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

Inside the city of Nanhe, in the main hall of the royal palace.

Long An was drinking and discussing matters with Ju Chequ, Chili, and Che Luti when suddenly a leader stumbled in, his face pale.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The Han army, the Han army has passed Zheliugu!"

Snapped!

Long An's wine cup fell to the ground, spilling wine all over himself.

"What?!" He stood up abruptly. "How is this possible? Zheliu Valley has two thousand garrison troops, and Qumitu is my cousin, a brave and skilled warrior. How could it have been lost so quickly?"

The leader said in a trembling voice, "No, it wasn't breached. It was... it was flooded!"

"flood?"

"Yesterday, the Guo Hong River suddenly stopped flowing, and today the Dun Hong River suddenly swelled, with a flood peak several meters high rushing into the Zhe Liu Valley, washing away the passes, plank roads, and garrison troops! I witnessed it with my own eyes from the beacon tower. The flood came out of nowhere; it hadn't rained upstream, yet the water suddenly rose, as if the heavens were angry!"

There was a dead silence in the hall.

Ju Chequ's face turned ashen: "Flood? In the dead of winter, where would a flood come from?"

Che Luti muttered, "Could it be... could it be that the Han army has used some kind of sorcery?"

Chili angrily said, "What kind of sorcery is this? It must be a coincidence! It's likely that a landslide occurred upstream of Dunhong, blocking the river channel and causing a break in the flow. Today, the river suddenly bursts its banks, creating a flood. But this is just too much of a coincidence."

Long An slumped back into his seat, his face ashen.

Two thousand defenders were wiped out in one night.

The natural barrier of Zheliu Valley was breached in a single day.

The Han army has now crossed the Zheliu Valley and will soon reach the east bank of the Dunhong River, facing Nanhe City across the river. Although Nanhe City is fortified, how long can it hold out?

Long An led the three kings out of the palace, up the city wall, and observed the water level of the Guo Hong River.

Below the city walls, although this section of the Dunhong River was relatively wide, the water level had still risen significantly, several feet higher than usual, with turbid waves crashing against the inlet of the moat. The moat was already full, and the current was swift.

A few pieces of wood and a corpse floated downstream.

The soldiers guarding the city used long hooks to scoop it up; it was the uniform of the Yanqi garrison.

Immediately afterwards, more and more corpses floated downstream, densely packed on the river's surface. Some were still wearing leather armor, some were naked, and some were unrecognizable.

Long An and the others watched in horror.

At this moment, a disheveled but still alive officer was helped up the city wall by soldiers. It was none other than Qiequmitu!

"Your Majesty!" Qiequmi suddenly knelt down and cried out, "This humble general is incompetent, this humble general is incompetent! The Han army used sorcery to dam the river and build a stone dam overnight, and then suddenly released the water, creating a flood several meters high! All my brothers have been swept away! Of the two thousand men, less than three hundred are left..."

Long An stood there, stunned.

Diverting water from the river?

A stone dam erected overnight?

How...how is this possible?

Leaving aside the manpower required for the stone dam, how would they even get those massive stones, capable of damming the river, to the riverbank? Besides, the steep cliffs on both sides make construction impossible!

Che Luti muttered, "Sorcery...it really is sorcery..."

Chili gritted his teeth: "What kind of sorcery is this? They must have been prepared beforehand, lying in ambush upstream, building a dam with ropes and timber, but we just didn't notice!"

But even he himself didn't believe it when he said that.

To build a stone dam in such a turbulent river would be impossible without hundreds of people working for ten days or half a month. How could the Han army, who had only been there for a day, possibly have done it?

Long An took a deep breath, suppressing his fear, and said in a deep voice, "Things have come to this, we can only defend the city. Send the order: all four gates are to be kept tightly shut, and no one is to enter or leave! Prepare plenty of rolling logs, stones, arrows, and ash bottles on the city walls, and maintain vigilance day and night!"

"yes!"

He then looked at Qiequmitu: "Although you lost Zheliu Valley, it is fortunate that you came back alive. Rest in the city for now and atone for your crime through meritorious service."

Then Qu Mi suddenly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life!"

……

Zheliu Valley was not far from Nanhe City, only a few dozen miles away. Lü Bu soon led his army to arrive and observed Nanhe City from across the Guo Hong River on the east bank.

"The city walls are indeed tall," he said casually. "The moat is also wide, making it difficult to divert the Dunhong River to flood the city. Besides, if we were to flood Nanhe City, clearing the silt would be a hassle when we want to occupy the area in the future."

