Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Zhang Fei had a quarrel with Liu Bei and returned home in a bad mood. Without even washing up, he asked someone to bring out some wine. He drank several gulps but became more and more upset. He then went out with the wine jar to find someone to drink with him.

Guan Yu was sent to Hanzhong by Liu Bei. Zhang Fei couldn't find him so he came to Zhang Fan. The two of them sat in the pavilion in the yard, holding jars of wine, enjoying the cool air and drinking together.

Zhang Fei, drunk as he was, began to grumble, "He said he was trying to revive the Han Dynasty. If that were true, he shouldn't have taken advantage of the situation to attack Liu Boxi's Yizhou. Although Liu Boxi was crowned emperor, he still used Han as the name of his country. He's also a legitimate Han relative, and a closer relative than himself..."

"Big Brother has really changed. I don't recognize him anymore. He actually yelled at me today. Since we swore brotherhood in Peach Garden, I've never seen him like this. Even when that jerk Inspector of Anxi County wanted to remove him from office, he just calmly barged into his house, tied him up and beat him up, and that was it..."

"And when we lost Xuzhou and were desperate, he didn't even think about going to Jingzhou to pursue Liu Jingsheng's foundation. Instead, he brought us here to tackle the tough challenge of Hanzhong. I know he was determined to succeed or die. But ever since he met that villain Li Ru, he's completely changed..."

Zhang Fei picked up the jar and took two quick gulps. "He won't listen to me anymore, only to that villain. He clearly promised to help Fengxian fight Yang Qianwan, but he made excuses to delay sending troops. He's broken his promise. Now he's even helping Cao Cao fight Fengxian. That guy killed the late emperor..."

"Think about how kind A-mo was to him back in Jinyang. He went to the Tulou every day to learn about government, and A-mo always answered his questions. She also didn't restrict him from making friends with the civil and military officials of Bingzhou. When she heard that he was really coming to attack Hanzhong, she immediately sent you to help. Later, when she saw that Hanzhong was unstable, she gave you all to him. But this is how he repays you..."

The more Zhang Fei spoke, the more disappointed and sad he became. "He said he was trying to protect Shuzhong. But if we really want to protect Shuzhong, why do we need to rely on that Cao Mengde? The roads to Shu are difficult to travel. As long as we maintain our troops and people well and repair the defenses, even two Lu Bu wouldn't be able to break in..."

Zhang Fan listened to him complaining quietly, neither agreeing nor refuting. In his opinion, Uncle Liu had indeed changed, but he felt that this kind of Uncle Liu was what a powerful leader should be like. If he was just as Zhang Fei said, and only cared about benevolence and righteousness in everything, he would never be able to take Shuzhong. Not only would he not be able to take Shuzhong, he might even lose his life.

After Zhang Fei finished his grumbling, he asked Zhang Fan, "You used to be a general of the Tang State. If my elder brother sent you to fight the Tang army this time, would you go? And would you show mercy?"

Zhang Fan thought to himself, "You should ask the Tang army if they will show mercy to my men!"

"My lord won't let me go!" he said with certainty.

Zhang Fei turned his head and glanced at Zhang Fan with his misty drunken eyes. "That's right. Even if big brother trusts you, Li Ru won't either. You're probably staying here to guard the house."

He asked again, "Should I go?"

"My lord, you have few generals available. You must go."

"I don't want to go!" Zhang Fei said angrily.

"Is it not possible not to go?"

Zhang Fei said, "That fellow Li Ru is even more worried about me now. He's afraid he can't command me, so he won't take me with him."

"You dare to disobey military orders?" Zhang Fan asked tentatively.

Zhang Fei snorted angrily, "I just didn't listen to him, and he still dared to kill me?"

"What if the lord leads the troops himself?"

"I won't go either. I'll just stay and look after the house!"

Zhang Fan took a sip of wine and said, "I want to stay and look after the house too!"

Zhang Fei patted him on the shoulder. "I know Taishi Ci was once your superior, and you have many colleagues in the Yongzhou army. You are a man of loyalty and you certainly don't want to fight him. I'll talk to my brother and ask him to let you stay. If he really doesn't agree, I can go and you stay."

