Chapter 3: The Barbarian Rebels Besiege the City

  There have been many Han dynasties or Han states in Chinese history, such as the Western Han, Eastern Han, Shu Han, Cheng Han, Later Han, Northern Han, Southern Han, and so on. Except for the first three, even I may not be able to recall the surnames of their emperors accurately. As for era names, there are at least 300, possibly as many as 500. Except for those from the Ming and Qing dynasties which were relatively easy to remember, with one emperor corresponding to one era name, and some that corresponded to certain prosperous or chaotic periods - such as the "Zhen Guan Governance" or the "Jing Kang Shame", and so on - I can barely recall 20 of them. However, fortunately or unfortunately, the "Zhong Ping" era name just happens to be one of those that exist in my memory.

  Because the end of this year coincided with the beginning of a great era, at that time the old emperor died, and the young emperor was supported by his uncle to ascend to the throne and change the yuan. However, not long after, his uncle was assassinated, and a big warlord entered the court to control the government, ordering another change of yuan. Before the year had passed, the warlord again deposed the young emperor, establishing his brother on the throne, and changing the yuan for the third time. Alai remembers none of the three changed yuans, only that in some SLG games, for convenience, this year is still recorded as Zhongping Old Yuan.

  That's right, the owner of this old number is indeed Emperor Ling of Eastern Han Liu Hong. After his death, the first young emperor to succeed him was Emperor Shao Liu Bian, and the second was Emperor Xian Liu Xie. Liu Bian's unlucky uncle was He Jin, and that powerful warlord was Dong Zhuo...

  That is to say, in the years when I came, it will usher in the era of super chaos and vassals competing for the throne in the late Han Dynasty.

  This is really too damn frustrating! From the Yellow Turban Rebellion (at this time, the main force of the Yellow Turbans should have been wiped out, and Emperor Ling changed the era to Zhongping to celebrate), all the way to the Battle of Red Cliffs, the north of the Yellow River was plagued by war for years, losing more than half of its population. In such a state of being powerless, cowardly, rootless, and homeless, it's normal to die in the chaos, and barely surviving is a miracle.

  But that's not the worst of it, if you were to go to some big aristocratic families, maybe the survival rate would be relatively high. For example, the Sima family in Hanoi, the eight brothers of Sima "Ba Da" seemed to have not died a single one in the turmoil, living exceptionally comfortably. But why did I end up going to a rural tenant farmer's family?!

  Even if I don't die, do I have to spend my whole life hiding in this poor and remote mountain, eating wild vegetables and tree bark? Why can't I be like others who cross over and can smelt steel, make cannons, and unify the world? Why did I cross over only to become like a flea, unable to even jump half a meter high, and get pinched to death without making a sound?

  In a different era, even as a poor commoner, due to chance encounters and opportunities, there might still be possibilities for advancement. For example, during the end of the Qin dynasty, if one couldn't become a village head, they could at least follow the village head to perform labor service. Or, during the end of the Yuan dynasty, one could try to find an ugly monk somewhere in the world and bow down to him as an elder brother ahead of time. Taking a step back, even if oneself was only barely literate and couldn't be compared to true rural bumpkins, if they could find a few books to read, perhaps there would be opportunities to take the imperial examination...

  But at the time of Han and Wei, it's all about being cannon fodder for ordinary people. Don't believe those nonsense stories that Liu Bei brothers and Sun Jian father and son were all commoners: Liu Bei was so poor that he wove mats and sold straw sandals, but he somehow had the opportunity to sneak into the great Confucian scholar Lu Zhi's side to attend classes, if it weren't for his old classmate Gongsun Zan taking care of him, could he have earned his first pot of gold... Ah no, become the first official? Guan Yu was a date seller and Zhang Fei was a pig killer, those are just wild legends.

  Talking about killing pigs, it is said that General He Jin's family killed pigs, but He Jin was a high-ranking official, who among the real butchers could have an honorary name? He Jin was from a butcher's background, which only means his family ran a meat shop, not that he himself actually wielded a knife to sell meat.

  There is also Sun Jian, the Sun family has a humble origin and was often looked down upon by aristocratic families. However, he became a county official at the age of ten or so. As a commoner with no connections, how could he have gotten such an opportunity?

  The story comes back, and after the Sun family occupied Jiangdong, they were still looked down upon by others. The so-called poor family is actually a small landowner, at the bottom of the ruling class, and below are urban commoners, rich farmers, middle farmers, etc., and those who are at the bottom of the ruling class are tenants and slaves - and they themselves are in this lowest level of being ruled.

  Of course, it's not that there are no opportunities at all. As the saying goes, "If you want to be an official, kill people and set fires to get recruited." For example, Zhang Yan (Chu Feiyan), who was in charge of Changshan, became a high-ranking official after being recruited. However, the best opportunity has been lost. You had to join during the heyday of the Yellow Turbans to get this kind of chance. If you wait until the main forces of the Yellow Turbans are defeated and then join, either you will be suppressed by the old villain for a lifetime and never turn over, or you will be repeatedly attacked and killed by the new warlords.

  So, the era that A Fei crossed into, if it's said to be only 30% terrible, then his identity after crossing over is thoroughly and utterly 10,000% terrible, so bad that he can't die and has to thank all the gods in heaven for collectively protecting him...

  You say how can he not be overcome with grief and burst into tears?

  The young man who was stopped by Ah Fei looked at him curiously - this kid was dressed in tatters and had a somewhat barbarian appearance. Normally, someone of his kind would be cut down with one sword strike for daring to block his path, giving him a lesson he'd never forget. But before he could even draw his sword, the kid politely bowed and asked a series of surprisingly refined questions starting with "May I ask". Strange, this little rascal seemed like he had actually read books.

