Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

A drizzle was falling outside. Zhang Yan finished two pots of tea and finally listened to what Zhang Mo said about the "one county, two systems" policy.

He put down the teacup and looked at the woman sitting in the main seat, frowning slightly. "So, your goal is to weaken Black Mountain?"

Zhang Mo shook her head. "No, I want to provide a better way out for the Black Mountain bandits in Bingzhou, and at the same time, give the people of Bingzhou a relatively peaceful and stable living environment."

Zhang Yan turned his gaze away, lowered his eyes and looked at the teacup on the table in silence. To be honest, before coming here, he had always thought that she would ask Heishan to accept the amnesty. He had already made the worst plan after the refusal, but he didn't expect that she would recruit the bandits to reclaim the wasteland?

This plan seemed to sound good. These bandits who accepted the reclamation were still his subordinates, Zhang Yan. However, he was not a fool. After a few years of farming, these people would completely degenerate into ordinary people, and these counties would be completely incorporated into Bingzhou in the future.

Zhang Mo then explained the new tax policy implemented in Bingzhou to Zhang Yan, saying, "I can't guarantee that there will be no corrupt officials under my rule, but I can guarantee that under the new tax, as long as the people work hard, no one will starve to death."

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes at her. "What business is it of mine if your people starve to death? If this one-county, two-system system continues, I'll have you evacuating Heishan sooner or later. Without the little thieves, what's the point of me being the chief thief?"

Zhang Mo said, "If there really is a day when there are no more bandits in Taihang, then the general won't have to be the bandit leader anymore. Wouldn't it be nice to be given an official position?"

Zhang Yan snorted, "I'm an official now, a General of the Central Army of the Han Dynasty! Who cares about your official position in Bingzhou?"

"General, are you going to refuse my toast and drink a penalty?" She paused holding the tea, and her tone suddenly turned cold.

Zhang Yan looked at her provocatively, "If I don't agree, what will you do?"

Zhang Mo took a sip of tea. "It's nothing special. I'll just leave the general in my Bingzhou military camp and send soldiers to kill your group of little thieves. I'll first eliminate you, the big bandit leader, and then slowly clean up those small villages later."

"You woman, I trusted you so much, but you broke your promise?" Zhang Yan slammed the table and stood up and said angrily.

Zhang Mo looked innocent. "How did I break my promise? I never said in writing or verbally that I would not touch you once you entered our army."

"You, you are making excuses!" Zhang Yan was a little exasperated. In this world, only women and villains are difficult to raise. The ancients were right!

Zhang Mo smiled faintly. "Even if I don't force my argument and let you go, what's the point? Can your group of unmotivated remnants withstand a round of attack from my Bingzhou cavalry? I have always disliked killing and prefer to resolve problems peacefully. This path is the best for both you and me right now."

Zhang Yan's mind turned cold and his emotions gradually calmed down. He sat back, poured himself a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp. He looked at her with cold eyes and remained silent.

Seeing his unfriendly look, Hua Xiong took two steps forward, blocking Zhang Yan's sight with his tiger body. Zhang Liao also subconsciously moved his feet towards Zhang Mo. This thief was known for his agility. If he suddenly attacked and kidnapped Zhang Mo, it would be very bad.

With his sight blocked by Hua Xiong, Zhang Yan also withdrew his gaze, but still did not express his opinion. The tent fell silent for a while.

The rain outside was getting heavier, and the sound of the raindrops became clearer and clearer in the quiet tent.

After a long moment, Zhang Mo spoke again, "How did you become a bandit in the first place?"

Her tone was soothing, like a casual chat between friends.

Zhang Yan lowered his head and looked back at the past. He had been hungry since he could remember. He could only eat a little more food during the short period of time after the autumn harvest. When there was a gap between the harvest and the harvest, he could only eat bran mixed with wild vegetables. When he was really hungry, he even caught insects in the fields to eat.

When he grew up a little, he really couldn't stand the life of not having enough to eat every day, so he gathered a group of friends and started stealing things. Today he stole fruits from Zhao's house, and tomorrow he stole corn from Li's house. He also went to the landlord's house to steal chickens, lead sheep, and even peeked at women taking a bath.

As he did so many bad things, Chu Yan's reputation in Zhending gradually became bad. The villagers would avoid him as if he were a plague god, and his neighbors didn't like him visiting their homes. Even his parents were ostracized by the village, and his playmates also kept their distance from him.

When he grew a little older and had more strength, he decided to turn over a new leaf. He diligently helped his parents farm the land. During the slack season, he would reclaim wasteland or collect firewood to sell, thinking that their lives would be better. However, God did not give them food. For two consecutive years, there were either droughts or locust plagues. The fields had no harvest, but the government did not reduce taxes. His parents had no choice but to sell the land and become tenant farmers. They worked hard every day but still could not get enough to eat. They passed away one after another within two years.

He didn't want to live this kind of life of slavery, so he started stealing again. He remembered that one time he sneaked into the county lieutenant's house to steal things and was caught. The housekeeper wanted to break his hands and feet. He thought his life was over, but unexpectedly a young man happened to pass by and pleaded for him, so he saved his life.

Later, when Zhang Jiao launched the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Julu County, he gathered a group of young men and became bandits. At that time, there were too many people who were not getting enough food. In less than a year, he had gathered more than 10,000 people. The following year, he merged with Zhang Niu Jiao's team and began to attack cities and seize territories. He finally got rid of the days of not having enough food.

Zhang Yan had lived for more than twenty years, but it was only in these years after he became a thief that he began to live like a human being.

He calmly recounted his experiences over the past twenty years, looking at her with a hint of sarcasm. "In the eyes of you nobles, our lives are as worthless as ants. Your so-called "one county, two systems" and new tax policies may sound nice, but they still mean we have to farm for you and pay taxes."

"General, now that you have finished your story, would you like to hear about mine?"

Zhang Yan snorted coldly, "Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, living a life of luxury, what's so strange about that?"

Zhang Mo shook her head. "I'm not the Wang family's biological daughter. I was adopted by my adoptive father during the Yellow Turban Rebellion."

She didn't care whether Zhang Yan listened or not, she just started to make up stories. Except for the experience outside Sishui Pass, she made up stories about how miserable the previous ones were.

As she was making up stories, she thought of her biological father who had protected her, her father in her previous life who had provided a home for her and her mother, and her father in this life who had sacrificed his own life for her. Her eyes couldn't help but become moist.

"Like you, I have struggled on the brink of death. I hope all the children in this world will not be like you and me, eating insects and dirt, stealing and robbing to survive. I hope they can all grow up healthy and happy with their parents by their side. I want to give hope to all the people in this world struggling on the brink of death."

"Relying on plunder cannot sustain us for long. If everyone in the world were thieves, who would cultivate the land for you to rob? If I don't collect taxes, how will I support the army to defend our homeland?"

She sighed deeply, "I don't like killing, but in order to rebuild a peaceful and stable country, killing is the only solution. If you still refuse to obey me, I will have no choice but to continue killing."