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

The army continued its march towards Jinman City. Doumo selected several hundred able-bodied men to accompany the army, carrying tools, to assist in the construction of the mausoleum. The remaining elderly, women, and children stayed in Wutu Valley, where they began to slowly clear the ruins and prepare to rebuild their homes.

On the way, Hu Landi and the other two discussed it privately.

Himita said, "That kid Doumo knows how to handle things. He directly offered to submit to the Han court, so the Prince of Jin will definitely have a good impression of him."

Du Lujian said, "He is a smart man. The rear Cheshi region is now just a name, so it's better to find a new way to live. It's just that we... alas, we can't bear to part with our ancestral heritage."

Hu Landi smiled bitterly: "What can we do even if we're reluctant? The Prince of Jin says he wants to take back military power. Can we resist? Rather than being forced to hand over power, we might as well learn from Doumo and take the initiative. Maybe we can even gain some benefits."

The three looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.

On the third day of the eleventh lunar month, Jinman City was filled with gold. This small Han army stronghold, which once stood at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, was now a ruin.

Many sections of the city wall had collapsed, with bricks and stones scattered everywhere. The Han flag that once stood atop the city wall was gone, replaced by a charred flagpole. Half of the city gate had been burned down and hung there askew.

Zhang Fei arrived at Jinman City two days early and was leading his men to clear the city. Upon seeing Lü Bu's army arrive, he rode out of the city to greet them.

"My lord!" Zhang Fei dismounted and bowed, his face unusually devoid of a smile.

Lü Bu nodded: "How is the situation?"

Zhang Fei's voice was low and deep: "General Huo Gu's body has been found. The Xiongnu buried him with the respect due to a general on a high slope north of the city. I haven't moved it, waiting for my lord to handle it. The remains of the other Han soldiers... some have been found intact, some were dismembered, and only parts have been found. There are also about three hundred laborers who were stationed in the fields, and they have all been found one by one."

He paused, then continued, "In addition, we found several laborers who had escaped the calamity in the nearby mountains, and brought them all here."

Lü Bu dismounted and walked into the city.

The scene inside the city was even more horrific. Most of the houses along the streets were burned down, leaving only charred wooden frames. Broken pottery jars, torn cloth, and dried, blackened bloodstains were scattered on the ground.

In some corners, you can still see white human bones.

Su Yan and Wei Bing also arrived, and upon seeing this scene, both of them had tears in their eyes.

Wei Bing choked up and said, "When I first came to the Western Regions twenty years ago, I visited General Huo Gu in Jinman City. At that time, although the city was simple, it was very lively. The sounds of soldiers training and laborers plowing the fields... Now, all of that is gone."

Su Yan, tears streaming down his face, cried out, "Huo Gu, Huo Gu, we were sent to the Western Regions in the same year, promising to return to Chang'an together when we grew old. But now you've left us first..."

Lu Bu walked silently until he arrived at the former residence of the Marquis of Wu in the center of the city.

The mansion was mostly burned down, but the flagpole still stood. Zhang Fei said that Huo Gu died here, leaning on his sword, his eyes wide with rage.

"Bring those few surviving laborers with you," Lü Bu said.

Before long, three ragged, emaciated men were brought over. When they saw Lü Bu's golden armor and the imposing Han army around him, they knelt down with a thud, trembling all over.

"This humble subject greets the General... no, greets Your Highness..."

Lü Bu told them to stand up and asked, "Are you laborers from the agricultural settlements of Jinman City?"

The man in the forties who was leading the group nodded and said in broken Chinese, "Yes, my name is Amur, a Cheshi. I was recruited by General Huogu to cultivate the land twenty years ago and I farm outside the city."

"Tell me the details of what happened that day."

Amur wiped away his tears and began to tell his story:

"That morning, the Xiongnu suddenly arrived. They first broke through Wutu Valley, and then headed straight for Jinman City. General Huogu ordered our laborers to go up to the city to help, and gave us simple weapons."

