Chapter 379: Stalemate 02

  Liu Shanhe was strolling around when a brother came over to report: "General, General, someone has come again from the foot of the mountain! Someone has come again from the foot of the mountain!"

  "Ah, okay, the more people the better! The more people the better! Just tell Zhang Ping, Hu Gan and Hong Qi to go and greet them, that's all." Liu Shanhe didn't think much of this matter. This was understandable, as more and more people had been joining his team over time, and his team was growing like a snowball, constantly expanding. So Liu Shanhe wasn't as concerned as he used to be, anyway, even if hundreds more came, he wouldn't mind that much.

  "Not them, not the ones who came to us. There are three people, one adult and two children. And that adult seems to be a woman," said the brother.

  "What? Women? How can there be women coming here too? What, and two children as well? What kind of place is this, go, chase them away first!" Liu Shanhe was also taken aback for a moment, because all along, those who came to seek refuge with him were some heroic figures. But, but how did it come to pass that even women arrived today? Alas, this is truly one of the most absurd things under heaven!

  Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Liu Shanhe's mind. Three people? One adult and two children? And that adult was a woman? Could it be, could it be that his own wife had brought their twin children to find him?

  At this point, Liu Shanhe's head suddenly exploded, oh my! "Quickly, quickly, quickly, bring the three of them to me right away! Quickly, quickly, quickly, bring the three of them to me right away!" It had been a long time since Liu Shanhe was so excited.

  When the three people finally appeared before his eyes, Liu Shanhe was stunned: indeed, the visitors were his wife Lü Zhi and their children!

  The couple looked at each other, and for a moment they didn't know what to say. Liu Shanhe hugged his eldest son, while Lv Rou hugged her youngest daughter, the whole family was speechless. Looking at the tattered clothes on his wife and daughters, their faces and heads covered in mud, Liu Shanhe felt extremely distressed, not knowing how much suffering the three of them had endured on the road.

  "Ah, Ruoyi, you've suffered! I, Liu Bang, am sorry to you!" Liu Shanhe said, his eyes already moistening.

  "How are you? You've lost a lot of weight!" Lü Cuì said with concern, looking at Liu Shanhe's pale face. Simple words, but they contained all sorts of care and worry.

  "It's all right, it's all right! Hehe, hehe! Alright, alright, now we're finally a family, we're finally a family! Let's go to our new home!" Liu Shanhe quickly came back to his senses from the joy of reuniting with his family, holding one child's hand and followed by Lü Wei, heading towards the cave where he lived.

  "Your father, I see you have a lot of people here, how many are there?" Lü Cuī seemed to be very concerned about her current power. As for this point, Liú Shān Hé was actually very clear that Lü Cuī had always been looking forward to achieving something big. When he was still the head of the pavilion, she would often tell him: "A person with ambition should not be satisfied with the status quo, but should constantly strive to improve." She would also use her old father-in-law Lü Gōng's words to encourage Liú Shān Hé: "Didn't my father say that you have a special aura about you, and you will definitely achieve something?" Usually, his wife Lü Cuī's words had a certain psychological pressure on him, but at the same time, they were also a driving force, urging him to constantly strive for more. It was just that he had never had a good opportunity before. But now, although it could be said that he had committed a crime and even implicated his family members who followed him in suffering, yet, who would dare say that this wasn't an opportunity? Perhaps the time for him to achieve something big had finally arrived.

  So, when Liu Shanhe heard his wife Lü Yu ask him how many people were here now, he naturally understood in his heart and smiled at his wife: "Actually, it's not a lot, only about five or six hundred people."

  "What? Already 500 or 600 people?! You're really something, old man!" Lü Cuī's face flashed with surprise and delight upon hearing that Liu Shanhe now had 500 or 600 people gathered under him. But Liu Shanhe had thought that after saying this number, Lü Cuī would be dissatisfied, thinking it was too few. Yet, unexpectedly, his wife was so happy, which was truly beyond his expectations. Hmm, looks like his wife is still good at comforting people!

