Chapter 6: The Three Heroes Take the Stage

  The Yellow Turbans rose up, with great fanfare, shocking the imperial court and the people. In less than two months, they attacked and captured prefectures and counties, burning down government offices, killing officials and scholars, opening granaries to distribute grain, plundering cities and towns, sweeping across seven provinces and twenty-eight commanderies. Zhang Jue raised his arm and shouted loudly, and the impoverished masses responded enthusiastically, gathering a force of over a million in less than two months. Even with traitors revealing secrets, the Yellow Turbans' momentum was unprecedented in ancient or modern times.

  Zhang Jue divided his troops into three routes, and the three brothers Zhang Jue, Zhang Liang, and Zhang Bao took Hebei Province as their main battlefield. They successively captured Julu, Guangzong, and Xiayang, three cities that were mutually supportive and impregnable.

  The second route, led by General Zhang Mancheng, attacked Nanyang with tens of thousands of troops. The third route, led by General Bo Cai, raided Yingchuan. The three routes advanced like a broken bamboo, surrounding Luoyang and putting pressure on the imperial court. Emperor Ling was shocked and hastily dispatched troops to suppress the rebellion (I wonder if he wet his pants in fright?).

  Zhang Jue was indeed a great man, with thorough preparations in the early stages. If it weren't for Tang Zhou's betrayal and internal-external coordination, Luoyang could have been destroyed with just a snap of his fingers. However, even if Tang Zhou had informed on them, resulting in over a thousand people being torn apart by carts, it didn't shake their determination to rebel one bit. They decisively launched the uprising the very next day after the incident. The charisma and prestige that allowed him to rally so many poor masses is unmatched throughout the late Eastern Han dynasty.

  The imperial court's actions cannot be said to be slow, Emperor Ling not only issued military power, ordering each state and county to recruit soldiers to suppress the rebels, but also ordered General-in-Chief He Jin to garrison Luoyang, defend the capital's strategic location, sent Left Central Lang General Huangfu Song and Right Central Lang General Zhu Jun to lead 40,000 troops to besiege Nanpi in Yancheng, and sent Northern Central Lang General Lu Xun to lead his army northward to resist Zhang Jue and others.

  Both sides fought back and forth, with no one yielding. Although the city of Zhuo was not large, it still attracted the attention of Zhang Jiao and others. General Cheng Yuanzhi led an army of 50,000 to besiege the city. Looking at the dark and surging formation beside him, Cheng Yuanzhi stroked his chin and revealed a satisfied expression. If this battle is successful, his position in front of the Lord will be even more solid, and he can look forward to being promoted and enfeoffed soon. Just thinking about the beautiful "prospect", Cheng Yuanzhi's two eyes almost narrowed into a slit, if you didn't look carefully, you would think he was asleep.

  The host of a teaching, is naturally called the teaching host, I hope friends will forgive me, calling Da Xian Liang Shi is really a bit troublesome.

  Zhuo County, where tigers and dragons lie hidden. Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, recruits soldiers and buys horses, gathering local heroes and bringing out three mighty tigers from Zhuo County. The first is Liu Bei, a descendant of Zhongshan Jingwang, with big ears and sloping shoulders, a white face like jade. The second is Guan Yu, with vermilion phoenix eyes and cicada eyebrows. The third is Zhang Fei, with leopard head and ringed eyes, and a beard like a swallow's nest.

  Three people came to the city tower, raised their eyes and looked at the Yellow Turbans below the city. Their expressions were different, looking at the dense crowd of Yellow Turbans that filled the sky like a tidal wave, Liu Bei's face turned pale as he leaned against the city wall, even his legs trembled slightly. Compared to the enemy, the soldiers defending the city of Zhuo were simply insignificant, if they really fought, even if the three brothers were brave, if the enemy attacked together, it would be like a single drop of saliva drowning them in the vast ocean.

  Guan Yu stroked his long beard, his phoenix eyes tightly closed, and if you didn't look closely, he looked like he was asleep. From the small gap between his eyelids, a hint of cold disdain seeped through. Although there were many Yellow Turbans, Guan Yu didn't take them seriously at all.

