Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

"Those who are good at employing troops do not register for military service more than once, nor do they store food for more than three years. They take what they need for their own country and rely on the enemy for food, so that their army can have sufficient food."

Ma Chao had been tricked by Lü Bu into reading a lot of military books with Xu Chu. When Zhang Mo mentioned fighting to support the war, he immediately recited a sentence from Sun Tzu's Art of War. Then he looked at Zhang Mo excitedly and said, "Being the princess of the Black Mountain bandits is different. This method is enough for bandits. We can rob them all the way. We only need to collect food and fodder for 30,000 soldiers on the road!"

Zhang Mo nodded. "As long as the enemy doesn't fortify their defenses and clear the countryside, we shouldn't have any problems pushing them through by fighting and supporting them."

Jia Xu said, "Since the fall of the two major warlords Ma and Han, Liang Province has become a hodgepodge of factions, large and small. It's difficult to unite and defend the countryside. The Qiang people are also reluctant to leave. This method may work!"

The two people he trusted most agreed, and Lu Bu immediately made the decision, "Let's follow the princess's plan and send troops to Liang Province after the autumn harvest!"

Lu Bu originally planned to send Taishi Ci and Jia Xu to be in charge of the military strategy for Liang Province this time, but now he had to send a large army there. In order to appease the people of Liang Province more quickly, or to deter the rebels in Liang Province, Lu Bu finally decided to lead the expedition himself. All the soldiers and civilians were mobilized from Yongzhou, Hedong County and Hongnong County, which were closer to Liang Province.

The main force is the Yongzhou Military Region, which includes the 3,000 Golden Eagle Guards from the original Juyi Village, more than 10,000 surrendered soldiers from Pang De and Han Sui, and the remnants of Li Su and Li Jue and bandits, which can be recruited to form a total of 20,000 troops.

The remaining 8,000 were transferred from Hedong and Hongnong, and Lu Bu brought 2,000 Flying Bear troops with him.

"Yongzhou has been harmed so badly by the two Lis. Can so many troops be mobilized?" Hua Xiong asked doubtfully.

Taishi Ci replied, "Twenty thousand soldiers and horses are no problem, but I hope Your Majesty can gather some of the accompanying civilians from Hongnong County, otherwise I am afraid that the people who have just returned to Guanzhong will feel uneasy!"

Lu Bu nodded. "Go back and discuss with Yuan Tu. Report the available numbers. I will have people recruit the rest from elsewhere. We can't send the common people into battle right after they arrive!"

It is said that Taishi Ci and Feng Ji have been suppressing bandits in Yongzhou for the past two years, eliminating small warlords in the surrounding areas, accepting civilians who are willing to return, and governing Yongzhou in an orderly manner, so they were able to spare 20,000 troops!

Affected by the two Lis, the people of Yongzhou either fled or hid in the mountains and forests to become bandits. There were dozens of bandit dens of varying sizes hidden in the Qinling Mountains in the south, and the most powerful of them was Liu Xiong from Lantian.

Liu Xiong was born in a humble family. He originally made a living by collecting herbs and hunting in Zhongnan Mountain. Unwilling to be exploited and persecuted by the Liangzhou Army, Liu Xiong gathered young and strong men and led his fellow villagers to flee to the vicinity of Wuguan Road. Thanks to his familiarity with the local terrain, he avoided the encirclement and suppression of the Liangzhou Army several times. He also took in passers-by, annexed small villages, and gathered more and more people, becoming a separatist regime.

These people do not have much political ambition, they just want to occupy the mountain and become king, and make a living by robbing people. However, Lantian is at the entrance of Wuguan Road, so no matter what your real thoughts are, Taishi Ci will definitely not leave a hidden danger in such a critical place.

Considering that the bandits in Qinling were forced to become bandits, Taishi Ci began to focus on recruiting them. However, when they heard that the king of Tang was Lu Bu, many people were unwilling to surrender. The reason was that Dong Zhuo and the two Li's Western Liang army had a very bad reputation. Lu Bu was Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, and the people who did not know the details automatically classified him as the same as the two Li's and would rather die than accept the recruitment.

