The thirty-six leaders of the Taiping Dao had agreed on a time for the uprising, which was in March.

There was even the intention to directly approach Luoyang.

The abandoned and ignored common people had accumulated flames in their hearts, and when the time came, the whole world would rise up in rebellion.

Gathering all their strength, they would overthrow the emperor and the high-ranking officials.

But no one could have guessed that Zhang Jiao personally saved and accepted Tang Zhou as his disciple, and the kind and gentle Ma Yuanyi was torn apart by a cart. This disrupted the plan of the united front. Zhang Jiao remained silent for a long time, and when he emerged, Wei Yuan noticed that the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to be deeper.

This time, Zhang Jiao no longer hesitated.

He raised his voice and declared, "Heaven is dead, and the Yellow Sky shall rise. The year of Jiazi brings great fortune to the world."

With a single call, tens of thousands of followers gathered. This was the pinnacle of ancient prestige. Even Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who rebelled later, only dared to proclaim themselves kings with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. But this time, when the Taoist raised his hand, storms arose in various states, and with a single call, millions of followers gathered.

The impregnable walls of the vast Han Empire were shattered.

The raging fire burned the sky.

Yellow Turban armies appeared in various regions, but gradually, Wei Yuan discovered that not all of these people were true rebels. Some of them were opportunists, or even bandits and robbers who took advantage of the situation to plunder. He realized that Zhang Jiao's aura was becoming stronger, like a bright flame reaching its limit.

Like the blazing flame that illuminated this dark era, it was fierce and brilliant.

He knew that the hope and flame in everyone's eyes resided in this Taoist.

But he began to feel uneasy in his heart.

A burning flame requires fuel.

Liu Niu's hands were stained with blood, and many comrades died on the way. The man with a few strands of white hair at his temples fell silent for a long time before casually saying, "At least they didn't starve to death without dignity. That's already good enough."

He ruffled Wei Yuan's hair, and the young boy noticed that Liu Niu had several yellow turbans tied on his arm, which should have been tied on the foreheads of others. When he walked, these yellow turbans accompanied him like flickering flames. Gradually, they captured more and more cities, and the number of yellow turbans on Liu Niu's arm increased.

When the noble families in power realized that the common people, who were beneath them, were starting to shake their rule, they finally panicked and began to suppress the rebellion. They issued orders for strict defense in various states and commanded the states and counties to prepare for battle. However, the armies in various regions were initially no match for the Yellow Turbans, until the emperor himself mobilized the famous generals of the Han Dynasty.

Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun...

Until these monsters who had dominated the world for a long time began to mobilize the elite troops who ate meat and rice.

They wore armor and had a stern and solemn demeanor.

They came to confront the emaciated farmers with protruding bones.

Among them, Lu Zhi, who had high prestige in the court, led the elite troops of the Han Dynasty and personally attacked the core of the entire Taiping Dao. This was a proper military strategy. They believed that as long as they defeated the leader of the rebels, this so-called Taiping Dao was not worth mentioning.

The coughing young boy watched as each senior brother went out. For some reason, he seemed precocious.

He knew that these famous generals had guessed wrong.

Capturing the leader before capturing the thieves was not suitable for the Yellow Turbans...

Because they did not stand up because they were influenced by someone's instigation.

In April of that year, Sun Jian of the Han Wu family led his army to join forces with Zhu Jun.

Immediately, they were defeated by the Yellow Turbans.

Sun Jian and Zhu Jun's forces had to retreat repeatedly. The famous general of the Han Dynasty, Huangfu Song, joined forces with them and controlled more than 40,000 troops, including the Five Schools, the Three Rivers Knights, and the newly recruited elite warriors. They barely withstood the attack of the Yellow Turbans and were directly besieged.

These aristocratic youths who had been trained in martial arts since childhood were confused for the first time. Whether they wore armor or not, whether they were strong or not was crucial. This far surpassed the advantage of numbers.

One elite warrior in armor could easily kill five or ten unarmored soldiers.

One of the reasons why the Han Dynasty could dominate the Five Barbarians was because of their armor and weapons.

Not to mention these farmers who were nothing more than skin and bones.

But they were indeed defeated.