  Looking at Zhang Fei, his fists were clenched tightly, his face filled with excitement, as if he couldn't wait to grab his spear and horse, rush onto the battlefield, and engage in a fierce and thrilling fight.

  Liu Bei was cautious, Guan Yu was arrogant, Zhang Fei was fond of fighting. Three people, three personalities, also destined for three different fates.

  Zhou Cang and the others originally had a small number of people, only a few hundred, but with these dozens of war horses, their marching speed was much faster than before, and in just a few days they arrived at Cheng Yuanzhi's camp.

  Zhou Cang ordered the troops to set up camp and cook meals, while he himself was busy reporting their journey to Cheng Yuanzhi.

  "This is Zhuo County." Looking at the high and thick city wall in front of him, Xu Feng's eyes sparkled with excitement, revealing a strong eagerness. The three tigers of Zhuo County, I really want to meet you soon. Although Xu Feng was excited, he didn't have any arrogance in his heart. He still had a clear understanding of his own abilities. Even the war god Lü Bu, who possessed a tiger-like body and ghostly bravery, was forced to retreat when attacked by the three men together. Xu Feng asked himself if he had what it took, but he knew that he wasn't even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as them.

  Friends who are familiar with the Three Kingdoms know that the ranking of the Three Kingdoms generals is: first Lu Bu, second Zhao Yun, third Dian Wei, fourth Guan Yu, fifth Ma Chao, and sixth Zhang Fei. No matter what others say, the two brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei occupy two of the top six spots, both being enemies of ten thousand people. Xu Feng still highly agrees with this point. However, not being able to defeat them doesn't mean that Xu Feng is timid or cowardly. In his past life, Xu Feng was a street fighter who would engage in small fights every three days and big fights every five days, and since he came out of his mother's womb, the word "fear" has never been in his dictionary.

  "Brother Feng, this time when the big head sees Commander Qu, he will definitely speak highly of you in front of him. At that time, with just one word from Commander Qu, Brother Feng's future will be limitless and smooth sailing." The few brothers were idle and bored, so they gathered together to joke around.

  "Haha, I don't care about this, but this battle is probably not going to be easy." Xu Feng said with a worried face as he looked at the city tower of Zhuo County. Having many people is certainly a good thing, but thinking about the three fierce tigers lurking in the city of Zhuo County made Xu Feng's unease even stronger. The Yellow Turbans' morale was high, but these people were mostly ordinary poor civilians, who not only lacked military discipline, but also didn't understand tactics, and even basic charging and fighting skills. If they won, it would be fine, but if they lost, they would definitely scatter in all directions, fleeing everywhere, like a defeated army collapsing."

  "Haha, Brother Feng is worrying too much. Don't forget that we have 50,000 elite soldiers here. A small place like Zhuo County only has a few thousand defenders. With just one charge, Zhuo County can be destroyed in the blink of an eye and taken with ease." Xue Cheng glanced at the sparse guards on the city wall of Zhuo County and sneered coldly.

  "Can be destroyed with a snap of the fingers?" Xu Feng muttered to himself, his eyebrows furrowed even tighter, because the gaze that had fallen on the city wall had already discovered three figures that shocked him.

  One, over seven feet tall, with a face like jade, eyebrows divided into eight colors, eyes like bright stars, and ears that reach the shoulders.

  One, with a phoenix eye and a reclining silkworm eyebrow, a date-red face, over nine feet tall, with an expression of disdain and an aura that is intimidating.

  One, over eight feet tall, with a lion's nose and wide mouth, leopard-like head and ringed eyes, dark face and dark beard, robust build, high cheekbones, full of strength.

  The three of them stood on the city wall, and although they were far apart, a strong aura still made Xu Feng's eyes widen in shock.

  Xu Feng clenched his fists tightly, his tiger eyes wide open, the two iron fists crackling with a loud "crack" due to excessive force, his bright eyes shining with a fierce light, full of fighting spirit.

  This trip is not in vain after all. Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, I, Xu Feng, will one day thoroughly engrave my name into your minds.

  The new book is still immature and needs a lot of support from good friends.