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

Upon hearing the loud shouts of Lü Bu's personal guards, the garrison of Juancheng immediately stirred, and many of the county soldiers looked hesitant.

On one hand, Lü Bu represented the legitimate court. On the other hand, news of Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou had already spread, and there was discontent within the army. Many soldiers also had relatives and friends in Xuzhou who had been slaughtered by Cao Cao, and their hearts were filled with resentment and even hatred.

Xun Yu forced himself to remain calm and said loudly, "Duke Jin, you are mistaken! Our lord's campaign against Tao Qian is to avenge his father, which is a matter of great righteousness. Tao Qian's general killed Old Master Cao; how can Tao Qian be innocent?"

Lu Bu sneered, knowing that empty talk was pointless; only physical prowess could prove the true meaning of this chaotic world.

With a wave of his hand, fifty catapults, twenty ballistae, fifty ladders, and ten battering rams appeared out of thin air on the open ground in front of him, along with mountains of stone projectiles, crossbow bolts, and oil canisters.

Seeing Lü Bu suddenly unleash so many siege weapons out of thin air with a wave of his hand, the defenders on the city wall were immediately thrown into an uproar, and someone exclaimed, "A divine granary bestowed by heaven! Duke Jin truly possesses a divine granary bestowed by heaven!"

Fear spread like a plague.

"Xun Wenruo!" Lü Bu pointed his halberd at the city wall. "I know you possess the talent of a king's advisor. Why did you betray us to Cao Cao? Now that the court has recovered Yanzhou, it is time for you to abandon your darkness and embrace the light. If you continue to be stubborn, these siege weapons can breach the city within an hour. At that time, everything will perish, and the Xun family's century-old reputation will be ruined in an instant!"

Xun Yu trembled violently. He looked at the dense array of siege weapons outside the city, then turned to look at the terrified defenders on the city wall, and towards Cao Cao's residence in the distance—where dozens of Cao Cao's family members lived.

The garrison commander whispered, "Lord Xun, we can't hold this position. Lü Bu possesses a divinely bestowed granary and endless weaponry. Our army's morale is already in disarray; I fear no one will fight to the death."

Xun Yu closed his eyes, and after a long while, he sighed, "Open the city gates and surrender."

"Wenruo!" Cheng Yu exclaimed urgently, "The lord's family..."

"It is precisely because our lord's family is in the city that we cannot fight," Xun Yu said sadly. "If we fight, we will surely be defeated, and our lord's family will be slaughtered. Surrendering, at least, will save their lives."

He turned to the garrison commander and said, "Open the city gates and welcome Duke Jin into the city."

The drawbridge slowly lowered, and the city gate creaked open.

Lü Bu led his army into the city, ordering Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun to control the four gates, armory, and granary, while he himself went to the governor's mansion.

Xun Yu and Cheng Yu removed their armor and hats, and knelt before the mansion to beg for forgiveness.

Lü Bu dismounted and looked at Xun Yu: "Wenruo, please rise. Your act of surrendering the city, sparing the lives of the people and the Cao family, is a benevolent act. You should return to Chang'an with me to assist in governing the court."

Cheng Yu, who had always believed Lü Bu to be tyrannical, was taken aback: "The Duke of Jin won't kill us?"

"What good would killing you do?" Lü Bu said calmly. "Both of you are highly talented, and it would be a pity to kill you. Cao Cao massacred cities and killed soldiers; he is not a wise ruler. You should have abandoned him long ago."

He added, "I will make proper arrangements for Cao Cao's family members, without harming the women and children. This is not out of mercy, but because I do not wish to emulate Cao Cao's acts of slaughter."

Xun Yu prostrated himself on the ground in gratitude, tears streaming down his face: "Duke Jin is benevolent and virtuous. I, Xun Yu, am willing to serve you to the death."

Looking at this historically famous royalist, Lü Bu knew he was probably forced to surrender due to circumstances. But Lü Bu didn't care; as long as he could be used, that was enough. He desperately needed top-notch civil officials.

When the time came for a change of dynasty, he didn't believe Xun Yu would risk exterminating his entire clan to protect the Liu imperial family.

Dynasties come and go, but powerful families remain. When faced with a life-or-death choice between the royal family and their relatives and friends, there are very few like Han Rong who would truly dare to risk the extermination of their entire clan to remain loyal to the royal family.

If Xun Yu were that kind of person, he wouldn't have served Cao Cao until his death, and he wouldn't have recommended his nephew Xun You to Cao Cao as well.

