Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

As the azure flames engulfing the chariot grew larger, the figure of the Yellow Heaven Saint quickly vanished completely within them.

The countless Yellow Turban youths and men first reacted with disbelief, then erupted into vast waves of wailing and cries.

"No! Saint! !"

"Save the Saint… …"

"Why does the Yellow Heaven Saint abandon us?"

… …

Countless Yellow Turban youths and men discarded their weapons, kneeling on the ground, wailing and crying as they respectfully bid farewell to the Yellow Heaven Saint.

The soaring fighting spirit of the countless Yellow Turban youths and men vanished without a trace in an instant, leaving only the sound of weeping echoing through the Ying River.

As the morning sun was completely "spit" out, and the azure flames on the chariot gradually subsided, the Yellow Heaven Saint, watched by countless people, seemed to turn to ashes in an instant, leaving no trace.

The sky, too, no longer held a trace of yellow, only vast expanses of clear blue.

These signs, not to mention the Yellow Turbans, even the Han soldiers originally arrayed behind Liu Bei couldn't help but realize something, and after a series of wild thoughts, they looked in the direction of Liu Bei with fervent eyes.

The Mandate of Heaven!

What could be a more direct indication of what the Mandate of Heaven truly was?

Even the descent of heavenly fire by Emperor Guangwu to destroy the enemy was no more impressive.

Within the military formation, someone disregarded military discipline and shouted.

"The Mandate of Heaven belongs to him!"

In an instant, countless Han soldiers seemed to riot, spontaneously chanting in unison.

"The Mandate of Heaven belongs to him!"

"The Mandate of Heaven belongs to him! ! !"

The shouts of hundreds of thousands of men were so loud that they could shake the river.

At this moment, with the space between the two armies as the dividing line, a picture seemed to form, one side cheering and the other weeping.

The direction of the people's hearts caused goosebumps to rise involuntarily all over Liu Bei's body, and a look of fear appeared in his eyes for the first time as he looked at Li Ji.

The so-called Mandate of Heaven and the hearts of the people were nothing more than playthings in Zi Kun's palm.

He easily stirred up the mighty Yellow Turban rebellion in Yu Province, and then, with a wave of his hand, turned the reputation that the Way of Peace had accumulated over the past ten years into bricks named "Mandate of Heaven" beneath Liu Bei's feet.

'So wise he's almost demonic… …'

As this thought surfaced in Liu Bei's mind, he suddenly felt extremely fortunate that he had listened to the rumors spread by the children in Zhuo County and visited Li Ji in the suburbs.

If he had made a mistake back then and allowed Zi Kun to become someone else's arm, how would he contend with Zi Kun?

'Perhaps, the existence of Heaven's will is indeed not impossible… …'

A trace of understanding suddenly arose in Liu Bei's eyes, and he murmured.

"Zi Kun is where my Heaven's will lies."

While Liu Bei was still in a daze, Li Ji reminded him in a low voice.

"My Lord, it is time to offer amnesty to those Yellow Turban youths and men. If we offer amnesty now, these Yellow Turban youths and men will have no intention of resisting."

Liu Bei calmed his mind, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face as he looked at Li Ji, leaving Li Ji somewhat baffled.

Immediately, Liu Bei said loudly.

"Listen, all of you, I believe that you were bewitched by妖人 to join the Yellow Turbans, and did not intend to act as bandits."

"Now, the妖人 has been punished by Heaven and died. If you lay down your yellow turbans and discard your weapons, your previous actions will be forgiven. Those who resist stubbornly will be shown no mercy."

Faced with Liu Bei's order, almost all of the Yellow Turban youths and men chose not to resist in the face of the approaching Han army.

Military strength organized with religion as its cohesive force was destined for annihilation the moment its faith collapsed.

The various omens and the Yellow Heaven Saint's orders left behind before his demise in front of countless eyes were enough to break down almost all of the Yellow Turbans' will to resist.

A very small number who were unwilling to accept reality, or were extremely fanatical believers, chose to commit suicide on the spot, hoping to continue to follow the Yellow Heaven Saint after death.

This scene, watched by Gan Ning, who was standing beside the chariot disguised as an ordinary Jinfan pirate, was filled with pity and sighs, and he murmured.

"They are all good men. I, Gan Xingba, am sorry for you… …"

While ordering the army to accept the surrender of more than one hundred thousand Yellow Turban youths and men, Liu Bei and Li Ji also walked to Gan Ning's side and heard his muttering.

Li Ji waved his hand, asking the men on the left and right to make some distance, and comforted him.

"Xingba, you don't need to feel burdened. Your original intention in calling the Yellow Turbans to power was to prevent the spread of famine, and you have already saved countless lives. A few sacrifices are ultimately unavoidable."

"Yes, Marquis, I also understand this principle, but in the end, I have failed their following… …"

After a pause, Gan Ning suddenly knelt down on one knee towards Liu Bei and pleaded. "My Lord, I have a request, can you treat these youths and men as kindly as possible?"

"Rest assured."

Liu Bei quickly helped Gan Ning up and said softly.

"They are Han people, and also the people of the Great Han. Bei's lifelong wish is to let the Han people live and work in peace, and he will not abandon anyone."

Gan Ning stood up with red eyes, and only then did he feel a little better, and then opened his mouth again.

"Marquis, I wonder if you can give me a list of those youths and men who died by suicide."

"Why?" Li Ji asked.

"I have failed their following, and the only thing I can think of for the moment is to compensate their families privately one by one," Gan Ning said with a sigh.

Li Ji originally wanted to dissuade him, but noticing Gan Ning's eyes, he gave up the idea and instead agreed, saying.

"Okay."

Even though this would inevitably cost more manpower and resources, Li Ji had no reason to refuse, both in terms of emotion and reason.

As Gan Ning's emotions gradually calmed down, Liu Bei couldn't help but look at the chariot that had been burned by the azure flames, and asked in confusion.

"Xingba, I am a little confused. How was the burning of the chariot by the azure flames caused? And how did Xingba fake the illusion of a person turning to ashes in the fire?"

Gan Ning organized his words and replied.

"Previously, the Marquis sent someone to send an item, asking me to apply it all over the chariot in advance, and hide a straw dummy with the same clothes under the base of the chariot in advance… …"

"Taking advantage of the darkness of the sky and the earth, I placed the straw dummy in the original position, and I changed my clothes and jumped off the chariot in advance."

"As for why it is azure flames… …"

Speaking of this, Gan Ning was also full of confusion, and subconsciously looked at Li Ji.

Li Ji couldn't help but smile at this.

This azure flame was undoubtedly a stroke of genius, and it was also the last straw that completely overwhelmed countless Yellow Turban youths and men.

Immediately, Li Ji asked Gan Ning to go down to rest first, adjust his mentality, and then, facing Liu Bei's curious gaze, he explained in a low voice.

"My Lord, the color of the flame is different when many different things are burned."

"And the azure flame is actually the color burned by something called 'phosphorus' applied to various parts of the chariot, which is also the phosphorus in the 'Huainanzi' that says 'Old locust trees produce fire, and old blood becomes phosphorus'."

Liu Bei was speechless for a moment.

Liu Bei had also read the book "Huainanzi", but he never thought that the azure flame was actually the phosphorus mentioned in it.

(End of this chapter)