Taiping Dao at the end of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 54 Whom do you want me, Yu Jin, to kill? Just give the order!
If the Beginning of Spring falls in the twelfth lunar month, the spring water will arrive early; if it falls in the first lunar month, the spring water will arrive late. In the sixth year of the Guanghe era, the Beginning of Spring was later than the Spring Festival, several days later. Therefore, this year's spring rains will be much later than usual. This seems to foreshadow an ominous sign, a frightening agricultural drought and reduced yields.

"Chengfu, you mean, after defeating the Cheng family, you obtained 100,000 hu of grain?"

"Yes, teacher! We did not take any wealth or land, but we cooperated with County Magistrate Wang Du and Du Bo Dong Yang to conceal the Cheng family's 100,000 bushels of grain! This grain has already been taken out in batches by the three Dongjun chieftains through their disciples. With this batch of grain in the granary, even if Yanzhou suffers another severe drought this year, it can still provide relief to tens of thousands of disaster victims!"

In a side hall of the Tianqi Temple, the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao knelt at the head of the table, the Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao sat at the second head, and Zhang Chengfu knelt at the lower head. No other disciples or leaders participated in this meeting. The fact that the two great physicians were meeting him alone was, in a sense, a profound test.

"If a family owns ten thousand mu of land, can they obtain one hundred thousand bushels of grain?"

Upon hearing this astonishing figure, the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao and the Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao exchanged a glance, both speechless with surprise. Compared to this gain, the Way of Peace's efforts in Jizhou—bringing talismans and medicines, resorting to divination and fortune-telling—to exchange for a few hundred or a thousand bushels of grain from powerful families... truly amounted to nothing!

"The common people have no food, they die eating grass roots and clods of earth, and the fields are full of corpses; while the rich and powerful have overflowing granaries, they live in luxury and watch coldly! What kind of way is this? This is not the way of Heaven! The way of Heaven is to help the masses, not to feed one while a hundred starve!"

The Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao's voice was like metal, his expression stern. Compared to his elder brother Zhang Jiao, he was more impatient and spoke more directly.

"The way of man is to take from the poor to give to the rich. To rob the poor to enrich the rich, to harm the living to support the powerful, will surely anger Heaven! Who has enough to give to the world? Only the righteous. We should rise up for the sake of all living beings, uphold the way of Heaven, and stop this injustice!"

"Excellent! Martial Uncle is right!"

Hearing his second master's words, Zhang Chengfu nodded repeatedly in agreement. Zhang Jiao, however, frowned, looked at his disciple and his second brother, and spoke after a few breaths.

"Chengfu, the aristocratic families have passed down their traditions through farming and scholarship. What they value most are, firstly, fertile land and good fields to build manors, and secondly, a reputation for classical learning to secure official positions. This time, you have taken the Cheng family's grain and their lives. The impact in Yanzhou will be significant, shaking the entire gentry of the province!"

"Fortunately, this time it was the Duan family, a powerful clan, who used the county magistrate Wang Du as their hunting dogs to destroy the Cheng family, a prominent clan. You also brought in the Dong family of Dingtao, and together with other gentry families in the county, you divided up the Cheng family's land and wealth, so you haven't exposed yourself yet."

"But secrets don't stay hidden forever, and this kind of thing can't stand up to scrutiny. There are many capable people among the powerful families, and they'll notice you sooner or later! The reason you've been able to succeed so easily this time is because you were in the shadows while the Cheng family was in the open. If you were exposed, you would also be targeted by others..."

At this point, Zhang Jiao sighed. Having tasted the sweetness of breaking down the powerful clans, if another severe drought were to occur this year, the conflict between the Yellow Turbans of Yanzhou and the powerful clans would inevitably come to the forefront sooner or later. Moreover, with the gentry of the world colluding with each other, once the news spread, the gentry relations that the Way of Peace had been maintaining would likely collapse.

