Chapter 235: Advancing to the Front, Then Advancing to the Rear

At this moment, fifteen li behind Gongsun Xun, the thousand men under Cheng Pu and Gao Shun had already been completely engulfed by the Huang Jin army. But in the Han army's main camp not far from there, neither Yue Jin and Li Jin, who had already finished donning their armor, nor Lu Fan, who had personally climbed the camp watchtower to observe the battle, showed any intention of sallying out to support them.

Of course, Lu Fan had hesitated for a moment. However, as he watched wave after wave of Huang Jin surge forward and then retreat, while the Han army, having already shifted into a circular formation, not only held firm but could also counter-charge from time to time... In short, although the Han army had suffered some casualties, Lu Ziheng truly felt there was no need to give the order — especially with the situation by the riverbank unclear, and Lu Fan not knowing when Gongsun Xun would lead his troops back.

Correspondingly, Liang Yuan, the de facto commander of the Dongwuyang Huang Jin, was at this moment nearly on the verge of collapse! He was not collapsing because of the Han army's tenacious fighting strength, but because he had lost control over twenty thousand Huang Jin troops! Twenty thousand Huang Jin soldiers, following their own minor leaders, fighting on their own, in chaotic formations and uncoordinated steps, were simply flailing wildly around a mere thousand men!

In fact, from Lu Fan's tall watchtower, at any given moment no more than three Huang Jin banners were actually engaged with the Han army, utterly failing to form an encircling assault.

And just as Liang Zhongning was burning with anxiety yet utterly helpless, this scion of a wealthy Puyang family, who ordinarily prided himself on his talent, suddenly grasped a truth in a flash of lightning — he realized just how profoundly he had misunderstood large-scale warfare! It was not that he was incompetent, nor that the Huang Jin were all useless, but that everyone, from top to bottom, lacked military experience in large-scale operations!

Perhaps after fighting a few more battles, one could maneuver with ease? But would the Han army give you the chance to practice?

On the battlefield, Liang Zhongning, his expression dazed, understood this point, yet only grew more despairing and broken... Because thinking further, this clever man came to realize even more clearly that no matter where, the seemingly mighty Huang Jin simply did not have the confidence to fight the Han army in open battle. In large-scale field battles, the Huang Jin had almost no chance of survival!

In fact, Liang Yuan was absolutely right. Even the great victory Bo Cai had just won over Zhu Jun — which he did not yet know about — was actually only because Zhu Jun had failed to take Yangzhai and was counter-attacked when Huang Jin reinforcements converged from all directions. Even so, after Zhu Jun retreated to Changshe, his twenty thousand main troops still suffered hardly any losses.

And following this line of thought further, Liang Zhongning was nearly beside himself, because it ultimately meant that after the Han court reacted and dispatched a hundred thousand main troops to divide north and south, the seemingly mighty Huang Jin actually had very little chance of truly seizing the Han realm... But if that were so, what meaning was there in his whole family throwing in their lot with Bu Ji?

Liang Yuan, Liang Zhongning, had originally thought that even if Dong Commandery were lost, he could take his remaining troops and turn to find Zhang Jiao... But now it seemed, had he not simply wasted all his schemes in vain?

With this thought, Liang Yuan, already unable to command effectively, half out of resentment and half out of self-abandonment, gave up directing and merely shouted incessantly, urging these Huang Jin to attack the mere thousand Han soldiers with all their might.

Of course, it was still a chaotic and fruitless assault.

………………

By the Yellow River bank, the Huang Jin army had finally found a place of temporary comfort — the solid, towering, and intact Yellow River embankment behind them!

Cavalry could not charge up the embankment!

Even more curiously, just as the entire Huang Jin army collapsed and retreated onto the embankment, the Han army actually sounded the gongs to withdraw, even abandoning two large drums and simply turning northward!

