Han Ji

The government troops broke down the door and entered.

The fighting was fierce. Zhang Bao killed seven men, but the government troops continued to gather. A stray arrow struck his left leg, and he staggered to his knees. Before he could get up, three or four spears pierced his chest at the same time.

Zhang Bao looked down at the spearhead that had pierced his chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Third brother, I'll go first!"

He died.

Yan Zheng saw Zhang Bao's body being carried out of the prison cart. His eyes widened in horror, and he banged on the railings and roared before being hacked to death.

At noon, Yangcheng changed hands.

Zhu Jun tallied the battle results, ordered Zhang Bao's head to be circulated among the three armies, then boxed and sent to Luoyang along with the victory report.

Sun Jian was commendable for his bravery in persuading Zhu Jun to surrender, even though the attempt failed. Zhu Jun submitted a memorial requesting that he be appointed as a separate commander.

The news reached Quyang five days later.

Quyang is a hundred li north of Guangzong, a fortified city with a garrison of fifty thousand. Zhang Liang, upon learning of the deaths of his two elder brothers, wept bitterly all night. The next day, with red eyes, he climbed the city walls and roared at Huangfu Song's army outside:

"Huangfu Song! I will tear you to pieces to comfort the spirits of my two elder brothers in heaven!"

Huangfu Song responded from the front lines: "Zhang Liang, you and your brothers have wreaked havoc on the world, causing the deaths of countless millions! If you surrender today, I may grant you a complete corpse. If you resist, I will grind your bones to dust!"

"Dream on!" Zhang Liang roared. "As long as Quyang City stands, I stand! If the city falls, I fall!"

The siege then began.

Huangfu Song was a shrewd and experienced strategist. He was calm and composed. First, he dug tunnels, but Zhang Liang flooded them. Then, he built siege towers to shoot at each other, but Zhang Liang burned them with fire arrows. Finally, he built an earthen mound, which was higher than the city wall, and threw stones at the city day and night.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate for half a month, resulting in heavy casualties.

On October 25th, Cao Cao offered a plan to Huangfu Song.

"General, Zhang Liang is besieging this isolated city, relying on only two things: the city's fortifications and his ample supplies. However, after observing for several days, I discovered that his supply convoys all enter through the north gate. There is a grove of trees outside the north gate, which could be used for an ambush."

Huangfu Song pondered, "You want to cut off his supply lines?"

"Not only that," Cao Cao said. "We'll disguise ourselves as a grain transport team, trick them into opening the city gates, and launch a coordinated attack from the inside."

"The risk is too great."

"Mengde is willing to go." Cao Cao clasped his hands in a fist salute. "We only need three hundred elite soldiers to disguise themselves as laborers and push grain carts close to the city. Once the city gates open, we will seize them, set them on fire, and then the main army will take advantage of the situation to storm in."

Huangfu Song looked at the young cavalry captain. He was not tall, but his eyes were sharp and he had a ruthless air about him.

"Mengde," Huangfu Song said slowly, "if this plan succeeds, you will be the one to deserve the greatest credit. If it fails..."

"If we are defeated, Mengde will bring his head to me."

That night, Cao Cao selected three hundred veteran soldiers, all of whom were desperate criminals. He also prepared twenty carts of grain, with oil hidden on the carts.

The next morning, the fog was thick.

Cao Cao led three hundred men, pushing grain carts, and slowly walked towards the north gate of Quyang.

The soldiers guarding the city wall saw them and shouted, "Who goes there?!"

"Grain transport!" an old soldier shouted. "The commander-in-chief has ordered a grain delivery!"

"Where is the command token?"

Cao Cao raised a yellow turban command flag, which he had found on a prisoner.

After a moment's hesitation, the garrison opened the city gates.

The convoy slowly entered the city.

They had only gone halfway in when Cao Cao suddenly drew his sword, cutting down the two nearest guards, and roared, "Attack!"

In an instant, the three hundred assassins overturned the straw mats on the carts, revealing oil canisters, which they set on fire and threw into the city.

Flames shot into the sky.

Outside the city, Huangfu Song saw the signal and launched a fierce attack with his troops.

Zhang Liang was overseeing the battle at the south gate when he heard the news and rushed to the north gate, but it was too late. Chaos reigned at the city gate as government troops poured in like a tidal wave.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Zhang Liang roared, charging forward against the flow of people with his knife in hand.

They ran right into Cao Cao.

Cao Cao grinned: "Zhang Liang, go find your brother."

