The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 33 The Road to Peace

The mountain wind was raging through the mountains, making a terrifying howl, passing through tracts of woods, houses and high platforms, as well as squares full of people.

The yellow flag planted beside the high platform rattled in the wind.

"Misery, corruption, bullying!"

Xu An stepped forward and said loudly to meet the eyes of everyone in the audience.

"I wait for the little people, facing this loess every day, cultivating endlessly every day, enduring the sun's insolation and the cold winter wind, just to find a way to survive."

The fearful expressions of everyone in the audience slowly disappeared from their faces, replaced by sadness.

Just as Xu An said, these Lutai Mountain people used to work in the fields almost every day, hunting in the mountains, looking for wild animals, braving the scorching sun of the summer sun and the cold wind of winter, wearing clothes It is thin clothes, but eats food that has almost no oil or water.

Their relatives and friends, in the long winter, how many relatives died in the cold winter, and how many relatives died in the year of famine.

"There is a severe drought in the world, no grain is harvested, and the tax is heavy, just because the eunuchs and the powerful want to be arrogant and enjoy the blessings!"

Some people think of the officials who collect taxes, all kinds of strange taxes, wave after wave as if never ending.

In the year of famine, not only there was no food waiting for relief, on the contrary, there were more and more officials.

"The thieves are rampant in the mountains and fields, but the imperial court ignores us and allows us to be bullied."

Some people in the audience clenched their fists, and Xu An's words reminded them of the suffering days.

They didn't wait for help, but waited for the bandits who came running.

The thieves and bandits are increasing day by day, running rampant, and looting the surrounding settlements in groups.They broke down their dilapidated doors, robbed the family's small surplus of food, and robbed their wives and daughters.

"Do you want to know why?"

Xu An looked at the dull crowd below the stage, paused and continued.

"Because you have no strength, you have no power to resist the bandits holding sharp knives, and you are afraid of the soldiers in leather armor behind the officials."

"You hold hunting bows and farm implements, while theirs hold sharp blades and strong crossbows."

"You should be glad that it was us who entered the cottage, not the thieves and the Han army, because the thieves will kidnap your wives and daughters and take away all the property in your family!"

"And the Han army will cut off your heads in exchange for military merit from their Shangguan."

The low-pitched and noisy whispers merged into one, and the surrounding yellow turban soldiers stepped forward, only to stop the commotion.

"I'm Xu An, the commander of the Taiping Dao Canal in Yingchuan!"

"I am the general of the Yellow Turban Army!"

Xu An slowly glanced at everyone under the stage. Under the control of the Yellow Turban soldiers, everyone's eyes were once again focused on him.

"From today, as long as you join my Taiping Dao, everything will be completely different, you will no longer be farmers, no longer hunters, you are Taiping Dao believers, the messengers of Huangtian, just like the soldiers around me. "

"I promise that no one will dare to bully you again. Every Taiping Dao believer here is your comrade, and every sergeant is your robe. If anyone dares to bully you or your family, it is with me. Xu An is the enemy, and thousands of Taiping Dao believers are the enemy!"

"We will get justice for you!"

"Even if it is the imperial court or the Han army, we must listen to our voices."

The yellow turbans in front of the foreheads of the surrounding yellow turban soldiers fluttered in the mountain wind, raised the halberd in their hands, and gestured to Xu An on the high platform.

Everyone in the audience stared at Xu An on the high platform. No one had ever said these things to them, including their patriarch.

When thieves and bandits came, in front of high-ranking officials, when they were being bullied, very few people stood up to help them, even relatives of the same clan could only endure it silently.

After a yellow turban soldier placed a pile of khaki cloth strips under the stage, Xu An banged the drum behind him, and the carts carrying food and grass were pushed to the side of the square by the yellow turban soldiers, and then the pot was heated. The stove was erected, and bags of corn were cut open by sharp swords and poured into the pot.

Another car driving on the hills of pork jerky almost caught the eyes of everyone in the square every day.

"Food, weapons, armor, these things, as long as you join me in Taipingdao, join the Yellow Turban Army, I promise you will have everything."

"If any of you are afraid of death, willing to be bullied by others, and willing to continue to live that precarious life, you can leave Lutai Mountain now, if you are willing to follow me, Xu An, willing to join Taiping Road, willing to sacrifice your life to fight for one. If you want to survive, you are willing to fight for a future for your wife and children, and if you survive in an upright manner, you will stay."

"Those who are willing to stay, wrap the yellow cloth in front of the stage around your heads. From now on, you are a member of the Taiping Road, a member of the Yellow Turban Army, corn, and dried meat!"

The people in the audience were unexpectedly quiet, as if they had lost their voices collectively.

Xu An looked at the different expressions of everyone in the audience and continued.

"All the humiliation you have suffered before, my Yellow Turbans will use the swords in their hands to seek justice for you."

Xu An was a little uneasy in his heart, saying these words had racked his brains, and he didn't know what the result would be.

How to inspire people, how to boost morale, Zhang Liang taught him some methods and words in the short days of Xia Quyang, and Xu An also learned some from the "Peace Jing" along the way.

More than a dozen people walked out of the crowd, and at some point they had put on yellow turbans on their heads, and they came to the front of the stage and bowed respectfully to Xu An.

"Taiping Dao disciple Li Cong pays respect to Qu Shuai."

"Taiping Dao disciple Li An pays a visit to Qu Shuai."

"Wang A, a disciple of Taiping Dao, met with Shuai Qu."

…………

One thing is another, a few people from Taiping Road in the village took the lead first, and more and more people followed out of the crowd, picked up the yellow scarf on the ground and put it on their heads.

Although they are just a group of lambs, no one wants to live a better life, no one wants to protect their family, and no one wants to live like a corpse without dignity, even if they once did.

What's more, with the blade and the body, people are the sword and I am the fish, and there are more than [-] fully-armed soldiers, and they can't tolerate them.

The lambs sat on the ground beside the stove, gulps of corn porridge, and each even got a piece of roasted golden meat.

"Let's go."

Li Heng pushed Wang Ren, and there were fewer and fewer people in the square. Almost only a dozen people who were quite close to the two of them were still standing there hesitating.

As for Zhao Le, he had already put on the yellow turban and stood behind Xu An.

"You're right, this is indeed an opportunity."

Wang Ren did not hesitate any longer, and followed Li Heng to pick up the yellow turban in front of the stage, and the last dozen or so people in the square also put on the yellow turban along with the two of them.

Afterwards, both young and middle-aged people, as well as the elderly and the weak, were given a portion of steaming corn porridge and roasted fragrant dried meat.

(End of this chapter)