My son, how could you be Lü Bu?!

Chapter 1 The Cheap Eldest Son

The sixth year of Xiping (177 years).

Bingzhou, Wuyuan Commandery.

The majestic Yinshan Mountains shelter the Hetao Plain, where Han people live, and the rain in April is always drizzling.

The sky was overcast, and rainwater slowly gathered along the edges of the thatched roof, refusing to fall.

With a pale face and the appearance of someone recovering from a serious illness, Lü Ping was wearing a cross-collar silk robe, kneeling on a straw mat, deep in thought.

"Thump! Thump!"

The sound of horses' hooves echoed.

Lü Ping subconsciously looked up.

What came into view was a young man who looked somewhat similar to him, with an exceptionally robust build, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, standing at the entrance of the thatched hut, leaning on his sword.

Due to raindrops splashing.

The young man's clothes were already soaked at the hem, but he didn't react. He just turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came.

Seeing this seemingly fierce young man, for some reason, Lü Ping subconsciously reached out and tightened his plain silk robe.

Yes.

He crossed.

Standing at the door was his cheat code – Lu Bu, a filial son known for his unparalleled bravery and skill in patricide.

Fate played a cruel joke on him.

As a doctoral student specializing in water conservation in arid-area agriculture, Lü Ping never imagined that he would become Lü Bu's father when he opened his eyes again after forgetting to bring his family photo while playing a video game and blocking a bridge.

He had been in this world for over a month.

To Lü Ping's surprise, Lü Bu, whom he had stereotyped as being exceptionally arrogant, turned out to be a very filial son.

The original owner of this body had been seriously ill for half a year. Lü Bu, who was only sixteen or seventeen years old at the time, took the initiative to become the pillar of the family. He ran around selling the family's property and dismissing the servants to pay for the original owner's medical treatment.

Of course, the original body was definitely not cured.

Otherwise... Lü Ping wouldn't have had to travel through time.

After merging with the original owner's memories, Lü Ping gained a general understanding of his own situation.

The original owner was a minor official in the Salt Bureau who verified salt vendors' permits (salt trading licenses). Relying on his duties and his long experience on the frontier, he was skilled in archery and horsemanship and adept at using a long spear. He was able to get along well with everyone in the area and often made a good profit from passing salt vendors.

Aside from martial arts skills and duties, the original owner was also quite shrewd. Relying on the profits from merchants, he imitated the aristocratic families in the city, often buying grain at low prices during prosperous years, selling grain at high prices during famine years, and buying land at low prices.

therefore.

In just ten years, the Lü family quickly became wealthy, owning vast tracts of land and employing hundreds of servants and farmers, forming a small manor.

only...

Money comes quickly and goes quickly.

As news of Lü Ping's serious illness spread, eunuchs, powerful families, and even smaller aristocratic clans in the city pounced on him like hungry wolves hunting their prey.

The Lü family's assets vanished quickly, like castles in the air.

Even... the original owner's wife, Wei, was bitten and killed by hungry wolves during the dissipation of the family's property.

Otherwise, Lü Ping and Lü Bu wouldn't be huddled in this drafty thatched hut outside the city, enduring the late spring chill of Jiuyuan City.

"Father."

"Ulhan is here!"

The young man standing at the door gently reminded him.

Hearing the reminder from his own eldest son.

Lu Ping took a deep breath, shook his head slightly, forcibly calmed himself down, composed himself, and looked up towards the door.

The sound of horses' hooves gradually subsided.

The awkward Xiongnu language rang out in a noisy din.

The tremors caused the thick raindrops clinging to the thatch, which had been motionless for a long time, to fall rapidly.

It just so happened that the splash landed on several disheveled Huns who had just parked their horses and were crossing the eaves to go inside. They were wearing rough, tanned sheepskin coats that were infested with lice.

"Haven't seen you for half a year!"

"Young Master Lü's charm remains undiminished!"

The young Xiongnu man, called Urhan, entered with three or four Xiongnu men. He stood in the thatched hut with a smile on his face, speaking fluent Wuyuan dialect.

As he spoke, his gaze unconsciously fell on a large bamboo basket in front of Lü Ping.

"It has indeed been a long time, Chief Ur. A whole winter has passed; your tribe's salt reserves must be almost depleted by now, right?"

"Coincidentally, I have plenty of salted fish here and am looking for a good seller."

Lu Ping chuckled lightly and got straight to the point.

He slammed his hand on the large bamboo basket wrapped in coarse cloth in front of him, causing the basket to shake slightly and releasing a hint of the unique aroma of salted fish.

In order to obtain these salted fish, Lü Ping has been quite busy since his transmigration.

Upon smelling the salty aroma, the Huns in the room all brightened up and turned to look at Urhan, who was leading the group.

