Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Does it matter what the truth was back then?

Liu Bei asked himself in his heart, if it was before he went to Bingzhou two years ago, this truth was very important to him, and he would never tolerate a villain who poisoned the young emperor and fawned on the powerful to be around him.

However, after having nowhere to go, having ambitions but nowhere to display them, and being frustrated, these things in the past are no longer so important to him.

That year in Bingzhou, Guo Jia told himself that there was actually no difference between Han ministers and Han traitors. If he could not let go of the shackles in his heart, he would not be able to achieve anything great wherever he went. He also told himself that he should learn Amo's ruling style, and he had been thinking about and learning for more than a year.

After successfully occupying Hanzhong and possessing his own territory, subjects, and army, his career was flourishing. He had truly realized that relying solely on benevolence and righteousness would not allow him to survive in troubled times.

Just like Amo, benevolence and righteousness are the foundation, but they also need to be supplemented by other means, and Li Ru is the supporter of other means besides benevolence and righteousness.

Liu Bei stood up and lifted Li Ru up with both hands, saying earnestly, "No one is perfect. Military advisor, you have been loyal to me and devoted your life to the restoration of the Han Dynasty. I will remember all of this. Never again will you talk of leaving me."

He turned to look at Zhang Fei and scolded him with a stern face, "Third brother, you've drunk too much and are talking nonsense. Apologize to the military advisor now, and I'll forbid you from drinking for a month!"

"Brother, I didn't..." Zhang Fei was unconvinced and was about to make an excuse, but when he saw Liu Bei staring at him seriously, he felt intimidated and could only reluctantly bow to Li Ru, "I'm sorry, I just spoke out of turn after drinking!"

Li Ru said, "General Zhang has an upright character. He was provoked by outsiders and misunderstood me. My lord, please do not blame him."

Gao Ren's face darkened upon hearing this. "Military Advisor Li, are you implying that I'm trying to sow discord? May I ask, which of my words was a lie?"

Zhang Fei helped explain, "Mr. Gao didn't say you weren't involved in the conspiracy against Dong, he just said he didn't know."

Gao Ren ignored Li Ru and said to Liu Bei, "I have no intention of getting involved in the affairs between you and your subjects. I have already delivered my message. Please give me a firm answer as to whether Emperor Liu is willing to send troops."

Liu Bei quickly put on a smile again, "The King of Tang has been kind to me. Now that he's in trouble, it would be fine if I didn't know. But now that I know, even if he doesn't ask, I will send troops to help!"

Zhang Fei grinned again, "I told you, big brother is not such an ungrateful person!" As he said that, he rolled his eyes secretly towards Li Ru.

Li Ru could only remain silent helplessly at this time, because he knew that if he continued to stop the troops, not only would his relationship with the pig-killer be completely ruined, but there would also be a rift between his lord and his brother.

Li Ru couldn't help but think of Guan Yu who was sent to garrison in the south. The gatekeeper had a better personality. He was quiet, not stubborn, and obedient. Even Zhang Fan was more obedient than this pig butcher!

Liu Bei gave the correct letter, and Gao Ren's mission was completed. As for alienating the relationship between Liu Bei and his ministers, it was also a side effect of this trip. If it succeeds, it would be the best, but if it doesn't, it doesn't matter. However, it seems today that the relationship between the monarch and his ministers has not been successfully alienated, and the relationship between the ministers is definitely a bit unfriendly.

…………

Two days later, the news that Liu Bei agreed to send troops was delivered to Lu Bu's camp. In addition to the main business, Gao Ren also included the process of doing this matter in the letter so that the king and the military advisor could understand the relationship between the master and the minister in Hanzhong.

"This Liu Xuande is no longer the Liu Xuande I knew before!"

After understanding what happened, Lu Bu was a little surprised and said, "He can even tolerate a villain like Li Ru!"

Jia Xu said, "It's a bit unexpected, but he needs a strategist. Li Wenyou may be a bit less virtuous, but he's quite talented. Liu Xuande needed his advice to defeat Zhang Lu with a small force. And now Liu Boxi of Yizhou is eyeing Hanzhong covetously, so he can't do without Li Wenyou."

