Chapter 107: Guangzong City is a bit too urbanized
Liu Zhuang tried hard to persuade Zhang Liang to surrender, and the progress was quite good.
However, when he and Dong Zhuo went to persuade Zhang Jue and Zhang Bao to surrender, it became very difficult. Zhang Jue cursed Liu Zhuang at his words and refused to surrender. He was ready to defend Xia Quyang and fight to the end.
A miracle has already happened once, so it may happen again! Lu Zhi beat me even worse before, but I managed to turn the tables, so I can do it this time too!
In this way, the two armies were deadlocked in Xiaquyang for twenty days. The Guanxi Army had nothing to do, so they built a batch of simple catapults during these days and began to smash the city walls. During the day, they used overwhelming stones to cause huge physical injuries to the Yellow Turban Army, and at night they used propaganda offensives to put huge psychological pressure on the Yellow Turban Army.
If you surrender now, you will all be spared, right? Once we break through the walls of Xiaquyang and start a fierce attack, no one will be spared, right?
Faced with the coalition forces' terrifying psychological offensive, the Yellow Turban Army in Xiaquyang City became somewhat frightened. After hearing that they would be spared death if they surrendered, their will to defend Xiaquyang was gradually disintegrating.
On August 30th of the seventh year of Guanghe, a major event occurred that completely changed the Yellow Turban Army's thinking.
Zhang Jue is critically ill.
Zhang Bao threw herself on her sister's extremely weak body, looked at her cheeks which were paler than ice and snow, and cried like rain. She tried to cure her sister's illness with her magic again and again, but she could only heal the wounds on the surface, but not the failing internal organs. It was useless until her magic power was exhausted.
Zhang Jue had been toiling in Jizhou for decades to cure illnesses and save lives, fighting on the front lines of several major plagues. Although he used talismans and magic to cure diseases, some roots of the disease were left behind.
In March of this year, the mixed scars she suffered from being torn by Lu Zhi's fiery dragon claws have not yet healed. In July, she fought fiercely with Dong Zhuo, and her right shoulder and left arm were slashed once each by Xiang Yu's sword. The bleeding would not stop, and the wounds seemed to be cursed and could not heal. The massive blood loss made Zhang Jue's health deteriorate, and the root of the plague that had been buried before began to recur due to the blood loss and weakness of the body.
These can be alleviated and rescued with divine power, but there is no way to treat the failure of internal organs.
A second heart, a third lung... He promised! These experimental human body modifications will greatly enhance the strength of all of us! But why are these redundant organs, these powerful internal organs, now failing or swelling at a speed visible to the naked eye? There is even a rejection reaction! The magic He gave us cannot reverse this process at all!
Zhang Jue had been made so powerful by the experimental Imperial Guard surgery, and now she was severely injured by these extra organs.
The experimental-level human body transformation is gradually devouring Zhang Jiao's life.
For a time, the capture of his younger sister, the dying of his elder sister, and the out-of-control genes of the imperial guards were like huge mountains pressing down on Zhang Bao, almost suffocating him. He prayed to Huang Tian day and night for a way to save his sister's life, but all he got was despairing silence.
After another desperate prayer, Zhang Bao finally got the revelation. Huang Tian granted him three new magic arts, three magic arts of the undead.
Zhang Bao didn't understand what the god meant. Then, two followers rushed into the temple crying.
"General Digong! Great and virtuous teacher, great and virtuous teacher has passed away!"
Zhang Bao looked at her new magic in disbelief, and understood the god's intention in despair. She rushed to Zhang Jue's bedside like a madman, and immediately used her first magic [Magic Soul Pot] to transfer her sister's gradually dissipating soul into a purple gourd, temporarily preserving her sister's soul.
Then he gritted his teeth, took out a knife and cut off Zhang Jiao's gradually cooling right hand, and used the second magic skill [Corpse Preservation] to extend the preservation time of the right hand indefinitely under the control of the magic skill.
