Chapter 55: Yellow Turban Uprising, Flames Spread Across Han

Jizhou, Ye City.

Zhang Jiao, clad in a Daoist robe, gazed at the massive city before him, his eyes tinged with complexity.

"Brother."

At that moment, a rough male voice rang out.

Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao hurried over.

"I've delivered the letter to Luoyang; Brother Gu must have seen it by now," Zhang Bao said with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhang Jiao nodded slightly and said gravely, "The times demand it—we must find a way to break the deadlock."

"Now that we've sent word to Brother Gu."

"Our great undertaking can move forward once more."

Years of travel had darkened Zhang Jiao's skin, yet an inexplicable aura now clung to him.

He had begun to resemble Gu Xi in demeanor.

He was utterly solemn, always calm and detached.

Upon hearing this, the two brothers grew excited, yet could not suppress their tension.

After all, what they planned was to turn heaven and earth upside down!

"There's no need to panic."

Zhang Jiao glanced at them, instantly reading their thoughts, and said, "The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise."

"The fate of the realm now lies in our hands."

"And Brother Gu stands with us."

"Even if we truly fail, the people of the realm shall still be redeemed."

His voice remained ever calm.

The two brothers immediately nodded.

"Prepare all regional commanders. Have men carve the word 'Taiping' on the walls of every prefectural and commandery office. When I issue the decree, we shall rise as one!"

Zhang Jiao had clearly planned everything in advance; his voice grew ever more resolute!

"Yes!"

The two brothers offered no reply, bowed, and turned away at once.

Zhang Jiao turned, gazing toward Luoyang.

Though separated by thousands of li,

it was as if he could see the one he sought—his gaze sharpened, and slowly he tied the yellow headband around his head.

Luoyang.

Liu Hong had now firmly resolved to suppress the scholar-officials.

He had delegated nearly all power to the twelve eunuch attendants he appointed, spending his days in palace indulgence.

The eunuchs spared no effort to please this emperor.

Liu Hong had never seen a donkey.

So they went to great lengths to procure donkey carts for his amusement.

Such behavior even became a trend within Luoyang.

Many young nobles took pride in owning a donkey cart.

But this was not all.

When the donkey carts grew tiresome, the eunuchs brought Liu Hong dogs.

They dressed the dogs in official robes.

In front of the court ministers, they loudly called out "Dog Official," sending Liu Hong into fits of laughter.

They enraged the scholar-officials beyond measure.

Moreover, Liu Hong played dress-up within the palace.

He built lavish palaces.

Then he made palace maids and eunuchs dress as street vendors, while he himself became a wealthy merchant.

He drove donkey carts through the palace grounds, dragging dogs behind him, thoroughly delighted.

Meanwhile, the eunuchs abused their power to oppress and terrorize the entire Han realm.

The entire Han realm had clearly reached the brink of collapse.

——Jianning Fifth Year, Third Month.

As a man rushed into Luoyang, frantically shouting, "The Way of Great Peace intends to rebel! The Way of Great Peace intends to rebel!"

The entire city erupted!

This news acted like a trigger.

It made the already crumbling Han realm shake even more violently.

——The state trembled!

The Way of Great Peace was well known in the Han realm.

Who in the land did not know it was a vast religion spreading across the entire Han?

How could it suddenly rebel?

The news reached the palace instantly.

Liu Hong still had some sense.

Upon hearing it, he scrambled out of his pond at once, ignoring the palace maids' longing glances.

As eunuchs wiped his body, he urgently ordered them to summon the ministers.

This was destined to be a great event.

Gu Yi had been watching all of this all along.

History had indeed changed.

In short, Zhang Jue had been strengthened!

The emergence of the Gu clan had created a vast gulf between today's Han and its original form, with significant leads in national strength and population.

Under these circumstances.

The followers of the Way of Peace had always far exceeded their original numbers.

And most crucially, Zhang Jue himself had grown stronger!

His years among the Gu clan had taught him much.

This was also tied to policies established long ago by Gu Yi.

Teaching according to individual aptitude indeed allowed the Gu clan to attract more talent, aiding the family's development.

But precisely because of this, Zhang Jue had learned much from the Gu clan.

He became better at winning the hearts of his disciples; his vision grew clearer and more precise; his resolve firmer;

This was a monumental change.

The current Zhang Jue would make the entire Han dynasty understand what it meant to be "a common man's rage, turning the realm white with mourning!"

Even though Gu Xi's presence in the world had indeed stabilized public sentiment.

But news of his constant neglect had long stirred resentment in the hearts of the people.

Could today's Han withstand this resentment?

Not likely!

