The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Despite being far outnumbered by the Xianbei, the overwhelming murderous aura terrified the Xianbei cavalry, causing them to tremble and almost drop their swords.

Zhang Fei took the lead, charging to the front of the Xianbei formation. With a swing of his eighteen-foot spear, he sent two Xianbei cavalrymen flying.

His leopard-like eyes widened, and his voice boomed like thunder:

"You idiot! I, Old Zhang, am here! Quickly dismount and surrender!"

It turned out that after Zhang Fei delivered the message, he immediately headed south and chased after the enemy to Shaling City.

At that moment, I heard a familiar voice.

The Xianbei soldiers completely collapsed.

They had already been demoralized by the ice wall maze, and now they were surrounded by Zhang Fei's vanguard. They had no will to resist.

Many people threw down their weapons and turned to run away.

Looking at the desperate situation before him, Zhizhang sheathed the curved sword at his waist and picked up the long spear that had been captured from his ancestors.

He knew he was doomed to die that day.

"Brothers! Let's fight them!"

He roared and spurred his horse to charge towards Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei laughed loudly and spurred his horse to meet him!

His horse has been delivered!

The eighteen-foot spear, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, pierced through Zhizhang's throat in just ten rounds.

"Pfft!"

Fresh blood spurted out.

Zhi Zhang stared wide-eyed, fell off his horse, and died with his eyes wide open.

"Hmph! Get your ass off Third Master's horse!"

He then severed his head and stabbed it into the eighteen-foot spear.

"The bandit leader is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Zhang Fei raised his spear high and shouted fiercely.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

The remaining Xianbei soldiers threw down their weapons and knelt on the ground to surrender.

Those who didn't surrender have already run away!

They don't remember any hatred whatsoever!

The city gates of Shaling City slowly opened.

Xu Huang and Huang Zhong led their soldiers out of the city.

The two looked at the corpses scattered on the ground and the Xianbei soldiers kneeling in surrender, and smiled at each other.

"Yide, you've come at the perfect time," Xu Huang said with a bitter laugh. "If we had come half a day later, they would have finished us off."

in the city.

Even where the staff of wisdom couldn't see, there were still many corpses of Han soldiers piled up.

Their mission is to annihilate the enemy, not to hinder them. They need to take advantage of the terrain and fight a real battle.

By now, one-third of the casualties have been suffered. Many others remain with minor injuries.

But the closer they got to this point, the more Huang Zhong and Xu Huang admired Liu Bei and Li Chang.

With such a high casualty rate, they haven't collapsed yet!

"Hahahaha!" Zhang Fei laughed loudly, "Brother Gongming, Brother Hansheng, don't worry, I, Zhang Fei, won't take all the credit! Half of these 20,000 Xianbei cavalrymen should be yours!"

Huang Zhong stroked his beard and laughed, "Alright, alright, you can have them all. Just make sure you can take them all back and don't let them escape."

The three looked at each other and burst into laughter.

The wind and snow continue.

But the fighting outside Shaling City has already been extinguished.

The 20,000 Xianbei cavalry on the western route were almost completely wiped out.

Zhi Zhang was killed in battle, two thousand were killed, seven thousand were captured, and the rest fled.

The city and its surroundings were littered with corpses.

Battle south of the city, death north of the city; those who die in the wild are not buried, but eaten by crows.

However... Cheng Yu is in Bingzhou, so this situation won't occur.

The body was gathered up again.

Zhang Fei looked eastward and said excitedly:

"Brother Gongming, General Hansheng, I'm leaving this to you. I need to go to Dingxiang City first to see how my eldest and second brothers are doing! I can't miss the spectacle of annihilating the main force of Helian!"

After saying this, he did not wait for their reply, but led his army and rode his horses swiftly towards Dingxiang City.

The snow is still falling in Bingzhou.

But the dawn of victory has already illuminated this bitterly cold land.

……

Just as the fighting was raging on the front lines in Bingzhou.

West Garden in Luoyang, a thousand miles away.

This once extravagant and decadent royal garden is now shrouded in a deathly silence.

The palace was filled with a strong smell of medicine and decay.

Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, lay on a large dragon bed, his face ashen, barely breathing.

Beside the bed, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty! You'll be alright!"

"Your Majesty! You can't abandon your old servants!"

Liu Hong slowly opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze sweeping over the two of them, and his lips moved slightly:

"I...I can't take it anymore..."

He was still clutching a yellowed booklet tightly in his hand.

