The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 410 Why Not Eat Minced Meat

Along the Zhangshui River, a red cavalry team of more than [-] people galloped past, causing ripples in the Zhangshui River, and the messy sound of horseshoes broke the original silent atmosphere.

The birds startled, and the beasts scattered.

Red clothes, red armour, and red banners, a fiery red banner stands first, and it is particularly eye-catching among the flags.

On the fiery red banner, a large "Wen" character was embroidered with black silk thread. Under the fiery red banner, a cavalry general of the Han army was galloping towards the south with his horse.

And behind the cavalry general, there are hundreds of knights holding red flags in their hands. As they gallop and run, a large number of banners in the cavalry also gradually straighten as the horses accelerate and gallop until they are unfolded to the maximum. .
The sound of hunting and the thunderous sound of horseshoes are intertwined, and it is daunting to hear it.

This cavalry army is the vanguard of the Northern Jizhou Army, and they are the most elite cavalry troops in the entire Jizhou.

And their commander is also one of the most valiant cavalry generals in Jizhou, the cavalry general with the reputation of being the champion of the three armies——Wen Chou!
Although Wen Chou is ugly in his name, he is not actually ugly. His face is even handsome, with eagle eyebrows, wolf eyes and sharp eyesight, and leopard head and beard.

Unlike Yan Liang who likes to wear brocade robes, Wen Chou's attire is not much different from that of ordinary Han army generals. He is also wearing the scarlet shirt that ordinary Han army generals usually wear.

Under the scarlet battle robe is an iron-cast double-breasted sleeve armor, which is also the armor that ordinary Han cavalry generals often wear.

But it's just an ordinary dress, but Wen Chou still feels extremely dangerous, like a sword hidden in a scabbard, and he is intimidated by it and dare not approach it.

Wen Chou lightly pulled the reins, raised his right hand, and a low-pitched horn sounded immediately behind him.

There are many people in the forest not far away. Wen Chou is not the son of those aristocratic families who have ascended to high positions by relying on the prestige and support of the family. The change must be the scouts of the Yellow Turban Army.

Before setting off, he had looked at the map, and they were very close to the river crossing point of the Yellow Turban Army, and the presence of scouts here proved that the large army of the Yellow Turban Army should be nearby.

"Lin Geng, Tian Er, each of you lead a hundred riders ahead, spread out to investigate, and report back as soon as you see any traces of the Yellow Turban Army, and you are not allowed to engage in battle without authorization."

With one stroke of the whip, Wen Chou named two commanders from among the generals and schools behind him, and issued a military order.

Without hesitation, the two took the command flag and blew the flag.

A moment later, under the leadership of the two, more than two hundred cavalry roared past Wen Chou, and swept away into the distance with the sound of rumbling horseshoes.

Looking at the cavalry going away, Wen Chou's expression didn't change much.

Cheng Feng, who was following Wen Chou, was a little surprised and found the trace of the Yellow Turban Army. Wen Chou's face not only did not show a trace of joy, but also showed a trace of worry.

It's strange to say, but it's true. Cheng Feng and Wen Chou are from the same village. They joined the army with Wen Chou all the way. After going through dozens of battles, they naturally know Wen Chou's temperament.

Logically speaking, they were ordered to crusade against the Yellow Turbans and found traces of the Yellow Turbans. This is military merit, and this is merit.

If he could break the Yellow Turban in Zhangshui, he would undoubtedly be able to take advantage of this wind to go a step further and become a school captain, which would be better than the military achievements he gained from fighting to the death with those barbarians in the borderlands in the past.

Most of the military merits gained from fighting the enemy with all their lives belonged to those officers from powerful families, only a small half could be taken into their own hands, and even a lot of money was required.

If Yan Liang and Wen Chou's official positions depended solely on their military merits, they were not from aristocratic families, so how could they have attained the post of Army Sima.

Lv Bu spent half his life as a soldier, having gone through countless battles, big and small, and his reputation for bravery spread throughout Bingzhou, but he was just a small military lord.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou were able to ascend to the official position of military commander, in fact, a big reason was money, and they spent a lot of money to bribe the superiors, so they earned this military position.

It's ridiculous to say that they have no courage. If the eunuchs were not in power and openly sold their officials and nobles, Yan Liang and Wen Chou would have stopped at the position of military marquis at most. If they wanted to become military commanders, it would be tantamount to a fool's dream.