Bu Ji had been forcibly escorted onto the river embankment by a crowd of Huang Jin soldiers. He first wept bitterly at the corpses of several thousand sons of Dong Commandery below the dike; then, looking up and seeing the Han army heading north, he realized they were going to annihilate the twenty thousand men under Liang Yuan and Zhang Bo at Dongwuyang, and his heart grew even more tense; then, his thoughts turning again, he recalled the words Liang Yuan had spoken before leaving, and he was overcome with even deeper regret; yet in the next moment, hearing someone weeping nearby, he recalled the momentum of the Han cavalry charge just now, and thinking that such fierce soldiers might soon go to deal with the Great Virtuous Teacher, his heart was filled with even more unbearable sorrow...

"Commander Bu!" As they watched the Han army recede into the distance, someone finally reacted to their narrow escape from death. "Quickly send men down to carry our wounded soldiers up onto the embankment!"

Bu Ji jolted to his senses and hurriedly wiped away his tears, forcing himself to give the order.

Then, another man urgently offered counsel: "Commander Bu, as things stand now, the two vice-commanders at Dongwuyang can no longer be saved. Please, quickly order the troops to withdraw across the river! Back in Puyang, we still have over ten thousand men and provisions; perhaps we can hold out until the Great Virtuous Teacher and Commander Bo from the south send reinforcements!"

By now, Bu Ji understood all too well the terror of cavalry. Hearing this, his first thought was of the twenty thousand Huang Jin north of here who had clearly already left the city, about to be hunted down and slaughtered on the open plain by the Han army, and for a moment his heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife... Yet he also knew he could delay no longer; staying served no purpose. Taking advantage of the Han army turning away, crossing back to Henan via the pontoon bridge was the right course!

However, before he could force himself to his feet and open his mouth to give the order, the weeping around him suddenly intensified many times over... and many were wailing uncontrollably from the top of the embankment, facing the southern bank of the Yellow River, or rather, facing the Yellow River itself.

Greatly puzzled, Bu Ji struggled up the embankment with the support of a few soldiers, only to do exactly as these men had done — he sank to his knees in a daze, then wept bitterly!

It turned out that on the Yellow River at this moment, where was there any pontoon bridge left?

There was only the Han army's naval force stretched across the Yellow River, which was merely a few hundred paces wide here. A group of iron-chain-linked boats flying a large banner bearing the character "Shen" commanded majestically from the center, directing countless small boats carrying squads of Han militiamen armed with bows, cruising across the river's surface and eyeing the northern bank with predatory intent!

And indeed, how could the Han army possibly leave such an opening? Shen Zhengnan had marched his troops back overnight and made full preparations with Wang Xiu. As soon as the battle here began, they surged downstream from upriver, using the current and the might of their large ships to smash directly through the Huang Jin pontoon bridge!

The boats that had formed the Huang Jin pontoon bridge either sank straight to the riverbed or were captured, their iron chains unfastened and reattached around the Han naval vessels, becoming assets for the Han army.

In fact, Wang Du, the former Assistant County Magistrate of Dong'e who had been responsible for the pontoon bridge, had knelt in despair even earlier than Bu Ji. At this very moment, he was weeping in panic and grief somewhere on the inner side of the embankment downstream.

Bu Ji wept for a while, then stood on the dike gazing about for a long time. He wanted to urge the entire army to head north, to find Liang Yuan and Zhang Bo, but he could never bring himself to open his mouth. He wanted to urge the army to flee along the embankment left or right, but he understood even more clearly that such an act would be futile!

In his despair, he stopped crying and instead stood rigidly in the fierce river wind... for no other reason than to wait for news from the north.

What if, just what if the north had won?

………………

Fifteen li, or rather less than twenty li, was not too fast for cavalry... In another time and space, Cao Mengde, in pursuit of Liu Xuande, covered over three hundred li in a single day and night — that was an extreme operation without rest. And now, the Han army had fought fiercely for only a little over half a shichen before galloping back; their horses' strength was still fairly ample. Thus, just as Bu Ji stood gazing at the river with no tears left, the Han vanguard arrived almost in the blink of an eye!

And at this moment, the Dongwuyang Huang Jin army was still in chaotic disarray, unable to sort itself out!

