The great war of the three kingdoms twenty-eight Wang Biao sees the governor, Lv Bu's mighty name is spreading.

  In the fifth year of Guangxi, in February, Lü Bu distributed the stored grain in Shuofang to the people, each household receiving enough food for three months. He then lifted martial law and sent back the villagers who had been rounded up, restoring Shuofang to its original state. When distributing the grain, many villagers were unwilling to return to their villages and begged Lü Bu to take them in.

  Originally, many people in Shoufang had no land and often worked hard for a year without being able to eat their fill. Lü Bu gathered the people, collected grain, and distributed it equally among them, so that everyone could avoid hunger. Now, with spring arriving, he sent back many of the people who wanted to return to farming, but they were worried that this year's harvest would be poor and they would go hungry again, so they preferred to follow Lü Bu instead. Lü Bu then took in the people who did not want to return home and chose a place south of Shoufang to settle and cultivate land, establishing a civilian settlement and building new villages. At harvest time, the military took two-tenths, while the civilian settlements took eight-Tenths; all the necessary materials for the settlements were provided by the military. As there were many cattle and sheep in Shoufang at that time, Lü Bu ordered people to drive the cattle to use as draft animals, drew pictures to instruct carpenters to make plows and rakes, greatly reducing the labor required of the settlers, doubling the amount of land opened up for cultivation, and causing all the people to rejoice. He also built a pasture next to the new village to raise cattle and sheep. However, he still set up houses within Shoufang city in order to defend against Xianbei raids along the border.

  Spring arrived, and Lü Bu thought of plundering again. However, outside the Great Wall and inside the Yellow River bend, all the Xianbei tribes had been slaughtered by Lü Bu, leaving only two Southern Xiongnu tribes in the west. Although the Northern Army was rich in supplies and had a lot of stored grain, Lü Bu saw that the benefits of plundering far exceeded his imagination, and he seemed to have become addicted to it, feeling restless if he didn't plunder for a month. So he gathered his generals again to discuss plundering the Southern Xiongnu.

  Lü Bu's words made Cao Cao frown: "Although the Southern Xiongnu have been rebellious at times, their chanyu still follows the imperial court's orders. In the sixth year of Jianping, the chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu exited through Yanmen Pass and coordinated with Xia Yu to attack the Xianbei, although they were defeated, they still surrendered to the imperial court. If we plunder the Southern Xiongnu now... I'm worried that if this gets out, it will give them a legitimate reason to rebel."

  Zang Ba, however, agreed: "Even if we rob, what's there to fear? Even if we don't rob, the Southern Xiongnu will still frequently rebel. As for the Left Section of the Southern Xiongnu, they should be killed, and Liu Bao's section should also be killed."

  Lü Bu was unclear about the situation of the Southern Xiongnu and asked: "What's going on? Is the Xiongnu still divided into left and right?"

  Gao Zongdao said: "After Emperor Wu's northern expedition against the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu split into two branches, the Northern and Southern Xiongnu. The Northern Xiongnu migrated westward. The Southern Xiongnu gradually moved south and surrendered to us Han people, many of whom were assimilated into our culture. However, the Southern Xiongnu still had many divisions and disagreements. They can be counted as several branches. There was the branch attached to the imperial court, led by Chanyu Qiangqu, with Wusu, Che Niu, and Liu Bao, known as the bravest warrior of the Xiongnu, in charge of the left wing. To the west, there was the branch led by Bi Xi, which was considered the right wing. Although these branches were all part of the Southern Xiongnu, Chanyu Qiangqu could not control them, and his orders did not reach the other branches, resulting in many conflicts."

  Lü Bu was delighted and laughed: "The Xiongnu cannot unite, this is my wish. The land of Hexi, the tribes outside the Great Wall, which tribe do they belong to?"

  Gao Shun said: "The eastern part of our army, Wu Si, Che Ni and Liu Bao's left wing are all mixed together, outsiders can't distinguish their troops, only knowing the general situation. However, the two tribes in the western part of Yanmen must belong to these three troops."

  Lü Bu laughed and said: "In that case, there is no need to say more. Let the army prepare as usual, and tomorrow we will go and plunder the Southern Xiongnu."

  Several subordinates stood up and replied: "Yes."

  Lü Bu asked again: "Who is willing to go with me this time?"

  Zang Ba heard this and immediately stood up with courtesy, saying in a deep voice: "I am willing to go together."

  Lü Bu originally wanted Gao Shun to go with him, but seeing that Gao Shun's face was expressionless and unyielding, he changed his mind. Then, seeing Zhang Liao's eager eyes, he said: "In that case, Gao Shun will stay behind to guard the city. Zhang Liao will go with me tomorrow to raid the Southern Xiongnu tribe."

  The army came out of the military camp, and Wei Xu pulled at Gao Shun's hem and complained: "Why is Big Brother Gao so silent? I see that General Hou has intentionally let us take a detour to plunder. When our soldiers are gaining benefits, why did Big Brother Gao yield to Xuan Gao's troops?"

  Gao Shun Dao said: "How General Hou gives orders, we subordinates will execute accordingly. It's not for us to speculate on the superior's intentions."

