NOVPUBGuann Hai looked at his hand that was gripping the spear, watching as a better life seemed to beckon him. He had originally thought that surrendering would make everything forgiven, but reality proved otherwise. Was this what fate had in store?
"I don’t want to die..." Guann Hai felt a breath of air stuck in his chest that he wished to vent out, but no sound came forth, "Why must I die!"
At this thought, Guann Hai couldn’t help but feel a surge of viciousness, "I’m not the Great Leader, I can’t do it, I just can’t, I don’t want to die. If you want me to die, then you’ll have to die with me!" With this in mind, a fierce gleam crossed Guann Hai’s eyes. The Great Leader was a saint, but he, Guann Hai, was not. He couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to die!
The following day, Guann Hai walked out of his tent with a heavy heart, sporting dark circles under his eyes, everyone he looked at seemed distasteful. This clearly puzzled the various Minor Canal Commandants and Liaoo Hua, "Wasn’t he fine before? Did someone offend Grand Commander Guann today?"
"Big Brother Liaoo, what did you say to Boss Guann yesterday? Why is he in such a state?" A Minor Canal Commandant elbowed Liaoo Hua next to him.
"I didn’t say anything." Liaoo Hua said puzzledly. It was obvious that Guann Hai didn’t understand yesterday; had he understood, according to Guann Hai’s temper, he would have been furious and not like this at all.
Guann Hai glanced at Liaoo Hua, saw his puzzled face, and said nothing. After eating a vegetable bun he handed out, he took a few guards with him to patrol the camp.
In the days that followed, every time Liaoo Hua tried to have a private conversation with Guann Hai, Guann Hai seemed impatient, either putting it off with other commitments or avoiding it altogether, which left Liaoo Hua completely baffled and unclear on what was going on with Guann Hai.
On the sixth day of his visit to North Sea, Guann Hai gathered all the Major and Minor Canal Commandants for a meeting, naturally not excluding Liaoo Hua.
"What’s the matter that the Great Commander has summoned us?" A Minor Canal Commandant casually took a seat and asked, the others also looked intently at Guann Hai.
"We have only enough food left for one more day." Guann Hai said helplessly. Food was always a trouble; the Yellow Turbans had never had surplus supplies.
"..." All of the Canal Commandants looked at each other, already aware that time was passing quickly, but not realizing that they had run out of food so soon.
"What should we do now?" A Canal Commandant jumped up, "Without food, how can we besiege North Sea? There’s no grain to be found nearby, and presumably Kong Beihai won’t lend us any either."
"Yuanjian, when can the Mount Tai Army arrive?" Guann Hai asked with his head lowered, concealing his expression.
"It seems their provisions have just been put into place, the army will still need about five days," Liaoo Hua said with a weary smile. It’s a standard military practice to secure provisions before moving the troops. If they had known the Yellow Turbans would surrender directly, these provisions could have been used for relief instead of ending up in their current predicament.
"Five days..." Suddenly, the Yellow Turban’s tent filled with groans of despair.
"We need to find a solution to the food problem now, otherwise, even if the Mount Tai Army arrives, our direct surrender may still land us in major trouble. Yuanjian also mentioned earlier that because we disrupted the Mount Tai’s arrangements..." Guann Hai didn’t continue, but everyone understood the implication of his words.
"I’ve already sent the letter back explaining that the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou wish to surrender. I’m sure the Governor of Lu will make preparations in advance," said Liao Hua as he stood up. But he couldn’t help glancing at Guan Hai.
Although Guan Hai didn’t notice Liao Hua’s look, he still felt his gaze linger on him for a moment. Hearing Liao Hua mention the Yellow Turbans’ willingness to surrender, Guan Hai couldn’t help but feel a jolt in his heart. He immediately remembered the current dire straits of the Yellow Turbans. A wave of sadness overwhelmed him, followed by anger.
[What should I do? Great Leader, should I, like you, lay down my life for the cause of the Yellow Turbans? Must my death pave the way for the Yellow Turbans? I am not willing, so very unwilling! I am also a Yellow Turban. I’ve endured the same hardships and weariness as they have. Why should they walk the path that you paved with your life? Why! Great Leader, if your spirit is in heaven, show me with a sign today, tell me what to do?]
Guan Hai’s heart cried out in grief. He really didn’t want to die, but he understood: if he didn’t die, no one would feel at ease taking in the millions of Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou. He was the Great Leader now!
"Report!" A Yellow Turban guard rushed in at that moment. "Great news, Commander, great news."
"What great news?" Guan Hai glanced at the guard with a somber expression. "Has the Mount Tai Army arrived?"
"No, no, it’s not that. It’s Yuan Shao’s envoy. He said he has brought a hundred thousand stones of grain and wishes to make friends with us, the Yellow Turbans. A hundred thousand stones of grain!" the Yellow Turban guard said excitedly.
"What?" Guan Hai stood up and bellowed.
Although the others were shocked by Guan Hai’s reaction, the thought of a hundred thousand stones of grain also had them springing to their feet in surprise. They had no mind for anything else—a hundred thousand stones of grain, even if over a million people ate frugally, could last seven or eight days. With those seven or eight days as a buffer, anything could be managed.
[Great Leader, is this the sign you’ve given me? Yes, it must be you. It seems you also were not willing for the Yellow Turbans to decline like this. I don’t want to die either. So be it, let me lead the Yellow Turbans in one final struggle. Even if we lose, it’s fine; if we win, that’s good too.] Guan Hai sighed to the heavens, feeling unconsciously despondent. [Is this the right thing to do? It doesn’t feel like what the Great Leader would have done.]
Soon after making his decision, Guan Hai felt that it shouldn’t be this way. But then the will to survive suppressed any further thoughts, as he knew he couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer; the Mount Tai Army was fast approaching, and Guan Hai worried that further contemplation would weaken his resolve. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
"Let’s go, to welcome the grain," Guan Hai laughed. "It looks like we can hold out for a little longer."
On his way here, Meng Dai’s assessment of the Yellow Turbans dropped lower and lower. Looking at this group, which lacked even proper weapons and was made up of women, children, and the elderly, Meng Dai was convinced that a mere ten thousand infantry and cavalry would be enough to crush them. How could such a troop be worth a hundred thousand stones of grain?
When he finally saw Guan Hai and the others, Meng Dai was even more disappointed. These Yellow Turban commanders, pale and spiritless, could they really hinder Liu Xuande’s progress? What a joke.
While Guan Hai and the others were on their way, Meng Dai reflected carefully and realized that perhaps the plan Feng Ji had told him before coming to Qingzhou made more sense. Seizing the opportunity as all the Yellow Turban commanders came to welcome him, he could kill them all, then use the grain to tempt the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou and the Mount Tai region to become roving bandits, wreaking havoc far and wide. It seemed this could cause even greater harm to Liu Bei.
Licking his lips, Meng Dai believed these Yellow Turban commanders had virtually no combat power. If he acted quickly, before they could react, he could kill them all. Then, using Yuan Shao’s orders, he could install those scouts lurking among the Yellow Turbans—this plan had a good chance of success. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)
