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

At the dock, the Yanhuang ship rested quietly in the harbor, its massive hull blocking out the sun. Eight hot air balloons were neatly arranged on the deck, their airbags folded up and covered with canvas.

The sailors on board stood at the ship's side, dressed in brand-new naval uniforms, looking very spirited.

Lu Bu boarded the Yanhuang ship and, accompanied by Huang Zhong, inspected it.

He walked from the bow to the stern, from the deck to the cabins, from the boiler room to the ammunition depot, examining every part carefully.

After the inspection, Lü Bu stood at the bow of the ship, facing the sailors, and proclaimed loudly, "Soldiers of the Han Dynasty, this Yanhuang is the pride of the Han Navy. From today onwards, you are the masters of this ship. I command you to steer this ship across the four seas and display your might throughout the world. Do you have the confidence?"

The sailors shouted in unison, "Yes! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!"

After the Yanhuang was commissioned, the sailors gradually mastered the skills of taking off, landing, and dropping bombs in hot air balloons after several months of training.

In March of the 409th year of the Han calendar (208 AD), Lü Bu decided to hold a large-scale military exercise off the coast of Qingzhou and invited important officials and members of the imperial family to observe.

Liu Xie was also among those invited.

Since his abdication, Liu Xie had been living in the Hanzhong Prince's Mansion in Luoyang. Lü Bu treated him fairly well, giving him a considerable salary every year, and his mansion was fully staffed, ensuring he had no worries about food or clothing.

But Liu Xie knew in his heart that his title of "King of Hanzhong" was only nominal; in reality, he was under house arrest in his palace and could not go anywhere.

Liu Xie was somewhat surprised to receive the invitation.

He asked the eunuch who delivered the message, "What does His Majesty want me to see?"

The eunuch replied, "Your Highness, His Majesty said he wants to see the Yanhuang aircraft carrier. I don't know the specifics. You'll find out when you get there."

Liu Xie thought about it and decided to go and take a look.

Since I'm just killing time anyway, I might as well go out for a walk.

On March 15th, Liu Xie, escorted by several dozen imperial guards, set off from Luoyang and traveled eastward along the official road. Ten days later, he arrived at Liaocheng in Qingzhou.

Lü Bu was already waiting at the dock.

Liu Xie got off the carriage and saw a huge ironclad warship moored on the dock, and couldn't help but gasp.

The ship was larger than any he had ever seen, its hull gleaming black, and a dozen strange objects were neatly parked on the deck, covered with canvas, making it impossible to tell what they were.

Lü Bu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "King of Hanzhong, how have you been?"

Liu Xie quickly returned the greeting: "Your Majesty is too kind. I am studying and reading every day in Luoyang, and everything is fine."

Lü Bu laughed and said, "That's good. Come on, let me show you the ship."

Liu Xie followed Lü Bu onto the Yanhuang ship.

The deck was huge, about half the size of a football field. The sailors on deck stood in neat rows, wearing white naval uniforms, with short swords at their waists and muskets in their hands.

Liu Xie had never seen such a scene before, and he felt a little uneasy.

Lu Bu led Liu Xie around the deck, pointing to the things covered by canvas and saying, "These are hot air balloons; they can fly into the sky."

Liu Xie exclaimed in surprise, "Flying up to the sky? Your Majesty, how is that possible?"

Lu Bu laughed and said, "Why not? You'll see in a moment."

He nodded to Huang Zhong, who then ordered, "Prepare for takeoff!"

The sailors lifted the canvas, revealing the hot air balloon underneath. The balloon was made of silk and coated with raw lacquer, shimmering in the sunlight. The wicker baskets, woven from bamboo strips, contained a charcoal stove and bombs.

Several sailors crawled into the wicker basket, lit the charcoal stove, and operated the blower to heat it up as quickly as possible. The hot air poured into the airbag, which gradually inflated and grew larger and larger until it became a huge sphere that floated high in the air.

Liu Xie looked up at the hot air balloon floating in the air, his mouth agape for a long time.

