Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

In mid-October, after Lu Bu had cleared the rear, he led his troops to Xiaoguan Road, located north of the Longshan Mountains. Liangzhou was already very cold at this time of year. There had been a rain and snow two days before, and the temperature had dropped sharply. However, no one, whether civil servants or soldiers, was wrapped up tightly, and no one was so cold that they had a runny nose.

"The princess is really rich! She actually gave each soldier a sweater. I heard that one of these sweaters can be sold for one gold coin. This time she gave out 30,000 sweaters at once. She's really rich!"

Jia Xu sat in the carriage, touching the warm and fluffy clothes on his body, and sighed sincerely.

"He is indeed rich!" Guo Jia sighed.

After arriving in Tang, he realized that what he knew before was just a drop in the ocean. The Bingzhou Textile Factory not only had extremely efficient textile machines, but were also driven by water power. Amo was even more creative and could actually think of using wool to spin yarn and weave this soft, warm and light sweater.

And now he also deeply understood why the people of Bingzhou supported her so much. It was not only because she reformed taxes and fees, but also because she could come up with various ways to save labor, improve productivity, and increase output. Moreover, she was willing to spend money. Just for this piece of clothing worth one gold, how could those soldiers dare not fight for the Tang Dynasty?

In the evening, the team reached the northern section of Longshan Mountain, at the source of the Jing River. Lü Bu reined in his horse and stopped on a high slope. Gazing at the narrow pass leading into Longyou, he asked curiously, "Although this pass isn't as majestic as Sishui or Hangu Pass, it's still a place where one man can hold ten thousand. Why didn't the Qiang people defend Xiaoguan, but instead fled to Xingguo City?"

Not only was Lu Bu puzzled, but even Guo Jia, Cao Xing and others who were not familiar with the detailed terrain here were also puzzled. Especially Guo Jia, when he heard Yang Qiu say in Linjing that the Qiang leader led more than 20,000 people to flee towards Xiaoguan, his heart sank.

Longguan in the south is difficult to capture, and if Xiaoguan in the north is blocked by the enemy, the Tang army cannot break through the pass within a month and can only retreat when the food and grass are used up. The scouts came back earlier and said that there was no one in Xiaoguan, and he was a little bit unconvinced, but he did not expect that the enemy would actually abandon the pass and run away.

Jia Xu, a native of Liang Province, understood the reason after a moment's thought. He glanced at Guo Jia and said to Lü Bu, "Your Majesty, you must reward Feng Xiao again for this. Our army didn't have to overcome the difficult challenge of Xiaoguan, thanks almost entirely to his contribution!"

"What do you mean?" Guo Jia became more and more confused.

Jia Xu explained, "You may not know that the Xiaoguan Road not only goes along the Changlishui (Hulu River) Valley and goes south to the Wei River Valley, but also has another branch that goes north from here and turns into the Qingshui River Valley, a tributary of the Yellow River."

At this point, Guo Jia understood. He straightened his clothes and said with a smile, "It's all my work!"

Lu Bu suddenly realized, "Those rebels expected Liang Xing to surrender, and feared he would move south from the Qingshui River and attack Guli from both sides, so they abandoned the pass and fled to join Agui?"

Jia Xu nodded. "Feng Xiao's order to kill anyone who surrenders after the siege is truly cruel. Coupled with the king's prestige and the Yinpan Massacre, how could Liang Xing dare to resist? However..."

Jia Xu frowned slightly as he spoke, then changed the subject, "It's not good for these people to withdraw from Xingguo City! According to the news reported by the Flying Eagle Team, Xingguo City is a new city built by Agui in the past two years. It is located at the intersection of Changli River and Qingshui River. Going up Changli River to the north, you can reach Xiaoguan, and along Qingshui River to Jieting to the east, you can connect to Longguan Road. The city is surrounded by water on both sides and is connected to Longguan in the east. If there is any change here, the Qiang and Di troops stationed in Lueyang and Long County can immediately come to support.

Lueyang is especially vulnerable, being only thirty miles from Xingguo and nestled in the same river valley. The terrain is flat and conducive to marching, so no matter which side we attack, the other side can quickly come to support us. Furthermore, both Xingguo and Lueyang are fortified with high walls. With our current strength, it would be difficult to attack either one, and we simply cannot divide our forces to block them.

