Chapter 64: The Five Failures of Huang Zhong

  Jizhou, a vast and boundless land, where tens of thousands of people stood silently. The sky was gloomy, with thick clouds covering the sun... Zhang Jiao stood on a high mound, his yellow flag fluttering behind him, gazing down at the numerous squares below. They were all fanatical followers, their eyes blazing with fervor, wearing yellow turbans.

  "I, Heavenly General Zhang Jiao..."

  "General Zhang Bao of the Earth Lord..."

  "General Zhang Liang of Ren Gong..."

  "I swear here... to lead all brothers and sisters, to overthrow the corrupt government, to eliminate the cruel and ruthless wealthy families. To establish a world of Taiping Dao where there is no exploitation or oppression, no famine or disease, no deception or theft, and everyone is free and happy!"

  "Taiping Dao world, Taiping Dao world, Taiping Dao world..." Tens of thousands of believers, holding weapons and shouting fanatically. The shout broke through the dark clouds above their heads, and sunlight shone all over the earth. The shout shook the ancient and modern times, as if the nine states were trembling together.

  Zhang Jiao exchanged a glance with his two brothers, nodded slightly, and turned to see a city in the distance - Guangzong.

  "The blue sky has died, the yellow sky will rise, it's the year of Jiazi, great fortune for all under heaven! Everyone, let this Guangzong be our first battle to open up a peaceful world!" Zhang Jiao shouted with his arm raised high.

  "The blue sky has died, and the yellow sky will rise. The year is Jiazi, and all under heaven is greatly auspicious!" Tens of thousands of people shouted in unison.

  Zhang Jue and others turned over, mounted their horses, raised the weapons in their hands, pointed to Guangzong far away, "Charge...". In order to create a peaceful world in their own minds, the Taiping Taoists began the first battle of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

  At the same time, Bo Cai and Peng Tuo led the Yellow Turbans in rebellion along the line of Yingchuan, Runan, and Chen State. Zhang Mancheng and others led the Yellow Turbans to attack Tan City. Meanwhile, Bu Shi and others led the Yellow Turbans in a uprising in Dong Commandery.

  Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the county soldiers of each state were temporarily recruited when they encountered war situations. Due to the temporary recruitment of county soldiers, they lacked military training and had low combat effectiveness. After these county soldiers were recruited for battle, they were disbanded and returned home after the war ended. Therefore, the various states still remained in a state of unarmed defense. So, although the Yellow Turban Rebellion was a hasty uprising, it immediately swept across the various states.

  Wherever the Yellow Turbans went, they destroyed government offices and plundered and burned villages. In a short time, the states and counties lost their defenses, and officials fled in terror. Due to the great drought that had lasted for several years, the people were on the brink of death, and when the Yellow Turbans raised their great banner, the people responded from all over the country, and the capital was shaken by this in a short time.

  Brave Village

  "My lord, the Yellow Turbans have swept through Ji Province, Qing Province, Yu Province and Jing Province. Julu, Dong Commandery, Yingchuan and Nanyang are pressing in on Luoyang from four directions..." Zhou Shan reported the intelligence he had gathered, feeling as if his liver and gallbladder were splitting apart. He really hadn't expected that the great Han Dynasty, which had lasted for over 400 years, would be so vulnerable to attack, losing a third of its territory in just half a month.

  "Uh, the imperial court has ordered each state and county to set up guards at the eight passes outside Luoyang. He Jin was appointed as the Grand General, leading the left and right羽林军 stationed in Dutian. The party ban was also lifted, pardoning all party members nationwide, and the money from the central treasury and the horses from the western garden were given to the soldiers. All officials were asked to donate horses and crossbows, and to recommend sons of noble families and talented individuals from among the people to serve in the military. The aristocratic families recruited local braves to resist the Yellow Turbans together." Qin Feng said with a smile, everything is in the course of history, why did he hide in this heroic villa, wasn't it because he was afraid that if he didn't pay attention, he would change history.

  Gao Shun and others looked at each other, thinking that their lord was indeed carefree. They were all already having trouble sleeping and eating, yet their lord could still laugh.

  "Hu Che, prepare the horse, follow me to Luoyang for a trip. Zhou Shan, be careful with the business at the manor, all outside businesses are suspended. Ba Da, intensify the training of the farmhands, I have an important task in the future." Qin Feng said.

  "Your Excellency, today the people are in a state of great chaos and cannot survive. Since the imperial court has issued an order to recruit heroes from all sides to gather local brave men to resist the Yellow Turbans. I wonder if the 500 iron cavalry in our village can be...". Gao Shun is loyal and righteous, wanting to persuade Qin Feng to bring out this force.

