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

"Please keep an eye on this evil Taoist priest, elder brother and third brother. I'll go home immediately and tell Father!"

After Chen Ming finished speaking, he turned and left.

As soon as he mounted the saddle, a synthesized electronic voice suddenly rang in his mind.

"Ding! The host has killed the Yellow Turban leader, triggering the Yellow Turban instance."

"The dungeon is divided into three stages: defeating General Zhang Bao completes 30% of the task."

"Defeat General Zhang Liang, the Earth God, to complete 60%."

"Defeat General Zhang Jiao to complete 100%."

"The newbie gift pack has been successfully activated."

"Bonus buildings: standard infantry battalion and standard cavalry battalion."

Regular Infantry Battalion: Can recruit 1 regular infantryman with a combat strength of 5 every 6 hours.

Each soldier consumes 1 jin of rations per day.

Recruitment fee: 100 coins; Camp construction fee: 5 coins.

Regular Cavalry Battalion: Can recruit 1 regular cavalryman with a combat strength of 10 every 12 hours.

Each cavalryman consumes 5 catties of rations per day, the recruitment cost is 200 coins, and the camp construction cost is 20 coins.

System notification: Building a barracks requires additional investment of money and food. Barracks can be upgraded using money and food.

……

Having two barracks would allow him to recruit soldiers, but Chen Ming had no money.

The granaries are empty, and the soldiers' pay is gone.

Chen Ming immediately quickened his pace.

The recruitment and maintenance costs of the barracks are high, but their combat effectiveness is formidable, and immediate action is necessary.

He returned home weary from his journey and saw Ma Liu standing at the door with a worried look on his face.

"What happened? Something's wrong?"

Chen Ming dismounted and asked.

Ma Liu's expression grew even more worried.

"Young master, please return to your study."

"The master is furious. He heard that you spend all your time with that scoundrel who slaughters pigs and sells wine, and he's very angry."

Ma Liu reported.

The scoundrels who slaughtered pigs and sold wine were Zhang Fei and Guan Yu.

Although Zhang Fei was a powerful figure in Zhuojun, in the eyes of the Chen family of Yingchuan, he was nothing more than a local upstart.

No matter how powerful General He Jin was, he was still ridiculed by powerful families as the son of a butcher.

Compared to centuries-old families, local tyrants are utterly insignificant.

None of the Chen family members held important positions in the court, but if Chen Shi wanted to, the position of one of the Three Dukes would be within his grasp.

In the study, Chen Xin stared at Chen Ming with a gloomy expression.

"You've been weak since you were little. I had you learn martial arts to strengthen your body, not so you could hang out with those violent scoundrels all the time!"

The thin Chen Xin frowned and sternly reprimanded Chen Ming.

Chen Ming looked at his disappointed father and carefully examined his attributes.

武力50、统御85、政治89、智力8、9魅力79、

Skills: Yingchuan Clan

These numbers aren't top-tier, but Chen Xin is an all-around talent.

The gentry of the Eastern Han Dynasty were not weak scholars, so Chen Xin's martial prowess was not low.

"Father, I know I was wrong, please don't be angry!"

Chen Ming bowed respectfully to his father.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the country was governed by the principle of filial piety. To become an official, one had to first be known for filial piety, and being recommended as a filial and incorruptible official was an essential path to becoming an official.

In this society, filial impiety is a grave sin that no one can tolerate.

Chen Ming was aware of this.

After admitting his mistake, Chen Xin's expression softened.

"Fine, as long as you correct your mistakes and study hard in the future."

"When you turn twenty, I will write to your family and ask your third and fourth uncles to recommend you for the position of 'filial piety and incorruptibility'."

"If the ban on partisan strife is lifted, you will be able to become an official."

When Chen Ming was a child, Chen Xin took him away from Yingchuan and came to the cold place of Youzhou alone.

The father and son had relied on each other for survival over the years, so Chen Xin couldn't bear to blame him.

"Father, I know I was wrong, but there's something I need to tell you!"

"What is it?"

After speaking, Chen Ming took out a bamboo scroll from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.

