Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

After entering August, the weather is still hot, and the same is true in the mountains. Except for the cooler mornings and evenings, the strong sun at noon can dry people out.

At a checkpoint in Baixing, Taihang Mountains, soldiers on patrol were listlessly hiding in the shade to cool off.

Suddenly, a low rumbling sound woke up the sleepy soldiers. Everyone looked up and saw a team coming towards them on the distant road. Judging from the dust they raised, there must be quite a number of people.

"Go and see if there is any Black Mountain flag?" a leader ordered calmly.

He did not look panicked at all, because to the north of Luchang Mountain was Zuo Xi Zhangba's territory, and most of those who could come from that direction were colleagues from Heishan, but it was not ruled out that the checkpoint ahead was breached by the officers and soldiers. However, if that was the case, someone would have come to report it long ago.

The wooden door below opened, and a rider quickly rushed out. After a while, the rider returned and reported, "It is indeed one of our own. The person who came is Li Gui from Jingxing Road. He said he wanted to go to Hanoi to do some business."

"How many troops?"

"Six or seven thousand!"

"So many?" The leader's face grew serious as he said to another soldier, "Hurry and report to the commander."

This checkpoint is Yu Du's territory. Yu Du also has a large force in the Black Mountains. He has a population of more than 50,000 and more than 10,000 young and strong men under his command. Yu Du and Bai Rao, Sui Gu, Zuo Xi Zhangba and others control the area south of Taihang. They often operate in Shangdang County of Bingzhou, Henei County of Sili, Wei County of Jizhou, and Zhao State. Sometimes they also go to Dong County of Yanzhou to stretch their hands and feet.

When the team was within an arrow's reach of the pass, Yu Du, who had been taking a nap at home, also came to the wall.

"Who is coming?"

Yu Du looked at the team in front and asked loudly.

Li Gui rode forward, pointed at his face and said, "General Yu Qu, it's me, Li Gui from Juyi Village."

Yu Du narrowed his right eye, which had a large black spot on it, and saw clearly that the man was Li Gui from Juyi Village.

Li Gui was originally from a very small village on Jingxing Road. Yu Du had no idea that there was such a person as him in Heishan. Even when Zhang Yan summoned him, Li Gui could only stand outside the door and listen like other small generals.

Just a few years ago, the Juyi Village had been lucky again and again. First, it escaped the suppression of Qu Yi, and then escaped the cleanup of Lu Bu. By the way, it annexed several nearby remnants that were slaughtered by Lu Bu. Only then did it become the big brother on Jingxing Road. Only then did Li Gui have a seat at Zhang Yan's table and could sit on equal footing with most of their leaders.

Yu Du had met Li Gui twice when Zhang Yan summoned him, so he recognized him.

"What is Li Qushuai going to do with so many people?" Yu Du asked.

Li Gui wasn't good at anything else, but he had learned a great deal about bluffing from Zhang Mo. He took a few steps forward and said with a bitter face, "Bingzhou has the fierce tiger Lu Bu in charge. We've attacked it several times, but not only have we gained nothing, we've even lost a lot of men. And then there's Yuan Shao in Jizhou, he's no pushover either. Zhang Feiyan, even when she teamed up with Gongsun Zan, was defeated by these two last time and is now recovering from her wounds in the mountains!"

Yu Du's cheek muscles twitched when he heard this. Does Zhang Yan need to lick his wounds after losing so few men and horses?

Li Gui continued, "If Zhang Feiyan doesn't call us to work, we can't work alone in Bingzhou and Jizhou! It's like picking on the weak. I heard that Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei, is a complete idiot, so I thought of coming to Henei to see if there's any work. Everyone in this village, young and old, is waiting to eat!"

"You are too impatient. In some places, the autumn harvest has not yet been completed!" Yu Du said.

Li Gui sighed heavily and said, "It's urgent. With so many people coming in, it's getting harder to feed them. The little land we have in the village is not enough. We're almost out of food. Look, I only brought this little food with me this time. If we can't do anything, all my thousands of men will starve to death."

