Chapter 9 Yellow Turban Uprising

In February of the seventh year of Guanghe (AD 184), after Ma Yuanyi's chariot broke, Zhang Jiao, a great virtuous teacher of Taiping Dao, changed his planned plan and started an early uprising in Ye County, Jizhou. The Taiping Taoists in Hebei gathered together for a while, conquered Zhending County with lightning speed, and established an armed headquarters.According to the scriptures in "Taiping Qinglingshu" that "there is a rule of heaven, there is a rule of earth, and there is a rule of man, the three qi are extreme, and then all things are governed by divergent lines". , Zhang Liang called Rengong general.

Because the Taipingdao forces have been rebelling for a long time, they have already written the word "Jiazi" in white clay on the walls of state and county government offices and rich people's homes, so the entire uprising process was rapid and orderly.At that time, Guangwu Liu Xiu of the Han Dynasty proclaimed himself emperor based on the prophecy's "Chi Fufu", the so-called "Liu Xiu sent troops to arrest the way, the four barbarians gathered in the wild, and the fire dominated the April 7th".Therefore, the Han Dynasty regarded itself as the virtue of fire, so Zhang Jue advocated the use of earth to restrain fire, put forward the sixteen-character mantra of "the heaven is dead, the yellow sky should stand, the year is Jiazi, and the world is peaceful", and ordered the uprising people in the world to wrap them in yellow scarves. head.Therefore, Taipingdao's rebellion against the people was denounced by the court as a Yellow Turban thief.

After the incident in Hebei, within a short period of one month, all congregations in the world responded.In the Han Dynasty, Ji, Qing, You, Bing, Yan, Yu, Jing, and Yang, the eight prefectures were turned upside down, and there were no less than a million people who rebelled against them at once.Among them are not only Taiping Taoists, but also refugees who fled due to disasters, people who were forced to pay taxes and had nowhere to go, deserters who could not endure years of wars, tenant farmers who lost their land and were oppressed, soldiers' families whose families were ruined because of the conquest of Xianbei Qiang people, and even those who occupied the land. Bandits in the mountains and low-level local tyrants who were dissatisfied with the court also joined the anti-people team.They united to conquer the city and conquer the land, and killed the powerful officials.

Soon, Liu Xu, King of Anping, and Liu Zhong, King of Ganling, were captured by the Yellow Turban Army.Many county and county officials in the world obtained their positions through bribery and buying officials. How can they have a little heart for the country, compassion for the people, and strength to resist? Before the Yellow Turban Army arrived, they packed up the gold and silver and left the official.The situation deteriorated day by day, and emergency documents flew to the capital every day. Only then did Liu Hong realize the dire situation, and immediately called the people around him to discuss countermeasures.Helplessly, his trusted eunuchs and servants are all full of wine and food, and they have no way to defeat the enemy.The eunuch was helpless, and the most ridiculous thing was that Xiang Xu, whom he regarded as a half-immortal, suggested reciting the "Book of Filial Piety" to defeat the enemy.In desperation, Liu Hong had no choice but to convene a court meeting to speak out to the officials.

Some suggested punishing traitorous parties, some suggested restricting eunuchs, some suggested using the emperor's private money to fund the military, some demanded that stables be opened to distribute royal horses and soldiers, and still others suggested evaluating the achievements of officials with more than 2,000 shi... As soon as he spit out his chest, Liu Hong was in a mess at the moment, so he had no choice but to promise to accept all of them. After some deliberation, Liu Hong was promoted to He Jin, the uncle of the country who had just been promoted to Henan Yin, as a general, and led the Habayashi Left and Right Army and some troops of the Northern Army to be stationed in Duting, as the nominal commander-in-chief of counter-insurgency; Uncle He Miao replaced Henan Yin to guard the capital.Restore the post of captain in Henan Baguan and strengthen the defense.He mobilized the Northern Army, the Habayashi Army, and even the court guards, and recruited Xiangyong in Sanhe to barely make up 40,000 horses. He appointed Huang Fusong, the prefect of Beidi who was reporting his duties in Beijing, as the general of Zuo Zhonglang, and the admonishment doctor Zhu Jun as the general of You Zhonglang. As a result, the two led their divisions out to fight.In addition, Shangshu Lu Zhi was appointed as Beizhonglang General, and Wuhuan Zhonglang General Zong Yuan as deputy, led some troops to gather the rest of Hebei, and went north to crusade against Zhangjiao.

