Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Sishui Pass, also known as Hulao Pass, is located in Chenggao County. It is connected to Mount Song in the south and the Yellow River in the north. The crisscrossing mountains make it a natural barrier, with the momentum of "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men cannot open it". As the eastern gateway of Luoyang and an important pass, it has been a battleground for military strategists throughout the dynasties.

In addition to Sishui Pass in the east, there are two ferry crossings in the north, Xiaopingjin and Mengjin, Xuanyuan Pass, Guangcheng Pass, Dagu Pass, Yique Pass in the southeast and south, and Hangu Pass in the west. These eight passes were actually established by Emperor Ling to strengthen Luoyang's defenses during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. A commander was stationed at each pass, but after Dong Zhuo came to power, the commanders of the original eight passes were replaced.

After the various princes rose up in arms, Lu Bu transferred Xu Rong, who was originally stationed at Hangu Pass, to Sishui Pass.

At this moment, in Lu Bu's military tent at Sishui Pass, Dong Zhuo's four generals of the Central Army, Niu Fu, Hu Zhen, Duan Wei, and Xu Rong, gathered together.

"Everyone, please take a look at the intelligence Wenyuan has compiled these days, and tell me how to fight this battle?" In the central army tent, Lu Bu sat at the head and signaled his personal guards to pass the cloth on his desk to the people below.

Niu Fu only took a quick glance and said sarcastically, "You are the General of the Cavalry. It is up to you to decide how to fight. We dare not object."

As the lord's son-in-law, Lu Bu was promoted to General of the Front for his contribution in rescuing the lord at Beimang Mountain, so he had nothing to say. But now he was promoted to the second-rank General of Cavalry without any contribution, a rank equivalent to the Three Dukes, while he himself was only a fourth-rank General of the Central Army. This was really biased. Niu Fu was so resentful that he could not contain himself.

Lu Bu actually understood Niu Fu's resentment, but understanding was one thing, and this man had 5,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and was the type who would never obey him, so he had to be killed.

Previously, Zhang Mo had planned to use Niu Fu as a target in public, but Lu Bu disagreed. Niu Fu had followed Dong Zhuo for much longer than Lu Bu, and he had countless connections with people from top to bottom in the Western Liang Army. Niu Fu was not a person who would stay at his place, and it would be difficult to control him. Apart from Li Li, Han Lai, and Wu Dan, Lu Bu had no other reliable people under his command. As long as Niu Fu and the middle and lower-level officers under him were not dead, Lu Bu would have no way to truly control these people.

Niu Fu handed the cloth to Hu Zhen, who was sitting next to him. Hu Zhen glanced at it and said indifferently, "You tell me how to fight, and I'll follow your orders."

"Hmm!" Lu Bu responded lightly and motioned him to pass the cloth down.

Duan Wei carefully read the information, then looked meaningfully at Jia Xu, who was sitting to the lower left of Lu Bu, and handed the cloth to Xu Rong without saying a word.

Xu Rong was originally an officer in Luoyang. After Yuan Shao abandoned them and left Luoyang, he had no choice but to follow the crowd and join Dong Zhuo's team. He originally thought that these old officers of the Luoyang army would be cleared out by Dong Zhuo, but unexpectedly, Lu Bu proposed to make him the General of the Central Army. Not only was he not dismissed, but he was promoted. This surprised Xu Rong very much.

He had previously asked Lu Bu why he thought so highly of him, and the reason Lu Bu gave surprised him even more - he was a talented handsome man!

Lu Bu, a man who had never been to Luoyang, actually said that he had military talent?

Although Xu Rong was extremely puzzled by Lü Bu's reason, he was grateful for his appreciation and promotion. After reviewing the intelligence, he said, "Suanzao has over 100,000 men, with multiple orders, making it difficult to manage them. I'm afraid they'll be difficult to mobilize. They're not a threat at the moment. Yuan Shao and Wang Kuang's troops in Henei may be smaller, but they're clearly organized. If they're determined, they could cross the river south and attack Mengjin and Xiaopingjin soon. As for Yuan Shu, he'll definitely hold his ground until Sun Jian's troops arrive."

Lü Bu nodded slightly. Xu Rong's analysis of the intelligence wasn't entirely correct, but it was pretty close. Lü Bu looked at Niu Fu and said, "Your troops have been stationed in Mengjin and Xiaopingjin. You will command the battle in the north."

He paused, then reminded, "Yuan Shao is the leader of the coalition forces and should not be underestimated. If you can hold the ferry, I will commend you to His Majesty later."

