Ci, all of them were strong and vigorous, and sighed that the grass in Liaodong was still lush.

Taishi Ci was somewhat worried and said:

"Although there are many horses, the food supply is tight."

People say that raising cavalry is expensive, but it would be better to say that raising horses is expensive.

The feed used to feed a war horse is almost equivalent to a soldier's salary for one or two years.

Li Yi was not stressed about this. "Ziyi went to Liaodong. I guess he didn't know that many things happened in Xuzhou during this period."

"Now, Xuzhou is also promoting military farming in all prefectures and counties."

"Xuzhou is not short of water. With the construction of the Hangou Canal by Chen Yuanlong, farmland can be irrigated and rice planting can be fully promoted."

"There are a lot of paddy fields, and rice in Guangling can be harvested three times a year."

"And north of Guangling, there are two harvests a year."

"If nothing unexpected happens, Xuzhou will be able to harvest a large amount of grain in the early spring of next year."

Liu Bei nodded in agreement. He also came from a humble background and was very concerned about farming.

Li Yi's carefully planned military farming policy turned Xia Pi and Guangling areas into the granary of Xuzhou.

This will be the confidence that Liu Bei will have in competing for the Central Plains in the future.

"Besides, since the entire county of Xuzhou has started farming."

"Don't waste the horses we bought in Liaodong. Use them to cultivate the land."

Li Yi once again proposed Ma Geng's suggestion, striving to maximize the benefits of this voyage.

In fact, horses’ plowing efficiency is not worse than that of cows, and is even much better.

But horse dung is not as good as cow dung.

Horse manure has a higher microbial count and denser grass fibers than cow manure.

This caused horses to lose to cows in plowing land.

Lost on a piece of shit.

In areas with well-developed water networks, cattle's ability to adapt to the environment is even better than that of horses.

Cows can adapt to humid environments and are much more resistant to mosquitoes and various parasites than horses.

So, this is why the northern nomadic tribes always produce good horses.

Because on the grassland, horses eat natural North Asian and Northeast Asian pasture.

For example, ice grass.

The horse manure is not only not a nuisance, but will become silage fodder for the herdsmen's cattle and sheep in the spring of the following year.

But this does not mean that horses cannot be used to plow the fields.

Its tillage efficiency is better than that of cows, and all you need to do is deal with its manure.

Moreover, horse manure is only harmful to crops in the seedling stage, and has little impact in other situations.

Liu Bei readily accepted the advice and agreed to Li Yi and Ma Geng's suggestion.

The war horses brought back by Taishi Ci were immediately left in Xia Pi, and used for farming in accordance with the policy of "supplying grain according to the number of cattle".

If needed in wartime, they can be pulled out to the battlefield.

"Military Advisor, when I came back I heard someone say that you got married two days ago."

"I am deeply sorry that I was unable to drink your wedding wine."

Taishi Ci found Li Yi alone and congratulated him on his wedding.

"How difficult is that? I'll send some beef and wine to Ziyi's residence."

"How do you think it can be considered as compensation?"

"...Hahaha, I was just joking."

Taishi Ci liked Li Yi's character very much.

Although he was a military strategist, he did not put on airs, whether he was a senior officer or a low-level soldier.

As long as you are willing to chat, he will be happy to chat with you.

This made Li Yi have a good reputation in the military camp.

Another reason why Li Yi was loved by the soldiers was that he often sought benefits for the soldiers, especially food.

"Ziyi, you must have caught a lot of fish this time, right?"

Li Yi asked.

"Of course, this time I went out to sea, I cast my net and caught some fish."

"We have sea fish, sea shrimp, crabs and clams. If you want to eat them, I'll send someone to deliver them to your house."

This is the benefit of coastal cities.

Cities like Guangling, Donghai, and Pengcheng in Xuzhou are either close to the sea or have a large number of lakes and rivers.

It can produce a large number of fish, sea fish, and small shrimps and crabs.

Since these things are difficult to keep alive and preserve, fishermen dare not keep them for long.

Basically, once you fish it out, you have to sell it quickly, otherwise it will easily rot.

Therefore, both the Sun Wu regime and the Jingzhou regime used fish and meat as supplements in their meals.

Especially when Sun Ce first started his army, in order to win over the hearts of the troops, he rewarded the soldiers with fish and shrimp every few days to supplement their protein.

