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

Lu Bu was somewhat surprised to hear that the Mi brothers wanted to offer their sister as a gift.

Mi Zhu explained, "The Duke of Jin's heroic name is known throughout the land. My younger sister, Mi Zhen, though still unmarried, has also come to admire the Duke of Jin's valor. If the Duke of Jin does not mind, my sister is willing to serve by his side."

Mi Fang added, "General Cao Bao previously presented his daughter Cao Zhi to the Duke of Jin. We heard of this and therefore followed suit. We hope the Duke of Jin will not take offense at our abruptness."

Lü Bu then understood.

Cao Bao offered his daughter, and Lady Mi offered her sister; this was how local powerful families expressed their loyalty to him. Of course, they also hoped that Lü Bu would accept them as his own and grant them more power or status.

Such marriage alliances were perfectly normal in ancient times.

"Where is Mi Zhen now?" Lü Bu asked.

"She is already waiting in the carriage outside the mansion," Mi Zhu said. "If Duke Jin wishes to see her, he may call her in."

Lu Bu pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Let her in."

Before long, a young girl was led into the hall by a maid.

She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in a light green robe with a pale yellow half-sleeved outer garment. Her hair was styled in two buns, adorned with a white jade hairpin. She had delicate features, gentle eyes, and a dignified demeanor.

"This humble woman, Mi Zhen, pays her respects to Duke Jin." The young girl bowed gracefully, her voice soft.

Lu Bu sized her up for a few moments and asked, "Have you ever studied?"

"Reporting to Duke Jin, I have read the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects, and have some literacy," Mi Zhen replied, bowing his head.

"Would you be willing to come and serve in my household?"

Mi Zhen blushed slightly and said in a low voice, "It's all up to my two elder brothers to decide."

Lü Bu looked at Mi Zhu: "In that case, I will accept it."

Mi Zhu was overjoyed: "Thank you, Duke Jin!"

Mi Fang also bowed and said, "The entire Mi clan will be loyal to Duke Jin, even unto death!"

After the Mi brothers withdrew, Mi Zhen was also taken to the inner quarters by a maid to be settled. Zhang Yang laughed and said, "Congratulations, my lord, on gaining the loyalty of another family. Cao Bao has offered his daughter, and the Mi family has offered their sister. Xuzhou is basically secure."

Lü Bu laughed and said, "They're just betting in advance, hoping to gain merit by submitting. But it's fine this way, it saves them a lot of trouble."

For Lü Bu now, taking concubines is more of a political marriage, a way to bind himself to local powerful clans.

As for romantic relationships?

What need is there for love for someone destined to be a lonely and isolated ruler? Wouldn't a harem of three thousand beauties be more appealing?

Next, Lü Bu was served by Cao Zhi and Mi Zhen every day, and then supervised Zhang Yang and Song Xian to integrate the military and political forces of Xuzhou, so that Xuzhou would be completely under his control.

Furthermore, based on the existing shipyard in Guangling County (present-day Yangzhou), the seat of Guangling Commandery in Xuzhou, new warships were built according to Lü Bu's watertight compartment concept, in preparation for future attacks on Jingzhou, Jiangdong, and even voyages.

As Lü Bu's power grew, the power of the other warlords became weaker in comparison, and Lü Bu's pace of unifying the world accelerated.

In late July, news of the fall of Pengcheng, the death of Cao Cao, and the surrender of Xuzhou finally spread throughout the land.

Jizhou, Yecheng, Governor's Office.

"Snapped!"

Yuan Shao slammed the earthenware bowl in his hand to the ground, scattering shards everywhere.

Below the hall, strategists such as Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Shen Pei, and Feng Ji, and military generals such as Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan all lowered their heads and remained silent, creating a tense atmosphere.

"Six months! Just six months!" Yuan Shao's face was ashen as he paced back and forth in the hall. "At the beginning of the year, Lü Bu had just pacified Yizhou, and by summer he had defeated Cao Cao and taken Xuzhou! Now he controls six provinces—Sili, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Yanzhou, Yizhou, and Xuzhou—with eight million people and 180,000 troops! He has already occupied half of the thirteen provinces in the land!"

Ju Shou said in a deep voice, "My lord, please calm down. Lü Bu's power is overwhelming, and that is a fait accompli. The most urgent task is to consolidate the alliance and jointly resist this powerful enemy."

"An alliance?" Yuan Shao sneered. "Tao Qian has surrendered, Cao Cao is dead, Liu Bei is captured. Gongsun Zan is sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight, Yuan Shu and I have always been at odds, Liu Biao is playing both sides, and that brat Sun Ce is even directly fawning over Lü Bu! What use is this alliance?"

