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

With Liu Biao's death, news of the battle reached all the counties and prefectures of Jingzhou. Whether or not they were loyal to Liu Biao, the civil and military officials had no one to pledge allegiance to. Coupled with the overwhelming power of King Lü Bu of Jin and the imperial army, all the counties and prefectures surrendered and submitted, changing their flags and declaring that they would only obey the orders of the imperial court from now on.

Due to logistical constraints, Wei Xu's Yizhou army marched slowly, engaging in only a few minor battles in Wuxian, Zigui, and Yiling. Before they even reached Jiangling, the capital of Nanjun, news arrived that Liu Biao, Huang Zu, and Wenpin had died and that Nanjun had changed its flag and surrendered.

When Wei Xu led his army to Jiangling, the Jiangling garrison commander opened the city gates wide to welcome Wei Xu into the city and take over the city's defenses.

Other commanderies such as Wuling, Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang surrendered without resistance, and Jingzhou was pacified.

With Sun Ce having already led all the counties of Jiangdong to submit, Lü Bu has now unified most of China, only lacking Yuan Shu of Yu Province and Shi Xie of Jiao Province.

……

While Lü Bu's army was resting in Jiangxia and taking over the military and political defenses of the entire Jingzhou and Yangzhou, Shi Xie of Jiaozhou had already received the news.

After Lü Bu launched his southern campaign against Jingzhou, Shi Xie moved his office from Jiaozhi County (Hanoi), the capital of Jingzhou, to Nanhai County (Guangzhou) in order to be closer to the north, especially to Guiyang County (Chenzhou) in Jingzhou, to gather intelligence.

Upon receiving news that Sun Ce had surrendered to Lü Bu, joined forces with Lü Bu to attack Jiangxia, that Liu Biao, Wen Pin, and Huang Zu had all died, and that the entire territory of Jingzhou had been recovered, Shi Xie was immediately terrified and lost his composure. He quickly summoned his family's trusted relatives and confidants to discuss countermeasures.

I've heard that Lü Bu has conquered Nanyang, Xiangyang, and Jiangxia within a month, killed Liu Biao, Wen Pin, and Huang Zu, recovered the entire Jingzhou region, and forced Sun Ce of Jiangdong to surrender en masse. Now only Yuzhou and Jiaozhou remain isolated and outside the control of the imperial court. Next, the Prince of Jin will inevitably besiege Yuzhou. Once Yuan Shu is defeated and killed, Jiaozhou will no longer be able to remain unscathed. Surrender or die.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spine upon hearing this news.

The second brother, Shi Yi, said, "Brother, we must make a decision. If we wait until the Prince of Jin defeats Yuan Shu before surrendering, it will be too late. By then, we'll be fish on a chopping block, with no choice at all. Surrendering now is the greatest support we can give the Prince of Jin before he defeats Yuan Shu. Even without much troops or supplies, it's still a show of support, and the Prince of Jin will surely appreciate it and won't kill us all. Even if we lose our military power like Sun Ce, we can still retain the position of Governor of Jiaozhou. Even without the governorship, we can at least keep a few prefectures to preserve our family's wealth. If we continue to hold our ground and resist stubbornly, the entire Shi family will be doomed."

The third son, Shi Yi, the fourth son, Shi Wu, and Shi Xie's son, Shi Hui, all nodded in agreement with Shi Yi's judgment.

Jiaozhou was located on the southern frontier. Excluding the uncontrollable bandits and roving tribes of the Baiyue people in the deep mountains and forests, the controllable registered population was less than one million, and the army numbered only twenty or thirty thousand.

How could such a small population and military force possibly contend with the Prince of Jin, who had a population of tens of millions, a military force of hundreds of thousands, the greatest personal martial prowess in the world, a vast number of civil and military officials under his command, and the divine ability to store grain?

Therefore, as Shi Yi said, surrendering and submitting before the King of Jin defeated Yuan Shu and turned his troops towards Jiaozhou was a good thing, adding to the good fortune and showing pragmatism. Given the King of Jin's treatment of those who voluntarily surrendered, he would certainly not treat the Shi family too badly.

If we continue to stand by and watch, waiting for the King of Jin to defeat Yuan Shu and recover Yu Province before turning our military might towards Jiao Province, forcing Jiao Province to surrender, then the treatment we receive will certainly not be as good as it is now.

