People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 410 Is This the Yellow Turban?
After a night's rest, by the time the sun rose the next day, Cao's army was ready to attack at full speed at the command. Cao Cao also changed into military uniform and rode to the front of the army, with many civil and military officials guarding him closely.

Under the morning sun, Cao Cao slowly steadied his horse, and his eyes gradually became sharper as he looked towards the north.

Over the past year, Wei State suffered terribly under Xuan Xia's continuous small-scale attacks. Cao Cao knew very well that if this continued, it would not take more than a few years for Xuan Xia to consume Wei State to death.

After experiencing the last defeat and the disaster of plague, the State of Wei really did not have the confidence to slowly fight with Xuan Xia.

The Wei court, whether it was the monarch Cao Cao, or the civil and military officials such as Guo Jia, Xun Yu, and Xiahou Dun, all clearly realized that they could not just sit there and wait for death.

If they want to survive, they have to take the initiative to reverse the situation. Even though the State of Wei is now in a half-dead state, they can only fight hard and launch this last struggle.

And now, it is time to deliver the final blow. The survival of the Wei State depends on this battle.

If they can win, they can buy time for Wei and expand its living space.

If they lose, everything will be over. Not only will the Wei Kingdom be destroyed, but the other princes will also be affected. By then, no one in the world can stop Xuan Xia's progress.

"Wenyuan, you lead 30,000 elite troops to attack first, and my army will support you from behind. Our army has been carefully planning this battle for several months, and we want to catch our enemies by surprise. Therefore, you should prioritize speed in battle and march."

Cao Cao looked at the person beside him, and it was Zhang Liao, a powerful general whom he now liked very much.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao immediately rode out on his horse, saluted solemnly to Cao Cao and accepted the order. Then he attacked the horse's belly and went to the rear to start counting the troops.

After Zhang Liao walked away, Guo Jia stepped forward and said with a smile: "Zhang Liao is good at using surprise troops and is brave in sudden attacks. He is just right for this battle. Your Majesty has used the right people. This battle will surely yield a victory!"

Cao Cao also chuckled. He did have confidence in Zhang Liao, otherwise he would not have transferred Zhang Liao, who was originally in the rear to kill Lu Meng, to the front line. Compared to dealing with the enemy in the rear, the current front battlefield was where Zhang Liao could really play his role.

Each of his generals has his own characteristics. Zhang Liao is good at sudden attacks, which is a powerful weapon for attack. But when it comes to the strongest general in defense, it must be Cao Ren.

Having Cao Ren stay in the rear and keep an eye on Lu Meng also made Cao Cao feel extremely relieved.

"For a year, our Great Wei has been conservative in its response to Xuan Xia's continuous attacks, and has never launched an active counterattack. This time, I will launch a sudden attack, which will surely prevent them from reacting in time. I don't ask for a big victory, but at least I can give them a good beating first!"

Not long after, Cao Cao saw that Zhang Liao had mobilized his troops to leave the main force, and he himself waved his whip and ordered the army to follow.

This mighty army of 100,000 was the last bit of strength that the Wei State had squeezed out in a year after it suffered a heavy blow. It could be said that Cao Cao had placed all his hopes on this battle.

He certainly wouldn't dream of completely wiping out Xuan Xia with just this counterattack, but if he could suddenly send out troops to recapture some states and counties from Xuan Xia, that would also be a huge achievement.

This time, Cao Cao set his sights on Bingzhou, which had already lost control of Xuan Xia.

"Your Majesty is right. Xuan Xia certainly could not have expected our army's sudden counterattack. In the past year, Bingzhou Wuli has continuously won small victories over our army. Just a month ago, they just seized a county from us. Now is the time when he is the most powerful and confident, but it is also the most dangerous time for him. As long as our army seizes this opportunity, he will definitely be defeated here!"

Guo Jia was talking and laughing as he drank from a pot of wine. His weak body was stimulated by the wine and it managed to boost his blood circulation.

This time, it was a counterattack that the Wei State had carefully planned after a year of frustration. They pinned all their hopes on it and would not allow any failure. They were also full of expectations for the result.

Whether it is Cao Cao, Guo Jia, Xun Yu and others, they all have great confidence in this battle. This is not only because they can take the initiative to attack, but also because there are far more people participating in this battle than just themselves.

The army was marching and the war was about to begin. As Cao Cao rode slowly on his horse, his eyes would often look towards the west.

There, is his ally in this battle. He should be on the way to attack by now.

Just as Cao Cao thought, at this moment two large armies had entered the border of Bingzhou from two routes in the west. These two armies were previously hostile to each other, but now they are allies of Cao Cao. They are Ma Teng and Han Sui who now control Xiliang.

Today is the day when the three parties agreed to attack together. Each of them will lead their troops to advance in three different directions, determined to capture Bingzhou in one fell swoop.

