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

Gongsun Zan's messenger crossed the river in a small boat and arrived in front of Lü Bu's army.

Lu Bu, who was building the bridge, listened to the messenger's account and sneered: "If only you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? The proclamation from Mo County already stated: 'Bear the thorns and plead guilty, and you will be spared death.' Now Gongsun Zan has been defeated and is begging for surrender, yet he still wants an official position? Tell him that he either comes bound and surrenders, or waits for me to break through the city and capture and kill him."

When the messenger returned, Gongsun Zan's face was ashen.

He was unwilling to give up his great ambition and live as a prisoner.

As they were talking, the bridge on the other side was completed.

Lü Bu led his army across the river and arrived at the city walls, preparing once again to attack Leitai.

The defenders of Yijing watched helplessly as the stone platform rose inch by inch, fear spreading like a plague.

"General, let's run!" a soldier cried, throwing down his weapon. "This battle is unwinnable!"

"Yes, Lu Bu is like a god descended from heaven, how can we mortals possibly stop him?"

The morale of the troops was completely shattered.

Knowing that the situation was hopeless, Gongsun Zan packed his valuables and led several hundred personal guards and his family to abandon the city and flee north.

With their lord having fled, why would the rest of them fight to the death? Lü Bu broke through the city without encountering any resistance—the defending troops surrendered immediately.

"Where is Gongsun Zan?" Lü Bu asked the garrison commander.

The garrison commander said in a trembling voice, "They...they have already fled to Ji County."

Lü Bu left several hundred cavalry to accept the surrendered prisoners, and said to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, "Let's continue the pursuit; we can't give him a chance to catch his breath." Lü Bu mounted his horse, thinking, "If Gongsun Zan doesn't die, Youzhou will never be at peace."

Three thousand elite cavalrymen set off again, each with three horses and one rider, galloping northward.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, in Ji County.

Gongsun Zan had just returned to the governor's mansion when he received news that Lü Bu had passed Zhuojun and was less than fifty li away from Ji County.

"So fast?" Gongsun Zan was terrified. "Doesn't he need to rest?"

Tian Yu sighed, "Lu Bu has a divine granary bestowed by heaven, so he can carry provisions and military supplies with him at all times. His soldiers can take turns riding horses, which makes him naturally swift."

"My lord, the garrison at Ji County is less than five thousand strong; it cannot be defended," Gongsun Fan advised. "It would be better to head north to Juyong Pass and temporarily escape beyond the Great Wall."

Gongsun Zan was completely disoriented and had no choice but to obey. He ordered Tian Kai to guard Ji County, while he himself led over a thousand personal guards, along with his family and belongings, and fled out of the north gate.

On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year's Eve, at Juyong Pass.

Gongsun Zan fled into the pass and counted his men; only about eight hundred cavalrymen remained, the rest having abandoned him halfway.

The guard general was Li Yi, a former subordinate of his. He welcomed Li Yi into the mansion and held a banquet to calm Li Yi's nerves.

But before they had even finished three rounds of drinks, the sentry shouted mournfully, "Lu Bu is here!"

The wine cup in Gongsun Zan's hand fell to the ground.

He rushed up the gate wall and saw smoke and dust like a dragon from the south, and thousands of elite cavalry had already arrived at the gate.

"The fortress is strong; he cannot break through it in a short time." Li Yi forced himself to remain calm. "Rest assured, my lord, I will lead the troops to defend it to the death and ensure your safety."

Before the words were even finished, Lu Bu's army outside the pass had already begun to build platforms.

The giant rock appeared out of thin air, and within an hour, a thirty-zhang-high platform had been erected. Li Yi stared at this unbelievable scene, speechless.

But Lü Bu did not stop his attack. Once the stone platform was completed, the catapults on it unleashed their power, sending stone projectiles hurtling towards the fortified wall.

The ballista's giant arrows pierced the air, sniping the soldiers guarding the wall.

Even more terrifying was that Lü Bu personally drew his bow, and with 140 points of perception combined with a ten-stone powerful bow, anyone who peeked out from behind the wall would be sniped dead with a single arrow.

Li Yi inadvertently peeked out and was shot through the face by an arrow, falling to the ground and dying.

With their commander killed in battle, the defending troops were thrown into chaos.

Upon seeing this, Lü Bu spurred his horse to the gate and placed his hand on the iron-clad wooden door.

With a thought, the entire door vanished into thin air, and then slammed shut.

"Kill!" Zhang Fei charged in first.

Guan Yu and Zhang Xiu led their troops to follow.

The garrison inside the pass was already terrified. When they saw the city gate mysteriously disappear, they knew that Duke Jin was extraordinary, and they all knelt down and surrendered.

Gongsun Zan retreated to his residence in the fortified city under the protection of his personal guards, making a final stand.

But within a quarter of an hour, the gates of the mansion were breached, and hundreds of White Horse Cavalrymen were killed or wounded.

