A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Cao Cao then agreed.

"Bojing, what should I do next?"

"Mengde, don't you have a few brothers who are quite brave and strong? You can call them to come and go on the expedition with you."

"On this expedition, we only need to do one thing: achieve victory."

"Only with enough military achievements can we gain a sufficient position and foundation after the war."

Wei Xue had already prepared a draft in mind, and he will now explain it in detail.

"After this battle, we will seek the position of Prefect of Donglai County in Qingzhou. If we have enough military merits, we will also seek the position of Governor of Qingzhou or General of the East."

"From now on, that will be our base."

"Why Donglai County? It doesn't seem very prosperous, and it's far from the heart of the Han Dynasty?"

Cao Cao asked in confusion.

"Golden corner, silver edge, grass belly. Donglai County is indeed not very prosperous, but its advantage is that it is far away from the core of the Han Dynasty and will not be affected by the struggles of the central court."

"Moreover, it is surrounded by the sea on three sides, so it only needs to defend one side, which puts very little pressure on it."

"More importantly, Donglai has almost no powerful clans, and it is also the largest port in the Han Dynasty, responsible for transporting gold and silver from the Japanese islands."

"It can bring you great profits, Mengde. With enough money and supplies, you can develop your business."

"After all, although the Cao family behind you is wealthy, they are still far behind those truly powerful families. Without this money and supplies, it will be difficult to catch up with them in a short period of time."

Wei Xue explained.

"Alright, I believe you. Let's plot to become the governor of Donglai County."

Cao Cao nodded and said.

The Yellow Turban Taoist priests in Chang'an were all arrested and killed due to the betrayal of Tang Zhou.

Everyone was dragged to the marketplace and beheaded, including 18 court officials and nearly a hundred officials of all ranks in the capital who were investigated.

In more serious cases, the entire family was executed, or the perpetrators were subjected to a thousand cuts.

……

In Julu County, Jizhou City, Zhang Jiao's eyelids twitched, and a bad premonition rose in his heart.

He couldn't help but look in the direction of Chang'an. Could it be that something had happened in Chang'an?

He sent his most trusted eldest disciple and his closest junior disciple, who was in the same situation as Yuan Yi, to Chang'an. There shouldn't be any problems, right?

That night, before the imperial court sent any message, the aristocratic families were the first to receive news from Chang'an.

A family that had cooperated with Zhang Jiao passed the news on to him.

"Tang Zhou betrayed the regime, Ma Yuanyi was arrested and killed, and all the Yellow Turban rebels in Chang'an were executed."

Zhang Jiao spat out a mouthful of blood. His disciple, whom he had raised with his own hands, carefully nurtured, and treated like his own son, was dead.

He died because of the betrayal of his young apprentice!

His strong will pulled him out of his grief. He realized that he had to start the uprising immediately. If the Han Dynasty made all the necessary preparations, it would be difficult for them to attack the city, given their lack of soldiers, armor, and siege equipment.

Their biggest advantage is their surprise attack and large numbers, so we must get started as soon as possible.

On the 25th day of the first month of the 16th year of Emperor Ling of Han, in Julu, Ji Province.

The great and wise teacher Zhang Jiao ascended the altar to offer sacrifices to the Yellow Heaven.

"The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; in the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world."

"I, Zhang Jiao, have risen in rebellion by the mandate of Heaven. I will be the General of Heaven, Zhang Bao the General of Earth, and Zhang Liang the General of Man."

"Now that the Han dynasty is coming to an end, a great sage will appear. You should all follow the will of Heaven and righteousness to enjoy peace and prosperity."

"I, Zhang Jiao, humbly beseech you, great man, to meet your death!"

Hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers below the stage shouted in unison: "The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise! In the year of Jiazi, great fortune shall come to the world!" X999

The shouts of hundreds of thousands of troops echoed across the sky, even shaking the clouds on the horizon.

