Three Kingdoms New Lü Bu

  Lü Bu pacified the Western Section of the Xiongnu and reported back to the imperial court. The high officials at court debated the matter, arguing over Lü Bu's case without end.

  At this time, Beigong Youlang Jiang Lu Zhi presented a memorial to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, Lü Bu is brave and skilled in battle, and his strategic thinking surpasses others. The court should make heavy use of this man."

  "Your Majesty, it is not so. Although Lü Bu has military prowess and can pacify the Xiongnu rebellion, he did not receive permission from the imperial court before taking it upon himself to lead an army and form an alliance with the Chanyu. This has the appearance of usurping power. The imperial court's use of people is not limited to their abilities, but also includes those with virtue. I have heard that Lü Bu in the northern regions has been cruel and ruthless, often leading his troops to raid and plunder the Qiang and Hu barbarians. Whenever they show any disobedience, he would slaughter them all. He plunders the Hu people to supply his army's provisions. Although this man is brave, it is not advisable to heavily employ him. If this person were to wield heavy military power, I fear it would imperil the imperial court."

  Lu Zhi opposed: "Your Majesty, when using troops, one should be good at grasping the timing. Lü Bu has not yet reported to the court and has already sent out troops, this is the timing. Luoyang is hundreds of miles away from Beidi, and the left territory of the Xiongnu is over a thousand miles away. If Lü Bu had first reported to the court, it would have taken two thousand miles back and forth, and the opportunity for battle would have already passed. This is not what a good warrior does, and one cannot blame Lü Bu's mistakes on this account. Lü Bu plundered the Qiang and Hu, although he was cruel. However, Beidi is a border province, and every year the taxes are insufficient to cover expenses, and the court also lacks resources. Lü Bu plundered the Hu people to provide for his army, this has some justification. Now that Lü Bu has pacified the Xiongnu rebellion, the court should reward him, but if one records his mistakes as achievements, I fear it will chill the hearts of the soldiers on the border."

  Yuan Fang said: "Your Majesty, I think that Lü Bu's merits in pacifying the Xiongnu should be rewarded. However, the suspicion of Lü Bu abusing his power cannot be ignored. If not checked, he will gradually become more and more arrogant, and it will be difficult to control him later."

  Wei Lang He Yong said: "Your Majesty, the northern regions are not the Central Plains. The border areas should be guarded by fierce generals. Lü Bu is cruel and brutal, but he can still serve as a great general for defending the borders. I think we can give Lü Bu the power to defend the borders, using his bravery to block the evil of the external barbarians. The court only needs to prevent him from entering the pass."

  The court debated in Luoyang, with some high-ranking officials suggesting that Lü Bu should be heavily rewarded, while others argued that he was too cruel and should be treated with caution. The debate was inconclusive. Emperor Liu Hong followed the suggestion of his eunuch Zhang Rang and sent a messenger, Shi Zhong Shu Xun Yue, to the northern regions with an imperial edict. However, instead of granting Lü Bu any real rewards, the edict merely offered empty praise. This perfunctory treatment of Lü Bu's achievements in pacifying the Xiongnu was not unexpected by him. Since his uprising in Shuofang, Lü Bu had been self-sufficient and did not have high expectations from the imperial court. Therefore, the matter came to a close.

  In the sixth year of Guang Xu, in August, Lü Bu received a report from Wei Xu's army at Maliang. It turned out that the Xianbei had invaded and attacked Youzhou again this year, disturbing Bingzhou. Wuyuan and Yunzhong suffered greatly at the hands of the Xianbei. Ding Yuan, the governor of Bingzhou, issued an edict as governor to send troops to Yunzhong to block the Xianbei. Since Maliang originally belonged to Bingzhou's jurisdiction, Ding Yuan gave orders with the authority of a governor. The county magistrate Wang Biao and Military Marquis Wei Xu feared the governor's authority and did not dare to refuse outright. They had no choice but to send someone to report quickly to Lü Bu on horseback.

  Lü Bu was furious when he saw Wei Xu's military report, and scolded in his heart: "Fucking historian!" The northwest suffered from the Xianbei bandits, but no historians came to comfort them. Now that things are going well, they come to order him around. Lü Bu then wrote on the military document: "Mind your own business, defend the northwest." When the military envoy was about to return to the northwest, Lü Bu personally instructed: "Don't mind those fucking historians, without my military orders, no one needs to care about them."

  After the army left, Lü Bu thought to himself: The northern region belongs to Liangzhou's jurisdiction, and Shuofang originally belonged to Bingzhou. Although it is now assigned to Beidi, Ding Yuan is now using its original affiliation as an excuse to summon Shuofang. This place is really annoying. When you have something going on, no one pays attention, but when others have something going on, they come to bother you everywhere. It's really a frustrating place. Now that Beidi has nowhere to plunder, the soldiers still need to eat. The imperial court is becoming more and more overbearing, with less and less money and grain allocated each month. After pacifying the Xiongnu rebellion, they just sent a Shizhong to say a few nice words and that's it. There's no news about military supplies, so what should we do next? It's better to take this opportunity to move to Youzhou, where there is no Yellow River blocking the way, which would be a great place for development.