After accepting the surrender of Xun Yu and Cheng Yu, Lü Bu entered the governor's mansion and met dozens of Cao Cao's family members. These included Cao Cao's principal wife, Lady Ding, his concubines, Lady Bian and Lady Liu, as well as his young children, Cao Pi and Cao Zhang. They were all placed under guard but were not mistreated.

Lady Bian, holding four-year-old Cao Pi, calmly asked Lü Bu, "How does the Duke of Jin intend to deal with us?"

Lu Bu glanced at her; this woman was historically the Empress Dowager of Cao Wei, and indeed possessed an extraordinary bearing.

"You will stay in Juancheng for the time being. I will send people to protect you, and you will have no worries about food and clothing. We will make further arrangements once the country is at peace."

Lady Bian gave a slight bow: "Thank you, Duke Jin."

After taking control of Juancheng, Lü Bu did not rest and immediately divided his forces:

Huang Zhong was ordered to lead 500 cavalry east to Fan County, Zhao Yun to lead 500 cavalry north to Dong'e, and Huang Zhong himself was ordered to lead 1,000 cavalry to garrison Juancheng to support Chen Gong in taking charge of the overall situation in Yanzhou, as well as the army of Zhang Yan, Zhang Yang, and Hou Cheng from the rear to take over the defense of the various prefectures.

Xue Ti, the garrison commander of Fan County, was originally a subordinate of Cheng Yu. Upon hearing that Juancheng had surrendered and that Xun Yu and Cheng Yu had been captured and surrendered, and seeing Huang Zhong's army approaching the city, he offered little resistance before opening the city gates and surrendering.

The magistrate of Dong'e County, Zao Zhi, was promoting the military-agricultural colonies. Upon hearing the news, he knew that the situation was hopeless, so he opened the city gates to welcome Zhao Yun in.

Thus, Puyang, Juancheng, Fanxian, and Dong'e, the core rear strongholds of Yanzhou where Cao Cao had stockpiled troops and supplies, all fell into Lü Bu's hands.

At the end of winter, Zhang Yan, Zhang Yang, and Hou Cheng led three armies totaling 6000 men into Yanzhou and, under Lü Bu's orders, took over the defense of various counties in Yanzhou.

Chen Gong, in his capacity as Governor of Yan Province, issued a proclamation to all counties and prefectures: Cao Cao is tyrannical, the court has recovered Yan Province, and all Han officials should abandon the darkness and embrace the light.

The gentry and officials of Yanzhou, who were already dissatisfied with Cao Cao's brutal massacre of the city and the persecution of the famous scholar (Bian Rang) in Xuzhou, took action upon hearing the news.

Within ten days, the eight commanderies and kingdoms of Yanzhou—Dongjun, Chenliu, Shanyang, Jiyin, Rencheng, Dongping, and Jibei—were all pacified and submitted to the imperial court, except for some counties in Taishan Commandery which were controlled by the family of Yu Jin, a subordinate of Cao Cao.

Lü Bu appointed Huang Zhong to take command of the military affairs of Yan Province and to reorganize the surrendered troops; Chen Gong was appointed as the governor of Yan Province to govern the civil affairs; Zhang Miao, Zhang Chao, Zao Zhi and others were all retained in their original positions.

He then took out countless provisions and military supplies from his storage space and provided relief to the people on the spot, pacifying their hearts. This was in stark contrast to Cao Cao, who forcibly conscripted laborers and provisions to conquer Xuzhou and massacred innocent civilians. As a result, both officials and commoners respected the Duke of Jin even more, and few people missed Cao Cao.

News of the fall of the rear quickly reached the city of Tanxian, the seat of Xuzhou.

Cao Cao was discussing siege strategies with his generals: Tao Qian, the governor of Xu Province, Tian Kai, the governor of Qing Province, and Liu Bei, the chancellor of Pingyuan, jointly defended Tan County, the capital of Xu Province, and Cao Cao's army attacked it for several days without success.

Suddenly, a fast horse charged into the camp, and the messenger tumbled from his saddle, crying out, "My lord, Yanzhou has fallen!"

The room was deathly silent.

The bamboo slip in Cao Cao's hand fell to the ground with a clatter: "What did you say?"

The messenger, tears streaming down his face, reported: "Chen Gong, Zhang Miao, and Zhang Chao have rebelled and welcomed Lü Bu into Yan Province! Puyang, Juancheng, Fanxian, and Dong'e have all fallen; Xun Yu and Cheng Yu have surrendered; General Xiahou Dun has died in battle! All the counties have surrendered without a fight; most of Yan Province has now submitted to Lü Bu!"