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

Besides the eighty-seven veteran Han soldiers, there were also more than three hundred civilian laborers who stood by with simple weapons. Most of these people were descendants of Han people or herders from surrounding tribes who had intermarried with Han people. They had been farming and guarding the border here for decades and had long regarded Jinmancheng as their home.

"Lord of the Western Regions, the King of the Later Cheshi tribe requests an audience," an old soldier reported. (Note: "Lord of the Western Regions" is a military title in the Western Regions Chief Administrator's Office, not a marquisate.)

Hogu turned around and saw Aroldo covered in blood, being helped by his personal guards, followed by a group of ragged Cheshi nobles.

"Lord Huo, save us!" Arodo knelt down with a thud. "The Xiongnu... the Xiongnu slaughtered the royal court of Wutu Valley and are hunting us down!"

Huo Gu frowned and helped him up: "How many Xiongnu are there?"

"At least five thousand cavalry!"

A collective gasp filled the air.

Eighty-seven versus five thousand—the disparity is too great.

"Lord, let's retreat," an old soldier whispered. "Jinmancheng can't be held. Let's retreat east to Yiwu and join forces with Commandant Yihe. Maybe then we can hold it."

Huo Gu shook his head: "Our Wubu Marquisate has stood here for over a hundred years, and the soldiers of each generation have never fled without a fight. If we flee today, we will be ashamed before our ancestors and before this Han banner!"

He pointed to the faded Han flag in front of the mansion.

Everyone fell silent.

Huo Gu is a descendant of a collateral branch of Huo Qubing. Although their bloodline is distant, he has always been proud of his ancestor. His grandfather and father both guarded the Western Regions and were eventually buried here. He himself came here at the age of twenty and is now forty-three years old, and has never returned to the Central Plains.

"Prepare for battle!" Huo Gu ordered. "Laborers should move defensive equipment, and soldiers should take their positions. Send messengers in three routes to request reinforcements: one to Gaochangbi Wuji Xiaowei City, one to Liuzhong Xiyu Changshi Fu, and one to Yiwu Yihe Duwei City. Tell them that 5,000 Northern Xiongnu cavalry have invaded the south, the rear of the Cheshi tribe has been destroyed, and Jinman City is in imminent danger!"

"promise!"

Nine courier riders received the order and quietly left the city through the back gate, splitting into three groups.

An hour later, the Xiongnu army arrived at the gates of Jinman City.

Xubudanghe rode forward and surveyed the Han army stronghold. Although the city wall was broken, the layout was intact, and the figures of the defenders could be vaguely seen on the city wall.

"Han generals atop the city walls, listen up!" Xubudanghe shouted in broken Chinese, "I am Xubudanghe, the Left Dulu King of the Northern Xiongnu. The Han court is in decline, and the Western Regions should belong to my Xiongnu. If you open the city gates and surrender, I may spare your life and grant you wealth and honor. If you resist stubbornly, after the city falls, not even a chicken or a dog will be spared!"

On the city wall, Huo Gu stood with his hand on his sword.

He wore his family's heirloom tube-sleeved armor, the plates of which were rusted, but still gleamed coldly after being polished. He wore a ring-pommel sword at his waist, a longbow on his back, and a quiver containing more than thirty iron arrows—his only remaining iron arrows.

"You barbarians, how dare you speak of the Western Regions' allegiance?" Huo Gu's voice boomed. "This is the city of the Marquis of Wubu of the Han Dynasty, established for over a hundred years, and has never bowed to barbarians. I, Huo Gu, am a descendant of Marquis Huo Qubing, the Champion Marquis. How could I submit to the descendants of your defeated foes? If you want war, then let's fight! Enough with the nonsense!"

Upon hearing the name Huo Qubing, Xubudanghe's eyes blazed with fury: "Fine, since you're courting death, I'll grant your wish! Attack the city!"

Five thousand Xiongnu cavalry dismounted, and two thousand of them, armed with shields and swords, charged towards the city wall. Lacking siege equipment, they used lassos to hook themselves onto the gaps in the bricks and climbed up by hand. Another two thousand men drew their bows and fired arrows upwards, raining down arrows over the city walls to provide cover.

Battle broke out.

