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

In a silk shop in the East Market of Chang'an.

The shopkeeper was fiddling with the abacus when the clerk rushed in from outside: "Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, good news!"

The shopkeeper, without looking up, asked, "What good news?"

The shopkeeper said, "The newspaper says the Silk Road is open! Merchants from the Western Regions, Wusun, and Dayuan will all come to Chang'an to do business! From now on, our silk can be sold directly to merchants from the Western Regions, without going through those middlemen!"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he put down his abacus: "Really? Let me see the newspaper!"

The shop assistant handed over the newspaper, which the shopkeeper read carefully. His face lit up with joy: "Excellent! Excellent! We're going to make a fortune! Quick, go and get all that top-quality silk from the warehouse, organize it, and show it to the Western merchants when they arrive!"

The shop assistant responded and was about to leave when the shopkeeper called him back: "Wait, write another notice and post it: Our shop buys fine horses, jade, and spices from the Western Regions, at preferential prices!"

The waiter chuckled, "Boss, you're trying to make money from both sides!"

The shopkeeper said smugly, "That's right! In business, you have to be quick and decisive. Prince Jin has created an opportunity for us; wouldn't it be foolish not to seize it?"

……

North of the city, the Imperial Guard's main camp.

Guan Yu, dressed in a green robe, stood on the command platform, looking down at the three thousand elite cavalry below, his heart filled with emotion.

He was originally Liu Bei's sworn brother. He followed his elder brother through many hardships, from Youzhou to Qingzhou, from Qingzhou to Xuzhou, and was finally captured by Lü Bu in Pengcheng.

They thought their lives were over, but to their surprise, Lü Bu not only spared their lives but also appointed his eldest brother as the Chancellor of Pengcheng, allowing him and his third brother to continue their conquests.

During this western expedition, he and Zhang Fei followed Lü Bu and witnessed firsthand the divine ability bestowed by heaven, as well as Lü Bu's bravery and strategy. To be honest, he was convinced of Lü Bu's abilities.

Now, Lü Bu has kept his promise and released him to lead troops on his own—the commander of the expanded 4th Division (cavalry division) of the Chang'an Imperial Guards, with the rank of senior colonel, and three thousand elite cavalry under his command.

My third brother also went to Bingzhou and served as the commander of a cavalry division.

Although there were army commanders and generals above him, and staff officers in the division to supervise him, that was the normal system and not specifically targeting him and his third brother.

Moreover, the Prince of Jin had already stated that they were only being allowed to lead troops independently to familiarize themselves with the training and weaponry of the new army under his command. With his and his third brother's abilities, becoming army commanders in the future would be a piece of cake.

Guan Yu looked at the soldiers below the platform and said in a deep voice, "I, the commander, am here by order of the Prince of Jin to command the 4th Cavalry Division of the Imperial Guards. From this day forward, you are all soldiers under my command. I have only one sentence: Train hard, obey orders without question, sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime! The Prince of Jin has treated us well, and we will repay him with our lives!"

The three thousand soldiers replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"

……

Council Hall of Prince Jin's Residence.

Lü Bu sat in the main seat, with cabinet members such as Jia Xu, Chen Gong, Zhang Liao, Guo Jia, Xun You, Ju Shou, Shi Sunrui, Zhang Song, and Cheng Lian sitting on either side. Zhong Yao, Minister of Justice, and Zuo Feng, Minister of Works, who were not cabinet members but held the position of Minister of the Six Ministries, attended the meeting.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Lü Bu slowly spoke: "I have gathered you all here today for the matter of the southern expedition."

Everyone in the hall perked up.

Lü Bu continued, "I originally planned to raise an army after the autumn harvest, but something unexpected happened in the south."

He looked at Ju Shou: "Fengxiao, tell me the intelligence from Jiangdong."

Guo Jia rose, clasped his hands, and said, "Yes. According to the reports from our spies: Last October, while our lord was on his western expedition, Sun Ce sent troops up the river to attack Huang Zu in Jiangxia, intending to avenge his father and seize Jiangxia. He won a small victory in the first battle, capturing the three counties of Xiazhi, Exian, and Shaxian, and confronted Huang Zu across the river. However, Huang Zu later received support from Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, and made no further progress, instead losing Exian and Shaxian, ultimately only managing to occupy the county of Xiazhi."

