Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

"My lord, the county magistrates of Wude County, Shanyang County, Pinggao County, Zhou County, and Wen County, as well as the eldest son of the Sima family in Wen County, are requesting an audience with their men outside the palace again!"

In the Huaixian County Magistrate's Mansion in Henei County, Han Hao came to the inner courtyard early in the morning to report to Lu Bu.

"How many times has this happened?" Lu Bu asked while wiping the halberd blade after he finished performing a set of halberd techniques.

Han Hao said, "This is the third time. The first time was Wude and the Shanyang County Magistrate. They came twice, and the second time they came to Pinggao County and Zhou County. Today, Wen County has also arrived. The Sima family brought a joint invitation from the other counties. You said that we would meet together once all the counties have arrived. Now that everyone has gathered, I think Wude and the Shanyang County Magistrate can't wait any longer."

Lü Bu scoffed, "They blocked my Bingzhou army's entry earlier, and now they're begging them to come in. Don't you think they deserve it?"

Han Hao looked ashamed, "I was actually involved in this matter..."

"I'm not talking about you. You're just a small clerk. What can you do?" Lu Bu interrupted him.

Han Hao's expression softened slightly as he spoke, "Many people don't know about sending the common people to block Jiguan Pass. This was mainly orchestrated by Wang Gongjie and Xu Ziyuan. The people of Henei may not like you taking control of Henei, but most won't openly oppose you. This intimidation is enough. If you delay any further, I'm afraid something else will happen."

"Well, Yuan Si is right. If I can resolve this sooner, I can return to Bingzhou sooner!"

Lü Bu raised his hand, and his painted halberd landed precisely on the nearby weapon rack. He wiped his sweat with a hand towel and ordered, "Lead them to the hall and call Bo Hou. I'll change my clothes and come back."

Lu Bu finally agreed to see people, and everyone who came to ask for a meeting breathed a sigh of relief, especially those in Wude and Shanyang counties, which were closest to the bandits.

These two places were the first to learn that the three counties of Xiuwu had been looted. As soon as they received the news, they sent people to chase Wang Kuang's team. However, Wang Kuang's reply was, "I am not the prefect of Henei, and I really can't do anything about this matter."

Seeing that thousands of bandits had gathered in Xiuwu County and were preparing to attack the next city, the magistrates of the two counties ordered the city to be strictly defended and hurried to Huai County to see Lu Bu. However, Lu Bu said that he was injured and could not get out of bed, and needed to recuperate for a few days and wait for all the county magistrates to arrive before meeting them together.

The two men knew that Lu Bu was angry with them. It was because the people of Henei were so ungrateful that they blocked Lu Bu's army outside Jiguan. Even a clay man would have some temper, let alone Lu Fengxian, who killed people as easily as chopping vegetables. The two men had no choice but to hurriedly send people to notify other county magistrates. After waiting for a few days, some people arrived one after another.

"Greetings to Lord Lu and Lord Du!"

In the hall, when the county magistrates saw Lu Bu coming in, they all stood up and saluted him and Du Ji.

"Everyone, please excuse yourself!"

After leaving everyone alone, Lu Bu began to show his friendliness again. He said a little embarrassedly, "I didn't mean to delay seeing you, but I'm really not feeling well and can't get up."

After saying this, he coughed twice, indicating that he was really not feeling well.

He walked to the upper seat and sat down, then motioned for everyone else to take their seats. He explained, "I'm sure you've all heard that a few days ago, when I came to Huai County to take over the seal, Wang Kuang ambushed troops inside the city, intending to kill me. I didn't expect him to dare to commit such a treasonous act, so I entered the city with only a dozen or so riders. I was accidentally shot in the back and nearly died. I had to recuperate for several days before I was able to get out of bed."

"We are sorry to disturb your recuperation, but this matter cannot be delayed any longer. Please forgive me!" The Magistrate of Wude County stood up and bowed.