Although they are called Xiongnu, if you take off their sheepskin coats, these people look no different from Han people who have been farming all year round. They have the same wrinkles and look a bit old.

Urhan, who was in the lead, looked wary. He tried to look away from the salted fish and instead looked at Lü Ping.

"Lu Lang, what's the price?"

"I want ten Xianbei people!" Seeing that Urhan did not refute the claim that his tribe lacked salt, Lü Ping grinned.

"It has to be fresh!"

"Ten Xianbei people?!"

Upon hearing Lü Ping's request, Urhan was startled and shook his head repeatedly.

"Young Master Lü!"

"It's just a few salted fish, how can you demand ten Xianbei people?!"

Lu Ping made no attempt to hide anything, directly lifting the bamboo basket to reveal a basket of salted fish with excessive salt content and white crystals seeping out.

He had a big smile on his face.

"There's a reason why it's expensive!"

"I've heard that the current Protector-General of the Xiongnu recently issued an order forbidding Han people from selling salt to you privately! You should be able to find out by asking around."

"Once you step outside this door, you'll never find another Han Chinese shop that dares to sell you salt...and salted fish!"

Looking at the basket of salted fish in front of him, which must have weighed about thirty pounds and was worth ten thousand coins in Xiongnu territory, the Xiongnu men standing behind Urhan, dressed in tattered clothes, instinctively revealed a fierce glint in their eyes and reached out to touch the sharpened stone knives at their waists.

You should know that some young children in their tribe already have swollen faces due to salt deficiency, and they follow behind livestock, lying on the ground, licking the soil and even the urine of the animals.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have rushed to Jiuyuan City to find him without stopping for a whole day after receiving news of Lu Langjun, who had connections to obtain salt.

Seeing this, Lü Ping remained calm. He coughed and called out softly.

"Fengxian".

When the original owner was seriously ill, he worried that he would not live much longer, so he prematurely gave Lü Bu a coming-of-age ceremony and a courtesy name.

The words had barely left his mouth.

The young man, who had been standing at the door and had heard the conversation inside clearly, then proudly put his hand on his knife and entered from the outside.

He glanced briefly at the few Huns in front of him, who looked like bamboo poles compared to him, and a hint of contempt appeared in his eyes.

Then, the young man turned around, paused for a moment, and respectfully bowed to Lü Ping.

"Father."

Then this young man appeared.

Several Xiongnu people seemed to realize something, and suddenly shuddered, a look of awe appearing on their faces. The hand that was about to touch the stone knife was quickly lowered as if it had been electrocuted.

Lu Ping's smile deepened, and he nodded slightly.

The young man then consciously stood behind Lü Ping, holding his sword.

"how?"

Are you buying or not?

Lu Ping chuckled softly and slowly uttered those words.

Looking at the Xiongnu people in front of him, who were bowing their heads and seemed honest and simple, just like old Han farmers, he was suddenly stunned and felt like a black-hearted shopkeeper who was forcing people to buy and sell.

Several Xiongnu people turned around and spoke in their Xiongnu language in hushed tones for a while.

Urhan, who was in charge, finally straightened his head.

He glanced at Lü Bu, his eyes showing some hesitation, but he still forced himself to puff out his chest, trying his best to make his face look tough and less likely to speak.

He took a deep breath.

"No!"

"Young Master Lü, the Xianbei people are not easy to catch these days. This basket of salted fish you have is simply not enough!"

"At least..." Urhan, who was in the lead, took a deep breath, raised three fingers high, and said firmly.

"At least... we need to add two more baskets of salted fish!"

Looking at Urhan, who was holding up three fingers, Lü Ping raised his eyebrows slightly and pondered for a while.

Seeing this expression, Urhan, who was in charge, felt extremely uneasy.

He was starting to regret it; should he have asked for one less basket? The Xianbei people were powerful lately and very easy to fool. With just a few kind words, they could trick him into giving them several heads.

Two baskets of salted fish, if eaten sparingly, will be enough for the whole clan to eat for more than half a month.

Not to mention, he often bought salt from Han people, so by comparison, Lü Langjun's salted fish always had a high salt content.

Just as Urhan was feeling uneasy and was about to lower his standards,

Lu Ping's brows finally relaxed.

He spoke in a deep voice.

"Three baskets would be fine."

"but..."

Urhan felt a sense of relief at first, but then tensed up again.

"I need to see these ten Xianbei people within five days. At that time, you must bring several dozen men and do one more thing for me!"

"how?!"

Why bring dozens of people to do something? The able-bodied men in the clan are not worth much, and Lü Lang's credit is top-notch. There is absolutely no way he would do something like "discarding a donkey after it has served its purpose."

Not to mention, escorting these ten Xianbei people should have required dozens of people!