  The family soon arrived at the cave where Liu Shanhe lived. Naturally, Liu Shanhe first asked about what had happened at home after he left. Lü Cuī was originally very excited, especially after learning that Liu Shanhe had now gathered five or six people, and her heart was filled with an indescribable joy. However, when Liu Shanhe again mentioned the events that occurred at home after his departure, those past events suddenly flooded her mind. The hardships, the toils, the humiliations, all surged up in her heart. As a result, Lü Cuī's emotions, which had just calmed down, were stirred up once again.

  "Yao, don't cry, don't cry, stop crying! It's all my fault, it's all my fault! I will definitely make it up to you in the future, I will definitely make it up to you!" Liu Shanhe said solemnly.

  Lü Cuì didn't say a word, she just sat blankly in the cave where Liu Shanhe lived. Suddenly, she threw herself into Liu Shanhe's arms and began to wail again. The crying grew louder and more painful, as if all her countless sorrows were pouring out at once. It was as if this time, when she had come to look for her husband, was just so she could cry her heart out on his shoulder.

  However, Lü Yu's prolonged crying had startled Liu Shanhe. Because from the morning he left his hometown, he didn't know what happened at home! Could it be that something big happened at home? Or... Liu Shanhe felt a sense of foreboding approaching him. His face changed color, and he hastily asked Lü Yu: "Ehuang, Ehuang, what's going on? What exactly is going on? You'd better tell me quickly!"

  "You don't know the suffering I endured! That night, soon after you left, dawn broke. I hadn't even had breakfast yet when the county magistrate sent someone to arrest me and take me to the county yamen. The county magistrate he..." At this point, Lü Yu suddenly stopped, as if recalling some painful memory.

  "County magistrate, what did the county magistrate do to you?" As soon as he heard this, Liu Shanhe's heart also jumped up to his throat. Although he knew from historical records that the county magistrate at that time only caught Lu Luyu and didn't do anything to her. He had a thief's heart but not the guts of a thief! After all, he was a county official and still had to care about the people and his image in their hearts. Moreover, after all, he and Lu Luyu's father, Lu Gong, were old friends, how could he really become a beast?!

  But history is just that, and it's not necessarily entirely consistent! What if that corrupt official had a fit of lust and raped his own wife? That would be troublesome! You should know that Lü Zhi held a very important position in her own heart.

  "That county magistrate, he didn't do anything to me, just threw me into prison and left me there in that damp and dark cell for almost half a year! Being a wife is not easy, being a daughter-in-law is even harder!" Having said this, Lü Zhi naturally thought of her own sad affairs again, and began to sob uncontrollably once more.

  Liu Bang was furious when he heard that the county magistrate had thrown his own wife into prison for nearly half a year. He jumped up, cursing loudly: "This dog official, I will definitely flay him alive! If I don't avenge this grudge, I, Liu Bang, will not be a man!"

  At this time, Liu Shanhe was majestic and heroic. He himself felt that he had finally become a figure. As for Lv Wei, seeing her husband so indignant after hearing about her situation, she was naturally very moved in her heart, glad that she hadn't misjudged him and had married the right person. Suddenly, Liu Shanhe thought of how his wife had actually found him. In such a vast world, it wasn't easy to find this place! His wife had brought their two children along, and yet they had found him so quickly - surely they must have suffered untold hardships along the way. But in the end, they had found him. So Liu Shanhe couldn't help but wonder what method his wife had used to find him.

  "Ah, I don't understand, how did you find me? This deep mountain and old forest, there's no sign or mark, it's really strange! Can you tell my husband about it?" Liu Shanhe asked with a hopeful face.

  And Lv Wei? She also had the heart to play a joke on her husband, so she rushed to him and said: "I forgot, my father was a fortune teller! Although I don't know how to read fortunes, but I can dream. Really, I really can dream. And those dreams of mine are very spiritual, very spiritual! As long as you want to know something, just repeat it several times before falling asleep, and when you enter the dream, there will be gods in the dream telling you. Very spiritual!" Lv Wei said with a smile, speaking to Liu Shanhe.

  "Hey, I'm telling you the truth, stop teasing me and tell me quickly, huh? I'm getting anxious! Tell me, what's going on?" Liu Shanhe was really getting impatient.