"Now, the Jiangdong navy is once again on a westward expedition. They travel on merchant ships, dressed in white, disguised as merchants, deceived the Jiangxia garrison, landed at the Qichun ferry, ambushed and killed the garrison, stormed into Qichun, and killed Qichun County Magistrate Huang Qiong and more than a thousand garrison soldiers. Huang Zu was furious and mobilized all the troops in Jiangxia to fight Jiangdong to the death."

"Liu Biao was persuaded by Huang Zu and ordered the troops of Changsha Commandery to advance eastward and attack Yuzhang Commandery in Yangzhou. Yuan Shu was already dissatisfied with Sun Ce forcibly occupying Jiangdong and becoming independent by using his troops, and he had also secretly allied with Jingzhou. So he also sent troops to Lujiang and Jiujiang to attack Jiangdong."

"Now that Sun Ce is surrounded by enemies on three sides and his strength is insufficient, he has sent an envoy north to Xuzhou to request assistance from the imperial court."

After Guo Jia finished speaking, the hall erupted in discussion.

Zhang Liao said, "My lord, although Sun Ce sent his brother and sister as hostages to pledge allegiance, he is actually disobeying orders. He's asking for help; should we really go to his aid?"

Jia Xu laughed and said, "Wen Yuan, whether to save him or not depends on how we do it. Sun Ce has asked for help, so we can take this opportunity to send troops and wipe out the south in one fell swoop."

Lü Bu nodded: "Wenhe is right. Sun Ce's request for help is a golden opportunity to march south and unify the world. Let's discuss how many troops to send and which generals to dispatch."

The crowd began to discuss it enthusiastically, especially Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Zhang Liao, Cheng Lian, and other die-hard followers of Lü Bu. They all knew that once the imperial court completed the great task of unifying the country, it would be the time for Lü Bu to change dynasties, ascend the throne, and for them to gain merit for supporting the emperor.

Ju Shou, Xun You, Shi Sunrui, Zhong Yao, and others remained somewhat quiet, but they only responded passively and dared not oppose.

The final decision was that Wei Xu would lead 20,000 troops from Yizhou eastward out of Yizhou, down the Yangtze River, and attack Nanjun in Jingzhou.

Hou Cheng led 20,000 troops from Luoyang Army Group south to attack Yingchuan County in Yuzhou.

Huang Zhong led 20,000 troops from Yanzhou southward to attack the two prefectures of Chen and Liang in Yuzhou.

Song Xian led an army of 20,000 men from Xuzhou, and the Duke of Jin governed Pei State and Jiujiang Commandery in Yuzhou.

As for Sun Ce, on the surface, they will not attack him for the time being.

After all, Sun Ce had already married his sister Sun Shangxiang to Lü Bu as a concubine and sent his brother Sun Quan to the court as a hostage, thus submitting to the court. Many people in the populace could not distinguish between friend and foe and believed that Sun Ce had submitted to Lü Bu.

This southern expedition was also carried out under the pretext of aiding Sun Ce.

Only through Lu Bu's understanding of the population division within the system's security zone could he clearly know that Sun Ce was still in a state of separatism and independence.

In addition to the various commanders-in-chief, Lü Bu also selected generals such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Gao Lan, Zhang He, Yu Jin, Yue Jin, Zhang Ren, and Zhao Yun to join the southern expeditionary army. This was to avoid situations where the commanders, such as Hou Cheng and Song Xian, lacked the martial skills to fight one-on-one.

Finally, there was another route: Lü Bu personally led 20,000 troops, including the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Guards, and the Guanzhong Army Group, south along the Wuguan Pass to attack Nanyang County in Jingzhou.

The five armies alone comprised 100,000 elite field troops.

If various auxiliary soldiers and logistical transport laborers are included, the number can reach 200,000.

After all, apart from Lü Bu's army which had his divinely bestowed granary carrying provisions and supplies, the other armies still needed to transport provisions.

Two hundred thousand troops marched south, determined to unify the world and settle the world.