Outside Guangzong City, across the open wilderness.
Nearly forty thousand Yellow Turbans surged like a yellow tide of ants. Spears and halberds stood like a forest, banners whipped in the wind, and their cries shook the heavens.
On the other side, the Han Army had already spotted the Yellow Turbans' movements. At Commander Lu Zhi's command, they calmly donned their armor, gripped their spears, and marched out of camp. The siege towers were raised high, and Lu Zhi climbed one with his deputy, Zong Yuan, at his side.
The fierce wind snapped Lu Zhi's crimson cloak. His face was square and stern as he gazed at the distant Yellow Turban formation without a word.
Zong Yuan rose onto his toes to peer into the distance, his brows knitted. "Lord Lu, the rebel chief Zhang Jiao's great banner has appeared. We've besieged the city for over a month, and this is the first time we've seen his banner. Almost all the Yellow Turbans' fighting men have come out this time. It seems they're ready to fight to the death..."
Lu Zhi replied calmly, "Zhang Jiao understands that with no reinforcements outside, a prolonged defense can only end in defeat. But it's already too late. We've surrounded all of Guangzong, and the rebels' morale is low. Even with Zhang Jiao there, they're no more than trapped beasts fighting back."
As they spoke, nearly ten thousand elite soldiers from the Five Schools of the Northern Army and more than ten thousand Commandery Soldiers had already formed ranks amid the earth-shaking beat of war drums. The various generals' banners rose high, and the formation stretched for miles. Blades and spears glittered like ears of grain in the bright sunlight, yet the sight sent a chill through the heart.
Lu Zhi raised one hand slightly. At once, the commander-in-chief's great banner began to sway. Seeing this, banners throughout the army waved in response, and a mighty cheer erupted.
The twenty thousand Han soldiers struck their swords against their shields, drove their halberds into the earth, or reined in their horses as they shouted:
"Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories! Ten thousand victories!"
Their voices surged like a torrent, their spirit soaring into the sky.
From the carriage, Zhang Liang saw the Han Army's orderly ranks and imposing might. His face darkened, and he instinctively glanced toward his elder brother, Zhang Jiao. Zhang Jiao's expression remained unchanged, but Zhang Liang keenly noticed his brother's hand tightening around the Nine-Section Staff, his knuckles bulging.
"Elder brother..." Zhang Liang began in a low voice.
Zhang Jiao paid him no heed. In a slightly hoarse voice, as loud as he could manage, he cried, "Cut down the leeks, and they'll grow again; chop off the rooster's head, and it'll crow anew. Officials need not be feared, and common folk must never be underestimated!"
More than a hundred broad-shouldered Yellow Turban Warriors immediately repeated his words aloud. Countless Yellow Turban soldiers gazed at Zhang Jiao with reverence and feverish devotion.
"The land has suffered a great drought, and the people can barely live. They cannot even get a mouthful of grain. Driven to desperation, they trade their children for food and split bones for fuel, while the aristocratic clans feast and sing, their stores of rice and meat left to breed worms!
"What an unjust world!
"Today, our Great Peace Yellow Heaven has raised the banner of rebellion in righteous fury—not for anyone's wealth or rank, fine food or fine wine, but so that the people of this world will no longer suffer hunger and cold, and no longer be treated like livestock by the nobility!
"Blue Heaven is dead, Yellow Heaven shall rise! In the year of Jiazi, good fortune shall reign beneath the heavens!"
When he finished, tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans roared, venting the pain and fury in their hearts.
"Blue Heaven is dead, Yellow Heaven shall rise! In the year of Jiazi, good fortune shall reign beneath the heavens!!!"
Their earth-shaking cry rose high enough to halt the Han Army's cheers for a moment.
Thud, thud, thud—
A deep, booming drumbeat sounded. Under the command of their squad leaders and platoon captains, the Yellow Turbans advanced at a steady pace. They had received little training, and their ranks easily fell apart as they marched. Often, after twenty paces, they had to stop and reform.
"Advance!" Lu Zhi's central command flag swept downward.