He finished speaking and continued with a flattering face, "If we don't get anything this time, I hope that Commander Yu Qu will support us since we are all accomplices of Black Mountain. At least let me bring these people back to the village. Li Gui thanks you in advance!"

Yu Du thought he was thick-skinned enough, but he didn't expect Li Gui to be even thicker than him. He hadn't done anything yet and was begging for food? He had tens of thousands of people to feed, too. How could he have enough food to give him?

"General Yu Qu has a large family and powerful soldiers. I believe there is no shortage of food in the camp..."

Listening to Li Gui's endless chatter, Yu Du waved his hand impatiently, "Alright, get back to work. I don't have any extra food to support you."

Then he said to the gatekeeper, "Open the door and let them through."

"Thank you, Marshal Yu Qu. I've gained a lot on this trip. I'll give you some tolls on your return trip as a token of my appreciation!"

Although he was thick-skinned and talked a lot of nonsense, he was a shrewd man. Yu Du smiled with satisfaction and said, "Then I wish you a great harvest on this trip!"

Li Gui ordered his troops to go ahead. He even stood at the foot of the city wall and chatted with Yu Du, "Thanks to your good words, we will definitely return with a full load!"

"By the way, when will you go out to work?"

Yu Du said, "Let's wait a little longer until the weather cools down. It's not easy to march in such hot weather. Soldiers and horses can't handle it. We can only march morning and night, which wastes food and fodder."

Li Gui was envious again. "You can choose the time to work because you have enough food to eat. Unlike me, if I wait a few days, the village will have to kill horses to satisfy the hunger. Horses are very expensive, and it would be a waste to kill them and eat them. That's why I have to go out in such hot weather."

Li Gui asked again, "Where will Yu Qushuai go to work this year?"

"It depends on the situation. We can go to Henei or Weijun, wherever there is more food and it is easier to start."

"I heard Yuan Shao is in Weijun. I'm afraid it's going to be difficult to deal with him there."

"Yuan Shao was badly weakened in his last battle with Gongsun Zan. Now that I've joined forces with Sui Baitu, Lao Guo (Guo Daxian), and Lao Ba (Zuo Xi Zhang Ba), what do I have to fear?"

"It's a pity that my village is too far away from here, so I can't usually be with you. If I don't succeed this time, can you take me with you?"

Yu Du said cheerfully, "No problem."

It was extremely hot at noon, and the stones on the city walls were scorching from the sun. Li Gui hid in the shade below to cool off, while Yu Du was exposed to the sun above. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Li Gui below, "It's too hot. I'll go back first. Take care!"

"Okay, go back. If you haven't gone out to work by the time you get back, let's have a couple of drinks."

"Okay!" Yu Du responded and hurried down the city wall and rode his horse back home.

Li Gui drove his horse through the checkpoint gate and entered the road on the other side. Guan Hai, Taishi Ci and others were already waiting in front.

"How is it? Have you found out any useful information?" Guan Hai handed him a pot of water.

Li Gui uncorked the cork, took two sips of boiled water, and said, "Yu Du and his gang are planning something big this time. They haven't decided where to go yet, but if we capture a few counties in Henei, they'll probably go to Weijun to attack Yuan Shao. This group has a combined force of around 100,000. I'm afraid Yuan Shao is going to have a tough time this time."

"I feel that if things continue like this, Yuan Shao will be finished off by our boss," said Zhang Fan.

Taishi Ci shook his head. "Yuan Benchu ​​has three generations of ministers, and his family is rich and powerful. It's not that easy! He also has Cao Mengde as his helper in the south."

"That's right, a lean camel is bigger than a horse!"

"It's really hot marching at noon. We can enter Hanoi immediately after passing this checkpoint. We just received news from Fengxian yesterday. We still have time. Let's find a cool place to rest before continuing our journey." Guan Hai said.

"Okay!" Li Gui responded and directed the team to move towards a forest ahead.