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

In the evening, Lü Bu led a thousand personal guards and heavy cavalry away from Yanmen Pass and returned to Guangwu County, which was twenty miles away.

The horses' hooves pounded the frozen ground with a dull thud.

Cheng Lian rode alongside Lü Bu and whispered, "General, those powerful figures are only arriving now; I'm afraid most of them are just opportunists."

Lu Bu gazed ahead and said, "Heaven taught me a strategy in a dream: the united front. You must make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible. This way, many times, you can achieve the goal of unifying the world without even fighting. As long as they are willing to serve me, what harm is there in giving them some incentives?"

"But what if they outwardly comply but inwardly defy..."

"Then kill them." Lü Bu said calmly. "I've decided to take Bingzhou. Those who submit to me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish."

Cheng Lian felt a chill run down his spine and said no more.

An hour later, Guangwu County was in sight.

Outside the south gate of the county town, a large crowd of people stood.

Leading the group was Zhou Ping, the magistrate of Guangwu County, a middle-aged scholar in his forties, dressed in faded official robes, followed by his subordinates, including the county magistrate and the county constable.

Further behind were more than twenty powerful leaders dressed in fur coats and robes, each with their own elite retinue, ranging in number from several hundred to several dozen.

Further out, there were hundreds of young men, dressed in rags but with burning eyes.

No one knew that Lü Bu had already captured Yanmen Pass.

Upon seeing Lü Bu's banner appear, Zhou Ping quickly straightened his clothes and led his men to greet him.

"Your humble servant, Zhou Ping, the magistrate of Guangwu County, along with the officials, gentry, and volunteers of this county, respectfully welcome the Great General!" Zhou Ping bowed deeply to the ground.

The crowd behind him bowed in unison, their movements not perfectly synchronized, but their presence was quite impressive.

Lü Bu dismounted and helped Zhou Ping to his feet: "Magistrate Zhou, please rise. Everyone, please rise. Please introduce yourselves!"

Everyone stood up, their eyes all falling on Lü Bu.

This renowned Flying General was even more imposing and heroic than rumored. Although he had been through battle and his armor was stained with blood, he remained calm and composed, and his gaze carried an awe-inspiring power.

A burly man with a full beard stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "This humble man, Wang Biao, is from Dingxiang County. I lead 120 men from my clan and am willing to follow the General to attack Yanmen Pass and avenge our defeat!"

Another tall, thin middle-aged man said, "I am Li You, a commoner from Yuanping County, bringing 500 shi of grain and 50 horses to assist the army in suppressing the Hu!"

"This humble citizen is Zhao Gu..."

"This humble man, Chen Sheng..."

The powerful families signed up one after another, offering money, grain, and supplies.

The able-bodied men behind them also stirred, with one shouting, "General, I want to join the army! My whole family was killed by the barbarians, I want revenge!"

"Me too!"

"Please accept me!"

The shouts grew louder and louder.

Lu Bu raised his hand, and the scene gradually quieted down.

"I appreciate your kindness, everyone." Lü Bu's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears. "However, Yanmen Pass has been breached, and the defending general, He Ruolü, has been beheaded. The pass is now in our hands."

silence.

Then came a collective gasp of astonishment.

Wang Biao's eyes widened: "They...they broke through? And it's only been a few hours?"

Zhou Ping was also shocked and said, "I only received news of the General's arrival at Yanmen Pass not long ago. I thought it would be a stalemate for at least several days, so I summoned local strongmen and volunteers to prepare for the battle. But who would have thought..."

Lu Bu said calmly, "Although the pass is dangerous, the garrison is only a little over a thousand. Our army has siege equipment and will break through the pass in an hour."

"An hour?" Li You exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone present wore expressions of disbelief.

Who in Bingzhou doesn't know how strategically important Yanmen Pass is?

One year, the Han army was guarding the pass, and the Hu people's army of tens of thousands attacked for several months but could not take it down.

Now Lu Bu says he'll break through in an hour?

