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

The gates of Baling City were wide open, and the city walls were now adorned with banners bearing the character "吕" (Lü).

Zhang Liao, Wei Xu, Song Xian, and the newly surrendered Yang Feng were already waiting outside the city.

"General!" The generals rushed forward.

Lü Bu dismounted and looked at Yang Feng.

Yang Feng was about thirty years old, with a slightly dark complexion and a wiry build. He wore a tube-sleeved armor. When he saw Lü Bu's gaze sweep over him, he immediately knelt on one knee: "This humble general, Yang Feng, pays his respects to Marquis Wen. I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty!"

Lü Bu stepped forward to help him up: "General Yang, please rise. You were able to assess the situation and submit to me, thus averting the calamity of war and saving the lives of thousands of soldiers. This is a great achievement."

Yang Feng said gratefully, "Thank you for your mercy, Marquis Wen! I have long resented Li Jue and Guo Si's perverse and tyrannical actions. Now that you have restored order, I will naturally follow you!"

Lü Bu nodded and asked Zhang Liao, "What's the situation at the grain storage area?"

Zhang Liao reported: "We have taken full control. We have obtained over 80,000 shi of grain, 100,000 arrows, 5,000 sets of leather armor, and countless other military weapons. Of the 5,000 garrison troops, apart from over 100 casualties, the rest have all surrendered and have been dispersed and incorporated into various units."

"Good!" Lü Bu said with satisfaction. "In this way, our army will have more food supplies, while Chang'an City has run out of food."

He looked at everyone and said, "You've all worked hard. Let's have a meal first, and then we'll join forces and march on Chang'an!"

"promise!"

Inside the Baling County government office, the group had a simple meal.

While eating, Lü Bu asked Yang Feng, "Who is in charge of the defense of Chang'an now?"

Yang Feng put down his chopsticks and respectfully replied, "Reporting to Marquis Wen, when Li Jue and Guo Si went on their campaign, they left their nephew Hu Feng as the Commandant of the City Gates, in charge of about 10,000 troops defending Chang'an. In addition, generals such as Fan Chou, Li Xian, Wang Fang, Li Meng, and Yang Ding, who escaped from the Battle of Ba River, are all in the city, each with several hundred to over a thousand men. The city's troop strength should now be over 20,000."

Lü Bu pondered, "So, in other words, Hu Feng currently holds real power in Chang'an? What kind of person is Hu Feng?"

Yang Feng thought for a moment: "Hu Feng is brave and capable, but he is not Li Jue's direct nephew, only his cousin. In the past, relying on Li Jue's power, he was quite arrogant. In reality, his ability to command troops is mediocre, and he is greedy for power and wealth."

Lü Bu understood the situation.

After the meal, the various units gathered, totaling approximately eight thousand men.

However, Lü Bu ordered Song Xian to lead some soldiers to stay behind at Baling to guard the grain supplies, while only about 7,000 men actually went to Chang'an.

At the beginning of the afternoon, the army set off, heading straight for Chang'an.

Chang'an is only a few miles from Baling, so the army is not moving fast and has gathered many defeated soldiers along the way.

At five quarters past noon, the majestic outline of Chang'an appeared on the horizon.

As the sun sets in the west, its afterglow illuminates this capital city of the Han Dynasty.

The city wall was over three zhang high (about seven meters), made of rammed earth and brick, majestic and sturdy. Banners stood in rows on the city wall, and figures moved about, clearly indicating that the defending troops were ready for battle.

Lü Bu reined in his Red Hare and raised his hand to signal the army to stop.

Seven thousand soldiers were arrayed three miles outside the east gate of Chang'an.

The heavy cavalry of the personal guard were in the lead, the infantry in the middle, and the archers and crossbowmen at the rear, forming a well-organized and menacing formation.

On the city wall, the defending soldiers were clearly agitated.

Many people peered out and whispered, pointing at the troops outside the city.

Lu Bu had exceptional eyesight; even from this distance, he could clearly see the expressions of fear and unease on the faces of the soldiers on the city wall.

He summoned Hou Cheng and ordered the archers to advance a hundred paces and shoot the surrender letter at the city wall.

"promise!"

Hou Cheng accepted the order, and a team of archers stepped forward with arrows bearing scrolls attached to them, drawing their bows and nocking the arrows.

"put!"

More than a hundred arrows carrying silk scrolls flew towards the city wall; some embedded themselves in the wall, some landed on the city wall, and some fell into the city.

The guards were thrown into a panic, and some picked up the silk scroll to examine it.

