My son, how could you be Lü Bu?!

Chapter 29 Granting Titles to Wives and Children

Sitting in a corner of Shimen Ferry.

Looking at the exquisite short knife lying in the wooden box in his hand, Lü Ping seemed to be deep in thought.

Judging from this, war is about to break out.

As a newly recruited military officer in the state, I am unlikely to escape this fate.

People die in war.

Since there's no escaping it...

Then I need to plan more carefully and take advantage of the recruitment season to find a group of loyal and capable people who can protect me.

If the war goes smoothly, it will be a good opportunity to earn some military merit.

Lü Ping knew this.

Sun Jian relied on the fact that the order at the end of the Han Dynasty had not yet collapsed, and on his military achievements, he gradually rose from a commoner to a marquis, accumulating a large amount of capital.

Otherwise, where would Sun Ce, who later laid the foundation for the Eastern Wu, have gotten the start-up capital to start his business?

However, before assembling his team, Lü Ping didn't forget that there was one more thing he needed to do:

Reclaim your home empire!

Thinking this way.

A cold glint appeared in Lü Ping's eyes.

Just as Lü Ping was deep in thought.

Suddenly, a hand patted Lü Ping on the shoulder, startling him.

"What is Uncle Lu looking at?"

After a long and arduous journey, Zhang Fan from the Zhen family caravan finally saw them off and sat down next to Lü Ping.

Following Lü Ping's gaze, Zhang Fan noticed the short knife and paused in surprise, recognizing its value.

"Did Zhen Fang and Lü Bo just give this to you?"

"It looks quite expensive."

"The jewels on this hilt alone are worth several years' salary!"

Lü Ping nodded.

He handed the dagger in his hand to Zhang Fan, indicating that Zhang Fan could play with it for a while.

Zhang Fan quickly took it, held up the short knife, and saw it gleam in the sunlight; he was delighted with it.

Seeing Zhang Fan's appearance, Lü Ping chuckled and asked curiously.

"Fan-ge'er, Ping remembers you saying some time ago that the person who seized my manor was Wang De, the nephew of Prefect Wang."

"What else did Fan-ge'er teach me about Wang De?"

This statement came out.

Zhang Fan's body stiffened instantly, and even the way he played with the short knife in his hand slowed down for a moment.

"Fan Ge'er?" Lü Ping called out again.

Zhang Fan hesitated for a moment, then put the short knife in his hand back into the wooden box in Lü Ping's hand.

Before Lü Ping could even ask a question...

Zhang Fan raised his head and looked around.

Since the Zhen family caravan had just escaped, the officials and soldiers at Shimen Ferry had a rare moment of relaxation and began to pay attention to Lü Ping, who was sitting in a corner of Shimen Ferry.

They gradually began to gravitate towards Lü Ping.

Even... one of the familiar clerks hurriedly ran into the house.

Before long, he picked up a rooster and stood at a distance, just looking at Lü Ping, hesitating, wondering whether to go up and talk to him.

Seeing everyone's expressions...

Zhang Fan stood up without making a sound, and pulled Lü Ping to walk outside.

Lu Ping glanced around and, seeing the surroundings, knew this wasn't the place to talk, so he let Zhang Fan pull him toward a secluded spot.

The two quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.

......

Not far from the Shimen Ferry crossing, there is a dense forest that few people visit.

The two sat on the ground.

"Wang De is a cousin of Wang Zhi, the prefect of Wuyuan County, and is closely related to Lord Wang."

How close are the two?

"It's said that Wang De meets with Lord Wang several times a year during festivals and holidays, offering him wine and gifts!"

"That's indeed very close!" Lu Ping nodded thoughtfully.

After all... he knew a little about the Wang family's situation. They were just a branch of the Wang family affiliated with Wang Zhi, the governor of Wuyuan County. They had multiplied here for several years and had a population of several hundred! Among these several hundred people, Wang De was able to see the prefect Wang a few times a year and even chat with him, so they were indeed relatively close.