Lü Bu said, "King of Hanzhong, would you like to come up and have a seat?"

Liu Xie was startled and quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no, I wouldn't dare. It's so high, what if I fall..."

Lü Bu laughed and said, "It won't fall off. I've sat on it several times; it's very stable."

Liu Xie shook his head again.

Lü Bu didn't press the matter and said to Huang Zhong, "Let's begin."

Huang Zhong gave the order: "Hot air balloon, take off!"

Eight hot air balloons took off simultaneously, floating above the Yanhuang satellite like eight giant lanterns.

The sailors controlled the direction from inside the wicker baskets, stepping on foot pedals, the propellers whirred, and the hot air balloon slowly flew into the distance.

Liu Xie stood on the deck, watching the hot air balloons fly further and further away, feeling both surprised and afraid.

He asked Lü Bu, "Your Majesty, where are these hot air balloons flying to?"

Lu Bu said, "Fly to a deserted island dozens of kilometers away. There are a few simulated houses there. I want them to drop bombs from the sky and blow those houses up."

Liu Xie exclaimed in surprise, "Drop bombs from the sky? Your Majesty, is that even possible?"

Lu Bu laughed and said, "You'll find out soon enough."

About an hour later, a series of muffled explosions came from afar, boom boom boom boom, more than a dozen in a row.

Liu Xie stood on tiptoe to look into the distance, but could see nothing.

Half an hour later, the hot air balloons slowly flew back and landed steadily on the deck.

The sailors jumped out of the wicker baskets and reported to Huang Zhong: "Reporting, Commander, all targets have been destroyed!"

Huang Zhong nodded and said to Lü Bu, "Your Majesty, the exercise is over."

Lü Bu said to Liu Xie, "King of Hanzhong, would you like to go and see the bombing site?"

Liu Xie hesitated for a moment, then said, "I will go and take a look."

Lu Bu had a small boat prepared and, with Liu Xie and a few attendants, rowed to the deserted island.

The island was small, only a few hundred meters in circumference. There used to be a few houses built of wood and thatch on the island, but now they are gone, leaving only a charred ruin.

There were several large pits on the ground. The largest pit was 6 meters in diameter and 3 meters deep, and the bottom of the pit was full of charred soil.

Liu Xie stood at the edge of the pit, looking at the ruins, speechless for a long time.

After a long while, he murmured, "Is this...is this still a war? This is clearly divine punishment!"

Lu Bu stood beside him and said calmly, "I've said it before, times have changed. From now on, we won't need to send troops to besiege cities, nor will we need to build ladders or dig tunnels. Just bomb from the sky, and the city walls will collapse. A few more rounds of bombing, and the people inside will surrender."

Liu Xie turned to look at Lü Bu, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

He recalled that ten years ago, Lü Bu was still his general, whom he had enfeoffed as Duke of Jin and King of Jin. At that time, although he knew that Lü Bu was powerful, he still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that no matter how powerful Lü Bu was, he was just a military general who could not achieve great things.

Now he realizes he was wrong.

Lü Bu was not just a military general; he was more like a prophet.

He can see things that others cannot see and do things that others cannot do.

Liu Xie sighed deeply, cupped his hands, and said, "Having seen Your Majesty's divine weapons today, I am utterly convinced. Your Majesty's Yanhuang spacecraft, hot air balloons, and bombs—any one of them would be enough to sweep across the world."

Lü Bu patted him on the shoulder and said, "King of Hanzhong, you are a wise man. I will not make things difficult for you. You can live a peaceful and comfortable life in Luoyang, eating, drinking, playing, and having fun. When I unify the world in the future, I will take you to see the outside world."

Liu Xie smiled wryly and said, "Unify the world? Your Majesty, how big is the earth? Although I have seen the maps brought back by the fleets that sailed around the world, I still can't imagine it."

Lü Bu said, "It's huge, bigger than you can imagine. But I have hot air balloons, ironclad warships, cannons, and bombs. These things are enough for me to conquer the whole world."

Liu Xie nodded, his heart filled with longing.