"In short, never underestimate the heroes of powerful families! The more you do, the more attention you attract, and the more vigilant you must be. Do you understand?"

"Yes, teacher! Your disciple is well aware of the wisdom and strength of these people and would never dare to underestimate the heroes of powerful families!"

Seeing the teacher's worried expression, Zhang Chengfu bowed, feeling moved. The three then chatted for a while about the situation in Dongjun and the sudden changes that would occur in Yanzhou in the face of "Duan's raised sword".

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Chengfu respectfully prostrated himself and expressed the thoughts he had pondered for a long time.

“Master, Uncle-Master! I have traveled to Yanzhou and seen that the chieftains of Yanzhou and Qingzhou are each in charge of their own territory! Their desires and actions are different, and they do not contact each other much, making it difficult for them to support each other…”

"This disciple wondered if it was possible to influence the various leaders, unify the command of the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou, and even the Yellow Turbans throughout the land; clarify the guiding principles and goals, so that all leaders would be of one mind; and establish the Yellow Heaven Teachings, dispatching Daoist envoys to enforce military discipline!..."

"Only by completely uniting all the factions of my Way of Peace into one can we truly confront the Han Dynasty and form a force capable of replacing it!"

"Yes, unify commands, clarify guidelines, establish laws and regulations, and enforce discipline?"

Upon hearing this, the two renowned physicians exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat subtle. Zhang Bao pondered for a moment before speaking first.

"Chengfu, you're talking about unified command. Whom do you mean for the local leaders to obey? And who will be in charge to command them?"

"Heaven above! This is naturally a court similar to Luoyang! The central government has administration, military, and supervision, and then the local prefectures and kingdoms. Although this system is complex, it ensures command and operation from top to bottom. When Luoyang issues an order, all regions can mobilize their forces, providing grain, manpower, carts, horses, and troops, and then gather in one place to go to war!"

Zhang Chengfu spoke very earnestly about his vision of the Taiping Dao system.

"Our Taiping Dao has three great physicians, and our Daoist center in Jizhou is our foundation. We should establish a 'General Daoist Gate' with these three great physicians at its core and Jizhou as its central hub, to command all the major and minor Daoist sects in various prefectures and counties, and unite the strength of all parties into one! Only when all parties participate, concentrating manpower, material resources, and military strength, can we resist the imperial court's punitive expedition!"

"In order to ensure unity between the top and the bottom, we need a program and goals that all Taiping Dao disciples believe in and follow, as well as religious and military laws to restrain the righteous army! The main sect should send out Daoist envoys, and there should be 'military Daoist envoys' to guide the Yellow Turban rebels' faith, and there should also be 'inspector Daoist envoys' to supervise the leaders and enforce military discipline!"

"Only by establishing clear command and discipline can our Taiping Dao endure and avoid degenerating into a band of faithless bandits!..."

Upon hearing this comprehensive and far-reaching system of the Way of Peace, the two great physicians lowered their eyes and remained silent for a long time. Zhang Bao looked deep in thought, while Zhang Jiao remained expressionless. After a while, it was finally the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao who spoke.

"The thirty-six directions are all different, but the only thing they have in common is that they all believe in the idea that 'the Azure Heaven is dead, and the Yellow Heaven shall rise,' and they want to change the world! They believe in the Yellow Heaven, but they may not truly believe in peace. And even if they truly believe in peace, they may not be able to control their disciples and followers, or even themselves. Even if they can control themselves, they are often unwilling to be controlled by others, whether it is the three of us great physicians or a general sect that controls them."

"Unifying commands and clarifying guidelines is naturally a great thing! I also hope that the thirty-six factions can work together with one heart and one mind, and put all their strength into one direction... However, Heaven does not grant empty promises. To be honest, the thirty-six factions come from diverse backgrounds, and their leaders each govern their own region, while their followers only listen to their local leaders. Unifying them into one is impossible within a year and a half before the uprising; on the contrary, it will cause the leaders to become disloyal!"

