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

The imperial court issued an edict ordering Huangfu Song to lead troops north to replace Dong Zhuo and take charge of the Ji Province battlefield.

At this time, the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yuzhou and Yanzhou had been basically quelled, leaving 2 men to guard the area. Huangfu Song led the other troops north to Guangzong.

Zhang Jiao also began to gather his army for a final battle against the Han army.

The Han army originally deployed in Ji Province had already been defeated by him. If he could defeat Huangfu Song in one fell swoop, he could take advantage of the situation to swallow up the entire north, march south into the Central Plains, and destroy the Han Dynasty.

When Huangfu Song arrived at Guangzong City, he took over the troops left behind by Lu Zhi and Dong Zhuo, bringing the total number of troops to 70.

Zhang Jiao had already gathered troops from Ji Province and surrounding provinces, amassing a total of 200 million soldiers in the three cities of Guangzong, Julu, and Guangping.

Standing beneath the walls of Guangzong, Cao Cao gazed at the familiar figure atop the city, his thoughts racing.

The imperial court needs to fight on three fronts this time, otherwise it will be unable to attend to all of them.

Guangzong was the site of the decisive battle, with a million-strong army personally led by Zhang Jiao, most of whom were elite Yellow Turban rebels. Only Huangfu Song could lead the troops to resist them.

The other two cities each had a combined force of 50 troops, led by Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang respectively. Together with Guangzong City, they formed a pincer movement, threatening the flanks and rear of the imperial army.

Huangfu Song only needs to have his men guard these two directions. Once he eliminates Zhang Jiao, he can turn around and pacify these two cities.

Ultimately, he chose Zhu Jun and Cao Cao, each leading an army of 15 to defend Julu and Guangping.

This suited Cao Cao's wishes perfectly; he did not want to confront Zhang Jiao directly.

After Cao Cao and Zhu Jun left, Huangfu Song launched a fierce attack on Guangzong City. In just a few days, he left tens of thousands of corpses at the foot of Guangzong City, and the blood stained the entire city wall.

The eyes of the entire world, including the major vassal states, were focused here. At the same time, after the imperial court quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion in various places, it once again squeezed out some troops to support the main battlefield in Ji Province.

Faced with the prolonged siege of Guangzong City, Huangfu Song gritted his teeth and petitioned the imperial court. After receiving permission, the reward for conquering the city was greatly increased.

The first to reach the summit will be granted a title!

This was the closest these ordinary soldiers had ever come to being ennobled; if they could be the first to do so, they could rise to the top in one step.

In the past, no matter how hard they fought on the battlefield, they could at most earn some titles, but it would be almost impossible to reach the highest rank of nobility, such as the title of Marquis.

Because the Han Dynasty had relevant regulations, the highest rank one could be promoted to through beheading was the Fifth Rank Official.

The ninth noble title in the Han Dynasty was still quite a distance from being granted the title of Marquis.

This order greatly inspired the soldiers' desire to charge into battle, making them fearless in the face of death.

Seeing that the army's morale was high, Huangfu Song issued another order: if Guangzong City was not captured within a month, everyone from him down would be implicated, their homes confiscated, and their families exterminated.

Everyone sensed Huangfu Song's determination to capture Guangzong City within a month.

If they win, they will be appointed generals and granted titles.

If you lose, your family will be raided and wiped out.

There is no third option.

The fierce battle for control of Guangzong City continued, with a large number of corpses appearing every day.

The imperial army underwent rigorous training and was able to persevere in the face of such a brutal battlefield.

The Yellow Turban Army was a newly formed force, but it was able to persevere thanks to its faith in Zhang Jiao.

Perhaps it was destiny that favored the Han dynasty, and that the Han dynasty was not meant to perish.

That night, Zhang Jiao was treating wounded soldiers in the wounded soldiers' camp when he was infected with a virus, and the next day he began to have a high fever that wouldn't go down.

Moreover, this high fever developed extremely rapidly. In less than half a day, Zhang Jiao became delirious and was unable to go to the city wall to boost morale.

On this day, because Zhang Jiao did not appear, the morale of the Yellow Turbans was halved, while the morale of the Han army was even higher. Some of them even approached the city wall, but were quickly forced back.

A doctor cannot heal himself, and given that this virus has mutated several times, Zhang Jiao would need to study it carefully if he wanted to treat him. Now, with his high fever persisting, he is unable to think at all.

Other physicians in Guangzong City, even those personally instructed by him, were far inferior to him in medical skills.

There is simply no way to cure his illness.

Despite his illness, Zhang Jiao went to the city wall again to boost morale, and then ordered Guan Hai to take over the camp.

"If the Yellow Turbans are defeated, you should take them to Qingzhou. There are fewer powerful families in Qingzhou, and they are not valued by the court, which will allow the Yellow Turbans to recuperate."

"A great and virtuous teacher!"

Guan Hai wept bitterly.

Like Ma Yuanyi, he was also rescued by Zhang Jiao.

Back then, his whole village was hit by a plague, and the entire county was locked down, with people allowed to enter but not leave.

It was Zhang Jiao who went in alone, examined the patient, and prepared medicine, pulling him back from the brink of death.

From the moment he was brought back to life, his life was destined to belong to Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turbans.

"Foolish child, foolish child."

"The Yellow Turbans are still in your hands. Don't give up on yourself. I believe in you."

"Go ahead and prepare for war. Let me get some rest first."

Zhang Jiao touched Guan Hai's head, coughed heavily a few times, and a smear of blood appeared on his palm.

He doesn't have much time left.

Back in his hospital bed, Zhang Jiao once again perused the Taiping Qingling Book, which he had read countless times before.

"You're going to die."

A familiar voice rang in Zhang Jiao's ears.

Zhang Jiao's memory blurred for a moment. He looked up and saw a familiar face.

"It's you!"

"How did you get in?!"

His camp was located in the very center of the Yellow Turban camp, and it was already heavily guarded. After he fell ill, Guan Hai doubled the number of guards.

When there was nothing else to do, he would personally guard the gate for Zhang Jiao.

Even a fly would be swatted dead by these fanatical believers to prevent its buzzing from disturbing Zhang Jiao's rest.

"They came in."

Wei Fu said with a smile.

In Zhang Jiao's eyes, Wei Fu seemed shrouded in a mist, making it difficult for him to see him clearly.

He had assumed that Wei Fu was merely a recluse, a learned man from the Wei family.

To his utter surprise, he had already overestimated Wei Fu, but he still underestimated him.

The ability to pinpoint his camp amidst a heavily guarded army of a million and walk in as if no one else were there is simply terrifying.

Regardless of the dynasty, decapitation tactics have always been the most destructive.

Wei Fu noticed the shock in Zhang Jiao's eyes, but smiled dismissively. He couldn't possibly explain it to Zhang Jiao.

"You're going to die."

Wei Fu repeated.

"I know."

Zhang Jiao suppressed his shock and regained his usual composure.

"I am extremely gratified to be able to see my fellow Daoist one last time before I die."

"I can save you."

After struggling with the decision for a while, Wei Fu finally said those words.

A smile appeared on Zhang Jiao's lips; he was genuinely happy to have met Wei Fu.

But he ultimately shook his head and refused Wei Fu's treatment.

Why?

"Aren't you still striving to achieve your grand imperial ambitions?"

Wei Fu was puzzled. Zhang Jiao had dedicated his life to the cause of the Yellow Heaven, and now, at this crucial moment, he had chosen to give up.