According to the last divine spell, I need to create a very safe and secure place for resurrection, a cultivation chamber? And a complete set of extremely complete and sophisticated cultivation equipment. With eight months, I can use the last divine spell [cloning] to clone my sister's dead body with this broken hand! Then inject her soul that has not returned to heaven into it and revive my sister's body!
After a brief period of depression, Zhang Bao's eyes rekindled his fighting spirit. It doesn't matter. As long as I can get these things and persist for another eight months, I can revive the Great Sage Master.
But before that, I have to survive this crisis.
Thinking of this, Zhang Bao immediately arranged the funeral of the Great Sage Master, and took over the command of the Yellow Turban Army at the funeral. The remaining Yellow Turban high-ranking officials all fell into despair and depression. Only the Great Sage Master was a 17th-level Huangtian Priest who had touched the supreme Nine-Ring Divine Art. Below them were Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, who were at level or , as well as various war marshals and thunder warriors who were less than level . What could we use to fight against Dong Zhuo? She was an opponent that even the Great Sage Master could not defeat.
Seeing that the Yellow Turban Army was losing its morale, Zhang Bao directly announced the secret: Don't be afraid, as long as we can hold on for eight months, I can revive the Great Sage! She will return like lightning and lead us to victory again!
This news was like a powerful medicine, restoring some of the fighting spirit of the Yellow Turban Army, except for... Zhang Bao himself.
Among the three sisters, the eldest sister is the commander, the third sister is the vanguard, and I am just a think tank. Zhang Bao has no confidence at all when I am suddenly asked to lead the army.
As for resurrecting her sister, she was even more unsure. To cultivate a severed hand into a clone in eight months, she needed a cultivation chamber and a set of cultivation equipment... What kind of a term is this? She had never heard of it before.
When I first came into contact with Huang Tian with my sister, I was exposed to a bunch of inexplicable new words. At that time, I thought that I was not well educated enough to understand them.
But now, I have read a lot of books, why can't I understand these inexplicable words? Is Huang Tian from the Central Plains? Why does this word feel like it is from the Western Regions?
Now, after hearing that the deceased Great Sage would return like lightning in just eight months, the Yellow Turban Army regained some morale, but Zhang Bao was completely desperate. Where could I get these things that I had never heard of before to restore my sister's severed hand into a clone?
But she could not show her despair and sadness on her face. Zhang Bao had to pretend to be confident of victory to encourage the Yellow Turban Army to continue fighting.
The capture of his younger sister, the death of his elder sister, the heavy burden of commanding the Yellow Turbans, and the fierce attack of the allied forces were like four huge mountains that really made Zhang Bao breathless.
When Zhang Jue was the commander-in-chief, at least he had two younger sisters to help him share the burden.
Now, with the eldest sister passing away and the third sister captured, all this burden fell on Zhang Bao's shoulders alone.
And two weeks later, another huge mountain fell on Zhang Bao's shoulders.
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On September 15, the seventh year of Guanghe, Huangfu Song captured Guangzong City, and the largest stronghold of the Yellow Turban Army in southern Jizhou was declared fallen.
"Tread, tread, tread."
With the sound of boots trampling into a pool of blood, Huangfu Song slowly climbed up the city wall of Guangzong City along the stairs covered with blood. Her face was hidden in the shadow of the city wall, and only a pair of beautiful eyes redder than blood could be seen. After kicking away a few Yellow Turban corpses that were in the way with one boot, her crazy and beautiful face was illuminated by the afterglow of the setting sun.
Huangfu Song stared coldly at the fallen Guangzong City. The armor she was wearing had been completely stained red with blood, and the bright red blood was constantly dripping onto the ground. Her entire body seemed to have been soaked in blood.
Behind him, there were eight blood-red Han flags, four on the left and four on the right, like eight blood-red wings dancing in the wind. On the tip of each Han flag, there was a white skull. When the breeze blew up the eight Han flags, it also passed through the holes in the eight skulls, making bursts of creepy and terrifying whistles.
