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

While Lü Bu was leading his army on campaigns abroad, Guanzhong was far from peaceful.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an was eerily quiet.

Inside the Xuan Shi Hall, the twelve-year-old Emperor Liu Xie sat behind his desk, clutching a roll of plain silk in his hand, his knuckles white.

Having been regarded as a puppet by Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun, Li Jue, Guo Si, and others, and having personally witnessed the poisoning of Liu Bian, the Prince of Hongnong (the young emperor), by Dong Zhuo, and now further sidelined by Lü Bu, Liu Xie could clearly see his own fate: to be forced to abdicate and pass the throne to Lü Bu, who claimed to be the chosen one.

He did not want to be a ruler of a fallen kingdom, nor did he want the four-hundred-year-old Han Dynasty to perish in his hands.

Even if his country were to perish, he would fight back; he would not surrender without a fight.

Therefore, when the Xianbei and Southern Xiongnu jointly invaded the south and plundered Bingzhou, and Lü Bu personally led an army of 10,000 to the north to suppress the Hu, Liu Xie saw an opportunity.

After observing for a few days, Liu Xie saw that Lü Bu's loyal subordinates, such as Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Cao Xing, Wei Xu, and Hao Meng, were all performing their duties and no one was paying attention to him. So Liu Xie summoned several old ministers who were loyal to the Han Dynasty to conspire. Then these old ministers secretly dispatched trusted assassins from their household servants (household generals and retainers) to deliver a secret edict, summoning the lords of the world to come to the aid of the emperor.

Standing before him were these five veteran officials: Grand Commandant Yang Biao, Minister of Works Zhao Wen, Minister of Agriculture Zhang Xi, and Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, who had been dismissed from their posts but remained in the capital.

All five men had graying temples and worn-out official robes, but their backs were straight and their eyes held a kind of tragic determination.

Although Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Lü Bu all showed weakness and wavering.

But when Emperor Liu Xie made it clear that he wanted to rebel, kill Lü Bu, and reclaim imperial power, they still risked their lives to support him.

"Gentlemen, have the people been chosen for the matters we discussed earlier?" Liu Xie's voice trembled slightly.

Yang Biao stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I have five loyal guards in my household, all of whom I can entrust with my lives. The Minister of Works and the Minister of Agriculture will each send four men, and General Huangfu and General Zhu also have loyal servants willing to go."

Zhao Wen added: "There are eight secret edicts in total, sent to Ma Teng and Han Sui in Liangzhou, Liu Yan in Yizhou, Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, Yuan Shu in Yuzhou, Cao Cao in Yanzhou, and Yuan Shao in Jizhou. Two people are assigned to each route, one to carry the edict and the other to guard it. If anything happens to them, they must destroy the edict and commit suicide, and never reveal it."

Liu Xie nodded, his eyes reddening: "I have failed my ancestors. The Han Dynasty has lasted for four hundred years, and I, the Son of Heaven, have been reduced to such a clandestine conspiracy."

Zhu Jun said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty need not blame yourself. Dong Zhuo's misrule and Li Zicheng's tyranny are examples of this. Although Lü Bu is now using one wolf to devour another, he is still holding the emperor hostage and monopolizing the government. How is he any different from Dong Zhuo? Your Majesty's actions are for the sake of the Han dynasty and for upholding the proper order and principles!"

Huangfu Song also said, "With Lü Bu campaigning in Bingzhou, Guanzhong is vulnerable, presenting the perfect opportunity. If even one of the warlords responds and leads his army into Guanzhong, Your Majesty can escape your confinement and regain control of the government!"

Liu Xie took a deep breath and picked up his pen.

He dipped the brush in ink and trembled as he wrote the first character on the plain silk: "Imperial Edict".

He wrote very slowly, each stroke as if he were using all his strength.

After finishing writing, he took out his personal seal, which he had secretly retrieved from the treasury after Dong Zhuo's death, without even Lü Bu knowing about it.

The inkpad was brought by Zhu Jun; it was as red as blood.

"Snapped!"

The seal falls.

