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

"Haha, good!" Lu Bu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

With the support of this Level 4 security zone, he had no more worries!

Now, even if Li Jue and Guo Si immediately mobilized an army of 100,000 to attack, he would not be afraid at all!

He immediately issued the order: "Send word to all battalions that, effective immediately, the food standard be raised by one level, with meat served every day! Military pay shall be paid in full, and those who perform meritorious service shall be richly rewarded! In all cities and counties, the resettlement of displaced persons must not be neglected, the soup kitchens must be kept at a sufficient density, and no starvation shall be tolerated!"

The order was relayed, and the entire army cheered, further stabilizing public morale.

Under Lü Bu's rule, a distorted prosperity emerged—while the world was in chaos and starving, this place had abundant food supplies and the military and civilians were at peace.

Lu Bu's large-scale recruitment of refugees to expand his power was something that Li Jue and Guo Si, who lived not far away, could not possibly be unaware of.

Chang'an City, Li Jue's residence.

"Bang!" Guo Si slammed his fist on the table, his old scars trembling with rage. "That bastard Lü Bu is going too far! He dares to openly issue notices to plunder the people of Guanzhong. He's trying to destroy our very foundation!"

Li Jue's face was equally gloomy.

Guanzhong suffered from war and its population plummeted to just over two million.

With the country in chaos and local warlords ruling their own territories and no longer paying tribute to the court, Li Jue and Guo Si's army of over 100,000 men, along with numerous court officials and nobles, were entirely supported by the two million people of Guanzhong, a burden they could not bear.

Lü Bu's move was weakening their human resources and undermining their very foundation.

Fan Chou also said bitterly, "We can't let this go on any longer! Even outside Chang'an, there are foolish people stirring up trouble, privately gossiping about what kind of benevolent ruler Lü Bu is. If this continues, the morale of the army and the people will be swayed by him!"

Jia Xu said leisurely, "If a large number of people in Guanzhong surrender to Lü, where will we get our military supplies? If this goes on for too long, our army will run out of food and internal strife will inevitably break out."

Li Jue narrowed his eyes, a cold glint in them: "How can I allow another to snore beside my bed! This scoundrel Lü Bu must be eliminated! At the very least, he must be driven out of Guanzhong so he can't continue to threaten Chang'an!"

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, on the 18th of August, Li Jue and Guo Si, in the name of Emperor Liu Xie, issued an edict listing several crimes committed by Lü Bu, including "betraying his lord and murdering his father (Dong Zhuo), disrupting the court, holding military power and plundering prefectures and counties." They ordered Lü Bu to immediately ride alone to Chang'an to apologize, or else the royal army would be mobilized to wipe out his followers and exterminate his entire clan!

The imperial edict was quickly delivered to Shangluo.

When Lü Bu heard the report, he merely sneered.

He summoned the civil and military officials and circulated the imperial edict.

Zhang Liao angrily said, "Li Jue and Guo Si have held the emperor hostage, yet they dare to turn around and accuse us! They are utterly shameless!"

Hao Meng shouted, "General, why waste words with them! Just send troops, march into Chang'an, and rescue the Emperor!"

Lu Bu waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet: "They have official titles, but we don't?"

He turned to Meng Cheng, "Chief Meng, immediately draft a proclamation! In the name of the Emperor's personal bestowal of the titles of General of Valiant Might, Marquis of Wen, Acting Imperial Envoy, and Honorable Minister of the Three Excellencies, proclaim this to the world! The proclamation's main points: Li Jue, Guo Si, and other remnants of Dong Zhuo have breached the capital, held the Emperor hostage, and unleashed their troops to plunder and devastate the Three Auxiliary Regions. Their crimes are heinous and arouse the wrath of both gods and men! I, Lü Bu, uphold righteousness, raise an army to punish these traitors and purge the court of corrupt officials! I call upon all loyal and righteous men of the land to join in the fight against these national traitors!"

Meng Cheng was a good writer, and soon a righteous and stern manifesto was drafted.

Lu Bu read it and nodded in approval.