"Father, please look, this is the confession I forced out of the Taiping heretics."

"The Taiping Heretic?"

Upon hearing these four words, Chen Ming immediately noticed a sudden change in his father's expression.

Chen Xin took the bamboo slip and quickly scanned its contents.

The contents of the bamboo slips were terrifying.

The inscription read, "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise," and also mentioned a plan to attack Luoyang from both inside and outside the city within three months.

In addition, thirty-six Liang generals will unite the prefectures and counties of the world to rise up in rebellion.

"Where... did this letter come from?"

Chen Xin stared wide-eyed at Chen Ming and asked.

"This person is Liang Shuai of Taiping Dao. I have been secretly investigating Taiping Dao for a long time and found that they have ulterior motives."

"So I had my eldest brother and third brother kill these Taiping Dao people, leaving only the leader for interrogation."

"He's telling the truth."

"This plan is meticulously crafted; if it is executed on time, the world will surely descend into chaos!"

Chen Ming said to his father.

"It was precisely because I was worried about this matter that I befriended my eldest brother and third brother, these formidable military generals."

"Only in this way can we protect ourselves if unforeseen circumstances arise in the future!"

After listening to Chen Ming's words, Chen Xin remained silent for a long time before finally putting the bamboo slip into his bosom.

"Yes, this matter must be reported to the imperial court. You should hand over those Taiping believers to your father to deal with."

"This will be helpful for your future career."

Chen Xin stared at Chen Ming and said, "The Taiping Dao is indeed plotting a rebellion, but it's not as serious as you say."

"You are a member of the Chen family, you shouldn't associate with those butchers and drunkards."

Chen Ming suddenly remembered something.

Everyone says Zhang Jiao is going to rebel, but why would Zhang Jiao rebel?

Later scholars analyzed this matter.

The conclusion is that Zhang Jiao's rebellion was instigated by the gentry, for three reasons.

First, the Way of Peace had been established for over twenty years. If Zhang Jiao hadn't rebelled, his status would have been higher than the emperor's. So why did he rebel?

Secondly, Zhang Jiao's uprising coincided with the second persecution of the gentry by Emperor Ling of Han, during which many members of the aristocratic class were imprisoned, a timing that perfectly matched the events.

The second persecution of the gentry suffered great losses, with more than two hundred scholars imprisoned by Zhang Rang on various charges, including Chen Shi.

Subsequently, the aristocratic families suffered heavy casualties.

Zhang Jiao's uprising started strong but ended weakly. Initially, it swept across the country and was unstoppable, almost overthrowing the Han Dynasty.

The ability to mobilize the military forces of eight states could not have been planned by one person alone.

To quell the rebellion, Emperor Ling was forced to lift the ban on political factions.

At this point, Zhang Jiao had become a pawn to be discarded.

Without the support of the gentry, Zhang Jiao lost his strategy and his actions became chaotic. In less than half a year, the uprising was suppressed.

Conclusion: Zhang Jiao's uprising was a tool used by the gentry to resist Emperor Ling's partisan purge.

Once the party ban is lifted, the tools become worthless.

Therefore, Chen Ming believes that the Chen family of Yingchuan was involved and that his father was aware of it.

He decided to take the risk.

"Father, the situation is worse than you think."

"Zhang Jiao is not a pawn; the Han Dynasty cannot withstand further turmoil!"

Upon hearing the words "Zhang Jiao is not a chess piece," Chen Xin immediately stopped and turned around to look back.

"Shut up!"

After turning around, Chen Xin did not ask Chen Ming's opinion first. Instead, he quickly walked to the door, dismissed the servants outside, and then returned.

Chen Ming saw a greater shock on his father's face than when he saw Deng Mao's confession.

"What we said today must not get out, or our Chen family will be wiped out."

Chen Xin looked at Chen Ming seriously and asked, "How do you know Zhang Jiao isn't a pawn? Where did you get this information?"

Chen Ming was secretly pleased.

His gamble paid off.

Later scholars were right in their analysis.

Zhang Jiao's rebellion was not accidental, but rather a conflict between the aristocratic class and imperial power.