Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Late summer is the harvest season. Although Bingzhou has suffered many disasters from wars, fortunately, God has blessed us this year. From the beginning of spring to now, the weather has been good and the crops in the fields are growing very well. The strings of golden ears of millet are particularly pleasing to the eye.

"The harvest is good this year, so we should be able to save a lot of food and fodder, right?" On the country path outside Jinyang City, Gao Shun looked at the farmers busy in the fields, and a rare smile appeared on his serious square face.

He knew that his lord was going back to Bingzhou as early as two months ago. In the past six months, he had almost understood the various forces in Bingzhou. If his lord wanted to accomplish great things, he had to first clean up these forces in Bingzhou, especially Baibo and the Southern Xiongnu.

In order to launch a war, there must be sufficient food and grass. Fortunately, Bingzhou has a bumper harvest this year, and the lord has led people to rob Meiwu. These food and grass should be enough to support a larger-scale war.

Du Ji frowned and shook his head, "The crops are growing well, but the taxes collected may not be much more than in previous years."

Gao Shun was puzzled, "Why is this?"

Du Ji said, "Over the past six months, I have visited almost every county in Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Xihe. I have reviewed the population, land, and tax records of each county. I have also visited various villages and found that the problem here is more serious than in Guanzhong."

"what is the problem?"

"Although much of the land in Guanzhong has been annexed by large families, none of it has been abandoned. However, in Bingzhou, especially in Yanmen County near the Xianbei and Xiongnu counties, and in Yanmen and Taiyuan near the Taihang Mountains, the land is almost completely barren. Last year, the counties south of Taiyuan were plundered by the Baibo Army. The wealthy were massacred, and many civilians fled or became bandits, leaving almost no one cultivating the land. Most of the land in other counties of Taiyuan and Yanmen is controlled by large families, who are very skilled at concealing taxes. How much can be collected?"

Du Ji sighed deeply. "Among all these counties, the four Xihe counties, where the lord redistributed land last year, are in the best condition. However, Xihe County just experienced war last year, and people's livelihood and economy are recovering. Taxation should be relaxed."

Hearing Du Ji's words, Gao Shun frowned, "Then how do we solve this problem?"

Du Ji said, "The primary issue is population. As long as we can absorb a large number of people, with the land output of Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Xihe counties, even if we don't solve the problem of hidden taxes for the time being, relying solely on these abandoned lands, we should have no problem supporting the lord's expedition against the Southern Xiongnu."

Although Gao Shun didn't know much about people's livelihood and economy, he had learned a little after spending more than half a year in Bingzhou. He sighed, "We've been in Bingzhou for a long time, but all we see are people fleeing, not anyone coming to Bingzhou. Especially after Dong Zhuo transferred the Bingzhou troops last year, the number of people fleeing has increased even more. Where can we find people to absorb the population?"

Du Ji said, "There are a million people in Heishan to the east of Bingzhou, and over a hundred thousand in Baibo to the south. As long as there's enough food, it wouldn't be difficult to recruit some people." He spread his hands, "Unfortunately, we have no food at all."

He walked back with his hands behind his back. "Now we can only wait for the Lord to return from Mei County to discuss this matter. I wonder how much food the Lord can bring back?"

Gao Shun followed him and said, "Mei County is a long way from here, and the journey will cost a lot of men and horses. Bo Hou still hopes that the lord will bring back more money. With money, we can send people to Jizhou to buy grain."

Although Lu Bu sent these two people to govern Bingzhou first, the governor of Bingzhou himself did not come, and no army came. Even with the help of the Wang family, no one would buy their account. What Du Ji did for more than half a year was to investigate the actual situation of the three counties of Bingzhou in detail and list a series of problems so that they could be quickly solved when Lu Bu came in the future.

In addition to training county soldiers, Gao Shun also paid attention to the dynamics of surrounding forces. During this period, the Baibo Army attempted to invade Taiyuan, but was beaten and retreated by Guan Hai and his men. The Southern Xiongnu was severely damaged by Lu Bu last year, and knowing that Lu Bu was the governor of Bingzhou, they dared not to provoke him again. Yu Fuluo wanted to curry favor with Lu Bu, so he was also very obedient. Only Heishan and Baibo came to harass from time to time, and the situation was relatively stable.

