Transmigrating to the Three Kingdoms as Lu Bu: I Have a Pseudo-Apocalypse System

On the fifteenth day of the first month of the 398th year of the Han calendar (197 AD), in Luoyang City.

On the Lantern Festival, the city was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and people of all ages went out to admire the lanterns. This was the first festival after the new emperor ascended the throne, and a festive atmosphere permeated the city.

Lu Bu also disguised himself as an ordinary person and took Yan Yuan, Lu Zhao and others out of the palace for a trip, experiencing the atmosphere of a folk festival.

Seeing the smiles on the faces of the people, Lü Bu felt that his journey through time had not been in vain.

Compared to the original world of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, now, under his strong unification, the common people can finally live a peaceful life.

After the Lantern Festival, in the Imperial Palace, at the Jiade Hall.

A thick military register lay open in front of Lü Bu, detailing the number of soldiers, organization, generals, and garrisons of all the armies across the country.

Jia Xu, Chen Gong, Zhang Liao, and Guo Jia sat at the lower end of the table, their faces solemn.

Lü Bu closed the military register and said in a deep voice, "I have been looking at it for three days and have finally seen through this force. The total number of troops in the country, plus the surrendered troops from various regions, is more than 536,000."

Zhang Liao clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this is only the regular army, not including the county troops and city defense troops of various prefectures and counties. If all are included, there are probably more than 700,000 troops."

Lu Bu shook his head: "Too many. The world is now at peace, there's no need to maintain so many soldiers. Although I currently have the Heavenly Granted Granary distributing provisions and supplies to the army daily, what about the future? If this becomes the norm now, this expense will be enormous when I'm gone. Therefore, my Heavenly Granted Granary can only be used for emergencies, disaster relief, and so on. Daily needs should be met by the court's normal revenue and expenditure as much as possible."

Jia Xu nodded: "Your Majesty is absolutely right. Moreover, the quality of soldiers is more important than their quantity. If redundant troops are not eliminated, the court's finances will be unable to support them."

Lü Bu stood up and paced back and forth in the hall, his hands behind his back: "When I ascended the throne, I said that I would not change the name of the country or abolish the Han dynasty, which was to give an explanation to the scholars of the world. But military power must be firmly held in my hands in order to continue the subsequent reforms."

He turned to the four men and said, "I plan to reduce the army, leaving only 300,000 elite troops. The rest will either retire and return to their hometowns, or become local constables. What do you think?"

Chen Gong frowned: "Your Majesty, with the reduction of over 300,000 troops, won't those laid-off soldiers riot?"

Lü Bu laughed and said, "Therefore, we cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach. The court should provide retired soldiers with a way out. They should be allocated land, given resettlement allowances, introduced to potential spouses, and those who are willing to work should be given jobs. Of course, those who disobey military orders or cause trouble will be severely punished."

Guo Jia cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise. In my opinion, in addition to reducing the number of troops, it is more important to reform the military system. Now that the country is unified, the local areas mainly focus on patrolling and apprehending thieves. The pressure from external enemies is not that great, so there is no longer a need for a field army group in each province."

Lü Bu nodded: "Fengxiao is right. I plan to divide the national army into several military regions, with generals rotating regularly. Soldiers will not know their generals, and generals will not know their soldiers. This will prevent generals from becoming too powerful."

Zhang Liao said, "Your Majesty is a man of profound wisdom and foresight. I suggest that the Imperial Guards, which protect the central government, be directly controlled by Your Majesty. In other military regions, senior generals should be rotated every three to five years, and at most every ten years. This will ensure the stability of the army and prevent generals from holing up their own territory for too long."

Lu Bu returned to his throne and sat down: "Tell me the specific plan."

Zhang Liao stood up, walked to the map of the Han Dynasty hanging on the wall, pointed to the map and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the country should be divided into eight military regions, as well as the Imperial Guard and the Navy."

"The Imperial Guards protect Luoyang and guard the palace, with a strength of 20,000 men."

"The Jingji Military Region, which governs Sizhou, is stationed in Luoyang and Chang'an, the two capitals, and has a force of 50,000."

"The Northwest Military Region, which administers Liangzhou and the Western Regions Prefectural Office, is stationed in Jincheng, Dunhuang, Liuzhongcheng, and Taqiancheng, with a force of 60,000, and is responsible for defending against the Qiang and Hu tribes and the various states of the Western Regions."