The elite warriors were defeated by farmers who could only eat tree bark.

Sun Jian stood on the city walls, and he still remembered those people. They looked like weeds, and they didn't even need to use swords to cut them down. They could fall at any moment and never get up again. But they attacked like madmen, their eyes burning like flames...

Soon after, the Yellow Turbans in Runan defeated the Prefect Zhao Qian in Shaoling.

The Yellow Turbans in Guangyang killed the Inspector of Youzhou, Guo Xun, and the Prefect Liu Wei.

News of victories kept coming, and because they were focused on capturing the leader first, they had to face the elite troops of the Han Dynasty with only a part of their forces in Jizhou. They initially managed to contend with them, but soon, Wei Yuan realized that Zhang Jiao, who had always seemed to have endless energy, suddenly fell ill.His aura became stronger, like the sun.

His vitality became weaker, like the withered rivers under the sun.

His energy declined day by day.

Only Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, the two senior brothers, were completely unable to resist Lu Zhi.

Zhang Jiao's troops kept retreating.

They retreated all the way to Guangzong.

And on this day, the enemy commander, Lu Zhi, who was said to be both talented in literature and martial arts, led two young men into Guangzong City. It seemed that they believed that with their strength, they could escape at any time. They found Zhang Jiao's house and wanted to visit the Taoist.

Yuan, the only disciple who stayed by Zhang Jiao's side, looked at Lu Zhi with vigilance.

Just as he was about to refuse, he heard a calm voice, "Yuan, step aside."

Yuan turned his head and saw Zhang Jiao, who had been bedridden for several days, standing there in a Taoist robe. The young man slowly stepped back, and Zhang Jiao said lightly, "I didn't expect Minister Lu to come in."

Lu Zhi looked at the young Taoist in front of him and sighed, "It's a pity for your cultivation."

"Zhang Jiao, give up. Why bring these common people to their deaths... I will report to the emperor. Although you will surely die, these common people may still have a chance for lenient management. With the wise and powerful emperor we have now, as long as we eliminate external troubles and internal problems, life will eventually get better."

The young Taoist smiled and replied, with a slight dimple on his cheek, "That's what I used to think, once."

"But later, I understood..."

The Taoist said softly, "Patience will never lead to good results, never."

"Patience will only lead to greater oppression. Originally, we just wanted to have enough to eat, but then the land was annexed, and we couldn't even have enough to eat. We could only eat tree bark. Then there were epidemics and droughts, but because the emperor wanted to build gardens, the taxes were not reduced at all. On the contrary, they increased layer by layer."

"Faced with this, we can only rise up."

Lu Zhi fell silent and sighed, "...But this will only cause more people to die in vain."

"They could have lived..."

The good-tempered young Taoist replied, "It is precisely because we want to live that we will stand up."

The conversation naturally ended on a sour note. In the end, Lu Zhi said, "You know, this time we are bound to lose. The Great Yu controlled the Nine Cauldrons, and Qin Shi Huang cast the Jade Seal, gathering the fortune of the Nine Continents into one. That's why there was the rise of Emperor Guangwu. This is the destiny bestowed upon me. Now that the dragon veins are stable, my Great Han still has hundreds of years of fortune."

"You won't succeed."

"Besides, we carry the fortune on our bodies. What about you? Relying on your own cultivation? Your cultivation may be able to connect heaven and earth, but how long can it support you?"

Zhang Jiao remained indifferent and let the young man escort the three guests out. After watching his disciple go far away, Zhang Jiao, who had previously exuded an imposing aura that could sweep across Shen Zhou, suddenly turned pale, his vision darkening. He leaned against the wall and slowly sat down, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, staining his Taoist robe.

He walked slowly into the house, step by step, without letting anyone see.

.................

Led by the young man, Lu Zhi walked out of the city. He saw thin and emaciated people, and they greeted him kindly. If it weren't for the fact that they were in a rebel city, he would almost think this was a town affected by disaster. He didn't know what to say. The Yellow Turban Army was actually just the common people of the Great Han who couldn't survive.

This was a truth that he couldn't face directly.

