The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

"Father?" In the study of the Grand Commandant's residence, Yang Xiu asked his father with great curiosity, "Father has been like this ever since you returned. What is the matter?"

"I was thinking about that person from earlier, Li Xian, Li Xianzhang," Yang Biao said hesitantly, frowning. "This person's face and methods are strikingly similar to one person, but that person seems to be no longer in Luoyang. How strange! How strange!"

Yang Xiu asked in confusion, "Who is Father referring to?"

"That was back then..." he began, but then a chill ran through Yang Biao, as if he had remembered something. He swallowed back the words he wanted to say and said in a deep voice, "This matter is of great importance, Dezu. You'd better not ask any more questions!"

"This..." Yang Xiu was quite taken aback. His father had never acted like this before. But after thinking for a moment, Yang Xiu suppressed his doubts and honestly replied, "Yes, Father!"

Li Ru? Didn't that accomplice die in Luoyang? Or is he just someone who looks like Li Ru? Yang Biao pondered for a moment, then muttered to himself, "This matter is of great importance. I should test him out later... I wonder if that Jiang kid has noticed anything?"

Li Ru never expected to be recognized by Yang Biao. Indeed, back in Luoyang, Grand Commandant Yang Biao was "seriously ill at home, just like Minister Wang Yun. The two had only met once, at the banquet Dong Zhuo held to depose the young emperor and install a wise ruler. But on that occasion, Li Ru merely stepped forward as a civil official under Dong Zhuo and offered him a few words of advice."

Compared to Yang Biao, Li Ru was more concerned about other important officials, but those who had survived the great fires of Luoyang and Chang'an, and endured persecution by the two rebels Guo and Li, were few and far between.

Just in case, Li Ru changed his attire completely before leaving home. Ever since the emperor first entered Xuchang, Li Ru had started growing a beard, but unexpectedly, Yang Biao still recognized him.

Fortunately, Yang Biao didn't show the slightest surprise on his face. If he had revealed Li Ru's identity, everything would have been over. Li Ru might have even killed Yang Biao in his panic.

The reason is simple: Li Ru has gradually become accustomed to living in the Jiang residence, and Jiang Zhe's approval of him is the only thing Li Ru cannot give up now.

After Li Ru destroyed the residences of more than a dozen officials, he glanced at the scene on the street, shook his head, and led his troops straight to the residence of Situ Jiang.

It wasn't that he suddenly had a "change of heart" because there were no more rebels on the streets.

All of them were Cao Cao soldiers from Xuchang with white silk ribbons tied around their right arms. The same was true for the other important locations in Xuchang.

Just a moment ago, weren't the rebels in the lead? Why has it suddenly become Cao Cao's army's domain?

The reason lies in the horn that Gou or others sounded.

As mentioned earlier, if the guards were to sound the horn, the entire city of Xuchang would immediately echo with the sound of horns; it was not something that was blown casually.

If it were possible that Cao Cao had conspired with Cheng Yu and Li Ru to lure out the rebels in Xuchang, then he would have all five thousand of Cao Cao's soldiers ambushed, waiting for the bugle to sound. That would be the moment to close the net!

But where were those Cao soldiers lying in ambush? Weren't they discovered by the rebels? The reason is simple. They could have secretly dispatched five thousand soldiers to infiltrate civilian homes while the city was ablaze and the streets were in chaos. Let's rewind to the moment the bugle call first sounded. Li Wang, a sergeant under Yu Jin, who was stationed in Xuchang, secretly peeked through a crack in the door, observing the situation outside. Beside him stood four or five Cao soldiers, swords drawn. He occasionally glanced at the couple in the corner—oh, and a young girl too.

"What do you want to do?" the man asked angrily, shielding the woman and daughter behind him.

Hearing this, Li Wang turned and glanced at the man. A hint of admiration flickered in his eyes as he smiled and said softly, "Brother, please don't be alarmed. We are soldiers under the command of Magistrate Cao of Xuchang. Please forgive our earlier rudeness!"

The man glanced at Li Wang suspiciously, his eyes softening slightly, and hesitated before asking, "What are you doing?"

"This..." Li Wang hesitated before speaking. "I'm sorry. I cannot tell you about this, but you two can rest assured, we will not harm you!" After saying that, he continued to look outside, a hint of anxiety on his face.