During these hectic days, Cao Cao has been watching the development of the situation. Of course, he is worried about the court, but more importantly, his father promised to help him find a position in the army. After the selection of generals for the expedition was completed, everything was settled, but he didn't touch any of them.Seeing Zou Jing, Ju Jun, Wei Jie and other acquaintances of the Northern Army ready to set off, he asked his father with a sad face, but Cao Song smiled and did not answer. Although Huangfusong, Zhu Jun, and Lu Zhi were all well-versed in the art of war and led soldiers for a long time, the situation did not change in a favorable direction because of the disparity between the few and the crowd.Since Guangwu Zhongxing, in order to prevent local officials from supporting themselves, the Han Dynasty has withdrawn the defenders of the counties and even Guancheng, leaving only four permanent troops in the east, south, west and north.The Fifth Battalion of the Northern Army guarded the capital, the Seventh Division of the Southern Army guarded the palace; the Western Army garrisoned Sanfu, and the Eastern Army garrisoned the Yellow River to monitor foreigners.Since the Qiang people and Xianbei were infested, all the Western Army was transferred to the northwest to fight, and the Eastern Army had also been transferred to a small number. Now all the remaining soldiers are under Lu Zhi's command.In this way, after sending out these three troops, the imperial court actually has no troops to send!

There were no regular troops in the area, so the areas attacked by the Yellow Turban guerrillas could only rely on officials and even landlords to recruit troops spontaneously to resist. Under such circumstances, the decline was out of control.Guo Xun, governor of Youzhou, Liu Wei, governor of Zhuojun, and Chu Gong, governor of Nanyang, were defeated and killed one after another. As for those who abandoned their positions, there were countless more. The most frightening thing was that when Lu Zhi led his troops across the north, they were intercepted by the main force of Zhang Jiao's personal commander, and the battle fell into a stalemate.As soon as the two main forces, Huangfusong and Zhu Jun, left the pass and entered Yingchuan, they were besieged by the most elite Bocai section of the Yellow Turban Army.

There were more than 100,000 enemy troops, while the total number of officers and troops was only 30,000. Zhu Jun was trapped in Yangdi County, and Huangfusong was besieged in Changshe County.Not to mention that the Second Army could not recover the lost land to support the Northern Expedition, even breaking out of the siege and self-protection became a problem, and later even the communication with the imperial court was interrupted.There was no news for ten consecutive days, and Luoyang City fell into extreme panic.People from other places are detained in Henan and unable to leave the customs. All the officials of the imperial court are concerned about their hometown and have no news. !

Emperor Liu Hong was like a frightened bird, no longer in the mood to enjoy himself.Even the ten permanent servants were aware of the danger of subjugation, so they had no choice but to cheer Liu Hong up and show him the memorials he had detained in the past for him to read.In order to cheer people up and stabilize the situation, Liu Hong vigorously promoted the repressed talents, and even bestowed the title of Marquis of Linjin on Lao Yang, who had disputes with him, and gave him the gift of three elders. He, Yuan Gong and others also all raised their rewards; and he ordered that soldiers from Henan be recruited again, and all officials and officials must also contribute their private bows and arrows, horses to fight. Ordinary people, even criminals who have killed people or robbers who have let go, as long as they are willing to come out to fight for the court, they will all go to battle to protect the country.

When Cao Cao learned of the edict, he immediately prepared horses and soldiers to apply, and even Lou Yi and Qin Yilu's servants mobilized.But old Cao Song tried his best to suppress it: "My son, the busses that are conscripted are running all over the streets. Even if they are recruited, they are just serving as soldiers to guard the capital. There are more people with more qualifications than you. If you just want to mess with the barracks, then you can go to the army now." Just go, if you want to lead your troops to make some military exploits, just wait patiently for me." When he said this, Cao Cao knew that there was a big mystery, so he put down his weapons and waited for a while.