There was really no other way but to use force to pacify the rebellion, attacking one village after another. After conquering three or four villages, Taishi Ci selected several small leaders from among them and had someone take them to the nearest Hedong County to learn about the benevolent government of the Tang Dynasty. After that, he sent them back to do propaganda. Not long after, many people expressed their desire to return to their hometown, and Liu Xiong also led his troops to surrender.

Seeing that Liu Xiong was an upright man with good martial arts skills, Taishi Ci took him in as a military commander and asked him to lead troops to the Qinling Mountains to publicize the benevolent policies of the Tang Dynasty, recruit refugees and bandits, and add a lot of population to Yongzhou.

After solving the hidden danger of bandits in the Qinling Mountains, all the pass passages south of Yongzhou were under the control of the Tang army. Then Taishi Ci and Feng Ji began to deal with the small warlords of the Qiang and Di people in Fufeng County. For the tribes willing to accept the split, the government distributed land to them, and the tribal people were treated equally with the Han people. Talented leaders could also become officials. Those who were unwilling to accept the split were naturally dealt with by military means.

In addition to the Hu people, Liang Xing, a warlord from Liangzhou who was originally active in Zuo Fengyi, was also driven back to Liangzhou. Since then, Yongzhou has been completely settled. Feng Ji has been busy recruiting people and dividing land in the past two years, and Duan Wei has led people to build ditches and water wheels in various places and develop civilian and military settlements.

The land in the Guanzhong Plain is fertile, and the grain output was self-sufficient in the first year. This year, there has been a considerable surplus, and the people's livelihood and economy in Yongzhou are basically back on track.

After discussing the general strategy, Lu Bu sent his generals back to reorganize and prepare the troops. After all the troops were assembled in Chang'an, he would formulate specific tactics based on the subsequent situation.

After the meeting ended and everyone left, Lu Bu and his wife were about to return to the inner courtyard. At this time, the guard who had been waiting outside came over and reported, "Your Majesty, Guo Fengxiao wants to see you and has been waiting in the side hall for quite a while!"

"He's here so soon?" Lu Bu raised his lips slightly, took Zhang Mo's hand, and said, "It's just time for dinner, so let's treat him to a simple meal. Call Master and Doctor Hua as well."

Zhang Mo glanced at him and asked, "Not jealous?"

"He's just a sickly person, what's there to be jealous about?"

Lu Bu said this with a look of disapproval, but his grip on her hand tightened a little.

The couple came to the dining room, and the servant brought Guo Jia over. When Zhang Mo saw him, she recognized him at a glance. This man was indeed the young man who had given her a lot of rewards in Yangdi that year.

Things are unpredictable. Who would have thought that the genius Guo Fengxiao, who had always been wanted to be recruited but failed, had actually known him many years ago, and after going around in circles, he finally came to the Tang Kingdom.

Guo Jia bowed and looked at Zhang Mo without hesitation, saying with a smile, "I didn't see her carefully last time from a distance, but now that I see her, she's definitely more charming than the fox spirits in the novels!"

Zhang Mo smiled awkwardly and changed the subject, "Back in Yangdi, the reward Feng Xiao gave me helped me through a lot of hard times. I wanted to thank you back then, but unexpectedly something unexpected happened later!"

Guo Jia said, "You are talking about books, and I spent money. It's a normal business transaction. There is no need to thank me. But the king and princess saved me at such a high price this time, and I don't know how to repay this kindness!"

Seeing Guo Jia's eyes occasionally lingering on Amo's face, Lu Bu subconsciously pulled his wife back and asked, "Is Fengxiao in good health?"

"Not bad!"

"Now that you've entered the city, are you planning to repay the favor of saving your life?"

Guo Jia laughed and thought to himself, "He's just a border bastard, a simpleton!"

He asked casually, "How does the king want me to repay you?"

Lü Bu led his wife into the dining room and took a seat at the head of the table. He motioned for Guo Jia to follow suit and said, "I know you scholars have your own principles. Cao Mengde may be suspicious of you, but he's also your former master. I doubt you'd be happy to ask him for advice on how to deal with him, but I won't make it difficult for you. It just so happens that I'm short of an assistant clerk. Since you want to repay my kindness, you can stay and serve as my chief clerk. Come with me to pacify Liang Province!"