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

These words were spoken bluntly, and the soldiers of Lü Bu's army all smiled.

Lu Bu looked up at the city wall. Torches were burning brightly on the top of the wall, and the guards patrolled back and forth. It seemed that the defense was very strict, but upon closer observation, one could see that many soldiers were moving slowly and their eyes were shifty when they looked around—signs of instability in the army.

"Take a good rest," Lü Bu said to the surrendered soldiers. "After the city is captured, those who wish to join the army will be incorporated into the auxiliary troops, and those who do not will be given travel expenses to return home."

"Thank you, Lord Jin! Thank you, Lord Jin!" The surrendered soldiers kowtowed repeatedly.

Lü Bu turned his horse around and said to Xun Yu and Cheng Yu, "Our soldiers have been chasing us for days and are exhausted. Tonight, we will surround the city but not attack, so that the soldiers can get a good rest. With the city surrounded on all sides, Yuan Shao is already trapped and cannot escape."

"My lord is wise." Xun Yu nodded. "Our army has been pursuing us for days and is exhausted. As long as we surround the four gates, Yuan Shao will have no way to escape."

"However..." Cheng Yu pondered, "we must guard against Yuan Shao's possible breakout overnight."

"I have made all the arrangements," Lü Bu said. "We are heavily fortified on all sides, and the number of soldiers on night watch has been doubled. If Yuan Shao dares to break out, we can annihilate him in open battle."

The order was given, and the army began to set up camp.

Lu Bu took out tents, bedding, charcoal braziers, and other items from his storage space. In less than half an hour, a continuous camp was erected outside the city walls of Ganling County. Soldiers on night duty set up barricades and bonfires on the outer perimeter, and patrol teams came and went in an endless stream.

On the city wall, the defending soldiers looked at the orderly camp outside the city, their hearts growing heavier.

Ganling County, Prefectural Governor's Office.

The main hall was brightly lit. Yuan Shao slumped in the main seat, panting heavily. After riding for dozens of miles, he was too old and a scholar to keep up; he felt as if his bones were about to fall apart.

Below the hall, the strategists Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Xu You, and other advisors, as well as generals Gao Gan and Han Meng who had come from Ye City, all had solemn expressions.

"My lord, Lü Bu has already set up camp outside the city, surrounding it on all sides," Gao Gan reported. "Judging from the flags, Lü Bu is leading his imperial guards at the north gate, Zhao Yun at the east gate, Guan Yu at the south gate, and Zhang Fei at the north gate."

"How many people?" Yuan Shao asked.

"About four or five thousand cavalry," Gao Gan said, "but they are all elite troops, each with two horses. More importantly, Lü Bu has a divinely granted granary, with unlimited food and military supplies, allowing for a prolonged siege."

These words made the atmosphere in the hall even more oppressive.

Ju Shou took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and said, "My lord, there are only three options at present."

"explain."

"The best course of action is to hold the line and await reinforcements. Quickly send elite soldiers to break through the siege and deliver a message to Qingzhou, ordering Yuan Tan to mobilize all the troops in Qingzhou to come to the rescue. At the same time, contact Gongsun Zan in Youzhou and Yuan Shu in Huainan, ordering them to send troops to contain Lü Bu's rear. Ganling City is well-fortified and has sufficient food supplies, with a garrison of 5,000. If the soldiers and civilians are of one mind, holding out for a month should not be a problem. Once reinforcements arrive, we can launch a coordinated attack from within and without, and perhaps defeat the enemy."

Yuan Shao shook his head: "Gongsun Zan is a fickle and treacherous man. A few days ago, he wrote demanding 500,000 shi of grain before he would send troops, but in reality, he's just observing. Yuan Shu is even less reliable; he'd rather I and Lü Bu both be severely weakened. As for Tan'er, he only has 30,000 troops in Qingzhou, and he also has to guard against Song Xian of Xuzhou. How many can he spare to rescue him? Besides, Cao Cao's Pengcheng and my Yecheng both fell in less than a day. Lü Bu possesses supernatural abilities; Ganling cannot be held for long. Let's discuss a middle-ground strategy!"

Ju Shou pondered for a moment and said, "The best strategy is to break out tonight. Select elite warriors to protect our lord and fight our way out through the weakest point, heading straight for the Yellow River. If we can cross the Yellow River and enter Qingzhou, we may be able to escape under the cover of Prince Yuan Tan."

