I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 348 Lü Bu was tricked and became crippled.

People who grew up in the three border states of Liangzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou, especially those in the border prefectures, were quite different from the rest of the Han people in the Central Plains.

For them, survival is the top priority; propriety, morality, and a sense of shame are secondary.

If the people of the Central Plains still tried to cover up their actions with a fig leaf, then they did things without even bothering to cover up their actions.

Growing up in harsh living conditions, living a precarious existence, survival was the most important thing for them, and seeking advantage and avoiding harm was their survival instinct.

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for them to engage in behaviors that do not conform to the values ​​and morals of the scholars of the Central Plains.

This is a social issue, a common belief among military men from border regions during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and has little to do with individuals.

Just like Ma Chao, who came from a similar background and whose family was probably better off than Lü Bu's, his actions completely disregarded his father and brothers who were being held hostage by Cao Cao.

When Cao Cao's actions threatened his own life, he made the audacious decision to rebel, which directly led to the deaths of Ma Teng and his brothers at Cao Cao's hands.

It is clear that for these people, survival and continuing their lineage were the top priorities, with everything else taking a backseat. This was true for Lü Bu, Ma Chao, and many other border warriors.

This situation can be adjusted through education and changes in the living environment.

Therefore, after Yuan Shu accepted Lü Bu as his subordinate, he conducted a simple cognitive test on him and found that Lü Bu had indeed taken the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, as truth, and that this was also the case with the teachings of his father and grandfather.

Yuan Shu personally took Lü Bu under his wing and used his oratory skills to bombard Lü Bu, who was not yet twenty years old, with a series of moralistic pronouncements and gave him many solo oratory sessions.

Incidentally, whenever Yuan Shu went to the Zhixing Academy outside Jinyang County to give a speech, he would bring Lü Bu with him so that he and the scholars could listen to his speech together.

After being bombarded with Yuan Shu's conscience, the scholars' understanding of the world, which was based on a single newspaper, was bleached by Yuan Shu, let alone Lü Bu's almost blank understanding.

One should have a conscience.

Only by living with a conscience can one live a fulfilling life, rather than being an empty shell.

Humans are inherently good, but due to different living environments, they can be distorted by those environments. At this time, it is necessary to recognize and correct this in time, and to adhere to the path of conscience.

Yuan Shu also specifically explained to Lü Bu what conscience is, what constitutes conscience, what things should be upheld, and what things should not be upheld.

Then comes the traditional skill: sleeping with Lu Bu.

He slept with Lü Bu for quite some time, for several months. Every few days, he would invite Lü Bu to sleep with him, and every night he would talk to him about everything under the sun, making Lü Bu tear up and unable to extricate himself.

The advantages of his social status and superior knowledge left the young Lü Bu powerless to resist.

So the young Lü Bu was quickly swayed by Yuan Shu and became his loyal follower. He soon distinguished himself in Yuan Shu's personal guard, becoming the undisputed best horseman and archer.

Even Xu Chong only slightly outperformed Lü Bu in the dismounted foot combat aspect, because he was very good at charging with a shield and was very skilled in sword and shield tactics, while Lü Bu was not very good at this.

However, when it comes to horseback fighting, archery, and other skills, Xu Chong is far inferior to Lü Bu, so Xu Chong also greatly admires Lü Bu's unparalleled combat prowess.

Later, in order to speed up the formation of the cavalry force, Yuan Shu released Lü Bu from the personal guard and sent him to the Xihe horse pasture to train new cavalry.

With the addition of Lu Bu, a super-strong instructor, the training efficiency of the new recruits at the Xihe Horse Ranch has also improved.

Yuan Shu would occasionally go to inspect the area, and also visit Lü Bu to let him know that he hadn't forgotten him. He would also send him some wine to let him know that Lü Bu always held a place in his heart.

In any case, Yuan Shu discovered that the so-called art of managing subordinates is related to interpersonal relationships in some situations, and it is also similar to the relationship between men and women. The key is to grasp the right balance.

If you can grasp this balance well, then it won't be a problem.

If the degree is not properly controlled, problems will arise.

But who is Yuan Shu?

The number one central air conditioner of the Han Dynasty, an epic level of warm-heartedness, even when he was far away in Bingzhou, he would not forget to write letters to his subordinates in Luoyang to show his care.

He even has a special little notebook where he records what he should do each day.

Luo Yang's subordinates wrote a letter on average every two months. After sending the previous letter, they would record the time when they would send the next letter to inquire about each other's well-being, as well as the content of the previous letter and the recipient's reply, to avoid repetition.

He's gotten used to it now. The first thing he does every morning is flip through his little notebook to see who he's going to help that day and who he wants to let know he hasn't forgotten him. He even records the birthdays of his subordinates, as long as they remember. Every year on their birthdays, Yuan Shu arranges for someone to deliver birthday gifts to them, never forgetting.

