Chapter 7: The Beginning of a Chaotic World

  This year's New Year was as lively as in previous years.

  Even more so.

  Because at the end of last year, my old man was promoted. He used to be just a county magistrate, but now he's finally become a governor. Of course, I don't know how much effort and means it took to get there, and no one will tell me at my current age.

  After passing the first month, one day suddenly spread a message from top to bottom in the city.

  I'm extremely familiar with this news.

  "Zhang Jue, a great deer person, called himself 'Huangtian', his department commander had thirty-six parties, all wearing yellow turbans, and rebelled on the same day. The people of Anping and Ganling each seized their kings to respond to it."

  Yellow Turban Rebellion

  The blue sky has died, and the yellow sky should rise!

  This news spread extremely quickly, Wuwei City is located in the western part of Liangzhou. Although Liangzhou and Sili are adjacent, due to its vastness and sparseness, it takes more than a month to travel back and forth from Luoyang. However, at the beginning of February, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and by mid-month, the city of Jincheng was already in a state of panic, with rumors flying everywhere, showing the impact of the rebellion.

  My goodness!

  Great virtuous teacher!

  You've finally started the revolution!

  The world... is finally in great chaos!

  One after another, heroes take the stage...

  Comrades have started killing each other...

  Why am I so lucky?

  Dad I want...... wait a minute, it seems like in half a year I'll be turning eight?

  Eight years old...

  What a lucky number.

  I know that in ancient times, although the coming-of-age ceremony for young people was after the age of 20, there were absolutely no shortage of young heroes. Aixinjueluo XuanYe ascended to the throne at the age of eight and swept across the country at the age of sixteen - oh, he was an emperor, we can't compare to that. Let's change to another example - Gan Luo became a prime minister at the age of twelve, also incredibly talented, and more relatable as a commoner... hmm, he was born with divine talent, it seems I don't have that kind of intelligence either. Okay, let's try another one from a closer era - Sun Quan's younger brother! When Sun Ce passed away in his youth, Sun Quan's younger brother was only around 16 or 17 years old. He resolutely took over the reins from his older brother and single-handedly led Eastern Wu for 50 years. During those 50 years, he resisted Cao Cao at Red Cliff, burned Liu Bei at Yiling, launched successive attacks externally, and internally promoted culture and education - truly admirable!

  Yes, yes, they are also young, but it seems I'm still a bit too young... At the age of eight, I haven't even started learning martial arts, and I've only just recognized a few characters and read through the Four Books a few times. I'm not capable of wielding a spear to charge into battle and slaughter enemies like cutting melons, nor can I govern the country, bring peace to the nation, or plot in secret. Moreover, being from Liangzhou, which is already on the periphery of politics, even if the world is in chaos, it's still not my problem for now.

  So I was happy for nothing.

  Grandma's, I'm just waiting here, Huan Fu Sheng He Jin, Ding Yuan Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian Cao Cao, Yuan Shao Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan Liu Bei, all one by one began to sharpen their swords and prepare for a big fight, while Young Master was still stuck at home recognizing characters and reading books!

  Thinking of the vast lands of Zhongyuan being gradually divided up among them, one by one the brave generals and wise ministers from all corners of the land were invited out of their thatched cottages with three bows and nine kowtows, while in the boudoirs one beautiful woman after another was dragged down by force... Ah, my heart is cut to pieces!

  The daughter asked her father if the Yellow Turban Rebellion would affect Wuwei, and her father shook his head and replied that Zhang Jue's forces were mainly in Qingzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou, and although neighboring Pingzhou and Xuzhou had also been affected, it was impossible for them to cross Shenzhong and reach Liangzhou for the time being.

  After hearing Father's affirmative answer, Mother obviously breathed a sigh of relief. As the mother of the child, she only hoped that her family could live in peace and stability, and let others deal with the small disturbances elsewhere.

  Mother doesn't know, this is no small disturbance!

  This is a nationwide uprising! A great rebellion!