The first to arrive were over a thousand Bing Province cavalry under Cheng Lian's command. Taking the lead, they plunged straight into the Huang Jin's massive and now virtually orderless battle formation. Cheng Lian, with a clear eye, thrust left and right with his spear, charging directly beneath the largest Yellow Heaven banner and skewering an elderly leader who was shouting incessantly on horseback with a single thrust of his lance.

It was none other than the Dong Commandery Huang Jin Vice-Commander, Zhang Bo!

Just as Zhang Bo fell in battle, the main Han cavalry force also made contact and charged in. And even before this, Lu Fan, seeing the dust cloud from afar, had directly ordered the camp gates thrown wide open, sending Li Jin and Yue Jin out with the entire camp force. Cheng Pu and Gao Shun were even less the type to let a battle opportunity slip; the two personally drew their blades and fought fiercely, leading their thousand soldiers to burst outward from the enemy formation's center... Under the three-pronged assault, the twenty thousand Huang Jin before the southern gate of Dongwuyang collapsed even faster than the twenty thousand who had toiled across the river by the Yellow River bank!

Gongsun Xun, arriving later, could only hastily issue an extremely rough order: have the infantry seize the undefended city of Dongwuyang, while the cavalry drove and cut down the twenty thousand routed troops, herding them toward the Yellow River!

Chaos reigned!

Of the twenty thousand Huang Jin here, several thousand were killed or wounded, and several thousand surrendered. Before the cavalry could successfully outflank and drive them, quite a few who saw the situation was hopeless scattered and fled in all directions... but there was no time to worry about them now. The remaining seven or eight thousand, under the Han army's deliberate herding, died, surrendered, and fled as they went. By the time this routed force was driven to the river embankment at dusk by the equally exhausted Han army, only five or six thousand remained.

These men mustered their last ounce of strength to scramble up the embankment, escaping the Han army's pursuit for the moment, but just like the Huang Jin remnants already there, they gazed at the river and fell into despair.

"Tell them!" Gongsun Xun, who had been galloping all afternoon and was now utterly exhausted, sighed. "Without provisions, holding a mere river embankment is useless. Once our troops recover their strength, we will attack... Let them know we will permit their surrender!"

The various commanders were mostly utterly exhausted; even Cao Cao, said to be fond of sacking cities, had no energy to say much at this moment. As for Guan Yu and the others who had gathered around, there was even less need to speak... it seemed the latter had intended to counsel exactly this.

However...

"They refuse to surrender?" Gongsun Xun asked in surprise.

"It's not that they refuse to surrender." Qian Zhao, who had gone to urge capitulation, immediately replied. "Of the fifteen or sixteen thousand men on the embankment, about one in five agreed to surrender upon hearing the offer. But the majority want to wait for that scoundrel Bu Ji to give the order... In my view, those willing to surrender on the spot are mostly the original youxia and ruffians, while the majority, who were originally common folk, are so devout in their belief in the Taiping Dao that they insist on heeding Bu Ji's words!"

"That Taiping Dao of theirs is utterly absurd and preposterous, yet who would have thought it could delude people's hearts to this extent!" Guan Yu, who had long since dismounted because his warhorse could no longer bear the weight, could not help but stroke his beard in indignation.

"Isn't there a saying, 'One does not shed tears until seeing the coffin, and the heart does not die until reaching the Yellow River'?" Zhang Fei, who had just ridden up to this spot, was also speechless and could not help muttering aloud. "Now that so many have died, and the Yellow River offers no escape, how can their hearts still not be dead?"

Everyone looked at Gongsun Xun, mounted on his white horse. The latter pondered for a moment, and in the end, compassion won over. He dismounted and said with effort: "First, send men to seal off the embankment upstream and downstream; do not let them escape. Then, go find where that Bu Ji is and urge him to lead his men in surrender... Tell him I am not one who delights in slaughter. The battle is decided, Dong Commandery is pacified, and I will not regard them as enemies. Even he, Bu Ji, and these Taiping followers can be settled right here!"

