Chapter 180 The Cool Lu Bu
In later generations, the Five Barbarians invaded China, and although the Xianbei were the main force, the Southern Xiongnu was the instigator. Naturally, Tian Ze did not have much good feelings towards the Southern Xiongnu, so he did not think about how to tame this group of people.
Besides, Tian Ze is in urgent need of people, including foreigners.
Construction projects in various places are still waiting for people to work.
It would be bad for the reputation to be spread if the Han people were exploited, and Tian Ze couldn't bear it, so naturally he could only make these strong foreigners who couldn't farm suffer.
This kind of working life suits them very well, it is better than farming.
The food and treatment provided by Tian Ze were not bad. Those who performed well could be given Chinese nationality, have the opportunity to marry and have children, and live a Han life.
Therefore, many ethnic minorities gradually got used to it and even enjoyed it.
Tian Ze wanted to buy people from Lu Bu, but Lu Bu was naturally unwilling to sell the already few Han people in Bingzhou to Tian Ze. These Southern Xiongnu people were just the right ones.
Tian Ze was very generous in giving money and food, and the price was high.
At the beginning, Lu Bu, who wanted to vent his anger and intimidate the Southern Xiongnu, spent half a year in Bingzhou, killing and capturing nearly 10,000 Southern Xiongnu troops and tens of thousands of Southern Xiongnu people.
After Tian Ze proposed the intention of population trade, Lu Bu sold the captives to Tian Ze in order to make good use of the waste. Suddenly, he found that Tian Ze was still purchasing them at the same price as Han people.
In a blink of an eye, his money and food were replenished.
Having tasted the sweetness, Lu Bu could no longer suppress his greed and launched several more robberies, reaping rich rewards.
Not only did he obtain more than two years' worth of food and wages for the army, but he also helped the people under his rule. With Li Ru's assistance, Bingzhou's people's livelihood work was actually started.
For the first time, the people of Bingzhou, who had suffered from poverty for hundreds of years, lived a peaceful life.
For a time, Lu Bu's reputation for bravery and benevolence resounded throughout Bingzhou.
Since then, Lü Bu, who had gained both fame and fortune, could no longer stop. Even if he could hold back, his subordinates and his brother-in-law Wei Xu could not hold back.
How could this be Southern Xiongnu? They were clearly piles of copper coins and bags of rice.
A good General Fenwei and Governor of Bingzhou was forced to become the General of the Guards against the Xiongnu in Tianze and became a wage earner.
When someone mentioned this at first, Lu Bu was very angry. But when he saw the mountains of food, he could only say, it smelled really good!
What's wrong with working for someone else? Such a good boss, paying me and providing me with food, without any discounts.
If the Han Dynasty had one-third of these conditions at the time, he would have conquered Bingzhou long ago.
Tian Ze and Lu Bu, one with money and food and the other with ability, managed to make the Southern Xiongnu population business in Bingzhou bigger and bigger.
At this time, it was only half a year since Lu Bu entered Bingzhou. Lu Bu had killed one third of the more than 500,000 Southern Xiongnu, and most of them were sold to Tian Ze.
Lu Bu felt at ease doing this business, he did not let down the Han Dynasty, the Han people, and himself.
Especially after Lu Bu learned that Tian Ze bought this group of people not as a source of soldiers but to have them build water conservancy projects, he no longer had any psychological burden.
The more people he gives to build water conservancy projects, the more money and grain the fields will need to consume. This is not aiding the enemy, but weakening the enemy!
In this regard, Li Ru could only say, haha!
This is what South Korea thought when it lobbied Qin to build the Zhengguo Canal.
But in fact, Lu Bu was right to think so.
The investment in this kind of water conservancy project is too huge. It will take more than ten years to recover the cost. It will definitely be a loss in the short term.
Ten years is too long. The situation in the world is probably already unpredictable. Tian Ze's approach is indeed "stupid".
Whenever he thought of this, Li Ru couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Who would do such a thing if they were not sure enough?
He did not object to Lu Bu's self-deception, because it was indeed beneficial to them and was their only way of survival. After all, sufficient manpower and money were the foundation.
After selling more than 100,000 Southern Xiongnu to Tian Ze, Lu Bu now had plenty of money and food, and his army had expanded to more than 40,000, almost mobilizing all the young and strong men of Bingzhou.