  What's even stranger is that after I answered his question, this kid was like he had been put under a petrifying spell and didn't move at all, only silently shedding tears. It's really interesting, why did he have such a big reaction when he heard the words "Zhong Ping"? Does he have a grudge against these two characters? Young people are naturally curious, and I was just about to ask him back, "Hey kid, why are you crying?" Suddenly, all I heard was a loud shout: "Got it!"

  A Fei was there, self-pitying and hating that he couldn't just die on the spot - it would be better than spending his whole life eating wild vegetables and then dying in a war one day. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and pressed him to the ground. He was young and weak, so he immediately knelt down. When he turned his head slightly, he saw that Old Wang from next door had also been pressed to the ground by two men who were dressed similarly to the old soldier at the door.

  He hadn't even reacted yet when he heard the young man who had asked him earlier shout: "Who are you, and why have you taken these two?"

  The man who only heard the shout of "taken down" replied, "This young master doesn't know, but just received news that the Eastern Barbarians are launching a large-scale invasion, breaking through Hunyi County and heading this way. These two who entered the city last night don't seem to be Han people, I reckon they must be barbarian spies."

  "I'm not a Dongyi, I'm a Han!" Old Wang from next door shouted.

  A Fei didn't call out, his mind was rapidly spinning, repeatedly thinking - "Eastern Han, Eastern Yi... What else is Eastern Han, not Shang Zhou..."

  Suddenly, the title of the last volume of "Records of the Three Kingdoms: Book of Wei" appeared in his mind - "Wuwan Xianbei Dongyi Biography"......Damn it, I won't become a stickman, will I?!

  The Dongyi during the Han-Wei period referred to the northeastern region and the Korean Peninsula, where there lived various foreign tribes such as Fuyu, Mohe, Goguryeo, Samhan, etc. Among them, Samhan were the direct ancestors of the later Baekje people, while Mohe and Goguryeo can be considered as collateral ancestors shared by Baekje and northeastern Chinese ethnic groups.

  Of course, this is not the time to think about these things. I'm afraid that if we think for another tenth of a second, our heads will be chopped off immediately. So Ah Fei also hurriedly shouted: "We are not spies from Dongyi, we are tenants of Zhang Lao Ye in the county, ask Zhang Lao Ye and you'll know."

  "Which Mr. Zhang is it? What's his full name?" asked the young nobleman.

  "Is the county magistrate's clansman, named Zhang, Zhang..." Ah Fei really hoped that what Old Wang next door had told him was true, and not just catching wind or boasting.

  "Exactly," said the young man to the militiamen holding Ah Fei and Old Wang, "I was just going to pay my respects to the county magistrate, let's take them together to the county yamen."

  This county is very small, with only one main street, so it didn't take many steps to arrive at the county government office. The young man first took out a name card and handed it in, and soon saw an official rushing out of the door, grabbing the young man's arm: "Young Master Shi, why are you still in our county? Hurry up, hurry up!"

  The young man broke free from the officer's hand, took a step back and bowed deeply: "Why is the county magistrate so flustered? Is it because of the Eastern Yi's invasion?"

  The official must have been the county magistrate, only to see him with a look of panic and stuttering in response: "Yes, yes, the news has just arrived, and the fast horse sent to the prefecture for help has just left... I'm afraid it's too late, before the prefectural troops arrive, our county will be destroyed!"

  "Don't worry, sir. My family has a warehouse in the county and we have twenty strong men who are willing to help you defend the city," said the young man - Shi Gongzi - reassuring the county magistrate, "but where is County Lieutenant Cao? How many soldiers do we still have in the county?"

  "High, high county... " The county magistrate gritted his teeth fiercely. "Just as the bandit's messenger arrived, he rode a fast horse and said he would personally go to the prefecture to seek help. This bastard... There are less than 100 local soldiers in the county, but it is said that the barbarian thieves who broke through Hunyi are all over the mountains and fields, with more than 1 million troops!"

  At that time, the young master sneered: "I'm afraid that even if all the men and women in the city are searched thoroughly, there won't be 100,000 people. This must be a false report. Since the county lieutenant is not here, please let County Magistrate entrust the task of defending the city to Shi Mou. Shi Mou will definitely help County Magistrate defend this city."

  "You, you..." The county magistrate looked at Shi Gongzi with a suspicious gaze.

  "The barbarian bandits are only here to plunder, they won't necessarily penetrate deep into our territory. Even if they do, I'm afraid the county soldiers will come to rescue us, and they won't dare to focus on attacking the city. We just need to dampen their morale, and they'll naturally retreat," said the young master, drawing his long sword from its scabbard with a "clang". "Although I haven't yet come of age, I started practicing martial arts at the age of seven. A few barbarian soldiers wouldn't dare get close to me. If the county magistrate doesn't allow me to defend the city, then I'll abandon the city and leave... but I'm afraid it will be hard to avoid being accused of fleeing in the face of the enemy..."

  "This... this, he certainly wouldn't dare escape..."

  "Rather than stay and rather than flee, could it be that the county magistrate has already harbored thoughts of dying for his country?"

  "Die for the country! Die for the country!" In an instant, the county magistrate's face turned as white as Cao Cao on stage.

  To ease the county magistrate's mind, Magistrate Shi suddenly sheathed his sword and changed the subject: "Just now, soldiers in the city captured these two men. They claim to be tenants of your younger brother. Do you know where he is? Perhaps he can come out and identify them?"