Lu Zhi sighed and said, "Kid, why did you follow Zhang Jiao... Aren't you afraid of dying on the battlefield?"

Yuan replied, "Yes, we're afraid. But Uncle Liu Niu said that there's nothing to fear about dying in battle. It's just a quick end, much better than starving to death. Mother also said that we must never starve to death in this lifetime."

Lu Zhi fell silent. "Starve to death?"

He couldn't find the words to say and changed the subject, "What about your mother?"

The young man answered, "My mother is dead... She starved to death."

Lu Zhi looked around at the people and noticed their wary and strange gazes. He felt uncomfortable. For the sake of the people of the world, he discovered that the enemies he was slaughtering were also the common people of the Great Han. This made him feel very uneasy. The young man next to him, who had a tough and fierce temperament, asked curiously, "Your mother is dead, why didn't you observe mourning for her for three years in front of her grave? Instead, you're doing these treacherous things. Aren't you afraid of disgracing your mother?"

Yuan asked curiously, "What is a grave?"

The young man was stunned, and Lu Zhi, who was slightly younger and had a heroic temperament, said, "After your mother passed away, where was she buried..."

The twelve or thirteen-year-old boy replied, "After my mother died, she was just covered with a straw mat. All she had was one set of clothes, and then she was buried in a pit. In fact, some people who died didn't even bury their clothes. The clothes can still be worn. You guys are so strange, you don't even know this?"The sturdy young man couldn't say a word and frowned angrily:

"What's your tone?"

"Do you know who you're talking to? The teacher is the contemporary Shangshu, who once presided over the compilation of the Luoyang stone tablets, the essence of culture in the world!"

To read the uncut version, go to [pawread.com].

The young man was stunned and said, "Are you talking about the forty-six stone tablets in Luoyang?"

Lu Zhi, who had always had a gentle personality, looked a bit pale. He stopped the young man and bent down, looking at the young man with a forced smile:

"Young child, you also know about those stone carvings? Actually, they are not as good as Boyue said..."

Yuan raised his head and said, "I know. In the year the tablets were completed, there was a severe drought and an epidemic."

"I remember that many people died, they starved to death. I think it took eight years to carve those tablets, and there were so many words. Could the money spent on each word save a hundred people, a thousand people? Because in reality, it's very simple for people to want to live. With tree bark, a little bit of food, a little bit of water, they can survive."

The young man, dressed in coarse cloth, looked at the renowned Great Scholar and said softly:

"Sir, are those words and principles more important than human lives?"

Lu Zhi's face turned pale.

His Confucian heart almost collapsed in an instant.

He left in a daze, and the tall young man couldn't say a word. Seeing that the child's shoes didn't fit properly, he sighed, reached out his arm to hold the child in his embrace, placed him on a stone, and then found some grass. His fingers quickly and skillfully weaved something while asking the child what the common people really wanted.

The young boy thought for a moment and replied, "To have enough to eat, a place to live, and clothes to wear."

"To not die senselessly in conscription."

"To not starve to death."

His voice paused, and he added, "It would be best if there was meat to eat."

The young man with a knightly temperament couldn't help but laugh. After spending some time, he had already woven a pair of beautiful grass shoes and put them on the child. He patted the dirt off his clothes, stood up, and smiled, "Let's go, little one. Do you have any other ideas?"

The young boy thought for a moment, looked at the smiling knightly young man, and cautiously said:

"We want to be treated as adults."

"We don't want to be easily abandoned. We are also human."

His voice paused, and the young boy stammered, "Or, are we not worthy?"

The young man opened his mouth, and the valiant and heroic knight was lost in thought for a long time.

With his twin swords on his back, he nodded slowly and bowed:

"Thank you... for your guidance."

Yuan was stunned, and then instinctively returned the gesture. The knight turned and left, catching up with the teacher and senior brother to head to the outside world. With their cultivation, they were able to accomplish such things.

Lu Zhi lost his focus for the first time. In fact, he had already built barricades, dug trenches, and made ladders, ready to launch a strong attack at any time. However, he ordered the Han army to surround but not attack.

There were also brave men in the city... Han men who couldn't survive.

As long as Zhang Jiao died from the backlash, there might be a way to persuade surrender.