"Where is the weakness?" Yuan Shao asked Gao Gan.

Gao Gan smiled bitterly: "We are surrounded by heavy troops on all sides. Lü Bu is a shrewd strategist, and the forces at each gate are evenly matched, leaving no obvious weaknesses. Moreover, our army has been traveling for days, and our men and horses are exhausted and our morale is low. If we force a breakout, we fear that we will suffer heavy casualties and it will be difficult to succeed."

Yuan Shao sighed and finally asked, "What's the worst option?"

Ju Shou's face also showed dejection, and he said, "The worst option... is to surrender."

"What?" Yuan Shao looked up abruptly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Ju Shou immediately knelt down: "My lord, please calm down! What I mean is that we should feign surrender to buy time and then find an opportunity to escape."

"Would Lü Bu believe that?" Yuan Shao sneered. "I've been rallying the other warlords against Lü Bu for the past two years, and he hates me to the core. Given Cao Cao's example, surrendering is a dead end!"

Silence fell over the hall.

Everyone knew that Yuan Shao was telling the truth.

As the leader of the anti-Lü alliance, even if Yuan Shao sincerely surrendered, Lü Bu would never let him go and would definitely imprison and be executed.

"Could it be that Heaven intends to destroy me?" Yuan Shao sighed, looking up at the sky.

He recalled his youth, when he traveled to Luoyang with Cao Cao, Zhang Miao, and others, discussing the affairs of the land. Later, when Dong Zhuo seized power, he rallied the warlords of Guandong, who all recognized him as their leader. Still later, he occupied Ji Province, dominating Hebei, commanding 100,000 armored soldiers, and with mountains of grain.

At that time, he thought the world was within his grasp.

Unexpectedly, within just a few years, Lü Bu emerged out of nowhere, sweeping across the land with his divinely bestowed ability to control the granary. Yan Province, Yi Province, and Xu Province successively submitted to him, and now even his Ji Province is about to be lost.

"My lord!" Tian Feng suddenly said, "I have a plan that we may give."

"Yuan Hao, tell us quickly!"

"At dawn tomorrow, select someone who resembles our lord in build and appearance, have them wear our lord's armor, and lead the elite troops to break out from the east gate," Tian Feng said. "Lu Bu will surely think our lord is trying to escape to Qingzhou and will deploy a large force to block the way. At that time, our lord should change into servants' clothes, blend into the crowd, and leave the city through the north gate. Perhaps then we can abandon our journey to Qingzhou and head to Bohai to find Prince Yuan Xi."

Yuan Shao was originally the governor of Bohai, but later he seized the position of governor of Ji Province from Han Fu. Bohai can be considered his stronghold.

Although Bohai Commandery lost some territory under Gongsun Zan's attack, the capital of Bohai Commandery, Nanpi County, was still in Yuan Xi's hands, so they could make plans after arriving in Bohai.

Ju Shou frowned: "If we are to disguise ourselves, we cannot bring too many family members and guards. This plan is too risky. If we are discovered, we will have no chance of survival."

"This is our only chance!" Tian Feng exclaimed urgently. "Being trapped in the city means certain death! Look at Lü Bu's attacks on Mianzhu, Pengcheng, Yecheng, and so on. He possesses divinely bestowed granaries and countless miraculous abilities; Ganling County simply cannot be defended. A breakout attempt is also a dead end! Only by substituting one enemy for another, or by escaping unscathed, can we have a glimmer of hope!"

Yuan Shao pondered.

He looked at everyone in the hall. Tian Feng's gaze was firm, Ju Shou's face showed worry, Xu You's eyes flickered, and Gao Gan gripped the hilt of his knife tightly...

"Alright." Yuan Shao finally nodded. "We'll follow Yuan Hao's plan. Gao Gan, go to the army and find someone who resembles me. Offer him a large sum of money and have him impersonate me to break through the siege tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" the nephew, a high-ranking official, accepted the order.

"Gentlemen..." Yuan Shao rose and bowed deeply to the crowd. "I am incompetent, and I have dragged you all down with me. Tomorrow's plan is a matter of life or death. If anything unforeseen happens, you may find your own way to survive, and I will not hold it against you."

"Our lord!" they all knelt. "We are willing to live and die with our lord!"

With tears in his eyes, Yuan Shao helped Tian Feng and Ju Shou to their feet, saying, "With you all like this, I have no regrets even if I die."