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

After the Guandu War, Lu Bu's jurisdiction included nine counties in Bingzhou, 11 counties in Youzhou, nine counties in Jizhou, and six counties in Qingzhou, plus Korean, Japanese, and Mongolian counties. The total population under his jurisdiction was 13 million. Army: 100,000 Xiaowei army, 100,000 Guoyi army, 100,000 Xuance army, 100,000 Wolf Cavalry army, 100,000 Beiwei army, a total of 500,000 troops, and 100,000 Tuntian army. At this time, Lu Bu was fully capable of establishing a separate court, but he never took this step. The troubled times of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms would never occur in the future. He was willing to be Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty and open up territory for the Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao, who returned to Xuchang, proposed the idea of ​​making Lu Bu king at the court meeting, but was opposed by Xun Yu, an important minister.

Xun Yu said, "Since Emperor Gaozu established the Han Dynasty, anyone with a non-Liu surname who claims the title of king will be attacked by the whole world."

Cao Cao said, "Today is not what it used to be. Lu Bu has occupied the land of Hebei and half of the country is in his hands. Only by making him a king can he truly serve the court. He can go south to regain Jingzhou and Jiangdong, and go west to conquer Bashu and unify the world."

Xun Yu still insisted on his idea, "If Lu Bu is a loyal minister, he should hand over his military power, disarm and return to his fields. Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Zhang of Yizhou are both clansmen, and they should support the imperial decree. As long as our army crosses the Yangtze River and fights against the Sun family, The world can be settled."

Guo Jia interrupted Xun Yu's words and said, "Wen Ruo's words are wrong. Liu Biao is old and dim and has lost his power. We should attack him first and march into the middle of Shu via Wuling County. Let Xia Houyuan send troops from Hanzhong and cross the Qinling Mountains. Both armies will benefit together. In the land of the state, major events can be decided. Of course, the premise of everything is that there can be no chaos in the rear of our army."

Zhong Yao said, "I invite your majesty to make the prime minister king, to do the emperor's work, to command the army and horses of the world, and to wipe out the princes."

All civil and military officials knelt down and begged Cao Cao to ascend the throne.

This made Xun Yu very angry. As the representative of the Yingchuan gentry, he could only be loyal to an emperor named Liu, so as to ensure the interests of the Xun family.

Xun Yu knew very well that if someone with a different surname was granted the title of king today, he would stand on his own behalf for Han in the future. As a minister, he firmly resisted this approach.

Cao Cao was worthy of being the master of the world. Seeing Xun Yu's strong opposition, he had no choice but to give up. He found Jia Xu and asked about the method.

Cao Cao asked, "In today's court meeting, Wen Ruo strongly opposes the title of king with a different surname. Can Wen He have a plan to help me?"

Jia Xu said, "In the pre-Qin period, the Marquis of Qi and the Marquis of Wei wanted to take the throne, but the Emperor of Zhou refused. The two Marquises made an appointment with Pengcheng of the Song Dynasty to call each other king, and they were King Wei of Qi and King Hui of Wei. Today we can follow the example of our ancestors, the Prime Minister and Lu Bu The Prime Minister of Luoyang will burn incense and pray to heaven and earth, and eat the Emperor's gizzard meat, and this will be accomplished."

Cao Cao said, "I'm afraid Wen Ruo will object to proclaiming himself king. I don't want to lose this talent."

Jia Xu said, "After the prime minister becomes king, he can move to Luoyang. In addition, the emperor can be moved to Chang'an, and Cao's children can defend Guanzhong. A city gate can be built along the Qinling Mountains between Chang'an and Luoyang, so that the emperor can be firmly trapped." .Xun Lingjun is the representative of the Xun family in Yingchuan. As long as the prime minister does not touch the interests of the gentry, retains the position of Emperor of the Han Dynasty, and proclaims himself king but not emperor, Xun Lingjun will still continue to handle political affairs, food, and logistics for the court until the world is unified, which can expose the emperor. As a shadow warrior, the prime minister can then comply with the people's wishes, ascend the throne as emperor, and establish his own ancestral temple."

Cao Cao stroked his long beard, thought about it for half a cup of tea, and said: "Then I will report according to your plan. You go to Yecheng in person, meet Lu Bu, and tell him to go to Luoyang on the first day of October. During this time, I will give instructions Zixiao, let him prepare the affairs of the Prime Minister."

Jia Xu immediately withdrew to prepare for his mission to Yecheng.

Cao Cao summoned Cao Ren and said to him, "Zixiao, you and Zi Lian go to Luoyang with the tiger and leopard cavalry to prepare for the kingship. On the first day of October, Lu Bu and I will call each other king."

Cao Ren quickly knelt down and said, "I will obey Brother Wang's order."

Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction and thought to himself, "Now that the emperor is just a shadow warrior and not of the Spirit Emperor's blood, Cao Mengde is willing to be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. If he cannot find the right emperor in this life, let my descendants inherit the throne of emperor. "

Cao Cao had four sons. The eldest son Cao Ang died of the plague, the second son Cao Pi was born in the fourth year of Zhongping (187), the third son Cao Zhang was born in the sixth year of Zhongping (189), and the fourth son Cao Zhi was born in the third year of Chuping (192). year), his three surviving sons are all underage. He is already forty-seven years old, and will soon enter the age of knowing his destiny. He hopes that in the remaining time, he can complete the great cause of unifying the world and realize his own ambition.

After more than ten days of hard work by boat and carriage, Jia Xu arrived at Yecheng. Lu Bu received him with the courtesy of a prince. Along the way, Jia Xu lamented the prosperity of Hebei, which was completely unlike the war he had experienced not long ago. Jia Xu thought to himself: Lu Bu is probably the prime minister's only opponent to dominate the world. No wonder the prime minister wants to seize the throne for his ambition.

Jia Xu is now fifty-five years old. He joined the Xiliang Army when he was a boy, but he has always suffered from the lack of opportunities to display his talents. It was not until the appearance of Cao Cao that he met the Ming Dynasty. He was convinced that Cao Cao was the one who would end the troubled times. The only candidate.

Lu Bu had long wanted to meet this man who would later be known as the "Poison Master". History books record that Jia Xu had a lot of strategies throughout his life. He was a great talent in the late Han Dynasty, but it was a pity that he could not use it for himself. Lü Bu still showed respect for celebrities and went ten miles out of the city to greet him personally, riding in a carriage with Jia Xu.

In the car, Jia Xu looked at Lu Bu and felt that Lu Bu exuded a kingly aura. He had only seen this kind of aura in Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao. He saluted Lu Bu and said, "I have heard about the reputation of the general for a long time. I saw it today, and it turned out to be a god descending to earth.”

Lu Bu was used to accepting compliments from others. After all, his reputation had spread all over the world. Even three-year-old children knew Lu Fengxian's name. The people in Hebei even regarded Lu Bu as their savior. Lu Bu, who had strong financial resources, implemented a policy of light corvee and light taxation, built schools, opened up business opportunities, so that common people could receive education, vigorously supported commerce and trade, and made the people's lives richer than before.

In ancient times, whoever could make the people live a good life would be supported by the people. Lu Bu wrote eight characters in his own handwriting on the main hall of the General's Mansion, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it." He compared the relationship between the people and the army to that of water and a boat.

Lu Bu also received the support of the nobles in Hebei. These nobles were allowed to do business, and outstanding sons could join the army and politics. Their life was better than when he followed Yuan Shao. Although the land was purchased by the government, the profits from business were greater than the profits from grain production. It is much larger, and Fengxian Trading Company helps with transportation, which saves manpower. The nobles care about interests the most. As long as they are given benefits, they will be willing to serve. This is Lu Bu's strategy in Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Youzhou.

Lu Bu returned the favor to Jia Xu, "Mr. Wenhe is a great talent. Bu has admired his name for a long time. It's a great blessing for Bu to meet him today."

On the walking carriage, Lu Bu and Jia Xu complimented each other as if they were friends for years. Lu Bu had already guessed the purpose of Jia Xu's visit. What he was thinking about was what should the title of the king be called? The land of Hebei is the hometown of Yan and Zhao, and the title is most likely to be King Yan or King Zhao. However, in order to prepare military expenses, Lu Bu asked the Mojin Camp to take care of all the tombs of the ancestors of Yan and Zhao. Although he has a soul two thousand years later, Lu Bu was still a little afraid of ghosts and gods.

Arriving at the General's Mansion in Yecheng, Lu Bu and Jia Xu sat opposite each other.

Jia Xu got straight to the point, "By order of the Prime Minister, the general is invited to Luoyang to be the Prime Minister. The time is set to be the first day of October. The general is asked to be prepared to become king."

Lu Bu said, "I understand, the Prime Minister of Luoyang? Could it be that the Prime Minister is also interested?"

Jia Xu nodded, acquiescing to Cao Cao's idea of ​​becoming king.

Lu Bu was thinking: Historical records record that Cao Cao said that the King of Wei should be in the 18th year of Jian'an, but now it is only the sixth year of Jian'an. It seems that his arrival has moved the timeline forward.

Cao Cao and Lu Bu were both preparing to become kings, and asked the craftsmen to prepare the king's crown, king's robe, and king's boots, waiting for the time to come.

On the first day of October in the sixth year of Jian'an, Lu Bu entered Luoyang City wearing a royal robe, a crown, a summer chariot, and ten thousand cavalry. What he saw was a high platform with eight hundred and ten steps.

Cao Cao was already waiting on the high platform, and Cao family generals stood on each step.

Lu Bu slowly walked up the steps, burned incense with Cao Cao to worship heaven and earth, and shared the emperor's flesh.

From then on, Cao Cao was called the King of Wei, with a fiefdom in the Central Plains and his seat in Luoyang. Lü Bu was proclaimed King of Yan, with a fiefdom in Hebei and his seat in Yecheng.