The commanders' reactions varied, but after this swift and decisive campaign in Dong Commandery, no one dared to question him to his face anymore. Thus, the orders were quickly carried out.

Bu Ji had long since stopped crying, nor was he still standing blankly on the dike gazing out. He was merely sitting quietly atop the river embankment, surrounded by a crowd of routed soldiers who had gathered around him of their own accord.

However, when the offer of surrender and the news that Gongsun Xun was looking for him arrived, this famous disciple of the Great Virtuous Teacher showed a somewhat more animated expression: "Is this General Gongsun not simply toying with us? Settle everyone right here, regardless of whether they are Taiping followers or core members? He is skilled in battle and has earned merit; in the future, he can naturally go elsewhere to serve as an official, and naturally need not regard us Taiping Dao followers left in Dong Commandery as enemies. But we have killed so many officials — can the local government offices not treat us as enemies in the future? He does not kill us today, but after he leaves, will the government not kill us then? And we, having had so many of our own killed by the Han army, can we not regard the Han court, the government, and his Excellency General Gongsun as enemies? He is mighty here today, so we dare not act. But once he is gone, why could we not seek revenge?"

Having said this, Bu Ji actually smiled at the surrounding Huang Jin routed soldiers, just as he would when preaching on ordinary days.

And the crowd of routed soldiers, for whatever psychological reason, even those bearing wounds, actually laughed along with him.

"In summary, the Azure Heaven is unjust and unkind, making it impossible for us to live. And what we believe in is the Yellow Heaven. Under the Yellow Heaven, there is no hunger, no oppression; you don't have to pay dozens of suan taxes a year; you don't have to drown your newborn children; both boys and girls can be raised, so you won't end up unable to find a wife; when you fall ill, drinking talisman water will cure you... you have all seen this." Bu Ji continued, sitting cross-legged and smiling, his voice growing louder. "So it is said, the Azure Heaven and the Yellow Heaven cannot coexist! For us, who seek to bring the Yellow Heaven down to this world, even if we are defeated for a time, we cannot surrender to the unjust Azure Heaven!"

"Then what should we do?" Nearly everyone around instinctively wanted to ask, but no one opened their mouth, because they knew Commander Bu would tell them.

"Then we can only die." Bu Ji continued to speak with a composed smile. "I recall what Vice-Commander Liang said... All men must die, but some deaths are weightier than Mount Tai, while others are lighter than a goose feather. For us followers of the Taiping Dao, to die for the Yellow Heaven is to be weightier than Mount Tai!"

"Commander Bu, I dare not!" A man beside him suddenly wept in shame. "The Han cavalry is too fierce. A blade coming down will sever arms and legs; a spear thrust will leave a hole in your body..."

"I am afraid too." Bu Ji immediately smiled and comforted him. "I also fear the pain... However, we need not contend with the Han cavalry, their blades, or their spears. Is the Yellow River not behind us? We are all sons of Dong Commandery, born by the riverbank; is it not fitting to die in the river? We can even preserve our corpses intact, so we need not feel ashamed when meeting our ancestors in the netherworld below... And although the Taiping Jing does not say so, and the Great Virtuous Teacher never spoke of it, every time I cross the Yellow River, I still wonder: is there some connection between the Yellow River, the Yellow Springs, and the Yellow Heaven? Perhaps beneath the Yellow River lies the Yellow Springs, and by dying here, we can enjoy the blessings of the Yellow Heaven?"

At these words, Bu Ji struggled to his feet. He no longer looked at the Han army below the dike, nor paid any more heed to the miserable scene around him. Instead, he knelt, kowtowed, and began to murmur incantations.

As mentioned before, most of the former ruffians and wandering swordsmen had already surrendered. The routed soldiers packed densely on this embankment were mostly Taiping followers. Seeing this, they immediately came to their senses, realizing that Bu Ji was kowtowing to beg forgiveness for his sins, and they followed suit one after another.

