The Rebirth of Lu Bu in the Legend of the Heroes of the Later Han Dynasty

At the Bohai County Governor's Mansion, Yuan Shao was receiving Xun Chen who came from Yecheng.

"Youruo, did you bring me any good news when you came this time?" Yuan Shao asked

"My lord, Gongsun Zan of Youzhou sent General Yan Gang to lead an army to invade Jizhou. Han Fu was afraid of the Youzhou cavalry and sent me to ask for help from my lord. This is a good opportunity for us to capture Youzhou." Xun Chen was delighted.

"Youruo, do you have any plans?" Yuan Shao asked

"My Lord, you can order Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Zhang He to each lead an army to capture the three counties of Hejian, Qinghe, and Changshan respectively. If the three counties are defeated, they can form a siege on Ye City. Han Fu's army has been led by Chun Yuqiong. When the time comes, he will be isolated and helpless, and I can use my sharp tongue to persuade him to submit to the lord." Xun Chen was confident.

"It's a good plan, but if Chunyu Qiong leads troops back to support, our army will be passive." Yuan Shao hesitated.

"My lord can write a letter to Gongsun Zan and agree to divide Jizhou equally with him. The condition is that he can hold back Chunyu Qiong's army, and write another letter to Lu Bu in Bingzhou, asking him to send troops to Youzhou. In this way, our army can successfully capture Yecheng. By then the whole territory of Jizhou is in hand, and these two princes will not dare to do anything to our army." Xun Chen said.

"Gongsun Zan is a profit-seeking man, so this plan is effective, but Lu Bu is not easy to fool. If he destroys it and directs his troops towards Jizhou, the gains will outweigh the losses." Yuan Shao was still a little worried.

"I heard that Xu You is one of the most talented eloquent people in the world. My lord can send him to Bingzhou to explain his power to Lu Bu. He can also secretly send envoys to Xianbei to persuade the Xianbei Chanyu to go south. Bingzhou is located on the border between Han and Xianbei. Lu Bu always takes it as his own duty to destroy the barbarians, so he must If you don't send troops to Jizhou, your lord will accomplish great things." Xun Chen said.

"When I get a friend, it's like King Wen of Zhou got Jiang Taigong. You go back to Yecheng first and say that I promise to send troops to help. I will arrange other things." Yuan Shao said.

After sending Xun Chen away, Yuan Shao wrote three letters in person, sending Jushu to Youzhou, Tian Feng to Tanhanshan, and Xu You to Bingzhou. He also ordered Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Zhang He to command 30,000 troops each to capture the three counties and attack them. Wei County, where Yecheng is located, formed an encirclement trend.

After Lu Bu defeated the coalition forces at Hulao Pass, he received a large number of rewards from Dong Zhuo. The soldiers in the army received new clothes and new shoes, and the army's equipment gradually took shape. All cavalry were equipped with three Hun horses, and all officers above the rank of corps commander were equipped with Modao.

The farming system was also gradually implemented in all counties in Bingzhou. In addition to training, soldiers farm the land. Not only can they support themselves, but they also have military pay to support their families. Even those above the rank of corps commander are assigned a room and an acre of land. The treatment of Bingzhou soldiers can be said to be the best among all Han soldiers.

The three-year tax exemption policy gave the people of Bingzhou who had suffered from war a respite. They asked to join the Bingzhou army one after another. Lu Bu organized them into a reserve army. They mainly engaged in farming in peacetime and went into battle to kill the enemy in wartime.

Bingzhou now has 50,000 cavalry, 10,000 infantry, and 100,000 reserve troops. The total population of Bingzhou is only 900,000.

Against Xianbei, Lu Bu continued his tactics of surprise attacks, extermination of tribes, and plundering cattle, sheep, and horses. When the spring comes, the Bingzhou cavalry with a team of thousands will attack the Xianbei tribe and then leave, leaving only the landscape of Xianbei men's heads piled up and stumps on the ground.

For the occupied four northern counties of Bingzhou, Lu Bu adopted the tactic of encircling rather than attacking, because he knew that once these four counties were captured, the entire Bingzhou would face Xianbei and Wuhuan at the same time. At this time, Lu Bu had not yet destroyed the two Hu tribes. After all, Xianbei and Wuhuan combined have millions of troops, so they can only gradually encroach. He is also waiting for great changes to occur in Hebei so that he can profit from them.

Xu You came to Wuyuan County and waited at the gate of the governor's mansion for three days, but was not received by Lu Bu. Later, he spent money to beg the servants of the governor's mansion, only to be told that Lu Bu's days in the governor's mansion were numbered throughout the year. He spent most of the time in the military camp, eating and sleeping with the soldiers.

Under the guidance of the servants of the Lu family, Xu You came to the Bingzhou military camp. When he was still ten miles away from the camp, Xu You was captured by the patrolling Bingzhou infantry and was ready to be killed for being a spy.

"Heroes, have mercy on me. I am an envoy from Jizhou, here to meet your general." Xu You begged for mercy.

Seeing his appearance, the patrolman couldn't help but laugh. He picked up Xu You and headed to the camp.

"Report to the general, there is a man who claims to be Xu You, the envoy from Jizhou. He has something to ask for and wants to see the general." Lu Bu's soldiers reported outside the account.

"Let him come in." Lu Bu was watching Sun Tzu's Art of War at this time.

A man of medium height entered the tent and saw a majestic general sitting behind the desk. He must be Lu Bu without a doubt, so he stepped forward and paid homage, "Xu You, the envoy from Jizhou, pays homage to General Zhenbei."

Lu Bu put down his military book and looked up, "Are you Xu You? What do you want from me?"

"I am here under the orders of my lord Yuan Shao to form an alliance with the general to fight against Gongsun Zan of Youzhou." Xu You said respectfully.

"Gongsun Zan has no enmity with me, and Yuan Shao has no friendship with me. Why should I form an alliance with him against Gongsun Zan?" Lu Bu said.

"Gongsun Zan was so ambitious that he did not hesitate to form an alliance with Wuhuan in order to control the four states. My lord knows that the general always hates the Hu people, and he wants to work with the general to eradicate Gongsun Zan, the scum of the nation." Xu You knew that Lu Bu hated the Hu people, so he moved out of Gongsun Zan and Wuhuan alliance.

"How does your lord plan to form an alliance?" Lu Bu asked.

"What my lord wants is to divide the army into two groups with the general and jointly attack Youzhou. When the time comes, Gongsun Zan will be attacked from both sides and will be defeated. As for the food and wages your army needs for this battle, they will all be provided by our army. I wonder what the general wants?" Xu You said.

"We can consider that the primary enemy of our Bingzhou Army is Xianbei. If we send troops to Youzhou, Zhuo County will be fought by our Bingzhou Army, and the other counties will be handed over to your army. What do you think, sir?"

"Good, then please ask the general to sign an alliance." After saying that, Xu You took out two blank alliance letters with a large seal from his arms. After adding the text, Lu Bu also stamped the seal of General Zhenbei.

After sending Xu You away, a smile appeared on Lu Bu's lips. The opportunity he was waiting for was right in front of him.