Liu Hong would not deploy Gu Xi; Gu Yi had noticed this from the start.

Unlike Liu Zhi.

Liu Zhi had, after all, received favors from Gu Xi.

Even though he disliked scholars, he had always held some affection for Gu Xi.

But Liu Hong had never once encountered Gu Xi.

To him, Gu Xi was a constant threat to his imperial throne.

The difference between them was clear.

Liu Hong was also a clever man; he might not match Liu Zhi, but he had his own thoughts.

Such a man, before paying a sufficient price,

Clearly could not be fully awakened.

Just as in the original history.

Upon hearing this news, Liu Hong immediately ordered the arrest of Way of Peace followers and executed all internal moles within the palace, sending troops to Hebei to capture Zhang Jue and his two brothers.

—— The tide had risen.

The betrayal by his own disciple had indeed disrupted Zhang Jue's plans.

But the current Zhang Jue had already completed his transformation.

He swiftly made his deployments.

—— In the third month of Jianning Fifth Year.

He led his followers to capture Ye City and slaughtered officials there in ritual sacrifice.

"The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise!"

Loud slogans echoed across the land.

—— April 7.

The Guangyang Yellow Turbans killed the Inspector of Youzhou, Guo Xun, and the Prefect Liu Wei, captured Prince Liu Xu of Anping and Prince Liu Zhong of Ganling, delivering a massive blow to Han authority across Hebei.

—— April 13.

The Yingchuan Yellow Turbans, led by Bo Cai, surged toward Yingchuan Commandery.

—— April 20.

The Runan Yellow Turbans defeated Prefect Zhao Qian and seized parts of Runan Commandery; the fires of rebellion reached south of Luoyang.

—— April 27.

The Nanyang Yellow Turbans, under Zhang Mancheng, killed Prefect Chu Gong of Nanyang and advanced directly on the strategic city of Wancheng.

Yellow Turban followers across the land rose in succession, capturing prefectures and provinces.

These former Han subjects unleashed their fury with wild abandon.

In an instant, flames of rebellion spread across all four corners of the Han.

As these unceasing reports reached Luoyang,

Liu Hong finally panicked.

The scale of this rebellion had surpassed everyone's expectations.

How had the Han come to this?

Since Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu founded the dynasty, the Han had passed through generations of emperors; though there had been some turbulence,

When had it ever sunk to this level?

How could the Han's imperial armies be so weak?

How could they be repeatedly overrun by rebels made of refugees?

In barely a month, the war situation across the land had already brought the scent of dynastic collapse.

Liu Hong was finally awake!

He quickly made arrangements and began preparing for a counteroffensive.

The court of Han today is far from clean.

But in this moment of life and death, it still showed a certain degree of system.

Liu Hong swiftly made arrangements.

——Dispatch Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun with the main force of over forty thousand troops to attack Yingchuan Commandery in Yuzhou, to confront the Yingchuan Yellow Turbans.

Lu Zhi led the Northern Army and Youzhou cavalry straight toward Ye City in Jizhou.

Attempting to capture Zhang Jue directly, seizing the leader to break the mob.

Appoint He Jin as General-in-Chief, commanding the Imperial Guards, to garrison Luoyang.

A series of arrangements followed one after another.

Under such circumstances, some proposed that Gu Xi must be brought out of seclusion at all costs.

Even if Gu Xi was already old, he should at least be asked to devise a plan.

But Liu Hong refused.

He still seemed extremely confident, believing the Han's heavenly troops could resolve these issues, and did not wish to give Gu Xi any further opportunity.

Yet he agreed to Huangfu Song's suggestion to lift the party bans.

He also accepted the recommendation of Grand Sacrificer Liu Yan to "abolish the Inspectorate and establish Governors," ordering each region to recruit troops to resist the Yellow Turbans.

He seemed to have grown somewhat pathological.

Wanting to use his own measures, without invoking Gu Xi, to push back this overwhelming tide.

Guan Jun Hou Fu.

"Grandfather, the Emperor has abolished the Inspectorate and established Governors, granting local authorities military power."

"This move is a disaster for the state!"

Gu Wei's face was flushed with alarm, his eyes filled with confusion.

He truly could not understand.

Why would Liu Hong issue such an edict?

The Yellow Turban Rebellion, in his view, was indeed troublesome.

But to say it would completely crush Han was not true; as long as the party bans were lifted and scholars were prevented from allying with the Yellow Turbans,

then sending heavy troops to suppress them would suffice.

How could local regions be granted military power?

Gu Xi's expression was also complex; his eyes, long calm, had changed.

"A foolish emperor."

He murmured to himself.

Unlike Gu Wei, he could clearly see the implications.

