Chapter Nineteen: The Yellow Turbans' Chieftain

  It was a group of six Yellow Turbans, five infantry and one cavalry, who defeated more than 20 opponents in less than half a meal's time.

  In the camp of Gongzi Ge, more than half of them were killed (including several seriously injured ones who were finished off), and only Xun brothers, Wang Zhong, Wang Zichun, Shen Yuan, Shen Daochu, Zheng Yi, Zheng Yien and a slave were left. After being searched, they were tied up with hemp ropes in a string.

  The Yellow Turbans were defeated without a single casualty, but one of them was shot in the thigh by Xun Yu, another was shot in the shoulder, and one was beaten into a panda eye by a slave from a famous family. The slaves should have had some fighting power, but they just came to help their master drive away wild animals, half of them only held sticks, and the other half had empty hands, so they were all knocked down one after another.

  The strongest and most ruthless of them all was the knight who captured Zishan, half of the young master's men were killed by him, and he also captured three more. At this time, riding on horseback, his face was full of joy and pride.

  As a prisoner, Xun could see clearly that this guy was actually a woman, and surprisingly... Judging from her face, she was probably 13 or 14 years old, but judging from her figure, she might be only around 10 years old, barely over 1.3 meters tall, with slender arms and legs, everything on her body was delicate and petite... No, Xun plucked up the courage to take a peek at the other's chest, and the tight-fitting clothes revealed two small bulges - Ah, she had already started developing! Whether it would be big or small after full development, it was not suitable to make any conclusions now.

  Damn it! I'm already at death's door, and yet I still have the leisure to estimate the size of the female bandit's breasts?

  Come to think of it, death is imminent anyway, if I don't fantasize now, when should I?

  The young master's entourage had their horses scattered, with half of them running off and the rest being rounded up by the Yellow Turbans. They all mounted their horses, leading a long string of captives as they headed east. As they walked, the terrain gradually rose - it was said that there was a mountain called Fuzong Mountain to the east of Xiangling County, could it be that there were still many bandits hiding in the mountains?

  Looking around, all the companions were hanging their heads in despair, walking with a limp. Among them, Zheng Yi's situation was slightly better, probably because his father's family education was stricter, although he was in difficulty, he did not lose his gentlemanly demeanor. The worst was Shen Yuan, who had been crying and begging for mercy nonstop, with a nose full of snot and tears streaming down his face.

  The Yellow Turbans initially thought it was just a rumor and didn't bother to respond, but later on, they got really annoyed and the big knife was brandished at their neck: "One more word and you'll be chopped here!" Only then did Shen Yuan let out an "ah" and tightly shut his mouth.

  "Since it's come to this," Zheng Yi said in a low voice, "death is just death, why beg for mercy. Besides, they won't let us off lightly either."

  A swishing sound, a gust of wind swept over Zheng Yi's head, and it was that Lolita who had made her move: "You shut up too!" Zheng Yi glanced at her, shook his head lightly, but indeed didn't dare to speak again.

  Not long after they entered the mountain, around dusk, they turned a bend and suddenly saw more than a dozen yellow-turbaned heads popping out beside the mountain road. Only to hear that little Lori, who looked similar to "Super Killer", cheered: "Dad, we're back."

  "How long has it been? These guys are..." The speaker was a tall and sturdy man, about 1.8 meters in height, with a yellowish complexion and not much flesh on his body, but his frame was quite large, with shoulders that were at least twice as wide as those of Xun.

  Loli replied: "They should all be rich people from Yingling County, kidnapped and brought back. Father can ask them about the situation in Guozhong, and the arrangements made by that traitor Kong Rong."

  The big Han slanted his eyes and sized up the captives, laughing and saying: "They're all just fledglings, they can only recite books and take a few steps, how would they know Kong's arrangements? Kill them all."

  Shen Yuan was so frightened that he burst into tears and hastily cried out: "My brother-in-law is the magistrate of Jimo, with a hundred hectares of good land and a thousand piculs of fine grain at home. You can ask for whatever you need, nothing is impossible to say, just spare my life!"

  The big Han frowned and asked someone beside him, "What did he say?" The person quickly explained, "He said his uncle is the magistrate of Jimo County and his family has a lot of money and grain, so they can use their money and grain to ransom him."

  The Great Han looked up at the sky and laughed loudly, saying: "I really do want food, but with just a few of us, who dares to go ask the county magistrate for grain? If we ask for too little, it's not worth it, and if we ask for too much, we can't carry it away!" Suddenly, he kicked Shen Yuan in the head, causing him to fall over - and also knocking down Xun and others, who all fell into a heap. He shouted: "I am the Great General of the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, Gan Hui! After you die, you can report my name to the Eastern Emperor, and if he allows you to take revenge, I will wash my neck clean and wait for you!"

  He couldn't help but raise his head and thought "oh my", another celebrity!

  To be honest, Guan Yu isn't that famous. In the "Records of the Three Kingdoms", he was only mentioned in passing - think about it, unless someone like Zhang Yan was later whitewashed, how could a history book written by the ruling class possibly write a biography for a peasant rebel?

  Guan Hai's appearance in the historical records is that he led the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans to defeat Kong Rong, besieging him in Douchang City (the name of which is actually not remembered), then Taishi Ci invited Liu Bei, the governor of Pingyuan, to rescue Douchang. Guan Hai knew he was no match for them and voluntarily lifted the siege and retreated. After that, there was no more news about him, and his whereabouts were unknown.

