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

Upon hearing this, the soldiers guarding the city walls began to discuss among themselves, and their morale began to waver.

A soldier exclaimed in horror, "The Crown Prince has presented the imperial seal? What are we supposed to do then?"

Another person said, "The crown prince has already surrendered, what are we still guarding for? Who are we guarding for?"

An old soldier nearby sighed, "Even His Majesty's sons have surrendered, offering up the imperial seal. What's the point of us soldiers risking our lives?"

A general shouted sternly, "Don't panic! That's a rumor! How could the Crown Prince possibly present the imperial seal? All of you, stand at attention!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose below the city.

Lu Bu rode his Red Hare to the moat, only a hundred paces from the city wall. He raised his right hand high, the four-inch square jade seal in his hand gleaming in the sunlight.

Lu Bu gathered his strength and shouted, "Yuan Gonglu, open your dog eyes and take a good look! Isn't this the Imperial Seal of the State?!"

The soldiers guarding the city walls all peered out and looked around.

"Is the Imperial Seal of the State really in Lü Bu's possession?"

"Was His Majesty's imperial seal really presented to King Lü Bu of Jin by the Crown Prince?"

"Has the Crown Prince really surrendered?"

A commotion erupted on the city wall.

Yuan Shu stared at the imperial seal in Lü Bu's hand, his face turning ashen. He swayed, nearly losing his balance. Leaning against the battlement, he murmured, "Yao'er... Yao'er... he really offered up the imperial seal?"

Yang Hong said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this...this might be fake..."

Yuan Shu whirled around, glaring at Yang Hong, his eyes bloodshot: "Fake? You say it's fake? Then tell me, where's the real one?"

Yang Hong was so frightened that he knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I...I didn't know..."

Yuan Shu then looked at Yan Xiang: "Speak! Haven't you always boasted of your cunning? Explain yourself clearly to me!"

Yan Xiang sighed.

He glanced at the imperial seal in Lü Bu's hand, then at Yuan Shu's ashen face, and slowly said, "Your Majesty, I dare to speak frankly. The young master has always been gentle and weak, and has never experienced battle. Now, the imperial army has surrounded the city on all sides, and its momentum to unify the world is unstoppable. He probably doesn't want to risk going to sea to find his two cousins, Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi. Therefore, offering the imperial seal to Lü Bu in order to save his life is indeed... indeed the most likely option."

Upon hearing Yan Xiang's analysis, Yuan Shu's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground. His dragon robe was covered in dust, but he didn't care.

"My son has presented the imperial seal. My son has betrayed me..."

He muttered to himself, his voice growing softer and softer.

The surrounding generals looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Yuan Shu's son-in-law, Huang Yi, stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, things have come to this point, perhaps..."

Yuan Shu suddenly looked up, glaring at Huang Yi with fierce eyes: "Not as good as what? Not as good as surrendering? I am the Emperor! A descendant of four generations of high officials! How can I bow down to a mere commoner from the border region of Bingzhou!"

He struggled to his feet, drew his sword, and shouted sternly, "Pass down the order: defend the city to the death! Anyone who dares to surrender will be executed on the spot!"

Everyone fell silent, no one daring to speak.

But the defenders on the city walls could no longer hold back.

Too many people on the south city wall saw the imperial seal in Lü Bu's hand and heard his words. The news of the crown prince presenting the seal spread like wildfire among the garrison.

The news spread like wildfire, and soon everyone around the city walls and the city's garrison was talking about it.

"Have you heard? Crown Prince Yuan Yao presented the imperial seal to Lü Bu!"

"Then what's the point of fighting? Even the emperor's son isn't being fought, why should we?"

"I have an elderly mother to support at home; I can't die here."

"The imperial army surrounded the city on all sides, leaving Yuan Shu with no way out."

"Surrender, you can still live if you surrender."

Several of Yuan Shu's trusted generals brandished their swords and shouted sternly, "No talking! Stand still! Anyone who dares to utter another word will be punished according to military law!"

But nobody listens to them.

The soldiers gathered in twos and threes, whispering and pointing, and had no intention of defending the city.

Outside the city, in front of the Han army.

Seeing the commotion among the defenders on the city wall, Lü Bu knew the time was right. He put the imperial seal into his storage space and went to the open area in front of the battle lines.

He raised his hands and with a thought, the giant rocks prepared in his storage space appeared out of thin air one by one.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The boulder landed, raising a cloud of dust.

The Han soldiers were not surprised, but the defenders on the city wall were dumbfounded.

"He really can conjure stones out of thin air!"

"I heard that when he attacked a city, he built a stone platform dozens of meters high, then placed catapults and giant crossbows on it to bombard the enemy from above, destroying the city and demoralizing the enemy!"

"How can we defend this?"

Lü Bu built the stone platform extremely quickly; in less than two hours, the platform was completed, reaching a height of over thirty zhang.

Then, dozens of catapults and ballistae were placed on the stone platform, a sight that was terrifying. The thought of stones weighing dozens of kilograms falling from a height of dozens of feet was frightening.

The defenders on the city wall completely collapsed.

One soldier was the first to drop his weapon, kneel on the ground, and cry out, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting! Even the Crown Prince has surrendered, what's the point of us continuing?"

The squad leader next to him hesitated for a moment, then dropped his knife: "Surrender! Surrender!"

The chain reaction spread rapidly. Hundreds and thousands of defenders dropped their weapons and knelt on the city walls, below the towers, and in the passageways, their cries for mercy filling the air.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

"Don't kill us!"

"Spare me!"

Yuan Shu's son-in-law, Huang Yi, slashed down two soldiers who had dropped their weapons, shouting, "No surrender! No surrender! Get up! Get up, all of you!"

But nobody listened to him.

The soldiers scattered and fled, hiding far away, looking at him with terrified eyes.

Even several of Huang Yi's own personal guards quietly put down their knives.

Many of Yuan Shu's guards also hid to the side.

They looked at each other, and none of them went near Yuan Shu and Huang Yi.

Yuan Shu stood on the city tower, looking at the towering stone platform outside the city, at the soldiers kneeling on the city wall, and at the guards and personal soldiers who were once loyal but now hid far away. His face was ashen.

He murmured, "Heaven has forsaken me... Heaven has forsaken me..."

Yang Hong stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, things have come to this point. Why not surrender? Lü Bu is magnanimous and often gives important positions to surrendered generals. If Your Majesty surrenders, you might still be able to save your life."

Yuan Shu shook his head.

He looked at Lü Bu outside the city, at the four towering stone platforms, and at the soldiers kneeling and begging for mercy on the city walls, and suddenly laughed.

That laughter was filled with desolation and madness.

"Lu Bu! I acknowledge that you possess a divinely bestowed granary! But I am the Emperor! A descendant of four generations of high-ranking officials! How can I bow down to you!"

"Even in death, I am the Son of Heaven; I would rather die than surrender to a mere border barbarian like you!"

"Even if you, Lü Bu, ascend the throne and become emperor in the future, you will still be ranked after me in terms of time."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Having said that, he drew his sword and committed suicide by cutting his own throat!

puff!

Blood splattered, and Yuan Shu fell to the ground dead.

Yang Hong and Yan Xiang were terrified and rushed forward, crying, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

But Yuan Shu had already died, his eyes wide open, staring at the gray sky.