Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 219 Inviting the Great Man to His Death!
Ten days ago, in Shouchun.

Looking at the urgent report from Lujiang in his hand, and the death order sent back by his lord Yuan Shu, Yan Xiang fell silent.

He stood on the city wall, gazing at the vast fields in the distance, where seedlings were growing vigorously and the faces of the people were beaming with joy as they looked forward to a bountiful harvest.

With the curved plow, the waterwheel, and even the upgraded seed drill ready for use after the autumn harvest, everyone knows that this year's grain harvest will far exceed that of previous years.

For ordinary people, every bite of food is a life.

In particular, in the past two years, the government has taken measures such as annexing land from aristocratic families and implementing a large-scale land rental system for ordinary people.

Many people were allocated rented land from the Yuan family and became tenant farmers of the Yuan family, the most prominent family in Huainan.

As tenant farmers of Yuan Gong, they naturally had to pay rent as well.

The problem is that the sky over Huainan is now the Yellow Emperor, and Yuan Gongzheng of Huainan is the son of the Yellow Emperor.

Suddenly, the people who had been allocated land from the Yuan family discovered some incredibly good news!

After paying the rent to Yuan Gong, you can get a tax-free card, and you won't have to pay taxes when Yuan Gong comes.

As noble tenant farmers, they enjoyed privileges, paying rent but not taxes.

Although on the surface it seems that paying rent and paying grain taxes are no different, the difference is that there is no middleman making a profit!

The land belonged to Yuan Gong, and the rent was paid to Yuan Gong. The landlords could no longer forcibly buy their land and make them tenant farmers to exploit their grain.

In the future, if you encounter a landlord who comes to seize your land, just say, "I am cultivating Yuan Gong's land. If you want to buy the land, go and talk to Yuan Gong."

That would force these once arrogant landlords to their knees.

As for these landlords using other means to bully them?

Excuse me, but we are now noble tenant farmers of the Yuan family, the sacred and inviolable private property of Lord Yuan.

Try touching a single finger of mine?
Since the people who were allocated rented land were piloted to change taxes to rent, the tax system in Huainan has become much clearer.

After all, the tax system, from top to bottom, is full of intricate and corrupt practices, making it extremely difficult to investigate and rectify.

From powerful clans to local officials, everyone is a link in this chain of interests. Reforming them has been a major challenge for the Han Dynasty for the past four hundred years.

But Yuan Gong actually took a different approach: he paid rent but not taxes!
Granting tax exemptions or tax reductions to certain groups of people is not without precedent.

When Emperor Gaozu ascended the throne, he said to the elders and brothers of Pei County:
"When a traveler thinks of his hometown, he feels sorrow. Although I have established my capital in Guanzhong, my soul will still yearn for Pei County after my death."

Moreover, I gained the world by punishing the tyrannical and rebellious, thanks to my position as the Duke of Pei.

Therefore, I will make Pei my fiefdom, exempting its people from taxes and corvée labor, so that they will not have to pay taxes or perform corvée labor for generations to come.

Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was the supreme ruler of the Han Dynasty, and now Lord Yuan is the supreme ruler of Huainan.

So when Yuan Gong was at the grand court assembly in Shouchun that day, he covered his eyes with his hand and said to him:

"When the head of the household sees the grain in his hands, he will think of the tenants who have worked hard to cultivate it."

Although I never cultivate the land, I always keep in mind the people who cultivate this land.

Therefore, the Yuan family's tenant farmers were exempted from taxes, so that they would not have to live in poverty due to paying both rent and taxes.

Therefore, all the officials praised this action as virtuous, and the whole world praised Lord Yuan for his benevolence.

There was no way around it; Yuan Gong, who held the imperial authority and called himself "I," could grant Huainan tax exemption privileges, and almost no one could say no to him.

There's no reason! What can stop him? What's wrong with Lord Yuan, whose actual status is equivalent to the emperor of Huainan, granting some tax-free privileges based on his personal preference?
However, those who received these privileges were not his fellow villagers, his students, or his relatives, but a group of tenant farmers who were completely unrelated to him.

