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

The army continued northward, and the scenery along the way became increasingly bleak.

Abandoned villages, burned-out houses, and frozen corpses scattered along the roadside—old people, children, and women. Some of the bodies were mutilated, clearly having been eaten by wild animals.

The further north you go, the more corpses you find; they are all refugees fleeing south.

"Worse than a beast!" Ma Chao gritted his teeth. Although he was young, he was very courageous.

Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and the others had grim faces, and the veins on their hands gripping their weapons bulged.

Lu Bu didn't speak, but his eyes grew colder and colder.

After passing through several more counties along the way, the army arrived at Qi County, which was only a hundred miles away from Jinyang, on the twelfth day of the first lunar month.

This was also the last county town before arriving in Jinyang.

Qi County was already empty; everyone who could escape had fled. Only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled who couldn't leave remained in the city. Upon seeing the imperial army, they knelt by the roadside and wept.

"The Hu people...the Hu people came a few days ago, robbed us of our grain, killed those who refused to give us grain...and then they went north..."

An elderly man with white hair said tremblingly.

Lü Bu dismounted and helped the old man up: "Old man, how many Hu people are there? Which direction did they go?"

"Many... thousands of people... headed towards Jinyang..."

Lü Bu nodded and said to Cheng Lian, "Leave some grain for these people so they can get through the winter."

"promise."

That evening, the army rested in Qixian County.

In the hastily cleaned county government office, Lü Bu summoned his generals for a meeting.

"According to intelligence reports, Kebineng is personally leading over ten thousand Xianbei troops, currently looting outside Jinyang City. Jinyang City has not yet fallen, but the surrounding towns and villages have already been ravaged." Lü Bu pointed to the map, "We are still about a hundred li away from Jinyang, which can be reached in a day with a forced march."

Zhang Liao asked, "General, what's the strategy? Should we launch a direct attack on the Xianbei camp?"

"No." Lü Bu shook his head. "The Xianbei are cavalry, swift as the wind. If we launch a frontal assault, they can run away if they can't win. What I want is to annihilate them all, leaving no one alive."

He pointed towards Jinyang City: "We'll set off tomorrow, proceed with caution, eliminate all Hu scouts, and arrive near Jinyang by evening. Don't attack yet, hide. Wait until night, when the Xianbei are most relaxed, then launch a surprise attack."

Everyone nodded.

Lu Bu began assigning tasks: "Gao Shun, after the attack begins, you will lead the Trapped Camp to circle around to the north of the enemy camp and form ranks to block the fleeing soldiers."

Gao Shun nodded: "As you command."

Lü Bu then looked at Zhang Liao and Ma Chao: "Wen Yuan and Meng Qi, each of you lead two thousand light cavalry to flank the Xianbei from the east and west, cutting off their retreat."

"promise!"

"Xu Huang!"

"exist!"

"You will lead the remaining light cavalry to follow the heavy cavalry in a surprise attack on the enemy camp."

"promise."

"Cheng Lian, the personal guard heavy cavalry battalion will follow me on a central assault, heading straight for Kebineng's central army camp."

"yes!"

With the arrangements made, the generals accepted their orders and departed.

The following day, the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, the army set off and continued its advance northwestward towards Bingzhou and Jinyang County, the seat of Taiyuan Prefecture.

Lü Bu, along with generals such as Cheng Lian, Zhang Liao, Ma Chao, and Xu Huang, went out to eliminate the Hu scouts.

These generals rode fine horses, and each of them was equipped with two horses. Even if the Hu scouts spotted them first, they would not be able to escape and would not be able to run back to Jinyang to report the news. They would be caught up and killed by Lü Bu and his men.

At noon, Lü Bu and his men encountered a group of Xianbei cavalrymen who were out raiding, numbering about 200.

Lu Bu's exceptional perception allowed him to spot the enemy first. He then instructed Cheng Lian and others to return and order the main force to lay in ambush. Once the 200 Xianbei cavalrymen entered the ambush zone, they would be surrounded and wiped out.

Even the few Xianbei who managed to escape could not escape the pursuit of generals such as Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, and Ma Chao. Lü Bu, in particular, could kill enemies with his powerful bow from over three hundred paces away, and none of them could escape back to Jinyang to report the news.

Thus, with Lü Bu's exceptional perception and the assistance of Zhang Liao, Ma Chao, and others, all the Xianbei scouts and raiders along the way were wiped out, and none of them managed to return to Jinyang to report the news.

Lu Bu's army successfully and secretly arrived at a valley southwest of Jinyang City at night.

At this moment, outside the north city of Jinyang, in the Xianbei camp, bonfires blazed and the aroma of meat filled the air.

The Xianbei soldiers sat around the fire, drinking and eating heartily—the meat was beef and mutton stolen from the Han people, and the wine was fine wine brought from the town's taverns.

Inside the central command tent, the atmosphere became even more enthusiastic.

Kebineng sat in the main seat. He was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a burly build and a face full of flesh. There was a scar on his left cheek that ran from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

At this moment, he was embracing a Han Chinese woman—the woman was disheveled and had empty eyes, clearly having been abducted.

Below sat a dozen or so Xianbei generals, each accompanied by one or two Han Chinese women.

There were musicians playing in the tent—also stolen.

"Your Majesty, this southward campaign was truly exhilarating!" A centurion raised his wine bowl. "We plundered wherever we went! Although we haven't captured Jinyang City yet, we've already looted all the surrounding towns! Grain, cloth, gold, silver, women—we had everything we could want!"

Another general laughed, "The Han court is in turmoil and preoccupied with its own problems. Bingzhou is without a ruler, and local strongmen in various counties are acting independently, unable to organize any decent resistance. We've come to the right place!"

Kebineng laughed heartily, grabbed a piece of mutton, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and then gulped down a large mouthful of wine.

"This is just the beginning!" He wiped his mouth. "Once we capture Jinyang and seize the wealth of the prefecture, we'll march south! I've heard that Hedong Commandery is prosperous, and Henan Commandery also has money and provisions! After we've plundered enough, we can return to the northern deserts and enjoy our wealth for several years!"

The generals cheered in unison, and the tent was filled with clamor.

But a young general sitting in the corner had a furrowed brow.

His name was Murong She, and he was Kebineng's nephew, in charge of military intelligence and relays.

"Your Majesty," Murong She couldn't help but speak up, "some of the scouts we sent south a few days ago haven't replied for two or three days. And one unit of the army we sent south today to gather supplies hasn't returned either."

There was a moment of silence in the tent.

Kebineng waved his hand: "Scouts? They might have gotten lost, that's inevitable."

"But of the scouts sent towards Hedong Commandery, more than ten have not returned. Furthermore, not a single one of the 200-strong retinue has returned either," Murong She said seriously. "This is unusual. They couldn't have gotten lost, and ordinary Han Chinese civilians wouldn't have the ability to surround and kill a retinue, would they? Unless…"

"Unless what?" Kebinen asked impatiently.

"Unless a large Han Chinese army arrives."

Upon hearing this, a burst of laughter erupted from inside the tent.

"A Han army? What Han army?" a drunken general laughed. "The troops from Bingzhou are all inside Jinyang City and dare not come out! Wang Yi from Hedong Commandery? His few thousand troops are fine for defending the city, but if they dare to come out and fight in the open, aren't they just courting death?"

Another person said, "Even if an army comes, what are we afraid of with ten thousand elite cavalry? No matter how many Han soldiers there are, they can't catch up with our horses! If we can't win, can't we just run?"