Lu Bu frowned slightly, "These people are not all incompetent. They can think so far ahead in the midst of a hasty retreat."

Jia Xu said, "They know the terrain here very well, so it's normal for them to make such a judgment."

Lü Bu looked out at the Changli River Valley south of Xiaoguan and said, "We'll set up camp at Xiaoguan tonight, and tomorrow we'll go south to Xingguo to see the situation."

Cao Xing suggested, "Let Junyi try to attack Wudu County from Chencang Road and cut off Longxi's rear."

Jia Xu shook his head. "It's not easy to fight. Liang Province's terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. With Yang Qianwan in Wudu County, Junyi's side is also difficult."

Cao Xing continued, "How about having Ziyi open the Longguan exit and lure them into attacking Guanzhong? As long as Gao Yuancai (Gao Gan) can contain them, our army can go back to making dumplings."

"This... maybe we can try it, but given the current situation, he might not fall for it."

Lü Bu said bluntly, "I will definitely not be fooled. The Qiang people have probably heard about my heroic deeds of slaughtering people in Wangyuan. Even if they had ten times the courage, they would not dare to attack Guanzhong at this time."

The setting sun faded from the horizon as they rode down the gentle slope. Guo Jia glanced south and suddenly said, "The Chencang Road leads south to Hanzhong. Emperor Liu has occupied Hanzhong for nearly two years, right?"

"Fengxiao means to ask him for help?" Lu Bu turned around and asked.

Guo Jia nodded. "If Imperial Uncle Liu can send a force out of Yangping Pass and attack from the south, defeating Yang Qianwan will be a piece of cake. Once the situation in Wudu County is resolved, General Zhang can march north to Wei Valley and lay siege to Jicheng."

"This method is feasible. Send someone to Hanzhong to ask Liu Da'er, our army helped him take Hanzhong last time, should we return the favor?" Lu Bu rode his horse forward and spoke with confidence.

Jia Xu followed beside him and said in agreement, "Indeed, if we don't ask for it now, we may not have another chance in the future!"

Cao Xing was puzzled. "Why do you say that? I think that Uncle Liu is a good person. He wouldn't refuse to repay a favor, would he?"

"This has nothing to do with character."

Jia Xu explained, "After Your Majesty takes Liang Province, the outcome of Qing Province should also be clear. The remaining Youzhou is Gongsun Xu, a kid who can be destroyed in a snap. Whether Gongsun Du takes Liaodong now or later is of little concern. I doubt he would dare to challenge Your Majesty. At this point, our Tang Kingdom has almost occupied the entire north."

"And Cao Mengde in the south is probably also going to take Yuan Gonglu. After this integration, the remaining Liu Jingsheng, Liu Boxi, Liu Xuande, and Cao Mengde's pseudo-Han regime in the south are all forces that respect or restore the Han Dynasty. No matter how big their grudges or conflicts of interest were in the past, when facing the powerful "Han traitors" of our Tang State, they must unite to fight. Once the north-south confrontation is formed, even if Liu Xuande owes the princess a favor, he cannot betray his Liu family alliance. So I say that if I don't ask for this favor now, I won't be able to ask for it in the future."

At this point, Jia Xu suddenly remembered that Liu Bei's current advisor was Li Ru, and sighed softly, "With Li Wenyou around, I guess it's really impossible to get it!"

As for Li Ru, Guo Jia and others only knew that he had poisoned the young emperor on Dong Zhuo's orders, and they had no idea about his wisdom or what kind of person he was. However, Lu Bu had seen him in his dream and had dealt with him for a period of time in Luoyang, so he knew this person's character. He was a person who would do anything for his own interests. The key was that he had a good brain. With him obstructing them, it was indeed possible that he would not be able to gain any favors on this trip.

"Whether we can get it or not, we have to try. Let Yuantu send someone to Hanzhong!"

Just as Lü Bu was about to send his eagle to deliver the message, Jia Xu suddenly grasped his hand, his fox eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled, "I have a plan that will not only summon reinforcements but also perhaps sow discord between him and his subjects."