Niu Fu snorted, "Guarding the ferry is my duty, how can I talk about my merits?"

Lu Bu ignored Niu Fu's awkwardness at this time. The more awkward he was, the better!

"As for the south, I intend to preemptively attack Yingchuan before Sun Jian's troops arrive. Hu Zhen and Xu Rong will lead them together, and you two will split your forces into two groups. Wencai will ignore the checkpoints for now and lead one group out of Liang County and out of Guangcheng Pass, while General Xu will lead his group out of Xuanyuan Pass and head south to encircle Yingchuan."

"I obey your command!" Xu Rong stood up and responded with a fist salute.

Hu Zhen leaned on the table with one arm, sitting sideways, and replied casually, "Yes, sir!"

Niu Fu and Hu Zhen's attitudes were within Lü Bu's expectations. He didn't take the two dying men seriously. He added, "As for Duan Wei, he will continue to guard Xuanyuan Pass, while the central route... I will personally command it."

Niu Fu glanced at Lu Bu and taunted him, "Xu Rong just said that the middle route is nothing to fear. How dare you, the dignified General of the Cavalry, pick the easiest target?"

Lu Bu said, "Since Zizuo thinks Sishui Pass is easier to fight, why don't we switch sides? You lead Suanzao's 100,000 troops, and I'll go to Hanoi to deal with Yuan Shao's 30,000."

"Are we going to fight in Suanzao? Isn't it enough to just guard Sishui Pass?" Niu Fu asked in surprise.

"The lord's order is to repel one of the armies first. Yuan Shu and Sun Jian in the south haven't taken action yet, so only the east and north remain. If you want to fight and gain merit, you can repel the Suanzao coalition or repel Yuan Shao. You can choose one."

It would be difficult to defeat either of these two. Niu Fu was still traumatized by the disastrous defeat against Bai Bo last time, so he didn't dare to take the initiative to attack. He curled his lips and said, "Then I'd better defend the north!"

This was also because Lu Bu did not have enough prestige in the Xiliang army. These veteran generals did not obey him at all, so he had to bargain with them before issuing an order.

Lu Bu said sternly, "Since everyone has no objection, then go back and prepare for battle as I just said."

"Yes!" Everyone stood up, bowed and left Lu Bu's tent.

Li Ru saw that after Lu Bu had dispatched his troops, he had not yet sent anyone to defend against the Baibo army in Hedong. He could not help but wonder, "General, aren't you afraid that the Baibo army will take advantage of this opportunity to march south?"

Lü Bu glanced at him and said, "Bai Bo has been under Li Jue's watch, and he is still stationed at Minchi. He has fewer troops there. I have sent a message to Gao Shun, asking him to help contain him in Bingzhou."

"Are there any troops available for mobilization in Bingzhou?"

“It’s still possible for each county to piece something together.”

Since the Bingzhou Army was transferred to Luoyang, each county has only had county soldiers. Although Gao Shun has strong training capabilities, he cannot train any troops in such a short period of time. Lu Bu has other purposes for making such arrangements.

No matter how smart Li Ru was, he had never been to Bingzhou and didn't understand the current situation in Bingzhou. Hearing what Lu Bu said, it made sense. He smiled and said, "General, you are far-sighted and your strategic arrangements are very accurate. The lord asked me to come with you purely to see the scenery."

Although Li Ru's words were meant to flatter Lu Bu, he was also reminding Lu Bu that he was the military advisor sent by Dong Zhuo. Even if Lu Bu had a nearly perfect strategic layout in mind, he should have informed the military advisor in advance. This was a sign of respect for him as the military advisor.

Lü Bu had always looked down on Li Ru and was quite unhappy that Dong Zhuo had sent him along, so he simply played dumb and said, "Military Advisor, you've been in Luoyang for so long, it's nice to get out and see some new scenery."

Li Ru was speechless for a moment. Did this guy not understand the hidden meaning of his words or was he pretending to be stupid?

Lu Bu stood up and smoothed out his wrinkled robes. "I'm going out to inspect the border defenses now. Military Advisor, would you like to come with me?"

"I won't go on the border patrol."

"Then please do as you please, Military Advisor!"

Watching Lü Bu leave the tent, Li Ru couldn't help but frown. He had never offended Lü Bu, and had even spoken up for him in front of Dong Zhuo. Why did he always feel that Lü Bu was unfriendly, even contemptuous? Could it be because he had poisoned the King of Hongnong? Lü Bu didn't seem particularly loyal to the Han Dynasty.

Unable to figure it out for the time being, Li Ru shook his head and left Lu Bu's tent.