Tian Feng stepped forward: "My lord, that is precisely why we need to strengthen our alliance. Lü Bu's next move will undoubtedly be to attack Ji Province. If we fight alone, we will surely be defeated. If we unite with Gongsun Zan of You Province, Yuan Shu of Huainan, and Liu Biao of Jing Province to attack from all sides, we may have a glimmer of hope."

"How can we form an alliance?" Yuan Shao asked, looking at the crowd.

Shen Pei said, "My lord can promise: if Lü Bu is defeated, Bingzhou will belong to Gongsun Zan, Yanzhou to Yuan Shu, Yizhou to Liu Biao, and Jiaozhou to Sun Ce. In this way, all four sides will benefit, and we may be able to send troops."

Feng Ji shook his head: "This is like drawing a cake to satisfy hunger. To divide up territory before even defeating Lü Bu is laughable. Besides, would Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shu, Sun Ce, and others believe such empty words?"

Yan Liang clasped his hands and said, "My lord, I believe it is better to rely on ourselves than on others. Ji Province has 100,000 armored soldiers, ample provisions, and strong fortifications. As long as you are determined, I am willing to lead my elite troops to defend it to the death. Even if Lü Bu has 200,000 troops, he will find it difficult to conquer Ji Province!"

Wen Chou also said, "General Yan Liang is absolutely right! Although Lü Bu is brave, attacking a city is not like open field battles. As long as we hold the city and deplete his supplies, and wait for his army to tire and exhausted, we can launch a counterattack and surely defeat him!"

Yuan Shao was troubled by the argument.

He knew that Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan were brave generals, but how could Lü Bu be easily defeated? Jianmen Pass was famous throughout the world, and Lü Bu could take it in a day; Cao Cao's 20,000 elite troops defended Pengcheng, and it fell in half a day; Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei joined forces and were defeated in five rounds.

This level of combat capability is beyond reason.

But in any case, we still have to try and make some contact.

However, the feudal lords replied one after another. Gongsun Du, the governor of Liaodong, claimed that he lived in a remote border region with few people and a small army, and only sought to protect his territory and its people, and would not participate in the conflicts in the Central Plains. He regretted that he could not comply with the matter of the anti-Lü alliance.

Shi Xie of Jiaozhou replied that Jiaozhou was far away and inhabited by barbarians, so it could only maintain its current status. It dared not interfere in matters concerning the Central Plains. Furthermore, the anti-Lü alliance was beyond Jiaozhou's ability to participate.

Others, such as Gongsun Zan, Liu Biao, Yuan Shu, and Sun Ce, while not as resolute as Gongsun Du and Shi Xie, were not firm in their stance either. Clearly, Lü Bu's power had grown so great that even private communications between the warlords dared not easily agree to anything Yuan Shao had to do.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao had no choice but to increase his own recruitment efforts, conscripting able-bodied men from the Ji and Qing provinces under his control to join the army and gather provisions in order to prevent Lü Bu's attack.

He knew that he had been the one tirelessly working to forge the anti-Lü Bu alliance, making him the one who spearheaded it. Others might be able to surrender to Lü Bu and be pardoned, but there was absolutely no way Yuan Shao could.

Besides, the Yuan family has held high office for four generations and has ambitions to rule the world. Why would they be afraid of Lü Bu because of some rumors?

In early August, in Guangling Prefecture, Jiangdu County.

The Yangtze River flows into the sea here, its surface wide and its waves surging.

A fleet of ships, about ten or more, was sailing from the south bank. The largest ship was about three zhang high and more than ten zhang long, with its banners fluttering and bearing the character "Sun".

On the top deck of the ship, a young girl is gazing into the distance from the railing.

She was about sixteen years old, dressed in a red, fitted outfit with a leather armor over it, a short sword at her waist, and her hair tied in a high ponytail, making her look heroic and spirited. But at this moment, her brows were furrowed, her lips were pressed tightly together, and her eyes were full of resentment.

"Miss, it's windy outside, let's go back to the cabin," a maid whispered.

The girl ignored her and continued to look at the north bank.

She was Sun Shangxiang, daughter of Sun Jian, and sister of Sun Ce and Sun Quan.

Just a few days ago, she was enjoying herself at the beach, carefree and at ease. Suddenly, her elder brother summoned her, saying he wanted to send her to Xuzhou to be presented to Duke Lü Bu of Jin as a concubine.