"Distribute these sea fish and shrimps to the soldiers."

Li Yi suggested.

Liu Bei nodded and said, "I also don't like seafood, you can send it to the camp and give it to the soldiers."

Taishi Ci gladly accepted the order and left.

After a while, a servant came to report.

An envoy from the West asked to see you.

Liu Bei asked curiously, could it be Lord Guo from Liang State in Yuzhou?

That doesn't seem to be the case, it seems like he is Lu Bu's envoy.

"Lu Bu!?"

Hearing this name, Liu Bei's eyes narrowed and he and Li Yi looked at each other.

……

However, after Lu Bu was defeated by Cao Cao in Dingtao, he could only gather the remnants of his army and gather on the seaside.

Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, Cao Xing and other generals all came to the meeting.

Everyone was dissatisfied with Cao Cao and demanded another battle with him.

The reason why everyone was so dissatisfied was that they had indeed suppressed Cao Cao in the early stages and won several games in a row.

In the battle of Puyang, Cao Cao was almost captured alive.

How did Lu Bu's army finally go downhill?
The history books have clearly stated that
——"When locusts arose, the people were starving, and their food and cloth were all gone, so they all led their troops away."

No matter how strong a soldier is, he cannot withstand hunger.

When famine came, both families suffered, but Cao Cao had Cheng Yu to help him.

But Lu Bu was too embarrassed to do that, and relying on the food secretly donated by Liu Bei, he barely held out against Cao Cao for a hundred days.

But in the Battle of Dingtao, a crucial battle for wheat, Lu Bu misjudged the situation.

He was defeated by Cao Cao and completely lost the chance to gain a foothold in Yanzhou.

At present, Lu Bu has no more than 3,000 soldiers.

Moreover, both the men and the horses were exhausted and unable to fight again.

Even though Lu Bu was brave, he knew that with the troops he had at the moment, it would be impossible for him to compete with Cao Cao.

Especially the deaths of Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao made the situation even worse for Lu Bu's army.

"Now the men are exhausted and the horses are tired. Cao Cao has regained the counties of Yanzhou."

"How should our army deal with this?"

Lu Bu asked everyone with a tired look on his face.

Chen Gong stroked his beard and offered his own suggestion:

"Cao's army is now too powerful to fight against."

"First find a place to stay, then it will not be too late."

Lu Bu once again went from being a local hero to a wanderer, spending half his life drifting away.

The gap between the past and the present made Lu Bu very upset.

"I want to go to Yuan Shao again. What do you think, Mr. Gongtai?"

Previously, when Lu Bu escaped from Chang'an, he once took refuge with Yuan Shao.

At that time, Yuan Shao valued Lü Bu's contribution in eliminating the bandits and also trusted his bravery.

So he took him in and asked him to help him deal with the Black Mountain Army.

At that time, the Black Mountain Army had more than 10,000 elite soldiers, and Lu Bu, with Cheng Lian, Wei Xu and other fierce generals, led only dozens of elite cavalrymen to attack Zhang Yan's army back and forth.

After one day or up to three days, they were all beheaded and taken out.

After fighting for more than ten days, the Yan army was finally defeated.

So as far as Lu Bu's bravery is concerned, the novel does not actually exaggerate.

Even if his martial arts were not the best in the late Han Dynasty, he was basically in the T0 tier.

However, Lu Bu later relied on his military achievements to allow his troops to plunder Yuan Shao's territory.

Yuan Shao already wanted to kill Lu Bu, so Lu Bu took the initiative to leave.

I didn't expect that after so many twists and turns, I still had to go and rely on him.

Chen Gong suggested:
"We can send someone to Jizhou to get information first. If Lord Yuan agrees, we can go."

Lu Bu followed his advice and immediately sent people to Jizhou to find out Yuan Shao's attitude.

Unexpectedly, Lü Bu had a bad reputation in Yuan Shao's group, and everyone said:
"Lü Bu is a jackal and a tiger. If he takes Yanzhou, he will definitely take Jizhou."

"It would be better to help Cao to attack, so there will be no danger."

So Yuan Shao ordered Zang Hong, who was stationed in Dongjun of Yanzhou, to hunt down Lu Bu.

Lu Bu had no choice but to flee in panic and discuss matters with everyone again.

