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

Runan Commandery, Pingyu City.

Inside the governor's mansion, Yuan Shu sat in the main seat, his face terribly gloomy. He was about forty years old, with a bloated figure, and his triangular eyes exuded a violent aura.

Below the steps, a scout knelt on the ground, his voice trembling as he reported, "Reporting to the lord, Ji Ling has surrendered to Lü Bu, and the entire Nanyang prefecture has fallen to the court!"

"What?"

Yuan Shu abruptly stood up, his face ashen. He glared at the scout and said, word by word, "Say that again!"

The scout, terrified, kowtowed repeatedly: "My lord, Ji Ling has truly surrendered! On July 11th, Lü Bu's army besieged Wancheng. Ji Ling went out of the city to fight Lü Bu on foot, but was defeated by Lü Bu unarmed and immediately surrendered. Now all the counties in Nanyang have changed sides! It's just that Ji Ling was ordered by Lü Bu to suppress the news, so we only just received the news now."

"Ji Ling! Ji Ling!" Yuan Shu gritted his teeth, grabbed the bronze weight from the table, and slammed it to the ground. "I've treated you well, and you dare betray me!"

He paced back and forth in the hall, furious: "I appointed you as the governor of Nanyang, giving you command of 20,000 troops to guard the gateway to Nanyang! And what did you do? As soon as Lü Bu arrived, you opened the city gates and surrendered! How dare you face me now!"

The civil and military officials in the hall looked at each other, silent as if trembling with fear.

Chief Clerk Yang Hong cautiously rose to his feet: "My lord, please calm your anger. Ji Ling's surrender to Lü Bu is indeed hateful. But the most urgent matter at hand is how to deal with Lü Bu's multiple armies..."

Yuan Shu whirled around, glaring at him: "Respond? How? Ji Ling has surrendered, Nanyang is lost! Lü Bu is attacking from the west, Song Xian from the east, Huang Zhong from the north, and Hou Cheng from the northwest! Enemies are on all sides! Tell me, how are we supposed to respond?!"

Yang Hong was speechless.

Panting heavily, Yuan Shu suddenly shouted in a stern voice, "Issue my order: arrest Ji Ling's entire family and execute them all! Leave no one alive!"

Everyone was shocked.

Chief Clerk Yan Xiang immediately stepped forward: "My lord, you mustn't! Although Ji Ling has betrayed us, his family is innocent. Moreover, Ji Ling enjoys great prestige in the army. If we kill his family, it will discourage the generals!"

Yuan Shu sneered: "Have you chilled the hearts of the generals? Ji Ling betrayed me, so it's only right that I kill his family! Anyone who dares to harbor disloyal thoughts will suffer the same fate as Ji Ling! Issue the order to execute it immediately!"

Yan Xiang wanted to persuade him further, but Yuan Shu glared at him fiercely, so he had no choice but to shut up.

……

West of Pingyu City, the Ji residence.

Ji Ling's family was unaware of the impending tragedy. Ji's mother, over sixty years old, was chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall. Ji's wife, Zhang, was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard with their two young children.

Suddenly, the gate of the mansion was kicked open! A group of armored soldiers rushed into the mansion, led by Lei Bo, a trusted general of Yuan Shu.

Madam Zhang was greatly alarmed and stood up, saying, "General Lei, what is the meaning of this?"

Lei Bo remained expressionless: "By order of our lord, Ji Ling has betrayed his master and defected to the enemy. His entire family must be executed! Move out!"

The armored soldiers swarmed forward, hacking at anyone they saw!

Screams erupted, and blood splattered everywhere!

Zhang desperately protected her two children, but was cut down by a soldier. The two children cried out and rushed towards their mother, only to be hacked to death as well.

In the backyard, hearing the shouts of battle from the front yard, Madam Ji shakily stepped out of the Buddhist hall. The moment she stepped outside, she was struck in the face by an armored soldier and fell into a pool of blood.

In less than half an hour, all thirty-odd people in the Ji family mansion were killed. The mansion was looted clean, and the corpses lay scattered everywhere, with blood flowing like a river.

When the news spread, Pingyu City was in an uproar.

……

The next day, in Pingyu City, teahouses and restaurants were filled with discussions about the execution of Ji Ling's family.

In a teahouse in the south of the city, several men who looked like scholars sat around a table, talking in hushed tones.

"Have you heard? Ji Ling's entire family was killed, not even his elderly mother and young son were spared."

