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

On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, at Zhongyang Mountain Pass.

Ji Ling led 20,000 surrendered troops from Nanyang to the pass.

This pass is the western gateway to Runan, built against the mountain, and its terrain is treacherous. The garrison commander, Chen Lan, led five thousand men to defend the pass. Standing on the pass wall, he called out loudly, "General Ji, how have you been!"

Ji Ling rode forward and said in a deep voice, "Chen Lan, you and I are old acquaintances. Yuan Shu has usurped the throne and committed treason. Why should you be buried with him? Open the city gates and surrender, and I can guarantee you will earn merit before the Prince of Jin!"

Chen Lan sighed, "General Ji, it's not that I'm unwilling to surrender, but my family is in Pingyu, and I dare not surrender!"

Ji Ling sneered: "Chen Lan, you're foolish! If you surrender now, with the Jin King's army pressing in, Yuan Shu will be too busy to kill your family. If you hold out to the death, you'll die when the city falls, and your family will be lost anyway! You'd better surrender early; perhaps there'll still be a chance to save your family."

Chen Lan remained silent for a long time before finally gritting her teeth and saying, "General Ji, there's no need to say more!"

Seeing this, Ji Ling ordered an attack on the pass. The defending soldiers all knew that Yuan Shu was doomed to defeat, so their defense was not firm, and the pass was quickly captured by Ji Ling, with Chen Lan taken prisoner.

……

September 10th, Shenyang.

When Lü Bu led his army to the city, the defending troops surrendered without resistance.

September 11th, Yichun, North. The city surrendered without a fight, just as before.

On September 12th, at Ancheng, the defending troops offered only slight resistance before Zhang Fei led his army to breach the city gates, and the rest surrendered.

Thus, Lü Bu captured four counties in five days, his momentum unstoppable.

……

September 13th, early morning.

It is located east of Ancheng County, on the west bank of the Ru River.

Lu Bu led an army of 20,000 to the riverbank. On the opposite bank was Zhang Xun, a general sent by Yuan Shu to defend the Ru River defense line. He led more than 20,000 men to deploy along the river, attempting to block the Han army from crossing.

Zhang Fei spurred his horse forward, glanced at the opposite bank, and grinned, saying, "My lord, there are quite a few people on the other side, at least twenty thousand."

Lü Bu nodded, dismounted, and walked to the riverbank. He raised his hands, and huge stones appeared out of thin air, piling up on the bank. In less than an hour, a stone platform over thirty zhang high rose from the ground.

On the opposite bank, Zhang Xun and Yuan Jun's soldiers were dumbfounded.

A lieutenant said in a trembling voice, "General, Lü Bu... Lü Bu really can build a stone platform and bombard us from above. How can we defend ourselves?"

Zhang Xun gritted his teeth: "Don't panic! Pass down the order to take cover first. Archers, prepare to attack when the enemy is halfway across the river!"

Even so, he himself wasn't entirely sure.

On the stone platform, Lü Bu deployed dozens of catapults and giant crossbows. He looked down at the opposite bank and saw Yuan's army arrayed along the river, their banners fluttering, but the soldiers all wore expressions of fear, trembling behind their cover.

Lu Bu waved his hand.

"put!"

The war drums beat, and the bugles sounded!

Dozens of catapults launched simultaneously, sending huge stone projectiles hurtling towards the opposite bank!

Boom boom boom!

Stones rained down on the riverbank, into Yuan's army ranks, and onto the soldiers! In an instant, dust flew, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and screams of agony filled the air!

Yuan's army was thrown into chaos, and they all covered their heads and hid. Their so-called camp and shelters could not protect them at all under the bombardment of dozens of kilograms of stone projectiles.

Zhang Xun shouted sternly, "Don't panic! Don't panic! Retreat, retreat out of range of the stone projectiles!"

But it was too late. The catapults on the stone platform bombarded the enemy relentlessly, raining down stones. Yuan's army suffered heavy casualties, and their formation was thrown into chaos.

At this point, Lü Bu began to throw stone blocks into the river. One huge stone after another was thrown into the water, and then planks were laid on top, and soon a makeshift bridge was built.

Zhang Fei waved his hand, leading three thousand heavily armed elite cavalry to charge across the makeshift bridge and into the other side!