Seeing that his family members all shared this view, Shi Xie consulted several advisors. Yuan Hui, Xu Jing, Cheng Bing, Xue Zong, and others all held the same opinion, stating that the Prince of Jin's unification of the world was unstoppable, and that submitting as soon as possible would allow them to avoid danger and gain benefits. They also believed that when the Prince of Jin changed dynasties in the future, they could contribute to the succession.

If the King of Jin were to besiege the city and the Shi family were to surrender, it would undoubtedly be a waste of the King of Jin's time, energy, and troop deployment costs. These costs would naturally be reduced by the Shi family, and the Shi family would not receive as many benefits. They might even be purged.

Shi Xie was naturally aware of all this, and seeing that everyone was in agreement, he stopped making futile resistance. He immediately dispatched a messenger on an urgent mission to deliver a letter of surrender to King Lü Bu of Jin, stating that the Shi family was willing to lead the entire Jiaozhou region to submit to the court and obey the King of Jin's orders.

Then, he sent his son Shi Hui and his advisor Yuan Hui northward with key information on Jiaozhou's household registration, army, population, territory, and finances. They passed through Guiyang County and Changsha County, and went to Jiangxia to personally meet with the Prince of Jin and express their submission, thus preserving the Shi family's wealth and status.

Shi Hui and Yuan Hui traveled at a slower pace, but the courier only carried the surrender document, and with the urgent delivery of the 800-li express courier, they arrived in Jiangxia in just a few days.

Lu Bu was overjoyed to receive Shi Xie's letter of surrender from Jiaozhou. Although Shi Hui and Yuan Hui had not yet arrived, he believed that with Shi Xie's political acumen, he would not joke with someone like him who was about to unify the world and change dynasties on such a matter—he simply didn't have the power!

Jiaozhou's submission was practically a done deal.

At this point, of the thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty, only Yuan Shu of Yu Province had not yet submitted, nor was it possible for him to submit.

Yuan Shu's status as a member of a family that had held high office for four generations, the allure of the Imperial Seal, and the deep-seated hatred between Lü Bu and the Yuan family (Yuan Shao) made it impossible for Yuan Shu to easily surrender.

Next, we can ignore Jiaozhou and simply surround and eliminate Yuan Shu from all sides to realize our ideal of unifying China, changing dynasties, and ascending the throne as emperor.

……

Runan Commandery, Pingyu City.

Inside the governor's mansion, Yuan Shu sat in the main seat, his face terribly gloomy.

Below the steps, a scout knelt on the ground, his voice trembling as he reported, "Reporting to my lord, urgent news from Jiangxia! Liu Biao has committed suicide, Huang Zu has died in battle, Wen Ping has died in battle, and the entire territory of Jingzhou has fallen to Lü Bu!"

Yuan Shu abruptly stood up, his face ashen: "What? Liu Biao is dead?"

The scout reported: "Yes... On the fifteenth of August, Lü Bu captured Xiling, Liu Biao committed suicide, Huang Zu was killed by Sun Ce, and Wen Ping was killed by Zhang Fei. All the counties of Jingzhou have submitted to the court. Moreover, Sun Ce has led all the counties of Jiangdong to submit to the court and obey the orders of the King of Jin. In addition, a courier from Jiaozhou has arrived in Jiangxia, presumably Shi Xie of Jiaozhou has submitted a letter of surrender."

Yuan Shu slumped back onto his couch, muttering, "Liu Biao is dead... Sun Ce has submitted... Shi Xie has also surrendered..."

Yang Hong stepped forward and said urgently, "My lord, now that Lü Bu has secured Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou, his next move will surely be to march north and attack Yuzhou. We must prepare as soon as possible!"

Yan Xiang also said, "Yes, my lord, Lü Bu has five armies. Now that Jing and Yang have been pacified, he also has Zhang Yun's Xiangyang navy and Sun Ce's Jiangdong navy under his command, making his forces even stronger. We only have Yuzhou. How can we resist?"

Yuan Shu gritted his teeth: "Send the order down! Gather all troops and fight Lü Bu to the death!"

Yan Xiang was shocked: "My lord, this is impossible! We only have less than 100,000 men, while Lü Bu has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command. How can we possibly defeat them?"

Yuan Shu, seemingly possessed, roared, "So what if they number in the hundreds of thousands? I possess the Imperial Seal, the mandate of Heaven! No matter how capable Lü Bu is, he is defying the will of Heaven! Issue the order: declare yourself emperor immediately! I, Yuan Gonglu, will be emperor!"