"I've not only heard about it, I've seen it with my own eyes! Yesterday, Lei Bo led his men out of the Ji residence, and the carts were full of corpses wrapped in straw mats. They were taken to a mass grave outside the city and buried there."

"Alas, although Ji Ling has surrendered, surely his crimes don't warrant the extermination of his entire family? Besides, what crime has his elderly mother, wife, and children committed?"

"My lord is making an example of someone. Ji Ling surrendered to Lü, so he killed Ji Ling's entire family to show us what happens when we betray him."

The other person quickly waved their hand: "Watch your words! Watch your words! The walls have ears!"

The man who had spoken earlier remained unconcerned: "What's there to be afraid of? Yuan Shu is besieged on all sides and can't even take care of himself. How could he possibly kill us all? The more he kills indiscriminately, the more the people's hearts will be scattered. Just you wait and see, before long, who knows how many more troubles will occur in Pingyu City."

Everyone fell silent.

……

In a military camp north of Pingyu City.

Several generals sat around the tent, their faces solemn. Leading them was Zhang Xun, a general under Yuan Shu, about forty years old, with a burly build, and an old subordinate of Yuan Shu when he raised his army.

Sitting next to him were Qiao Rui, Chen Ji, Li Feng, and others, all of whom were military commanders under Yuan Shu.

Zhang Xun said in a deep voice, "Have you all heard? Ji Ling's entire family has been killed."

Qiao Rui nodded: "I heard about it. Lei Bo personally took action and left no one alive."

Chen Ji sighed, "Ji Ling has served our lord for many years and has rendered many merits. While it's true he made a mistake by surrendering to Lü Bu, surely it doesn't warrant the extermination of his entire family? His mother is over sixty this year, and he has two children, the older one is only eight, and the younger one is only five. This…"

Li Feng sneered, "Our lord is afraid that we will follow Ji Ling's example and betray our lord to join the enemy, so he is making an example of us."

Zhang Xun waved his hand: "Be careful what you say. However, we must also be cautious. Now, Lü Bu's armies are advancing south in several directions. Nanyang has fallen, and Xiangyang is also indefensible. Liu Biao's side probably won't hold out for long. When that happens, Lü Bu will be able to focus all his efforts on dealing with us. With less than 100,000 troops from Yuzhou, can we withstand him?"

Qiao Rui whispered, "General Zhang, what do you think we should do?"

Zhang Xun was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know either. But one thing is certain: we must save our own lives, and we must also save the lives of our men. As for our lord, we should still obey his orders, but let's always leave ourselves a way out."

The group exchanged glances and understood Zhang Xun's meaning.

……

Inside the governor's mansion, Yuan Shu was discussing matters with Yang Hong, Yan Xiang, and others.

Yang Hongdao said, "My lord, we are now surrounded by enemies on all sides. The most urgent task is to mobilize troops and strengthen the defenses of all cities. Lü Bu's five armies are in the east (Song Xian), north (Huang Zhong), northwest (Hou Cheng), and Lü Bu himself has already captured Nanyang and will soon attack Xiangyang. Once Xiangyang falls, Jingzhou will fall to Lü Bu, and he can then advance directly into Yuzhou from the west."

Yuan Shu frowned: "How long can Liu Biao hold out in Xiangyang?"

Yan Xiang shook his head: "Although Liu Biao has the troops of Jingzhou, Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, and Kuai Yue all have disloyal intentions, so I'm afraid he can't hold it. My lord, we must prepare for the worst."

Yuan Shu gritted his teeth: "The worst-case scenario? I'll fight Lü Bu to the death! My Yuan family has held high office for four generations; how can we bow down to a mere commoner from the border region of Bingzhou!"

Yang Hong quickly said, "My lord, please calm down. Now is not the time to fight to the death. We must first stabilize the internal situation. There has already been discussion in the army about Ji Ling's matter. My lord should appease the generals to prevent them from becoming disunited."

Yuan Shu sneered, "Appease? Ji Ling betrayed me, so what's wrong with me killing his family? Anyone who dares to harbor disloyal thoughts will suffer the same fate as Ji Ling!"

Subsequently, Yuan Shu summoned his trusted confidants and issued orders, assigning more supervisors to each garrison to oversee the generals. He also deployed more armored soldiers within the city to monitor the families of generals and civil officials; anyone showing disloyalty was immediately arrested, imprisoned, and severely tortured.

Yan Xiang listened to Yuan Shu's arrangements, hesitated to speak, and finally sighed, daring not to say anything more.