Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

The Sima family had a house in Huai County. After Sima Lang left the county magistrate's office, he did not leave the city, but returned to his own house.

Seeing his childhood friend Zhao Zi sitting in the pavilion playing chess alone, Sima Lang walked over and sat down opposite him, casually picked up a white chess piece and took the black chess piece that Zhao Zi had just dropped.

"How is it? Has Envoy Lu agreed to send troops?" Zhao Zi asked without raising his head.

Sima Lang nodded. "If we don't send troops soon, those county magistrates will get restless."

"In your opinion, is this Governor Lu really as he is rumored to be?"

Sima Lang paused as he gripped the chess piece. "Perhaps he's even more astute than the rumors say!"

"Smart?" Zhao Zi looked up, a hint of surprise in his gentle eyes. "Why do you think so?"

"Today, I discussed with the Magistrate of Wude County the situation regarding the robbery in the three counties of Xiuwu. Guess what?"

Sima Lang asked himself and answered, "These bandits only kill those who do evil in the past, but they haven't harmed a family like the Zhang family, which has such a good reputation. I have never seen such reasonable bandits in the world."

"Also, I don't think Governor Lu is worried at all about the bandit invasion. He even left the Shanyang and Wude County Magistrates alone for several days before meeting with them. Is he so sure that these two counties won't be conquered by the bandits?"

Zhao Zi understood his meaning and said indifferently, "Even if it was really Lü Zhou who was playing both the black and white sides, there's nothing wrong with that. It's Yuan Benchu's fault for not keeping his word and secretly tripping others up. If he hadn't blocked them at Jiguan, Lü Zhou wouldn't have had to go to such great lengths."

Sima Lang smiled. "That's not true. However, judging by the various policies implemented by this Lü Prefecture Governor and this incident, he is indeed a wise leader. He respects the wise and humble, appoints people appropriately, pays attention to people's livelihood, and acts decisively. He executes those who should be executed and releases those who should be released. He does things without hesitation."

Sima Lang dropped a piece and continued, "Actually, I noticed him back in Luoyang. Ever since Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he's been trying his best to dissuade him. However, Dong Zhuo's vision was too narrow and his resolve too weak to resist the extravagance of Luoyang, leading to numerous acts that angered both heaven and man. Lü Bu is actually quite clever. Although he was Dong Zhuo's most trusted and respected leader, he never did anything for him that would damage his reputation and moral integrity. He also saw early on that Dong Zhuo would inevitably bring about his own destruction, leaving himself a retreat in Bingzhou. Later, he completely disassociated himself from Dong Zhuo. Wang Gongjie's claim that he was a remnant of Dong Zhuo's evil is truly unrefutable."

"You praise him so much, but are you going to place a bet on him?" Zhao Zi asked.

Sima Lang shook his head, "It's too early."

Zhao Zi laughed and said, "If you can't even look down on such a wise leader, who else can we expect? Forget about the two Yuan family members. The eldest brother has too many internal forces, and even if your Sima family gets involved, they'll be busy fighting among themselves. The second brother is too simple-minded and won't last long. As for the others, they're even less valuable for reference. At the moment, I think the Bingzhou governor is pretty good."

Sima Lang said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. I need to ask my father."

"My uncle is a man of upright character. He was quite close to the late Minister Wang. You and the eldest son of the Wang family were classmates at the Imperial College for a year. And since Governor Lu married a daughter of the Wang family, there's a connection there. Governor Lu is indeed a wise leader, so I'm sure my uncle won't object."

Sima Lang nodded and said, "If father agrees, you can come with me!"

Zhao Zi looked up at him and said, "We are close friends, so I'll go wherever you go."

…………

"Amo, Amo! The troops are dispatched! Just as you expected, Zhang Yan has really dispatched troops!"

Jinyang, Lu Bu's mansion, Xu Chu came running from outside holding a letter, and shouted loudly as he reached the gate. He walked through the front yard with ease, ran through the corridor and came to the inner courtyard.

Just as he reached the door, Juxiang came out and stopped him, "Keep your voice down, the young master just fell asleep."

