People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 532 Jianye
Jianye City, the former capital of Wu, has lost its glory. Although the order in the city is still stable, the scene of nobles traveling in carriages and horses can no longer be seen in the capital. The only people coming and going are the people of Jianye who have just adapted to the rule of the Yellow Turbans.

If there is anything that is different, it is the city gate and the city wall. Although the war has ended for almost a month, the broken city gate and the bloodstains on the top of the city wall that have dried and turned to ashes can still vaguely make people feel the fierceness of that battle.

The people of Jianye still find it unbelievable when they think about it today. No one had expected that the city of Jianye would be breached by the Yellow Turbans in just two days.

Jianye fell in this battle. The fight of Wu's veteran general Cheng Pu may not have been very beautiful, but it was certainly not bad. At least he did what he should have done. If it had been an ordinary army attacking, even an army of 100,000, Cheng Pu would have been confident that he could hold out for several months. Unfortunately, the ones coming now were the Yellow Turbans.

Although the Yellow Turbans only allocated 50,000 troops to attack the city, their strength was only comparable to that of the Wu garrison, so they would definitely be at a disadvantage in attacking the city. However, their strength was so strong that they could completely ignore the pros and cons of the city's attack and defense.

Of course, even so, relying on the city walls and 50,000 troops, if Cheng Pu were to hold on desperately, it should not be a problem for him to fight the Yellow Turbans for ten days or half a month.

However, compared with the powerful Yellow Turbans, the strength of the Wu army was too mediocre.

The key to victory or defeat in a war ultimately lies in morale.

When the Yellow Turbans increased the intensity of their attack, the Wu army quickly collapsed under the high pressure. The soldiers, who were already demoralized and lacked the will to fight, finally swung their swords at the supervisors behind them on the front line, then dropped their weapons and knelt down in surrender. Everything ended peacefully but not unexpectedly.

Once the trend is formed, it will be unstoppable and the progress will be easier. Xuan Xia already has this trend.

From the time Xu Chen first started the uprising in Youzhou with a group of defeated soldiers to the time he occupied half of the country, the whole process took him more than ten years. However, this time, it took him only ten days or half a month to conquer Yangzhou in the southern expedition.

This momentum is like a stream bursting a dam, becoming more and more turbulent as time goes on.

Almost all the counties and prefectures in Yangzhou surrendered to the Yellow Turbans. Even the local nobles and powerful families who hated the Yellow Turbans the most had no intention of resisting.
Everyone saw clearly that everything was over. Even if the Wu and Shu armies fought back, there was almost no hope of victory. No matter how unwilling the southern nobles and powerful families were, they had no choice but to accept their fate.

At least if they obey the Yellow Turbans' policies, they can still have a chance to survive.
The Yellow Turbans' entry into Yangzhou would bring about earth-shaking changes to the fate of all local people. In just over a month, counties and prefectures across Yangzhou, led by grassroots Yellow Turban officials and the people, began a vigorous liquidation and trial work.

Overnight, Yangzhou changed completely. The Wu court in the sky became the Xuanxia court, and countless nobles and powerful families on earth who once dominated the local areas were also completely purged and liquidated.

In addition to these nobles and powerful families, the common people were also liberated overnight.

When Jianye was just lost, most people in the city were in a panic, thinking that the Yellow Turbans were about to rob Yangzhou. However, after the Yellow Turbans actually took control of Yangzhou, they realized that they had been deceived by the Wu court.

It turns out that the Yellow Turbans were no longer a mob like they were when Zhang Jiao started the rebellion, but a true army of heavenly soldiers and generals.

Every war in the past brought severe disasters to the people. The glory of kings, princes and generals might mean the destruction of thousands of families.

Only this time, the people no longer had to suffer from the war, but instead ushered in a long-term liberation. In just one month, the name of Xu Chen, Xu Tianshi, was kept in the hearts of all the people in Yangzhou.

The order in Yangzhou was quickly restored, and the former capital of Wu, Jianye, also returned to peace. However, the Yellow Turban army stationed near Jianye did not relax at all. They knew that the next battle would be the real war. After the battle in Yangzhou, they immediately began the intensive preparation process. They did not stop repairing weapons and equipment, treating the wounded and sick, collecting and preparing supplies, and summarizing the post-war affairs.

As the leader of the sect, Xu Chen was also not idle. In addition to dealing with the governance affairs of Yangzhou every day, he also had to pay attention to the Yellow Turbans' preparations for war.

Although he had full confidence in the strength of the Yellow Turbans and was optimistic about the outcome of the upcoming decisive battle, he would not be blinded by this confidence. Instead, he had more stringent requirements for his subordinates at work.

For the Yellow Turbans, it was not difficult to capture the poorly defended Yangzhou, but the post-war governance was complicated. Fortunately, after more than a month of hard work, many things were on track, and Xu Chen finally had some free time to deal with some other less important matters.

On the top of the city wall, Xu Chen stood on a high place overlooking the situation in the military camp in the distance. Before long, two soldiers came up.

Xu Chen looked back and saw a mother and son. He naturally knew their identities. The woman in her forties was Wu Guotai, and the girl of twelve or thirteen was Sun Shangxiang.

Xu Chen couldn't help but take a few more glances at Sun Shangxiang. He was somewhat puzzled as to why Wu Guotai brought Sun Shangxiang here.

However, he did not ask any more questions, and soon turned his gaze to Wu Guotai, and then said calmly: "Logically speaking, you, the old nobles, should be liquidated. I have determined the law not to punish innocent people, but to let you obey the teachings and become commoners. This is already a great tolerance. Aren't you satisfied? Why do you want to see me so desperately?"

Wu Guotai's expression darkened. The dignity and grace she once had as the mother of the nation were gone forever. Now she looked weathered and thin.

This weight loss was due to the hardships of labor reform and her hunger strike. If Xu Chen still did not agree to see her, she might really force herself to death.

"Master Tianshi is tolerant and kind, how can I not understand? I just want to ask you for something in person!" Wu Guotai gritted his teeth and lowered his head, answering.

Xu Chen didn't want to waste time. If Wu Guotai hadn't been so noisy, he really wouldn't bother to pay attention to her: "Go ahead."

At this time, Wu Guotai suddenly pulled Sun Shangxiang over and said with a bit of sadness: "I know I am guilty, and I have nothing to say about the suffering I have endured, but my daughter is innocent. I don't ask for anything else, I just hope that Master Tianshi can take my daughter in, and that's all I ask for!"

Xu Chen's eyes widened and he looked over in surprise, then he saw Sun Shangxiang's hateful eyes.

All of a sudden, he understood that Wu Guotai was still unwilling to become a commoner, and had set her sights on him.

"That's not necessary. I don't think I've ever abused you, the Sun family. If you think being a civilian is innocent, it only means that your labor reform is not enough. When you are no longer wronged, you don't need to accept reform."

Xu Chen frowned, and had no interest in saying more. He just waved his hand and said, "If that's all you want to say, you can leave now. I don't need to take your daughter in. She has her own hands and feet. Can't she support herself? If you really love your daughter, why don't you stop fasting and reform yourself? You can raise her up by yourself."

(End of this chapter)