Seeing this, Cheng Lian added, "The General used the Heavenly Gift Divine Granary to bring catapults and ballistae to the pass. Before the defending troops could react, the boulders had already crashed onto the city walls. Then the Trapped Camp launched a fierce attack, and the General personally led his elite troops to scale the walls, killing enemy generals and capturing the pass."

"A divine granary bestowed by heaven..." The powerful figures looked at each other in bewilderment.

Hiding in the Wutai Mountains, they vaguely heard rumors that Lü Bu possessed the divine ability to store things, conjuring up grain and weapons out of thin air.

At the time, I thought it was just a rumor and an exaggeration, but now that I've heard Cheng Lian say it himself, and considering all the amazing things about Lü Bu's long-distance raids and his worry-free logistics, I'm already seven or eight parts convinced.

Wang Biao took a deep breath and suddenly knelt on one knee: "General, your divine might is beyond my comprehension! I am willing to lead my troops to follow you, serving you faithfully, even unto death!"

Seeing this, the other powerful figures followed suit, saying, "We are willing to follow the Great General!"

The able-bodied men were even more excited, and they all knelt down in unison: "Please, General, take us in! We are willing to serve as soldiers to kill the barbarians and recover the northern frontier!"

Looking at the kneeling crowd before him, Lü Bu already had a plan in mind.

"Rise, all of you," he said. "Tonight I am hosting a banquet at the county office to entertain you all. We will discuss the matter of joining the army after the banquet."

"Thank you, General!"

That evening, the main hall of the Guangwu County Government was brightly lit.

The county government office was not a large place, but now it was crowded with more than a hundred people.

The main seat was naturally occupied by Lü Bu, with Cheng Lian, Zhang Xiu, and other personal guard generals on his left and right sides.

On the left below sat the leaders of more than twenty powerful clans, while on the right were Zhou Ping and other county officials, as well as officers of the rank of squad leader and above who had rendered meritorious service in Lü Bu's army.

The banquet wasn't lavish—Bingzhou had been ravaged and supplies were scarce, but there was plenty of stewed meat, steamed buns, and cloudy wine.

For many powerful people who had been eating wild vegetables and roots for months, this was a rare delicacy.

After several rounds of drinks, Zhou Ping rose and raised his cup: "Gentlemen, today our General has recaptured Yanmen, displaying the might of our Han Dynasty. This is a blessing for Bingzhou and for the entire world! This cup is a toast to our General!"

"To the General!" Everyone raised their glasses in unison.

Lü Bu raised his cup in acknowledgment and drank it all in one gulp.

Setting down his wine cup, he looked at the powerful figures: "You've been secluded in the mountains for many days; are you still aware of the situation in the North?"

Wang Biao hurriedly replied, "General, we are in Wutai Mountain and have not been isolated from the outside world. When Xianbei leader Kebineng marched south, he had about 20,000 cavalry, of which more than 10,000 of the main force followed him to attack Yanmen and Taiyuan, while the rest plundered various prefectures. A thousand men were left to guard Yanmen Pass, and several hundred to a thousand men were stationed in key locations such as Yunzhong, Dingxiang, and Wuyuan."

Li You added, "These Xianbei soldiers who remained behind were of mediocre fighting strength, mostly old, weak, or wounded. Their main task was to guard the looted goods and wait for the main force to return. Now that Kebineng is dead and the main force has been annihilated, the morale of these remaining troops will inevitably be low."

Lü Bu nodded: "In other words, recovering the northern prefectures is not a difficult task."

"Exactly!" Zhao Gu replied. "As soon as the army arrives, they will surely surrender without a fight. However..." He paused, "Many cities and towns in various prefectures and counties are damaged, and the people are displaced. They need to be resettled as soon as possible, otherwise spring planting will be delayed, and there will be another famine next year."

This hits the nail on the head: fighting is easy, but governing is difficult.

Lü Bu looked at Zhou Ping: "Magistrate Zhou, how much grain does Guangwu County have left? How many refugees can it support?"

Zhou Ping smiled bitterly: "To be honest, General, the county granary has less than a thousand bushels of grain left, and that's all thanks to recent donations. The city's residents, plus the refugees who have recently arrived, number nearly ten thousand. If we don't send more grain, it will only last for half a month at most."