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

After the imperial edict was read, the hall erupted in uproar.

Zhao Yun, Cheng Lian, Hou Cheng, Wei Xu, Cao Xing, Hao Meng, Song Xian, Gao Shun, and Huang Zhong stepped forward, knelt, and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, we accept your imperial decree and express our gratitude. Long live the Emperor!"

Lu Bu raised his hand: "Rise."

Everyone stood up and returned to the queue.

Lü Bu then said, "Besides disbanding and reorganizing the army, I have another matter to announce."

He looked at Zhang Liao: "Wen Yuan, you speak."

Zhang Liao, the Second Grand Secretary and Minister of War, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said: "Colleagues, in order to prevent generals from becoming too powerful, the commanders-in-chief and army commanders of each military region will be replaced every five years, and at the latest no later than ten years. Those below the rank of colonel can remain in their posts for a long time to ensure the stability of the army."

These words sparked another round of discussion in the hall.

Many generals showed unusual expressions, but now that Lü Bu's prestige was unparalleled, no one dared to voice their opposition.

Lu Bu said coldly, "This matter is settled. Anyone who has objections can step forward now."

The hall was completely silent.

Lü Bu nodded: "Alright, let's do it that way. Also, to prevent the pain of warlordism from recurring, the governors of each province should be rotated every five years. The same person cannot serve in the same province for more than ten years. After ten years, they must be transferred to another province or enter the capital to serve as an official."

Xun Yu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty is wise. The rotation of officials can prevent local powers from becoming too powerful, which is beneficial to both the country and the people."

Lü Bu laughed and said, "Wenruo is right. This matter should be drafted by the Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel, and then submitted to me for approval."

Jia Xu cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir!"

……

In mid-February, in Luoyang, the cabinet ministers, including Jia Xu, Chen Gong, Zhang Liao, Shi Sunrui, Ju Shou, Xun You, Guo Jia, Zhang Song, Cheng Lian, Zhong Yao, and Zuo Feng, gathered in the cabinet office to discuss the rotation plan for governors.

Previously, some people, such as Liu Zhang, were allowed by Lü Bu to temporarily retain the position of Governor of Yi Province for the sake of stability.

Now that Lü Bu has unified the country and enjoys unparalleled prestige, there is no longer any need to worry about rebellion. Therefore, some people should step down, and others should be reassigned.

Jia Xu pointed to the map on the wall and said, "Based on the opinions of all parties, the proposed plans for the governors of each province are as follows: Sili (Xun Yu), Liang (Wang Yi), Bing (Ma Teng), You (Cui Yan), Qing (Cheng Yu), Ji (Zhang Ji), Yan (Liu Bei), Xu (Zhang Yang), Yu (Tian Feng), Jing (Kuai Liang), Yi (Huang Quan), Yang (Sun Ce), and Jiao (Shi Xie)."

This plan was developed after multiple rounds of discussions, and everyone nodded in approval.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Jia Xu said, "Very well, let's submit this plan to His Majesty for approval."

……

At the end of February, Lü Bu summoned some of his court officials to discuss affairs in the Western Regions.

Jia Xu said, "Your Majesty, the Western Regions Prefectural Administration has been upgraded to the Western Regions Protectorate. After discussion, we recommend Dong Zhao, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, as the candidate for Protector."

Lü Bu nodded: "I know Dong Zhao. He's exceptionally talented and certainly a suitable candidate. What about Ma Chao?"

Jia Xu said, "Ma Chao is willing to voluntarily relinquish his political duties and only serve as the commander of the Western Regions Military District, leading 30,000 troops to guard the various states of the Western Regions."

Lü Bu laughed and said, "Ma Mengqi is indeed sensible. Issue an imperial decree that Dong Zhao be transferred to the position of Protector-General of the Western Regions, in charge of the administration of the Western Regions. Ma Chao will serve as the Commander of the Western Regions Military Sub-district, commanding 30,000 troops, and will be under the command of Hou Cheng, the Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest Military Region."

……

In March, outside Luoyang City, at the Yellow River ferry crossing.

Lü Bu is preparing to build a bridge.

It's not the kind of makeshift bridge used for marching across rivers, but a real bridge that can support vehicles and horses, withstand the erosion of mud and river water for hundreds or thousands of years, and also has room to support the weight of future cars and even train tracks.

