People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 217 Transformation

"Zilong, is what they said true? Why do I feel that these Yellow Turbans are different from the ones we have seen before?"

An equally young man listened to the words of the supervisory guard in the prisoner camp for a long time, and slowly began to waver. Then he muttered to Zhao Yun next to him.

Zhao Yun took a look at this man. This man was none other than his fellow villager Xiahou Lan. After leaving his hometown, they were captured together in this battle.

Although being captured was not a good thing, many of the militiamen who had followed him died in this battle. In comparison, the prisoners were at least still alive, which was a great fortune.

Whenever he thought of this, Zhao Yun felt sad. Not only was he sad about the death of his fellow townsman, but he was also sad about the fall of Changshan.

He originally thought that the Yellow Turbans would bring a catastrophe to Changshan. After all, the Yellow Turbans were nothing new, and he knew what the scene would be like every time. They would inevitably plunder and hold the people hostage.

He even felt that in order for the Yellow Turbans to be able to produce so many weapons and equipment, he didn't know how many civilians they had harmed. They must be unforgivable criminals.

Due to various factors, he certainly had no good feelings towards the Yellow Turbans, but due to his situation as a prisoner, he was unable to resist the Yellow Turbans.

It was not until now that he slowly realized that the Yellow Turbans here seemed a little different from what he had imagined.

The more he came into contact with them, the more he felt that the Yellow Turbans were not a group of low-quality bandits, but rather they were highly disciplined and had a pure style.

Even the injuries on his body would not have been healed if it were not for the superb skills of the Yellow Turban military doctors. To some extent, the fact that he could still sit here and listen to others speak was thanks to the Yellow Turbans' magnanimity in saving his life.

Seeing Zhao Yun remained silent, Xiahou Lan did not give up, but continued to talk in a low voice: "I heard from them that if we don't want to stay here to fight, we only need to go to some labor camp to do some labor for a period of time, and then they will let us go."

Zhao Yun said in a deep voice: "This is a good thing."

Xiahou Lan looked around furtively, then squeezed closer to Zhao Yun, and asked him in a very low voice: "Then do we still have to carry out the uprising plan that we agreed with our fellow villagers yesterday?"

Zhao Yun glanced at him and said helplessly, "Since the Yellow Turbans are willing to release the people, there is no need to create any more trouble. Just wait patiently and tell your fellow villagers not to act rashly, otherwise it will only lead to more casualties."

Xiahou Lan's expression relaxed a little after hearing this.

All the prisoners' weapons and armor were confiscated, so even if they started an uprising, it would hardly have any effect. They just wanted to give it a try, but now there seemed to be no need for that.

But then Xiahou Lan became a little worried again: "What if the Yellow Turbans deceive us and are unwilling to release us?"

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I've seen the Yellow Turbans' style these days. They always keep their promises. They won't lie to us. Besides, we are already captives. Our lives are already in their control. There's no need for them to lie."

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Lan felt that it made a lot of sense and felt relieved.

The two then turned their attention back to the supervisory guard who was preaching the doctrine. The more they listened, the more silent they became. Although they might not empathize with all these things, they could at least understand them.

Both of them were born in poor families. Although their lives were better than those of ordinary people, they were not much better. It was even normal for them to live similar lives.

Although they had a small piece of land, they still lived a difficult life. Naturally, these doctrines and ideas could cause them a lot of trouble. Local tyrants occupied the land and bullied the people, and they had suffered a lot.

Moreover, Zhao Yun himself was sympathetic to the people and was very much in tune with the teachings of the Yellow Turbans.

If the Yellow Turbans were really practicing these things, then it would be hard for Zhao Yun to say that they were bandits. Their ideas and actions could be considered a righteous army. "Zilong, do you think what they said is right? I feel like there is some truth in what I hear." As time went by, Xiahou Lan's eyes became a little confused.

Zhao Yun didn't know how to answer this question for a moment, so he could only sigh: "No matter what, they are Yellow Turbans after all, and they are not the same as us."

In his eyes, the Yellow Turbans' approach may have its merits, but their identity is difficult to be recognized.

Although the Han Dynasty is now in decline, it is still regarded as the orthodox one in the eyes of the people of the world. Even when heroes from all walks of life seek profits for themselves, they cannot avoid using the name of the Han Dynasty.

At least for now, the Yellow Turbans cannot shake off their image as rebels.

During the Yellow Turbans' march, ideological transformation never stopped. After entering the hinterland of Changshan, captives such as Zhao Yun would accept the Yellow Turbans' arrangements to reclaim wasteland or engage in factory production.

However, before that, the first thing they did was to follow the Yellow Turbans to fight against the local tyrants and divide the land. Most of the time, they were responsible for carrying supplies when they were confiscating them.

They saw that wherever the Yellow Turbans passed, the strongholds of the powerful in all the counties and villages were broken through and occupied like fallen leaves swept away by the autumn wind.

Every time this happened, the Yellow Turbans would confiscate supplies and land, and then distribute them all to ordinary people.

In the assigned places, the Yellow Turbans would leave some Yellow Turban squads and captives there, directly managing these counties and towns while commanding the captives to perform labor on the spot, including Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan.

Then Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan went from holding swords and guns in the past to holding hoes in the present.

Farming has always been the top priority for the Yellow Turbans, not to mention in a populous state like Jizhou, which requires reclaiming as much land as possible, and this has become the top priority for the captives.

Reclaiming wasteland is not an easy job. People are like oxen and horses at this time.

Fortunately, after a long time, Zhao Yun recovered from his injuries, otherwise he would not be able to withstand such high-intensity labor. Although his strong physique did not cause too much harm, fatigue was inevitable.

But he could hold on, but others might not be able to. It was only the first day and some people were already crying for mercy.

When the yellow turbans in the labor camp whistled, Xiahou Lan immediately dropped the hoe in his hand, sat down on the ground, sweating and panting, saying: "This is too tiring, it's more deadly than fighting in a war!"

Zhao Yun patted him on the shoulder and pulled him up: "If you are tired, why don't you go eat? Only when you are full will you have the strength to work."

Although Xiahou Lan was reluctant when working, he perked up when he heard the word "eat", and followed Zhao Yun to the rest area while muttering.

Just as he passed by, Zhao Yun saw a strange scene: a Yellow Turban and a villager were pushing and shoving each other.

At first he thought that the two parties were arguing, but when he frowned and looked over, he saw that the two men were pushing a basket of vegetables.

The villagers said things like "don't refuse" and "I'm going to be angry", but no matter what they said, the Yellow Turbans refused to accept it.

"Fellow villager, please don't be like this. We Yellow Turbans are a team that helps the common people, not a team that lives for pleasure. You cannot eat even a grain of rice from your fellow villagers. Aren't you forcing me to make a mistake?"

(End of this chapter)