Late Han Dynasty: Did the Yellow Emperor truly descend?

Chapter 20 The Flames of War Rise

Thinking of this, Li Sheng patted Liu Lu on the shoulder and asked, "I heard that the villages to the north have also formed a group of local militias, is that right?"

Liu Lu nodded: "They did form a team, but it's different from ours. Theirs was pooled together by several wealthy families in the village. Brother Sheng, you're asking about this one?"

"That's good. I'd like to trouble you to make another trip and see if you can get together with them. Since we're all local militia, it would be good if we could help each other out."

"Okay. But I'm not sure if they'd be willing to see us."

"It's alright. It doesn't matter if we don't finish. Preserving ourselves is the most important thing."

Li Sheng patted him on the shoulder.

"Go back and rest. It's not too late to set off tomorrow."

"Okay!"

Liu Lu responded and strode away.

Li Sheng stood in front of the wooden gate, watching his figure disappear into the twilight.

He thought to himself: given the current actions of the government, when the Yellow Turbans invade, the county and prefectural troops probably won't dare to go out of the city to fight in the open. They will most likely hold their positions in the city and wait for the imperial army. If he could contact the local militias elsewhere and exchange information, it would be a good thing.

Thinking of this, Li Sheng frowned slightly.

What happened to the Taiping Dao talisman masters who preached here? Could they have been recalled to face the main force of the imperial court?

Li Sheng shook his head and turned to walk into the courtyard.

Li Feng had already cleaned the fish and was cooking it in a pot.

The fire in the stove made his face glow red.

"Brother Sheng, the food will be ready in a little while."

"Um."

Li Sheng squatted down by the stove and warmed his hands by the fire.

The nights in March are still a bit chilly.

He watched the flickering flames, but his mind was wandering to other things.

Spring plowing must be done quickly, grain reserves must be carefully managed, and the training of local militia must not be neglected.

Although things are relatively peaceful now, he knows that the great chaos will come sooner or later. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so foolish as to run to the county government office and write the symbols of rebellion in white clay.

……

During the busy spring planting season, Li Sheng led the villagers to work in the fields during the day and occasionally took time in the evening to practice.

The queue is gradually becoming more organized; at least it can barely manage to "follow orders without question."

Liu Lu also brought back the news: the wealthy families in the north were unwilling to meet with them and looked down on these poor fellows.

Li Sheng shook his head, not taking it to heart.

Time passed quickly like that.

By the seventh day of the third month, more than two days had passed since the originally scheduled start date of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Li Shengzheng was leading his team in working in the fields.

People at that time were not stupid; in fact, the people of China were the most skilled at farming. They developed "crop rotation and multiple cropping" by utilizing the growth characteristics of winter wheat.

Simply put, it means planting different crops in sequence and continuously on the same piece of land.

Winter wheat is the core of this system.

Winter wheat is sown in August or September of the previous year's lunar calendar. By March or April, the wheat is in the critical growth stage of jointing and heading, requiring a lot of effort to manage.

Seeds don't just grow into crops on their own when sown in the ground. Without careful cultivation, this year's summer harvest will surely be dismal, so Li Sheng and his team can't afford to relax for a moment.

In his essay "On Valuing Grain," Chao Cuo, a famous minister of the Western Han Dynasty, described the hardships of the common people in this way: "In spring, they cannot avoid the wind and dust; in summer, they cannot avoid the heat; in autumn, they cannot avoid the rain; in winter, they cannot avoid the cold. They have no day to rest."

Farmers are always the most hardworking people.

Just then, a figure could be seen running from the road in the distance, running very fast and raising a trail of dust behind him.

When the person got closer, it became clear that it was Liu Lu.

This kid went to the county to gather information a couple of days ago, I didn't expect him to come back so quickly.

Liu Lu was out of breath from running, his face was covered in sweat, and his clothes were soaked through and stuck to his body.

"Sheng-ge! Sheng-ge!"

He ran and shouted, his voice distorted.

The people in the field all looked up.

Li Sheng straightened up, walked out of the field, and onto the ridge.

"What's wrong?"

Liu Lu ran up to him, put his hands on his knees, and gasped for breath.

"Rogue...rebels..."

"Don't rush, tell me slowly."

Li Sheng reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder, his voice steady.

Liu Lu swallowed hard, finally managing to catch his breath. He looked up, his eyes filled with terror.

"Brother Sheng, the rebels are attacking!"

Upon hearing this, the people around immediately erupted in uproar.

"What thieves?"

"Where did these thieves come from?"

"Have we arrived here?"

Li Sheng raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"Liu Lu, explain yourself clearly. What 'bandits'? Where did they come from?"

Liu Lu wiped the sweat from his face, his voice still trembling:

"Brother Sheng, I was gathering information in the county and I felt something was wrong. The people on the street looked different, most of the shops were closed, and a lot of people were gathered at the city gate."

"I asked someone I knew, and that's how I found out."

He took a deep breath.

"The northern kingdom of Xiapi has been breached by the Yellow Turban rebels! King Liu Yi of Xiapi has abandoned the city and fled!"

This statement was like a stone thrown into calm water.

In the fields, an uproar erupted instantly.

"Has the Kingdom of Xiapi fallen?"

"The prince has already fled?"

"Won't those rebels head south?"

Li Sheng stood still, motionless.

His face remained expressionless, but his mind was in turmoil.

Xiapi State.

That was the largest vassal state in Xuzhou, with its capital in Xiapi County, only a hundred li away from here.

Liu Yi, the King of Xiapi, was a legitimate prince of the imperial clan. Although his fiefdom was not large, he was protected by his royal palace and guarded by troops from the prefecture.

Even he abandoned the city and fled.

What does this tell us?

This shows that the Yellow Turban Rebellion's advance was far more powerful than he had anticipated. It also shows that Liu Yi was nothing more than a figurehead, arrogant and domineering in ordinary times, but when it came to actual fighting, he ran away faster than anyone else.

"Brother Sheng,"

Liu Lu's voice trembled slightly, drawing everyone's attention back to Li Sheng. "What do we do?"

Li Sheng looked around.

The people in the field were all watching him.

Those young militiamen and ordinary villagers, their eyes held fear, unease, and also anticipation.

He suddenly realized something.

The signal he's been waiting for might just be today, right now.

"What should we do?"

Li Sheng straightened his back, stood ramrod straight, and spoke in a booming voice.

"Call everyone back and tell the villagers to get ready. They've trained for so long; it's time to protect them!"

He remained calm in the face of danger, speaking each word clearly and deliberately, becoming everyone's pillar of support.

Just as Li Sheng was mobilizing his forces, the uprising launched by the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao finally shook the entire world.

Seven prefectures and twenty-eight counties rose up simultaneously.

The eight provinces of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu were engulfed in flames of war.

The Yellow Turbans attacked and killed officials and occupied counties and prefectures in various places.

Meanwhile, Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty, who was in Luoyang, was having fun with the eunuchs in the West Garden.

As memorials arrived one after another, each one reported the fall of cities and the killing of officials.

The emperor, who sold official positions, turned deathly pale and could barely hold the jade cup in his hand.

The imperial court finally took action.

Eight commanders were stationed around Luoyang, with He Jin appointed as Grand General, leading the five battalions of the Left and Right Imperial Guards to garrison at Duting, repair their weapons, and guard the capital.

He then granted a general amnesty to all members of the partisan faction, releasing those scholars who had been imprisoned for more than ten years and loosening the shackles around their necks.