Under Zhang Jiao's call, the Yellow Turban Army launched uprisings in various places ahead of schedule. War broke out in all twenty provinces of the Han Dynasty. The Yellow Turban Army was unstoppable, and many prefectures and counties were lost. Officials fled, and the whole country was shaken.

Within a month, cities in Ji Province such as Guangzong and Julu fell one after another, and the entire Ji Province almost fell into the hands of the Yellow Turban Army.

Bo Cai occupied Yingchuan, while Zhang Mancheng occupied Nanyang and Wancheng, sweeping across northern Jingzhou.

Peng Tuo conquered Runan, Bu Si swept through Dongjun, and Zhang Niujiao attacked Boling. The Han Dynasty seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

The imperial court quickly dispatched troops, and Lu Zhi led 20 northern troops to Jizhou to confront the three Zhang brothers head-on.

Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun then headed south to attack Bo Cai, Zhang Mancheng, Peng Tuo, and others.

The imperial court ordered that each prefecture and county be allowed to recruit soldiers on their own to fight against the Yellow Turban rebels.

Zhu Jun first led an army south as the vanguard to clear the way for the main army's arrival.

Sun Jian, being a fellow townsman of Zhu Jun, served as his assistant military advisor.

Cao Cao led Wei Xue and followed Huangfu Song south. Halfway there, they received a battle report from the front that Zhu Jun had been defeated by Bo Cai, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, and had now retreated to Changshe.

Changshe has been besieged by Bo Cai's army of 100 million and is under attack day and night. Zhang Mancheng has also captured Nanyang and Wancheng and is on his way to Changshe to join Bo Cai.

"Zhu Jun is also a veteran of the battlefield, yet he was defeated by Bo Cai. It seems that Bo Cai is not to be underestimated."

Huangfu Song looked at the battle report and sighed.

"Mengde, what are your thoughts?"

Huangfu Song asked Cao Cao a question, but his gaze was fixed on Wei Xue.

He had never had much interaction with Cao Cao. The reason he valued him was only because of Wei Xue, who followed Cao Cao, even though this person was neither from the lineage of the Duke of Yan nor the lineage of the Marquis of Wu'an, but from the lineage of the Marquis of Anshou, a family of doctors.

But they are, after all, descendants of King Chungmu. Perhaps someone will awaken King Chungmu's bloodline and display the talent of a great general.

"The Yellow Turban army is numerous, but General Zhu leads the imperial army's elite troops. With cities as a means of defense, the Yellow Turbans do not have enough siege equipment and are more than capable of protecting themselves."

"If our army joins forces with General Zhu, we will all be besieged in the city and surrounded by the Yellow Turbans, and we will probably be unable to achieve anything."

"We might as well position ourselves on the outskirts and coordinate with General Zhu from afar to find out the location of the enemy's granaries. Then, General Huangfu and General Zhu can attack the Yellow Turbans from both sides, while I lead the cavalry to burn their supplies. This battle can be won."

Although there was no relevant intelligence, Cao Cao had already discussed it with Wei Xue. Judging from the paper strength alone, the Yellow Turbans were several times larger than the imperial court.

However, there is a reason why generals and strategists exist.

Generals can maximize the strength of their soldiers by one, two, three, four, or even ten times, while strategists use tactics to expand their advantages and reduce the enemy's strength.

Huangfu Song was somewhat disappointed with Cao Cao's strategy, but how could he not know this principle?

However, although the Yellow Turbans were just a group of laborers, they should not be underestimated.

Even he had to admit that both Zhang Jiao and Bo Cai were notable figures.

To be able to defeat Zhu Jun, Bo Cai is definitely not a fool, but a talented person well-versed in military strategy.

Cao Cao never actually went to the battlefield; he was more of a theorist than a strategist.

According to his investigation, Bo Cai hid the grain in different places, each heavily guarded and surrounded by water sources, so they were not so easy to burn.