The silk manuscript is written in clerical script:

"General Lü Bu, Marquis of Wen, Acting General, and Grand Master of the Three Excellencies, hereby informs the soldiers defending Chang'an that Li Jue and Guo Si, acting against Heaven, have held the Emperor hostage and wreaked havoc in Guanzhong. They have now been executed. You are all subjects of the Han Dynasty, coerced by them, and had no choice. I am acting on the Emperor's decree to purge the court of corrupt officials and secure the state. All those who surrender and open the city gates, regardless of rank, will be pardoned. Those who resist will be severely punished on the day the city falls. The grain and provisions that Li Jue and Guo Si hoarded in Baling County have all fallen into my hands. How many days can you hold out in this isolated city? I urge you all to understand the situation and not make a mistake."

The silk manuscript is simple and straightforward, and even ordinary soldiers can understand it.

The murmurs on the city wall grew louder.

Lü Bu then ordered the simple trumpets that had been made to be distributed.

A loudspeaker is essentially a megaphone made of rolled-up thin sheet metal. Although crude, it carries words farther than a person shouting directly.

Dozens of loud-voiced soldiers, each holding a megaphone, lined up in front of the battle formation and shouted in unison towards the city wall:

"Brothers defending Chang'an, Li Jue and Guo Si are dead, and the Liangzhou army has been defeated! Lord Wen is benevolent and righteous, and will forgive past transgressions. Open the city gates and surrender to save your lives and your homes!"

"We've taken all the supplies; there's no food left in the city. If we hold out any longer, we'll just starve!"

"Stop working for Hu Feng. His uncle is dead; does he want to drag you all down with him?"

"Surrender and you will not be killed! Surrender and you will not be killed!"

Shouts rose and fell, echoing across the open plain and carrying clearly up to the city walls.

The soldiers looked at each other, many with shifty eyes, their grip on their weapons loosening.

Lu Bu watched this scene with a slight smile on his lips.

Winning hearts and minds is the best strategy; conquering cities is the next best.

"Wen Yuan," Lü Bu called out.

"Your subordinate is here."

"You will lead a light cavalry battalion to patrol each gate of Chang'an. Leave two hundred cavalrymen at each gate to keep watch, and intercept any enemy troops that leave the city immediately."

"promise!"

Zhang Liao accepted the order and led his light cavalry battalion in several teams to the other gates of Chang'an.

Chang'an City had twelve gates, but the main entrances and exits were the four main gates: east, west, south, and north.

Lü Bu then said to Wei Xu and Hou Cheng, "Each of you lead five hundred archers and infantrymen, carrying trumpets and letters of surrender, to the south and north gates to persuade them to surrender. Make a big show of it, so that the whole city knows we are here, that Li Jue and Guo Si are dead, and that surrender means life."

"This subordinate obeys!"

The two men each led their troops away.

Lü Bu himself took command at the east gate, with his personal guards, the remaining infantry, and the archers forming ranks to confront the defenders on the city walls.

On the city wall, the defending general paced anxiously, repeatedly scolding his soldiers not to believe the rumors, but to little avail.

As the sun gradually set, Chang'an was shrouded in twilight.

In Chang'an, near the armory east of Weiyang Palace, there is a mansion that was originally the residence of Li Jue, a general under Dong Zhuo, and is now temporarily used as a place for military discussions.

The atmosphere inside the hall was somber.

Hu Feng sat in the main seat, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

He was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, tall, and wearing a captain's armor, but his eyes were shifty and revealed unease.

Sitting at the lower end of the table were five people: Fan Chou, Li Xian, Wang Fang, Li Meng, and Yang Ding.

Fan Chou looked dejected. He had narrowly escaped when Guo Si first led an army of 50,000 to attack Lü Bu, but he had witnessed Lü Bu's bravery firsthand and was still terrified.

This time, Li Jue and Guo Si jointly dispatched 100,000 troops to suppress Lü Bu. He led an army alone to attack Lantian. Even though he did not face Lü Bu, but only Hao Meng who was guarding Lantian County, he failed to break through. He suffered heavy losses and fled back to Chang'an in a sorry state, losing all face.

Li Xian was Li Jue's nephew, in his early twenties, with a youthful face. He kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone.

Wang Fang, Li Meng, and Yang Ding, on the other hand, had serious expressions and sat upright, clearly indicating that they were the pro-war faction.

There was another person sitting in the corner, his left arm wrapped in a strip of cloth, with faint traces of blood seeping through—it was Jia Xu.

His face was pale, but his eyes remained calm as he silently observed everyone present.