It was "Liu Huang Shu" that Li Chang sent.

Suddenly I felt that this fellow traveler had ill intentions!

Working day and night completely wore down my already unhealthy body.

But at that moment, he didn't even have time to complain.

Close your eyes and begin to review your life in your mind.

From a mere local marquis to the emperor of the Han Dynasty!

As a person is about to die, their spirit becomes clear, and they begin the final revolving lantern of their life.

At that moment, his entire life of thirty years flashed through his mind, all the absurdity, folly, struggles, and scheming surged into his heart.

"I ascended the throne when I was young, and the young emperor ruled. We were beset by powerful families who held sway over the country, and we were entangled with powerful relatives and eunuchs.

The world scorns me for being incompetent and tyrannical, selling official positions and titles, indulging in debauchery and ruining the foundation of the four-hundred-year-old Han Dynasty.

I approve.

Setting up the Western Garden to sell official positions is my greed; swimming naked and indulging in long nights of revelry is my debauchery; indulging the Ten Attendants in their abuse of power is my laziness; the court has fallen into disarray and the world has become corrupt, this is my crime.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion swept through the prefectures and counties, Liangzhou repeatedly rebelled, the Xianbei invaded the borders, and the Black Mountain bandits roamed freely. Millions of people were displaced and left homeless, the people suffered greatly, and the land was devastated.

At the beginning of this chaotic era, I cannot escape the blame.

But the world only knows that I am evil, and they never know that throughout my life I have been doing several things... eliminating the maternal relatives, resisting the powerful clans, and prolonging the life of the Han Dynasty!

In the two hundred years since Emperor Guangwu, the ones who have truly eroded the state have never been eunuchs or emperors.

They are a powerful family that has been entrenched for centuries, gradually monopolizing land, talent, and the power to speak for the world!

Relatives of the emperor can be eliminated, and eunuchs can be killed, but powerful families are the only ones that remain, generation after generation, deeply rooted and impossible to eradicate completely.

When I was young and powerless, I could only rely on eunuchs to suppress the maternal relatives and use the maternal relatives to control the powerful families.

I am not selling official positions for my own personal extravagance.

All the wealth of the nation has flowed into the private treasuries of powerful families, leaving the imperial court with no money to support the army, no money for disaster relief, and no money to maintain stability!

I have no choice but to ruin my reputation and, as emperor, plunder money to fill the empty treasury!

The world laughs at my absurdity, but I am merely using my stigma to prolong the life of the Han Dynasty.

I know He Jin is weak, I know the Ten Attendants are greedy, and I know the court is in ruins beyond repair.

My final step is to abolish the position of historian and establish a new one as governor.

I am well aware that the power of regional governors inevitably leads to regional separatism.

I know! I know better than anyone else!

But I know it better!

When members of the imperial family govern a province, the Liu family still exists; when powerful clans govern a province, the Han dynasty will never return!

My two sons are young. After my death, no one will be able to control the wolves in the court.

Rather than letting the states fall into the hands of powerful families like Yuan, Yang, and Kong, who would usurp the Han dynasty's foundation.

It would be better to delegate power to the imperial clan, allow them to secure their own territories, and preserve a glimmer of hope for the Liu family!

Liu Yan of Yizhou, Liu Yu of Youzhou, Liu Bei of Bingzhou...

Liu Yan harbored treacherous intentions, while Liu Yu was honest, kind, and weak.

Liu Bei, however, came from a humble background and was too young, so the people did not respect him.

But I observe all the feudal lords in the land, and only this man has won the hearts of the people, does not associate with powerful families, does not befriend eunuchs, can protect the people, and can guard the northern frontier.

I bet he is the last loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.

Whether I bet wrong or right, it doesn't matter.

At least, I did not send the nine prefectures of Bingzhou into the clutches of powerful clans.

In the first half of my life, I was controlled by others and had no control over my own destiny;

He struggled to save himself in the second half of his life, suffering both praise and criticism.

I am licentious, foolish, and erroneous.

But I have never been willing to sit idly by and watch the Han Dynasty perish.

I protected the nation with my stigma, concealed my struggles with my incompetence, and shielded the Han Dynasty from the encroachment of powerful clans for twenty years with my own infamy.

If Heaven has any regrets, I wish that in my next life I will not be born into an imperial family.

I will not bear the infamy, nor will I save this man whose problems are beyond redemption.

I live as an ordinary person, watching the land be clear and the people live in peace.

pity……

late.

The Han dynasty was in turmoil.

"I...have done my best."