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Cao Cao was terrified when he saw the battle report, a completely different kind of shock from Liu Bei’s surprise. The news had scared him witless, and he immediately halted the original plan to attack Mount Tai. Without understanding how Chen Xi had captured more than a million Yellow Turbans within a month, Cao Cao had no intention of setting his sights on Mount Tai, for it was far too dangerous.
Upon reading the intelligence, Liu Ye was left speechless. Didn’t this guy say his military strategy skills were subpar? Was this the performance of someone lacking? If he was subpar, did the rest even stand a chance?
Although there was Guo Fengxiao’s arrangement, the way you fought was too smooth, wasn’t it? After the battle, you were even able to catch up with summer plowing, and you’ve achieved all the strategic objectives, wiping out all the disobedient elements, and casually selected the New Army. By the time Zang Ba does his show, once you let go, the minds of over a million Yellow Turbans will be entirely in your grasp.
"Ziyang, what do you think?" Liu Bei was a little overly excited. Two million Yellow Turbans emerged from Qingzhou, putting pressure on the nearby feudal lords, including Yuan Shao. They had not anticipated that Chen Xi would take down the Yellow Turbans so thoroughly in just over half a month with minimal bloodshed, gaining control over a third of Qingzhou along with more than a million captives. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
"Ancient renowned generals, sages – they are nothing more than this," Liu Ye said with a wry smile, struggling to find words. This person’s performance was going against the heavens.
"Hahaha, I think so too!" Liu Bei said proudly. "By the way, Zichuan wrote to say he wants to go to the border of Jizhou to cheer and support, what do you think of this plan, Ziyang?"
"He aims to show off military might, incidentally putting pressure on Yuan Benchu to be sensible and abandon the Zhen Family. After all, the Mi Family’s attack on the Zhen Family has begun, and results will soon follow. Zichuan probably wants to quickly wrap these things up. Even if he can’t make it back in time for the wedding, he’ll return as soon as possible. Although Zichuan appears emotionally detached, he is very good to his family, and Chen Lan is his comrade-in-arms through hardship," Liu Ye suggested, indicating that under these circumstances it was necessary to legitimize Chen Lan’s status.
Liu Bei understood Liu Ye’s hint, thought for a moment and said, "Send a letter to the Yingchuan Chen Family, asking them to legitimize Chen Lan. This is most suitable."
Liu Ye nodded, as this was indeed appropriate, and getting the Chen Family to accept wouldn’t be too difficult, especially since Chen Xi’s performance was now worthy of their attention.
"Alright, I will write a letter to the Chen Family. I’m sure they will grant Chen Lan the status of a concubine-born daughter, as being a legitimate daughter is out of the question," said Liu Ye after pondering a moment. A legitimate daughter of the noble families had to be officially recorded, and as for concubine-born daughters, they were essentially born to be part of a dowry, no questions asked. Even if the Chen Family was willing to bet on Chen Xi, Chen Lan’s status could hardly be upgraded to that of a legitimate daughter, unless the Chen Family was willing to offend the Fan Family. However, the marriage contract had been sent, and neither the Chen nor the Fan Families could afford to lose face.
"Has everything Zichuan mentioned in his letter been prepared? As for the part where he suggests trying to put nose rings on the oxen by having Su Shuang and his men give it a try, if successful, we won’t have to worry about oxen for tilling anymore," Liu Bei remarked with a pleased expression, recalling that Chen Xi was always purposeful and did not indulge in pointless pursuits.
"The moment a letter arrived earlier, I instructed Zhang Shiping and his comrade to test it out. If it proves successful, we should soon receive reports," Liu Ye replied with a smile. In this era, agriculture was the most important affair; even if the economy collapsed, as long as the land remained productive, stability in the world could be maintained.
Elsewhere, Zang Ba was righteously persuading his subordinates from the Yellow Turbans.