And very quickly, starting from Bu Ji, the majority of the Yellow Turban routed troops on the great embankment under the setting sun actually knelt and kowtowed, murmuring incantations, performing the Taiping Dao ritual of kowtowing for the remission of sins. Even most of the wounded soldiers, heedless of their severed limbs and bloodstains, struggled to rise and imitate him.

"What a demonic sect!" Cao Mengde, who had been sitting on the ground, was so startled by this sight that he nearly jumped to his feet. "Wenqi, faced with such a demonic sect, you still intend to offer them surrender? A renowned general of the age like you — how can you harbor such womanly mercy? Do you not see that these people are all demon-worshippers?!"

Gongsun Xun, his face dark, stared sternly at the scene before him, uttering not a single word, clearly unwilling to answer that question.

On the other side, Bu Ji murmured, chanting incantations and prayers, seeking forgiveness for his sins, but finally fell silent in dejection... Consider how he had led tens of thousands of Dong Commandery's sons to their deaths, and how his ignorance of military affairs had shaken the Great Worthy Master's grand strategy (even now he still believed Gongsun Xun was going to flank Zhang Jiao). His so-called sins were deep and heavy — how could a momentary ritual restore him to a body pure and innocent?

After turning it over in his mind, it seemed the only way was as he had just thought: to use the waters of the Yellow River to wash away the bloodstains on his body! He hoped that place truly connected to the Yellow Springs, and led to the Yellow Heaven!

With this thought, Bu Ji, without a word, was the first to rise. Staggering yet resolute, he strode proudly into the Yellow River like a man intent on crossing the water — this was what is called walking into the river to end one's own life.

The Taiping followers on the river embankment came to their senses one after another. More than half of them, at a loss, turned to choose surrender, but still no small number followed Bu Ji's example and threw themselves straight into the water!

And then someone suddenly spoke up, saying that before he died, Commander Bu had declared that if one died by throwing oneself into the Yellow River, after death one could enjoy the blessings of the Yellow Heaven and no longer suffer the hardships of the Azure Heaven... Hearing these words, many who had been hesitating actually severed their lingering thoughts and turned directly to throw themselves into the river; the wounded, even more so, earnestly begged those around them to carry them into the water; there were even those who had already come down to the foot of the embankment ready to surrender, who turned back around, going to their deaths as if returning home!

For a time, on the great embankment of the Yellow River, those who surrendered numbered seven or eight thousand, while those who took their own lives in droves were no fewer than that number!

Below the embankment, the countless soldiers of the Han army all stood dumbstruck and gaping!

As it happened, the former Assistant County Magistrate of Dong'e, Wang Du, was a lucky man. He had lost the pontoon bridge and suffered what was called four battles and four defeats, but this time, after being routed by Shen Pei, his rather large boat had been swept all the way downstream. Then, when the Han army encircled the routed troops, he was just barely left outside the encirclement. And now, with those taking their own lives densely packed together, the entire Han army, from top to bottom, was utterly horrified, and no one could be bothered to clear the perimeter — which allowed his group of trusted confidants to spy an opportunity.

"Lord Wang!" It was still that same trusted retainer, who now came to Wang Du's side, gritting his teeth, and offered counsel. "Now is the perfect moment to flee... We few have examined it; this boat is not badly damaged. The river surface is merely a few hundred paces wide — we can manage to cross it. And the main force of the Han army is all on the north bank right now, and will be busy sweeping up defeated soldiers there for the next few days. Let us seize this moment and cross the river southward! It will soon be dark; the Han army will not pursue!"

Wang Du gave a bitter laugh, then abruptly rose to his feet. While adjusting the armor on his body, he spoke with an air of ease: "Go on your own!"

"What kind of talk is this, Lord Wang?" The trusted confidant was greatly startled. "We are but a bunch of ruffians, supported by you for many years — how could we abandon you and leave? Such conduct — how would we differ from beasts?"

