The three kingdoms of the great war, thirty-five volumes, want to commit evil, get clever practice and swift attack.

  Lü Bu set out on the second day with the Northern Territory Army and the Imperial Guard to plunder the Xiongnu tribes, sparing no one young or old. Hao Meng and Duan Yi saw that there were many good places to plunder, and they also became addicted to plundering like Lü Bu. However, Lü Bu's military law was also transmitted to the Northern Territory Army, and those who did not obey were severely punished. After beheading a few Northern Territory soldiers, the Northern Territory Army gradually became as strong as Lü Bu's Imperial Guard.

  And so, after Liu Biao was killed by Lü Bu, Zuo Xianwang's charioteer took over Liu Biao's territory. The remnants of Liu Biao's forces were at a loss when they saw a group of bandits attacking and plundering the remaining troops, with no survivors left behind. Many suspected that it was the work of Zuo Xianwang's charioteer, but there was no evidence. The charioteer also knew that someone wanted to frame him, but he had no way to defend himself and could only secretly investigate.

  As for the Hexi region, within the northern border, there were also several thousand Southern Xiongnu people, with 30 or 40 tribes. Lü Bu's raids were unavoidable and some escaped. Soon after, someone found out that the raider was actually Yanluo Wang. Later, someone else recognized Yanluo Wang as Lü Bu. From then on, the Left Virtuous King's Xiongnu people felt threatened. Che Niu wanted to send troops to fight Lü Bu, but he also worried about the Chanyu launching a surprise attack from behind. Moreover, Che Niu had seen Lü Bu's bravery before and didn't have confidence in winning. With these two concerns, Che Niu could only lead his tribe along with the Wusun tribe to relocate the tribes on the east bank of the Yellow River to the west bank. Those who failed to move were left on the east bank, and several thousand Xiongnu people were killed by Lü Bu's army, with millions of horses, cows, and sheep taken away. The northern region's power increased greatly for a time.

  Chang Shi Fu finally saw the brutal and violent means of Lü Bu, although driving away Zuobu Chen was a good thing. However, he also worried that Lü Bu would again go to plunder the Qiang, Di, and other barbarian tribes, bringing unnecessary enemies. Therefore, he suggested that Lü Bu not take action against the Qiang Hu in the Hexi Corridor for now, but instead go to persuade them to surrender. Lü Bu then issued harsh words to the Qiang Hu: those who surrendered to Han and assimilated into Han culture would be treated as Han people by him; otherwise, they would end up like the Xiongnu.

  The Qiang and Hu were initially dissatisfied, but after Lü Bu killed several tribes, they saw that surrendering to the Han was indeed safe and they would be taken care of by Lü Bu, so they came in droves to submit. Lü Bu treated them equally with the same kindness as he did the Han people.

  Fu Xie had ambitions, to make the Qiang and Hu surrender to the imperial court, he also worked hard to help the Qiang and Hu learn Han farming, and together with Fu Xian persuaded Lü Bu to educate the Qiang and Hu with benevolence and righteousness.

  In the fifth year of Guanghe, in December, all the land within the Yellow River loop, including Beidi and Shuofang, came under Lü Bu's control. He obtained 5,000 cavalry. It was also fortunate that this year the Xianbei did not come to raid the borders.

  In the first year of Guanghe, all the Hu tribes within the Yellow River valley, whether Xianbei or Southern Xiongnu, had been plundered by Lü Bu. More than a dozen Qiang and Hu tribes had also surrendered to him. However, the imperial court's allocation of funds for the northern territories was being increasingly reduced, and Lü Bu began to worry about military expenses again. With no place to plunder within his jurisdiction, Lü Bu became restless.

  Lü Bu also thought of crossing the Yellow River to plunder the Xianbei or the Huns. However, northerners were not good at water and the northern land was not skilled in building ships. The boats inside the river bend were all small boats. But such a wide river, if you take people and horses together, a small boat can't hold many people. There weren't many boats, so crossing the river wasn't convenient. Although he knew how to swim, if he fell into the Yellow River, he wouldn't be sure not to drown, let alone those landlubbers. For safety's sake, it was better to forget about it. So Lü Bu went to consult with Gao Shun and Jia Xu.

  Lü Bu asked Gao Shun: "Is there no other tribe in such a vast desert grassland?"

  Gao Shun replied: "In the northern regions and the borders of Yanmen, the area around the Yellow River has indeed no more nomadic tribes."

  Lü Bu said with an unyielding spirit: "In a land of a thousand miles, is it possible that outside of my jurisdiction, there are no people?"

  Gao Zongdao said: "Except for Xianbei and Southern Xiongnu, there is actually another place with human footprints."

  Lü Bu heard that there were still people and excitedly shouted: "Quickly, where is the place with people?"

  Gao Shun said: "North-facing mountain under the dark mountain horse thieves."

  Lü Bu thought to himself: How could I have forgotten about this group of bandits? The horse thieves are not like the nomadic tribes, each and every one of them is a skilled fighter. It may be difficult to capture them, and they may not have much grain or fodder, but they must have a lot of money. Although it's hard to get our hands on them, there are also benefits to be gained. Let the Northern Army use killing as training. The cavalry must practice the fish-scale phalanx formation well. Having thought this through, he asked: "Do you know about the situation with the horse thieves?"

