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

In the Prefectural Shepherd's Mansion.

Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, and Kuai Yue were searching for Liu Biao in the mansion when suddenly a servant rushed in to report: "Commander, something terrible has happened! Liu Biao and Wen Ping have escaped through a secret passage and have already boarded a ship!"

Cai Mao roared in fury: "What? There's a secret passage? After them!"

Kuai Yue stopped him: "De Gui, it's too late. They were prepared, and their boat is fast; we can't catch up."

Cai Mao stomped his foot angrily: "They got off too easy!"

Kuai Liang said, "Although Liu Biao and Wen Ping have fled, Xiangyang is now in our hands. Quickly gather our land and naval forces, which number in the tens of thousands. Once the King of Jin's army arrives, we will open the city gates and surrender, and we will have rendered a great service. Even if Liu Biao flees to Jiangxia, he won't be able to hold out for long. The King of Jin's momentum to unify the world is unstoppable."

Cai Mao nodded: "Brother Zirou is right. Send down the order to inventory the treasury, gather the troops, seal the city gates, and prepare to welcome the Prince of Jin into the city."

Kuai Yue laughed and said, "The Prince of Jin must have already crossed the river. Let's go out of the city to greet him."

The three men looked at each other and smiled, about to lead their men out of the mansion, when suddenly...

A sudden change has occurred!

Suddenly, more than a dozen of their retainers and servants launched an attack! They rushed out of the crowd and slashed at their companions with their swords!

"what……"

Screams erupted everywhere!

Cai Mao was shocked. Before he could react, a bodyguard rushed in front of him and plunged a knife into his chest!

"You..." Cai Mao stared wide-eyed at the man before him in disbelief. This was his servant, who had served him faithfully for many years. How could this be?

The assassin sneered, "Cai Mao, you betrayed your master for personal gain; today is your death day!"

Having said that, he drew his knife and stabbed down again!

Cai Mao collapsed and died!

On the other side, Kuai Yue was also surrounded and attacked by several assassins. Although he fought back fiercely, he was caught off guard and suffered several knife wounds, falling into a pool of blood.

"Big brother, be careful!" Kuai Yue looked at Kuai Liang with difficulty, his voice growing weaker and weaker until he finally breathed his last.

Kuai Liang was terrified and tried to block with his sword, but a assassin slashed his right arm with a single blow!

"Ah..." Kuai Liang screamed in agony as his right arm was severed at the elbow, and blood gushed out!

Several guards desperately protected Kuai Liang, dragging him aside. The remaining servants and retainers reacted and swarmed to kill the assassins.

Although the warriors were brave, they were outnumbered and quickly surrounded and killed. However, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue were already dead, and Kuai Liang had lost an arm and was seriously injured and unconscious.

The mansion was in complete disarray, filled with the sounds of crying, shouting, and cursing.

……

North bank of the Han River.

Seeing flames shooting into the sky and shouts of battle rising from the south bank, Lü Bu knew that Cai Mao and his men had already made their move. Without further hesitation, he went to the shore, raised his hands in a gesture of respect, and walked along the bank.

The next moment, warships appeared out of thin air and lined up neatly on the shore!

Lu Bu said in a deep voice, "Board the ship! Cross the river!"

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Dian Wei, and Xu Chu each led their troops and quickly boarded the warships. Moments later, hundreds of warships, fully loaded with Han soldiers, sailed towards the south bank.

……

Beneath the walls of Xiangyang.

At the city gate, Kuai Liang stood pale-faced, his severed arm tightly bandaged with strips of cloth, stained with blood. He knelt on the ground, behind him lay the corpses of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, as well as hundreds of servants and retainers from the Cai and Kuai families.

Lu Bu rode forward and, seeing this scene, frowned: "Kuai Liang? What's going on?"

Kuai Liang kowtowed to the ground, weeping, and said, "Your Majesty, this sinful subject is guilty..."

He recounted the events in fits and starts.

It turns out that Cai Mao and Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue had long felt that Lü Bu's momentum to unify the world was unstoppable and that Jingzhou could not remain unaffected. After failing to persuade Liu Biao to submit to the court, they secretly contacted Lü Bu to prepare to submit.