"All of you came to follow me seeking a career of merit and achievement, yet I have accomplished nothing, and instead dragged you down into becoming rebels and outlaws. It is clearly I who have failed you." Wang Du spoke calmly. "Before I raised my troops, I buried a good deal of wealth in my old residence in the western part of Dong'e, planning for the future. Now it is of no use to me, and it happens to serve as a gift to you all by way of recompense..."

Hearing this, the trusted confidant immediately cut him off: "Lord Wang, could it be that you intend to accompany Bu Ji in death? Those people of the Taiping Dao acted out of such folly because they believed in the Yellow Heaven — that after death in the Yellow River comes the Yellow Heaven. How can a man like you, Lord Wang, believe such absurd talk?!"

"Who said I am going to my death because I believe in the Yellow Heaven?" Wang Du laughed in spite of himself, yet then choked with emotion, unable to hold back. "A scholar dies for the one who knows his worth — for his lord... I... When I served as a county clerk, I exerted myself to the utmost, yet was used by successive County Magistrates like a rag, discarded once used, and they even despised me, saying my local strongman manner sullied their county office. But after I joined the Yellow Turbans, though I accomplished nothing and was defeated in every battle, Commander Bu never abandoned me; instead, he repeatedly entrusted me with heavy responsibilities! Today, the army is defeated, and Commander Bu... Commander Bu died for his Yellow Heaven, but I die only for him — this is what is meant by a subject dying for his lord! I beg you all... I beg you all to grant me this!"

With these words, Wang Du faced his trusted confidant and the group of stunned and speechless retainers and subordinates, bowed to them with deep respect, and only then turned and walked toward the embankment.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly came to a realization, turned back, and bowed once more to these few who seemed about to make a move: "Gentlemen, you are different from me. Between Commander Bu and me, there was the grace of recognition and appreciation — I failed him many times, yet he trusted and relied on me as always; but toward you, I have shown neither virtue nor grace, while you have given me your utmost effort and strength... Besides, you are all men of courage, strength, and resourcefulness, and still young — you will surely have prospects in the future! Please, do not follow!"

The few men stood frozen by the riverbank.

On the other side, having spoken these words, Wang Du was at last alone, a solitary figure under the setting sun, struggling his way up onto the embankment, then walking forward along the great embankment to seek the place where Bu Ji had gone. The Han army officer guarding the edge of the embankment, seeing him come voluntarily to surrender and hearing him calmly state his reason, also respected his utter disregard for life and death, and so readily led him to the central command canopy to seek Gongsun Xun's judgment.

"You are Wang Du?" Beneath the canopy, which had now been moved onto the great embankment, Gongsun Xun had just learned from captives of Bu Ji's dying words, and his expression was extremely grim at the moment. Yet seeing this man arrive, he could not help but open his mouth to question him. "The Assistant County Magistrate of Dong'e? You wish to find the place where Bu Ji met his end and follow him into the river to die?"

"Yes!" Wang Du, neither flustered nor hurried, bowed with respect.

"Why do you want to follow him in death?" Gongsun Xun, his face dark, demanded. "Don't tell me that you, a county assistant, also believe in his damned Yellow Heaven Dao!"

"This outer subject does not believe." Wang Du, still neither flustered nor hurried, calmly explained his reasons.

At these words, not only did Gongsun Xun fall silent, but everyone around, from Cao Cao on down, looked at this man with new eyes, even feeling a measure of respect for him.

"Unwilling to surrender?" Gongsun Xun voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"Only death, and nothing more." Wang Du answered with head held high. "Having accomplished nothing for half a lifetime, I was already destined to be ridiculed by the villages of Dong Commandery for decades to come. If, before dying, I were to surrender again, I fear I would be mocked by all under Heaven for a thousand years."

"This is the spot where Bu Ji threw himself into the river." Gongsun Xun felt a tightness in his chest, but in the end, he granted the man his wish, pointing out the place. "Do as you please!"

Wang Du bowed respectfully in thanks to Gongsun Xun, and then, without the slightest pause, turned directly and walked into the river to his death. Just like those ignorant folk who took the Yellow River for the Yellow Heaven, he went to the river as if going home, looking upon death as a return.

