Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 404 A Life of Wandering
The battle is still ongoing on the west side of Shanxian County.

Gao Shun fought bravely and broke through the enemy lines, finally reaching Lü Bu's side.

Fan Chou was attacked from both sides and was forced to jump into the river to escape.

Fortunately, the river level was low and there was silt on the side of the riverbed, which saved Fan Chou's life.

With only a few men left by his side, Lü Bu could no longer afford to attack Fan Chou. Seeing that Gao Shun had opened the passage, he quickly returned to Shanxian County.

Gao Shun also returned to fight back.

Fan Chou climbed ashore and reorganized his troops, clearing a path through the rocks and mud, and Dong Zhuo's army surged forward.

However, the ancient road was narrow, and Dong Zhuo's troops were hindered by obstacles on the road, which gave Lü Bu some time.

At this time, Yang Biao had already retreated to Xin'an, and Cheng Lian and Wei Yue were able to return to Shanxian with Wang Yun.

Only then did Wang Yun realize that the rock-falling ambush had failed, and he was dumbfounded.

During this period, Wang Yun's plans were all only half successful...

Lü Bu did not pursue Wang Yun's responsibility because Wang Yun himself had not broken his promise; he had indeed ambushed Dong Zhuo, but failed.

Upon learning that a large army was also blocking the way from Xin'an, Lü Bu ordered his men to seal off the three city gates of Shanxian, east, west, and south with earth and stones to hinder the pursuers.

Shanxian County does not have a north gate; the Yellow River flows to the north.

We definitely can't go to Xin'an; even if it only delays us for a day or two, Dong Zhuo will catch up with us.

The pontoon bridge that was previously built north of Shanxian County is finally proving useful.

Lü Bu was quite decisive. Without wasting time, he abandoned Shanxian County, crossed the river, and headed straight for Dayang County in Hedong.

Once they reached the east bank of the river and dismantled the pontoon bridge, they had a little time to catch their breath.

After going around in circles, they ended up back where they started—Lu Bu still went to Hedong.

And he even became a traitor...

Hao Meng had troops stationed in Dayang County, and it was Hao Meng who was tasked by Lü Bu to build the pontoon bridge.

Hao Meng was from Hanoi and had served as a military clerk under Ding Yuan, the former governor of Bingzhou. He was an old colleague of Lü Bu.

However, Hao Meng was unaware that Ding Yuan was killed by Lü Bu, as Hao Meng was stationed in Bingzhou at the time.

In fact, even Gao Shun didn't know about this.

Only Wei Yue and Wei Xu knew about Ding Yuan's affair; they were related to Lü Bu's wife's family, one being his brother-in-law and the other his brother-in-law.

Later, Lü Bu joined Dong Zhuo. After Dong Zhuo controlled the capital region, Hao Meng continued to serve as the governor of Bing Province. He was ostracized by Niu Fu's subordinates, so he joined forces with Lü Bu.

They were all remnants of Ding Yuan's Bingzhou army, and under Dong Zhuo, they were all from the Bingzhou faction; their labels couldn't be changed.

Although Niu Fu was the governor of Bingzhou, his troops and generals were all from the Liangzhou faction and would not treat Hao Meng as one of their own.

Factional struggles exist everywhere, but the factions on Dong Zhuo's side were even more complex.

After arriving in Hedong, Lü Bu and Wang Yun jointly claimed that Dong Zhuo intended to use the loss of the three rivers in Bingzhou as a pretext to punish and behead all the generals guarding Bingzhou.

Hao Meng was already being ostracized, so he believed it to be true and planned to follow Lü Bu to find another way out.

At this point, the question becomes: what is the future?

Should I go it alone, or find someone to work under my wing?

Lu Bu was a little confused.

It's like switching jobs many times, always feeling restricted and unable to perform to one's full potential, and constantly clashing with the boss.

It's not easy to find work anymore, and even if you bring a team to a job, it will probably be difficult to find another one...

Who would dare hire someone who's always stabbing the boss in the back?
They want to start their own business, but find that they can't come up with a reliable product, they have no foundation or backing, and they lack the ability to raise funds.

Although he had a top-notch combat team, the team itself was flawed. It had strong combat capabilities but almost no operational capabilities and no solid foundation.

All they do is fight and kill, without even a headquarters or base. They're just a roving gang; they can't even collect protection money...

In fact, Lü Bu had made some progress. He gave all his accumulated wealth to his subordinates and allowed them to plunder on their own. They didn't have to hand over the loot; they only needed to provide grain and able-bodied men.

Each of his subordinates could operate independently, with Lü Bu providing them with protection. He would coordinate whatever his subordinates needed, ensuring everyone could stick together and support each other.

This is actually the same tactic Dong Zhuo used back then.