The veterans surged forward like a tide. Zhang Liang, with his powerful and heavy sword, killed several men, but an old soldier seized the opportunity and slashed at his left hand. Cao Cao kicked Zhang Liang's sword away, and then thrust his own sword into the man's abdomen.

Zhang Liang stared wide-eyed, looking down at the sword embedded in his body, then looking up at Cao Cao.

"The Yellow Turbans...will not be extinguished..."

"Absolutely not, it's not up to you to decide." Cao Cao drew his sword, spraying blood all over himself.

Zhang Liang collapsed to the ground, dead.

With their commander dead, the defending army collapsed.

At noon, Quyang City fell.

Cao Cao carried Zhang Liang's head to the top of the city wall and raised the Han flag.

The wind blew, and the flag fluttered in the wind.

The three Yellow Turban brothers were all wiped out.

Seven days after the fall of Guangzong City, Lu Zhi began the cleanup efforts.

Nearly half of the city's inhabitants starved to death, and most of the survivors were on the verge of death. Lu Zhi ordered the granaries to be opened and food distributed, and also allocated medicinal herbs from the army to set up soup kitchens and medical camps.

There were too many corpses to bury, so they dug more than a dozen large pits outside the city and burned them all. Black smoke billowed for three days.

Liu Bei led his troops to clear out the western part of the city. That area was where the Yellow Turban generals lived; the houses were relatively intact, but the smell of blood was also the strongest there.

While searching a house, Li Shun dragged out more than a dozen women from the cellar. They were barely clothed, emaciated, and trembled in the light, not daring to cry out loud.

"You beast!" Li Shun gritted his teeth.

Liu Bei had clothes and porridge brought to him and instructed him to take good care of himself.

"General," Jian Yong entered from outside, "the count is complete. There are over 43,000 surrendered soldiers in the city. What should we do with them?"

This is a difficult problem.

Killing them all would be inhumane and could easily incite a mutiny. Releasing them all would leave them homeless, and they would soon become bandits again.

Lu Zhi summoned his generals to discuss the matter, and they finally agreed on the following regulations: those who wished to return home would be given travel permits and three days' rations and then dismissed. Those who wished to join the army would be dispersed and incorporated into various camps, but they would not be allowed to serve in their hometowns. Those who committed heinous crimes would be separated and dealt with separately.

It took ten days of hard work to initially stabilize the situation.

During this time, Zuo Feng remained ill. Lu Zhi sent people to deliver medicine and food daily, but refused to see any guests. Zuo Feng initially caused trouble, but later, upon hearing that Zhang Jiao was dead and realizing that the situation was hopeless, he quieted down.

On October 28th, good news came from Yangcheng and Quyang one after another.

Zhu Jun beheaded Zhang Bao, and Huangfu Song beheaded Zhang Liang, thus annihilating the three major leaders of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Lu Zhi held a banquet that night to celebrate his victory, and all the generals attended, except for Zuo Feng, who was seriously ill and did not come.

After several rounds of drinks, Lu Zhi raised his cup and said, "This battle lasted eight months. Our soldiers fought bravely and finally defeated the great bandit. I will certainly report your merits to the court in a truthful manner."

The generals raised their glasses in celebration.

Liu Bei sat at the lower end of the table, silently drinking. Guan Yu didn't touch a drop of alcohol, only eating vegetables. Zhang Fei had already started playing a drinking game with several captains.

Jian Yong leaned closer and whispered, "Brother, we just received news from Luoyang that the court is discussing merits. It seems the eunuch faction has heard about our detention of Zuo Feng and is looking for trouble."

"As expected." Liu Bei put down his wine cup. "What did my teacher say?"

"Lord Lu said, everything is under his control."

Liu Bei nodded, but he knew in his heart that the eunuch faction would not let this go easily. They would likely fight tooth and nail for the credit.

After the banquet, Liu Bei returned to his western camp.

Li Shun and the others were outside the tent. When they saw him return, they came up to him and said, "General, the brothers of Zhuojun would like to invite you over for a chat."

Liu Bei followed him to the auxiliary troops camp.

Dozens of men from Zhuojun sat around the fire, and when they saw him arrive, they all stood up.

"Sit, everyone sit." Liu Bei waved his hand and sat down next to Li Shun. "What's wrong?"

The group exchanged glances, and finally Li Shun spoke up: "General, the battle is over, shouldn't we... go home?"

"Missing home?"

"I do," a young man said in a low voice. "My mother's eyesight isn't good; I wonder how she is now."

"My wife is pregnant, and the due date is approaching."

"My dad's leg injury makes him ache every winter."

They were all talking at once, discussing everyday matters.