"What a pity!" Lou Zibo could not help but speak at last. "Had he not followed the rebels, such a manner of facing death with noble resolve would have been enough to make his name renowned throughout the province and commanderies."

"My lord, do not cross the river — yet my lord crossed the river!" Before the voice had faded, someone behind them, below the great embankment, suddenly began to chant aloud. "Drowned in the river and died — what can be done for my lord?! Such a manner of facing death with noble resolve — even having followed the rebels, in the future it will still be enough to make his name renowned throughout the province and commanderies!"

The voice was mournful yet clear and resonant. Those on the embankment thought it was some famous scholar present, but when they turned to look, it was actually a Yellow Turban captive who had surrendered earlier! However, the crowd had experienced too much this day, and for a moment, no one knew quite how to respond.

"A fine poem and song!" Gongsun Xun turned around and said. "That is the famous Music Bureau lyric 'The Konghou Lament' from Chaoxian City in Lelang Commandery — it tells of a mad fool who insisted on crossing the river and drowned... There are so few literate men under Heaven; why does one appear after another within the Yellow Turban ranks? Speak — who are you?"

"Liang Yuan, Vice Commander of the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou, courtesy name Zhongning!" The man below the embankment cupped his hands in salute from afar. "A defeated general under your command — I make you laugh, Lord Marquis!"

"I have heard of you!" Gongsun Xun said with a serious expression. "Since you have surrendered, then stay in peace. Will you help me pacify the surrendered troops?"

"Lord Marquis!" The man below the embankment lowered his hands and laughed ruefully. "It is not that I deliberately sang a poem to draw your attention. Rather, I had originally cast aside my armor and helmet, pretending to be an ordinary surrendered soldier in hopes of slipping through and clinging to a wretched existence. But I never expected to see that good-for-nothing Wang Du display such spirit, and I could not help but feel ashamed. Moreover, when I left Puyang, I had urged Commander Bu not to cross the river, yet he stubbornly went his own way and led the army here — just like the man in this poem, a sight that fills one with sorrow... And so, with my heart stirred and surging, I could not help but recall this song, and I rose to chant it aloud, to see off these two fools!"

"And then?" Gongsun Xun's expression grew increasingly grim.

"And then, naturally, I shall chant this song for myself, and see myself — this fool — 'across the river'!"

Gongsun Xun suddenly forced a smile: "Bu Ji refused to heed your words, crossed the river on his own authority, and destroyed the Dong Commandery Yellow Turbans. Do you not resent him, but instead, like Wang Du, wish to repay his grace of recognition and appreciation?"

"Of course not!" The man below the embankment answered with head held high. "Commander Bu's womanly mercy destroyed the strategic situation — that was his own doing, and he brought it upon himself. It is just that, vast as the world is, apart from within this river, there is no place for men like me to go..."

"What do you mean by that?" Gongsun Xun continued to force a smile.

"Lord Marquis, in your rare kindness, you wish to take in the local surrendered troops. But have you ever considered that this act is akin to Commander Bu's, and is purely womanly mercy?" The man below the embankment suddenly brought up a completely unrelated topic. "Just now, someone relayed to you Commander Bu's dying words, and I heard them clearly too. The nonsense of those ignorant folk is, of course, not worth a laugh, but one thing he said was correct... Azure Heaven and Yellow Heaven cannot both stand; once you have served one, you must regard the other as a mortal foe — it cannot be changed! Otherwise, how could so many people follow him 'across the river'? Since I too once fought for the Yellow Heaven, even if I do not believe in it, the men of the Azure Heaven will not tolerate me either! That being the case, rather than drag out a wretched existence, still oppressed by the men of the Azure Heaven, it is better to die a noble death, and with the gesture of 'crossing the river,' laugh at the men of the Azure Heaven!"

Gongsun Xun opened his mouth. He had wanted to say, "I can tolerate you men of the Yellow Heaven," but from Cao Mengde on down, the officers of the entire army were mostly present here. Moreover, the men of the Yellow Heaven had, to some degree, also struck him as being on the wrong path. In the end, these words remained unspoken.