When Huainan implemented the policy of paying rent but not taxes, the people in the entire chain of interests who were originally all-powerful in tax collection and almost untouchable were dumbfounded on the spot.

The rent collection business is not part of their system, so they have no say in it.

The Yuan family's fields, the Yuan family's tenants, the Yuan family's rent, and all of this was managed by Yan Xiang, the incorruptible and impartial chief steward of Lord Yuan, who carried a sword and was dedicated to beheading corrupt officials!

They don't even have a reason to reach in and ask about this thing.

Thus, in Huainan, Yuan Gong, though not officially the emperor, was in reality the emperor.

Because the emperor is the one who collects rent from the entire nation!

Land was publicized by the Yuan government, and rent was paid without taxes. Since the middlemen no longer took a cut, the people found that they could not only eat their fill, but also had surplus grain in their hands.

The world is so devastated that people starve to death and even have to sell their children. This is not just a natural disaster, but a man-made calamity caused by layers of exploitation.

From then on, taxes were abolished, officialdom was rectified, land was distributed, and farming tools were improved. The sky over Huainan was clearer than ever before, and everyone believed that peace was just around the corner!
That dream of peace and prosperity, woven by Zhang Jiao, where farmers own their land and the people are well-fed and clothed, seems to have a real possibility of being realized, even if it is all vague and unattainable, even if all the beauty will vanish like a fleeting moment.

But at least for now, the common people are praying among the green seedlings in the fields for the protection of the Yellow Heaven Responding to the Origin of the Sage, hoping for favorable weather and a joyful year ahead.

O Sage Daoist, even if you only led us through a fleeting, illusory dream called Taiping, we would rather remain immersed in it than wake up.

At this moment, Yan Xiang, standing atop the city wall, looked down upon everything, his gaze seemingly encompassing all the people under Huainan's rule, and shook his head with a light laugh.

"My lord wants me to defend Shouchun to the death? But the enemy can't even enter Huainan, so how am I supposed to defend Shouchun? This is so difficult."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately ordered someone to go to Bagong Mountain to invite the Taoist Master Yu Ji.

Currently, there are approximately 200,000 permanent troops stationed in Chen, Liang, Yingchuan, Lujiang, and Jingzhou, fighting against various warlords.

Cao Cao's timing and strategic judgment were both very accurate. In Shouchun today, there are not even 10,000 elite soldiers, and it would be difficult to even mobilize them.

However, although they lacked elite soldiers, on this land where the Way of Peace was the state religion and Yuan Gong was the Yellow Heaven Responding Origin Manifesting Sage Lord, the Yellow Turban Army could be mobilized in any number they needed.

So, the next day, the Taiping Dao disciples, who were Yu Ji's followers, began to travel around this land of Taiping Dao.

"What? The imperial army has arrived? Are those landlords going to come and demand our taxes again?"

"Why can't this emperor see us doing well? We've only had a few days of peace, and he's already coming to attack us?"

"No, we have already lost a great and wise teacher, and we absolutely cannot lose the Yellow Heaven Responding Origin Manifesting Sage Dao Lord now!"

"As a noble tenant farmer of the Yuan family, I will defend Lord Yuan's land to the death!"

"Trying to seize Yuan Gong's territory? They'll have to step over our dead bodies first!"

"The sky is dead, Huang Tian must stand!"

Under the influence of Yu Ji and his disciples, the people's emotions were easily manipulated. After all, regardless of anything else, and not for anyone else, it was for themselves.

They are now all tenant farmers of Yuan Gong. Once Yuan Gong is defeated and killed, they will lose their land and their tax exemption privileges will not be recognized by the court.

With almost no effort, Yu Ji recruited 100,000 followers of Huangtian Yingyuan Xiansheng Daojun for Yan Xiang.