The man walked over with a puzzled look, peered outside through the door, and whispered, "Who are they?"

Li Wang glanced at the man and said calmly, "Don't ask any more questions!"

The man's expression froze, a hint of anger flickering in his eyes. However, Li Wang was focused on the matter outside the gate and did not make a sound. Just then, a low horn sounded, and soon horns echoed throughout Xuchang.

Li Wang's expression turned serious, and he turned to the four or five Cao soldiers, saying, "Gentlemen! Fight on!"

"Fight on!" the four or five Cao soldiers shouted in a low voice, taking out a white sacrificial cloth from their robes and tying it to their right arms.

As Li Wang tied the white silk ribbon, he said to the man, "It's chaotic outside, none of you are to go out! Keep the doors closed and wait until dawn!"

"Wait!" the man said in surprise. "What happened? Can you tell me?"

Li Wang stared at the man for a long while, then smiled and said, "You'd better stay home. This has nothing to do with you. You damned traitors! You dared to cause trouble while Lord Jiang was away. You'll be sorry!" He then pulled the latch and was about to leave when the man grabbed him.

"Brother!" Facing the hostile gazes of the Cao soldiers, the man hurriedly said, "Could it be that someone in the city intends to cause trouble? And what about Lord Jiang—is it Jiang Zhe, Jiang Shouyi?"

"Insolence!" Li Wang glared at the man and said in a deep voice, "How dare you address Lord Jiang by his name? Lord Jiang is a rare and virtuous man, alas. If Lord Jiang were here, those traitors wouldn't be so rampant. I just saw the fire spread to the Jiang family mansion; I wonder how the two Jiang wives are doing." Why am I telling you all this? Don't try to pull me any further, or don't blame me for being impolite! Brothers, let's go!

"Yes, sir!" Following Li Wang, four or five Cao soldiers went straight out and charged towards the rebels on the street.

Like Li Wang, Cao's soldiers quickly ambushed people in their homes.

"With a single strike, the enemy was caught completely off guard. Not to mention the lowly servants and men of the household, even the retainers of the officials in the court were no match for Cao Cao's battle-hardened soldiers. They were slaughtered in no time."

Seeing that the situation was not good, the court officials immediately slipped back to their residences, which was exactly what Li Ru had been worried about. That's why he ordered the troops to return.

After Li Wang left, the man kept muttering Jiang Zhe's name.

The woman in the corner, holding her young daughter, stood up and said softly, "My husband said he would never concern himself with the past again..."

"Yes, I don't care!" the man said hesitantly. "But Jiang Zhe has been kind to us Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou. Now that his residence is in trouble, how can I stand idly by?"

"Why?" the woman asked, her face filled with sorrow. She stepped forward and said, "Back in Qingzhou, my husband was willing to give up his position as chieftain, why now…?" "He gave it up back then because Xu He was truly a talented man!" the man roared. "Jiang Shouyi was kind and benevolent, treating us Yellow Turbans well and relocating us here. If it weren't for Jiang Shouyi, we would all have been driven out of Xuchang by those corrupt officials! How could we still have several acres of fertile land like we do now?"

"My husband..."

"Stop talking!" the man hissed, then softened his tone, saying, "Just this once. Let me repay Jiang Zhe's kindness from the other day! 'Just' it is." The woman placed her sleeping daughter on the tatami mat, retrieved a long spear from under the mat, and gazed intently at the man, saying, "Husband, come back..." "Hmph!" the man snorted, taking the spear with a heroic air, "Who do you think I am? Back when I roamed the North Sea... cough, it's getting late. After I leave, close the door. No matter who knocks, don't open it!"

"My husband, please rest assured." After a deep look, the man steeled himself and left the house, tightly gripping the spear in his hand.

The man muttered, "Old buddy, this is the final battle, Jiang Shouyi. Guan Hai, the Yellow Turban leader from Qingzhou, has come to repay your kindness of many days!"

Guan Hai? Guan Hai, the Yellow Turban leader of Qingzhou at the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion? Wasn't he defeated by Guan Yu?

It turns out that Guan Hai was cut off from his horse by Guan Yu that day, but he did not die. He was rescued by a woman from Beihai, who is now his wife.