  Gao Shun said: "The bandits of Yin Mountain are difficult to predict, and in the past they have also made sudden attacks on the city of Shuofang. However, since Taishou became the military governor of Shuofang, he has often gone out hunting and there have been no more sightings. My subordinates estimate that the bandits should be between a few hundred men, and we have not seen any signs of their lair on the south bank of the Yellow River. I believe that the bandit's lair is likely to be in the northwest, within the Yin Mountain range."

  Lü Bu's face fell again. He sighed, "I have to cross the Yellow River once more. If I had a large ship to cross the Yellow River, I would rather go and plunder the Xianbei or the Xiongnu."

  Jia Yu listened and smiled: "If the adults want to wipe out the Yinshan horse thieves and get their wealth, it's not difficult."

  Lü Bu listened and asked: "Oh? What clever plan does Mr. Jia have?"

  Jia Xun said: "Bandits are greedy for profit, and at the beginning of spring, it is the time when merchants come and go. The general's army can disguise themselves as a merchant group by the Yellow River to lure them in. If the bandits come to rob, the general can capture their leader alive. If they can be persuaded to surrender, the bandits' wealth will naturally belong to the general. If they do not surrender, it is also possible to demand that they ransom themselves with their wealth."

  Lü Bu thought to himself: This isn't bad either. However, from Ma Ling to the north bank of the Yellow River is quite far, at least 800-900 li. With such a long distance, we must make sufficient preparations, and this can be used as an opportunity to train the northern cavalry's thousand-li rapid assault. Thinking about it this way, eliminating the horse thieves becomes unimportant, while training the cavalry for a thousand-li rapid assault becomes the important thing.

  Lü Bu made up his mind and issued a military order. All the imperial guards were mobilized, and Hao Meng's unit of 600 cavalrymen was also summoned. In total, there were 1,000 cavalrymen, who prepared supplies for a long-distance raid. Now, whether or not they could find the horse thieves was no longer that important; training his troops had become Lü Bu's top priority. If they didn't encounter any horse thieves, he would find another way to build a shipyard on the Luo River in Beidi and construct large ships. However, this seemed unrealistic.

  Eight hundred miles of galloping and raiding is not a trivial matter, Lü Bu handed over the good things, called on the military to make necessary preparations, and only then returned to the county government to rest. Back in the inner court, Yan Ni brought Li Yu'er with a basin of water to help Lü Bu wash up. Since Lü Bu led his troops to rescue the northern region, he had been busy with military affairs, either recruiting soldiers or arranging for repairs to the Great Wall and passes. More often than not, it was just to survive, going to plunder the Hu people's tribes, without even being able to spend a peaceful Spring Festival.

  Now seeing Yan Ni, Yan Ni suddenly found that Yan Ni had matured a lot and looked like a woman, compared to a year ago, with an added touch of maturity. Lü Bu finished washing up, and the servants who followed from Shuofang had already set out the meal, so Lü Bu sat down to eat with the two of them.

  Today, Lü Bu looked at Yan Ni and felt more and more the mature beauty of Yan Ni. Thinking about it, from Shuofang to Beidi, it has been half a year, and in half a year, he hasn't met Yan Ni again. As soon as he thought about it, a flame of desire surged up in Lü Bu's heart. Lü Bu thought: In one or two days, I will go north to the Yellow River, and I don't know what I will encounter. Tonight... Thinking about it, Lü Bu felt his lower body rapidly swelling. Unable to bear it for long, Lü Bu stood up and walked to Yan Ni's side to pull her. Yan Ni didn't know what Lü Bu wanted to do for a while, and asked urgently: "What are you doing?"

  Lü Bu led Yan Ni into the inner chamber and said, "I have something to say to you."

  Yanni followed Lv Bu to the inner room, but felt that something was off about him. At first, they were holding hands, but after two steps, one hand wrapped around her waist and hugged her, while the other hand sneakily attacked her chest from the front. Yanni now understood.

  Yan Ni had actually fallen in love with Lü Bu since that night when he took her. Later, although she was taken by Lü Bu many times again, after he came to the north last year, he was busy with official duties and didn't have time for her anymore, which made him miss her even more. But no matter what, who would take someone from the dinner table to bed? And there's still Li Yu'er watching in the back. So Yan Ni felt ashamed for a moment, twisted and struggled, and coquettishly said: "What's wrong... I'm eating..."

  Lü Bu took three steps and made two strides, entering the inner chamber and immediately embracing Yan Ni. With a sly smile, he said: "Let's do it once first, we can eat later. It's been a long time since I've paid attention to you, tonight you seem much more mature. Even more charming."

  Yan Yujiao complained: "Who is as overbearing as you... Ah..."

  Lü Bu couldn't care less, and with one move, he placed Yan Ni on the couch and pressed down. He was like a tyrant, leaving only Li Yu'er standing by the table, holding her bowl in a daze.