Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Last time, Lu Bu sent Gao Shun to pacify the Baibo bandits in Hedong County. However, the troops of Yang Feng and others entrenched in the south of Shangdang had not yet been dealt with. Lu Bu had also planned to deal with this group of people after the autumn harvest this year, but before he could take action, the other party was ready to cause trouble.

Zhang Mo paused writing, wondering, "There are only a handful of Baibo soldiers left over there. Why are they so bold as to jump around now instead of staying put or surrendering?"

Lu Bu said, "Perhaps Yuan Shao promised these people some benefits to prevent me from taking over Henei County before the autumn harvest. Han Lai said that Henei has recently shipped a lot of grain to the Xuan family."

Although there was no agreement on the date of handover of Henei County, Lu Bu demanded that Wang Kuang's army withdraw from Henei before the autumn harvest. Yuan Shao had his son in Lu Bu's hands, so he had to agree even though he didn't want to. His reply was that his garrison would withdraw when the new prefect came to Henei to hand over the territory.

The soil in Henei County is fertile and the harvest is excellent. If Yuan Shao levies taxes again, the 500,000 grain and grass promised to Lu Bu will be almost enough. Therefore, it is not impossible that he deliberately lured Bai Bo from Shangdang to cause trouble.

Zhang Mo said, "If we let him wait until after the autumn harvest, wouldn't that be like taking our own food and fodder and giving it back to us?"

Lü Bu snorted coldly, "He's dreaming. Han Lai and Yu Fuluo are already preparing to send troops. Tomorrow I'll bring more troops over and have Gao Shun from Hedong cross from the west through the Chenguan Pass. We can defeat these people in a few days."

"You want to go in person?"

Lu Bu put down the bamboo slips and took her into his arms, raising his eyebrows, "Why? Are you reluctant to leave me as your husband?"

"Well... I'm a little reluctant, but I don't think you need to do this yourself."

Lu Bu thought about it and realized that he had few civil officials but plenty of military generals, so there was no need for him to compete with his subordinates for credit.

"Why not let Zhongming go?" Lu Bu said after thinking for a while.

After Xu Huang came back from escorting Xiao Baozi, Lu Bu promoted him to the position of military commander and allocated two thousand soldiers from the three thousand Baibo Army temporarily led by Cao Xing to him. He was also under the command of Gao Shunping's army.

Zhang Mo shook her head. "That's not right. Zhongming used to be Yang Feng's man. He only defected to me after I captured him. Yang Feng even attacked Tulou to save him."

"Are you afraid that he will reconsider his past friendship or turn against you at the last minute?"

"I definitely won't switch sides in the middle of a battle, for fear of embarrassing him. I know you want to give Zhongming a chance to make a name for himself so that he can legitimately assume the position of Sima. However, pacifying Baibo is truly unsuitable. It's better to send someone else. He will stay in Taiyuan to guard against Zhang Yan. If Baibo makes a move, Heishan might also make a move."

Speaking of Heishan, Lu Bu had another headache. This group of bandits made a living by looting, either robbing Jizhou or Bingzhou. Moreover, there were many bandit groups and they were widely distributed, making it difficult to guard against them. Even if he formed an alliance with Zhang Yan, he could only restrain Zhang Yan's own troops. If other bandit groups were short of food, they would still come to attack cities.

"Madam, do you have any ideas on how to solve the problem in Montenegro?"

"I've been thinking about this problem on the way back from Jizhou. I do have a solution, but I don't know if it's feasible."

"Tell me about it." Lu Bu picked up a strand of her hair and wrapped it around his hand.

Zhang Mo didn't directly explain the method, but instead asked, "You said Zhang Yan had a million bandits under his command, and the combined strength of his various units should be no less than 100,000. With such a strong force, why didn't he seize Bingzhou last year when there were no troops stationed there? He was originally the General of the Central Army who pacified rebellions, appointed by the previous emperor. Wouldn't it be great to turn a bandit into an official and become a local lord after taking Bingzhou? Why didn't he do that?"

Historically, Bingzhou was more chaotic than it is now. However, Zhang Yan has stayed there obediently since he occupied Taihang and has not expanded his territory.

