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

That night, in the main hall of the Yancheng Royal Palace.

Bai Ba sat in the main seat, his face grim. High-ranking officials such as Nali, Bochou, Qiemojiu, and Bai Mo sat on either side. Rong Lu, Bo Xu, and Qiedi sat below, each lost in their own thoughts.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn.

Bai Ba remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Gentlemen, you have all heard Lü Bu's ultimatum. By sunset tomorrow, you either surrender or fight. Does anyone have a good plan?"

Bo Chou was the first to rise, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the army to defend to the death! Yancheng's walls are high and its provisions are plentiful; holding out for a year or two should not be a problem! Lü Bu has come from afar; his provisions will eventually run out!"

Nali shook his head: "General, the walls of Wulei City are not much lower than those of Yancheng, and their provisions are not much less. They even have more defenders than us, yet what happened? It fell in a single day. Lü Bu has a divinely bestowed granary, with inexhaustible provisions. He can build stone platforms to bombard us from above; our arrows can't reach him, but his catapults can hit us. How can we defend against this?"

Bo Chou angrily said, "Then, according to the Prime Minister's opinion, we should surrender directly?"

Nali sighed, "I'm not saying we should surrender directly, but rather that we must recognize the situation. Lü Bu is indeed destined for greatness. To be his enemy is like throwing an egg against a rock."

Bo Chou sneered, "Destiny? I, Bo Chou, do not believe in destiny! Let them attack the city! I swear to live and die with Yan City!"

Bai Mo frowned and said, "General, you are willing to die alone, but what about the soldiers in the city? Are they willing to die with you?"

Bo Chou looked around the hall and saw that the generals all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

A chill ran through him.

Bai Mo continued, "The soldiers who escaped from Wulei witnessed Lü Bu's methods of building stone platforms and were terrified, the news spreading throughout the city. If a real battle were to break out, how many would be willing to risk their lives?"

Nali continued, "What Xi Hou says is absolutely right. It is not that I am afraid of death, but that knowing defeat is inevitable and still choosing to die is not loyalty and courage, but foolishness."

Bo Chou gritted his teeth: "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Qiemo Jiu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "General, the Prince of Jin is destined to rule the East. Surrendering to the Prince of Jin may not be a bad thing; it may even be a meritorious act of supporting the emperor."

Bo Chou glared: "Great Wizard, you too..."

Qiemo Jiu waved his hand: "I am just telling the truth."

Bai Ba looked at Rong Lu: "King Rong Lu, what do you think?"

Rong Lu's face turned ashen. After a moment of silence, he said, "Your Majesty, I... I don't know either. Wei Tou Kingdom is small and its army is weak. It shouldn't have been involved in this war in the first place. Now it's trapped in Yan City, caught in a dilemma."

He paused, then sighed, "If we surrender, the Kingdom of Weitou will cease to exist; if we do not surrender, I fear we will not even be able to save our lives."

Bo Xu and Qie Di exchanged a glance, then both lowered their heads and remained silent.

They were just generals, not kings, and had no decision-making power.

Bai Ba then looked at Nali: "Prime Minister, do you... do you think Lü Bu will keep his promise? If he surrenders, will he really save his life?"

Nali pondered for a moment and said, "As far as I know, after the surrender of the kingdoms of Cheshi and Yanqi, Lü Bu did not kill those who surrendered. Although King Juchequ of Weixu died, he died in the chaos of battle, not at the hands of Lü Bu. King Cheluti of the Shan Kingdom was killed by Long'an, and Lü Bu still gave him a proper burial with the honors due to a vassal lord. This shows that this man is a man of his word."

Bai Mo nodded: "I have also heard that Lü Bu spares all those who surrender as long as they do not resist. Those who surrendered from Weixu, Yanqi, Weili, and the Shan Kingdom who wished to join the army were incorporated into the Han army, and those who wished to return to farming were given travel expenses, without any mistreatment."

Bo Chou sneered, "That's all for show. Once the Western Regions are pacified, he might just settle scores later!"

Nali sighed, "General, even if we settle scores later, that's a matter for the future. If we don't surrender now, we might die tomorrow."