The former Puppet Yan Army's Wuhuan Qiao Wang went south, and Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Gao Lan were defeated and did not stop them. If the war hadn't ended yet, Jizhou had caused great turmoil because of the embroidered clothes messenger, and everyone in the army was terrified. Almost unbearable, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, the official positions of the three of them were retained.

Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Gao Lan knew very well that if the war ended and they could not make up for their crimes, then dismissal would be the lightest punishment, and punishment for crimes is not unusual.

Those high-ranking officials don't care how powerful the enemy is or how many problems the frontline soldiers encounter. They only care about the result.

Victory is victory, and defeat is defeat.

After the Battle of Shijian Mountain, Zhang Jaw was captured, and Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Gao Lan were punished for their defeat. However, at that time, the civil unrest in Jizhou had not stopped, and they were still useful, and Wang Fen had already started plotting to abolish the emperor. , wanting to take the opportunity to win over people's hearts, so he just fined his salary and settled the matter.

But today is different, Wang Fen was sentenced for treason, and the three of them have already been branded as Wang Fen.

Without exception, the generals and schools who were defeated in Youzhou before were all thrown into the prison in Guangyang County by the embroidered clothes emissary, and they were going to be punished for their crimes. If it hadn't been for the Jizhou Incident, they might have issued specific punishment orders.

Those generals from powerful families in Youzhou were still punished, Yan Liang and Wen Chou were from relatively wealthy backgrounds, and their official positions were already the highest, so even if they wanted to ask someone to intercede, they had no way to make connections.

The only way to get them out of the predicament is to defeat the troops behind the Yellow Turban Army, and pay off their merits, so that they will not be dismissed from office, or even sent to prison for their crimes.

"Sima."

Cheng Feng's complexion changed several times, and finally he shouted.

"Ok?"

Wen Chou tilted his head slightly, and looked at Cheng Feng with some doubts.

"Is Sima worried that the current situation is unclear and the outcome is unpredictable?" Cheng Feng held the reins tightly and cupped his hands, "Although the Yellow Turban Army has a large number, they are just a group of farmers after all. The Yellow Turban Army, our army is a few points braver than the Yan and Qing county soldiers, even if we can't defeat the Yellow Turban Army, we will definitely be able to gain a lot of military exploits, and we will have an explanation to the superiors at that time, at least we will not lose our position."

"I'm not worried about that..."

Wen Chou frowned, looking at the rushing Zhangshui not far away, instead of following Cheng Feng's words, he asked Cheng Feng instead.

"Cheng Feng, how long have you been with me?"

"How long..." Cheng Feng was taken aback for a moment, he didn't expect Wen Chou to ask him this question at this time.

"Ten years."

Cheng Feng thought about it carefully, and then gave Wen Chou's answer. He remembered that when the army was recruited, he followed Wen Chou to join the army, and then he followed Wen Chou all the time, from the market to the wilderness of Saibei, Fighting fiercely all the way, fighting all the way, and finally gained a firm foothold among the Jizhou Army.

"ten years……"

Wen Chou raised his head and looked towards the sky, but he was a little melancholy.

"Unexpectedly, ten years have passed in a flash..."

Wen Chou lightly held the reins and led the horse forward. The cavalry behind him did not receive the order, and no one followed. Several guards who wanted to follow also noticed that Wen Chou's gesture did not move forward.

Cheng Feng glanced to the left and right, hesitated, and finally followed.

"Sima..."

Cheng Feng drove his horse forward and shouted cautiously.

Wen Chou turned around with a solemn expression, and Cheng Feng couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.

"Do you still remember the battle when Jing Jing chased Zhang Yan?"

As soon as Wen Chou mentioned it, Cheng Feng immediately knew what Wen Chou was talking about, not because of anything else, but because of the deep memory.

The battle of chasing Zhang Yan was originally just an ordinary battle in their military career for them. They did not expend much effort to wipe out the rear troops left by Zhang Yan.

But the last group of Yellow Turban soldiers who fought to the death made their memory very deep.

At the end of the war, there were only [-] members of the Yellow Turban Army left, but they still fought to the death, while those Yellow Turban Army who had already been defeated took advantage of the opportunity to gather again.

Later, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army declined Yan Liang's offer, and the entire army was wiped out.

On the way back to the camp, everyone was surprisingly quiet, no one spoke, and there was no sign of victory.

Now in Cheng Feng's ears, he could even vaguely hear the roar of the Yellow Turban Marquis before he died.