Urhan nodded repeatedly after only a moment's thought.

"good!"

"Fengxian, go to the back and bring him two baskets of salted fish!"

Lu Bu nodded in agreement and strode out.

Just a moment later.

He then walked in through the doorway with his hands steady, each carrying a bamboo basket filled with salted fish, weighing nearly thirty pounds, and placed them directly in front of the Xiongnu people.

Lü Ping got up and lifted the thick cloth covering the bamboo basket.

A large quantity of salted fish was immediately displayed in front of the Xiongnu people.

The Xiongnu people beamed with joy.

One of the Huns, whose face was somewhat swollen, couldn't resist reaching out his finger to pinch off a small piece of salted fish, putting it in his mouth and sucking out the saltiness, his face full of satisfaction.

"You can take one basket first."

"The rest will be delivered and paid for in five days."

Lu Ping pointed to a basket of salted fish and reminded him with a smile.

These Xiongnu men were so captivated by the baskets of salted fish before them that they couldn't take their eyes off them, completely ignoring what Lü Ping was saying, and just kept nodding.

After waiting for a while, seeing that Lü Ping had nothing more to say.

Ignoring the fact that it was still snowing outside, Urhan directed everyone to lift the bamboo basket full of salted fish that Lü Ping had pointed to and hurried outside.

They watched as the Xiongnu people went further and further away.

Their figures gradually disappeared into the mist.

Standing at the doorway, with his hand on his sword, Lü Bu finally turned around. He looked at Lü Ping, his confusion fully revealed.

"Father."

"These three baskets of salted fish could fetch tens of thousands of coins from any wealthy Xiongnu tribe! Why are we turning down tens of thousands of coins and goods to trade with this poor Wuer tribe for ten Xianbei people? And why are we making those Xiongnu dogs work for you?"

"If it's about getting things done, I know plenty of chivalrous and chivalrous people who can do things for you."

Faced with Lü Bu's question, Lü Ping shook his head slightly and explained.

"I dare not use the other Xiongnu people. Only Urhan and his group are honest enough to help us put on a show and gain fame!"

"Reputation? What's the use of reputation?" Lü Bu was still puzzled.

"Does having a big reputation mean we can wrest our estate back from those eunuchs?!"

"Can tens of thousands of coins really buy any reputation?"

As he spoke, Lü Bu's voice grew louder and louder. His face flushed slightly as he stared intently at Lü Ping and gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"Father! If you ask me... you should go and lay low among the familiar Xiongnu tribes beyond the Great Wall for the time being!"

"When the Huns from the Wuer tribe arrive, I will incite them to lead them back to the village at night and chop up that arrogant eunuch and feed him to the dogs."

"Then we'll go beyond the Great Wall together!"

"Even if those Xiongnu people knew they were being used as pawns, given Bu's bravery, I predict they would dare not speak out! They could only tuck their tails between their legs and follow Bu out of the city!"

These words had been bottled up in Lü Bu's heart for a long time.

He has always been a man of quick revenge. With his mother dead and his home taken away, if it weren't for the need to save his father, he would have already led his companions back to seek revenge.

Originally, I thought that after my father recovered from his illness, he would take me back with him to fight back. But who knew that after my father woke up, he inexplicably learned the methods of those scholars and did things in a roundabout way, which was not efficient at all!

Looking at the fifteen or sixteen-year-old Lü Bu before him, his face was full of anger. Coupled with his already burly physique, at first glance, he really did look like the villain in the storybooks who wanted to eat people and repeatedly killed his father.

Lu Ping, who had been in this world for over a month, remained completely calm.

Just like stroking the fur of a frightened puppy that was all puffed up and howling with its back arched, he simply reached out, put his arm around Lü Bu's shoulder, and gently stroked it.

Lu Bu, who was filled with anger, was taken aback.

Lu Ping's hands didn't stop moving. He casually closed the door, skillfully patted his adopted son's back, pulled Lu Bu down to sit, and began to give him a pep talk:

"Money must be earned, and revenge must be taken, but we can't rush it..."

"In our Great Han Dynasty, the most important thing for someone wanting to become an official is reputation. If you have a reputation..."

"We're not just exchanging ten Xianbei people; we're exchanging our reputation... I've heard that soon, a new governor from another region will be appointed to our prefecture..."

"Now that we're out of options, as long as our reputation reaches his ears..."

"..."

Teasing the eldest son and stroking the fury of the enraged Lü Bu were skills that Lü Ping learned without a teacher after transmigrating.

Inside, whispers filled the air, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere, while outside, the incessant rain made the place feel increasingly cold and gloomy.

As dusk fell.

Lu Bu's anger had long since vanished, and he knelt beside Lu Ping like a sheepdog.

Lü Ping explained carefully.

He nodded repeatedly.