My name is Huang Tian, ​​what the hell is this "Heaven is dead" nonsense?

Chapter 28 The Army Marches Towards Luoyang
The old saying, "When you're desperate, you'll try anything," certainly holds true.

Liu Hong, as the emperor, actually took the initiative to use witchcraft and even brought a wooden puppet into the ancestral temple, which astonished Huang Tiandu.

So filial! Absolutely so!
Such a filial emperor, let's leave him a whole body after we conquer Luoyang.

Huang Tian gradually stopped laughing, just then Zhang Jiao's voice rang out from outside the door.

"Come in."

Zhang Jiao pushed open the door and entered. After exchanging greetings, he knelt before Huang Tian and reported on the situation over the past month.

"...After our army captured Jizhou, our momentum surged. Many powerful clansmen and scholars from humble backgrounds voluntarily joined the government, and the Academy of Sciences also recruited some people. Some prominent families in Jizhou, such as the Feng family of Fanyang, the Zhen family of Wuji, and the Geng family of Julu, expressed their intention to serve..."

After explaining the general situation in Ji Province, Zhang Jiao went on to describe the army's situation:
"After the Battle of Guangzong, our army captured several generals of the Han army. Among them, Huangfu Song refused to surrender, uttered evil words, and slaughtered too many of my followers of Huangtian. Therefore, he was executed in the Mingzheng Code. Lu Zhi did not surrender, but he did not refuse outright either. Fu Xie died by crashing into a pillar. Zong Yuan, Li Jue, Guo Dian, Guo Si and other generals all surrendered and are now training troops for our army."

After absorbing the surrendered Han soldiers, our army, including the troops stationed in various counties of Ji Province, has a total of 110,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry. Zong Yuan and others intend to reduce the number of old and weak soldiers, leaving 90,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry..."

Huang Tian nodded slightly. "Let them go ahead with the elimination and training. Of course, you must send someone to supervise them. This is not because you don't trust them, but to put their minds at ease."

Zhang Jiao understood Huang Tian's meaning and nodded.

"How long will it take to complete the downsizing and retraining? Is there enough food?" Huang Tian asked.

"Two months will suffice," Zhang Jiao said. "Ji Province is wealthy, with many counties and granaries having surplus grain. In addition, the grain donated by numerous powerful clans is enough to feed the entire army for more than a year."

Huang Tian smiled and said, "Since it will take two months to cut and train, let's wait a little longer. After two months, we will march on Luoyang. However, before that, let's first take stock of the land in Julu County and make a big commotion. The bigger the commotion, the better. It would be best to wake up all the scoundrels in Jizhou before we conquer Luoyang, capture a bunch of them, and kill a bunch of them!"

Zhang Jiao solemnly replied, "This disciple understands!"

……

……

The momentous Qing Dynasty land survey began in Julu County.

It was called "clearing the fields," but it was actually more like "taking down the local tyrants and distributing the land," because powerful families would not allow the imperial court or any other forces to clear their land.

Land is the foundation, an inexhaustible source of wealth, a family heirloom passed down through generations, and the means to retainers, slaves, and servants. Without land, powerful families and noble clans are no longer so high and mighty.

Although the land survey did not mean they had to give up all their land, but only the fields and people they had concealed, in reality, the concealed portion was the bulk of the problem…

Therefore, even under the explicit orders of the Daoting and Zhengyuan, the powerful and wealthy merchants of Julu County still dragged their feet, outwardly complied but inwardly defied them, and secretly resorted to some underhanded tactics.

It wasn't that they weren't afraid of the Yellow Heaven God, but rather that they thought, even if you are a god, you still need the help of powerful clans and scholars to rule the world. The mere Yellow Turban rebels were just a bunch of peasants; did they know how to govern a country?
You idiot who can't even read, what do you know!

It was with this mentality that they dared to secretly resist the orders of the Dao Court. However, they did not expect that Huang Tian and Zhang Jiao were waiting for them to jump out.