Hearing Jia Xu say this, Lu Bu couldn't help but think of his dream life. Even though he had been in charge of the government in Chang'an, there was still no scholar in the world who could look up to him. In the end, he got the strategist Chen Gongtai to be his confidant, which was like rain after a long drought. He almost treated Chen Gongtai like his father, so even though he knew that Chen Gongtai had rebelled together with Hao Meng, he could only pretend not to know.

Lu Bu felt that if Yuanzhi, Xiaozhi, Wolong and Fengchu were still around Liu Da'er, then the day when he learned the truth would be the day when Li Ru offered sacrifices to heaven.

"Being inseparable is one thing, but Uncle Liu has really changed!" Guo Jia sighed. If he had known that he would one day serve Lu, he would not have said so much to Liu Bei outside the city of Jinyang. He was just being idle.

"He promised to send troops, but with Li Wenyou obstructing them, it's uncertain when they will go. Your Majesty, don't place too much hope on him."

"Yes, we need to mobilize troops and raise food. If something unexpected happens on the way, it is not impossible that the process will take ten days or half a month. Although our army has collected some food and grass in Yinpan and Linjing areas, it will be difficult to sustain it for too long. If we cannot capture these people in the end, this trip will be in vain. If we send troops again in the future, the enemy will have defensive experience and will reinforce the checkpoints and cities, which will only make it more difficult." Jia Xu said.

If Liu Bei had not forgiven Li Ru so easily, since the other party had agreed, it would have been a sure thing. But now it seems that Liu Bei's trustworthiness is no longer credible. Tens of thousands of troops have gathered here. If it takes ten days or half a month over there, or if something unexpected happens just before the troops are dispatched, then all this waiting here will be in vain.

"How can I have the energy to come back later?" Lu Bu was also helpless. He looked at everyone in the tent and said, "Everyone has seen this place clearly these past few days. Do you have any ideas for breaking into the city?"

Hua Xiong simply shook his head, "Not really."

Cao Xing, Duan Wei, Yang Qiu, and Liang Xing were also at a loss. Ma Chao, however, whispered a suggestion, "If it doesn't work, then surrender. We can't return empty-handed..."

"Surrender is impossible. Meng Qi, don't mention this matter again."

Lu Bu replied calmly, turning to the two wise men, "Where are you two?"

The two looked at each other, and Jia Xu signaled Guo Jia to speak with his eyes.

Guo Jia knew what the old fox was worried about. He smiled nonchalantly and said, "To be honest, the two of us have been wandering around the Changli River Valley these past two days and have come up with a method to annihilate the enemy. However... this method may damage the king's reputation for benevolence and righteousness."

"Tell me!" Lu Bu said very straightforwardly.

Guo Jia said, "Xingguo and Lueyang are both difficult to attack. A brute force attack is simply not feasible, but we can try to lure the rebels out."

Ma Chao scoffed, "How can you lure them in? Even if you covered the entire place with real gold and silver, not a single person would escape."

Guo Jia ignored him and continued, "There are countless Qiang and Di villages scattered throughout the Changli River Valley. I've visited them these past few days. The best ones have stone walls, while the worse ones use bamboo and wood. Most of the young and strong men in the villages are now in the city, under Agui's command. If they saw their homes being burned, looted, and their families slaughtered, their hearts would surely be in turmoil, and they might leave the city to fight."

The reason why Guo Jia said maybe was because Lu Bu was too strong in field battles. With him leading the army personally, the rebels in the city might not dare to come out.

After hearing this, Lu Bu remained silent. He had done a lot of looting in his dream life, but he had never done it in this life. Killing men was one thing, but the key point was that the village was almost full of the elderly, the weak, women and children. Although they were the families of the rebels, he still couldn't bring himself to do it. It had nothing to do with being righteous or unrighteous.

However, considering the overall situation, he hesitated for only a moment before issuing an order, "Starting tomorrow, send out 5,000 men to plunder in various places. As for the families of the rebels..."

He paused and changed Guo Jia's words about slaughtering, "Capture all the prisoners and take them to the city as hostages!"