Lu Bu stepped into the courtyard, his halberd dripping with blood, his black armor stained crimson. Behind him, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stood like guardian deities.

Gongsun Zan stood before the hall, sword in hand, his beard and hair bristling: "Lü Bu, I'll fight you to the death!"

He leaped forward, his sword flashing like lightning—the White Horse General of yesteryear was a man of extraordinary martial arts.

But Lü Bu simply held his halberd horizontally.

"clang!"

The longsword broke.

The halberd blade grazed his neck.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Gongsun Zan's eyes widened as the corpse slowly fell to the ground, the broken sword in his hand clattering to the floor.

The White Horse General, who had dominated Youyan for twenty years, has fallen.

Lü Bu ordered the battlefield to be cleared and the prisoners counted. In this battle, five hundred enemies were killed, more than two thousand surrendered, and a thousand warhorses and countless valuables were captured.

On New Year's Eve, Lü Bu ordered the cooks to take out wine and meat from their storage space to reward the army.

The generals gathered in the main hall of the Guan Shoufu.

Zhang Fei grabbed the wine jar, took a big gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, "That was great! This year was truly enjoyable!"

Guan Yu rarely showed a smile: "With Gongsun Zan defeated, Youzhou can be pacified."

Xun Yu cupped his hands in greeting: "My lord, we should quickly issue proclamations to all the prefectures, ordering them to submit. Gongsun Du of Liaodong should also be pacified."

Lü Bu nodded: "Wenruo, draft a proclamation and send it to all counties in Youzhou in the name of the imperial court: those who open their cities will have their officials retained; those who resist will have their cities destroyed and their clans exterminated."

"Furthermore, an envoy was sent to Liaodong to inform Gongsun Du: if he is willing to submit, he may succeed as the governor of Liaodong; if he disobeys, the royal army will surely arrive."

Cheng Yu added: "Gongsun Du came from a humble background. He established his authority by killing powerful figures, which is acceptable to the common people. He can be used, but he needs to be disciplined."

"Excellent." Lü Bu raised his cup. "Gentlemen, today is New Year's Eve. Let us drink this cup together to celebrate the pacification of Youzhou!"

"Congratulations, my lord!" the generals shouted in unison.

In the first month of the sixth year of the Chuping era (195 AD), the various prefectures of Youzhou were pacified by issuing proclamations.

The city guards of Yuyang, Guangyang, Youbeiping, Shanggu, Daijun, Liaoxi, and other cities all opened their city gates and surrendered.

On the fifteenth day of the first month, the Liaodong envoy arrived in Ji County.

The envoy was Gongsun Kang, son of Gongsun Du, who was about twenty years old and behaved with great respect: "My father heard that the Duke of Jin had pacified Youzhou, so he specially sent me, Kang, to offer his congratulations. Liaodong is remote and isolated, and we wish to guard the border for generations to come and serve the court with loyalty."

Lü Bu sized him up and said calmly, "Gongsun Du has rendered meritorious service in killing powerful local tyrants, pacifying the people, and governing Liaodong. Since you are willing to submit and obey my orders, I will submit a memorial to the emperor to appoint him as the governor of Liaodong."

Gongsun Kang was overjoyed and knelt down to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Duke Jin! Liaodong will serve the court loyally for generations to come!"

"But let me make this clear first," Lü Bu's tone turned cold, "Liaodong is Han territory, and must abide by the laws of the court, paying taxes and supplying troops. If you harbor any disloyal thoughts..."

"I dare not, I absolutely dare not!" Gongsun Kang said repeatedly.

Lü Bu nodded and ordered that he be given 100 catties of gold and 1,000 bolts of silk, and sent back to Liaodong.

Subsequently, Lü Bu began to arrange personnel matters in Youzhou.

"Ren Xunyu was appointed Governor of Youzhou, in charge of all civil administration."

"Gao Shun was transferred to be the commander of the Youzhou Army Group, where he was reorganized from surrendered soldiers and sent to guard the border."

"Cheng Yu was appointed Governor of Qingzhou, and Zhang Xiu was appointed Commander of the Qingzhou Army Group."

"Zhang Liao remained in Bingzhou, Zhao Yun in Jizhou, Huang Zhong in Yanzhou, Cao Xing in Yizhou, and Song Xian in Xuzhou."

"Jia Xu and Guo Jia remained in Chang'an to assist in governing the country."

With a series of appointments issued, Lü Bu had already occupied nine of the thirteen provinces: Sili, Bing, Liang, Yi, Yan, Xu, Qing, Ji, and You. Only Yuan Shu of Yu, Liu Biao of Jing, Sun Ce of Yang, and Shi Xie of Jiao remained in their respective territories.

After celebrating the Lantern Festival in Ji County, Lü Bu left a considerable amount of money, grain, and supplies for Xun Yu and Gao Shun to provide relief to Youzhou, and then led his army south.

With the north now pacified, the southern lords must be losing sleep.