People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 35: It's All Because the Enemy is Too Cunning
"What? Zhuo County has been captured!" In a large tent in a military camp in Guangyang County, a man suddenly stood up and looked at the disheveled Gongsun Zan in front of him with a panicked look: "My old mother is alone and helpless at home, I'm afraid she will be killed by the thieves!"

As he was speaking, the man immediately left the tent and was about to mount his horse, but Gongsun Zan quickly grabbed him and asked, "Xuan De, what do you want to do?"

The man spoke in a resolute tone, but his expression was extremely panicked: "My mother is in trouble, how can I sit and watch? Liu Bei wants to go home immediately to protect her and not let the thieves poison her."

This person was none other than Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, Gongsun Zan's former classmate under the tutelage of the great Confucian scholar Lu Zhi.

Upon hearing that his hometown Zhuo County was lost, Liu Bei was extremely anxious. When he thought of his old mother at home who was alone and helpless having to face the thieves, he could not sit still for a moment.

Liu Bei had a broad face and long earlobes, and a naturally kind face that made anyone who saw him feel close to him. In fact, he was indeed a hero who valued friendship and filial piety.

If he didn't have this kind of character, he wouldn't make people willing to follow him.

Then two more people walked out of the tent, and they followed Liu Bei without hesitation.

"Brother, how can you go alone? Let us brothers lead the troops together and follow you. We will definitely kill those Yellow Turban bandits and make them flee in disarray!"

The man who was speaking had a long, red face, drooping eyes, and a tall stature. He stood solemnly holding a cold saw in his hand. After he finished speaking, he subconsciously brushed his long, beautiful beard.

This person was none other than Guan Yu, Liu Bei's sworn brother and capable general.

"That's right, Second Brother is right. Let us work together to help Big Brother get rid of the thieves!"

The man who spoke next had a black face, a thick beard, angry eyes, and held a snake spear in his hand. He looked like a terrifying general.

That ferocious look only softened when he spoke to Liu Bei. This person was none other than Zhang Fei, the third brother of the three.

Seeing the three men mounting their horses and about to march out, a man walked in front of them and stopped them.

He was not in a hurry, but just started to persuade Liu Bei.

"Xuan De, why are you so anxious? The enemy soldiers have several thousand soldiers, and it will be difficult for you to deal with them with only 500 volunteers. It is better for you to listen to Bo Gui's opinion first. After you understand the situation clearly, I will lead the army to fight the enemy with you." The person who spoke was the general of this army, the Han Dynasty's Captain Zou Jing.

Hearing Zou Jing's words, Gongsun Zan also agreed with him and advised: "Xuan De, be patient. These bandits should not be underestimated. If you attack rashly, you will definitely get into trouble."

Liu Bei hesitated again and again. Although he was anxious, he felt that what they said made sense.

Without Zou Jing's support, the 500 volunteers he brought with him would definitely not be enough. Even if the Yellow Turban bandits were not very strong, they still had several thousand people.

Helplessly, he could only suppress his emotions, then dismounted. From his quick steps, it could be seen that he could not wait even a moment longer and just wanted to discuss a result quickly.

Seeing the eldest brother doing so, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei naturally dismounted and followed him into the tent.

After everyone sat down one by one, Zou Jing immediately asked Gongsun Zan for details. Gongsun Zan then hammered the table angrily and began to talk.

"That day I heard that the steward of a wealthy manor outside the county requested help, saying that there were about a thousand Yellow Turbans looting, so I led the soldiers in the county to fight the bandits.

Just waiting for someone to go...

I never expected that when I came back, there were thousands of bandits ambushing in the city. I was caught off guard and suffered a great defeat. In the end, I had to use all my strength to lead a hundred or so soldiers to fight their way out. Gongsun Zan briefly recounted what happened, and his tone was very angry. He was so proud and arrogant, but he was fooled by the bandits, which naturally made him feel ashamed.

Similarly, looking back now, his rash and careless behavior made him want to slap himself hard.

I, Gongsun Zan, could even beat the northern barbarians, but today I have fallen into the hands of the Yellow Turbans and my reputation has been ruined!

"Now that I think about it, the steward of the manor must have been deliberately set up by the thieves to lure the tiger away from the mountain. He was not careful at the time and fell into the trap. He didn't even realize that the thieves occupied the county town. He was really stupid!"

When Gongsun Zan said this, he shook his head in embarrassment. Until now, he could not accept the reality that he had been defeated by a thief.

After this happened, how can I hold my head up high in Youzhou?

Zou Jing and Liu Bei looked at each other and both found it unbelievable. How could Gongsun Zan be easily fooled by such a simple plan?

For the same thing, being there in person and hearing about it are two completely different feelings. When Zou Jing and Liu Bei heard this, they thought it was a low-level mistake that should not have been made at all. However, in Gongsun Zan's view, the actions of the bandits at that time were indeed very confusing.

However, when they saw that Gongsun Zan looked miserable with his armor torn, his hair disheveled, and his body covered in scars, they did not want to rub salt into his wounds, and instead tried to comfort him.

"Bogui, don't worry about this. With your bravery, you should be able to protect yourself in a head-on battle even if you are at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. It can only be said that the enemy is too cunning. If it were me, I would probably get the same result." Zou Jing nodded at him.

Although Liu Bei was anxious, he patiently comforted him, "This battle is not our fault, it is just bad luck. Bogui should regroup and fight back with us."

Gongsun Zan's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he secretly vowed to kill all the Yellow Turbans to relieve his hatred: "This is the only way. I came here to ask for help to fight against the bandits!"

Afterwards, several people briefly discussed the battle plan in the tent, and immediately decided to lead the troops to Zhuo County to fight the bandits.

Now that the Yellow Turban rebels in Youzhou have been wiped out, Zou Jing can free up his hands to deal with the Yellow Turbans in Zhuo County. He is very happy to do this, after all, this is real military achievement.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion was a huge blow to the Han Empire and a catastrophe to the Han people, but it was actually an opportunity for local aristocratic families and powerful people.

The Yellow Turbans became the stepping stone for countless heroes to advance in their careers.

In order to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court not only lifted the nearly twenty-year ban on political parties, but also encouraged heroes from all over the country to raise volunteers and fight the rebels on their own, and then rewarded them according to their merits.

Zou Jing was one of the beneficiaries, as was Liu Bei. Because of their military achievements in Youzhou, the court had given them official positions and rewards.

Zou Jing has been promoted from Captain Po Lu to Lieutenant General of the Northern Army, and Liu Bei has also been appointed as the Lieutenant of Anxi County in Zhongshan Prefecture. Now he just has to take up the post.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion reopened the official career paths for scholars that had been blocked for twenty years. It also allowed aristocratic families to take advantage of the chaos to seize countless amounts of land and population. The imperial court even offered them many official positions, allowing them to openly amass private armies.

In the eyes of scholars and powerful people all over the world, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was probably more like a feast for gluttons.

And now, the Yellow Turbans who were causing chaos in Zhuo County were their next meal.

It was roughly confirmed that the Yellow Turbans had about three to four thousand troops. Zou Jing and his men were fully confident that they could deal with them. Based on their judgment of the old Yellow Turbans' combat effectiveness, there was no possibility of failure for officers and soldiers of equal strength.

(End of this chapter)