Chapter 586: What is true? What on earth is true!

"Sit down and speak." Duan Yu pointed to the seats on either side.

Jia Xu came over and sat down, while Liu Bai Tu took a wax-sealed bamboo tube from his bosom.

Tie Shitou took the bamboo tube and delivered it to Duan Yu.

Duan Yu put down his chopsticks and opened the wax seal of the bamboo tube.

Inside was a secret letter.

A secret letter written in the secret code pinyin of the Military Intelligence Department.

On the back of the secret letter, there was also a cicada-shaped seal.

"Lord, this is intelligence obtained by the Luoyang Spring Cicada," Liu Bai Tu said.

Duan Yu nodded while opening the letter.

"Spring Cicada" did not refer to a person, nor to an organization.

It was the code name for a mission.

The code name for this mission was 【Spring Cicada】.

Last winter, Duan Yu ordered Liu Bai Tu to begin using the Military Intelligence Department to infiltrate Luoyang, with the main purpose of obtaining intelligence.

Intelligence, in times of war, can be said to be the most critical point.

And as a modern person, he naturally knew the importance of intelligence.

A piece of reliable intelligence can often easily turn the tide of a battle.

Just like the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Red Cliffs, and the Battle of Yiling—these classic battles that determined the survival of a faction.

In these battles, on the surface, it seems like heroic generals charging and fighting on the battlefield.

But behind the scenes, one doesn't know how many people engaged in intelligence work have silently contributed.

Cao Wei's Jinzou Cao, Shu Han's Military Council Division, Eastern Wu's Jiefan Battalion.

These were the intelligence departments of the major factions.

This was also Duan Yu's original intention in creating the Military Intelligence Department.

【Spring Cicada】 was a code name for an operation to infiltrate and obtain intelligence.

A cicada hides underground, dormant for three years, then breaks through the soil in one move, its song heard in all directions.

Three months had passed since the 【Spring Cicada】 operation was implemented.

It could only be said to have had modest success.

But seeing the intelligence obtained before him, Duan Yu was still somewhat shocked.

The source of the intelligence was Yuan Kui's Minister's manor.

"Previously, the Lord instructed that news about the Taiping Dao should be focused on. This piece of news was obtained in the Minister's manor."

"A few days ago, a Taiping Dao follower named Tang Zhou went to Yuan Kui's Minister's manor. This person's status within the Taiping Dao should not be low."

"After entering the Minister's manor, this person explained the whereabouts of a Taiping Dao follower named Ma Yuanyi to Yuan Kui."

"According to the investigation, this person named Ma Yuanyi is a disciple under the Great Virtuous Teacher Zhang Jiao of the Taiping Dao, often active in the Luoyang and Yingchuan areas."

"That night, the Tiger Bravery Army Middle-General Yuan Shu captured Ma Yuanyi in a private residence in the east of Luoyang city, and also seized the Taiping Heavenly Book that Ma Yuanyi was carrying."

Liu Bai Tu explained while Duan Yu read the contents of the secret letter.

His brow furrowed accordingly.

This is not right!

This is completely not right!

Duan Yu knew who Tang Zhou was.

He also knew who Ma Yuanyi was.

Historical records state that Zhang Jiao originally planned to start the uprising on the fifth day of the third month.

But because of Tang Zhou's betrayal, Commander Ma Yuanyi was arrested in Luoyang, and the uprising had to be moved forward.

Tang Zhou betrayed Zhang Jiao... but how could he have a connection with Yuan Kui?

Regarding the Taiping Dao, Duan Yu had begun collecting intelligence from all aspects over the past few months.

After all, this was the S1 season for the many warlords of the late Eastern Han Dynasty to farm experience.

Liu Bei, Sun Jian, Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao... they all farmed their largest amount of experience in this grand uprising.

And Duan Yu was inevitably going to participate in this battle.

Therefore, he had been making full preparations since last winter, starting to collect various intelligence on the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

But the more intelligence he obtained, the more Duan Yu felt something was wrong.

First point.

Zhang Jiao had been preaching for more than ten years.

The Taiping Dao had also been flourishing for more than ten years.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the whole world knew about it; there was no one who didn't know about the Taiping Dao.

And Duan Yu discovered that there were not a few people inside and outside the court who believed in the Taiping Dao.

Not to mention Zhang Jiao's base in Jizhou.

Intelligence collected by Jia Dong from Jizhou showed that the Taiping Dao was a household name in Jizhou.

Luoyang, the imperial court, and the Emperor could not possibly not know.

In fact, Liu Hong had known about the Taiping Dao for a long time.

It wasn't just Liu Hong who knew.

The Taiping Dao was created by Zhang Jiao based on the *Taiping Jing*.

And the contents recorded in this *Taiping Jing* had already been presented to Emperor Shun of Han by a person named Gong Chong fifty or sixty years ago.

The contents recorded in the *Taiping Jing* were all about how to assist the Han Dynasty and restore the Han Dynasty.

And Gong Chong's teacher was Yu Ji, who was the author of the *Taiping Jing*.

This person later treated illnesses and saved people in the Kuaiji area, and was later killed by Sun Ce on the grounds of spreading evil words to confuse the public and bewitch the masses.

Yu Ji and Gong Chong were both from Langya, Xuzhou.

They were also of the famous Huang-Lao school among the Hundred Schools of Thought.

And as everyone knows, the Huang-Lao school was most prosperous during the late Qin and early Han dynasties.

The three core points of the Huang-Lao school were "self-cultivation," "governing the world," and "practical application."

Self-cultivation is about self-improvement and longevity...

Governing the world is mainly about letting the people rest and recover, and governing by non-action.

Practical application is about encouraging and recommending invention and creation.

Combining these three points, the *Taiping Jing* was created.

Later, this book was obtained by Zhang Jiao; there are rumors that Yu Ji passed it to Zhang Jiao, and others say Zhang Jiao obtained it by accident.

But regardless, Zhang Jiao used the *Taiping Jing* as a foundation to establish the Taiping Dao.

And according to intelligence brought back by Jia Dong from Jizhou, no one in Jizhou was unaware of the Taiping Dao.

But the government and officials had never prohibited or blocked Zhang Jiao from spreading it.

And according to word of mouth from the people, Zhang Jiao's Taiping Dao was a virtuous path that guided people toward goodness.

This made Duan Yu even more confused.

With the momentum of the Taiping Dao, if there really was any intention to rebel, it would not have gone unnoticed.

Over these ten-plus years, could it be that the officials of the Great Han were all blind?

It couldn't be that all the officials in Jizhou had been bought off by Zhang Jiao.

Three years ago, that is, the third year of Guanghe.

Grand Marshal Yang Ci had a memorial to the throne.

It was about the Taiping Dao. ===== CHAPTER 588 =====