Three Kingdoms New Lü Bu

  Lü Bu made a second surprise attack on the large camp and succeeded, but Lü Bu also knew that his troops were too few to dare fight for long, so he trampled the camp and passed through. He Lian was already panicked when he heard Lü Bu's name, and hastily summoned his soldiers to seize the horse and flee north. Fortunately, the horse ran fast, and there were soldiers behind blocking Lü Bu, plus Lü Bu had no intention of pursuing and killing, so he escaped safely.

  The Heduans were in a state of panic and leaderless, seeing the Heduans fleeing north, they also fled north. The leaders of other tribes did not know how many cavalry had arrived to launch a surprise attack, and they followed the Heduan crowd to flee. Lü Bu launched a surprise attack and beheaded over a thousand Xianbei people, with hundreds more trampled to death by their own horses, annihilating two thousand enemies in one battle.

  Lü Bu led his army to tread on the camp and passed by, then went east around a circle, and returned from the east to He Jin's camp.

  At this time, the camp was filled with corpses, and Lü Bu cautiously entered Hecai's camp, not seeing anyone responding. He came to Hecai's large tent and saw a corpse in front of it, which was Hu Sang, who had just been killed by himself. He hated Han traitors the most, so he rode his horse towards Hu Sang's corpse and scolded: "Humph! See how you, a Han traitor, can still do evil." After trampling on Hu Sang's corpse two or three times, Lü Bu finally entered the large tent.

  Lü Bu entered the main tent, only to see a corpse lying in the center of the courtyard. Lü Bu took one look at the dead man and saw that it was indeed Tan Shi Huai, whom he had kicked off his horse and taken his steed. Lü Bu looked up and burst out laughing: "Hahaha...Tan Shi Huai is really dead! Hahaha..."

  The generals followed into the account, looked at each other with joy in their hearts. Lü Bu then drew out the sword from his waist and beheaded Tan Shi Huai, hanging his head on the horse's saddle. Afterwards, he led the troops to quickly clean up the campsite and return to Shanzhou City. After Tan Shi Huai's death, He Lian led the defeated soldiers back to their main camp. The other Xiongnu remnants who had been raiding the Han borders retreated back to the desert upon hearing the news.

  Lü Bu defeated Tan Shi Huai and returned to Shanwu, where the soldiers and civilians all cheered. When Xianyu Huan, the governor of Yanmen, learned that Lü Bu had defeated Tan Shi Huai, he personally led the people out of the city to welcome Lü Bu's army back. Lü Bu handed over Tan Shi Huai's head in front of his saddle to Xianyu Huan and laughed: "Governor Xianyu, can you recognize this head?"

  Xian Yu Huang held the head of Tan Shi Huai in his hands and laughed loudly: "Haha... I, Xian Yu Huang, have been the governor of Yanmen for over a decade, and almost every year I suffered from this disaster. How could I not recognize this head? Haha... Lord Lü is truly divine and mighty! He has eliminated one of the great scourges of our Great Han. As soon as I heard that Lord Lü had returned victorious, I set up a banquet in the city to reward your lordship's army. Please, Lord Lü."

  Lü Bu smiled and said: "Then trouble Xian Yu, Governor, to come."

  The two then rode into the city and entertained the troops for three days. Lü Bu also spent three days reorganizing his army in Shanyang, and had Xu Huang bring Fan Chou's head to be soaked in a wine jar, which was sent to Luoyang to report their victory. Afterwards, he gathered his troops and returned military power to Xianyu Huan, leading the army back to Daijun, not forgetting to take Zhang Liao with him. Xianyu Fu knew that Lü Bu was formidable and had many connections in mind. Although he saw that Zhang Liao was young and talented, he would not go against Lü Bu for a mere city gate official. Zhang Liao also saw the benefits of following Lü Bu and thus followed him to Daijun.

  Lü Bu thought to himself on the road back to Dai Commandery: "Although Tan Chou has died, the Xianbei are still there. Perhaps for a few years, the Xianbei will not dare to raid the Han borders again. But it's hard to predict what will happen in the future, whether or not another Five Barbarians' invasion of China will occur, no one can say clearly." Lü Bu also knew about the threat that the northern nomadic tribes posed to the Han people, and today having killed Tan Chou, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. He thought about what methods could be used to completely eliminate the threat from the northern nomadic tribes.

  Lü Bu rode on Siweng's back, turned his head to look at Zhang Liao, and thought that this kid was quite capable. He asked: "Zhang Liao, are your family members well? Do you have a wife?"

  Zhang Liao replied, "Thank you for your concern, sir. My father passed away early, and I followed my mother to move to Yanmen when I was young. Now I am in the army. I have not yet reached adulthood, so I have not taken a style name."

  Lü Bu smiled and said: "I see that you are young but quite mature. Have you read some poetry and books?"

  Zhang Liao said: "My family's way is declining, and there were some hidden books at home. My mother taught me to recognize characters since I was a child, and often said that I should read more books, know some things, and only then can I stand out in the future. So when I have free time, I will read the hidden books at home. Also because of poverty, I was already working as a small historian in the county government at the age of 13, doing some errands. Later, when the border was in danger, I joined the army and went to war. Xianyu Taishou saw that Liao was good at handling affairs, so he let me become an official in charge of the city gate."

  Lü Bu nodded and said: "Hmmm, poor people's children grow up early. I'll give you a name, how about that?"

  Zhang Liao was overjoyed and said: "Thank you, sir, for bestowing a name."