  Any Chinese person with a little historical knowledge should know that the Yellow Turban Rebellion was on what scale? The uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang at the end of the Qin Dynasty? Although it also opened up a chaotic situation, but in itself, there were only a few thousand people, and it was a temporary organization that was quickly extinguished. Zhang Jiao and his two brothers used religion to save people as their banner, traveling through four states, spreading kindness and virtue, with many followers. How long did they secretly travel? Three or five years? Ten or eight years? No one knows. They built a relatively strict organizational structure, colluding with eunuchs in the court above, and appeasing the hearts of the people "robbing the rich to help the poor" below, the Central Plains were like sparks that could set off a prairie fire.

  Just before the uprising, Ma Yuanyi was betrayed by Tang Zhou and brutally executed by being torn apart by carts. The entire organization was gradually unearthed, with over a thousand people beheaded within a month. Zhang Jiao could wait no longer, raised the great banner and declared himself the General of Heaven, and in one day, the Central Plains were no longer Han territory.

  This story is still relatively familiar to me, why? I was also a loyal player of the "Fantasy Three Kingdoms" series game back then...

  The scale and impact of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were unprecedented, and if one had to find a comparable rebellion, it would be the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied southeastern China for 14 years, also an extremely powerful rebellion in the past 5,000 years, but unfortunately was eventually extinguished. As for the Yellow Turban Rebellion, although its scale was grand, its lifespan was far shorter than that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After Zhang Jue's uprising began, he quickly died of illness, and his two brothers' abilities were far inferior to their brother's. Under the siege of government troops led by Huangfu Song and local militias, they successively died in battle. Later, although the remnants of the Yellow Turbans continued to burn in various places, they had no hope of seizing power.

  Why is it considered unprecedented and unparalleled in its impact, when it has been less than two years?

  It is the chain reaction it triggers.

  The gate of chaos is opened by it.

  For more than half a century afterwards, the various regional lords fought each other without cease, with the strong swallowing up the weak and the weak overthrowing the strong. The struggle was unrelenting, the slaughter uninterrupted, and the war that later generations would call "civil war" consumed all the population and wealth that had been accumulated over the four hundred years of the Han dynasty. Nearly a century of fighting left the Chinese land almost empty, with the population reduced to what it had been at the end of the Qin, and tens of millions of ghosts without a place to rest.

  Tens of millions.

  The calamity of internal strife is more fierce than a tiger.

  What Gong Kai often said "to repel external threats, one must first stabilize internally" is extremely correct during this period.

  Moreover, even if the Sima family unified the Three Kingdoms and established the Eastern Jin, they did not obtain long-lasting peace like the Han dynasty.

  A more violent ethnic riot has erupted.

  The Five Barbarians invaded China, and the land of Zhongyuan and Huabei was no longer owned by our Han people. For the first time, foreign tribes had such a deep and lasting rule over this land.

  The country is no longer a country.

  Although they had long been assimilated into the Huaxia civilization after a thousand years, and their edges had long been ground smooth, occasionally looking back on this bloody history is still unbearable.

  Although these are not directly related to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and there is a gap of over a hundred years in time, I have always thought that the Yellow Turban Rebellion was the true prelude to this chaotic world of several hundred years.

  Fortunately, this tumultuous rebellion that swept across half of China has not yet reached my doorstep.

  I thought Liangzhou would not be in chaos.

  But I was wrong.

  The chaotic world has beautifully opened its curtains, with battles and disasters entwining, blood staining mountains and rivers. This is absolutely no joke.

  Even in the distant Western Xia, one can feel the tremors of heaven and earth.

  Immediately afterwards, for a whole year, Wu Zetian was unable to rest easy.

  News is coming in like locusts from all directions.

  "In March, He Jin was appointed as General-in-Chief and sent to suppress Zhang Jue."

  "In the year of Renzi, there was a great amnesty for all the party members in the world. Those who had been banished were allowed to return, with the exception of Zhang Jue."

  "The Emperor ordered the Three Dukes and the Nine Ministers to send out cavalry and archers, and to summon the sons and grandsons of generals as well as officials and common people who were skilled in battle formations to report to the Imperial Chariot. He sent Northern Middle General Lu Zhi to attack Zhang Jue, Left Middle General Huangfu Song and Right Middle General Zhu Jun to attack the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan."

  The court widely spread imperial edicts and again appointed old generals to lead the troops, all thinking that there would be no more troubles and the rebels could be pacified by the end of the month.