This time, Chen Gong recommended Liu Bei.

"I heard that Liu Xuande of Xuzhou is well-known for his benevolence and righteousness, and is able to save people in times of emergency."

"Besides, a merchant from Xuzhou sold money and food to our army the other day."

"It's possible that Liu Xuande ordered this, because he is kind to me."

"Today, we are in dire straits. We can go there to seek refuge."

Lu Bu once again followed his advice and sent a messenger to Xuzhou.

Thus, Liu Bei received Lu Bu's request to take him in.

"I didn't expect that Lu Bu would be defeated by Cao Cao and wanted to come to Xuzhou to surrender."

Liu Bei sighed, thinking that it was a good thing that he had secretly provided him with so much money and food.

Unfortunately, this guy was a hopeless case and still failed to win.

"...Haha, although Lu Bu was defeated, he also dealt a heavy blow to Cao Cao."

"My money and grain from Xuzhou are not wasted."

Li Yi saw what Liu Bei was thinking and spoke out to comfort him.

Lu Bu has been able to fight for so long and has achieved the goal set for him by Li Yi.

That is to slow down Cao Cao's development and his expansion speed.

Taking advantage of the struggle between Cao Cao and Lu Bu, Li Yi not only helped Liu Bei consolidate his rule in Xuzhou.

It also repelled the invasion of Yuan Shu's army in the south.

Now I have time to deal with the affairs of Yan and Yu provinces with peace of mind.

"…My military advisor advised me that if Lü Bu lost the battle with Cao Cao, he should surrender to me."

"I shouldn't welcome him. What about today?"

What Liu Bei asked was very interesting.

Li Yi once advised him not to take in Lu Bu in the future, and Liu Bei agreed.

Now, a year later, Lu Bu was defeated and came to surrender, but Liu Bei asked the same question again.

"Times are different now, and specific issues should be analyzed specifically."

Li Yi understood what Liu Bei meant. Last year, the area Liu Bei controlled was only Xia Pi County and Baidi Pengcheng County.

The current national conditions are different from those of the past, and Lu Bu still has a powerful force in his hands.

If it can be used properly, it may be a good move.

Not to mention the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and the Xianzhen Camp soldiers under Lu Bu's command.

Just talking about Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, they were both first-class generals.

Wei Xu, Cheng Lian and others were also brave generals who were able to charge into battle in history.

Lu Bu has so many good cards in his hand, but he doesn't know how to play them.

Then we need to teach him how to play cards.

Mi Zhu came out and remonstrated:
"Lü Bu is a tiger and a wolf. You can't take him in. If you do, he will hurt people."

Liu Bei smiled and said:

"The former, if Lu Bu had not attacked Yanzhou, how could we have solved the disaster in Xuzhou?"

"Now he is poor and has come to me for help. If I turn him away, people will say that I cannot tolerate others."

Liu Bei could see what Li Yi was thinking. He seemed to want him to accept Lu Bu.

Because with Liu Bei's current strength, it is difficult for Lu Bu to stir up trouble in Xuzhou.

Li Yi not only had his eyes on Lu Bu's soldiers and generals, but also on Lu Bu as a chess piece.

in history,
Old Liu placed Lu Bu in Xiaopei to defend against Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, which was really a waste of his talent.

As the number one troublemaker in the Three Kingdoms, when Lu Bu turns against his friends, he will not recognize anyone.

He started throwing punches randomly, and the first person he hit was Lao Liu, who was the closest to him.

So if we really want to take him in, of course we have to keep him far away.

You can use it to disgust Cao Cao or Yuan Shu.

Just can't keep it around.

But before sending him out, you have to accept him first.

Only when Lu Bu realizes that Xuzhou is on the same side as him will he feel at ease to hang out outside.

Liu Ye also expressed his opinion:
"Lü Bu is a fierce tiger. He is tired today and must be tolerated."

"It would be better to drive them to Huainan and let Yuan Shu take them."

"If Yuan Shu doesn't tolerate us, we can secretly provide him with money and food to attack him."

"Share the military pressure on the Guangling front line."

In Liu Ye's opinion, Lu Bu cannot be kept by his side either.

But you can form an alliance with him, use him as a mercenary, and use him to annoy other princes.

After all, although Lu Bu’s brain is not very good, his fighting ability is beyond doubt.