  "Hehe, Boda don't worry, train your subordinates well. The time for us to make achievements is not far away......" Qin Feng patted Gao Shun's shoulder and smiled.

  "Yes!" Gao Shun saw that Qin Feng already had such thoughts and didn't say more. As for Hu Che Er, the master told me to go east, I will not go west. Protecting the master's safety is the top priority, as for the safety of the Great Han court, who cares!

  "My lord, Xun Yu requests an audience." At this moment, one of his attendants walked in and said.

  "Oh, please hurry up and go down first, do as I said." Qin Feng sent Gao Shun and others away, then saw Xun Yu walking in with a worried face, "Haha, my son Zhong came, um! Ha......, Brother Wenruo came."

  "My son Fang! Brother Zhen is joking again." Xun Yu's face showed displeasure, "As a cavalry general of the Imperial Guard, you still have the mind to indulge in leisure at this heroic villa..." Xun Yu was a talented strategist, his heart was tied to the great Han dynasty, but now the great Han dynasty was already showing signs of division and collapse, it was a burning issue.

  Just now, Qin Feng accidentally let slip of the tongue, Xun Yu didn't seem to mind much, this time he breathed a sigh of relief. Sighed and said: "Brother Wen Ruo, you also know that the Feather Forest Army is just a name, the generals of each department are idle all day, whether they are present or not makes no difference."

  "Alas......" Xun Yu also sighed, thinking to himself that Zi Jin was right, it was precisely because of the long period of neglect that the rebels had gained momentum.

  "Mr. Wen, please take a seat, I don't know what brings you here today?"

  After the two sat down, Xun Yu said: "Your Majesty has ordered Lu Zhi to welcome Guangzong Zhang Jiao, and Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun led troops to Yingchuan, Dongjun...". In fact, Xun Yu was because he had no bottom in his heart, subconsciously looking for someone to talk to, and Qin Feng's unharmonious relationship naturally came to him. At this time, he asked: "Zi Jin, younger brother, what do you think of the current situation?"

  Qin Feng slightly hesitated, thinking to himself that he should lay the groundwork first and later ask his son, Wu Zixu, to come out of retirement to assist him. Then, with a serious expression, he said: "The Yellow Turbans seem powerful, but they have five weaknesses..."

  Xun Yu's eyes lit up and he hastily asked: "Please tell me more?"

  "Firstly, the Han dynasty has been deeply rooted for over 400 years, and although the imperial army has been neglected for a long time, it is not something that a group of peasants can contend with. Moreover, Your Majesty has already issued an edict to the officials and nobles to recruit local braves to fight against the bandits, and soon the imperial army's strength will increase. Secondly, the Yellow Turbans were hastily launched after being detected by the court, and although the righteous armies in various places appear majestic, they are actually fighting separately without coordination with each other. As long as Luoyang is safe, we can focus on suppressing them."

  "Thirdly, all the men of ambition in the world are on the side of the imperial court. The Yellow Turbans are almost all illiterate people. Military operations and battles are not as simple as a group of ordinary people fighting. How many of these people understand military deployment?"

  "Fourthly, our great Han generals, such as General Huangfu and General Zhu Zhan, are all famous generals. The deployment of troops and the arrangement of battle formations are not something that bandits can compare with; winning with fewer men and overcoming strength with weakness is no problem."

  "Finally, I recently heard that the Yellow Turbans would burn, kill and loot wherever they went, and even slaughtered cities. Such brutal and evil bandits, everyone in the world can execute them. They have turned from a self-proclaimed righteous army into a gang of robbers and thieves, such an army, can achieve anything?"

  Xun Yu also had his own calculations, but at that time they were very vague. Upon hearing this remark, he suddenly realized, "Yes, thinking back to the Spring and Autumn period of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, where did bandits ever achieve great things?" Xun Yu was shocked in his heart, cupped his hands together in respect and said: "Young Master Zuo is truly a man with a broad vision for the world, his insight into the overall situation surpasses mine."

  "Haha, Brother Wenruo shouldn't be too humble, you're worried then confused." Qin Feng secretly stuck out his tongue and thought to himself that he actually didn't understand anything, these one two three four five were all just rumors passed down from later generations, but it's still okay to muddle through.

  The Yellow Turbans' five defeats, Xun Yu elevated Qin Feng's words to a theoretical height, and the five defeats theory spread from Xun Yu's mouth. After the failure of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, mutual verification was even more unstoppable, and Qin Feng's reputation became even more profound. (Hehe, casually came up with an idiom, just for a laugh, everyone understands the meaning.)

  Xun Yu felt that he should go back and study the Five Disasters of the Yellow Turbans carefully, so he bid farewell and left.

  Qin Feng had just said he was going to Luoyang when a messenger arrived from Cao Cao.