She did learn something from following Dong Zhuo; at least she stopped being greedy for money. Dong Zhuo wasn't actually greedy; he just doted on his granddaughter, and Dong Bai's family was indeed quite extravagant.

Lü Bu had come to realize that money was far less important than power and strength.

Gao Shun was able to train elite armored soldiers because Lü Bu was generous and willing to spend money on his subordinates.

Moreover, Lü Bu himself did not come from a high social standing, and like Dong Zhuo, he was willing to give opportunities to those at the bottom, promoting many people from his grassroots retainers.

Although he sometimes treated his subordinates poorly, Lü Bu did indeed do good deeds for many people.

For example, Gao Shun, Cheng Lian, Song Xian, etc.

Let's not even talk about Gao Shun. Cheng Lian was a murderer, and it was Lü Bu who got him out of jail.

Song Xian was a collateral descendant of the Song family of Pingling, Fufeng—the family of Empress Song, the former wife of Emperor Ling of the Southern Song Dynasty. After Empress Song was deposed, the entire Song family was implicated, and although Song Xian was from a collateral branch, he was still included in the punishment.

Song Xian was still young at the time and was not killed, but exiled to the border region, where Lü Bu protected him.

This is precisely why Lü Bu was always able to gain the loyalty of his generals, and his troops did indeed possess formidable fighting power.

However, if you want to be your own boss, you must at least have the ability to see through appearances to the essence of things—that is, you must have vision.

But Lu Bu's judgment... is really hard to describe.

Now, without money, food, territory, or official status, we can't go it alone. We can only outsource for now, which means providing military outsourcing services to major powers.

Which sucker should we rely on?

The usually taciturn Gao Shun offered a suggestion: "Why not join General Wei and head north to drive out the Xiongnu? General Wei is killing the Hu, and so is Lord Cao... The court has even built a shrine to heroes. If you can kill the Hu and make meritorious contributions, you will surely be protected by the court. It's better than being as fearful as a stray dog."

This is honest advice, but Gao Shun really doesn't know how to have a conversation; he doesn't offer any emotional value whatsoever...

How can you say something like "a stray dog" in front of a stray dog?

Wang Yun immediately objected: "At present, our strength is limited, and there is no benefit to killing the Hu, only increasing casualties... Moreover, Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo have always been on good terms, and surrendering to Liu Bei will surely lead to death. It would be better to surrender to Yuan Gonglu, who is currently an enemy of Dong Zhuo. If he knew that General Lü was going to surrender, he would be overjoyed."

That's quite true. Yuan Shu was originally Dong Zhuo's enemy, and with Sun Jian, the two most powerful general, dead, Yuan Shu was currently in need of top-notch fighters, making him the most suitable boss.

As a result, Lü Bu was even more conflicted: "But Yuan Gonglu is in Huainan, how can we go there now?"

Hao Meng said from the side, "Why don't we go to Heyang first? I can use a sheepskin raft to go downstream to Yuanwu. Fengxian, why don't we go to Yuanwu first?"

Hao Meng was from Heyang. Local bigwigs do have their own connections. The pontoon bridge he built was made by connecting many sheepskin bamboo rafts.

Yellow River rafts have always been a smuggling method used by salt smugglers east of the river. They are rafts made of bamboo and leather.

Both the bamboo tube and the leather bag are very waterproof and airtight. After being filled with salt, they will not leak water and the loss is minimal.

This type of raft can not only cross rivers, but also drift.

If multiple rafts are linked together, they can drift downstream along the Yellow River all the way to the Bolangsha area of ​​Yuanwu County—the place where Zhang Liang had his strongmen attack Qin Shi Huang. It is a large mudflat with reeds everywhere, making it easy to hide.

This Yellow River rafting route is 500 li (more than 120 kilometers) long. It looks dangerous, but it is actually safer than sailing and you will not be intercepted.

The section of waterway between Heyang and Yuanwu, between Mengjin and Baima, the two largest official ferry crossings, was not garrisoned.

The current in the middle reaches of the Yellow River is too swift, making it difficult for boats to travel upstream. If a boat goes downstream, it would have to be towed back upstream by boatmen. Official boats would not easily drift downstream.

The rafts are lightweight, and after drifting, you can simply remove the bamboo and take the leather raft with you—the bamboo rafts were already filled with cargo.

Yuanwu does not produce salt, but there are many smugglers selling salt, and that is why.

This is the way to transport goods around all the passes of Sanhe City with minimal cost—the tolls and salt taxes at the passes are much greater than the losses from drifting. Yuan Wu is already east of Hulao Pass, and further east is Chenliu, where there are no more passes blocking the way.

If goods can be transported, then troops can naturally be transported as well. In any case, Lu Bu's forces are not large and there is not much baggage to carry.

So Lü Bu, guided by Hao Meng, went to Heyang, intending to embark on a 500-mile journey.

(End of this chapter)