  In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", based on this clue, it is narrated that Guan Yu surrounded Kong Rong, Kong Rong sent his general Zongbao to fight back, but was defeated and killed by Guan Yu. When Liu Bei led his troops to rescue him, Guan Yu blocked them, and Guan Yu came out of the array, "In dozens of rounds, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade rose, and cut down Guan Yu under the horse" - being able to fight with Lord Guan for dozens of rounds, this martial arts value is not low.

  At this time, Guan Hai had just registered, and the yellow scarves around him rushed up, each holding a sharp blade, ready to wipe out these young masters. Shi Xun and Zheng Yi were speechless, and even Wang Zhong and Shi Jun joined the ranks of those begging for mercy. Only then did Guan Hai lightly wave his hand, ordering his subordinates to retreat temporarily, before shouting:

  "You bunch of dogs, you'll fleece the common people and then pretend to be holy disciples, not putting the people who feed and clothe you in your eyes! Alright, I can spare you today, but first, you must kowtow to me and shout three times: 'Long live the great virtuous teacher! The Han Emperor can eat dog shit! I'll eat dog shit too!' - Say it!"

  The Yellow Turbans around them laughed and shouted: "Long live the Great Sage! The Han Emperor can eat dog shit! You guys eat dog shit too!"

  Shen Yuan was indeed a spineless person, and he immediately knelt down on the ground, stuttering as he repeated what Gan Hai had asked him to say. Gan Hai tilted his head to one side, cupping his hand around his ear: "Speak louder, I can't hear you. If I don't hear it, it doesn't count!" Shen Yuan could only shout at the top of his lungs: "Long live the great and virtuous teacher! The Han emperor eats dog shit! I eat dog shit too! Spare my life! Long live the great and virtuous teacher! The Han emperor eats dog shit! I eat dog shit too! Spare my life! Long live the great and virtuous teacher! The Han emperor eats dog shit! I eat dog shit too! —— Hero, spare my life——ah!"

  Guan Hai revealed a disdainful expression, then turned his head towards Shen Yuan's sidekick, Xun: "Dog, it's your turn now."

  At the moment of life and death, everyone's performance is different: some people are scared to death, while others can still jump around; some people's brains are completely confused, while others can still analyze the situation, weigh the pros and cons; some people lose all their willpower when they hear the word "death", while others think: "Anyway, we're all going to die, what else am I afraid of?!"

  At this time, Xun had already stood up, and he was thinking to himself: if he shouted that life-or-death slogan, would these Yellow Turbans really let him go? In order to survive, it wasn't just a matter of shouting "eat dog shit", even if they really made him eat dog shit, he could only pinch his nose and pretend it was some kind of weird chocolate. But if he shouted "Long live Zhang Jiao" or "The Emperor eats shit", even if he managed to stay alive and return, would he still be able to mix in with the scholars? Shen Yuan was at least the county magistrate's nephew, maybe he still had a chance to muddle through, but what about him? He wasn't even Zhang Ji's own son, just a paternal cousin who had only met for the first time a few months ago...

  What's scary about death? In this chaotic era, if you can't climb up, living is also meaningless. You've managed to sneak into the circle of scholars by impersonating someone else, and now you have to give all that up? Do you still have to go back to those poor and desperate days where you don't know whether you'll survive till tomorrow? Good heavens, I really dare not have any extravagant hopes for you!

  "Brush, brush, brush", at that moment, countless heroic figures emerged in his mind: Huang Jiguang, Qiu Shaoyun, Dong Cunrui... After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and finally made up his mind - it's better to live than to die, so he shouted!

  And compared to these yellow scarf bandits in front of me, it seems that I am the corrupt class, the reactionary party, standing together with the feudal landlord, stubbornly resisting the peasant movement... Dong Cunrui will jump out of his grave and strangle himself to death...

  The decision has been made, just waiting to open my mouth, but suddenly another thought flashed through my mind - Ah, I should still be pretending to be mute... Should I shout or not?

  Just as he hesitated, Guan Hai's eyes were already wide open. Shi Jun was a good sort and hastily stepped forward to block Shi Xun: "Brother Qi is still grieving over the loss of his father and finds it hard to speak."

  Guan Hai tilted his head and asked, "What's this guy saying again?" The person next to him explained, "He said that his Seventh Brother lost his voice from crying after his old man died."

  "Can't speak?" Guan Hai burst out laughing, "Interesting, interesting, but unfortunately, I don't believe it." As he spoke, with a "clang" sound, he drew out a large ring-headed knife from his waist and raised it high: "I'll chop off your dog head, let's see if you can still speak!" The knife emitted a cold glow, and directly rushed towards Si Xun's neck.

  Just as his head was about to fall off, he couldn't help but open his mouth wide and shout loudly: "Long live the great virtuous teacher! The Han Dynasty emperor can eat dog shit! I'll eat dog shit too!" However, probably because he had been pretending to be mute for too long, he only managed to get out one word "da" before his throat was blocked by a burst of air. He shrunk his neck and closed his eyes in anxiety. Suddenly, he felt a chill on the back of his neck and thought he was done for. Unbeknownst to him, he blurted out: "Big sister fuck you!"