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

The south bank garrison commander, Feng Li, was wounded, further throwing Yuan's army into disarray.

Zhang Fei, watching from the boat, was filled with excitement and shouted, "My lord is a master archer! Men, give it your all, land and kill the enemy!"

The rowers strained, and the fleet finally approached the south bank beach.

"Jump springboard!" Zhang Xiu shouted.

The gangplank was lowered to the side of the ship, and the soldiers swarmed down.

Guan Yu charged ahead, his Green Dragon Crescent Blade sweeping across, slaying three Yuan soldiers who tried to stop him. Zhang Fei followed closely behind, his eighteen-foot spear like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair, leaving a trail of blood and gore in its wake.

The position on the south bank beachhead was quickly breached.

Supported by his personal guards, Feng Li retreated, looking at the fallen south bank and the formidable Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhang Xiu, and others, as well as Lü Bu, the greatest warrior in the land, about to land in the river. He could only despairingly order: "Retreat! Retreat to Gaotang County and defend the city!"

Yuan's army was already demoralized, and when they saw their commander wounded and forced to retreat, they immediately collapsed. Many threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

However, some of Yuan's troops still fought to the death. Most of them were Yuan Tan's loyal followers from Pingyuan County. They were unaware that Yuan Tan had fled, so their fighting spirit was still intact.

The battle lasted for about half an hour.

After landing, Lü Bu ordered Zhang Xiu to accept the surrender of Yuan Tan's soldiers and clean up the battlefield. He, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei led their troops straight to Gaotang County to capture Yuan Tan.

Unexpectedly, when the army arrived at Gaotang County, the city gates were wide open, and Feng Li surrendered with his troops.

When Lü Bu inquired, he learned that Feng Li was preparing to lead his troops to retreat to the county town and defend it to the death. However, when he arrived at the county town, he found that Yuan Tan was no longer in the town, and Yuan Tan's family, Xin Ping, Guo Tu and others were all gone.

After questioning the soldiers guarding the city, the final information gathered seemed to indicate that Yuan Tan had already led his family and personal guards in disguise and fled, but ordered Feng Li to hold the Yellow River to the death, clearly with the aim of buying time for Yuan Tan's escape.

Feng Li was naturally furious. He was fighting desperately on the front lines, but the young master abandoned him and fled without even informing him, leaving him to fight a deadly battle with the Duke of Jin's army at the ferry crossing, resulting in many casualties on both sides. It was truly despicable.

Therefore, Feng Li could no longer fight to the death for Yuan Tan, and decisively opened the city gates and surrendered.

After the surrendered soldiers confirmed the news to each other, Yuan Tan and Xin Ping had already led several hundred personal guards and family members, traveling lightly and quickly eastward!

"East?" Lü Bu narrowed his eyes. "To the east are the kingdoms of Jinan and Le'an. Does he intend to travel by sea?"

Xu You clapped his hands: "That must be it! Yuan Tan saw that the Yellow River was a natural barrier and difficult to defend, and that Qingzhou would be attacked from both sides by Song Xian, so he decided to flee! There is a port in Liaocheng County of Le'an State, from which one can go to sea to Liaodong!"

Zhang Fei shouted, "Then what are we waiting for? Chase them!"

Lü Bu nodded: "Yide is absolutely right. Cheng Yu, draft a proclamation and send it to all the counties of Qingzhou in the name of the imperial court. Those who surrender and open their cities will have their past crimes forgiven; those who resist will have their entire clan executed on the day the city falls. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, join me in pursuing Yuan Tan."

"promise!"

Unfortunately, since Yuan Tan was determined to escape by sea, he did not give Lü Bu a chance to catch up.

Not only did he travel light and quickly, but he also did not rest along the way. He took only a few hundred trusted elites and three horses with him to Liaocheng County. Then, he boarded the sea vessel he had prepared at the port of Liaocheng County and went out to sea. Only then did he rest on the ship.

Even though Lü Bu, along with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, gave chase, they ultimately failed to catch up because they had set off much later than expected.