"Oh, oh..." Xu Chu said in a low voice, "Hurry up and tell Amo, the scouts reported that Zhang Yan has sent troops!"

Zhang Mo came out of the room, closed the door gently, and said, "I heard it. Send a message to Wenyuan and tell him to leave immediately. Then go and call Gongming, Yingwei and the others to get ready for work."

"Hey!" Xu Chu responded and ran to call for help.

Xu Huang and Hua Xiong also bought houses in Jinyang City, not far from Lu Bu's residence, and the two of them arrived one after another soon after.

In the hall, before anyone was seated, Xu Huang asked, "Tell me, how should we fight?"

Zhang Mo pushed the letter on the table forward. "According to the spies, Zhang Yan has sent 80,000 troops. They have already entered Bingzhou and will reach Jinyang in two days. He is preparing to take Jinyang in one fell swoop."

"Eighty thousand?" Xu Huang walked forward, took it, glanced at it, and said in surprise, "Zhang Yan has almost sent out all his forces?"

"It's almost done. I intend to have Gongming lead two thousand troops to take Shangai County."

Shangai County is located in the southeast of Zhang Yan's old nest. The passage twenty miles northwest of this county is mostly lined with high mountains. More than ten miles further in is a small basin. Zhang Yan's old nest is located in this basin. Although the two places are more than thirty miles apart, Shangai can be said to be the first barrier leading to Zhang Yan's old nest.

"Are you crazy?"

Hua Xiong, who was reading the letter, looked up at her in disbelief. "Jinyang only has 4,000 regular troops. It's barely enough to defend the city, and you're going to send 2,000?"

Hua Xiong wasn't the only one who was puzzled. Xu Huang and Xu Chu were also confused. Xu Huang said, "Anren and the others are out working, so Juyi Village can't support us. Although you previously asked Wenyuan to prepare 2,000 cavalry, it would take at least six days for him to arrive after receiving the news. Zhang Yan's troops can arrive in two days. This is too risky."

"Besides, even if we capture Shangai, Zhang Yan will lead his troops to attack again, and he will send people out from his lair. We won't be able to hold it even if we capture it, and it will be a waste of effort."

Zhang Mo sat at an angle behind the desk, her right elbow resting on the surface, her index and middle fingers tapping lightly as she pondered, "According to Agui, Zhang Yan's main force consists of approximately 100,000 strong men, 15,000 of whom are elite soldiers. The remaining combat effectiveness is similar to that of ordinary bandits, but their numbers are intimidating. I propose that Yingwei lead a thousand Flying Bear troops to intercept them on the road, slowing their advance and delaying them for a day or two. After that, the Flying Bear troops won't have to return to the city and can be stationed in the barracks at the foot of the mountain west of the city."

Hua Xiong glared after hearing this. "Why don't you return to the city? We only have so many people. Shouldn't we concentrate all our forces on defending the city?"

Although Hua Xiong had fought many battles with Dong Zhuo, most of them were cavalry field battles, and he had only fought in a few sieges. In his understanding, defending a city should rely on the city and concentrate all troops inside the city to resist the enemy.

Zhang Mo said, "Leaving one thousand Flying Bear soldiers in Jinyang City, and one thousand county soldiers and the support of the wealthy families in the city, we have more than enough manpower. If you don't disagree, I actually want to send all the Flying Bear soldiers out of the city. Cavalry has high mobility and is more useful for raiding behind enemy lines than defending the city. If Zhang Yan comes to besiege you, you retreat. When he attacks the city, you harass his logistics. The main battlefield is in Taiyuan, and you don't have to worry about food and fodder supplies. I can even wear down Zhang Yan's 80,000 troops even if I delay."

"As for whether we can hold Shangai after we capture it, that's not a question we need to consider at all. As long as Jinyang is held, Wenyuan's Wolf Cavalry, combined with Yingwei's Flying Bear Army, can easily drive back Zhang Yan's remaining troops. If he leads the remaining troops to attack Shangai, we can also besiege him from behind. I want to make sure he has no way of returning home."