  Lü Cuī took one look at Liú Shān Hé's anxious appearance, and forced herself to stop laughing. Then she said to Liú Shān Hé: "Dad, it's like this. Although I won't be as skilled in physiognomy as my father was, I did inherit his ability to read the atmosphere. And with age, this ability of mine has become even more acute than before."

  "What, watch the air? Watch what air?" Liu Shanhe was suddenly confused by Lü Cuī and further urged: "I said, what's the point of watching or not watching, what's going on here?"

  "Generally speaking, every person has a unique aura floating above their head. However, this aura is not always present. Moreover, the strength of this aura is related to one's abilities. My husband is one of the rare noble people in the world, so there has always been an imperial aura surrounding your head. It was precisely because of that imperial aura above your head that I finally found you." Lu Wei said seriously, her expression not looking like she was joking at all.

  "Really?" Liu Shanhe asked again.

  "This kind of thing, I can still talk about it casually!" Lv Wei said seriously.

  "I heard that Qin Shi Huang once saw a heavenly aura in the southeast, so he wanted to personally go on an inspection tour of the southeast to suppress this heavenly aura. However, before he could set out, he died on the road. Could it be that the heavenly aura spoken of by Qin Shi Huang was actually emitted by himself? If that's really the case, then the day of my success, Liu Bang, is not far off!" Liu Shanhe muttered to himself, his eyes full of longing.

  But Liu Shanhe's words also made Lü Yu somewhat surprised. Although she too hoped that her husband could achieve great things, but she didn't dare to think that her husband would become a king in the future. So, after hearing Liu Shanhe's words, she stared straight at him with wide eyes, as if she didn't recognize him at all.

  Liu Shanhe was stared at by Lü Zhi, making him somewhat flustered. He smiled and asked: "E Huang, what are you looking at? Don't you recognize me?"

  Lü Wei's face suddenly turned red when Liu Shanhe asked her that, and at first glance, although her clothes were tattered and the dirt on her face hadn't been washed off, it didn't affect Lü Wei's natural beauty. Liu Shanhe felt a surge of blood rushing up, his eyes burning with fire, so he didn't say anything else, and suddenly hugged Lü Wei onto that stone slab, tearing off her tattered clothes in a few movements, then pressed down on her like a beast. A woman's suppressed moan echoed through the cave: Ah～～～, followed by an unending series of unclear, ambiguous moans, while Liu Shanhe was motionless on top of Lü Wei, his body trembling violently. Several brothers who came to report something heard this sound from afar, looked at each other, then smiled and quietly retreated from the cave.

  The next morning.

  "Yao, you and your mother and son, just stay with me here for now. We'll be a family together again, never to be separated. We'll take our time to plan big things." Liu Shanhe said tightly embracing Lü Yu.

  "Ah, the three of us have come back this time, and we never intended to go back. You are our sky, without you, how can we live?" Lu Wei's words were filled with boundless tender affection, making Liu Shanhe feel an indescribable comfort all over his body after hearing them.

  Looking at his wife's healthy and charming face, touching her smooth and delicate body, Liu Shanhe's desire was once again aroused. His breathing quickly became urgent, and with a burst of strength, he pulled Lu Wei over and pressed his entire body onto hers. Obviously, Lu Wei was not prepared this time, so when Liu Shanhe entered her body, the sound she made was even more alluring than yesterday's, making Liu Shanhe feel it was even more pleasant and beautiful.

  It's finally over. Both of them were drenched in sweat. And the thoughts and feelings they had for each other during these days, were also relieved in this series of struggles. Men and women, must not be separated, each fighting their own battles.

  After having breakfast, Liu Shanhe thought of the troubles he had encountered recently and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Lü Wei heard it and asked: "I don't know what trouble my husband has, can you tell me about it?"

  "Alas, there are some troublesome matters. Now, the people who come to join us are increasing in number, but with more people, although our strength has increased, other problems have also arisen. For example, the problem of food is one that needs to be solved first. Another is the issue of weapons. If we want to truly possess a certain level of combat power, relying solely on those clubs and staffs won't do; if it really comes down to fighting, how can those clubs and staffs compare to real knives, guns, and swords? That's absolutely not comparable!" Liu Shanhe said anxiously.