By the time Lü Bu caught up with Yuan Tan at Liaocheng the following night, Yuan Tan had already successfully boarded a ship and left the port of Liaocheng half an hour earlier.

Zhang Fei roared in fury, "I'm so angry! That scoundrel Yuan Tan really got away!"

Guan Yu dismounted and patted his panting warhorse, saying regretfully, "This is troublesome. Yuan Tan has taken away over a thousand elite troops. Whether we establish ourselves in Liaodong, the Three Hans, or Japan, they will be a hidden danger in the future."

Although Lü Bu felt regret, he was not worried. With his system cheat-like abilities, let alone Yuan Tan escaping to Liaodong, the Three Hans, or the Japanese islands, even if he escaped to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, he could still eliminate him completely in the future.

With Yuan Tan's escape, Qingzhou was leaderless, and all the counties and prefectures surrendered with a simple proclamation. Even in the territories belonging to Gongsun Zan or Gongsun Du, no one dared to resist to the end. When Lü Bu or Song Xian's imperial army arrived, they all opened the gates and surrendered.

Forced by Yuan Tan to the point where he could not even hold onto a single prefecture, Tian Kai, with only two or three counties remaining and a force of just over two thousand men, came directly to Linji, the capital of Le'an Prefecture, to meet Lü Bu. He bowed and said, "Tian Kai, the defeated general, pays his respects to the Duke of Jin."

Lü Bu looked him over with amusement: "Governor Tian, ​​what brings you here?"

Tian Kai respectfully said, "I was appointed Governor of Qingzhou by General Gongsun Zan, but my talent and virtue are shallow, and I have failed to govern the state and bring peace to the people. Now, Duke Jin has been ordered by the Emperor to punish the rebels, mourn the people and punish the guilty, and the people of Qingzhou are all eagerly awaiting his return. I am willing to lead my troops to surrender and help Duke Jin pacify Qingzhou."

They spoke eloquently, but in reality, they were just opportunists.

Lü Bu did not expose him, and said calmly, "Since Governor Tian is willing to submit, he has rendered meritorious service. I will personally petition the Emperor to select another capable person for the position of Governor of Qingzhou. Governor Tian can temporarily serve as the Chancellor of Le'an State to pacify the region and atone for his crimes through meritorious service."

Tian Kai was overjoyed—he had never fully possessed Qingzhou as the governor of Qingzhou, and now he only had two or three counties left.

Now that he has submitted to Duke Jin in time, he has even obtained the position of Prime Minister (the head of administration of a prefecture, equivalent to a prefecture governor), which is already a great gain. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude: "Thank you, Duke Jin. I will do my utmost to live up to your great kindness!"

After Tian Kai left, Cheng Yu whispered, "My lord, Tian Kai is a subject of Gongsun Zan; he cannot be entirely trusted."

"I know," Lü Bu said. "Use him to stabilize Le'an first, and then make adjustments later."

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Lü Bu and Song Xian, the commander of the Xuzhou army group, arrived at Linzi County, the capital of Qi State and also the capital of Qingzhou State, and announced their meeting.

At this point, except for a very few remote towns or villages still under the control of the remnants of the Golden Army, all the major cities of Qingzhou had been brought under Lü Bu's rule.

With most of the counties and cities in Ji Province already under his control, the total population under Lü Bu's rule has exceeded 10 million. The system's safe zone has been upgraded to level 6, the number of skill points that can be claimed daily has increased to 6, the daily amount of grain can reach a random range of 1000 to 99 shi, and there are countless military supplies, enough to support a million-strong army.

At this point, Lü Bu had fully acquired the strength to amass an army, unify the world, and even wage war abroad.

Next, he would cross the Yellow River again and head north to Bohai Commandery in Ji Province to reclaim Bohai Commandery controlled by Yuan Xi. At the same time, he would also have to deal with Gongsun Zan in You Province. Whether he was killed or persuaded to surrender, You Province had to be brought under Lü Bu's control.

With the north unified, Lü Bu could concentrate his efforts on attacking Yuan Shu, Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Shi Xie, and others in the south, without having his energy tied up in Youzhou.