They knew Wen Ping was a staunch supporter of Liu Biao, so they hadn't contacted him. But they thought Huang Zu might be interested, so they secretly sounded out Huang Zu's opinion, only to be reprimanded by him, and they didn't bring it up again.

However, Huang Zu became alert. Although he did not know that Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, and Cai Mao had clearly submitted to Lü Bu, he secretly reminded Liu Biao to be on guard.

Although Liu Biao did not believe that these three men would betray him, he still made preparations such as secret passages and escape boats, and bribed some of the servants and retainers of the Kuai and Cai families to act as assassins.

When Liu Biao entered Jingzhou alone, he was a man of great skill and decisiveness. How could he have been so unprepared that he was easily captured by Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, and Cai Mao and handed over to Lü Bu to surrender?

Now that Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, and Cai Mao have indeed rebelled, Liu Biao, though careless in losing Jingzhou, will naturally not let these three traitors get away with it. Therefore, before leaving, he gave orders to the two guards to kill the three traitors.

The sudden counterattack from the servants caught Kuai Yue and Cai Mao completely off guard, resulting in their deaths. Kuai Liang also lost a hand, suffering heavy losses.

After listening, Lü Bu remained silent for a moment, then dismounted and helped Kuai Liang up: "Zirou, please rise. This matter is not your fault. Liu Biao was prepared and does not blame you."

Kuai Liang, tears streaming down his face, cried out, "Your Majesty, this wicked subject is incompetent and has caused the deaths of De Gui and Yi Du. This wicked subject deserves to die..."

Lü Bu sighed, "The dead cannot be brought back to life, Zirou, please accept my condolences. De Gui and Yi Du died for their allegiance to the court, and I will give them a grand funeral, posthumously grant them official titles, and provide relief to their families. Although Zirou has lost an arm, his loyalty is commendable, and I will certainly give him an important position."

Kuai Liang kowtowed: "Thank you for your grace, Prince Jin!"

Lu Bu glanced at the corpses of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, then said to his personal guards, "Prepare the remains of De Gui and Yi Du properly and bury them with proper rites."

The personal guard clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Yes, sir!"

Lü Bu then looked at Kuai Liang: "Where did Liu Biao and Wen Ping escape to?"

Kuai Liang said, "Your Highness, they escaped from the water gate by speedboat towards Jiangxia, presumably to seek refuge with Huang Zu."

Lü Bu nodded: "Liu Biao will surely be protected by Huang Zu upon his departure. However, with the loss of Xiangyang, the people of Jingzhou will be in a state of panic and will not be able to hold out for long."

He paused, then said, "Zirou, although you have lost an arm, you can still manage affairs. Xiangyang has just been pacified, and there are many complicated matters. We still need you to step forward and appease the people."

Kuai Liang kowtowed: "Your subject obeys!"

……

Early morning, the first day of the eighth lunar month.

As dawn broke, Han army flags fluttered in the wind atop Xiangyang city walls.

The city was plastered with notices announcing that the imperial court had officially recaptured Xiangyang.

The proclamation, stamped with the seal of the Prince of Jin, read: "Xiangyang has been recovered. Liu Biao, Wen Ping, Huang Zu, and others are all traitors, and everyone has the right to kill them. Anyone who can capture and kill Liu Biao, Wen Ping, and Huang Zu will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces and promoted three ranks. Those who stubbornly resist will have their entire clans exterminated when the imperial army arrives. Do not say you were not warned!"

The notice was surrounded by commoners and surrendered soldiers, who were discussing it animatedly.

"Liu Jingzhou has escaped?"

"Without Xiangyang and these 40,000 to 50,000 troops, Liu Biao will be nothing but a skeleton in a tomb when he flees to Jiangxia."

"Governor Cai and Mr. Kuai are both dead? Alas..."

"I've heard that the Prince of Jin possesses a divine granary bestowed by heaven, capable of conjuring things out of thin air and carrying provisions and military supplies on long-distance raids. How can Liu Jingzhou possibly defeat him?"

"It would be even better if it returned to the imperial court. I've heard that the people of Guanzhong have been living much better these past two years."