People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 23: Poor people should not harm poor people
How difficult is it to capture a county town? For the Yellow Turbans today, it is probably as difficult as climbing over a wall with a ladder.

A county town with no military defense at all fell into the hands of the Yellow Turbans so easily.

When the city gate was opened from the inside, all the Yellow Turbans shouted with excitement.

If it were a few months ago, capturing a county town would not have made them so excited.

After all, the Yellow Turbans were at their peak at that time, and whenever the Yellow Turbans rose up, counties and prefectures all surrendered.

The Yellow Turbans had killed countless prefects and county magistrates. In their eyes, a mere county town was nothing.

However, the situation is different now. After the Han Dynasty had time to fight back, the Yellow Turban Movement immediately suffered a devastating disaster. They, who were once powerful and influential, suddenly became a stray dog ​​and could only flee from place to place.

This group of remnants of the army had luckily escaped the stranglehold of the elite Han army, but had been beaten so badly by the Han army that they had lost all their spirit and courage.

At such a precarious time, being able to capture a county town was a surprise to them.

Taking over the county town meant that they could get food and supplies again, that they could have a place to sleep temporarily, and that they could regroup and prepare for war again.

"Immediately send people to seal the east, west, south and north gates of the city, and don't let anyone escape from the city!

In addition, our Yellow Turban followers must keep our teachings in mind and not steal, rob, or force civilians. Anyone who violates this rule will be expelled from our sect and executed using military tactics!

All the families with big names in the city must be under surveillance and restrained. Such people are born with original sin, and we will investigate and punish them one by one!"

It was certainly a good thing that the county fell into his hands, but Xu Chen was very worried that the Yellow Turbans would lose control under absolute dominance and eventually turn into mindless beasts that burned, killed and looted. This was something he absolutely could not allow.

So before entering the city, Xu Chen rode his horse to block the city gate and repeatedly warned them not to break the rules.

It has to be said that this timely cooling down was very useful. Many people who had just been excited with red eyes, suddenly felt the string in their hearts tightened, and the precepts that they had almost forgotten came to their minds again.

If the deterrent effect of the rules is not enough, then the deterrent effect of military law is definitely significant.

Under Xu Chen's gaze, the frenzy in the eyes of the Yellow Turbans gradually subsided, and rationality and calmness returned to them. They kept in mind what Xu Chen had told them.

After a while, Xu Chen rode his horse into the city, and the Yellow Turbans behind him also followed in one after another.

Looking inside, there are streets extending in all directions, and houses and shops scattered around as far as the eye can see. However, there is no one to be seen at this moment. At first glance, it seems like a dead city.

In fact, the people in the city were just scared when they heard that the Yellow Turbans had taken over the city and hid in their houses.

When Xu Chen looked around, he could see pairs of frightened and curious eyes through the windows and door cracks. Whichever direction he looked in, all the eyes in that direction would instantly disappear, and the originally tiny crack in the door would be tightly closed.

Occasionally, when passing by some houses, you can hear the sound of babies crying inside, but soon the sound becomes hesitant. You can imagine how terrified the adults inside must be at this time as they cover the babies' mouths.

The entire county was filled with a solemn and eerie atmosphere, as if a huge disaster was about to befall this place.

It can be seen that the Yellow Turbans' reputation among the people is probably not very good.
Three thousand Yellow Turbans rushed towards the depths of the county town. Due to the intimidation of Xu Chen's rules and military tactics, the Yellow Turbans did not dare to touch ordinary people and could only target the wealthy families in the city. Such places were easy to find, as where the walls were high and the land was vast, there were wealthy and powerful families.

Suddenly, the whole county was filled with yellow dust, and the shouts of the Yellow Turbans could be heard everywhere. Many ordinary people hid in their homes and trembled, fearing that the Yellow Turbans would rush in and rob their food and property and humiliate their wives, daughters and family members.

But a long time passed, and although it was very lively outside, nothing happened at home.

The more this happened, the more frightened they became. Perhaps the thieves had overlooked their home, so they couldn't afford to provoke them. This made them stand still and not breathe.

An hour passed, and there were still sounds of fighting outside, as if a continuous fight was taking place.

Two hours later, the noise outside gradually died down, but the thieves were still moving around very frequently.

Three hours passed, the sun was setting, and the city was silent. Only occasionally could one hear some footsteps outside.

Until night fell, the people in each household still huddled tightly in the corners of their homes, not daring to move.

His children sobbed in his arms, and his wife held his hand tightly. They could not see anything in the darkness and could only hear each other's breathing.

They are all worried about their own fate. Can they really escape the clutches of the thieves?
The dark environment undoubtedly exacerbated the negative emotions, and the people gradually began to become pessimistic, until a loud noise suddenly exploded outside, which scared everyone in the city into breaking out in cold sweats.

"Everyone in the city, listen up. We are the Yellow Turbans who believe in the Way of Nature, and we are different from the Yellow Turbans of the past.

We are all poor people. Poor people don't harm poor people. It is those noble lords who harm and bully us.

So we don’t attack ordinary people, we only attack the wealthy and powerful. You should cook when you should cook, and sleep when you should sleep. No one will do anything to you!"

Someone heard the sound and was frightened. He climbed to the window, opened a crack and looked out carefully.

I saw a few Yellow Turban bandits riding horses and holding torches, walking through the city, banging on metal objects making loud noises and shouting these words over and over again. Their bald heads looked particularly round and bright under the light of the torches.

After a while, the thief ran from one end of the road to the other, and the sound gradually faded away.

It seems that he wants to shout this out to the whole city.

The people who were hiding in their homes all came to their senses and realized that they were spared not because the thieves had missed their home, but because the thieves had no intention of robbing the common people.

While they were relieved, they were also surprised. How could it be possible that thieves would not rob ordinary people?

Although the Yellow Turban bandits tried so hard to express their attitude, the people in the city were still in doubt. Being at the bottom of society, they remained sufficiently vigilant about such things.

Therefore, that night, except for the mansions of a few wealthy families, the entire county was still dark without a single light. Many people dared not do anything and only wished to silently endure the night in the darkness.

At this time, Xu Chen was in one of the big houses with torches lit.

Under the light of the fire, the corpses and bloodstains on the ground looked particularly eerie, and Xu Chen stood among them with an indifferent and calm expression.

Those who died were just servants and armed forces maintained by the big families in the county. Those kneeling in front of him were the real culprits.

(End of this chapter)