Three days later, an angel (court envoy) suddenly came to the door and declared Cao Cao to enter the palace to discuss matters. This must be the role played by his father. He quickly changed his court clothes and followed the bus into the palace.When he arrived at the palace, the emissary did not lead him to the palace, but went to the province to meet Taiwei Deng Sheng. Deng Sheng, alias Bo Neng, is nearly seventy years old. He started his career with his military exploits against Xianbei in Bingzhou in his early years. Although he has some reputation, he is far from being on the same level as Yang Ci, Liu Kuan and other veterans.The Yellow Turban incident shook the world, and the imperial court urgently needed someone with thorough military skills to coordinate the situation, so he was able to replace Yang Gong and temporarily occupy the position of the third prince. Cao Cao knew that he was from the old army, and he respected him very much. He wanted to pay respects according to the court system, but Deng Sheng helped him and said, "Meng De, sit down and talk." "Don't dare dare!" Cao Cao was flattered, "There is no seat for an official in front of Deng Gong." "Today I am not meeting you as a Taiwei, but as a colleague's courtesy to invite you for something. You just sit down, and there will be another person coming later." Since he said so, Cao Cao couldn't refuse. He had just sat down when he heard someone outside the door announce: "Your Excellency has arrived." While talking, an official in his forties walked in. He was not tall and had a fair complexion. He has a dignified manner, the court clothes on his body are so neat that there are no wrinkles, a pair of scorched yellow beard, and a face full of rigid majesty. "Master Zi, you are a step late. The emperor ordered you to be a general. Wouldn't it be too late if we ordered today?" It seemed that Deng Sheng was quite familiar with him, and he joked when they met. But the man said with a serious face: "When the country is in trouble, it is only a joke. It is very inappropriate to say that your lord is in the public platform." Cao Cao was taken aback. It was harmless to make a joke. This person was too harsh.But Deng Sheng didn't care about it, he just smiled and said: "It's been more than twenty years, when will you change your stubborn temper? Sit here." "No." The man politely saluted before sitting down. Deng Sheng said to Cao Cao: "You don't know him yet. Let me introduce him. This is Prince Yun, the servant of Yushi Wang." "Oh!" Cao Cao didn't expect it to be him, and complimented him, "In the past, Guo Linzong praised 'Wang Sheng is making great progress, and Wang Zuocai is also', so he must be talking about you, brother Wang?" Wang Yun slightly cupped his hands and said solemnly: "As ministers in the same dynasty, no matter what happened first, do you dare to bear the word 'brother' from your lord." Cao Cao knew that the rumors were true when he heard that he was rejecting people thousands of miles away. Wang Yun is a native of Qi County, Taiyuan, known for his uprightness and courage.At the age of nineteen, as a county official, he broke into the mansion of the Zhongchang servant and killed Zhao Jin, the eunuch who had harmed one party.But as he grew older, not only did he not change his personality, but he became more harsh and guilty.When he was 22 years old, he scolded Wang Qiu, the prefect of Taiyuan, because a small official had selfish elections.But it was also his destiny. At that time, Deng Sheng happened to be an official worshiping the governor of Bingzhou. He was very surprised when he heard about it.Afterwards, Wang Yun contradicted him all the way in his official career, but the more he got angry, the more popular he became, which attracted the three princes to join him and was promoted to serve as a censor.Today, Cao Cao said that Brother Wang was just a polite remark, but he dared not accept it as a colleague; Deng Sheng's friendship with him was public and private, but he couldn't even make a joke, which shows that Wang Yun is rigid. Deng Sheng was a little embarrassed: "Teacher, don't be too rigid. This is Yilang Cao Cao Cao Mengde." After the introduction, afraid that he would make irresponsible remarks, he added, "This is the Luoyang county captain who killed Uncle Jian Shuo in the past. people." Wang Yun nodded after hearing this: "Okay, as an official, it should be like this." Deng Sheng quickly explained: "Meng De, you must not argue with him, he said 'it should be like this' is the best evaluation!" Cao Cao laughed it off, but Wang Yun was a little impatient: "Deng Gong, let's deal with urgent matters quickly." Deng Sheng cleared his throat, and then he got to the point: "I have ordered you two to come here today because the imperial court will entrust you with important tasks. However, these two errands have all kinds of risks, and you have to go through life and death, so you do what you can. You don’t have to obey the imperial edict if you agree. Let’s talk about Meng De first. Now Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song are trapped. If they don’t rescue