Lu Bu asked, "Perhaps he enjoys being a thief? Or perhaps he lacks ambition? Or perhaps he feels he lacks the ability to be a powerful leader?"

"If he enjoys being a thief, why would he ask for the title of General of the Central Army? As for his ambitions, he probably doesn't have any big ones, but he certainly has some small ones. His abilities are limited, but that doesn't mean he's incapable of them."

"So? What does this have to do with the solution you came up with?"

"Wait while I get a map."

Zhang Mo stood up, but suddenly her body stopped, and her hair was pulled. She turned around and gave Lu Bu an unpleasant look, "Why are you pulling my hair for no reason?"

Wearing a loose nightgown and with her hair loose, she exuded a lazy beauty. This slightly resentful look made her even more charming. Lu Bu pulled her back, held her and sat her sideways on his lap. He put his lips to her ear and blew hot air softly, "Let me rub you..."

As he spoke, both hands began to move.

"Let's talk about business!"

Zhang Mo's ears felt hot. She grabbed his dishonest hand and tried to stand up, but his other hand held her waist tightly.

"This is also a serious matter..."

The feeling came, and we were in the bedroom, so why bother with it?

"You..." Zhang Mo just said one word, and the rest of the words were blocked in her mouth.

…………

The next day, they got up at dawn. After washing up, Zhang Mo made a pot of tea. The two sat in the patio drinking tea and continued the topic that was interrupted last night.

"I'll still build you a separate office next door."

"It's so wonderful to have a red-sleeved girl with you. No, I want to be with you."

"The Hero's Tomb in the Land of Gentleness!"

"I'd rather be torn to pieces!"

"What nonsense!"

Zhang Mojiao glanced at him and got to the point. "The Black Mountain bandits' demands are actually very simple. They don't want to capture cities or territory, and Zhang Yan doesn't have the ability to become a local lord. Most of them just want to have enough food to eat and survive."

"I know that, but we simply don't have enough food to feed them. In two years, there will be a severe drought and then an insect plague in the Central Plains. We have to store more food in the next two years."

If everyone had enough food, there would be no Yellow Turban Rebellion.

"If there's no food, let them grow it themselves."

Zhang Mo asked Juxiang to go upstairs and get a map. She pointed to several places near or within the Taihang Mountains and said, "I've learned from Bo Hou that because of the frequent Black Mountain activities in these areas, many people in the counties have fled, and much of the land outside the cities has become wasteland. Among them, Zhan County in Shangdang County, Lucheng in Yanmen County, and Gangcheng in Yanmen County have been occupied by bandits and turned into dens of thieves. The same is true for Shangai, Sheguo, and Linlu counties in Jizhou, which have been completely occupied by Black Mountain."

"We in Bingzhou don't lack land at the moment, we only lack people. Why not recruit some bandits to reclaim and cultivate the wasteland in the Taihang counties?"

Lu Bu disagreed, saying, "If they wanted to be farmers, they wouldn't have become bandits in the first place. Now they're used to their freedom and are completely disappointed with the government, so they're even less willing to become good people."

"It's not about asking them to change their ways, but about cooperation."

Zhang Mo first pointed to the area from Lu County in Shangdang County to Huguan Pass. "This is located between Fukou Xing and Bai Xing, two of the eight Xings in Taihang Mountain. This section is in the shape of an inverted C."

She drew a C on the map along the Fukou Xing Pass with her index finger. "The front section is in Jizhou, the middle section is in Bingzhou, and the bottom section is in Henei County. Bandits are already rampant in the eight Xing passes of Taihang Mountain. Even if we allow the people of Luxian and Huguan to reclaim land in the future, they'll still need heavy military defense. Why not use this area as a buffer zone between Bingzhou and Heishan?"

"What is a buffer zone?" Lu Bu asked in confusion.

"We'll recruit some Black Mountain bandits and send some troops to garrison with them. The government owns the land, but they have the right to use it. We'll provide them with farm tools and seeds, build ditches and waterwheels, and they'll move their families here to farm and provide labor. They'll only have to pay a certain amount of rent to the government each year and won't have to abide by any government policies or regulations. The management of the city will also be completely in their hands."