However, this force was still too weak compared to the hundreds of thousands of troops led by Tian Ze and Yuan Shao.
Therefore, Lu Bu also began to recruit soldiers from the slightly more obedient Southern Xiongnu and prepared to form a large-scale cavalry. However, the cost of maintaining cavalry is incomparable to that of infantry.
Whether it was for the sake of manpower or money and food, Lü Bu had to fight hard to kill the Southern Xiongnu. Tu Leican's frantic escape was of no use. After the talent was activated, Lü Bu's army completely crushed them in speed and almost wiped them out.
Except for a few who resisted fiercely, the rest were mostly beaten and captured, or simply surrendered when they saw they could not escape.
The triumphant soldiers of Lu Bu's army escorted groups of prisoners, all with happy expressions on their faces.
These are all money and food.
Although the bulk of the money had to be handed over, even the small amount of profit from it was enough for them to live a carefree life.
Lu Bu's brother-in-law Wei Xu's eyes were flashing with greed, wondering how much he could gain this time.
"My lord, I got the news from the captives. Those Southern Xiongnu are now retreating to Shuofang, Wuyuan and Yunzhong areas, along with some Qiang Hu and Wuhuan, and they all have the intention of retreating northward." Cheng Lian said with a little excitement.
You must know that during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, six of the nine counties in Bingzhou had already fallen due to the incompetence of the imperial court.
Even Jiuyuan County, the birthplace of Lu Bu and Cheng Lian, has been completely controlled by the Hu people.
And now, they have once again taken back the lost territories of the Han people, and the Hu people have been forced back to the northern border. This is truly magnificent.
As long as they can completely recover Bingzhou, their names will be recorded in history books in the future.
"Okay!" Lu Bu's eyes were full of excitement and excitement.
Wealth and honor do not return to their hometown, just like walking in brocade at night.
Fighting back to the Nine Heavens was his biggest dream when he was young, but he was later blinded by reality and fame.
Now, he seemed to have turned back into the young and frivolous self he once was, and found his original intention again.
"Where are Tian Chengshou and Gongsun Bogui? Is there any movement?"
"Gongsun Bogui didn't make any moves. He was actually happy to see us take Shangjun. He was busy fighting the Qiang people in Xiliang."
"Tian Chengshou has shown some intention of reaching out to our Bingzhou. In the past six months, he has sent Taishi Ci and Zhao Yun to lead 10,000 cavalrymen each to attack Wuhuan in Yanmen and Dingxiang, and occupied some territory."
"But both sides have been restrained and there have been no conflicts. We have always kept to ourselves."
"That's good." Lu Bu nodded.
He was very wary of Tian Ze and Gongsun Zan.
Needless to say, the former was a huge monster that he could not afford to provoke. The latter was no less powerful than him.
Bingzhou was caught in a pincer attack by the two men, and to the south were Li Jue, Guo Si and Cao Cao, so it could be said that it was surrounded by powerful enemies on all sides.
Lu Bu had no intention of fighting with them and only wanted to defend Bingzhou.
After all, Bingzhou was too weak, and the number of people in one state was less than that in a county in the Central Plains.
There is no way to fight.
Moreover, Bingzhou is not like Liangzhou.
The distinction between Qiang and Han in Liangzhou was not obvious. The local Qiang people were independent and scattered, but there was frequent communication between the Qiang and Han people. Moreover, because the Han people had repeatedly wanted to give up Liangzhou, they became extremely close-knit.
In Bingzhou, the Southern Xiongnu mostly existed in concentrated settlements. After all, they had once been powerful and had always maintained a certain degree of independence.
Although Lu Bu has ambitions, he is not a brainless person.
After the Battle of Hulao Pass and the defeat in Chang'an, he realized his own level.
Although he is still the best general in the world, when it comes to fighting for world hegemony, I'm afraid he is no match for those princes.
Anyway, the Han Dynasty is still there, so it would be good for me to be a governor of Bingzhou peacefully, recover lost territories and wait for incorporation.
Life is so carefree now. I can travel freely in Bingzhou. As a governor, I don't have to worry about money and food. I am loved by the people and my troops are loyal to me. I have both fame and fortune.
(End of this chapter)