“Now, even your two senior uncles and I can only rely on the prestige of teaching and guiding to unite them as much as possible and get them to act in the same direction! As for the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, the leaders all feel that they are still acceptable, so I cannot force them to start a rebellion.”

"Of the seven provinces, the only ones that can be somewhat pacified are the Yellow Turbans in Ji Province and Yan Province. And these two places are where your uncle and I are respectively stationed and managed, and where the Taiping Dao has the deepest roots! Even Yu Province, which your third uncle has been helping and healing, cannot be done in this way at present due to the influence of the gentry on the leaders."

"Therefore, unifying commands and clarifying the program can be proposed. However, realizing it will be a long and difficult process. This will have to wait until the uprising begins and the foundation is solidified before a long period of sorting and management can be carried out, which will be done by your next generation!"

As he spoke, the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao gazed intently at Zhang Chengfu and nodded slightly. Meanwhile, the Great Physician Zhang Bao scrutinized his elder brother's young disciple and pressed for an answer.

"Chengfu, you just mentioned establishing the Yellow Heaven Teachings to regulate the discipline of the righteous army after the uprising? Are there any specific provisions?"

"Have!"

"Tell us about it!" "Yes, sir!"

Zhang Chengfu paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and took out a piece of yellow paper from his robes. On the paper, written in an unusually square script, were the words "Three Chapters of the Yellow Heaven Covenant and Six Taboos." He handed the paper to Zhang Bao and solemnly began to speak.

"Heaven bears witness! Master, Uncle-Master! In my heart, the peace that our Way of Peace seeks is for the common people, and we must stand on the people's side! These laws and taboos are to establish command over the righteous army and clarify their close relationship with the common people. We also need to distribute the spoils of war fairly and uniformly in our attacks on powerful families and clans, taking care of the vulnerable believers!"

“If we cannot gain the support of the common people, we will be unable to fight against the powerful government army! And if we cannot discipline the righteous army to ‘not take food from the people, not plunder their clothes, and not violate their women,’ our wish for ‘peace’ will become empty words!”

"Losing military discipline and plundering the people will be devastating to the uprising! The soldiers will lose their discipline, the believers will lose their faith, and the common people will lose faith in us. At that point, we will lose our greatest advantage over the government troops, like fish out of water, falling ashore and dying of thirst..."

"In ordinary times, we should 'not insult the village elders, not seize farm cattle, not destroy fields, not burn granaries, and always return borrowed items and pay for what we take!' Even if we can't do it perfectly, we should try our best to do it, even if it's only 30% or 50%! If we don't have this kind of philosophy and instead act like government troops, making it our job to exploit and oppress the people, then we've gone from a righteous army to bandits!..."

After speaking, Zhang Chengye showed reverence, prostrated himself on the ground, and bowed to the two great physicians.

"What I have said comes from the bottom of my heart! Please give me your guidance, Master and Uncle!"

The Heavenly Physician Zhang Bao glanced at the draft "laws," his face showing surprise, but he also looked at Zhang Chengfu with newfound respect. He pondered silently, then handed the talisman to his elder brother Zhang Jiao.

After carefully examining the document once, Zhang Jiao's expression softened considerably, though his brow remained furrowed. He looked at it again, closed his eyes, and fell into deep thought. After a long while, the Great Teacher of Wisdom finally opened his eyes, his expression complex, and let out a sigh.

"Heaven and earth have their cycles; knowing them is easy, but doing them is difficult; the human heart is full of confusion, and loving all people is even more difficult! Chengfu, have you ever seen the Yellow River burst its banks? Once the Yellow River breaches its banks, it is like a raging tide, unstoppable. The floodwaters submerge hundreds or thousands of miles, and fields, houses, people, and livestock cannot be saved! And the discontent and anger in the human heart are like a raging fire, which, once ignited, blazes fiercely! Wherever the fire burns, villages and cities are reduced to ashes..."