By this point, the sky was gradually darkening. The man below the embankment walked directly up onto it. Although Gongsun Xun and the various generals on the embankment all tacitly permitted it, two Volunteer Guards, worried he might suddenly turn violent, still escorted him upward with the same caution as when they had escorted Wang Du earlier.

Passing along the embankment, the man did not so much as glance at the countless gazes fixed upon him from all around. Without pausing, he walked straight toward the shimmering water below. And as the two Volunteer Guards halted, the man, just as before, began to sing aloud:

"My lord, do not cross the river — yet my lord crossed the river!

Drowned in the river and died — what can be done for my lord?!"

From below the embankment to the middle of the river, he sang it over and over. When he reached the river, just as the water rose to his neck, a wave came rolling in under the setting sun, and after that, there was no more sound.

Everyone on the embankment was speechless, and they stood there for a long time without moving, until the setting sun upstream on the Yellow River had completely sunk away.

"The Taiping Dao truly deludes the masses with its sorcery!" Only after a long while did Cao Mengde, as if steeling his courage, manage to bellow this rebuke toward the Yellow River, but what he said was merely the same old words as before. "Bu Ji was also a demon — to have deluded so many into following him in blind faith in this demonic sect, even to the point of following him into the river — his crimes are beyond pardon!"

The various generals around him, as if suddenly awakening, each chimed in with words of agreement.

"And yet, who was it that forced these people to rather die than to believe in this illusory and ethereal Yellow Heaven?" Gongsun Xun had the urge to ask Cao Mengde this old question in front of everyone, but in the end, he did not voice it, and instead turned and walked away.

What took its place was that famous Music Bureau lyric he had just heard repeated several times.

The poem goes:

"My lord, do not cross the river — yet my lord crossed the river!

Drowned in the river and died — what can be done for my lord?!"

—————— I am the dividing line that crosses the river and dies ——————

"At the end of the Guanghe era, in summer, the fifth month, the Grand Ancestor fought the Yellow Turban Yanzhou Canal Commander Bu Ji, Vice Commander Liang Zhongning, and Zhang Bo at Cangting and Dongwuyang. The rebels numbered forty thousand. Bu had Liang and Zhang lead twenty thousand troops to encamp at Dongwuyang, facing the Grand Ancestor's camp, while he personally led twenty thousand across the Cangting ford to attack his rear. Shen Pei, stationed beside the Yellow River, learned of this and reported it by night to the Grand Ancestor. The Grand Ancestor sent Cheng Pu and Gao Shun with a thousand elite troops to block them on the road five li south of Dongwuyang, while he himself took command of the cavalry and raced to the riverbank. When Bu arrived, he struck him swiftly; Bu suffered a great defeat, and Pei also cut off his pontoon bridge from the river, so he could not return. Meanwhile, Liang and Zhang, with their twenty thousand troops, repeatedly failed to break through the thousand men of Cheng and Gao. When the Grand Ancestor raced back, he defeated them as well, then drove the routed troops to the river, linking up the front and rear and crushing them utterly. The total tally of heads taken, from Zhang Bo on down, exceeded ten thousand; over ten thousand surrendered; and those who threw themselves into the river and died, from Bu Ji and Liang Zhongning on down, numbered some seven thousand in all. Dong Commandery was thus pacified." — From the Dianlüe, annotated by Pei Songzhi of Yan.

Ps: Regarding the Yellow Turbans drowning themselves in the river… I carefully checked the sources. Apart from being massacred after their defeats, the Yellow Turbans actually committed suicide surprisingly often. In the *Zizhi Tongjian*, the original text describing the Yellow Turban army's behavior after a certain battle reads: "Those who threw themselves into the river and died numbered around fifty thousand"… Around fifty thousand… In conclusion, sixteen thousand characters in total… There really won't be any more tomorrow… Don't get your hopes up.

(End of chapter)