Three Kingdoms: Intercepting Liu Bei's forces and marrying Lady Mi.

The combat strength of advanced cavalry will reach 40 points.

A cavalryman with a combat strength of 40 represents great power.

He longed to have 100 such elite cavalrymen; that would be extremely formidable.

"System, I want to upgrade the barracks!"

Chen Ming decided to upgrade immediately.

"Ding! The host currently possesses 1 intermediate infantry battalion and 1 intermediate cavalry battalion, which can be upgraded to an advanced infantry battalion and an advanced cavalry battalion."

"Upgrading a mid-level infantry battalion requires 500 million coins, and upgrading a mid-level cavalry battalion requires 2000 million coins. Upgrade now?"

"I……"

Chen Ming was shocked.

The cost did indeed increase tenfold.

These two barracks produce 5 and 20 coins per day, respectively.

The first upgrade cost 50 and 200 respectively, and this time it will cost 500 and 2000 respectively.

Even a hundred million dollars wouldn't withstand such spending.

"upgrade!"

Chen Ming clutched his chest and said with heartache.

"Ding! The host has spent 500 million coins to upgrade the advanced infantry battalion."

"The host has spent 2000 million coins to upgrade the advanced cavalry camp."

"Advanced Infantry Battalion: Recruits one mid-level infantryman with a combat strength of 20 every six hours, consumes 4 catties of food per day, and costs 400 coins to recruit."

"Advanced Cavalry Battalion: Recruits one mid-level cavalryman with a combat strength of 40 every twelve hours. Consumes 8 catties of food per day. Recruitment costs 800 coins."

……

"Yes, it's expensive, but worth it!"

The combat strength of Cavalry 40 was Chen Ming's initial standard.

Further upgrades... would cost an astronomical sum.

Now it's 500 million and 2000 million, next time it will be 5000 million and 2 million!

After Chen Ming upgraded, the two simple barracks became two advanced barracks.

Looking at the two towering military camps, Chen Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

His efforts were not in vain.

When Zhang Jiao started his rebellion, Chen Ming would have thirty elite cavalry and sixty elite infantry.

With the recruited soldiers, it wouldn't be a problem to assemble a force of a thousand men.

Chen Ming currently only has over 70 million coins, but he still wants to know what the advanced barracks can be upgraded to.

"System, I'd like to know what kind of barracks the advanced barracks become after upgrading?"

"Ding! The current host possesses 1 Advanced Infantry Battalion and 1 Advanced Cavalry Battalion."

"It can consume five million catties of grain and fifty million coins to upgrade to sword and shield armored soldiers."

"Or consume ten million catties of grain and one hundred million coins to upgrade to heavy armor Mo Dao."

"It can also be upgraded to heavy cavalry by consuming ten million catties of grain and two hundred million coins."

"Or consume 20 million catties of grain and 400 million coins to upgrade to Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."

……

Chen Ming immediately closed the system interface.

This expense is staggering.

Chen Ming wanted to equip himself with well-equipped heavy armored Mo Dao soldiers and the legendary heavy armored Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

But the cost is too high.

Summoning and daily maintenance require a huge amount of money and food, and the cost of upgrading is astronomical.

Even the entire fortune of the Zhen family of Zhongshan wouldn't be enough.

They must acquire their own territory as soon as possible and maintain their expenses through taxation.

Daydreaming now is useless.

Chen Ming began preparing to train the soldiers.

His father, Chen Xin, fully supported him.

It remains uncertain whether the father and son can hold the Youzhou front against the Yellow Turban army's fierce attack.

……

Luoyang.

This city once witnessed over two hundred years of glory during the Eastern Han Dynasty, but now it is filled with an atmosphere of decay.

This has become the norm, like a nightmare from which we cannot escape.

All the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty ascended the throne at a young age, which led to the increasing power of the maternal relatives' families.

After the emperor came of age and assumed personal rule, he had to rely on eunuchs to regain power.

As a result, the power of eunuchs expanded, eventually leading to their confrontation with the scholar-official class.

Emperor Ling, Liu Hong, also ascended the throne at a young age and relied on eunuchs to seize power, which triggered the second persecution of the partisans.

The power of the aristocratic families was thus severely weakened.

Today, 70% of the power in the country is in the hands of eunuchs.

The palace was luxurious and magnificent, with splendid decorations.