Liu Hong's move was clearly still about maintaining that so-called balance.

For him,

nothing mattered more than the absolute authority of the imperial power.

In truth, Gu Xi did not care about these matters—he had already made his judgment on power, and was in no hurry.

But this edict granting local regions military power

did indeed greatly disrupt his subsequent plans.

This was the first time he had ever made such a judgment on an emperor.

Even the former Emperor Jingping Liu Hu, or Emperor Huan Liu Zhi, had never drawn such a comment from him.

Hearing this, Gu Wei's body trembled slightly.

Gu Xi paid no heed to this; his expression returned to normal, and he asked: "Has Zhang Jue avoided Julu?"

"Yes."

Gu Wei immediately nodded: "Zhang Jue has not allowed the rebels to disrupt Julu."

"Send word to the family."

Gu Xi, as if expecting this, spoke at once: "Prepare early, and do not place hope in others."

Until now, how could he not know who sent that letter?

It must be Zhang Jue!

Zhang Jue's move is pure open strategy.

Since the court refuses to employ Gu Xi, he forces the court to bow.

Using the momentum of the empire to lend Gu Xi a hand.

Gu Xi must still consider his family.

The reputation of his ancestors and the future fate of his lineage bound Gu Xi to limited choices.

But Zhang Jue has done all this for him!

He intends to force the court to bow through this method!

This move is indeed brilliant.

It is pure open strategy.

Even if someone had foreseen all of this, they could not have stopped it.

Because the people's resentment in Han is right here.

Even if Zhang Jue did nothing, or someone else did,

at this moment, Gu Xi even felt a sense of deep kinship with Zhang Jue.

But unfortunately, this was destined to be impossible.

From the moment Zhang Jiao took this step, he and Gu Xi could only become adversaries.

"Grandson understands."

Gu Wei immediately nodded, yet did not leave immediately; instead, he looked at Gu Xi and asked again: "Grandfather, are you truly abandoning the Han?"

"Not yet," Gu Xi shook his head. "The opportunity will come."

"And this matter"

"is not entirely bad."

Break, then rebuild!

What is break, then rebuild?

It means letting all under heaven know just how terrifying the people's rage can be, before rebuilding their hearts.

Gu Xi understood this clearly.

Even if he were to act again now.

Even if he could truly quell this rebellion, purge corruption, and restore the Han's surface prosperity.

But what good would that do?

Before the fundamental problem is resolved, this will remain a blade hanging over their heads.

And that blade might very well harm the Gu clan in the future.

For public and private reasons.

He could not afford to be hasty!

Gu Yi had been watching all of this, and now his heart grew even more tense.

Clearly, Gu Xi's actions had taken on the flavor of dancing on the edge of a blade.

Gu Yi suddenly felt an inexplicable unease.

This was clearly playing chess with Heaven!

The moment of historical correction stood before them—did Gu Xi truly believe he could use this act to resolve the Han's fundamental problems, without challenging Heaven itself?

This was bound to be an extremely risky move.

If it succeeded,

the Gu clan would never again need to fear for its status!

Such merit was unparalleled in history.

But could it possibly succeed?

Would the warlords soon rising in this chaotic age truly be inferior to Gu Xi?

As he thought this, Gu Yi grew even more tense.

——————

"Zhang Jiao was a man of Julu.

In his youth, he studied under the Gu clan, mastering the arts of medicine and healing, with the ambition to save the world.

But during Emperor Huan's reign, he abandoned Grand Tutor Gu Xi, and thereafter renounced officialdom, wandering the four seas.

Later, he obtained a mysterious text, combined it with metaphysical principles, and founded the Way of Great Peace.

Carrying a nine-joint staff, he administered talismanic water to cure illness; the people felt his virtue and flocked to him.

Zhang Jiao dispatched eight disciples to spread across the eight directions, under the guise of benevolent teachings, secretly spreading heretical words, gradually deceiving ever greater crowds.

Within a few years, his followers spread everywhere—in the eight provinces of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu—all bowed to his shadow.

He divided his followers into thirty-six factions; the large factions commanded over ten thousand, the small ones six or seven thousand, each appointing their own leaders, secretly stockpiling weapons and armor.

Zhang Jiao falsely proclaimed, 'The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise,' and wrote 'Great Peace' in white chalk on temples and government offices across the capital and provinces; his heresies grew ever stronger.

By the fifth year of Jianning, Zhang Jiao suddenly rose in rebellion, and within a month, he shattered prefectures and commanderies; officials could not stop him, and all under heaven trembled."

——Records of Heroes of the Late Han: Biography of Zhang Jiao

(End of Chapter)