Guan Yu said, "My lord, you have catapults; we can bombard them from across the river."

Lü Bu nodded: "Tomorrow morning, set up catapults and bombard them for a few days. Once the morale of the defenders is low, then cross the river and attack the city."

He paused, then looked at Fox Orchid King beside him: "Fox Orchid King, would you be willing to persuade them to surrender on my behalf?"

Hu Landi was taken aback, then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your subject is willing to go!"

"Alright, tomorrow you go to the city walls and tell Long An and the others: within three days, open the city gates, surrender, hand over the mastermind, compensate the six kingdoms of Cheshi for their losses, and relinquish your military power, and you will be spared. If you resist to the end, your entire family will be exterminated on the day the city falls."

Fox Orchid Di replied sternly, "Your subject will remember!"

……

The fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, early morning.

Outside the east gate of Nanhe City, along the moat.

Hu Lan Di stood alone on the riverbank, shouting towards the city walls: "King Long An! King Ju Che Qu! King Chi Li! King Che Lu Ti! An old friend has come to visit, may I see him?"

A commotion broke out on the city wall.

A moment later, the four kings, including Long An, ascended the city tower and gazed at Hu Lan Di on the opposite bank of the river.

"Foxlandi?" Long An sneered. "You, the former king of Cheshi, are now a lackey of the Han people?"

Instead of being angry, Hu Lan Di laughed: "King Long An, we have known each other for many years. Let me give you a piece of advice: The Prince of Jin is destined by Heaven, which cannot be resisted by human power. Xu Bu once commanded seven thousand cavalry, and they were all wiped out in a day; he also commanded two thousand garrison soldiers of Liugu, and they were all drowned in a flood overnight. Although your Nanhe City is fortified, can you withstand such methods?"

Long An's expression changed, but he still forced a smile: "Stop spreading rumors! The flood was just a coincidence! My Nanhe City has ample provisions and a garrison of 30,000 men. We can hold out for a year or two without any problem! Lü Bu has come from afar. How long can his provisions last? He'll have no choice but to retreat!"

Hu Landi shook his head: "King Long'an, you are too naive. Do you think that by fortifying the walls and clearing the fields, leaving the Han army with not a single grain of food, you can force the Prince of Jin to run out of supplies and retreat? Do you know that the Prince of Jin possesses a divinely bestowed granary, capable of storing and retrieving grain and supplies out of thin air?"

Long An was taken aback: "What, a divinely bestowed granary?"

"The Prince of Jin was ordained by Heaven and possessed a divine granary, capable of taking things out of thin air. When he was in Chang'an, he used it to feed hundreds of thousands of troops and used it to rush to the aid of Liuzhong City, arriving in Liuzhong City from Chang'an in less than a month. What are the meager grain reserves of your Nanhe City in the Prince of Jin's eyes?"

Long An was shocked, but still refused to believe it: "Nonsense! To conjure things out of thin air? That's the work of gods, how could mortals possibly do it?"

Hu Landi sighed, "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. I'll just ask you one question: if the Prince of Jin can really conjure grain out of thin air, how long can your Nanhe City hold out?"

Long An was speechless.

Hu Landi continued, "The King of Jin has decreed: within three days, surrender the city, hand over the mastermind, compensate the six states of Cheshi for their losses, and relinquish military power, and your lives will be spared. If you resist to the bitter end, on the day the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared. You'd better consider the consequences!"

Having said that, he turned his horse and rode back.

On the city wall, the four kings looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ju Chequ said in a trembling voice, "To take something out of thin air? How is that possible?"

Chili panicked: "If that's really the case, what's the point of us defending the city?"

Che Luti sighed, "Whether it's true or not, the flood at Zheliu Valley is real. Those two thousand garrison soldiers didn't jump into the river on their own. Lü Bu is indeed a strange man."

Long An gritted his teeth: "Don't panic! Even if he can conjure food out of thin air, a siege still requires real fighting! We have 20,000 troops, ample defensive equipment, and the Guo Hong River separates us; we can attack while they're crossing. His 4,000 cavalry are not skilled in siege warfare; what can they do to us?"

Even so, he already felt a vague unease in his heart.

If the claim of conjuring objects out of thin air were true, then Lü Bu would truly be no ordinary man. How could he possibly win against a god?

That night, no one in Nanhe City could sleep.

……