  "Oh, so that's what my husband was worried about!" Lü Zhi heard this and also looked thoughtful, then she continued to ask: "So, before this, how did you solve this problem?"

  "Oh, I'm the one who thought of this. First, let's talk about food. When there are many people, I have the soldiers solve the food problem by looting. However, I repeatedly emphasized a few disciplines: first, only loot the wealth of rich merchants, landlords, or high officials, and resolutely do not loot the belongings of ordinary civilians; second, do not be greedy, only when it is really impossible to get food, can you go looting once, either in the village or on the road at the foot of the mountain. Although we often catch some wild game on this mountain, but with so many people, how can we survive just by eating these things? Without sufficient grain reserves, that's absolutely not allowed."

  "As for the issue of weapons, since our current strength is not very powerful, we cannot obtain their weapons by fighting against the government soldiers. However, it's also impossible to just rely on those most primitive and harmless clubs to fight. So, this problem has never been solved." Liu Shanhe roughly told Lü Wei about the problems he encountered on his mountain.

  Lü Cuī listened to Liu Shanhe's words, her eyebrows furrowed as if she had entered a deep contemplation. Suddenly, her face lit up with joy and surprise, "Jì, I have a solution to the problem you encountered earlier."

  "Huh? What's the solution? Come on, dear wife, speak up quickly! Liu Shanhe had just spoken to Lü Cuī in such detail about his current predicament, hoping that she would come up with a plan. Because when it came to management, he still had great admiration for his wife Lü Cuī's abilities."

  "I can do that, but you have to kiss me first." Lü Chu deliberately teased Liu Shanhe. Liu Shanhe wasn't afraid of this kind of thing, and as soon as he heard this, he smiled mischievously: "This is easy, but once I go to kiss your face, I won't be able to control myself. Anyway, I've already made preparations for a third time!" Liu Shanhe chuckled.

  "Haha, forget it, forget it! My goodness, you're really something, wanting more?! I'm already exhausted from your antics! Forget it, forget it! My goodness, you're really something, wanting more?! I'm already exhausted from your antics!" Lü Wei swiftly covered her chest with one hand and pleaded with a pitiful expression.

  The couple played for a while, and then Lv Liu said: "Well, about the food problem you mentioned earlier, I think it can be solved in two steps. The first step is to maintain the status quo according to your method. The rules you set are also very good, and we must fly the flag of helping the rich and the poor. Because if we make things big in the future, we will need the support of the people. If we now have a bad reputation as a mountain bandit, it will not be easy to regain it at that time."

  "This second step, then, is to make long-term plans. And this long-term plan is planting. Although the mountains and forests here are not very suitable for growing grain, we are not relying solely on this to get rich. Planting more or less, as long as it's enough for us to eat, is fine. Opening up dozens of hectares of land and having most of our brothers participate in planting and labor will also solve the problem of our long-term garrison here."

  "As for the weapons, this is easier to solve. Our current strength is not strong enough to fight against the government, but we can open several iron foundries and make our own weapons! Among our brothers, there will be some who know how to work with iron, and we can send people out to various villages to collect scrap iron as raw materials. In this way, whatever kind of weapon we want to make, we can make it!"

  Liu Bang listened to what was said, and one by one, they were all very practical and easy to implement. After a moment of contemplation, he became so excited that he picked up Lü Zhi and exclaimed: "E Huang, you are truly the divine spirit bestowed upon me by heaven! I am fortunate to have married you in my old age, it is indeed the greatest fortune of my life!"

  After that, Liu Shanhe followed Lv Yu's words and did two things. On the one hand, he opened up land in the mountain forest and started planting grain. On the other hand, he selected some brothers who were good at ironwork from among his followers and respectfully called them "Iron Masters". He also sent out many people to collect scrap iron from villages all around. Every day, those people would bring back a large quantity of discarded iron tools, which were mostly household items, although there were also some other things. Before long, the warehouse specifically used for storing scrap iron was completely full.