The old Confucian scholar asked his disciples about their aspirations. The sturdy young man with a resolute expression answered, "The current situation lies in the Han Dynasty's expedition against foreign tribes, which consumes too much resources. If I were General Zan, I would command the border tribes to not dare to invade, and the Han Dynasty would naturally be able to stabilize the livelihood of the people."

He had already gained a great reputation from his adventures on the border. This time, he was only here to assist his teacher.

Lu Zhi nodded and looked at the young man next to him, who was more of a chivalrous type and not good at studying. He said, "Xuande, what about you?"

The young man with a heroic temperament took a while to come back to his senses and replied, "Probably..."

"No matter what, you wouldn't abandon the people under your rule, right?"

The sturdy young man couldn't help but laugh at his junior brother.

Lu Zhi was surprised that his disciple, who used to only enjoy drinking and fighting, had such a view. He rarely nodded in agreement, but this decision to surround without attacking ultimately brought suspicion from the court.

Emperor Ling sent a small eunuch named Zuo Feng to investigate. Some people advised Lu Zhi to bribe Zuo Feng to prevent the truth about the decision to surround without attacking from being exposed.

But Lu Zhi's temperament was as sharp as a sword, and he didn't care about the so-called small eunuch.

So Zuo Feng reported to Emperor Han, saying that Guangzong could have been easily captured, but General Lu had no intention of attacking and killing. He probably intended to let the heavens punish Zhang Jiao. As a result, Emperor Ling became furious and issued an edict to dismiss Lu Zhi directly, sending him back to the court.

As Lu Zhi left, he looked at the distant city, smiled calmly, and still refused to attack. He was taken away in a prisoner's cart, and no one knew why he didn't launch a strong attack at this time. No one knew why, eight years later, this Great Scholar chose to be buried in a simple grave with only a single garment instead of a coffin.

………………

Zhang Jiao watched as Lu Zhi was taken away.

He began to lose the ability to walk normally and resembled a sickly child more than Ah Yuan.

Even his walking stick needed to be held by Ah Yuan.And then, just like what Lu Zhi said, the heavenly mandate in Han turned into bad news. Those generals of the Yellow Turbans and the Yellow Turban warriors had strong wills, but military strategy was not something that could be ignored by being fearless and unafraid of death.

After being besieged for a month, Huangfu Song launched a fire attack at night and broke through the blockade of Bo Cai.

Together with the reinforcements, a young general named Cao Cao broke through the encirclement of Bo Cai's troops.

Afterwards, many Yellow Turban generals were killed, and the one who replaced Lu Zhi was said to be the famous general Dong Zhuo on the border. Zhang Jiao rose up and defeated this famous general on the border, so Huangfu Song had no choice but to continue heading north to face Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turban troops in Jizhou.

On the day Dong Zhuo left, two Taoist priests came to visit.

They looked at Zhang Jiao, who could no longer stand, with complex expressions and sighed, "It's the rules of our Taoist sect. Why did you stir up such a big thing? Why did you cause such a great change in the world? Why did you involve yourself in the mortal world? You were originally the most talented person of this generation..."

Zhang Jiao calmly asked, "I cultivate the true path, is there anything wrong with doing righteous deeds?"

The two Taoist priests shook their heads.

Zhang Jiao asked again, "Is there anything wrong with healing and saving people?"

The two Taoist priests remained silent and shook their heads.

Zhang Jiao murmured, "They want to survive... Is there anything wrong with that?"

The two true cultivators couldn't say anything. Yuan helped Zhang Jiao up, bowed, and said softly, "Zuo Ci, Yu Ji, I have one request for you."

"Please prepare the artifact with the records for me."

Yu Ji and Zuo Ci took the artifact and when they saw the core weapon on it, a sword that must bear the aura of a king or be stained with royal blood, their expressions changed drastically. They looked at Zhang Jiao in shock and said, "Zhang Jiao... Do you know what you are going to do?!!"

Zhang Jiao answered softly, "Healing and saving people."

"Thank you, two Taoist friends."

Yu Ji and Zuo Ci opened their mouths but couldn't say anything. They spent several days preparing all the necessary items for Zhang Jiao. Then the two true cultivators bowed deeply and said, "Fellow Daoist..."