Zhang Fan continued speaking.

"Therefore, Uncle Lu should also consider that if you want to take back the manor, you will inevitably offend many people."

"The first to be affected is Wang De, who is currently living in your manor. If you offend him, he can easily go back and complain to Lord Wang, and Uncle Lü will likely offend Lord Wang as well."

Lu Ping dismissed it and waved his hand dismissively.

"I offended these two a long time ago."

"And continue to analyze for me, who else will I offend?"

Zhang Fan glanced at Lü Ping.

Then, without asking when the offense was committed, he simply continued speaking.

Secondly.

"They were a group of powerful figures who mingled with Wang De and tried to curry favor with Lord Wang."

"There are three main families: the Zhao family, which mainly smuggles salt and iron; the Li family, which controls the horse market; and the Zheng family, which operates a black market in the west of our city, relying on Prefect Wang De's backing."

"Although Fan has not been in Wuyuan County for long, he knows some of the specific details."

"Back when Wang Deqiang forcibly seized Lu Bo's property, these three families certainly played a crucial role!"

"Moreover, although none of these three families hold high-ranking official positions in the prefectures and counties, they all have sons working in the military, making them particularly difficult to deal with."

"If Uncle Lü wants to reclaim the manor, he will inevitably have to deal with these three families."

Lü Ping nodded thoughtfully.

This general analysis is quite similar to the original owner's memories, and it is indeed useful.

The two were speechless for a moment.

After a while.

Lu Ping seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly looked up at Zhang Fan.

He asked out of curiosity.

"What exactly is Fan-ge'er's identity? Could he be a scion of some powerful family in Yanmen County, living in seclusion?"

"Otherwise... how would you know so much?"

When Lu Ping asked him a question.

Zhang Fan opened his mouth as if to speak, but then stopped himself.

Finally, under Lü Ping's gaze, he gave a helpless bitter smile and slowly shook his head.

......

"Brother Lü!"

"You did something so big! Why didn't you include me, Cao Xing!"

Just as Lü Ping was inquiring about Wang Zhi's situation from Zhang Fan.

In Jiuyuan City.

Having received instructions from Lü Ping, Lü Bu, who knew he would soon be laying down his sword and studying the Eight Classics, had a complex expression as he sought out his own group of wandering knights.

He had just arrived at the camp of the wandering knights.

A group of wandering knights who hadn't seen each other for a long time hurriedly crowded over.

Everyone was thrilled.

The wandering knights surrounded Lü Bu, shouting all at once.

"that is!"

"Brother Lü has accomplished something truly remarkable, why didn't you take us with you! Only Brother Lian went alone!"

"Lian Ge'er is also dishonest! He secretly did such a big thing with Brother Lü, and even sent someone to tell us not to let us go out of the city to look for you! Otherwise, I would have gone out long ago to see what those Xianbei people piled up together look like!"

As they continued calling out, Cheng Lian came up in conversation.

Cao Xing, who had seen Cheng Lian yesterday, seemed to have thought of something and quickly squeezed in front of the crowd, grabbing Lü Bu's arm.

He hummed.

"Brother Lü!"

"I saw Cheng Lian riding a huge brown horse when he came back from outside the city yesterday. When he saw me, he circled around me several times before laughing loudly and going home, all high and mighty!"

"Was that brown horse a gift from Brother Lü?!"

Lu Bu, whose expression was already complicated, was further annoyed by the questions posed by this group of wandering knights as soon as he arrived at the camp.

He was too lazy to answer.

But remembering her father's instructions, she asked in a rather irritable tone.

"Any of you want to join the army?"

"Follow my father to kill the Xianbei, earn military merit, and secure a position for your wife and children?!"

This statement came out.

The group of jovial wandering knights were all astonished and looked up repeatedly at their elder brother, Lü.