Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

The Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty was more of a contest between major families than a struggle between princes such as Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan.

Why was Yuan Shao able to persuade Han Fu to give up Jizhou? Because he had the support of a powerful aristocratic family, as well as the support of Henan aristocratic groups such as Feng Ji, Guo Tu, Gao Gan, Xun Chen, and Xin Ping.

Why was Cao Cao raided by Lü Bu? Because Cao Cao had been fighting against the aristocratic families from the beginning, Chen Gong and others were able to easily rebel and welcome Lü Bu.

Cao Cao never became emperor throughout his life, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't have the absolute recognition of the aristocracy. It was not until the emergence of the Nine-Rank System that Cao Pi was able to successfully become emperor.

Liu Bei wandered all his life, traveling almost all over the territory of the Han Dynasty, but he could never find a foothold. It was not until he gained the support of the Jingxiang nobles that his career flourished.

Sun Quan basically spent his entire life dealing with and balancing checks and balances with the four major families.

Why did Dong Zhuo lose so quickly and miserably? Because no aristocratic family supported him. On the contrary, everyone was against him. He had nothing except a group of barbarians from Liang Province.

Now it's Lu Bu's turn.

Although Xu Shu's method of reducing the number of troops can accurately identify the rebels and eliminate the banditry in a short period of time, it will also further intensify the contradictions. It may force those who were originally neutral or inclined towards Lu Bu to the opposite side, causing greater and more serious unrest, and may even make the entire Jizhou oppose Lu Bu.

The battle of Jizhou was not so much a war between Lu Bu, Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao as it was a contest between Lu Bu, Jizhou and even the world's aristocratic families.

If this storm is not handled properly, it may sweep across other states and counties of the Tang Dynasty, and may even lead to a similar scene to the Battle of Guandu in history. Even Lu Bu's outcome may be worse than that of Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu.

The current Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao are much more powerful than Cao Cao in history, and Lu Bu's overall strength at this time is not as strong as Yuan Shao in history.

Therefore, Xu Shu did not let Qu Yi go directly to Changshan to cut down his troops. Instead, he pushed the matter to Ju Su and reported it to Lu Bu, asking him to make the decision.

"This is absolutely not allowed!"

When Xu Shu's suggestion reached Jinyang, the various staff members of the Tang Palace expressed their opinions one after another. The person who spoke at this time was Xun Yu's younger brother Xun Chen.

"If Your Majesty truly does this, you will be making enemies with all the noble families in the world."

Lü Bu said disapprovingly, "Didn't I do the same thing before in Bingzhou and Hanoi? It's not that serious, is it?"

Xun Chen said, "The Wang family of Bingzhou is the princess's maternal family. With their full support, others dared not object. However, Henei was ravaged by war and massacres by our lord, leaving them powerless to object. How can the situation today be compared? How many aristocratic families are there in the five counties of Jizhou? How many forces could they unite? And Gongsun Zan is watching closely from the sidelines. If our lord does this, he will push them all towards Gongsun Zan."

"Furthermore, even if you can suppress the rebellion with your overwhelming force this time, and even reclaim Zhongshan County, what about the future? Wherever you seek to advance, you will be met with united resistance from the noble families there. How can your ambitions be realized?"

Lu Bu snorted coldly, "So, I have no choice but to compromise?"

Xun Chen bowed and said, "My intention is not to ask you to compromise, my lord, but rather that we must not escalate the conflict further in the current situation. We should adopt a policy of appeasement, win back those who are neutral or have wavering rebellious intentions, stabilize the situation in Jizhou first, and drive out the external enemies. You can then settle accounts with those traitors."

"Afterwards? How can there be an afterward if the traitor isn't caught? Zhongshan State has already been conquered by Gongsun Zan without a single drop of blood. Changshan is in imminent danger. If there is also a traitor within Junyi's army, the Jizhou Military Region might be completely wiped out, and Jizhou itself would be lost. How can there be any talk of a reckoning afterward?"

Lu Bu's face was cold and his eyes were gleaming with coldness. Xun Youruo's brother Xun Wenruo was the most important minister under Cao Cao. Was this guy betraying him by dissuading him from reducing his troops?

Feeling the chill emanating from Lü Bu, Xun Chen couldn't help but shiver, but he remained steadfast in his thoughts. He bowed and replied, "My lord has already sent General Hua to lead the Feixiong Army to Jizhou to assist. With him and General Qu there, Changshan won't be lost so easily. My lord can mobilize the troops from the Bingzhou and Sizhou military regions. After defeating the external enemies, we can slowly investigate and find the internal thief."

