NOVPUBLiao Hua, upon reaching North Sea, was unobstructed by the Yellow Turbans, and even as he approached the grand camp of the Yellow Turbans, still no resistance came forth. It was only when he was nearing the camp’s inner defenses that two Yellow Turban Guards stopped him.
"Tell Guan Hai that Liao Hua, the former Minor Canal Commandant of the Yellow Turbans, has come to visit!" Liao Hua said to the two Yellow Turban Guards with a grim face.
On his way there, after being enlightened by Guan Yu, Liao Hua increasingly saw the weakness of the Yellow Turban Army. They had no scouts, no patrols, no lookouts, and no way to verify if someone had infiltrated their ranks. They relied solely on the courage of their blood qi in battle, which could only lead to utter defeat!
"Hahaha, Brother Liao, you’ve arrived!" boomed Guan Hai’s voice from within the inner defenses, "What’s the hold-up? He is our brother in the Yellow Turbans. If it weren’t for him and Zhou Cang, Yuanshao scouting for us earlier, we would still be holed up in Qingzhou, with no courage to surrender to Mount Tai."
"What! Guan Hai, you’re saying you want to surrender to Mount Tai!" Liao Hua exclaimed in shock, "If that’s the case, then why would you gather millions to besiege North Sea? Kong Beihai has already sent out a distress letter, requesting General Guan to dispatch troops to annihilate you."
"Don’t worry, don’t worry," said Guan Hai, unconcerned.
"How can we not worry? The fire is already at our eyebrows, and General Guan is about to send troops to slaughter you. If you wish to surrender, why bother with this? This is making a mockery of the lives of a million Yellow Turban brothers!" Liao Hua roared angrily. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
"Liao Yuanjian, clarify your words! Who’s making a mockery of the lives of a million Yellow Turban brothers?" Guan Hai demanded angrily, "You, a well-fed man, don’t know the pangs of hunger. We were looking forward to Lord Xuande’s acceptance with great anticipation. With the disappearance of the basic infrastructure team in western Qingzhou since spring, we have had nowhere left to find food. Should I not gather the brothers to seek solutions, would you rather we all starve to death!?"
"Your method is wrong! You should be surrendering, not leading the brothers to besiege North Sea!" Liao Hua, his face darkened, also roared, "Do you realize that your actions have completely disrupted Mount Tai’s rhythm? General Guan was set to dispatch troops in a month’s time. By then, all you had to do was surrender, and General Guan would have directly taken you in, right there and then built a city! Do you understand what it means to build a city?"
"A month! Think about when it is now! It’s springtime, and we have no food reserves. In a month, tens of thousands of our brothers will have perished!" Guan Hai roared back at Liao Hua, fuming, "If I didn’t rally the brothers now, would Mount Tai send troops at this juncture? Would they? Would they?"
Liao Hua, looking at Guan Hai, said nothing. He too hailed from the Yellow Turbans and knew well the plight of the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou. What Guan Hai said was the truth. In a month, although the Yellow Turbans would still boast more than a million strong, tens of thousands would never wake again.
"I, Guan Hai, gathered millions and restrained the Yellow Turban brothers, surrounding without attacking, just waiting for the troops of Mount Tai to march. Only this could force Mount Tai to deploy. The greater our numbers, the more seriously Lord Xuande would take us. Once their troops reached North Sea, I would lead a million Yellow Turbans to surrender," Guan Hai said with blood-red eyes.
"I’ve never aspired to rule over a territory. The Yellow Turbans have suffered, suffering without anyone to care or love, with the death of many considered just a bandit’s end. Just when there was a chance for land to till, homes to live in, wives and children to care for, this opportunity lies before us. How could we not cherish it!" Guan Hai, grasping Liao Hua’s shoulders, said with various sizes of Yellow Turban Commanders nodding around them, their eyes reddened with emotion.
"Guan Hai…" Liao Hua murmured, his mouth bitter.
Yes, only the Yellow Turbans knew their suffering. Guan Hai was contending with fate, and he wasn’t wrong. He simply wanted to lead his brothers to a better life, gathering millions to hasten the day when they could live the life they had always hoped for. He waited for Liu Bei to conquer Qingzhou with bated breath, resorting to this desperate strategy out of sheer helplessness.
"Yuanjian, go back and tell General Guan that we will surrender as long as he comes," Guan Hai said with utmost seriousness, placing his hand on Liao Hua’s shoulder.
"Guan Hai, I think I’ll stay here for now. There are some things I need to tell you," Liao Hua said bitterly. If the Yellow Turbans want to live in peace, they can’t have a leading figure. A person with tremendous prestige absolutely cannot be allowed to live.
"Ha ha ha, then stay here. We’re all old acquaintances, so we won’t be treating you to anything. You know our situation," Guan Hai said nonchalantly. Food was something to be spared for the Yellow Turbans who only had ten days’ rations left; Guan Hai could hardly bear to eat more.
Having said that, Guan Hai led a group of people and whisked Liao Hua away. The banquet that was supposed to be there to welcome him was also skipped. In times like these, wasteful extravagance was something the Yellow Turbans could not afford. It would suffice to make amends with a wild vegetable bun at night.
"Here, take this." After leading his horse over, Liao Hua took out a piece of dried mutton from a saddlebag and tossed it to the pallid Guan Hai. "Eat up, old friend. It’s not easy for you either."
"Good stuff!" Guan Hai caught it and sniffed the meat greedily, saliva nearly dripping down, but he still saved it. "I’ll chop it up and boil it in porridge for everyone tonight."
"Sigh..." Liao Hua sighed. Seeing Guan Hai’s gesture, he felt strangely touched and went to his side, whispering, "I have something to tell you tonight."
Guan Hai nodded without saying much, leading Liao Hua straight to the Central Army Tent and plopping down in a random spot. "Come, come, Yuanjian, tell us about the current situation on Mount Tai. You’re the only one among us who knows Mount Tai well. The rest of us have at most toiled in the construction crew in Qingzhou, basing on hearsay. Share your firsthand observations so we can rest assured."
"Yeah, Big Brother Liao, let’s hear it. We’ve all heard that Mount Tai is prosperous and offers us Yellow Turbans a way out, but what exactly does that prosperity entail? We’re still in the dark. Does the Grand Marshal’s promise of wives, fields, dwellings really exist?" A minor canal commandant blurted out, chattering, while other canal commanders large and small all looked at Liao Hua.
The Yellow Turbans’ hoped-for future was all on Mount Tai, but whether this was mere hearsay or the genuine article depended on Liao Hua’s description. They believed Liao Hua, who had once been their comrade, would not lie to them.
Liao Hua looked at the hopeful gazes and slowly narrated everything about Mount Tai, and everyone listened with shining eyes, wishing they could join Mount Tai right then.
"Can you really learn to read and write?" Guan Hai asked hoarsely, "If Mount Tai truly is doing so, Yuanjian, you’ve learned to read?"
"I have learned a bit too. The teacher said I had a talent. I’ve already mastered the ’Thousand Character Classic.’ The Sovereign Marquis recommended that I study military strategy," Liao Hua said, scratching his head and showing some admiration when mentioning Guan Yu.
Liao Hua was very proud of being literate. Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao had been recommended by Guan Yu to learn to read along with him, but Zhou Cang could now only write his own name, Pei Yuanshao recognized about two hundred characters, and he had already fully mastered the ’Thousand Character Classic.’ Guan Yu was now bringing him and Guan Ping to study military books. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