The words on the silk were suffocating.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

A palace attendant entered and announced, "Your Majesty, the Queen requests an audience."

Bai Ba was taken aback: "Queen? Let her in."

A moment later, the Queen entered the palace. She was in her early thirties, with a beautiful appearance, but her face was streaked with tears. Behind her were two young princes and a princess.

"Your Majesty!" The Queen knelt down with a thud. "I've heard that Lü Bu is going to attack the city. Is that true? Your Majesty, let's surrender! I don't want to die, I don't want the princes and princesses to die!"

The two princes also knelt down and cried, "Father, we are afraid! We don't want to die!"

The princess cried her heart out.

Bai Ba felt as if his heart was being torn apart.

He helped the queen up, then picked up the youngest prince, his eyes reddening.

Bo Chou looked at this scene, opened his mouth, but finally couldn't say a word.

Nali sighed, "Your Majesty, surrender. For the Queen, for the princes and princesses, for all the people of the city."

Bai Mo also said, "Your Majesty, surrender. Lü Bu is willing to risk his life as long as we surrender. We still have our wealth and can live as rich men. If we resist stubbornly, we will all perish. Not only will you die, but the queen, prince, and princess will also die tragically. We might even be subjected to humiliation by the chaotic army."

Bo Chou remained silent for a long time before finally slumping down and sitting down without saying a word.

Bai Ba looked at the dark night sky outside the palace, then at the crying infant in his arms, and then at himself, who was nominally the king but actually half a puppet, with most of the power in the country divided up by the princes and nobles. Since he couldn't really make many decisions anyway, he finally sighed and said, "So be it... surrender."

……

The 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, early morning.

Inside the east gate of Yancheng, a scene of bustling activity unfolded.

Bai Ba was dressed in plain clothes and wore a cloth crown. Behind him, high-ranking officials such as Nali, Bochou, Qiemojiu, and Baimo were all dressed in white robes and white crowns. Further behind were hundreds of princes, nobles, and civil and military officials, all kneeling on the ground.

At the very front of the procession, two people, bound hand and foot, were kneeling on the ground; they were Long An and Chi Li.

Chili's wounds had not yet healed; his left eye was wrapped in thick bandages, and blood was seeping out. Long An was filled with despair as he struggled to stand up, but was held down firmly by two Kucha warriors.

"Bai Ba!" Long An hissed, "You betrayed me, you'll die a horrible death!"

Bai Ba didn't turn around, but said calmly, "Long'an, it was your four kingdoms of Yanqi who colluded with the Xiongnu to harm the Han soldiers guarding the border, which led to the Han imperial army sending troops to the Western Regions, implicating Kucha. If we hadn't taken you in, how could Kucha have ended up like this?"

Long An roared, "Lu Bu will not let you go! He can force you to surrender today, but he can kill you tomorrow!"

Bai Ba didn't say anything more.

At that moment, a palace attendant rushed in: "Your Majesty, the Han army has arrived outside the city!"

Bai Ba took a deep breath and stepped forward.

The city gate slowly opened, and the drawbridge was lowered.

Bai Ba led his men out of the city and came to the moat, where they knelt down.

Behind them, princes, nobles, and civil and military officials knelt on the ground. Long An and Chi Li were forced to kneel at the very front.

In the distance, the Han army stood in formation. Lü Bu, clad in golden armor and riding a red horse, stood at the front of the formation.

Bai Ba crawled forward on his knees, holding a wooden tray in both hands. On the tray were the seal of the King of Kucha, the household register, and the military register.

"Your Majesty, I, Bai Ba, leading the royal family and officials of Kucha, respectfully welcome Your Majesty the King of Jin! Kucha wishes to submit to the Han court and become a vassal state forever! We beg Your Majesty to spare our lives!"

Lu Bu rode forward, looked down at Bai Ba for a moment, and nodded slightly: "Stand up and speak."

Bai Ba dared not rise, remaining kneeling and saying, "This sinful subject dares not."

Lu Bu said calmly, "I keep my word. Your surrender of the city has reduced casualties on both sides, which can be considered a meritorious act. Get up."