Huangfu Song looked at the Guangzong City where corpses were scattered all over the ground and blood was flowing like a river. He took a deep breath of the bloody smell in the air, revealing a cruel yet intoxicated smile. He slowly took off his helmet. His long, scarlet hair was suddenly freed from its restraints and danced freely in the evening breeze, blending into the beautiful sunset in the sky and the endless blood on the ground.
"General Zuo, we have captured Guangzong City! This is a great achievement! What should we do with the surrendered Yellow Turbans inside? What should we do with the civilians in the city?"
A captain from Guanxi who had followed Huangfu Song all the way from Liangzhou came over excitedly to ask. His eyes had turned into a terrifying blood red during the long siege.
Huangfu Song thought about it and realized that Lu Zhi was thrown into prison by the emperor just because he tried to surrender the Yellow Turban Army.
I am a Liangzhou person at the bottom of the contempt chain! I have finally climbed to such a high position, and even got the recognition of some great scholars in Guandong. Everything I have worked hard for cannot disappear just because of the surrender of the Yellow Turbans.
What's more, this is not an ordinary peasant uprising, but a new religion with an extremely perfect theoretical basis! And it is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
This means that no matter how many times she defeats the Yellow Turbans, as long as this theory is not eliminated and as long as the people who believe in this theory are still there, the Yellow Turban Army will continue to revive, just as after Lu Zhi crippled Zhang Jue, she was able to restore an army of 100,000 in a month.
Thinking of this, Huangfu Song no longer hesitated.
"Kill them all and place their heads in a huge memorial on the bank of Qinghe River."
"Zun--ah?"
The captain from Liangzhou was also confused at this moment and asked in disbelief.
"General Zuo, this is the heartland of the Central Plains, not the border of Liangzhou! The people you ordered to be slaughtered are Han people, not Qiang people. Are you sure?"
"Guangzong City is a large city with a population of 80,000."
Huangfu Song said meaningfully.
"Everyone here is a Huang Tian believer. If we let one of them out, they will spread this idea to a village, a county, or even a prefecture! Do you understand? Guangzong City seems to be too urbanized.
Spread the word that everyone in the city is a Yellow Turban Army soldier, and all their heads can be exchanged for money after being cut off."
"As ordered!"
After hearing that Huangfu Song had classified all the people here as Yellow Turban soldiers whose heads could be exchanged for money, the Xiliang Army under her direct command no longer hesitated and carried out the order of the Left General to massacre the city without hesitation.
Seeing that the Western Liang Army was killing happily and had besieged the city for many days, the depressed Five Battalions of the Northern Army, the Henan recruits, and the Hebei troops could not bear the hardship of the September expedition and wanted to vent. Under the premise that the commander took the lead in killing, they all joined this horrific massacre carnival!
Accompanied by the screams of men, the wails of women and the cries of children, the entire city became a hell of killing. Densely packed corpses, layer upon layer, soon covered the ground of Guangzong. On the third day, people were stepping on the corpses all over the mountains to find the last survivor.
Chapter 1600: The Fall of the Yellow Turbans ( monthly tickets plus more)
Jizhou - Xiaquyang
"Liu Zhuang! Stop trying to persuade us to surrender! If you have the guts, attack the city! Even if I die in battle! Die outside! Jump off the city wall! I will never surrender to the Han Emperor!!!"
After another propaganda war, Zhang Bao stood on the city wall and roared personally, vowing never to surrender to show his firm position. Then he walked down the city wall angrily to study how to resurrect Zhang Jiao.
That afternoon, several elite Taoist priests of the Yellow Turban Army from the south, using teleportation, flight, invisibility and other means, rushed into the surrounded Xiaquyang City alone, and brought Zhang Bao the bad news: Guangzong City had fallen, and the Left General Huangfu Song had spent five days massacring the city. A total of 80,000 soldiers and civilians in the city were all killed, and their heads were all chopped off. A huge tomb was piled up on the bank of the Qinghe River.