"Thank you so much, Yide!" Zhang Fan raised the jar and clinked it with his, then took a sip. He thought to himself, "You are also a man of loyalty and righteousness!"

The two of them drank back and forth, and soon Zhang Fei was drunk. Zhang Fan asked someone to send him back. He went into the study, wrote a letter, and asked a flying eagle to deliver it to Yecheng.

…………

Yecheng.

After hearing Lu Bu's sudden idea, Zhang Mo was stunned for a moment and laughed, "Feint to the east and attack in the west, taking the enemy by surprise, that's fine!"

Lu Bu grinned, "Yeah, you think it's feasible too. Let's deal with Liu Da'er first, and then it will be much easier to attack Yanzhou!"

"It's theoretically feasible, but in practice it's not that easy. According to the information Afan sent back earlier, Liu Bei already has 70,000 troops after annexing Liu Fan. There are many dangerous passes in Shu, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if he leaves 20,000 to guard the gates, we may not be able to capture them."

Lü Bu said, "I have a combined 100,000 soldiers in Yong and Liang provinces. If we send 80,000 to attack, and we have Afan as our internal support, how can we not take it?"

"There are so many passes in Shu, how many can he manage alone? We need to ask Wen to discuss this matter with them."

So, Jia Xu and others who had just left were called back. After some research and discussion, everyone agreed that it was a good idea to attack Liu Bei first.

"Liu Xuande had just taken over Yizhou, so his foundation was unstable and the people's hearts were not with him. It would be easier to win over the people after he conquered it. This was one of the reasons."

"Secondly, he's been busy pacifying the vassal states to the west and rectifying internal affairs for over a year. He might not be as familiar with the roads and passes in the north, and the military facilities at the passes haven't been completely renovated yet. It would be much easier to attack now than later."

"Thirdly, everyone's attention is focused on Yanzhou. Who would have thought that we would station a large force on the Yanzhou border only to turn around and attack Yizhou? This element of surprise increases our chances of victory by three points."

"Fourthly, Liu Xuande has deployed his troops to aid Cao Mengde in the battle, leaving Shu with a lack of manpower. This is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this."

Lü Bu laughed heartily. "What Wenhe said is exactly what I was thinking. He has been deploying troops to Hanzhong County. If I'm right, some will go west through Yangping Pass to harass Wudu County, some will go north to Ziwu Road to attack Yongzhou, thereby helping Cao Mengde to contain our forces, and the remaining part will definitely go through the Mian River to Nanyang County, either to attack Wuguan or to Yuzhou to assist Cao Mengde."

Lu Bu looked at the map of Shuzhong hanging on the wall. "We can set up an ambush outside Yangping Pass. If he dares to come out, he will be forced to flee without return. Seizing Hanzhong County will not only shorten our front line, but also provide us with food and fodder for our attack on Shuzhong. Secondly, we can keep Liu Bei's troops supporting Cao Mengde outside, preventing him from returning home."

Jia Xu nodded. "If Liu Xuande really divides his forces in this way, it will not be difficult to take Yangping Pass. However, there are still several passes to attack Shuzhong from Hanzhong, so the troops we send cannot be too few. Moreover, if he cannot return, he will definitely attack Henan Yin or Yongzhou."

Lü Bu said, "What are you afraid of? All the troops from Liang Province will be dispatched. We will defeat him as many as we can! This is settled. You will watch over Yan Province first. I will personally destroy Liu Bei's lair."

"Why does Your Majesty need to go in person? Just leave this matter to General Ziyi and Governor Fengzhou. You should stay here to confuse the enemy!"

"Amo can stay here. Although Ziyi is good at fighting, Liu Da'er's subordinates Yunchang and Yide are both powerful generals of the time. I am afraid that Ziyi will suffer at their hands."

Jia Xu looked at him speechlessly, "We're not going to fight a general. No matter how brave those two are, can they be used against a thousand soldiers?"

Lu Bu was about to say something when Zhang Mo, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly said, "Your Majesty, you cannot leave here. I will go to Shuzhong!"