Lu Bu waved his hand, motioning him to sit down. "I know the Black Mountain bandits are taking advantage of Wang Gongjie's departure from Hanoi to rob us. However, I only have a few hundred soldiers and horses at my disposal, and I'm wounded. Without any troops or generals, I can't capture those bandits even if I'm desperate."

The Wude County Magistrate hurriedly said, "Your Excellency has a detachment stationed outside Jiguan. Just tell them to come in. There's no need for you to go and drive out the bandits yourself."

Lü Bu feigned helplessness and said, "He's been blocked by a group of civilians. They're accusing my Bingzhou army of brutality, rape, looting, and committing all sorts of evil, and they won't let him in!"

"Who is spreading these rumors?" the Shanyang County Magistrate stood up and shouted angrily, "If the Bingzhou army were brutal, they would have slaughtered those people and marched into Hanoi long ago. Why would they have to maintain this stalemate for so long?"

The Wude County Magistrate followed up, "That's right. This is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Who knows who is instigating this group of people to deliberately oppose you, my Lord?"

Lü Bu said, "Then ask the magistrate of Chen County to evacuate the people and let the Bingzhou troops in. I will immediately send Gao Shun to drive out the bandits."

He frowned again as he spoke, "Even the envoys from Chen County haven't come yet. Are they still unwilling to submit to me, Lü Fengxian?"

Everyone looked at each other.

At this time, a young man in his twenties stood up and said, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. The magistrate of Chen County is old and has difficulty walking, so he did not come to see you in person. He asked me to deliver a letter of greeting, expressing his willingness to obey your orders from now on. The people of Jiguan have already disbanded, but General Gao said that without your military orders, he dare not cross the border."

Lu Bu looked at the man who was speaking and asked, "Which county magistrate is this?"

The man said, "I hold no official position. I am Sima Lang, the eldest son of the Sima family in Wen County. The several high-ranking officials have a history with my family, and since the journey is long, they asked me to make this trip on their behalf."

Lu Bu understood that this was Sima Yi's brother who usurped Cao Mengde's family business. He was tall and strong, with a handsome appearance.

Han Hao said that this guy once served as an official in Luoyang with his father Sima Fang. When Dong Zhuo wanted to move the capital to Chang'an, he fled back to Wen County. He originally wanted to move his family to Liyang to avoid the chaos, but before he could leave, the war between the princes in Guandong and Dong Zhuo was over, so the Sima family continued to stay in Wen County.

The three county magistrates who asked the Sima family to come and pay a visit this time must all be Sima family's students and former officials. The Sima family is expressing their attitude towards him, but I don't know how much of it is sincere and how much is false?

In his previous life, Lu Bu made a wrong move by killing Ding Yuan, which added a bad reputation to his already disadvantageous background. Later, he became even more desperate and repeatedly engaged in looting and seizing other people's property. Except for Chen Gong, no scholar was willing to join him. Therefore, Lu Bu had serious doubts about the Sima family's goodwill.

However, the Sima family's superficial submission was enough at this point. Lu Bu said, "Now that the road is clear, I will write a letter and have Gao Shun lead the troops to Xiuwu to drive out the bandits."

"Thank you, Your Excellency! With your protection, Hanoi will be free from bandits and the people will live and work in peace!" Magistrate Wude said sincerely.

While Lü Bu's opinions were mixed, one thing was undeniable: his military prowess. With his troops stationed in Hanoi, the Black Mountain bandits who frequently caused trouble would surely become more restrained, and everyone would be able to sleep peacefully at night.

Lü Bu said, "Now that Henei is under my jurisdiction, it is my duty to drive out the bandits. I have no other requests of you. I only hope that you can cooperate with my work in the future, so that Henei County can be peaceful both inside and outside!"

Everyone stood up and bowed, "We will obey the orders of the envoy!"

"Yeah!" Lu Bu nodded, "If there's nothing else, let's go back!"

Everyone bowed to Lu Bu and Du Ji again and left.