When I heard that the Han Dynasty dedicated the throne to Lu Bu, everyone felt that this was a matter of course, Lu Bu had such a strong personality charm among all the people in the world, and everyone knew that Lu Bu opened up the territory for the Han Dynasty and worked hard.

And Cao Cao and Sun Quan, who received the news of Lu Bu's proclamation as emperor, couldn't help but sigh that Lu Bu had finally taken this step and was finally no longer the same identity as them.

It's a pity that he Lu Bu can be called the emperor, but Cao Cao and Sun Quan have a thief's heart but not a thief's courage, and all kinds of encounters after Yuan Shu became the emperor are still in front of him, and the emperor who is not justified cannot be the emperor.

However, Cao Cao and Sun Quan wanted to give in to Lu Bu and bow down, but Lu Bu did not accept it.

Lu Bu's original words to them were that they must surrender unconditionally, hand over their territory and army, be a rich man honestly, and don't think that they will inherit their father's business on the side of secession.

Therefore, the two sides could not reach an agreement at all, and Wei and Wu could only step up preparations for war.

Lu Bu officially moved into Weiyang Palace, but he only demolished the courtyard wall between Liangwangfu and Weiyang Palace, and his usual living was still based on the original mansion.

Moreover, he gave all the concubines of Emperor Han Xian out of the palace, and he Lu Bu did not give in to women.

The palace maids and eunuchs in the palace have also been greatly reduced, because Lu Bu did not engage in three palaces and six courts, he only has three wives, and he must set an example for his future generations.

Therefore, all the descendants of the Lu family who became emperors did not ask for any three palaces and six courts, at most they married three wives, which was the rule left by the ancestors.

The history books refer to Lü Bu's Han Empire as the New Han Dynasty to distinguish it.

In March 208, Lu Bu personally drove a personal expedition, and after ascending the throne, his first expedition was an expedition to Nanyang County, with the goal of Xiangyang City, an important town in Jingxiang.

Xu Shu, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Zhuge Liang and other senior generals and military advisors all went out with the army.

This time, a large number of soldiers and horses were transferred, including the three divisions of the Royal Forest Army, as well as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 15th, 16th, 1st Honorable Division, 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Cavalry Division, and 9th Cavalry Division of the Wehrmacht.

There are 13 divisions in total, more than 200,000 people, and it is known to the outside world as an army of 400,000.

Among them, the three divisions of the Royal Forest Army, plus the first, second and first divisions, completed the refitting of Ma's rifles and the replenishment of the second artillery battalion, each artillery battalion had six field guns.

The rest of the divisions completed the conversion of flintlock muskets and smoothbore guns to rifled guns, and the firing range was generally increased from 120 zhang to 300 to 400 zhang, and the accuracy was also much improved.

The Wehrmacht troops pressed the border and directly surrounded Xiangyang City, but according to the plan formulated by the General Staff, they did not attack Xiangyang City immediately, this was to wait for Cao Cao to send reinforcements.

In fact, Cao Cao was already seriously ill at this time, and his old headache had never been effectively treated, and even the divine doctor Hua Tuo was helpless against this disease.

At this juncture, the bad news that Lu Bu's royal expedition and 400,000 troops attacked Xiangyang City made Cao Cao even more painful.

Cao Cao could only tighten the top of his head with a belt to relieve the pain.

Xiangyang City cannot afford to lose, although Lu Bu has already pressed the territory with a large number of troops and put on a posture of being determined to win, but Cao Cao must also defend it to the death.

It's a pity that Guo Jia is no longer there, and there is no one who can provide Cao Cao with valuable advice on military strategy.

Xun You, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and others all focus on internal politics, and Chen Gong is only a general opinion, otherwise he would not have suffered a cold reception after Liu Bei got Pang Tong.

Cao Cao sent Chen Gong as an envoy to ask for reinforcements from Eastern Wu.

He and Chen Gong emphasized the relationship between the two countries, which are cold in their lips and teeth, and they are separated by water.

Xiangyang is a bridgehead to resist Lü Bu's southward and eastward invasion, if Xiangyang is lost, then future wars will be carried out in the hinterland of Wei and Wu, which will cause great harm to the production and construction of the two countries and the people's livelihood, he believes that Zhou Yu will make a wise judgment.

Chen Gong arrived in Shouchun at the fastest speed, regardless of the fatigue of the journey, and visited Zhou Yu, the governor of Eastern Wu who was stationed here, and explained his intention.

Sure enough, as Cao Cao expected, Zhou Yu really agreed with Cao Cao's point of view, saying that he would persuade Sun Quan, the king of Wu, to send troops to the country as reinforcements.

Chen Gong received Zhou Yu's personal promise and reply to the letter, and was very happy to go back to see Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was also very happy when he heard that Zhou Yu was willing to send troops from all over the country to help, and immediately began to mobilize the troops and horses that could be mobilized throughout the country, preparing to fight to the death with Lü Bu's Han army.

There were 100,000 defenders in Xiangyang City, and the city was strong and tall, and it had long been repaired to the same defensive standard as the capital.

The city wall is as high as the division commander, and the boulders are made of clay, which is extremely strong, and even if it is blown up with explosives, it is difficult to be effective, which Wei Guo himself has tested.

Although Zhou Yu agreed to Cao Cao and Chen Gong's request, he did not really pour the whole country's troops to help, after all, it was his Cao Cao's Xiangyang.

Zhou Yu first mobilized 30,000 sailors, marched from the waterway, and put on a posture to reinforce Xiangyang.

In addition, 30,000 infantry were sent by land, and equipped with imitation muskets, and they went to Nanyang through Runan County, after all, Jiangxia had been recovered by the Han army, and it was impossible to pass by water or land.

Zhou Yu himself rushed to Jianye to meet with the lord Sun Quan, and reached a consensus with Sun Quan on the issue of sending troops to support Cao Cao.

Sun Quan is also a generation of heroes, and he still has this strategic vision, and he can figure out the truth of cold lips and teeth and the benefits of keeping enemies out of the country.

Sun Quan agreed with Zhou Yu's decision, and still tried his best to help Cao Cao and hold Xiangyang.

The Eastern Wu Navy was led by Lü Meng, and after all these years of tempering, Zhou Yu was completely assured of Lü Meng's ability to command the navy.

The army was personally commanded by Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yu also brought two young generals with him, 26-year-old Lu Xun and 20-year-old Ling Tong.

Zhou Yu felt that veterans such as Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were all old and had poor ability to accept new things, especially in the era of firearms, tactical play and training subjects had to keep pace with the times, and the Central Army was the best model.

The spies of Wei and Wu took great pains to obtain from Chang'an some of the teaching materials of the Central Military Academy and the training outline of the daily training of the Central Army.

It was of great help to improve the infantry training of Wei and Wu, especially in the field of firearms.

Wu has officially named the army on land as the army, although it did not implement the establishment of the central army, but also reformed the original establishment and unified it into a two-quintal system.

When Zhou Yu set out, he brought 50,000 troops with him, plus 30,000 troops who fought in the vanguard, and the 80,000 army was almost the majority of the troops of Eastern Wu, and these 80,000 people were reloaded with muskets.

Of course, they did not have the strong military-industrial production capacity of the Han army, and each unit also retained a part of hoplites and crossbowmen as a supplement to firepower and protection.