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

The army set off from Duixu Valley and marched northeast towards Wangtingwutu Valley in the rear of Cheshi.

More than two thousand Xiongnu prisoners were bound together with ropes and struggled to move forward under the escort of Han cavalry. Some who were injured and unable to walk were carried, supported, and dragged by the Xiongnu prisoners, barely able to move, and constantly wailing.

Lu Bu rode Red Hare in the middle of the procession, with generals such as Ma Chao, Dian Wei, and Xu Chu beside him.

The three kings of Cheshi also accompanied them with their respective personal guards. They sat in their carriages, looking at the villages and tents burned down by the Xiongnu on both sides of the road, and their faces were very grim.

On the afternoon of the third day of their march, the army arrived at the royal court of Beilu. King Dulujian looked at the ruins of the royal court and the ragged Beilu subjects who were returning from the mountains one after another, and felt quite sad.

The army temporarily set up camp outside the royal court.

In the prisoner-of-war camp, Bald Ur suddenly shouted that he wanted to see the Prince of Jin, saying that he had important intelligence to report.

The guards reported this, and after thinking for a moment, Lü Bu ordered someone to bring him over.

Bald Ur was brought to the central command tent, bound hand and foot. As soon as he entered, he knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Highness, spare my life! I'm willing to offer crucial intelligence, just please spare my life!"

Lu Bu looked at him coldly: "What intelligence could you possibly have?"

"It's a secret about the recent invasion of Subudanghe! Actually... it's not just because we're short of food that we're attacking the Cheshi countries; someone invited us here!"

Everyone inside the tent was taken aback.

Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes: "Explain yourself clearly."

Bald Ur swallowed hard and said, "It's the four kingdoms of Yanqi! Yanqi, Weixu, Weili, and Shan Kingdom—these four kingdoms are all inhabited by the Yanqi people, and they live around Qin Hai (present-day Bosten Lake). This summer, the King of Yanqi sent an envoy to Jinwei Mountain to find our Left Dulu King, saying that the Han court is in decline and the Western Regions Chief Administrator's Office is only nominally in existence, making it a good time to seize the territory of the six kingdoms of Cheshi."

Ma Chao frowned: "Why would they do this?"

"For the trade routes!" said Bald Ur. "The four kingdoms of Yanqi are also on the northern route of the Silk Road, and they are competitors with the six kingdoms of Cheshi. For hundreds of years, they have had conflicts with the Cheshi people. This time, they want to use us Xiongnu to kill all the able-bodied men of the six kingdoms of Cheshi, rendering them powerless to rebuild their kingdoms. In this way, the four kingdoms of Yanqi can occupy the oases, farmlands, and pastures of the six kingdoms of Cheshi, and completely control the northern route of the Silk Road."

He paused, then continued, "The envoy from Yanqi said that merchants from Wusun, Dayuan, Sogdiana, Parthia, and Kangju who travel between the two places will have to pay them. They will share half of their profits with us Xiongnu as a reward."

An uproar erupted inside the tent.

Hu Lan Di trembled with rage, slamming his fist on the table as he stood up: "So that's how it is! No wonder the Xiongnu came so suddenly this time, and specifically chose the period after the autumn harvest. It turns out it was the Yanqi people who were pulling the strings behind the scenes, providing intelligence!"

Himido angrily retorted, "These Yanqi people colluded with the Xiongnu to betray the Han court hundreds of years ago, and now they're doing the same thing again!"

Du Lujian, being old, coughed in anger: "Cough cough... No wonder... No wonder the Xiongnu went straight to the royal courts of various countries as soon as they arrived, killing and burning. It turns out they didn't just come to plunder property; they came to slaughter the Cheshi people..."

Lu Bu asked with a stern face, "Bald Ur, are you telling the truth?"

"Every word is true. If there is even half a lie, may I be struck by lightning!" Bald Ur kowtowed. "I was there when the envoys from Yanqi came, and I heard it with my own ears. They also said that the six kingdoms of Cheshi have had good harvests in recent years and have stockpiled a lot of grain, enough for us to get through the winter..."

"Enough!" Lu Bu interrupted him, looking at the three kings, "What do you think?"

Hu Landi gritted his teeth: "King Jin, the four kingdoms of Yanqi are trying to annihilate the six kingdoms of Cheshi! This is an irreconcilable feud!"

Himita said, "Please, Prince Jin, do justice for us!"

Du Lujian, tears streaming down his face, said, "More than three thousand people died in my Beilu Kingdom, and the royal court was burned down. It turns out that it was all the fault of the Yanqi people..."

Lu Bu remained silent for a moment, then said to the bald-headed Wu'er, "Since you have revealed such information, I can grant you a few more days of life."

Bald Ur was dragged away by his personal guards, thanking them profusely. He thought Lü Bu was going to spare him, but little did he know that Lü Bu was only going to let him live a few more days.

The atmosphere inside the tent was heavy.

Guan Yu stroked his beard and said, "My lord, it seems that the root of the trouble in the Western Regions lies not only with the Xiongnu, but also with these fickle Western Region states."

Zhang Fei shouted, "Then what are we waiting for? After we destroy the Xiongnu, we'll go and attack the four kingdoms of Yanqi, and wipe them all out!"

Lu Bu said, "Let's discuss this after the Jinmancheng Festival."

He then looked at the three kings: "You have all heard that the four kingdoms of Yanqi were also involved in this Xiongnu invasion. After I have dealt with the Xiongnu, I will help you get justice. Therefore, you should thank me for taking back your military power and paying tribute to support your army."

The three kings had no choice but to kneel down and express their gratitude.

They are currently outnumbered and outgunned, and if they want to avenge themselves against the four kingdoms of Yanqi, they can only rely on the Prince of Jin and the Han army. Therefore, it is a foregone conclusion that military power will be handed over to the Prince of Jin, and that he will provide funds and provisions to support the army in proportion to his own income.

After leaving the central command tent, Hu Landi and the others became increasingly angry, thinking about how their homes had been destroyed, their property looted, their military power stripped by the Han court, and how they still had to pay for the Han court's garrison. They found the Han army battalion commander guarding the prisoners and said they wanted to kill a few Xiongnu prisoners to vent their anger.

The battalion commander consulted Lü Bu, who thought for a moment and said, "Give them thirty prisoners and let them deal with them as they see fit. But Xubudanghe and Tufa Wuer cannot be moved; they are still useful."

"promise."

Hu Landi and his two companions each selected ten Xiongnu prisoners and took them to an open area outside the camp to torture and kill them in order to vent their anger.

The nobles from various countries, wielding swords and knives, hacked and stabbed at the prisoners, cursing as they killed them:

"You've been accused of colluding with the Yanqi people!"

"You dare kill my people!"

Screams echoed through the night sky.

After the killing, the three men were covered in blood, but they felt much of their pent-up anger dissipate. They returned to their tent, looked at each other, and sighed.

"If it weren't for the timely arrival of the King of Jin, our six kingdoms of Cheshi would probably have been wiped out," said Hu Landi.

Himido nodded: "Yes, the Yanqi people's move was too ruthless. They used the Xiongnu to kill our people and then reaped the benefits."

Du Lüjian sighed, "Now we can only rely on the Prince of Jin. If he can help us destroy the four kingdoms of Yanqi, the six kingdoms of Cheshi will then follow the Han court wholeheartedly."

Fox Landi felt a pang of sorrow upon recalling the death of King Aroddo of the Later Cheshi.