"Dare to ask the general, should I wait for the little people to starve to death at home?!"

Hungry, Cheng Feng is not without experience, there is no food in his stomach, wishing to eat all the edible things in his stomach...

Cheng Feng never wanted to bear that kind of feeling for the rest of his life.

Wen Chou's family is fairly well-to-do. Although it is not a powerful family, it can be considered a wealthy family, but Cheng Feng once struggled on the line of food and clothing.

After meeting Wen Chou later, he wandered with Wen Chou as a ranger, and lived some rich days. Even when he joined the army later, Wen Chou entrusted his relationship to enter the army. Otherwise, according to Cheng Feng's family background, he would definitely not be able to enter the army.

"Could it be..."

Cheng Feng felt a little thirsty in his throat, and he finally thought of why Yan Liang and Wen Chou marched much slower than usual when they led troops to transfer.

Wen Chou nodded, and both of them fell silent.

Cheng Feng looked at Wen Chou with a serious face, and thought that Yan Liang hadn't been so concerned about countering the rebellion since the pursuit battle. chase.

Wen Chou knew that Cheng Feng understood the reason, so he didn't speak any more. He looked past Cheng Feng and looked a dozen steps away, under his banner, a cavalry in embroidered clothes.

The cavalry soldier in embroidered clothes was the adjutant sent by the embroidered clothes emissary. His name was the lieutenant general, but he was actually the supervisor of the army.

If it weren't for Jian Shuo surrendering his military power and ordering the release of a large number of arrested officials in Jizhou, the embroidered messenger would be even more arrogant than he is now.

Since that day's chase, Yan Liang no longer just stayed in the barracks every day practicing martial arts and training the army. Instead, he began to pay attention to the lives of the common people.

It was also from that time that they knew what happened.

After the Battle of Shijian Mountain, the civil unrest did not disappear, and Yan Liang and Wen Chou received an order to suppress the rebellion again. That time they did not go to the place and directly attacked the rebels, but they learned about it first.

But it was this kind of understanding that made Yan Liang and Wen Chou change their minds.

The people gathered in all directions united, broke into the houses of two big local families, killed officials and rebelled, and rose up...

The reason is simple and terrible. The local landlords colluded with the officials and collected all kinds of exorbitant taxes. Those so-called taxes were completely unheard of and unseen.

But this is the case, but it is a reasonable thing to embezzle people's property, turn people into slaves, insert labels and sell children...

Yan Liang didn't know about it, and Wen Chou didn't know about it either. The two of them lived in very similar places. They both lived in the same place with one family and one surname. Even if there were some conflicts in the clan, they didn't have such blatant and sensational things happened.

The imperial court's speeches have always been upright and strict, and they have always been upright.

The Yellow Turban Uprising in the seventh year of Guanghe was defined as a rebellion by the court, and the cause of the previous severe drought was also said to be a punishment from heaven for doing evil by the Taiping Dao.

Those who starved to death because their food was confiscated also became the targets of demons.

In a sense, many officers and soldiers of the Han army, many ordinary people, they couldn't figure out the truth of many things at all, just like Emperor Hui of Jin who lived in the deep palace.

During the famine, the people had no food to eat, so they had to dig grass roots and eat tree bark. Many people starved to death because of this.After Jin Huidi sat on the high throne and listened to the minister's report, he was very puzzled and said: "The people have no corn to satisfy their hunger, why don't they eat minced meat?"

Under the preaching of the imperial court, the Yellow Turban and Taiping Dao have become synonymous with demons in many places.

Ancient times are not the same as modern times. Many people have never stepped out of their hometowns and narrow circles. They are confined to one place, illiterate, and have no opinions. What they hear and see is all they hear and see. See.

And those who hold the right to speak and interpret the edicts are those powerful families who hold knowledge and power.

Most of the time, the people can't know the truth at all. The "truth" they know is the powerful and powerful families who want them to know the "truth".

Like Emperor Hui of Jin who sat high on the throne, they had extremely limited knowledge of the outside world.

The eight prefectures came together, and millions of yellow scarves rose up to resist. Because of the famine and the desperate resistance due to disasters, in the preaching, it was just a cult called Taipingdao, which bewitched a large number of people to resist the imperial court beyond their control.

"Report!!"

Everyone followed the prestige, and saw a Lingqi with a feather on his back galloping from the front.

"Two miles ahead, we found traces of 'Moth Thief', and our team is engaging the scouts of 'Moth Thief'!"

(End of this chapter)