"Goodbye."

Zhang Jiao returned the gesture with a smile, "...Goodbye."

Finally, Ah Yuan held the Nine-section Staff for the great mentor, while Zhang Jiao coughed violently and slowly carved talismans with his fingers. He smiled and said, "Ah Yuan, I once told you that a talisman is the voice of the heart. This talisman, I have never shown it to anyone before. Today, you are the only inheritor of my technique, haha."

The young man's face was filled with sorrow.

This was a very complicated spell, to the extent that these talismans formed something like a future altar. Zhang Jiao lightly stepped on the ground and uttered a command. Suddenly, the surroundings brightened, and the young Ah Yuan instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he almost lost his ability to think.

A vast and majestic place.

There was no up, down, left, or right. There was no front or back. It was even difficult to speak. He saw this world that seemed to manifest the vast universe, saw the connection of the earth's mountains and rivers, and saw the huge golden dragon slowly raising its head. The majestic aura made his cultivation stagnate.

The young man suddenly understood his master's purpose. He raised his head abruptly and looked at that person.

The teacher had said that he could see the dragon veins of the Great Han...

And now, the dragon veins of the Great Han were still stable. The golden dragon formed by the fiery aura of the Great Han had been nurtured for four hundred years and had become like a divine being. It raised its head and whispered, "Who are you, insignificant one..."

Zhang Jiao slowly raised his hand and started drawing talismans.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered something from his youth. He was coming down the mountain, and his teacher suddenly grabbed him and told him that he must not involve himself in the mortal world. Otherwise, he would definitely face a calamity. If he could avoid this calamity, then he would definitely become a peerless true cultivator, at least on par with Zhang Daoling.

He gave the young Taoist a four-character talisman, which was his destiny and his curse.

A true cultivator for a thousand years.

At that time, the grassland was filled with singing birds, and the young Taoist still had a bit of baby fat on his face. When he smiled, he had two dimples on his cheeks.

"That's right, Master, you know that I have always cherished my life."

"Just heal and save people, and then take a few disciples, hehe, I mean, accept a few little Taoists to inherit the Taoist tradition. Hehe, being a true cultivator for a thousand years, I envy you so much. What would be a good continuation after that? Being a true cultivator for a thousand years, passing on the Taoist power for generations, sounds a bit tacky. How about inheriting boundless magical powers? But that doesn't sound good either..."

Zhang Jiao's lips slightly curved up, thinking of the headache of that young man, and finally murmured the second sentence:

"A true cultivator for a thousand years..."

"It's just death."

The Taoist raised his gaze, took a step forward, bowed to the majestic dragon of aura, exhaled, and said:

"Poor Daoist Zhang Jiao..."

The talismans were completed in an instant.

"Please, Great Han, die!!!"

PS: Today's update is 6,000 words~ The second update will depend on my condition. If I can finish typing, I will post it."Hou Han Shu, Volume 71, Biography of Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun": The emperor followed suit. Therefore, he mobilized elite soldiers from all over the country, carefully selected generals, appointed Song as the Left Central Commander, and gave him the authority to lead. Together with Zhu Jun, the Right Central Commander, they dispatched five battalions, three Hebei cavalry, and recruited brave warriors, totaling more than 40,000 men. Song and Jun each commanded their own army to jointly suppress the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan.

"Zi Zhi Tong Jian, Volume 58, Annals of Han Dynasty, Fifty": Jun fought against the rebel Bo Cai and was defeated, while Song advanced to defend Changshe. In Runan, the Yellow Turbans defeated the Prefect Zhao Qian in Shaoling. In Guangyang, the Yellow Turbans killed the Imperial Clerk Guo Xun and the Prefect Liu Wei.

"Hou Han Shu, Volume 64, Biography of Wu Yan, Shi Lu, and Zhao": The Governor of Jizhou, Yuan Shao, requested Zhi to be his military advisor. Zhi passed away in the third year of the Chuping era. When facing difficulties, he ordered his son Jian to be buried in a simple grave without a coffin, only wrapped in a single piece of cloth.