Zhang Jiao wrote down the names of the powerful clans that outwardly complied with the land survey order but inwardly defied it, and then ordered the Yellow Turban army to kill and exterminate the entire clan according to the list.

Hundreds of powerful clans, including the You, Shi, Bu, and Fang clans of Julu, were executed, and 80,000 mu of land and thousands of slaves were seized. The Geng clan of Julu, whose members had held the rank of 2,000 shi for generations and whose four members had been enfeoffed as marquises, also had more than ten direct descendants arrested and killed, and 7,000 mu of land confiscated.

Julu County was thus shaken and the people were in a state of panic. Some sons of powerful families who worked in the government were also unable to attend to government affairs. Some of the more agitated individuals even wanted to see Zhang Jiao and Huang Tian to request a suspension of the land survey order.

However, Huang Tian never received outsiders. Generally, only Zhang Jiao was allowed to see him. Ordinary people were even less likely to be granted an audience. When Zhang Jiao faced the indignant officials from powerful families, he ignored them completely and simply ordered them to be dismissed and never to be employed again. As a result, no one dared to advise Zhang Jiao to stop the land survey.

The commotion in Julu County quickly spread throughout Ji Province, and the powerful families and clans in various parts of Ji Province were terrified by the cruel methods of the Dao Court.

Some people secretly led their direct family members to move out of Jizhou and go to Yuzhou or Luoyang. Some bolder people also colluded with each other and sent their followers to pretend to be bandits and raiders to attack the Yellow Turban army stationed in the city.

In an instant, war broke out in Ji Province.

Faced with this situation, the Dao Court, centered on Julu County, calmly dispatched tens of thousands of Yellow Turban troops to radiate outwards in all directions, wiping out the bandits wherever they went.

If the thieves hide in the countryside and cannot be caught or found, the local powerful clans are ordered to cooperate with the army to capture them. If the powerful clans cannot find any trace of the thieves within the specified time limit, they will be judged to have colluded with the thieves in rebellion and will be exterminated!

After the extermination of the clan, all their land and wealth were confiscated.

The ruthlessness of the methods terrified the powerful families, and those who could escape fled. Those who couldn't bear to abandon their family's homeland and heritage had no choice but to obediently hand over all the hidden lands and people.

In just two months, Jizhou has undergone a dramatic transformation.

In the past, Jizhou was full of noble families, with hundreds or even thousands of slaves and countless fields. Now, only a few big cats and small cats remain in Jizhou. The aristocratic families have fallen into ruin, the powerful clans have been wiped out, and cries of sorrow fill the sky.

In contrast to the grieving nation, the ordinary people were overjoyed.

The reason is that the Dao Court, through methods such as land surveys, extermination of clans, and confiscation of property, uncovered more than two million mu of farmland and nearly one hundred thousand hidden people. This is only a very rough estimate; the real number is definitely much higher.

The land cleared out was gradually distributed to the poor who had little or no land. The reason for the slow pace was that after the conflict with the powerful clans, the Daoist court had too few civil officials available, so they could only proceed slowly. Being too hasty would only result in a mess.

After a brief sweep of Ji Province, more than two months had passed. The surrendered Han troops and former Yellow Turban soldiers had been disbanded and reorganized. In addition, Ji Province had no shortage of food, clothing, weapons and armor. A grand oath-taking ceremony was held in Guangzong to mark the start of the expedition.

A full 40,000 elite infantrymen and 10,000 elite cavalrymen stood in neat square formations on the open training ground, their swords gleaming, spears and halberds like a forest, and banners obscuring the sun.

Huang Tian, ​​dressed in a Taoist robe with cloud patterns, appeared on the high platform. Fifty thousand soldiers looked on with fanaticism, their eyes fixed on the god who protected them.

Huang Tian gently waved his sleeve, his calm voice echoing across the land: "Today, we march on Luoyang, slay the false emperor, and restore peace to Huang Tian!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the army raised their arms and cheered:
"Let's march on Luoyang and rebuild the world!"

"Let's march on Luoyang and rebuild the world!"

"Marching towards Luoyang, we will recreate the world!"

(End of this chapter)