each other, the food and grass will be cut off for a long time, and the king’s teacher will be gone. And there are few people in the court. , Now I can barely recruit three thousand soldiers." At this point, he looked at Cao Cao with piercing eyes, "Meng De, do you dare to lead these three thousand people to Yingchuan to break the siege of the king's division?" "Dare!" Cao Cao replied bluntly. "Okay!" Deng Sheng patted his thigh, "Sure enough, everyone has a good eye. You don't know that Zhu Jun once praised you before he left. A few days ago, Ma Gong and Cui Lie, Zhang Wen, Zhang Yan, Fan Ling, Xu Xiang, Jia Hu, Ren Zhi, Jiang Lan and other ministers successively recommended..." Cao Cao laughed to himself when he heard this string of good and bad names: These ministers have different factions, some are good and some are evil, some are old and some are young, but they all have some kind of friendship with their father. "In short, thousands of heavy responsibilities are on your shoulders. Since you dare to accept the order, you will immediately be promoted to the captain of the cavalry, and tomorrow you will meet the general in the capital pavilion and lead the army out of the customs!" "Promise." Cao Cao stood up and saluted, and said loudly: "Since Bucai has been ordered, he must be loyal to the country and die without complaint." "Why do you say death before the army moves?" Deng Sheng took the seal ribbon from Ling Shi and handed it to him personally, "Young man, I am here waiting for your good news." After Cao Cao returned to his seat, he saw Deng Sheng take over another seal, and said to Wang Yun, "Master, you have been an official for more than 20 years, and your heart is as hard as a rock. Now you have a more dangerous job. Wang Yun, with a serious face, suddenly smiled: "It's the king's order, so what's the danger? How many fatal disasters have I been in? It's cheap to live to this day." Deng Sheng couldn't help but laugh: "Yuzhou is the gateway of Henan Province, a very important place. Since the arrival of Bocai soldiers, the whole state has been in chaos, the governor's life and death are unknown, and the books and newspapers in various places have been cut off. Now there is an edict, let you be the governor of Yuzhou It is not an easy task to gather the remnant soldiers of the prefectures and counties, restore the organizational system, resist the bandits outside, and repair the government of officials inside." Wang Yun didn't accept the seal, so he said straight to the point: "It's not difficult to enter Yuzhou to take up the post, but how many people can the imperial court send with me?" Deng Sheng stretched out a finger: "There are only a hundred people." Cao Cao was taken aback: "The Yellow Turban Bandits have almost occupied the whole of Yuzhou, and Shan Bocai's main force has 100,000 people. If a hundred people go with Lord Wang, isn't it like a sheep going into a tiger's mouth?" Deng Sheng smiled wryly for a while, and said helplessly: "You saw it when you came. The guards of the palace are all eunuchs led by Jian Shuo, and all the Yulin troops have been dispatched. Your three thousand soldiers are at the end of their strength, and the defenders of the city are all People and prisoners, there are no soldiers to recruit in Henan, and if they are sent again, they will have to rely on the servants of the various prefectures." But Wang Yun laughed it off: "This is the end of the matter, Yun and the court will live and die together. I have accepted this job, but there is still one thing I need to do." "You don't mind talking." "A hundred people are still too few, and let me rush back to Qi County in the starry night. There are still clan men available in my hometown. In addition, I have a good friend Song Yi who has quite a lot of money and servants. Come." Deng Sheng was very moved: "Master Zi, I really can't do anything, and you have bet the entire wealth and life of your family and friends." "Where is a home without a country!" Wang Yun took over Yinshou. Cao Cao was quite touched: "I am also willing to mobilize my family to rescue Yingchuan." "Okay, okay! The national crisis shows you loyal ministers. One of you is the mainstay, and the other is a backward talent. I will be worshiped by the old man." Deng Sheng got up and wanted to salute, and the two hurriedly stopped... It was getting late when Cao Cao and Wang Yun left the palace, and they parted with each other.Cao Cao sat in the official car with the green cover and two flags that had been prepared, and was full of emotion: when he entered, he was still a Sanzhi Yilang, but when he came out, he was already a high-ranking official with military power.It's a pity that Luoyang City is now sparsely populated, not to mention the children of officials, many people have gone to the city, who can see their majesty? When we arrived at the gate of the mansion, we saw the family members Cangtou standing on both sides, and Qin Yilu was the first to run over: "Congratulations, you have been promoted! Our family has two green-covered and two-flanked carts. If you go out with the master, how majestic