Each of them was full of fighting spirit, because in their eyes, this battle was sacred!
It is a great battle between Huainan and the imperial court, between the Azure Heaven and the Yellow Heaven, between Liu, the son of the Azure Heaven, and Yuan, the son of the Yellow Heaven!

They were all destined to be recorded in the Taiping Dao (the Way of Peace) books of later generations as heavenly soldiers.

This number is based on the fact that after enthusiastic registration, selection was made, and the elderly, weak, women and children were excluded.

However, sheer numbers are useless. A chaotic mass rushing in would result in the enemy not being killed, but rather the soldiers being trampled to death or wounded.

After having heavenly soldiers, we still need heavenly generals!

Yan Xiang then turned his gaze to a magnificent, golden place in Shouchun City.

It was the Golden Terrace.

Yang Feng! Xiahou Ba! Mao Jie!
Unlike Xiangyang, which was in a situation where it had no generals to use, Shouchun had a reserve of hidden talents.

As for whether these people are trustworthy, or whether they might defect at the last minute?

No one could defect from Huangtian Yingyuan Xiansheng Daojun in front of 100,000 Huangtian believers!
With these people as the core of the leadership, and a large number of veterans who had made meritorious contributions in the army over the years, received titles, and then retired, they served as the branches and leaves.

A Yellow Turban army of 100,000 men was immediately mobilized. Although the Yellow Turban army's fighting strength was indeed worrying, and even Shouchun Heavy Industry could not procure such a large number of weapons and armaments in a short time.

Therefore, after instructing Yu Ji to recruit people, Yan Xiang gave orders to prepare a weapon with all his might: bullets!
The inscription on the slingshot records: "In ancient times, the idea for making slingshots originated from wooden strings. Balls were used as arrows, and bamboo was combined to form the main body."

Unlike bows and arrows, which are not only difficult to manufacture but also have a high barrier to entry for ordinary people,
The bullet was so simple to make that ordinary people could provide it themselves, and it had no barriers to use. It was simply a weapon that was naturally suited for the Yellow Turban Army.

After all, despite the large number of 100,000 Yellow Turban soldiers, they were not capable of fighting a hard battle against a regular army.

Learn from the example of Zhang Jiao, who, with a single rebellion, caused eight provinces to rise up in revolt, and a million Yellow Turbans rose up in a truly heroic manner.
However, once besieged by the regular army of the imperial court, they were quickly wiped out and fell because they were only supported by their courage. Their momentum continued to grow stronger, but if they were to engage in close combat, their courage would be lost due to bloodshed and casualties, and the weaknesses of the Yellow Turban Army would be exposed.

Therefore, in Yan Xiang's plan, these 100,000 Yellow Turbans would not engage in close combat, but would instead launch attacks from a distance using projectiles.

When 100,000 stone projectiles rain down, regardless of their accuracy, even if Cao Cao's army doesn't die, they will be knocked off balance.

The key is that this thing has a fast rate of fire and almost unlimited ammunition, which can be replenished on the spot.

Thus, once Shouchun had everything ready, the extraordinary scene that unfolded in Lujiang took place.

Looking at the vast, endless crowd of people wearing yellow turbans, they surged forward.

Cao Cao: “???”

Wenping: "."

History seems to be shifting before my eyes from afar; am I still living in the past ten years?
What is this thing?
Zhang Jiao resurrected? The Yellow Turban Rebellion returns?

This seemingly endless, yellow-turbaned ocean was something Cao Cao had only seen more than a decade earlier when he followed the famous general Huangfu Song to suppress the Yellow Turbans.

"The Emperor Star shines in the North Star, shaking the universe and suppressing the vast sky!"

Like stars and fireflies, they carry all living beings to witness the coming of Heaven!

