But the powerful nobles in Bingzhou were disappointed. Dong Zhuo drank wine and took money, but when it came to attacking Mayi to avenge them, Dong Zhuo still said the same thing. The court asked him to garrison Taiyuan County, and he could not leave Taiyuan.

The county goes to slay the Thunder Lord!

After a few times, Dong Zhuo's tricks were clearly seen by the powerful nobles in Bingzhou. They knew that they could not rely on Dong Zhuo and left in disappointment!

After Dong Zhuo himself received these wealthy nobles, he took 100 cavalry all the way to Yuanping County. He wanted to explore the situation on the front line. Although he also served as an official in Bingzhou for several years, it was a long time ago after all.

If you want not to be deceived by Bingzhou officials, you must observe the situation on the front lines yourself.

Lu Bu's 4,000 Bingzhou troops are stationed here in Yuanping County! They all escaped from Yanmen Pass. At first, no one dared to come because of Xu Wei's outstanding military strength. The governor of Bingzhou simply let Lu Bu and his defeated troops be placed here to resist Xu Wei.

Because the army is at the forefront, the entire Yuanping County gate is closed!

Dong Zhuo observed the war preparations around Yuanping County and found that the small town was very well-defended. There were many antlers and horses on the outside, which was already more than ten steps away, and a very large trench was dug to surround it. The trench was deep and wide.

, and all the excavated soil was piled under the city wall, which made him feel strange. Isn't this more convenient for attacking one side? The soldiers on the city wall were also very vigilant, watching them come and prepare their crossbows one by one!

Dong Zhuo was surprised and said: "I thought I would see a group of frightened birds, but I didn't expect to see a group of elite people!"

At this time, one of Dong Zhuo's soldiers shouted: "The former general came to inspect the front line, and you haven't come out to greet him!"

The city gate of Yuanping County opened wide, and a nine-foot-tall warrior came out with thousands of soldiers! What surprised Dong Zhuo especially was that these thousands of soldiers were marching on the same line, as if they had been fighting for 30 years one by one.

He immediately realized that this was an elite force. But Lei Gong was able to break through a fortress like Yanmen Pass among such elite troops. It can be imagined how elite Lei Gong's men were, and they were a powerful enemy!

After seeing Dong Zhuo, the fierce general saluted and said, "I am going to serve as Lieutenant of Yuanping County, Lu Bu, to pay my respects to the former general!"

Dong Zhuo said: "It is said that the whole Bingzhou is fought between you and Lei Gong. Tell me about the battle!"

Lu Bu stood up and told Dong Zhuo about the process of the battle with Xu Wei! Many things were beyond Dong Zhuo's imagination. The first Lei Gong's men who attacked Yanmen Pass only had more than 10,000 men. This number was less than he expected. The second one was Lei Gong's men.

His subordinates were actually all armored troops. The most elite northern and southern armies in the imperial court were not so wealthy. Dong Zhuo treated his subordinates very well. He spent all the money he had gained over the years on the army, but he could only reluctantly let the army commander rank one.

Officers wear iron armor.

The third thing is that Lei Gong is also good at thunder. Yanmen Pass was actually breached by Lei Gong's thunder! This surprised Dong Zhuo more than the fact that all of Lei Gong's men were in iron armor. Iron armor can also be explained. After all, Lei Gong robbed the entire Wei County. With the gentry of Jizhou clan,

Wealth, it may not be impossible to arm tens of thousands of armored troops, but what the hell is thunder magic! He has also fought with Zhang Jiao, but he has never found out what magic Zhang Jiao knows. It's just that the Yellow Turban warriors are more elite and can defeat him.

Thousands of Xiliang cavalry!

So Dong Zhuo looked at Lu Bu sternly and said: "You were defeated by Lei Gong. I won't ask any more questions. After all, victory or defeat is a matter of military strategism. I still know this. But if you dare to deceive me and blame the defeat on some magic, I will

It will definitely make your life worse than death!"

Lu Bu was not frightened, but said without changing his expression: "Thousands of Yanmen Pass soldiers have witnessed this matter with their own eyes. The general can also send detective horses to Yanmen Pass to find out if there was any thunder that day!"

In other words, this thing is most likely true!

Dong Zhuo thought for a while and said: "I don't believe the theory of magic. When I fought with Zhang Jiao, I never saw Zhang Jiao use magic to turn defeat into victory! It could only be a weapon like thunder. You guys

Haven't you investigated for a while to find out what kind of thunder weapon this was?"

Lu Bu said helplessly: "Xiaguan also sent spies there, but this kind of thunder and thunder is hidden very deeply. The spies sent by Xiaguan basically never returned, and no useful news was transmitted!"

Dong Zhuo continued to ask: "Since Lei Gong has such powerful weapons and can even break through Yanmen Pass, why didn't he pursue the victory and attack Taiyuan County? Or even the entire Bingzhou?"