Now that our material lives have improved and we have power, Yuan Shu has never neglected the task of providing warmth and assistance.

Even if they were hundreds of miles apart and could not meet in person, he would still communicate with them through letters, such as Jia Xu, Cheng Li, the Thirteen Protectors, and the core members of the Yixin Society.

Yuan Shu would arrange for someone to remember their birthdays and send them birthday gifts on time, without fail.

In this context, it's not hard to imagine how far these people would fight for Yuan Shu's interests.

In any case, Jia Xu regarded Yuan Ji and the partisan group as his mortal enemies.

Cheng Li was even thinking about how to get rid of all of these people.

Yuan Ji and his party members were completely caught off guard by the ominous sign of death.

These meticulous and intelligent people could not escape Yuan Shu's emotional cocoon, so how could a big, simple-minded guy like Lü Bu escape?

Even with anti-addiction systems, it's impossible to stop them!
So when Lü Bu saw Yuan Shu arrive again, he immediately went up to him with great joy to report on his work, saying that he had not let Yuan Shu down, and asked when he could return to Yuan Shu's side to protect him and fight for him.

He said that although he felt a great sense of accomplishment in training Yuan Shu, he still wanted to stay by Yuan Shu's side to protect him, as that would give him the greatest satisfaction.

Yuan Shu gave Lü Bu a clear answer to this.

"It's almost here. If I'm not mistaken, by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, Tan Shihuai will definitely go south to Bingzhou to test the waters. At that time, it will be time for us to fight the Xianbei. Tan Shihuai has been preparing for war for three years, and it's about time."

Upon hearing Yuan Shu's words, Lü Bu was naturally pleased. He immediately expressed his excitement and offered to personally lead a cavalry force to be the vanguard for Yuan Shu. He vowed that if Tan Shihuai dared to come, he would cut off Tan Shihuai's head and give it to Yuan Shu as a chamber pot.

Yuan Shu burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Tan Shihuai is quite accomplished in both literature and military strategy, and has dominated the border for more than a decade. The court has been unable to deal with him. How can Fengxian be so confident?"

Lü Bu stood tall and proud.

"How dare these mere barbarians claim to possess both literary and military prowess? No matter how much they possess, they are nothing but chickens and dogs before the lord. As long as the lord personally leads the troops into battle, even if Tan Shihuai brings 100,000 men, they will not be a match for the lord! At that time, if the lord gives me 1,000 elite cavalry, I will surely break through the enemy lines for the lord and cut off Tan Shihuai's head!"

Yuan Shu laughed again, praising Lü Bu's bravery.

It must be said that Lü Bu's bravery is beyond question. He was a natural-born cavalry general, tall and strong, with immense strength. He could perform dangerous horsemanship maneuvers that others could not, and he could draw bows that others could not.

Moreover, according to him, he began fighting against the Xianbei and Xiongnu people on the battlefield when he was fourteen years old. He often fought against enemies who tried to plunder his livestock and always managed to win. He never lost.

He spoke of the Xianbei and other ethnic groups with great disdain, saying they were nothing more than a group of dark, short, cunning, and cowardly beasts who dared not attack the enemy head-on, but only dared to play horse archery and ambush in circles. They seemed strong, but in reality, they had no courage at all.

This made Lü Bu, who advocated direct confrontation, look down on these people.

Every time he encountered this group of people, he would lead his household servants to charge forward and fight them head-on. The group would always flee in disarray, and over time, they even dared not easily come to Lu Bu's territory to plunder.

Indeed, the ability of cavalry to engage in direct combat was relatively rare in that era. Going back further, we can only trace it back to the Youzhou cavalry during the reign of Liu Xiu. It is said that the cavalry at that time were truly capable of fighting on horseback and charging into battle.

He even saved Liu Xiu's life because of it.

Moving on, the most famous and capable cavalry general was Lü Bu.

When Lü Bu joined Yuan Shao and fought against the Black Mountain Army, he led dozens of his personal guards in mounted combat, charging into enemy lines five or six times a day. No one could defeat him, and he single-handedly overwhelmed the Black Mountain Army's superior forces.

Later, when Lü Bu left Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao wanted to kill him and didn't want him to leave. However, none of the soldiers he sent to pursue him dared to approach Lü Bu, which shows how powerful Lü Bu was.

In those days, there were no well-developed high-bridged saddles. Soldiers needed extremely strong leg and core strength to maintain their balance on horseback, which was enough to barely use a weapon in one hand while fighting on horseback.

That's what makes a qualified elite cavalryman.

As for fighting with dual weapons, that is even more difficult, requiring the most skilled of the best. There are very few people like that. In Yuan Shu's entire army of cavalry, there are only about eight hundred men who can do this.

Of the more than 17,000 people, only 800 are likely to make it. It is estimated that once the remaining 13,000 people have completed their training and joined the army, it will be good if 1,000 can be assembled.

(End of this chapter)