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

Seeing his chief general, Xing Daorong, killed in just three rounds, Liu Du was terrified. He tumbled off his horse, knelt, and kowtowed, crying, "General, spare my life! General, spare my life!"

Zhang Fei rode forward, looking down at him: "You are Liu Du, the Prefect of Lingling?"

Liu Du kowtowed repeatedly: "Yes...this humble official is indeed Liu Du..."

Zhang Fei grinned and said, "Liu Biao is dead. Will you surrender or not?"

Liu Du hurriedly said, "I surrender! I surrender! This humble official is willing to surrender! I beg the general to spare my life!"

Zhang Fei nodded: "Alright, follow me to see the Prince of Jin."

Liu Du kowtowed repeatedly and, with his remaining troops, followed Zhang Fei into the camp.

……

Xiling City, Prefectural Governor's Office.

Lü Bu sat in the main seat, with Guan Yu, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Xu Shu, Zhang Yun, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Wei Yan, and others sitting on either side.

A guard entered and reported: "Your Majesty, Xiling City is now completely under our control. The garrison of nearly 10,000 infantrymen has been incorporated into our camp."

Lü Bu nodded: "Alright."

Another guard entered: "Report! The Xiling naval camp has been completely taken over. More than 13,000 surrendered soldiers and more than 500 warships have been counted."

Lü Bu looked at Zhang Yun and Sun Ce: "You two, each take them under your command."

Zhang Yun and Sun Ce stood up, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "Yes, sir!"

Another guard entered: "Report! Liu Du, the prefect of Lingling, led his remaining troops to reinforce, but they have been defeated by General Zhang Fei. Xing Daorong, the commander of Lingling's army, was killed by General Zhang in three strikes. Liu Du surrendered and is now being held outside the camp, awaiting his fate."

Lu Bu said, "Bring him in."

A moment later, Liu Du was escorted into the mansion by Zhang Fei. As soon as he entered, he knelt down and kowtowed: "This sinful subject Liu Du pays his respects to His Highness the Prince of Jin!"

Lü Bu looked down at him: "Liu Du, are you a member of the Han imperial family?"

Liu Du said in a trembling voice, "Yes... I am the Prefect of Lingling, but my claim of being a member of the Han imperial family is merely a boastful attempt to curry favor. In reality, I am only surnamed Liu, and not a descendant of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang..."

Lü Bu said calmly, "Liu Biao is dead, and all the counties of Jingzhou have submitted. Since you have come to surrender, I will not kill you. You can continue to be the Prefect of Lingling. But you must hand over military power, and the court will send another general to command the troops."

Liu Du repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Prince Jin! Thank you for your grace, Prince Jin!"

Lu Bu waved his hand: "Go down."

Liu Du was taken out.

Xu Shu rose, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "My lord, Jingzhou has been pacified. Nanyang, Jiangxia, and Lingling have all fallen. As for the four commanderies of Nanjun, Changsha, Wuling, and Guiyang, we only need to send envoys to deliver proclamations, and they will surely surrender without a trace."

Lü Bu nodded: "Pass down the order to immediately draft a proclamation and send messengers to each prefecture. Tell them that Liu Biao is dead, and that they can secure wealth and honor by surrendering early; if they remain obstinate, they will be annihilated when the army arrives."

Xu Shu clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, sir!"

Lü Bu then looked at Sun Ce: "Bo Fu, I am very pleased that you have killed Huang Zu today and avenged your father. As for the matter of Yangzhou, I will make arrangements after the world is at peace."

Sun Ce rose and clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Prince of Jin!"

Lü Bu said, "You should lead the Jiangdong navy and temporarily station it in Jiangxia. Once Jingzhou is completely pacified, you can return to Yangzhou."

Sun Ce replied, "Yes, sir!"

Lü Bu looked at Zhang Yun: "Zhang Yun, lead the Xiangyang navy to patrol the Yangtze River and force the surrender of the Yangtze River and Nan Commandery."

Zhang Yun clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, sir!"

Lü Bu concluded, "Now that Jingzhou is secured, only Yuan Shu of Yuzhou remains. After a few days of rest, I will lead my army north to join forces with Huang Zhong, Hou Cheng, and Song Xian's armies to besiege Yuzhou. Yuan Shu won't be able to cause trouble for much longer."

The generals chanted in unison, "Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin!"

……

August 16th, early morning.

On the walls of Xiling City, the banners of the Han army fluttered in the wind.

The city was plastered with notices announcing that the imperial court had officially recovered Jingzhou.

The proclamation bore the seal of the King of Jin and read: "Jingzhou has been recovered. Liu Biao, Huang Zu, Wen Ping, and others were all traitors and have been executed. Officials and people of all counties and prefectures can rest assured."

The notice was surrounded by local officials, businessmen, and ordinary people, who were discussing it animatedly.

"Liu Biao is dead? Huang Zu is dead too?"

"I heard that Liu Biao committed suicide and Huang Zu was killed by Sun Ce."

"Wasn't Sun Ce a warlord ruling Jiangdong? Why did he surrender to the King of Jin?"

"Who can stop the King of Jin in the grand scheme of things? Sun Ce was wise enough to surrender and can even become the governor of Yangzhou."

"That's great, Jingzhou is pacified, we don't need to fight anymore."

"I heard that the Prince of Jin has reduced taxes and distributed farming tools, so our lives will be better from now on."

……

In a house in the city, an old woman knelt in the courtyard, burning paper money. Her son had died in the previous siege, killed by stones.

The old woman cried, "My son, you died unjustly! If you had lived a few more hours, there wouldn't be a war now..."

A neighbor came over and comforted her, "Auntie, don't cry. People die in war, after all. The Prince of Jin said that the families of the dead and wounded will receive compensation; have you gone to the government office to collect it?"

The old woman shook her head: "I didn't go..."

The neighbor said, "Go ahead, I heard that everyone will receive five bushels of grain and some money. Although the King of Jin killed your son, he still gave you compensation. It's better than those feudal lords who don't care about the lives of their people."

The old woman wiped away her tears and nodded.

……

Outside Xiling City, there is a mass grave.

Several laborers were digging pits to bury the corpses. These were all unclaimed soldiers who had died in the siege. Those whose families claimed them were given a dignified burial. Those whose families did not claim them were buried in mass graves. As for the Han soldiers who died in battle, the imperial court would naturally provide for their burials.

One of the laborers sighed, "With so many corpses, when will we ever finish burying them?"

Another person said, "Stop complaining. The Prince of Jin pays wages, which is better than farming."

The first person said, "That's true. The King of Jin is benevolent; he provides pensions for the dead, medical treatment for the wounded, and wages for the living. Where can you find such a lord?"

Another person nodded: "Yes, when Liu Biao was in power, he was constantly requisitioning grain and conscripting soldiers, fighting against Yuan Shu and Sun Ce. How could we ordinary people have a good life? Now things are better. The Prince of Jin has come, and everything will be under the control of the imperial court. Life is much better now."

The two talked and worked at the same time, and soon dug a large pit, carried the bodies in one by one, and covered them with soil.