Lu Bu thought for a while and said: "Lei Gong is not a warlike person. Since he came to Mayi, he has never started a battle on his own initiative. I feel that Lei Gong just wants to stay in Mayi. As long as he is not allowed to attack him, he will

He would not take the initiative to attack. This time he attacked Yanmen Pass because when he was fighting the Xianbei people, Xiaguan's adoptive father wanted to take the opportunity to attack Mayi. This made Lei Gong furious. After defeating the Xianbei people, he immediately led his troops

Attack Yanmen Pass!"

"No war!" Dong Zhuo seems to have found a way to live in peace with Lei Gong!

Dong Zhuo looked in the direction of Yanmen Pass and asked, "Do you have the guts to go to Yanmen Pass with me to investigate the military situation?"

Lu Bu said proudly: "I am willing to risk my life to accompany you!"

Dong Zhuo looked at Lu Bu who looked proud and smiled and said: "Okay, you are worthy of being a warrior of my great Han Dynasty. Follow me with 100 cavalry and tell me about the situation around you!"

Dong Zhuo and his party were walking on the road, and then they saw a scene that surprised him. There were actually many people around, heading towards Yanmen Pass. Don't they know that Yanmen Pass has become the territory of bandits?

, and these people were not afraid when they saw Dong Zhuo and his cavalry. At most, they moved out of the way, but they did not immediately hide like the people in other places!

Dong Zhuo asked strangely: "Is it possible that the people of Bingzhou are so strong that they do not avoid the imperial army? And the direction they are traveling seems to be Yanmen Pass. Now that Yanmen Pass is occupied by Lei Gong, they are not worried about their own safety?"

Dong Zhuo had served as a county magistrate in Bingzhou, as well as a prefect and governor. Naturally, he knew that the people in Bingzhou were no different from the people in other parts of the Han Dynasty. Now they are too abnormal!

Lu Bu looked embarrassed and said: "Lei Gong's men did nothing to the people, and even bought the people's goods at high prices, so the people were not afraid of Lei Gong, and they were not worried about the imperial army because they knew that the imperial army did not dare to touch them?

"

Dong Zhuo asked curiously: "Why don't you dare to touch them?"

Lu Bu said: "Because the troops who dared to move the people were all wiped out by Lei Gong. When the people in Ningwu County and Dai County wanted to go to Mayi to work, the officials of the two counties killed many people who dared to go to Mayi. But Lei Gong immediately dispatched

The Iron Armored Army killed the county magistrates and soldiers in these two places, rescued the people, and put down his words, if he dared to attack the people in Mayi again, and the court officials killed one person, he would kill another official."

"There were many wealthy nobles in the back relying on their own Wubao. They didn't take Lei Gong's words seriously and killed many people. Lei Gong led the armored army to break through these Wubao and killed all the owners of Wubao to those common people.

Revenge, after these few things, the wealthy nobles and officials in Bingzhou no longer dare to kill people indiscriminately, for fear of provoking the revenge of Lord Lei! And the people know that Lord Lei is their backer, and they are no longer afraid of the officials and troops of the Han Dynasty! "

"As long as an official dares to bully them, these people will definitely shout, 'If you dare to mess with me, I will ask Lei Gong to send soldiers to beat you!'

And as soon as these words are spoken, officials and soldiers will definitely not dare to touch the people again, so now the people near Yanmen Pass have developed a character that is not afraid of anything!"

When Dong Zhuo heard Lu Bu's explanation, there were ten thousand grass and mud horses galloping past in his heart. He had been in the army for thirty years and he had seen a lot. This was the first time he had heard of such a weird thing! But this also made him aware of Xu Xu's explanation.

A trace of great ambition.

He said leisurely: "This Lei Gong seems to have no ambitions, but he loves the people more than our court. He even regards the people of Bingzhou as his subordinates. Isn't this a man without ambitions? I'm afraid he has great plans!"

"

Lu Bu also reacted. He asked in surprise: "General, do you mean that all this Lei Gong did was just an act to make the court lower its guard?"

Dong Zhuo said: "Mayi is so rich that it is said to have become a city that never sleeps outside the Great Wall. Have you ever heard of the extravagant behavior of Lei Gong in Kecheng, Yanmen County?"

Lu Bu shook his head and said: "No, it is said that Lei Gong is not greedy for money or lustful. He eats and lives with his soldiers on weekdays. He does not have any extravagant measures. If it is true, Lei Gong raises troops very extravagantly. Not only can Lei Gong's soldiers be

Three meals, and there must be meat every day, which is extremely luxurious!"

Dong Zhuo affirmed: "That's right. Lei Gong loves the people, treats the soldiers well, and makes money, but he spends the money on the soldiers. He eats and lives with the soldiers. You don't think that Lei Gong is a saint!"