The proclamation was copied in many places and sent to be posted and spread throughout the Qin River Valley and even the whole world.

Of course, Lü Bu knew that launching a direct assault on Chang'an, a city with high walls and deep moats, would result in too many casualties and was not the wise thing to do.

He adopted a more flexible strategy.

"Wen Yuan!" Lü Bu called out.

"Your subordinate is here!" Zhang Liao stepped forward.

"You are hereby ordered to lead two thousand light cavalry, using the Bahe River camp as a base, to advance into the plains surrounding Chang'an. Your mission is not to attack cities, but to eliminate the scouts sent out by Li Jue and Guo Si, strike their small groups of raiders, and protect the refugee caravans heading to our location! Remember, annihilate small enemy forces and avoid large enemy units. Fully utilize the mobility advantage of our light cavalry to exhaust and harass the enemy, keeping Li Jue and Guo Si constantly on edge!"

"Understood, sir!" Zhang Liao accepted the order, a gleam of excitement flashing in his eyes.

This tactic suited him perfectly.

The next day, Zhang Liao led two thousand well-equipped and well-fed light cavalry, like tigers released from their cages, to pounce on the outskirts of Chang'an.

In the days that followed, the area outside Chang'an became Zhang Liao's hunting grounds.

The scout teams sent out by Li Jue and Guo Si often never returned.

The hundred-man or even thousand-man troop that went out to "collect grain" were often ambushed by Zhang Liao's cavalry.

The light cavalry of Bingzhou moved swiftly like the wind, their archery skills were precise, and they could often cover the enemy with a volley of arrows followed by a swift charge, which would crush the unprepared and poorly equipped scattered soldiers of Liangzhou.

Occasionally, Li Jue and Guo Si would send out several thousand cavalry to pursue them, but Zhang Liao would not engage in battle at all, and would easily shake off the pursuers by taking advantage of his horses.

When the pursuers are exhausted and retreat, he may launch a surprise attack from the flank and take a piece of their flesh.

In just a few days, Zhang Liao's light cavalry battalion had beheaded and captured more than two thousand of Li Jue and Guo Si's men, while suffering negligible losses themselves.

More importantly, wherever Zhang Liao's army went, they did not harm the people in the slightest, and even distributed some of the captured grain to the poor refugees they encountered along the way.

This stands in stark contrast to the Liangzhou army's acts of burning, killing, and looting.

More and more people are witnessing or hearing about this contrast.

"See those? Those are the cavalry under Lü Wenhou's command. They're not robbing us, they're even attacking the Liangzhou soldiers who are trying to rob us!"

"What a righteous and benevolent army!"

"Let's go to Lantian. We can't stay under Li Jue and Guo Si's rule anymore!"

Popular support surged like an avalanche towards Lü Bu. The flow of refugees heading towards Wuguan Pass grew even larger and more continuous.

Inside Chang'an, Li Jue and Guo Si were furious.

"Useless! All of them are useless! Several thousand cavalrymen couldn't even touch Zhang Liao's hair!" Guo Si roared in the mansion.

Li Jue's face was ashen: "This can't go on any longer! Lü Bu is cutting us down with a dull knife! He's harassing us on the outskirts, attracting refugees. If this goes on for too long, the counties surrounding Chang'an will be depleted. Our army of over 100,000 is trapped in this isolated city. Where will our supplies come from? If we just sit around and wait, our resources will run out, and internal strife will surely break out!"

Fan Chou also realized the seriousness of the problem: "We must take the initiative and seek a decisive battle! With our overwhelming numerical superiority, we must annihilate Lü Bu's main force in one fell swoop! Once Lü Bu is killed, his power will naturally crumble!"

Li Meng said, "We have a numerical advantage and should take the initiative to seek a decisive battle to settle the score. Even if we can't kill Lü Bu, driving him out of Guanzhong and into Jingzhou to cause trouble for Yuan Shu or Liu Biao would be good."

Jia Xu said, "If we don't get rid of this fierce tiger Lü Bu soon, he will surely become a great threat in the future."