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

The plan was finalized, and everyone made their own preparations.

Yuan Shao returned to the inner hall, where Lady Liu greeted him with Yuan Shang.

"My husband..." Madam Liu said, her eyes filled with tears.

Yuan Shao waved his hand and said to his son, "Shang'er, tomorrow I will take a risky plan. You will follow your mother and listen to the arrangements of Mr. Tian Feng and Mr. Ju Shou. If... if anything happens to me, you must hide your identity and live on."

"Father!" Yuan Shang knelt down and wept bitterly.

Yuan Shao patted his son's head, sighed deeply, and turned to walk into the inner room.

He was utterly exhausted, having been on the run for days, both physically and mentally drained. Now that the plan was in place, he relaxed, lay down on the bed, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Unbeknownst to him, Xu You had not left the hall or the corridor outside.

The strategist, known for his greed, was leaning against a pillar, his eyes gleaming.

"Shedding his skin like a cicada...heh..." Xu You muttered to himself, "Yuan Benchu, do you think Lü Bu is a fool?"

He recalled that when Ye City fell, he had the opportunity to surrender, but due to a moment's hesitation, he was taken away by Yuan Shao and forced to flee. These past few days have been filled with hardship and displacement, and he has long felt remorse.

Now trapped in an isolated city, tomorrow's plans seem like child's play to him. But what kind of person is Lü Bu? Wouldn't he see through such a tactic?

Even if Yuan Shao manages to escape, he will only be a fugitive, unable to rise again. If I were to remain loyal to him, I would suffer, but I would gain absolutely nothing.

"A wise bird chooses its tree to perch on..." Xu You murmured. "Yuan Shao is about to perish, and Lü Bu will rise. How can I, Xu Ziyuan, be buried with him?"

A resolute glint flashed in his eyes as he quietly left the corridor and disappeared into the night.

Xu You did not return to his residence, but instead turned into a small alley.

Ganling City was not large, and the area around the prefect's residence was mostly occupied by the residences of officials. Xu You wandered around and came to an inconspicuous courtyard, where he knocked on the door knocker.

"Who's there?" came a wary voice from inside the courtyard.

"I am Xu You."

The door creaked open, and a middle-aged general poked his head out; it was none other than the quartermaster, Han Meng.

This man was originally a general of the Black Mountain Army. After surrendering to Yuan Shao, he was not given important responsibilities and was put in charge of military supplies and provisions. He was reprimanded by Yuan Shao for the slightest disagreement and had a lot of dissatisfaction with Yuan Shao.

"Ziyuan? What brings you here so late?" Han Meng ushered Xu You into the courtyard and closed the door.

The two entered the room, where the oil lamp was dim.

Xu You didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Wenwei, Yuan Shao is finished."

Han Meng frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

"Tomorrow's plan is nothing but a desperate struggle," Xu You sneered. "What kind of person is Lü Bu? He could take Ye City in a day, build a bridge at Anyang Ferry overnight, and kill Wen Chou at Jieqiao in an hour. Can such tricks fool him?"

Han Meng was silent for a moment: "So what? You and I are both former subordinates of Yuan Shao. Do you think Lü Bu will spare us?"

"So we must perform meritorious service!" Xu You lowered his voice. "If you and I surrender the city and help Lü Bu capture and kill Yuan Shao, it will be a great meritorious service to atone for our crimes! Not only will our lives be saved, but we might even be given an important position by the Duke of Jin."

A struggle flashed in Han Meng's eyes: "This, this is betraying one's master for personal gain."

"Betrayal of his lord?" Xu You scoffed. "What kind of lord is Yuan Shao? When he coerced Han Fu into surrendering Ji Province, did he show any loyalty or righteousness? When he forcibly conscripted able-bodied men and levied exorbitant taxes, did he care about the people? Now, at his wits' end, he wants to drag the entire city's soldiers and civilians down with him! Is this the kind of lord you should be loyal to?"

These words struck a nerve with Han Meng.

Over the years, Yuan Shao had favored his relatives in his appointments. Although he was in charge of military supplies, he was never given important positions and harbored resentment.

"How confident are you?" Han Meng asked.

"I have fifty loyal soldiers, all of whom are my trusted confidants," Xu You said. "You are in charge of military supplies, so you should have over a hundred trusted men under your command, right? Together, two hundred men are enough to capture a city gate."

Which city gate?

"West Gate." Xu You had already planned ahead. "The commander guarding the West Gate is an old acquaintance of mine. I can pretend to be on Yuan Shao's orders to patrol the city and approach the gate."

Han Meng pondered for a moment: "When should we make our move?"

"At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)," Xu You said, "people are most exhausted then, and the guards at the city gates are least vigilant. You and I will lead our elite troops to seize the gate, and at the same time, we will shoot a message out of the city with arrows to inform Lü Bu to come to our aid. As long as Lü Bu leads his army to attack, we can attack from both inside and outside, and the west gate will surely fall."

"Alright!" Han Meng slammed his hand on the table. "Cheers!"

The two discussed the details in detail and agreed to meet in the alleys inside the West Gate at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

Xu You left Han Meng's residence and returned to his own home, where he gathered fifty loyal men—his trusted confidants whom he had cultivated over many years.

"Gentlemen," Xu You said, looking at his loyal followers, "Yuan Shao is doomed, and Lü Bu will rise. Tonight, we will surrender the city and help Duke Jin capture and kill Yuan Shao. When Duke Jin unifies the world, we will all have contributed to his success! After the deed is done, I will reward you handsomely!"

"We are willing to follow you, sir!" the assassins shouted in unison.

At the same time, Han Meng also gathered more than a hundred trusted confidants. Most of these people were veterans from the military supply system, and they were completely obedient to Han Meng.

As the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) approaches, all is quiet.

Inside Ganling City, apart from the night watchmen, most people were fast asleep. The tension and exhaustion of the past few days had made everyone sleep exceptionally soundly. Even Yuan Shao's confidants, like Gao Gan, were fast asleep if they weren't on night patrol duty. Those on patrol duty, however, were barely able to keep their eyes open in the dead of night, their vigilance at its lowest.

In a small alley inside the West Gate, Xu You and Han Meng met up.

More than two hundred people, dressed in black and masked, wielding sharp blades, appeared like ghosts in the night.

"Let's go," Xu You said in a low voice.

The group stealthily made their way towards the west gate.

There were about three hundred soldiers guarding the west gate tower. It was the middle of the night, and many of them were dozing off against the wall. The commander, surnamed Wang, was a middle-aged captain, and he was also dozing off in the tower.

Xu You arrived at the foot of the city wall and said to the guards, "By order of our lord, I am here to patrol the city and check the sentries."

The soldiers recognized Xu You and dared not stop him, so they let him go upstairs.

Xu You led more than ten assassins up the city wall, while Han Meng led the rest of the men to stay in the alley behind the city gate.

Inside the city gate tower, Captain Wang, who was guarding the west gate, saw Xu You while still sleepy and quickly got up: "Mr. Xu, it's so late..."

Before he could finish speaking, the assassins behind Xu You suddenly sprang up and plunged a knife into Captain Wang's chest.

"You..." Captain Wang's eyes widened as he slowly collapsed.

Almost simultaneously, shouts of battle erupted both inside and outside the city.

Han Meng led his men to attack the city gate. The guards were caught off guard and several were instantly cut down.