Yu Ji, his Taoist robes fluttering, bowed respectfully to the large banner inscribed with "Huangtian Yingyuan Xiansheng Daojun" (Yellow Heaven Responding to the Origin, Manifesting the Sage Taoist Lord) in the army, and drew his sword. He said:

"The remnants of Heaven's evil deeds are now attempting to meet their demise!"
Yu Ji, a disciple of the Way of Great Peace, requested the Great Peace Sword from the Manifested Sage Daoist Lord to begin the killing spree!

Having said that, he raised his sword high and shouted loudly:

"Thank you, Huang Tian, ​​for the sword!"

People of the world! This is the sword of the Manifested Sage Dao Lord; he is watching us!
With this sword of Lord Yuan, may peace reign for ten thousand generations!

As soon as the words were spoken, the people shouted in unison:
"Hair like chives, cut and it grows back; head like a chicken, cut and it crows."

So he drew his bow and fired 100,000 stone pellets, which rained down on the Cao army that was attacking the city, causing them to bleed profusely.

The bewildered Cao Jun was completely stunned.

Even though the power of bullets is far less than that of bows and arrows, their advantage lies in their large quantity.

One hundred thousand stone projectiles were hurled haphazardly, and indeed killed many of Cao Cao's soldiers. Those who survived were left with bloodied heads and staggered from the impact.

Damn it!

100,000 ranged troops? Who came up with this crazy idea?

Cao Cao immediately realized that in terms of ranged attacks, they only had a few thousand archers and crossbowmen. A few thousand arrows were utterly laughable, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, compared to a hundred thousand rounds of ammunition.

He immediately ordered his army to turn around and attack, closing in on the enemy at full speed. Once they could get close, these 100,000 ranged soldiers would be lambs to the slaughter.

He was determined to teach that bastard who came up with the idea of ​​100,000 ranged troops a lesson in military strategy. Who uses troops like that? It's a complete waste of resources.

But for Yan Xiang, who came up with this idea, regardless of whether it was ranged or not, the Yellow Turban Army, who had never fought a battle, were lambs to the slaughter once they were brought into close combat, so it was better to deal more damage from a ranged attack.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao did not expect that these ranged soldiers had an extremely fast rate of fire. After all, unlike bows and arrows which require drawing and nocking, these things could be fired as soon as the stone projectiles were placed on them, with a whooshing sound.

Each round was an overwhelming barrage of 100,000 stone projectiles, raining down like a storm of bullets. Who could possibly get through that?
While it may not be as damaging as a bow and arrow, it is extremely insulting.

You put down your bow and arrow, and with one shot you dead, those behind you continue charging over the corpses of your comrades. How solemn and imposing!

But now?

The comrades in front of me not only didn't die, but were left blocking the way, screaming and being smashed. Where can I complain about this?
Those behind, seeing how much pain they were in, became fearful and even more hesitant to go forward.

The only saving grace was that these projectiles had a short range. Seeing that his soldiers couldn't get through, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Yuan and Dian Wei to lead the charge with their shields raised!
With two generals leading the way and shields protecting them, Cao's army finally broke into the enemy ranks, but at the same time they were engulfed in a vast sea of ​​100,000 civilians.

Yes, the regular army killed the Yellow Turban rebels like slaughtering chickens and sheep. Countless civilians came one after another, only to die one after another, like prisoners being sent to the execution ground. One after another, good heads rolled off, and one after another, corpses fell to the ground, blood splattered on the spot.

Hair like chives, cut and it grows back; head like a chicken, cut and it crows again. Tens of millions of people went to their deaths, all for the grand dream of peace he promised.

Even with 100,000 chickens and sheep, they can fight to the death. The hoes and sickles in the hands of the people can not only be used to cultivate the land, but also to kill people!
On that day, beneath the walls of Lujiang City, Yu Ji, dressed in a yellow Taoist robe, watched tens of millions of people meet their deaths!

The people are not afraid of death, so why threaten them with death?
The Yellow Banner flutters in the sky; today, I beseech the mighty Han to meet his death!

This is precisely the heart of the people of the world today, a wildfire that has burned for four hundred years!
(End of this chapter)