"There were many Xiongnu, at least four or five thousand. They used lassos to pull down the city wall and rushed in. General Huo Gu led the Han soldiers in a desperate battle, and we fought back as well. But we were outnumbered and couldn't win."

"Later, General Huo Gu was hit by an arrow and stabbed several times, but he still refused to retreat. He stood under the flagpole and shouted, 'Han soldiers guarding the border would rather die than surrender.' In the end... he was surrounded by several Xiongnu and hacked to death."

At this point, Amur broke down in tears: "I'm useless... When I saw General Huogu dead, I was terrified and fled through the back gate, hiding in the mountains. I'm a deserter; if Your Highness wants to kill me or torture me, I accept it..."

The other two laborers also started crying.

Lu Bu looked at them. These were just ordinary people, not soldiers. It was understandable that they would run away under those circumstances.

"You are not deserters," Lü Bu said in a deep voice. "You are just civilians who have done your best to take up arms and help defend the city. General Huo Gu and the Han soldiers died in battle; it was their choice and their honor. If you survive, you can tell future generations what happened here."

Upon hearing this, Amur and the other two cried even harder.

Lü Bu then asked, "What did the Xiongnu do after they breached the city?"

"Murder...killing everyone they see..." Amur trembled. "All the Han soldiers were killed, and most of the laborers were slaughtered too. The women were taken, and all the food and valuables were looted. They even set the city on fire, saying they would erase all traces of the Han people..."

Zhang Fei, listening from the side, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.

Ma Chao's face was gloomy, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Lu Bu took a deep breath and said to Zhang Fei, "Take me to see General Huo Gu's tomb."

On a high slope north of the city, there is a new grave. In front of the grave stands a simple wooden plaque, inscribed with "[Tomb of Huo Gu]" in both Xiongnu script and Chinese characters.

Zhang Fei said, "This was established by the Xiongnu. The scouts said that although Xubudanghe killed General Huogu, he respected him as a man and ordered him to be buried with the rites due to a general."

Lu Bu stood before the tomb, silent for a long time.

"General Huo Gu was a descendant of a collateral branch of General Huo Qubing. Although the bloodline was distant, his spirit remained. He guarded the border for twenty-three years without ever retreating a single step, and finally died on the battlefield, his body wrapped in a horse's hide. This is a true son of the Han people."

He turned to the crowd and said, "Order that a mausoleum be built here to bury General Huo Gu and eighty-seven Han soldiers who guarded the border. The civilian laborers who settled in the fields should also be buried here. They were all heroes who died for the Han frontier."

"promise!"

On the eighth day of the eleventh lunar month, people from all walks of life in the six kingdoms of Cheshi gathered in Jinman City.

King Hulandi of the Former Cheshi Kingdom, King Bimituo of the Eastern Qiemi Kingdom, and King Dulujian of the Bilu Kingdom all arrived. Princes or high-ranking officials from the kingdoms of Yizhi and Pulei also came. Doumo of the Later Cheshi Kingdom attended as the representative of the Later Cheshi Kingdom.

Su Yan, the Chief Administrator of the Western Regions, Wei Bing, the Commandant of the Wuji School, and some Han Chinese officials who came from Gaochang also arrived.

Outside Jinman City, a simple altar has been erected.

To the east of the altar is a mausoleum under construction. Huo Gu's tomb has been renovated, and a stone tablet has been erected, inscribed with "[Tomb of Huo Gu, General Who Pacifies the West of the Great Han Dynasty]". General Who Pacifies the West was a posthumous title conferred upon Huo Gu by Lü Bu.

Next to it were eighty-seven smaller graves, each with a wooden plaque in front of it listing the name and place of origin of the fallen soldier—for some whose place of origin could not be found, it was simply written as "[So-and-so, a soldier of the Han Dynasty]".

Further out are the graves of more than three hundred laborers.