In Emperor Ling's bedroom, the sounds of women laughing and joking could often be heard.

After assuming power, Liu Hong never dealt with state affairs, but only cared about accumulating wealth and indulging in pleasure.

Although he was not yet thirty, he aged and became haggard due to his infatuation with beautiful women.

Inside the palace, the concubines, dressed provocatively, frolicked and played freely.

Liu Hong lay on the soft couch, surrounded by beautiful women, indulging in pleasure.

A young eunuch rushed to the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, the eunuch Zhang Rang requests an urgent audience with you."

The eunuch knelt on the ground and said.

If someone disturbs Liu Hong's enjoyment, he will ignore them.

But Zhang Rang was different.

Liu Hong waved away the beautiful women beside him: "You all wait in the back."

The concubines and beautiful ladies bowed and then left.

Soon, Zhang Rang, dressed in splendid attire, hurriedly entered Liu Hong's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Zhang Rang said in a flustered manner after entering the hall.

"What?"

Liu Hong was stunned: "What's the big deal?"

Next, Zhang Rang handed over Deng Mao's confession to Liu Hong.

"Your Majesty, this is the confession of the sorcerers of the Taiping Dao, sent by Chen Xin, the magistrate of Zhuo County."

Liu Hong quickly read through the shocking confession.

"This...this..."

Liu Hong suddenly stood up; he was either drunk or his health had collapsed.

I swayed as I stood up, barely managing to keep my balance.

The confession clearly stated that once Zhang Jiao rebelled, all the prefectures and counties would respond, and there were also many inside agents in Luoyang.

With the help of those inside and outside the palace, and with the help of accomplices within the palace, the first person they would kill was Liu Hong.

Liu Hong was terrified: "What should we do? What should we do!"

Zhang Rang immediately said, "Your Majesty, we must immediately arrest the rebels in Luoyang and force out the traitors within the palace."

"Then a large army was dispatched to annihilate the Taiping heretics and kill Zhang Jiao."

Liu Hong hurriedly agreed, "Okay, okay, you can do it right away!"

……

In an ordinary house in the south of Luoyang, a man in his thirties was leading a group of people.

They huddled together, staring at something; the man was wearing a yellow turban.

"This is a map of the palace."

"You will lead the believers to storm the palace, where there are people waiting to meet you inside."

Ma Yuanyi pointed to the sheepskin map.

The map details the layout of the Luoyang imperial palace, marking the location of the emperor's bedroom and the weak points in its defenses.

The people around Ma Yuanyi nodded in understanding.

Ma Yuanyi was one of Zhang Jiao's early disciples and was deeply trusted by Zhang Jiao. He was one of Zhang Jiao's six most trusted disciples.

The purpose of this trip to the capital was to contact believers in Luoyang and prepare for a coordinated attack from within and without, starting with the assassination of the emperor.

If Emperor Liu Hong is killed, the uprising will be halfway to success.

But Ma Yuanyi was unaware that Zhang Rang had already surrounded the courtyard with his troops.

"Bang!"

"The courtyard gate was smashed open by the Imperial Guards."

The Imperial Guards, clad in armor and wielding steel swords, stormed into the courtyard.

"Kill them all! Capture them all, and make sure to catch the leader!"

The leading officer shouted.

Ma Yuanyi and more than ten of his men were caught off guard and were all captured.

After being captured, all the gates of Luoyang were closed.

The authorities launched a city-wide manhunt.

More than a thousand followers of the Taiping Dao were arrested in one day.

Liu Hong ordered that all those arrested be executed immediately.

The families of all Taiping Dao believers were arrested and imprisoned.

The leader, Ma Yuanyi, refused to surrender, which angered Liu Hong.

Liu Hong ordered him to be executed by being torn apart by five horses.

……

Five warhorses stood ready in front of the palace.

The person on horseback had a serious expression.

At the other end of the horse, Ma Yuanyi's head and four limbs were tied.

"Stubborn fool, execute him now!"

Zhang Rang waved the flag.

The five knights immediately spurred their horses.

Five warhorses pulled hard, and Ma Yuanyi's face immediately turned red.

"The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; in the year of Jiazi, great fortune shall befall the world!"

"You corrupt officials and incompetent rulers, the Great Teacher will surely avenge us!"

Ma Yuanyi shouted loudly as he was being torn apart by five horses.