As Liu Xie looked at the inscription "Imperial Seal of the Son of Heaven," tears finally fell, landing on the silk scroll and spreading a small patch of ink.

The eight secret edicts took quite a while to write.

Yang Biao silently took the silk scroll, carefully wrapped it in a specially made oilcloth, and then stuffed it into a hollow bamboo cane. The bamboo cane looked ordinary, but both ends were sealed, so unless it was split open, no one would be able to discover what was hidden inside.

"Your Majesty, please take care." Yang Biao knelt and kowtowed. "We, your old ministers, will make the arrangements immediately. Tonight at midnight, the assassins will leave the city."

Liu Xie rose and bowed deeply to the five senior ministers: "The survival of the Han Dynasty rests in your hands."

The five men knelt in unison, crying, "We deserve to die ten thousand times!"

The night was dark.

A curfew was imposed in Chang'an City, and after nightfall, the streets were deserted except for patrolling soldiers.

However, the back doors of the Grand Commandant's residence, the Minister of Works' residence, and the Minister of Agriculture's residence were quietly opened.

One by one, figures dressed in black and carrying backpacks appeared and disappeared into the darkness.

Instead of taking the main roads, they chose the alleys, avoiding the patrols, and made their way towards the city walls in different directions.

There were guards on the city wall arranged by Cao Xing, but they seemed particularly lax tonight.

On a section of the city wall in the southeast corner, there were even two sentries dozing off against the crenellations.

A black-clad assassin crouched in the shadows, observed for a moment, then pulled out a grappling hook from his robes and swung it up onto the city wall.

He hooked the crenellation and climbed up like a nimble cat, vaulted over the crenellation, crossed the road to the outside of the city wall, and then lowered himself down the rope to the outside of the city.

After landing, he glanced back at Chang'an City, then turned and disappeared into the night.

The same situation occurred at several other sections of the city wall.

In just half an hour, all sixteen assassins left the city and split into seven groups heading in different directions.

But they didn't know that from the moment they left the mansion, pairs of eyes were secretly watching them.

Cao Xing, the General of the Capital Region, stood in the city tower, watching the last dark figure disappear at the end of the official road through the window, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Have they all been released?" he asked.

A captain behind him replied, "As Jia Pushe instructed, we have already laid an ambush thirty li away to ensure they all die unexpectedly. Only the two routes heading west to Liangzhou are to be allowed to proceed."

Cao Xing nodded: "The General's plans are flawless. It's a good time to test the loyalty of Ma Teng and Han Sui."

The captain hesitated and said, "General, what if Ma Teng and Han Sui really do raise an army in accordance with the imperial edict..."

"Raise an army?" Cao Xing sneered. "The General has already made arrangements. If they dare to come, Dazhen Pass will be their graveyard."

He paused, then said, "Have someone clean the body thoroughly, and bring back the secret edict. Remember, make it look like a bandit robbery and murder; leave no clues."

"promise!"

The captain accepted the order and left.

Cao Xing looked westward, his eyes cold.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you are still too young. This Chang'an city is no longer within your control.

The general led his army to Bingzhou to attack the Di. Do you think he would have made no arrangements?

Besides, the general has strategists like Jia Xu and Guo Jia under his command. How could he not be wary of you causing trouble while the general is away?

Not long after, except for the two groups of assassins who were specially allowed to pass to Ma Teng and Han Sui, the other six groups of secret envoys were killed by Cao Xing's men and retrieved the secret edict.

Cao Xing flipped through them and found secret edicts that promoted Liu Yan, Zhang Lu, Liu Biao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and others by two or three ranks, and then ordered them to send troops to rescue the emperor.

Unfortunately, this was all within the expectations of the time traveler Lü Bu, who had already made arrangements. These groups of assassins were executed silently before they even made it out of the Guanzhong Plain.

Only the two secret envoys sent by Liu Xie to Ma Teng and Han Sui were deliberately released to see if they would be foolish enough to obey the imperial edict and come to the emperor's aid. If they dared to obey, Lü Bu would have a perfect excuse to attack the two men, seize Liangzhou, and expand his territory and the population of the system's safe zone.

Moving up a level would require tens of millions of people.