Two months ago, after Xu Rong's troops returned first and stationed in Taiyuan, the people of Juyi Village retreated back to Taihang and continued to be Black Mountain bandits.

Du Ji and his companions walked out of the field, mounted their horses tied to the roadside, and headed back to the city. Just as they reached the outskirts of the city, they saw a horse galloping towards them from a distance, shouting excitedly, "Captain, Chief Secretary, the lord has returned, and the troops have already passed Qi County."

Du Ji was overjoyed, "My Lord, you've returned really quickly. I figured early autumn would be fast."

He immediately turned his horse and called out to Gao Shun, "Let's go together to welcome the lord."

The two men rode their horses towards Qi County. As soon as they left Jinyang, they saw Lu Bu's troops from afar.

When Lu Bu saw someone coming to greet him, a smile appeared on his unshaven face. He nodded his red horse and went to meet them, but he saw that there were only Du Ji, Gao Shun and a few followers, but no A Mo. The smile on his face froze.

Doesn’t Amo miss me? In order to come back to see her as soon as possible, I shortened my trip by half a month.

Gao Shun and the other man didn't notice Lu Bu's subtle change in expression. They stepped forward to greet him. Du Ji said excitedly, "My lord, we've finally had you back!"

Lu Bu nodded slightly, "Thank you both for your hard work over the past six months."

Du Ji said with some shame, "We didn't do anything, it wasn't hard at all."

"Helping me manage Bingzhou is the greatest achievement. Now go back to the city first. I will discuss other matters with you tomorrow."

As Lü Bu spoke, he had already started up Red Hare again. As they went, he said to Du Ji, "We've brought back quite a lot of stuff this time. Bo Hou, please take the trouble to help organize it and register it."

Du Ji smiled and said, "I have been idle these days. I am glad that my lord has returned. If you have anything to say, just tell me."

"Ok!"

Lü Bu replied absentmindedly, then said, "I'll return to the city first. Send a message to the governors and commanders of Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Xihe counties tomorrow, asking them to come to Jinyang to see me in three days."

He walked a few steps and turned back. "Zi Yan, you and Wen Yuan, help settle the troops first. Everyone has worked hard on this journey. Let them rest for a few days. As for how to arrange the garrison, summon all the generals to the government office tomorrow to discuss it. If there is no urgent matter, please don't come to me tonight."

After explaining this, Lü Bu had already distanced himself from them. He looked like he was in a hurry to return to the city. Gao Shun looked at his back and said with a dull face, "My lord, you may be in a hurry to go to the bathroom!"

"Convenient?" Du Ji muttered with a strange look on his face.

Lu Bu galloped all the way and soon arrived outside the Jinyang Tulou. The Beidou Tower that was burned down by Dong Qing had been rebuilt. Lu Bu dismounted and almost rushed into the gate of the Beidou Tower, "Amo, Amo, I'm back!"

In the first-floor conference room, Wang Ding hurried out upon hearing the noise. Seeing Lu Bu, he was stunned for a moment, then he bowed and greeted him, "Envoy!"

Lu Bu hurried forward and lifted his arms. "Third brother, why are you so formal? Just call me Fengxian. Where is A-Mo?"

Lu Bu looked around but couldn't see Amo. He thought she wasn't here, so he asked, "Is she in the city or Taihang? Should I go look for her?"

Wang Ding said, "Mo'er has not returned to Jinyang."

"Haven't returned to Jinyang? That means he's still in Taihang."

Wang Ding pulled out a letter from his sleeve. "This is from Amina. She said Mo'er asked her to give it to you. She's traveling with Divine Doctor Zhang."

"Travel?" Lü Bu's eager heart suddenly cooled. He took the letter from Wang Ding and asked, "Where did you travel?"

Wang Ding shook his head. "I don't know, but don't worry, Fengxian. Amina said Zhongkang and Zhongming followed her, so she wanted to go out and relax. Maybe she will be back soon."

Lu Bu nodded, and his uneasy heart calmed down a little. He took the letter and walked to the pavilion in the courtyard and sat down.