Feeling deeply indebted to the great teacher, Guan Xuan went into hiding. Even when Xu He reorganized the Yellow Turbans, Guan Hai never revealed his true identity, merely taking on a minor leadership position to support his family.

During this time, no one saw through his disguise, simply because Guan Hai's face was already disfigured when Guan Yu slashed it with his sword during their battle that day, so how could others recognize him?

However… aside from the fatal stab to the face, Guan Hai's left hand tendons were also severed. All the rebels outside the gate had been killed, leaving the streets deserted. But there were too many corpses. Guan Hai glanced at them indifferently and noticed that several Cao soldiers had white silk ribbons tied around their right arms. He sighed inwardly.

Bending down, Guan Hai took a white silk ribbon and tied it to his right arm before striding towards Situ Jiang's residence.

As Guan Hai walked, he suddenly heard the sounds of fighting in front of him. He rushed over and saw that Li Wang, whom he had seen before, was surrounded by more than a hundred Cao soldiers. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were Yuan Shu's troops.

Guan Hai strode forward, killing his way to Li Wang's side. He growled, "Wasn't the plan to exterminate the rebels? What's with these soldiers?"

"You—" Li Wang stared blankly at Guan Hai for a long while. Then, snapping out of his daze, he roared, "How the hell should I know? What are you doing out here? Don't you want to live?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Hai clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the Situ residence and said in a deep voice, "I've come to repay Jiang Shouyi's kindness over the past few days!"

"I wasn't telling you not to address someone as 'sir'..." Li Wang interrupted, suddenly noticing the fighting spirit in Guan Hai's eyes. Looking around at the surrounding enemy forces, all of them Yuan Shu's, he suddenly laughed, "Are you truly not afraid of death?"

Guan Hai kicked a Yuan soldier aside and killed him with a single spear thrust. Turning back, he said calmly, "I've already died once. What else is there to fear!"

Li Wang stared at the horrific knife scars on Guan Hai's face. He nodded and said, "He's a real man." However, glancing at the ever-growing number of Yuan Shu's troops, he said sadly, "You're too foolish!"

Guan Hai remained silent for a long time. Then he shouted, "A true man stands in this world with benevolence and righteousness in mind, and repays kindness and vengeance. That is what a man should do. Even if I, Guan Hai, die here... what does it matter!"

However, "I'm sorry, Juan'er," I'm afraid even Gouhuo didn't expect that, like Guan Hai, a spider appeared in Xuchang. At the four gates of Xuchang, many Xuchang people helped Cao Cao's soldiers defend the city. These people were not ordinary cowardly people, but the families of the 300,000 Qingzhou Yellow Turbans that day, and even more so, the 10,000 Qingzhou Yellow Turbans!

Forced by Jiang Zhe to relocate to Xuchang, many of these former Yellow Turban followers harbored resentment. However, as time passed, Jiang Zhe treated them well, even better than he had in Qingzhou. Gradually, the hearts of these former Yellow Turban followers in Qingzhou turned to Jiang Zhe. Later, hearing of Jiang Zhe's magnanimity and benevolence in advocating for them at court, the Yellow Turbans were deeply grateful.

So much so that nowadays,

Upon receiving the report from his subordinate, Gou Huo and Cheng Yu rushed to the entrance of the Jiang residence. They were astonished to see the streets teeming with people, noticing that those dressed as commoners all had white silk ribbons tied around their right arms.

"An unexpected turn of events..." Cheng Yu murmured.

Gou Huo nodded. He said in a deep voice, "The Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou are mostly elite troops. It's just that earlier, perhaps out of fear of raising a tiger that would become a threat, they were dispersed and incorporated into the populace of Xuchang, according to the principle of upholding righteousness. In your opinion, it would be better to organize them into a separate army, which we can call the Qingzhou Army."

Looking at the current situation, to the east are Lü Bu and Liu Bei; to the south are Liu Bei and Yuan Shao; and to the west are the generals of Hanzhong. Even if we were to ally with Yuan Shao now, the future would be uncertain.

Xuzhou is a vital center for wealth and provisions. We must seize it to prevent Liu Bei and Lü Bu from growing too powerful!

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