Therefore, Lü Bu needed to use the most erosion-resistant granite. The preliminary exploration, finding the mine, Lü Bu's extraction, and design of the bridge construction plan all took a lot of time.

Now that it's finally done, Lü Bu first opened the storage space to continuously collect the flowing river water and silt from the riverbed, forming a circular vacuum space and a solid base. Then, he placed the hard, huge, and erosion-resistant granite bridge piers into the base, and then put the giant arch bridge and bridge deck assembled in the storage space onto the bridge piers.

In just three days, Lü Bu built a super bridge on the Yellow River north of Luoyang. It was 1,000 zhang long, 10 zhang wide, with a navigation clearance of more than 10 zhang in the archway, and the widest main span of 20 zhang. It was a bridge that no one had ever seen before.

Many common people who had never witnessed Emperor Lü Bu using the power of the Heavenly Granted Granary saw firsthand how His Majesty used the power of the Heavenly Granted Granary to build a bridge.

After the bridge was completed and opened to traffic, people from surrounding counties flocked to see it, and were deeply impressed as they walked on the wide and smooth bridge. The bridge has greatly facilitated the transportation of goods and traffic between Hanoi, Henan, and Ha Dong counties.

The Da Han Xun Bao newspaper reported on the completion and opening of the Luoyang Yellow River Bridge, and the grand occasion of the people singing praises to Emperor Lü Bu, under the headline "A Bridge Soars Across North and South, Turning a Natural Barrier into a Thoroughfare."

Having learned from the experience of the Luoyang Yellow River Bridge, Lü Bu would go out every now and then to build bridges at key points on major rivers across the country, such as the Luo River, Wei River, Huai River, and Yangtze River, forming cross-river transportation arteries. Then, he would build roads to connect them, which greatly facilitated cross-river transportation, logistics, information transmission, and people's travel.

Even troop deployment has become much easier, making it exponentially more difficult for local authorities to establish their own independent regimes.

……

In late April, there was a court meeting in Luoyang.

Lü Bu looked around at his ministers and said solemnly, "Today I am going to announce a new policy. From this day forward, if any tree is cut down within ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) along the banks of the Yellow River and its tributaries, for every tree cut down, ten more must be planted."

The courtiers looked at each other, puzzled as to why the emperor wanted to interfere in the matter of cutting down trees.

Xun You stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask, why was this order issued?"

Lü Bu asked, "Gongda, do you know why the Yellow River is yellow?"

Xun You was taken aback: "Because of the mud and sand."

Lü Bu nodded: "Yes, it's silt. Where does the silt come from? From the Loess Plateau upstream. Why does the Loess Plateau suffer from soil erosion? Because all the trees have been cut down. Without trees, there are no roots to hold the soil in place, so rainwater washes away the soil, and the soil flows into the Yellow River. The Yellow River accumulates silt, and the riverbed is getting higher and higher, and sooner or later it will become a suspended river. Once the dikes are breached, several downstream provinces will be flooded."

The assembled officials in the hall were all shocked upon hearing this.

Ju Shou said, "Your Majesty, I never imagined that cutting down trees would have such consequences."

Lü Bu said, "Therefore, I hereby issue an order that no logging is permitted along the Yellow River and its tributaries. Not only is logging prohibited, but more trees must be planted. For every tree cut down within ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) of the riverbank, ten more must be planted. From now on, afforestation will become a performance indicator for the prefectures and counties along the Yellow River's tributaries."

Chen Gong bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I suggest that tree planting be encouraged on hillsides and in hilly areas. This will not only prevent soil erosion but also increase the source of timber."

Lü Bu nodded: "Gongtai is right. Issue an imperial decree that all prefectures and counties should encourage their people to plant trees. Whoever plants the most will be rewarded by the court."

Trees were cut down for construction and heating. Therefore, in addition to inventing cement, bricks, and steel bars to build reinforced concrete houses, Lü Bu also vigorously encouraged the mining of coal in Bingzhou to supply the people of the two capitals of Sili, thereby reducing their dependence on trees and charcoal and thus reducing soil erosion in the Yellow River basin, especially in the upper reaches.