Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 2 How to go back
Wei Xiaobao was dragged into the team and heard someone calling his name, but the man's face was almost completely covered by beard, and he couldn't remember who it was for a moment.

The man just raised his hands and shouted the slogans of the Yellow Turban Army, pulling Wei Xiaobao forward with the crowd.

Wei Xiaobao was adjusting his headscarf with one hand. He looked down and saw that the hand holding him was small and delicate, which was in stark contrast to his rough and unruly beard. He was suddenly startled and leaned over to the man and said, "Is it done?"

When the man heard what Wei Xiaobao said, he chuckled and lowered his head in silence.

Although he could see the beard, Wei Xiaobao guessed who this person was by seeing the shy expression.

"Shuang'er, is it really you?"

The man nodded secretly at Wei Xiaobao and continued to shout the slogan of the Yellow Turban Army.

Wei Xiaobao was overjoyed and was about to ask her why she followed him here, but he saw that the Yellow Turban soldier who had caught him in the alley had returned.

Wei Xiaobao was worried that the matter would be exposed, so he quickly raised his hand and shouted a few slogans. With his other hand, he broke free from Shuang'er's wrist and secretly scratched her palm.

The Yellow Turban Army soon arrived at a training ground, and the team of more than a thousand people was quickly dispersed to various places by a dozen small leaders.

At this time, Wei Xiaobao quickly pulled Shuang'er up and hid in the corner to ask the reason.

After the two of them whispered to each other for a while, Wei Xiaobao finally realized that Shuang'er had been following them since he was captured by the Skinny Monk. It was not until she saw him being thrown into the magic circle by Hong Antong that Shuang'er risked her life to rescue him. As for why the two of them ended up in different places, Shuang'er had no idea, and Wei Xiaobao was even more confused.

However, being able to see Shuang'er in this unfamiliar environment, Wei Xiaobao no longer had any of his previous timidity and anxiety.

Instead, Shuang'er asked worriedly, "Xiaobao, Master Hong asked you to find the jade seal. Do you know where it is?"

Wei Xiaobao shook his head, looked at Shuang'er's big beard and laughed, "You even knew to stick a beard on yourself. If I didn't have this headscarf, I would have been mistaken for a Tartar spy and snapped to pieces by them."

Shuang'er said, "I've always dressed as a man when I was around you. When I came here, I thought I'd dress as a man to make it easier to find you. I pressed a man's acupoints and stole his clothes and headscarf. Who knew I'd be pulled into the crowd right after I changed my clothes? If I hadn't seen you on the street, I really wouldn't know where to find you."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Did you borrow the beard on your face from someone else?"

Shuang'er smiled and took out a dagger from her bosom and said, "Thanks to you for this dagger."

As Wei Xiaobao took the dagger, he heard someone on the training ground shouting, "I've killed that bastard officer Zhang Gang!"

The atmosphere on the parade ground was suddenly heated. Those who were originally squatting or sitting suddenly jumped up, raised their weapons high and responded loudly.

Wei Xiaobao also quickly stood up and shouted, taking the opportunity to talk to the people around him.

Wei Xiaobao grew up in a brothel, and his specialty was reading people's expressions. In recent years, he had been traveling between the palace and the Tiandihui. It was easy for him to get some information from these rebels.