Huo Gu personally shot arrows, killing three Xiongnu soldiers with each shot. The veteran soldiers hurled logs and stones down, while the laborers poured molten gold down.

The screams were incessant.

But there were too many Xiongnu, and one group died only to be replaced by another. Just half an hour later, the city walls were breached in several places, and Xiongnu soldiers surged onto the city walls.

Huo Gu drew his sword to meet the attack, cutting down a Xiongnu soldier with a single stroke and then kicking him off the city wall. The old soldiers around him fought desperately, but outnumbered, they fell one by one.

"My lord, we can't hold them any longer!" shouted an old soldier with a face covered in blood. "You go through the back gate, we'll cover your retreat!"

Huo Gu looked around. Of the eighty-seven veterans, more than half had died in battle, and the civilian laborers had suffered even greater casualties. The Xiongnu people below the city were swarming in like ants.

"Leave?" Huo Gu laughed bitterly. "I, Huo Gu, have guarded the border for twenty-three years, never retreating a single step. Even if I die today, I will die in this Wubu Marquis City, beneath these Han banners!"

He charged into the enemy ranks with his sword, killing three people in succession, but he was hit by an arrow in his left shoulder and slashed in his right leg, his armor stained with blood.

When Xubudanghe climbed to the top of the city wall, he saw Huogu fighting bravely despite being covered in blood, and a sense of admiration arose in his heart.

"Huogu, surrender!" Xubudanghe shouted. "I respect you as a man of honor. Surrender to me, and I will appoint you as a commander of a thousand men, leading a division!"

Huo Gu steadied himself with his sword, spat out a mouthful of blood, and laughed loudly, "Barbarians dare to ask me to surrender? I, Huo Gu, was born a Han general, and I will die a Han ghost! My ancestor, the Marquis of Champion, once trampled the Xiongnu on horseback and sealed the Wolf Mountain, how majestic he was! Although I am not talented enough to replicate my ancestor's achievements, I will never disgrace the Huo family's name!"

He took a deep breath and, with his last strength, shouted, "We, the Han soldiers guarding the border, would rather die than surrender!"

Before he could finish speaking, Huo Gu suddenly charged forward, slashing at Xubudanghe with his sword. Xubudanghe hurriedly raised his sword to block, and with a clang, sparks flew everywhere.

However, Huo Gu was severely injured and exhausted. After his attack was blocked, he staggered backward. Three Xiongnu soldiers seized the opportunity to pounce on him and slashed at his back with their curved swords.

Huo Gu swung his sword backhand and killed one man, but two other blows struck his back, shattering his armor and causing blood to gush out.

He knelt on the ground, propped himself up with his knife, and struggled to look up at the Han flag in front of the mansion.

The flag fluttered in the wind, and the Chinese character seemed to be burning.

"Our ancestor...truly...did not disgrace the Huo family name..."

After saying this, Huo Gu died, but his body remained kneeling, leaning on his sword, his eyes wide open in anger, unable to close in death.

Xubudanghe walked to Huogu's body, remained silent for a moment, and sighed, "He was a man of honor. Give him a proper burial, with the respect due to a general."

He then looked at the Han flag on the city wall: "Take that flag down and burn it."

Jinman City fell, and the entire city was massacred. Eighty-seven veteran soldiers of the Han army died from exhaustion, along with more than three hundred laborers, King Aluoduo of the Later Cheshi tribe, and his family and nobles. Only a few escaped to the mountains and survived the calamity.

The three courier teams sent by Huo Gu were also pursued and killed by the Xiongnu. Only two courier teams that went east to seek help managed to escape the pursuers and survive after one of their companions was killed while covering the rear.

……

Three days later, in Yiwu (near present-day Hami City), at the city of Yihe Duwei.

Yihe Commandant Zhan Ping is fifty-two years old this year, and his hair is already gray. He is sitting in his mansion worrying – this year, the Western Regions are suffering from a drought, and the city's grain reserves are only enough for three months. Moreover, there are fewer and fewer passing caravans, and tax revenue has plummeted. If this continues, these hundreds of people will starve to death.

"Captain! Captain!" A soldier rushed in frantically, "Jin Mancheng, the messenger, has arrived, covered in blood!"

Zhan Ping abruptly stood up: "Bring him in quickly!"