Lu Bu shook his head: "I have never seen a saint who has no desires or pursuits!"

Dong Zhuo said: "If you are not greedy for money or lustful, if you love the people and treat the soldiers well, you will not have a good reputation even if you become a rebel. So what do you think Lei Gong is greedy for?"

Lu Bu was shocked and said: "Thunder Lord is in the world of greedy men!"

Dong Zhuo looked in the direction of Yanmen Pass and said: "This Thunder Lord is much stronger than Zhang Jiao and Zhang Yan. He is not an ordinary rebel!"

Lu Bu said anxiously: "Since Lei Gong is so ambitious, shouldn't the imperial court send troops to destroy Lei Gong as soon as possible?"

Dong Zhuo chuckled softly and said: "You have fought with Lei Gong, and you are also the person closest to Lei Gong who knows him the most. I will ask you, how many soldiers and horses does the imperial court need to wipe out Lei Gong?"

Lu Bu thought carefully for a long time and said: "It must be 200,000 elites. Judging from the situation investigated by Xianguan during this period in Mayi, Lei Gong's military system is similar to that of the imperial court. They are both a combination of standing army and militia. Mayi has a standing army of 30,000.

The elites equipped with steel swords and iron armor cannot be wiped out without 100,000 elite soldiers. Moreover, Ma Yi still has 200,000 to 300,000 young men who can be recruited in times of crisis. Therefore, Ma Yi can summon 200,000 soldiers, although they

The fighting power is weak, but relying on the city wall defense, it is impossible for the imperial court to defeat Lei Gong without 200,000 people!"

Dong Zhuo said: "Do you think the imperial court can afford 200,000 troops now?"

Lu Bu was stunned. Even though he was in Bingzhou, he could clearly feel that the imperial treasury was empty in recent years. Their salaries were often lacking. It was impossible to think of 200,000 troops and horses to fight against Lei Gong!

Dong Zhuo continued: "So maintaining the status quo is the best choice for a big man!"

Now Lu Bu was speechless!

The group continued to move forward and soon arrived near Yanmen Pass!

As a result, Dong Zhuo found that the entire gate of Yanmen Pass was open, and there was a lively market not far away, and the crowds of people coming and going were even busier, almost as good as what he saw in Luoyang City!

Dong Zhuo was surprised and asked: "So there will be so many caravans going to Mayi?"

Lu Bu said: "There is woolen cloth in Mayi. I don't know how Lei Gong made it. No matter how many merchants go to him to buy woolen cloth, they can get enough goods, and the price is very low. As long as they resell it, they can make more than double the profit."

, and after the caravan sold goods in Leigong, it could also replenish the goods in Mayi and sell them to the desert, and finally return from the desert. It is said that businessmen with wide connections can make dozens of times the profit by visiting Mayi, which is so high.

Of course these businessmen are going crazy with the profits!”

There was one thing Lu Bu hadn't said yet. He also asked his men to sell woolen cloth from Mayi, so he knew it so clearly.

Dong Zhuo looked at the caravan entering with a large amount of grain and other goods and shook his head and said: "These merchants are indeed fatherless and motherless. The price of grain in the Han Dynasty remains high, and they actually sell grain to this rebellious Lei Gong!"

Lu Bu said: "Lei Gong is extremely cunning. Mayi has many unique goods such as woolen clothes, woolen cloth, and high-quality weapons. To get these goods, merchants need to exchange grain. Jizhou's grain merchants, Bingzhou

The grain merchants of Sili and Sili are all gathered in Mayi, so Lei Gong has repeatedly used troops in recent years, but there is no shortage of grain!"

It was okay for the caravan to go to Mayi, but Dong Zhuo found that many people were leaving towards Mayi. In the time he saw alone, more than a thousand people had passed.

Dong Zhuo asked strangely: "What are these people doing in Mayi?"

Lu Bu said helplessly: "They all went to work in Mayi. Lord Lei made money, and Mayi was extremely wealthy. At the same time, Lord Lei also spent money like water. As long as he had money, he would build city walls, roads, canals, and reclaim wasteland.

So even though there are now 500,000 tribesmen in Mayi, there is still a shortage of manpower everywhere in Lei Gong's territory. Therefore, the wages for working in Mayi are very high, including food and accommodation, and there is still 300 yuan. You have to do some hard work and even exceed

500 money.

There is also a shortage of female textile workers in Mayi. It is said that the monthly salary for weaving in Mayi is more than 1,000 yuan. Therefore, people around Yanmen Pass often go to Mayi to work as a couple, and they can earn 1,400 to 500 yuan in a month.

This is already higher than their original annual income. With such high wages, people in Bingzhou went to Mayi to work one after another. It is said that we are not the only ones in Bingzhou. All the soldiers from Youzhou fled to Mayi.
To be continued...