"Great Leader! You can definitely lead us to a successful breakout. Under your command, we have already attacked several farmland garrisons, and we will surely escape from Mount Tai and return to Qingzhou!" One Yellow Turban, a fervent believer in Zang Ba, heard Zang Ba’s intention to sacrifice himself in order to seek a way out for the Yellow Turbans, and didn’t wait for Zang Ba to finish hinting at the spy to speak up; he jumped out first.
"There is no way out even if we return to Qingzhou. Two million Yellow Turbans left Qingzhou, and now there are just over a hundred thousand of us left. More than a million of our brothers are gone, starved to death, fallen behind, or killed. Don’t we Yellow Turbans want to live good days!" Zang Ba roared, and then fiercely stared at his team leaders with bloodshot eyes.
"Continuing to escape will only lead us to a dead end! Great Commander Chen has already fallen. I have been leading you to flee everywhere, struggling to carve out a way to live, but now there are too many enemies ahead, and we cannot fight our way out!" Zang Ba roared, "Do you know? To return to Qingzhou, we have to defeat that unit, and that unit is simply beyond our capabilities. If we continue to stay here and get surrounded by them, the only way left is death!"
"I don’t understand all this, but Great Leader, you can’t die! We can die, but the Great Leader cannot die! It was the Great Leader who led us out of danger time after time and also managed to seize food. Every time we seized food, the Great Leader was the last to eat! The Great Leader absolutely cannot die!" A Yellow Turban knelt on the ground and kowtowed.
"Stand up!" Zang Ba grabbed the Yellow Turban’s arm and forcibly pulled him to his feet.
Zang Ba pulled him up, then once again glared with bloodshot eyes at the group obstructing him, "Remember, I led you only so that our brothers would have something to eat. We’re outlaws, once an outlaw, always an outlaw, and no one is willing to forgive us. This time, General Anton Liu Xuande doesn’t want to create more slaughter, which is why he has given us a chance! Have you forgotten Changshe? How many brothers were executed after they surrendered? Once this chance is missed, do you think we will get another opportunity like this?"
The Yellow Turbans present fell silent. At the battle of Changshe, tens of thousands of surrendered Yellow Turbans were executed outright. The Han Army doesn’t accept the surrender of bandits. Once a bandit, always a bandit, no one will forgive the Yellow Turbans!
"This might be our last chance. I am exchanging my life for yours, and even for the entire Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, I feel it’s worth it, more than worth it!" Zang Ba almost roared these last words, then his face showed a bitter smile, "Though it may seem laughable, as long as I die, they will be willing to incorporate you. So don’t stop me. The Yellow Turbans are already a thing of the past, you are all honest folk now."
The whole campsite of Yellow Turbans was silent. All of the Yellow Turbans knew about Zang Ba’s deal with Mount Tai. Their Great Leader, a man like the legendary General Tiangong Zhang Jiao, was prepared to use his life in exchange for a way out for the Yellow Turbans. Zhang Jiao had failed in the past, and now another hero had emerged from the Yellow Turbans, a great leader willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of a million Yellow Turbans.
"I’m off. Stay here. Once I’m dead, someone will come to take over the military camp. Don’t resist. Live well from now on. The life of an outlaw is no longer yours to live. Marry a wife, cultivate a piece of land, raise two or three children, and live a full life. They will treat you the same as any common folk, not looking down on you. General Tiangong, I have fulfilled your final dream. Please allow Xuangu, after death, to join you on the journey back!" Zang Ba finished speaking, turned his back with a melancholic smile, and walked slowly out of the military camp. His lonely, slim figure stretched long in the setting sun.
As Zang Ba stepped out of the camp gate, a Yellow Turban team leader immediately collapsed to his knees and started crying loudly. After that, the whole campsite of Yellow Turbans erupted into wails.
In late April of the year 192, the Grand Commander of the Yellow Turbans, disciple of General Tiangong – Xuangu, sacrificed his life for righteousness. With his death, he secured Mount Tai’s acceptance of the Yellow Turban bandits and paved a grand road with his own blood for all the Yellow Turbans. A million Yellow Turbans mourned his death, and from then on, the Yellow Turbans pledged allegiance to Mount Tai!
[bookid=3280030,bookname="Immortal Three Kingdoms"]