The Yuan army was already demoralized, and the catapults had terrified them. When they saw the Han cavalry charging in, they dared not resist anymore. They threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

Zhang Xun tried to organize a resistance, but was surrounded by a troop of Han cavalry. He raised his spear to fight, but Guan Yu rode forward and cleaved him from his horse with a single stroke!

Zhang Xun was immediately pinned down by Han soldiers after falling from his horse and bound hand and foot, seemingly powerless to resist.

A moment later, Zhang Xun was brought before Lü Bu.

Lu Bu rode forward, looking down at him: "Zhang Xun, are you willing to surrender?"

Zhang Xun feigned indifference: "Lü Bu, I have received great favors from Lord Yuan, how could I possibly surrender to you?"

Lü Bu laughed: "A great favor? Yuan Shu has usurped the throne and committed treason. If you follow him, you will only face death. If you surrender, I can guarantee your survival and allow you to continue leading troops."

Zhang Xun's eyes darted around, but he shouted, "I would rather die than surrender!"

Lu Bu suddenly seemed to be deep in thought.

That night, Lü Bu secretly met with Zhang Xun in his tent.

Zhang Xun truthfully reported: "Your Majesty, to be honest, all the civil and military officials under Yuan Shu's command are thinking of surrendering. However, because there are military supervisors and battle brigades in the army, and their families are being held captive in Pingyu, they dare not openly surrender. I can only feign defeat and capture in order to temporarily save the lives of my family."

Lü Bu nodded: "I understand. I will not announce your surrender for now. Tell me about the garrison and defenses of the towns and passes along the way."

"promise!"

……

In the following days, the battle unfolded exactly as Zhang Xun had predicted.

September 14th, Xincai.

When Lü Bu arrived with his army, the defending general Qiao Rui led 5,000 men to defend the city. The Han army bombarded the city with stone fortifications for half a day, causing a section of the city wall to collapse. Qiao Rui led his men in a desperate resistance, but Zhang Fei broke through the city gate, and Qiao Rui, exhausted, was captured.

Qiao Rui was brought before Lü Bu. He also appeared to be willing to die rather than surrender, but Lü Bu secretly interrogated him that night, and Qiao Rui said the same thing as Zhang Xun.

September 15th, Geling.

General Chen Ji led 3,000 men to defend the city. After a fierce resistance for an hour, the city fell and he was captured.

On the same day, Fanyang Pavilion.

General Li Feng led two thousand men to defend the camp. When the Han cavalry charged, Li Feng was unable to withstand the attack and was knocked off his horse and captured alive by Dian Wei with a single halberd strike.

September 16th, Tongyang.

General Lei Bo led 4,000 men to defend the city. The Han army built stone platforms to bombard the city, and Lei Bo was captured after the city fell.

Thus, Lü Bu captured eight cities in seven days, and his army marched straight towards Pingyu.

On the same day, Huang Zhong led his army across the Ying River and headed straight for Pingyu. Hou Cheng and Ji Ling joined forces in Shangcai and advanced directly towards Pingyu.

……

September 17th afternoon, south of Pingyu City.

Lü Bu led 20,000 elite cavalrymen and finally arrived at the city of Pingyu in Runan Commandery.

Banners fluttered, and swords and spears stood like a forest. Twenty thousand iron cavalry were arrayed two miles south of the city, their imposing presence overwhelming.

Lu Bu stood on his horse at the front of the formation, closely followed by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Xu Shu, and others.

On the city wall, Yuan Shu leaned against the battlements, gazing into the distance.

Behind him, Yan Xiang, Yang Hong, and others stood solemnly, their faces pale.

In the distance, Han army banners blotted out the sky, and cavalry surged forward like a tide. The enormous [Lü] character banner fluttered in the wind.

Yuan Shu muttered, "Lü Bu is here."

Yang Hong said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, Lü Bu has arrived. Huang Zhong, Hou Cheng, and Ji Ling only have one or two days left to go. Pingyu is now an isolated city."

Yuan Shu's face turned ashen, and he remained silent.

Yan Xiang sighed, "Your Majesty, once the order to withdraw the troops was issued, all the counties and prefectures in Yu Province surrendered without resistance, plunging the region into chaos. Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui, Chen Ji, Li Feng, Lei Bo, and others have all been captured by Lü Bu. Now, there are no generals left to defend the city."

Yuan Shu gritted his teeth: "If there are no great generals, I will defend it myself. Issue the order to hold Pingyu firmly; I will live and die with Pingyu."

Yan Xiang and Yang Hong exchanged a glance and remained silent.