Let's say you are smarter than him, and relying on your personal bravery, you can still shed some skin.

"This is a very good plan. Let's meet Lu Bu first and see what he has to say."

Li Yi thought the same way. He decided to accept Lu Bu first and then consider where to send him.

After all, although this kid's luck is not very good, he has several SSR cards in his hand. It would be a pity to let him follow Lu Bu.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could stay in Xuzhou and start a business together?

Guan Yu didn't like Lu Bu as a person, but seeing that Li Yi and Liu Bei both decided to meet Lu Bu first, he didn't know what to say.

Just kindly remind Liu Bei:

"Brother has a good heart, but even so, we still need to prepare."

"You can go with me, my foolish brother."

Liu Bei readily agreed and led Guan Yu, Li Yi and other soldiers to go out of the city thirty miles to meet them.

Everyone looked up and gazed into the distance.

But I saw that Lu Bu was nine feet tall, with a face as handsome as a jade, a tiger back and wolf waist, and he was very heroic.

Just looking at his appearance, he truly lives up to the reputation of Lu Bu among men and Red Hare among horses.

At first glance, he does look like a hero.

When Lu Bu saw Liu Bei, he immediately dismounted, rushed over to greet him, and bowed, saying:

"Why bother your Excellency to come and meet the defeated general in person?"

Although he said this, he was secretly happy in his heart.

"The general has the merit of killing traitors, but his preparations are no better than a warrior from the north."

"Mr. Tao has not abandoned me and entrusted me with the affairs of Xuzhou. How can I compare with you, the general?"

After hearing this, Lu Bu became even more arrogant.

He stepped forward, shook Liu Bei's hand, and said sincerely:
"Both Bu and the envoy are from the border areas. In the past, Dong Zhuo rebelled and destroyed the royal family."

"Bu saw the uprising in Guandong, and they all wanted to kill Dong Zhuo."

"Bu killed Zhuo and went east, and then encountered the rebellion of Kuai and Si, and drifted to Guandong, where many princes could not tolerate him."

"He wanted to kill Bu, which made Bu very frightened."

"Recently, Cao Cao has been cruel and invaded Xuzhou. I have been honored to have rescued Tao Qian and to have divided his power by taking Yanzhou."

"Unexpectedly, we fell into a treacherous trap and suffered a complete defeat."

"I now submit to you, sir, to plan great things together."

"What do you think?"

Lu Bu tried to get close to Liu Bei right away, which made Liu Bei a little confused.

He secretly glanced at Li Yi beside him, and Li Yi nodded, telling Liu Bei with his eyes that he should just get used to it.

Lu Bu is simply a social bull with low emotional intelligence.

He came up and said that he and Liu Bei were from the same hometown.

When fellow villagers meet, they naturally shed tears.

Lu Bu's hometown Wuyuan and Liu Bei's hometown Zhuojun could indeed be regarded as border areas at that time.

But Lu Bu is a man who likes to be clever.

He always talks about how he has made contributions to the country, but the princes in Guandong don't tolerate him, which shows that he is ungrateful.

But he did not mention why everyone did not tolerate him.

What a good way to play to one's strengths and avoid one's weaknesses, and to focus on the trivial matters.

Why didn't Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu accept him?
Doesn’t Lu Bu have any idea of what’s going on?
He never mentioned a word about the looting in Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's territories.

Fortunately, Liu Bei had the character of not showing his emotions on his face, and he remained calm when facing Lu Bu's Sheniu.

"The general is a brave warrior, and is invincible in battle. When he personally killed Dong Zhuo, he also shocked the barbarians."

"It would be a blessing for Xuzhou if we could work together now."

This was naturally just Liu Bei's polite remark. After all, he had been an entrepreneur for so many years and was considered a politician.

Naturally, what he said was standard clichés.

Unexpectedly, Lu Bu failed to understand Liu Bei's humble intention, but instead thought that he really admired him.

He immediately grabbed Liu Bei's hand and pulled him, saying:

"My dear brother, you really know my heart."

"Why don't you come to my camp and have a chat?"

As he said this, he was about to take Liu Bei's hand and lead them into the camp.

At this moment, Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, who were standing behind, both changed their expressions.

Just as he was about to shout to stop him, someone spoke first to interrupt him.

……

(End of this chapter)