"The rushing water and the raging fire cannot be stopped by the power of one person, nor can they be tamed by a single plan. Such is the nature of the human heart; it is easy to have the will to kill, but difficult to restrain it! For several years, I hesitated to make a decision because I knew that after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it would inevitably lead to a life-or-death struggle with the government troops, resulting in mutual slaughter and widespread death. But with such natural disasters, if we did not rise up, we would starve to death; there was no other way to choose..."

"Chengfu, I'm not saying all this because I think your 'agreement' is bad! In fact, it's very good, even idealistic to an extreme!"

“I think you only see the goodness of the common people, but you don’t realize the anger, hatred and evil hidden deep within them. When they have nowhere to retreat and rise up in rebellion, they will become like the Yellow River bursting its banks, turning into a burning flame!”

"Therefore, if we want to use 'laws' to restrain them, we must be prepared to restrain the Yellow River and the flames! We will definitely do it, but we must also know that this is by no means an easy task, and it cannot be done easily by a few people!"

After saying all this, the great teacher sighed softly and finally gave his disciple some pointers.

"Those who merely wish to save the world must first save their own hearts, and then understand the hearts of the world. Those who merely wish to pacify the four directions must first understand the principles of governing people, and then gain the strength of the four directions!"

“Chengfu, you already have five hundred disciples. If one day they all grow up, sharing the same compassionate heart to save the world, and all walk the same path as you, knowing when to advance and when to retreat, understanding compassion and forbearance, and being cautious in killing... then they can share the mandate of heaven and walk the path of peace together!”

"Otherwise, even with such lofty ambitions to save the world and astonishing achievements, you will still find it difficult to succeed!..."

"Go down! Hou Sheng, the chieftain of Jibei Kingdom, returned yesterday and recruited that group of heroes from Mount Tai for you. These heroes are all ruthless and have not yet joined my Taiping Dao sect. You must use them cautiously until you win their hearts before you can entrust them with your lives."

"Yes!"

Hearing his master's instructions, Zhang Chengfu remained silent for a moment before bowing respectfully. Then, he rose and withdrew, leaving only the two physicians behind. The two sat silently for a long time. Only when a breeze rustled the yellow paper did the Great Teacher Zhang Jiao softly ask a question.

"how?"

"With the common people in his heart and hatred for the powerful families, his resolve is as firm as iron, and he is determined to overthrow this unjust world."

The renowned physician Zhang Bao reached out, folded the yellow paper inscribed with the "agreement," and carefully placed it in his robes. Then, he sighed with emotion.

"Although his murderous aura is strong, his foundation lies in great kindness and aspirations. However, he has not experienced enough trials and tribulations, and his seniority is too shallow. He has not encountered the setbacks and tribulations of the world... He can only be relied upon for the long term!"

"So, do you agree?"

"."

The great physician Zhang Bao remained silent for a long time before speaking softly.

"Let's wait and see! He may have good intentions, but we also need to see how he wins people's hearts!"

"Ok!"

The Great Teacher Zhang Jiao nodded and said no more. Outside the temple, Zhang Chengfu also remained silent, sizing up the eight-foot-tall man before him.

This burly man was imposing, with broad shoulders and a thick back. His face was as hard as iron, with high cheekbones and drooping brows. At this moment, his eyes were cold and stern, his lips were tightly pressed into a line, and his face was devoid of any smile, as solemn as the cold stone of Mount Tai.

The two stared at each other in silence, not uttering a word. After a long while, Zhang Chengfu finally smiled and spoke first, offering his praise.

"What a valiant and resolute hero of Mount Tai! How are you, brave warrior? What is your name?"

The burly man gave the boy before him a deep look, his hawk-like eyes sharp as knives, and answered coldly.

"You, Yu Jin of Mount Tai! Since you forcibly recruited me here, why bother with this pretense? Just tell me who you want to kill!"

(End of this chapter)