  Wei Xu heard this and just shook his head, thinking to himself: What a pity, another chance to get rich has slipped away. But it's nothing much, as long as he follows General Lü, he won't have to worry about not getting rich in the future.

  On the second day, Lü Bu led his elite troops and Zang Ba's troops to head west from Shuofang, directly attacking a branch of the Southern Xiongnu, killing 78 herdsmen, sparing no one young or old, and plundering many horses, cattle, sheep, and valuables.

  In March, Lü Bu wanted to go out of the city again to raid the Xiongnu tribes, but unexpectedly encountered a merchant caravan coming from the north to sell goods. Lü Bu had no choice but to give up on plundering and used the extra fur, horses, cattle, and sheep to exchange with the merchants for much-needed iron, salt, and other necessities.

  Merchants and traders, in their leisure time, naturally inquired about the situation with the Xianbei and horse thieves. The people of Shuofang City had a great victory over the Xianbei for the first time in decades, so they also boasted to the merchants about the defense of Shuofang. However, as the story was passed down, it became exaggerated and distorted. Originally, during the defense of Shuofang, only 700-800 enemies were killed. Lü Bu's night raid on the Xianbei camp resulted in only 100-200 deaths, while the rest died during the siege or were trampled to death by their own horses. But when the people told the story to the merchants, it became a grand tale of Shuofang's victory, with Lü Bu and his ten riders killing over 800 Xianbei. Many merchants were skeptical, so they followed some enthusiastic citizens of Shuofang to a spot thirty zhang outside the city, where they dug up a pit filled with the remains of the Xianbei dead. The merchants were finally convinced.

  Afterwards, the merchants returned to Guannei and spread the news. The situation had changed again. It was said that the Xianbei bandits raided Shuofang, and Lü Bu led a surprise attack on the Xianbei camp with ten riders at night, killing nearly a thousand enemy cavalrymen. As the story was passed down, by the time it reached the capital Luoyang, it had become: The Xianbei bandits raided Shuofang, and Lü Bu led a surprise attack on the Xianbei camp with ten riders at night, killing a thousand enemy cavalrymen and dispersing the remaining troops.

  King Piao led the general officials and their families to flee overnight to Guannei. When they arrived at the county seat of Beidi, they met Beidi Taishou Jia Gu, who reported on the matter of recommending Lü Bu as the Marquis of Shuofang Army. Jia Gu did not know whether it was feasible or not. After listening to King Piao's recommendation, Pei Xian, the long history of Beidi, asked King Piao: "Did Lü Bu promise not to ask for military rations from the government, and would he solve his own military expenses? Is this true?"

  Wang Bi bowed and said: "Commander, this is absolutely true. I have never paid Lu Bu any money or grain."

  Fu Xuan asked again: "Where did Lü Bu's money and grain come from?"

  Wang Biao shook his head and said, "This official doesn't know about that. However, before this official left for the northern regions, Lü Bu had reported to me about encountering horse thieves while on a reconnaissance mission. This official thought it was likely that Lü Bu's military expenses were obtained from eliminating those horse thieves."

  Fu Xian asked again: "Is it true that you killed Ma Chao and didn't ask first? Was there ever a complaint from the people of Shouchun City about Lü Bu's evil deeds?"

  Wang Biao said: "I have never heard of it. The lower official often hears that the soldiers in the city, from time to time, boast about Lv Bu's bravery."

  Fu Xian said to Jia Xu: "If Lü Bu is not plundering the common people, but instead killing bandits and using their wealth as military funds, then he would be a brave general, worthy of being a marquis."

  Jia Xu said: "It's just that I don't know how Lü Bu will resist the Xianbei, and we'll make plans again after the Xianbei return to the north."

  Fu Xian said: "What the governor says is absolutely right, and we can send more scouts to go and investigate the news."

  Jia Kui agreed and immediately sent scouts to gather information about Shuofang.

  Less than a month later, the scout reported back: 1,200 Xianbei cavalry raided and plundered Shuofang. The gates of Shuofang were tightly closed, with soldiers and civilians defending the city to the death. At midnight, ten riders suddenly burst out of Shuofang and killed their way into the Xianbei camp. The Xianbei were caught off guard, suffering countless deaths and injuries. The remaining troops retreated east across the Yellow River and went to Yunzhong.

  Jia Kui heard this and slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming: "How magnificent! How heroic! This is the great Han's chance to wash away the shame of the six years of He Ping!"

  Fu Xian also praised: "With a hundred riders, he raided the camp of a thousand riders. Lu Bu's bravery is beyond ordinary people, truly a blessing for our northern lands."

  Jia Xu immediately wrote the document and appointed Lü Bu as a marquis. When spring arrived, Wang Bi returned to Shuofang, bringing the document with him.

  Yang Chun melted the snow, and the road was open to traffic. In Beidi, he heard from merchants that Lü Bu was brave. The governor, Jia Xu, did not wait for Wang Biao to return and verify the news of Lü Bu's victory over the Xianbei. He hastily reported to the imperial court that Beidi had suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Xianbei.

  Thus. The people within the pass, the people of Luoyang, and the military reports from the northern regions all spoke of Lü Bu's bravery, and it was only then that the imperial court realized there was a person named Lü Bu in the world.