War drums thundered through the Han ranks. The crimson "reef" advanced steadily, their heavy, disciplined steps making the earth tremble beneath them and stirring up light clouds of sand.
Beneath the azure sky, two immense forces—one yellow, one red—clashed in a desperate battle across the open wilderness.
"Stop!"
"Stop!"
The two armies drew near. With only a hundred paces between them, both halted to reform their ranks. The soldiers in the front lines of the Han Army and the Yellow Turban Army could even make out one another's faces. Hearts pounded, and breaths grew heavy.
A few dozen breaths later, both armies advanced again.
"Loose!!"
Twanging bows, more than a thousand arrows shot out from the Han Army's front ranks like locusts. They rained down, felling several rows of Yellow Turban soldiers. But this did not frighten the Yellow Turbans. They charged toward the Han Army with roars, thrusting their pitchforks and spears with all their might.
Thok! Thok! Thok!
The Han Army's great shields rose, blocking the Yellow Turbans' spears. Then halberds thrust through the gaps between the shields, slicing precisely across the Yellow Turbans' throats and spraying blood into the air.
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred Yellow Turban soldiers fell. Yet still more surged forward, holding thick door panels aloft as they slammed into the Han Army's shields, forcing open a gap in the tight shield wall.
"Kill!!"
A Yellow Turban squad leader glared furiously as he hacked off the head of a fallen Han soldier. The reeking blood spattered across his face. He wiped it away with one hand, gave a savage grin, and leaped into the gap. With nimble steps, he cut down two more men.
But one man's strength was limited. As seven or eight spears thrust toward him, they pierced his leather armor with ease. The forest of spears hoisted his corpse high, then flung it down hard onto the Yellow Turban soldiers rushing to his aid, knocking several of them to the ground.
On the battlefield, the Yellow Turbans were like wave after wave surging across the sea, while the Han Army stood firm like a reef. No matter how fiercely the Yellow Turbans charged, they could not break through the Han Army's formation.
On the contrary, the Han Army not only held its formation but steadily advanced. With every step it took, the Yellow Turbans gave ground. Seen from above, their formation had already become concave. If the Han Army kept pressing forward, the Yellow Turban ranks would surely collapse.
A signal flag moved at the center of Zhang Jiao's army. More than a thousand armored Yellow Turban Warriors, led by Commander Huang Shao, hurried toward the front lines. They relieved the soldiers who were nearing exhaustion, and as soon as they engaged the Han Army, they won a string of victories. Dozens of Han soldiers who had charged too far ahead and become separated from the main force were surrounded and killed. The line surged forward again, straightening into a single line.
"Those are the Yellow Turban Warriors, the rebels' elite. They're all armored, strong, and fierce," Zong Yuan said, squinting as he studied them.
Lu Zhi acted as though he hadn't heard. He gave no orders, certain that a mere thousand Yellow Turban Warriors could not change the course of the battle.
Events proved him right. At first, Huang Shao's thousand men stemmed the Han Army's advance, but as time passed, the well-trained Han soldiers drove them back. The Han Army was like a cruel, cold machine, reaping lives without tiring.
Seeing the tide turn against them, Zhang Liang grew frantic with worry and kept glancing toward Zhang Jiao. Zhang Jiao remained calm, letting out only a faint sigh.
The Han Army was simply too elite. Its soldiers were well-trained and well-equipped, far superior to the Yellow Turbans, who had seen few major battles and lacked armor.
Even though the Yellow Turbans outnumbered the Han Army two to one, they could not stop the latter's steady, layered advance.
Of course, Huang Shao's thousand Yellow Turban Warriors were not Zhang Jiao's only force. He still had more than two thousand armored warriors and nearly a thousand cavalry in reserve. But Lu Zhi had not yet committed all the most elite soldiers from the Five Schools of the Northern Army and the Sanhe Cavalry, either.
If both sides threw everything into a desperate gamble, the Yellow Turbans would very likely collapse completely. They would be lucky if even half their men escaped safely back into Guangzong City.
Just as Zhang Jiao fell into a brief hesitation and Lu Zhi began to relax, a muffled clap of thunder suddenly boomed from the sky.