Zhang Gang, who was killed, was the prefect of Guangling in the imperial court. The Yellow Turban Army killed him in order to avenge their leader Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying had previously led a rebellion in Guangling. Later, he was persuaded to surrender by Guangling Governor Zhang Gang, becoming his subordinate, the "Supervisor of Bandits" (謝謝曹), in charge of the Guangling army. These soldiers were civilians who had joined Zhang Ying in the rebellion and later surrendered to the imperial court. Zhang Gang, a narrow-minded governor, doubted Zhang Ying's sincerity and remained cautious in every matter. A Yellow Turban leader named Ma Yuanyi, intent on winning over Zhang Ying, sent envoys to contact him. Zhang Ying's initial rebellion was driven by government pressure and, now wealthy, he had lost all desire to rebel. However, Ma Yuanyi was betrayed and torn to pieces in Luoyang. The imperial court discovered that Ma Yuanyi had sent envoys to Zhang Ying and ordered Zhang Gang to investigate. Zhang Gang, long intent on eliminating Zhang Ying and controlling his forces, exploited this situation and, without further investigation, executed Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying's assassination sparked a rebellion. Most of the soldiers in Guangling County were former members of Zhang Ying's army, and with the Yellow Turbans fanning the flames, these soldiers eventually joined the rebellion. This left Guangling County destitute, and within days, the city was breached by the Yellow Turbans.

When Wei Xiaobao and Shuang'er arrived, Guangling had already been captured by the Yellow Turban Army. The soldiers took to the streets to march in order to promote the Taiping Dao and win over the people and expand their ranks, and also to avenge Zhang Ying by going to the prefectural governor's mansion to take Zhang Gang's head.

Wei Xiaobao figured out the whole story, but he heard shouts mixed in with the cheers. It must be that someone was remembering Zhang Ying's tragic death and was sad at this moment.

After thinking about it, Wei Xiaobao had an idea in his mind.

The Yellow Turban leader who had killed Zhang Gang wanted to comfort the crowd, but before he could open his mouth, he heard someone in the crowd shout, "Brother Zhang has been avenged, but what about Brother Ma?"

The person who shouted this sentence was Wei Xiaobao.

However, there were too many people on the training ground, and even the people around Wei Xiaobao didn't realize that it was him who was speaking for a moment.

Originally, these people were a combination of the Yellow Turban Army and Zhang Ying's former subordinates, and some of them had already started shouting.

The Yellow Turban Army's original plan was to win over Zhang Ying's former troops and then rush to Yecheng to join the main force. Seeing that the troops were about to fall apart, he shouted loudly: "Everyone, please calm down and listen to what I, Chen Bai, have to say."

Wei Xiaobao stood on tiptoe and looked at the martial arts arena in the training ground.

The burly man on the stage who called himself Bo Cai was holding a bloody head in his hand.

The burly man continued, "General Tian Gong is raising an uprising in the north. The Yellow Turban Army has mobilized a total of thirty-six factions across the country, numbering hundreds of thousands of troops. Each faction is led by a leader. My brothers, Chen Bai and Wan Bingwan, were recommended by our elder brother, Ma Yuanyi, to serve as the leader of the Yangzhou faction. Of course, we will never forget our deep hatred for him."

"Fight to Luoyang and avenge Brother Ma!"

Wei Xiaobao shouted, and Chen Bai on the martial arts stage had already noticed the source of the voice, and a pair of eagle eyes shot out across the crowd.

Wei Xiaobao quickly shrank his neck.

This group of people had originally followed Ma Yuanyi to Yangzhou to recruit troops. When they heard someone taking the lead, they also started shouting loudly.

Shuang'er was puzzled and asked in a low voice: "Xiaobao, why did you incite them to go to Luoyang?"

Wei Xiaobao leaned close to Shuang'er's ear and said, "The imperial palace is in Luoyang right now, and the emperor's seal must be there too. Wait until they go there and cause chaos. Then I can take advantage of the situation and find the seal."

Shuang'er said, "Xiaobao, you're the smartest. Once we find the jade seal, we can go back. I bet Miss Zeng is already anxiously waiting. By the way, Xiaobao, how are we going to get back once we find the jade seal?"

Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh and cursed, "That old turtle, Master Hong, only told me to come and find the jade seal. I don't know how to get back."

(The incident in which Guangling Governor Zhang Gang persuaded Zhang Ying to surrender took place during the reign of Emperor Shun of Han, about forty years before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. This incident is referenced here for the sake of the novel's plot.)
(End of this chapter)