  Lü Bu knew that Zhang Liao's style name was Wenyuan, and said: "How is Wenyuan? Wen means 'far-reaching strategy'. A general must not only be brave and fierce, but also have deep strategies and far-sighted plans."

  Zhang Liao was overjoyed and said: "Hehe. From now on, I will be called Wen Yuan, thank you, sir, for giving me a new name."

  Lü Bu smiled and inadvertently saw Xian Yu Fu beside Zhang Liao. Seeing that Xian Yu Fu, although a descendant of the Southern Xiongnu, had basically become a Han person except for his slightly different appearance from the Han people. Moreover, he followed himself to conquer the Xianbei without any complaints, and when his brother Xian Yu Yin died in battle, he did not see him having any other intentions. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He asked: "Xian Yu Colonel, how long have you been the Colonel of Dai Prefecture?"

  Xian Yu hastily replied: "Replying to the Grand Administrator, I have been a Commandant for three years already."

  Lü Bu asked again: "Are you familiar with the north?"

  Xian Yu heard this and couldn't help but look north, then realized that Lü Bu was asking about the Xianbei. He replied: "I have been following the army for several years, and every day I deal with the Xianbei, so I am quite familiar with their affairs."

  Lü Bu nodded and turned to one side, seeing Yang Feng and his men in a distance. Lü Bu knew that half of Yang Feng's wolf cavalry were Xiongnu people. So he had an idea in mind. Lü Bu remembered that the Xianbei tribe was just a few hundred miles north of Daijun's Gaoliu City when they played games together before. He wanted to ask Xian Yu to disguise himself as a merchant, and have Yang Feng's Xiongnu wolf cavalry disguise themselves as a merchant group, heading north from Daijun to search for the Xianbei tribe. Once they found out where the tribe was, there would be great use for it later. However, this matter was of great importance, so Lü Bu didn't speak about it for the time being and focused on hurrying back to Daijun.

  And so, with the death of Tan Shi Huai, not only were the Xianbei shaken, but the Han imperial court was also shocked and delighted. Lü Bu was promoted to Duke of Wutong, with a fief of 800 households.

  Bei Zhonglang General Lu Zhi believed that Lü Bu's bravery could defend the northern border and should be reappointed.

  "Your Majesty, since Lü Bu is still fighting, why not appoint him as the Protector of the Borders General and put the three counties of Youbeiping, Daijun, and Yanzheng under his command? I have heard that when Lü Bu was in the north, he liked to raid the borders. If we let him do so, the court can turn a blind eye to his actions and let him go on his own to plunder the Xianbei, thus solving the problem of military rations and fodder. With this plan, the three counties can defend against the Xianbei threat. From Yanzheng's Yellow River east bank to Miyang, over a thousand miles of northern border land, the court can avoid much trouble."

  The Northern General Lu Zhi immediately felt that something was not right and memorialized: "Your Majesty, although Lü Bu is skilled in battle, however, before the army moves, grain and fodder must be sent first, this is a common principle of military households. If the court abolishes the border army's money and grain, even if Lü Bu is skilled in battle again, the army will naturally become chaotic without money and grain. How can this be done? If the court entrusts the three border counties to Lü Bu for defense, I agree. But if the court does not issue military rations and fodder from the three counties, this is absolutely impermissible."

  Yuan Tan said, "Lu Zhonglang will be in charge of this. How can it not work? When Lü Bu was the Marquis of Pingyi, didn't he also have no money and no grain to resist the Xianbei invasion? When he was the Governor of Beidi, didn't the court's allocation of grain supplies greatly decrease, yet Lü Bu still managed to get by. Now that we are giving him three counties, he will naturally find a way to deal with it. Why must Lu Zhonglang worry about others' troubles?"

  Yuan Feng said, "Lü Bu is violent and tyrannical. I fear that one day his power will grow too great and become uncontrollable. In my opinion, the three districts should be returned to the jurisdiction of You Province, with Governor Liu Yan in charge. Only then can we be prepared for any eventuality."

  Liu Hong heard that dividing several border counties could save a lot of money and grain, which was good. So he agreed.

  Lu Zhi, Cai Wei and other upright men all sighed when they heard this. Although Tan Shi Huan is dead, the Xianbei are still there. Using three poor border provinces to make Lü Bu go and resist the northern wolves of the Xianbei is a bit too harsh. Unfortunately, the Emperor is greedy for wealth and does not think about the safety of the country, and he also has no choice in his heart. Lu Zhi knew that he could no longer get more power for Lü Bu, so he had to make another proposal, saying that if the Xianbei offended again, they should give Lü Bu more power to handle affairs.

  The court then appointed Lü Bu as the Protector of the Northern Territory and Colonel of the Middle Army, in charge of military affairs in the three counties of Youbeiping, Daijun and Yanguan, concurrently serving as the Governor of Daijun. His authority was second only to that of Liu Yan, the Governor of Youzhou. In case of Xianbei invasion, he could assume the power of the governors of the three counties and handle all military and administrative affairs in the region.

  However, there was one thing that Lü Bu did not expect. Although the imperial court appointed him as the Protector of the Northern Border and Colonel of the Middle Army, regarding financial matters, the imperial court still did not allocate much, only allowing him to control the income of three counties. The three counties were all border counties and were not wealthy, so in essence, the imperial court was letting Lü Bu think of a way to solve the problem of military salaries and finances on his own. It also tacitly allowed Lü Bu's policy of raiding the borders, allowing him to go and raise funds on his own.

  Seeking gold medals, seeking collection, seeking likes, seeking comments, seeking red envelopes, seeking gifts, all kinds of seeking, whatever you want, just throw it over!