Zhang Bao's eyes suddenly went dark, his hands and feet went limp, and he fainted on the city wall. It was unknown how long it had been before he slowly woke up. He found a group of Thunder Warriors gathered around him with concern, casting healing spells on them.
"Massacre the city? How dare Huangfu Song..."
Before Zhang Bao finished speaking, he saw the after-get off work part of the letter.
Huangfu Song led his own Liangzhou cavalry, the five battalions of the Northern Army, Henan recruits, and Hebei noble families, and was heading towards Xiaquyang - guess which city will be massacred next?
Zhang Bao's eyes went dark again, her neck twisted, and she fainted for the second time. She was already suffocating under the weight of a pile of troubles and heavy burdens, and the Guangzong City Massacre became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Compared with Huangfu Song, Dong Zhuo, who was besieging him, looked so kind, and Liu Zhuang, who was trying to persuade him to surrender, looked so harmless.
Outside the city, Liu Zhuang was also keenly aware of the terrible psychological pressure that Huangfu Song's Guangzong massacre and the fact that she was marching here would cause to the Yellow Turban Army. He immediately struck while the iron was hot and directly released Zhang Liang, who had been persuaded by him, and allowed her to enter Xiaquyang to persuade his second sister to surrender.
After learning about the Guangzong City massacre and Huangfu Song's advance, Zhang Liang now realized the seriousness of the matter.
Surrender or die. On the night Zhang Jue passed away, the Yellow Turban Army had only two options left. After entering the city amid exclamations, she went straight to her sister!
At this moment, Zhang Bao, who had been completely crushed by the pressure, sat rudely in the hall, drinking glass after glass of wine, trying to numb his nerves with alcohol and make himself forget the huge and suffocating pressure from the outside world. He was already drunk at this moment, and only after seeing his sister did he regain a little clarity.
"Sister, don't hold on any longer, surrender."
Zhang Liang looked at his drunk sister and hugged her distressed body which had become extremely thin due to the overwork today.
“After I was captured, Yan Sheng treated me very well and told me a lot. I can be sure that he is by no means a ruthless lackey of the court, nor a fanatical martyr like Lu Zhi. He is a peasant like us, a leader who wants to lead everyone to a good life!
I think that if we want to survive now, we have no other choice but to surrender to Yan Sheng! If we continue to resist, that crazy woman Huangfu Song will come to kill us! Xiaquyang is the second Guangzong City! Even if you don’t think about yourself, you have to think about the people of Xiaquyang!"
"Surrender?"
Zhang Bao was lying on the ground drunk, almost giving up thinking, just repeating a few words over and over again.
"I, I want to hold on for eight months! I want to revive my elder sister! Only my elder sister can lead us forward. I am not a qualified commander at all! I have no way to lead everyone to find a way out! I have no ability to lead the Yellow Turban Army at all!"
After his rationality was shattered, Zhang Bao's voice became filled with tears.
"I, I can't do anything."
"No, second sister, you have done well enough."
Zhang Liang hugged the mentally broken Zhang Bao with heartache and patted her back.
"If you want to revive my elder sister, we should surrender. We can't hold out for eight months under the attack of Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song. Goujian slept on straw and tasted gall to achieve his hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period!"
Zhang Bao's drunken mind regained a little clarity at this moment. He sighed helplessly and nodded in agreement while crying.
On October 1, the seventh year of Guanghe, the city gate of Xiaquyang slowly opened. Zhang Bao ordered his soldiers to tie him up, put branches and twigs behind his back, and surrendered to Liu Zhuang and Dong Zhuo with his entire army. The eight-month-long Yellow Turban Rebellion came to an end.
After Dong Zhuo, together with the four generals from Guandong, got the first credit for persuading the Yellow Turban leader to surrender, he was so happy that he was shaking with joy. He immediately fulfilled his promise and wrote a letter with Liu Zhuang and others. While reporting his merits to the emperor, he also tried his best to ensure that the surrendered Yellow Turban Army would not be slaughtered or liquidated.