  But little did they know that the mighty Yellow Turbans had been rampaging unchecked:

  "In the year of Gengzi, Zhang Mancheng, a Yellow Turban from Nanyang, attacked and killed the governor of the county, Chu Gong."

  "In the fourth month of summer, Zhu Huan was defeated by Huangfu Song."

  Guangyang Yellow Turbans killed Youzhou Governor Guo Xun and Taishou Liu Wei.

  After two months of continuous defeats, good news began to arrive:

  "In May, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun again fought against Bo Cai and others at Changshe, defeating them heavily."

  "In June, Qin Gong, the governor of Nanyang, attacked and beheaded Zhang Mancheng."

  There were also discordant voices mixed in:

  Jiao Zhi's troops captured the Governor of Hepu, and Jiao himself came to surrender, claiming to be the "General Who Supports Heaven". He was then sent with the Governor of Jiao Zhi, Jia Cong, to quell the rebellion.

  But could not stop the victory of the Central Army:

  "Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun defeated the Yellow Turbans of Ru'nan at Xihua."

  "Edict: Huangfu Song to conquer Dongjun, Zhu Jun to conquer Nanyang."

  Zhang Jue was surrounded by troops, but unexpectedly, contradictions broke out within the imperial court:

  "Lu Zhi defeated the Yellow Turbans and besieged Zhang Jue in Guangzong. Eunuchs falsely accused Lu of a crime, and he was sentenced to death."

  Changing generals before a battle is bad enough; what's worse is that the new general will be Dong Zhuo, who will later become the Grand Tutor.

  "Dong Zhuo, the Central Lang General, was sent to attack Zhang Jue but failed."

  There were also strange things in between.

  "A woman from Luoyang gave birth to a child with two heads sharing one body."

  Such strange things would occasionally be heard of, but they never spread so quickly and in such a timely manner.

  "In the seventh month of autumn, Zhang Xiu, a sorcerer from Ba County, rebelled and attacked the counties. The Governor of Henan, Xu Guan, was executed."

  "In August, Huangfu Song fought against the Yellow Turbans at Cangting and captured their leader."

  "On the twenty-first day of the fourth month, an imperial edict was issued ordering Huangfu Song to lead a northern expedition against Zhang Jue."

  Emperor Ling of Han also leisurely eliminated one of his own relatives.

  "In September, Anping King Xun was guilty and executed, and the state was abolished."

  Huangfu Song's swift reports arrived one after another:

  "In the tenth month of winter, Huangfu Song fought against the Yellow Turbans at Guangzong and captured Zhang Jiao's brother, Liang. Since Jiao had already died, they beheaded his corpse. Huangfu Song was then appointed as the Left Chariot Riding General."

  In November, Huangfu Song again defeated the Yellow Turbans at Xiayang and beheaded Zhang Jiao's brother Bao.

  By then, all three Zhang brothers had been beheaded and the Yellow Turbans' momentum had dissipated by more than half.

  The high-ranking officials in the imperial court thought this small disturbance could be put down.

  Later, news came that the remaining remnants had been eliminated.

  Gui Si, Zhu Jing captured Wan Cheng and beheaded Yellow Turban leader Sun Xia.

  The Ling Emperor was overjoyed and specially rewarded the frontline generals with delicious food and fine horses.

  "The emperor reduced the number of rare delicacies served at imperial banquets and limited his own meat consumption to one kind; horses not used for suburban sacrifices were all released to supply the army."

  So, people all over the world thought they could continue their ordinary lives again.

  News of flights to Guazang City gradually decreased, and slowly returned to silence.

  Even I thought our lives were about to settle down.

  Suddenly another message came, but it was about Liangzhou.

  "In the midst of the chaos, Hu Bei Gong Bo Yu and Xian Ling Qiang rebelled."

  Liangzhou is located on the border, with Qiang and Hu people on both sides, and it has often been invaded by foreign tribes, so this news is not a big deal.

  But then another one came along.

  "The Qiang and Hu tribes, with the people of Jincheng, appointed Bian Zhang and Han Sui as their military commanders, attacking and killing the Protector of the Qiang, Ling Zheng, and the Governor of Jincheng, Chen Yi."