  Then Lü Bu began to think about how to write a memorial, wanting to take the opportunity of the Xianbei invasion to be transferred to Youzhou. However, Lü Bu was not good at writing and could only hastily write a rough draft, stating that Youzhou was troubled by the Xianbei, now that the northern Di and Qiang tribes had submitted, Lü Bu wished to report his achievements to the imperial court and requested to be transferred to Youzhou to guard the border counties. After finishing, he read it several times, feeling it was acceptable, then wanted to summon the military courier to send the memorial.

  But the military post has not arrived, Lü Bu thought again: If this memorial is sent through the military post, it will have to go through the Taiwei Fu, Shangshu Tai and so on. He himself has no connections in Luoyang, and if this memorial is sent through the military post, it may very likely end up being ignored, which would be a waste of effort. He should think of a shortcut instead. However, Lü Bu does not know any influential people. Even his future father-in-law Cai Yong is currently still a prisoner, and keeping him at Maling is already somewhat irregular, so he shouldn't bother Cai Yong with this matter either, lest it cause unnecessary complications.

  Then Lü Bu thought about who had power in the imperial court during the Eastern Han dynasty. Unfortunately, it was now the Guanghe era and not yet the Three Kingdoms period. Although he knew a lot about the characters of the Three Kingdoms period from playing games, those famous people might be even poorer than him during this Guanghe era. Who to find? Even if he remembered one or two, would they recognize Lü Bu? Would they care about him? Lü Bu thought until his head hurt and the military envoy came and was called back again. Finally, Lü Bu had an epiphany and thought of one person, Zhong Chanshu Zhang Rang. Zhang Rang might not care about Lü Bu, but he would definitely care about money. So Lü Bu decided to submit his memorial through Zhang Rang's hands.

  Now under Lü Bu, there is no one familiar with Luoyang, only Xú Huáng has arrived in Hedong. Hedong is right next to Luoyang, he should be the best candidate. So Lü Bu called Xú Huáng over.

  Xu Huan followed Lü Bu, and Lü Bu valued him greatly. Whenever there was something important to be done, he would often call upon Xu Huan to do it. Xu Huan felt grateful in his heart for Lü Bu's trust in him and was loyal to him alone. As soon as he entered the government office and saw Lü Bu, he spoke boldly: "What are your orders, sir?"

  Lü Bu asked: "When Gongming came to Hedong, was he familiar with Luoyang?"

  Xu Huang said: "When I was in Hedong, I used to be a minor historian. On official business, I went to Luoyang twice and am somewhat familiar with the place."

  Lü Bu was even more delighted when he heard that Xu Huang had been a minor historian in Hedong. He asked, "Well, since Gongming has also been a minor historian, how did you end up following Han Sui to the north?"

  Xu Huan shook his head and sighed, "It's just that when I was young and hot-headed, I had some minor disagreements with my colleagues, which led to me injuring someone and being squeezed out of the county government. At that time, I had just returned to my hometown and happened to meet Han Shui in the countryside who was inquiring about the Yang Feng family. Since I had no other way to make a living at the time, I followed Han Shui to join Yang Feng."

  Lü Bu nodded and asked: "Hmm, since Gongming has been to Luoyang, does he know Zhang Liao?"

  Xu Huang nodded and said: "Zhang Gongshi? I've also heard of him."

  Lü Bu was overjoyed and said: "This is excellent. I have a memorial to the Emperor which I want you, Gongming, to take to Luoyang and deliver to Zhang Rang."

  Xu Huan was slightly puzzled and asked: "Sir, since it's a memorial to the emperor, why didn't you take the military post road, but instead look for Zhang Ran?"

  Lü Bu said, "This memorial is of great importance to us. If we send it through the military post, it will have to go through the Taiwei Fu and the Shangshu Tai, which will be a lot of trouble. I don't know when it will arrive. Zhang Rang is also a eunuch who loves money. We only need to give him some gold and treasure, and he will help us."

  Xu Huan smiled and said: "I didn't think that General would not only be skilled in martial arts, but also understand human emotions and worldly affairs."

  Lü Bu also smiled and said, "Hehe. Your family's affairs are quite impressive, and Gongming will understand slowly later on. Just remember that this matter is of great importance to us, and you must personally hand it over to Zhang Liao and let him handle it well."

  "Rest assured, sir, I will handle it carefully."

  Then Lü Bu handed over the memorial and two packages of gold to Xu Huang, saying: "The small package is for your travel expenses on the public road, and the large package can be given to Zhang Liao. This memorial must also be given to Zhang Liao, and let him speak well of it in court."

  Xu Huang took over the package and carefully put the memorial in his bosom. He saluted Lü Bu with a solemn bow, saying: "Sir, rest assured. I will take my leave now."

  Lü Bu nodded, and Xu Huang took Lü Bu's memorial and left for Luoyang.

  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!