Henan Yin——Luoyang.
Liu Hong laughed out loud when he saw the news of the Yellow Turbans' demise and their leader's surrender. The worry that had kept him awake for eight months had finally come to an end, and the Han Dynasty had once again won!
However, Dong Zhuo also had these younger generations that he had never heard of. Their words of trying their best to protect the life of the Yellow Turban leader made Liu Hong frown slightly.
I am very happy that you were able to force the Yellow Turbans to surrender.
But you want to protect the traitor, I don't like it.
This is a rebellion! I stripped the two women naked and hung them on the street, and tortured them slowly with 3,600 knives in public. I still can't get rid of my hatred, and you want me to release them? What will people think after seeing this? Oh, although Zhang Jue rebelled, he will be fine as long as he surrenders. Then won't those ordinary people rebel every day?
"Your Majesty, what the Eastern General said makes sense."
Several eunuchs, who served as Liu Hong's external brains, stood on the side of Dong Zhuo and Liu Zhuang this time after receiving a large bribe from Dong Zhuo's younger brother, the current Imperial Guard Dong Min.
"This peasant uprising is different from the Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Red Eyebrows, and Green Forest uprisings. They are religious rebellions. The memorial sent by Huangfu Song also said that the reason she wanted to massacre the city was to eradicate the spread of this religion and this ideology."
"And now, Dong Zhuo is doing the same thing. If Your Majesty accepts the surrender of the two thieves, it will fundamentally undermine the legitimacy of this religion: The Blue Heaven is dead? The Yellow Heaven should be established? Your leaders have surrendered to the Blue Heaven, so there is no point in establishing the Yellow Heaven. It can even force the two thieves to persuade the Yellow Turban Army in various places to surrender. Dong Zhuo and Liu Zhuang have written these reasons in the memorial, and it is indeed feasible."
“However, if you still want to kill them after they surrender, then the two thieves will become martyrs of this religion and this culture. The Yellow Turban Rebellion has spread all over the country. God knows how many people in the Central Plains still believe in this theory, and how many people will follow the example of the three thieves and continue to cause trouble.
Moreover, the five battalions of the Northern Army have been on the march for eight months, and the treasury is empty. We can no longer afford to fight. Throwing the two thieves into prison for life, or sending them to guard the border for life, is not only useful, but also shows your majesty's mercy. There is really no need to kill them."
Liu Hong repeatedly pondered the pros and cons, and finally had to admit that although he wanted to cut the two women into pieces, after killing them, there might really be another wave of Huang Tian's martyrdom fanaticism erupting in the Central Plains, and his own finances could no longer afford a new war.
"alright."
Liu Hong collapsed powerlessly on the dragon throne.
"Write a reply to Dong Zhuo, saying that I am merciful and will only punish the three ringleaders Zhang Jue, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang, as well as the Thunder Warriors, for this rebellion. The other accomplices will be acquitted as long as they are willing to mend their ways, and the main culprit will not be sentenced to death."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
All the eunuchs knelt down and sang praises to the emperor.
"Alright, alright, help me figure out what official titles should be given to these people and what punishments should be given to Zhang Bao and his men. Once you've worked it out, make a list and show it to me."
Liu Hong waved his hands. The Yellow Turbans were gone anyway. His entire attention shifted from governing the country and suppressing the rebellion to pursuing pleasure. He once again went to the nude lake in the Western Garden to play in the water with the girls. I have already defeated the Yellow Turbans, so can't I enjoy myself?
The author says:
Author's words: Change the rules for adding chapters to the monthly votes! Now one chapter will be added for every 50 monthly votes! But the maximum number of chapters added per day is once. Now that I have 1999 monthly votes, I can add seven more chapters~ The more monthly votes~ the more chapters~
Volume 2: The Fall of an Empire