"Mr. Xun, you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are if you don't manage the household!"

Chang Lin, the former Chief Secretary of the Tang Palace, current Governor of Bingzhou and Minister of Logistics of the Tang State, stood up. He bowed to Lu Bu, glanced at Xun Chen, and began to explain the current financial situation of the Tang State to everyone.

"Two years ago, there was a great disaster. Our Tang Empire had to retrieve the Black Mountains and refugees, while also fighting on both the eastern and western fronts. Not only was the treasury completely depleted, but we also owed the princess and the wealthy families in Bingzhou a large sum of money. Although we saved some grain during this summer's harvest, most of it was spent on the campaign against the Southern Xiongnu, and there were also expenses for resettling the Xiongnu people. Now, where will the treasury find food and fodder to support the military operations of the Bing, Si, and Ji military regions?"

"Secondly, the beginning of the year has passed, and spring plowing is about to begin. If we mobilize the military forces of the three states, how many civilians, cattle, and horses will we need to transport food and fodder? If we delay spring planting, we won't have any grass to eat next year."

After hearing these most realistic words, Xun Chen was speechless, and Lu Bu looked melancholy. Having soldiers but no food is like a person who is full of strength but is beaten but cannot fight back. It is really depressing.

Chen Gong sighed softly, "It's true that we have no food, but with Gongsun Zan's army coming, we'll have to send more troops to Jizhou. At least we have to transfer the Bingzhou army to support them. We still have to find a way to raise food and fodder."

Raising food and fodder? Where can we get them?

The wealthy families in Bingzhou all borrowed money two years ago. The population of Yongzhou was decimated by the two Li brothers. It was just settled down last year, and it is a time when everything needs to be rebuilt. The same is true for Sizhou and Henan Yin. There are not many wealthy families in Hedong County to borrow money. Henei's blood was spent two years ago, and the taxes paid this year are almost used up. There is no need to mention Shanzhou, which is still a spendthrift. The remaining Jizhou is the richest, but in Jizhou's current situation, the consequences of collecting grain and reducing troops are the same, which is to force all families to rebel together. The problem returns to the beginning of today's discussion.

"Wenhe, Yuanhao, what do you two think?" Lu Bu asked with a headache.

Jia Xu opened his mouth, as if about to speak. Tian Feng sighed, "Jizhou is facing internal and external troubles, and it is indeed difficult to resolve them without using force. I think there is nothing wrong with Yuan Zhi's proposal, and what Youruo said is also reasonable. By reducing the number of troops, we can find the internal traitors and wipe them out, and then we will have food and grass. However, if we don't do it well, the internal traitors will rise up in rebellion, and with the powerful enemy Gongsun Zan, we may be defeated. My lord, your army is strong, but don't underestimate the power of the clan traitors."

Hearing the words "complete defeat", Lu Bu couldn't help but think of the Battle of Guandu that Amo had told him. Yuan Benchu, who had an army of 100,000, was defeated by Cao Mengde's mere 20,000 men and never recovered from the defeat. If he really adopted Yuan Zhi's suggestion, would he follow in Yuan Benchu's footsteps?

After Yuan Shao eliminated Gongsun Zan, if he had not immediately sent troops south, but instead rested and recuperated for a few years, would the outcome have been different?

He was now faced with the same choice as Yuan Shao: should he intensify the conflict, completely wipe out the Jizhou nobles and powerful people, and fight to the death, or should he compromise and appease them first as Xun Chen said?

Compromise and appeasement is a relatively safe method, but the fundamental problem has not been solved. In the future, any attempt to implement new policies in Jizhou will still be opposed and obstructed, and the situation today will happen again. After one compromise, there will be countless compromises. Even if a new dynasty is established in the future, it will be the same as the Han Dynasty, just with a different skin.

Amo said that the new dynasty she wanted was one in which the king was the boat, the ministers were the oars, and the people were the water!

He wanted to realize her dream, but if he chose to intensify the conflict today, perhaps he would exit the stage of history early like Yuan Shao, so how could he realize his dream?

Lu Bu didn't think he was much wiser than Yuan Shao, and it was really difficult for him to make a decision between these two paths.

Seeing Lü Bu's hesitation, Jia Xu said, "Let's wait for news from the princess! There's a brave soldier leading troops to Changshan, so we can delay the battle a bit."