will you be?" ah!" "Hahaha..." Cao Cao laughed unceasingly, let him help him out of the car, took the seal ribbon and went to the main hall.Seeing that my father has prepared wine and food, he has been waiting for a long time. "Father." Cao Cao knelt in front of Cao Song holding the seal ribbon. Cao Song didn't look at the official seal, but touched the green, red and white ribbon, and asked, "Is it the captain or the general?" "It's the riding captain." Cao Song pondered for a long time: "My son said 'Thirty years old', you are exactly thirty years old this year. As a father, I have been favored by your grandfather, and it took me fifteen years. A salary of a thousand stones." "The child is also supported by his father." "Being a father can only help you, but you can't bestow virtue on you. I just talked to Xu Xiang, Jia Hu and others. Cui Lie and Zhang Wen each rely on their hearts. As for Ma Gong and Zhu Jun, they are even more beyond what a father can do. It's time. In the final analysis, you still have to walk the road yourself. Sit down quickly." As he spoke, Cao Song scooped up a cup of wine for his son, "But you have to think clearly, you can only win this battle if you win the battle." Enjoy the glory, if you don't win, it's just an illusion." Cao Cao held up the wine cup: "My son has made up his mind. If he loses and the king's division is destroyed, he will die in battle and serve his country. He will not disgrace the grace of the emperor to our Cao family." Cao Song pressed his hand: "It's your words that I'm afraid of for my father." "Oh?" "Everyone will say that it is better to break the jade than to make it whole. But you have to understand that the most difficult thing is to put the broken jade back together... Ah Man, do you want De'er?" "Brother..." Cao Cao thought for a while, "Our Cao family, Ding Shangwang, has a total of over a thousand servants. In the west, there is the sturdy clan of the Xiahou family, and in the east, there are the Ding brothers who have closed their doors. My son's 3,000 troops are stronger, so they will be safe." "That's what I said, but there is one in a million, I'm afraid I will be caught off guard. As a father, I have to plan for the worst, if..." "Our family will have no trouble." "Listen to what I have to say. If Master Wang is defeated or unable to win, you must not die or come back!" "what?" "Don't come back to Luoyang after the defeat." Cao Song felt dejected, "Once the Wang division loses, Bocai will surely enter Henan. At that time, the fall of the capital is imminent. Why do you come back? You should return to your hometown in Qiao County with the remnants of your troops. It would be the best if you can summon Xiangyong to come to serve the king. If you can't, just wait for the right time behind closed doors. If you can't even keep it...then run away with De'er and save the descendants of my Cao family. Ah! My grandson Ang'er cannot be harmed, do you understand?" "You don't have to be so sad. Zhu Jun and Huangfusong are both veteran generals, and the yellow scarf bandits are a mob. Presumably Wang Shi is only temporarily trapped. You..." Cao Cao wanted to continue, but found that his father's cheeks were dripping. a tear. At that moment, he suddenly realized that his father was old and lived in one place every day, but he actually ignored this point, the mottled white hair, the wrinkles like knife carvings, even the most shrewd people will grow old one day!He immediately changed his words, "My son promises you!" Cao Song breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm relieved now... 3,000 troops are too few." "There is no way, there are only so many soldiers who can be recruited now. The prince's division is the governor of Yuzhou, and there are only a hundred people under his jurisdiction. He went back to his hometown overnight to recruit troops." "Let's go out tomorrow, and you will take the servants of this family with you." "My son already had this intention." Cao Cao drank the wine, "My son still has something unclear, why don't you let me go out with Zhu Jun?" "Hahaha..." Cao Song laughed through his tears and patted his chest, "Even if you are transferred to the Northern Army now, your qualifications are not enough, and you are just a general in the army. How can my son of Cao be busy for other people's fame? " Cao Cao stared at him blankly, and the sadness just now was swept away: old man, when the country is in danger, you still have to play such a clever trick!Although this kind of scheming is not very glorious, but looking at the shiny seal beside it, it feels really dumbfounding. "Why are you in a daze! What are you thinking?" Cao Song took a sip of his wine and cast a resentful glance at him.Cao Cao couldn't blame his father, and teased, "My child is thinking... this time I was ordered to suppress the rebellion, and I should follow Zhou Yafu's efforts to turn the tide and build fame." "Turn the tide?" Cao Song sneered, "Do you know how many people die to become a famous general? Talking about war on paper is not a skill, but you will understand what fighting is on the battlefield."