"The Northern Military Region, which governs Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Youzhou, is stationed in Jinyang, Yecheng, and Jixian, with a force of 50,000, and is responsible for defending against the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and various northeastern tribes."

"The Eastern Military Region, which administers Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou, and is stationed in Linzi, Juancheng, and Tanxian, has a force of 30,000."

"The Central and Southern Military Region, which administers Jingzhou and Yuzhou, and is stationed in Xiangyang and Runan, has a force of 30,000."

"The Southeast Military Region, which governs Yangzhou and Jiaozhou, and is stationed in Wuxian and Longbian, has a force of 30,000 and is responsible for defending against the Yue tribes in the mountains."

"The Southwest Military Region, which governs Yizhou and is stationed in Chengdu, has a force of 30,000 and is responsible for defending against the barbarians in the south."

"The Navy integrates the naval forces from various regions, stationed in Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Yangzhou, with a total strength of 50,000, and is responsible for coastal and riverine defense as well as future sea operations."

After Zhang Liao finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Lu Bu pondered for a moment and said, "A total of 350,000, 50,000 more than I expected. But it's reasonable; the Han Dynasty has a vast territory, so this number of soldiers isn't too many."

Jia Xu said, "Your Majesty, the selection of commanders-in-chief for each military region needs careful consideration."

Lu Bu nodded, and combining his own ideas with the recommendations of the four, finally decided on Zhao Yun of the Imperial Guard, Cheng Lian, Commander-in-Chief of the Capital Region Military Region, Hou Cheng of the Northwest Military Region, Wei Xu of the Northern Military Region, Cao Xing of the Eastern Military Region, Hao Meng of the Central and Southern Military Region, Song Xian of the Southeast Military Region, Gao Shun of the Southwest Military Region, and Huang Zhong, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.

After finishing, Lü Bu continued, "The candidates for staff officers of each military region, commanders of military sub-regions, commanders of each army, and commanders of each division shall be drafted by the Ministry of War and the Cabinet and submitted to me for approval. As for those generals who have been dismissed, those with talent shall be transferred to the Ministry of War or each military region to serve as staff officers, and those without talent shall be given a sinecure and paid a salary to retire."

Zhang Liao clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, sir!"

Lu Bu stood up: "This matter needs to be handled quickly. A plan must be ready within a month, and implementation should begin no later than March. Aim to complete all troop reductions and reorganizations by the end of this year."

The four of them replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"

……

February 1st, Luoyang, Taiji Hall.

All the civil and military officials gathered in the palace, creating a solemn atmosphere.

Lu Bu sat on the dragon throne, looked around at everyone, and said loudly, "Today at the grand court assembly, I have several matters to announce."

The eunuch unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud:

The imperial edict states: With the empire newly established, the quality of the army is more important than its quantity. Therefore, redundant troops are being eliminated, and the entire army is being reorganized, establishing eight military regions, the Imperial Guard, and the Navy. The investiture is as follows:

Zhao Yun, commander of the Imperial Guard, commanded 20,000 troops and guarded the central government.

Cheng Lian, Commander-in-Chief of the Capital Region Military Region, stationed in Sizhou and the two capitals, commanding 50,000 troops;

Hou Cheng, Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest Military Region, stationed in Liangzhou and the Western Regions, commanding 60,000 troops;

Wei Xu, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Military Region, stationed in Bing, Ji, and You prefectures, commanding 50,000 troops;

Cao Xing, Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Military Region, stationed in Qing, Yan and Xu prefectures, commanding 30,000 troops;

Hao Meng, Commander-in-Chief of the Central and Southern Military Region, stationed in Jing and Yu prefectures, commanding 30,000 troops;

Song Xian, Commander-in-Chief of the Southeast Military Region, stationed in Yangzhou and Jiaozhou, commanding 30,000 troops;

Gao Shun, Commander-in-Chief of the Southwest Military Region, stationed in Yizhou, commanding 30,000 troops;

Huang Zhong was the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, commanding 50,000 naval troops stationed in the three prefectures of Qing, Yang and Jing.

The staff officers of the other military regions, the commanders of the armies, and the commanders of the divisions will be appointed separately by the Ministry of War.

The dismissed soldiers will receive resettlement allowances from the imperial court; those with land will be allowed to return to farming, while those without land will be assigned jobs. All prefectures and counties must ensure their proper resettlement without error. So be it!