The attack on Xuan Xia was certainly an action taken by Han Sui and Ma Teng based on the common threat of Xuan Xia, but it was not just because of this that made them temporarily put down their weapons and put aside their grudges. The more realistic reason was that they intended to share Xuan Xia.

Although it is a foolish dream to completely defeat Xuan Xia now, it is not impossible to divide Bingzhou and eat it.

Everyone knows that Xuanxia is good at management and governance. After clearing out all the internal aristocratic families and powerful people, the comprehensive land redistribution and the trend of industrial and commercial development have made the people of Xuanxia show unprecedentedly strong production enthusiasm.

The outside world can imagine how much wealth Xuanxia has accumulated in the years since its founding without any serious investigation.

Without looking at anything else, just looking at the extremely strong combat effectiveness that Xuan Xia has maintained from beginning to end is enough to explain everything. Economy is not the determining factor of combat effectiveness, but it must be the foundation of the army.

The Xuanxia army was so expensive that it could continue to fight frequently for many years and never show signs of fatigue, which shows that what Xuanxia has brought out now is far from reaching the bottom. Cao Cao was envious of these wealth, but he just couldn't defeat them.

How could Han Sui and Ma Teng not be jealous? They also knew that they could not compete with Xuan Xia on their own, so it was only natural for them to accept Cao Cao's invitation to fight the enemy together. It would be better to say that they took the initiative to cater to Cao Cao rather than being persuaded by him.

The people are working peacefully in the fields. The vast plains are mostly populated by farmers. They bend over and keep their heads down to tend to food all day long, just for a good harvest next year.

Working in the fields is not an easy job. The villagers who have worked for most of the day are already exhausted, but there is still light in their eyes.

Physical fatigue is not enough to extinguish the hope in their eyes.

In the past, I had to work like a slave for my master, but now I have to work hard to fight for my own life.

When the troubled times came, Bingzhou was also affected. The long war made the people miserable. Fortunately, the suffering is now over. Since the arrival of the Yellow Turban Army, everything has ended.

Now they no longer have to worry about harassment from foreign tribes, and their lives have become better. Not only does every household have fields and land, but there are no miscellaneous taxes and corvee labor. Life suddenly feels promising.

As long as no one disturbs them, they would have nothing else to ask for in their lives, as the man farms and the woman weaves, enjoying the good times and happiness of their family.

But even such a humble wish is not so easy to realize. The tranquility here was soon broken by a burst of noisy horse hooves. People stood up and looked into the distance in confusion, and soon this confusion turned into fear.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack, folks, run, all Yellow Turbans assemble immediately!"

In the fields, a man wearing a yellow turban reacted the fastest. The moment he saw the cavalry in the distance, he immediately threw away his hoe and shouted. This thunder-like shout instantly woke up all the people.

In an instant, they scattered like startled rabbits, and their panicked shouts were heard everywhere.

Seeing this, the Yellow Turban really wanted to slap himself a few times. He only noticed the enemy when they were right in front of him, and now he has harmed his fellow villagers!

Not long after, a few more Yellow Turbans came running into the fields one after another. They looked at each other with a determined look in their eyes.

"It seems that we are all going to die here today..."

"Unfortunately, even if we die, we can't save our fellow villagers. The enemy came too suddenly."

"Do you want to organize militia to resist?"

"It's too late. Even if there is time, they will just die in vain. Resistance is useless. Let the villagers let nature take its course. The enemy may not necessarily massacre them."

"That's right. We will die if we want to. There's no need to let the villagers gamble their lives with us."

After a conversation among them, when the last person said the last sentence with a wry smile, they looked at each other and smiled instead.

There is a bit of carefreeness and a bit of regret in this smile, but there is no fear.

Death is a scary thing, but after seeing it so many times, people don’t care that much anymore. They just regret that they couldn’t hold on until the last moment.
Although they only had the same identity of being Yellow Turbans, at this moment, they were as connected as real brothers.

They silently tightened the yellow scarves on their heads, picked up the hoes in their hands, and spread out to form a small formation.

They had no armor, or even weapons, all they had were a few brothers in the same religion who relied on each other. Now, they were ready for battle, and what they were about to face was a surging cavalry army not far away.

The cavalry of more than a thousand soldiers quickly rushed over. The Yellow Turbans' judgment was completely correct. It was too late to do anything at this time.

Soon, the cavalrymen surrounded the place in three layers inside and outside. Seeing the Yellow Turbans ready for battle, the cavalrymen seemed to find it ridiculous and laughed loudly.

Everyone quieted down until a young general in silver armor rode slowly towards them.

This young general named Ma Chao is the lion and tiger in the hearts of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. He is someone that every soldier must fear and he is also their young master.

"Are you Xuan Xia's Yellow Turban soldiers?"

Ma Chao walked to the front under the protection of many soldiers and horses. He looked at a few Yellow Turbans. Seeing them holding hoes and forming a formation with a stern and defensive look, he immediately became interested.

(End of this chapter)