What is meant by the Yellow Heaven Descends?

Outside the city of Lieren.

Lu Zhi, having fled for nearly two days, finally came to a halt. With his hair disheveled and his robes in tatters, he looked at the mere two hundred cavalrymen remaining by his side. A profound sense of desolation washed over him, and for a moment, the urge to draw his blade and end his own life took hold.

Clang.

"Lord Lu, you must not act rashly!"

Zong Yuan had long been worried that Lu Zhi's spirit might break, so he had kept a close watch on him. Seeing the general draw his sword, he immediately pressed down on his right hand.

"Yellow Heaven Descends and the world is in upheaval; our Great Han needs your strength, Lord Lu. How can you cast away your life over a single defeat?" Zong Yuan urged.

The disheveled officers around them chimed in, "Lord Lu, consider the greater good! The Imperial Court relies on your wisdom, courage, and military strategy!"

Lu Zhi let out a bitter laugh. "Wisdom and courage? Where is the wisdom and courage in this? The twenty thousand elites the Court entrusted to me have been wiped out in a single battle. What face do I have left to meet the world, or to face His Majesty?"

Zong Yuan grew anxious. "This was not a failure of strategy! You led us from Luoyang, winning victory after victory, and drove the leaders of the Moth Bandits all the way to Guangzong. How glorious was that military merit? It is simply that human effort cannot defy destiny; the Moth Bandits have immortals and gods aiding them. Anyone would have been defeated."

Lu Zhi turned to look at Zong Yuan, his voice hoarse. "Do you also believe the Moth Bandits possess the mandate of heaven?"

Upon hearing this, Zong Yuan wanted to slap himself. How had he let his inner thoughts slip out so carelessly?

As the deputy commander of the Han Army's northern front, he absolutely could not acknowledge that the Yellow Turban rebels held the mandate, even if that mandate was glaringly obvious before their eyes.

He hesitated, then tried to remedy his words. "As you said, the Moth Bandits have the Yellow Heaven descending, but our Great Han also has the Blue Heaven descending. Therefore, therefore each side has its own mandate..."

Lu Zhi gave a mocking smile. "Do you truly believe what I just said?"

Zong Yuan fell silent, and the officers and soldiers were likewise mute.

How could they believe the words Lu Zhi had used to boost morale? They were only protecting him as they fled because of their loyalty to the Great Han and to Lu Zhi himself.

Zong Yuan sighed. "The situation is as it is; what can be done? If our Great Han lacked the protection of the Blue Heaven, then you, Lord Huangfu, and Lord Zhu would likely have... If there is indeed protection from the Blue Heaven, would it not be a pity to throw your life away now? Do you not wish to raise tens of thousands of elite troops again and defeat the Moth Bandits in a fair fight to wash away this shame?"

Lu Zhi remained silent for a long time.

At this moment, the gates of Lieren opened slowly, and the Magistrate of Lieren walked out, looking astonished under the protection of his local militia.

He looked around and saw Lu Zhi's disheveled hair and sunken eyes, and Zong Yuan and the hundred-odd men having discarded their armor and weapons, looking utterly wretched. His heart sank.

"Lord Lu? General Zong? This, what is the meaning of this?" the Magistrate asked, trembling. "Could it be... have we been defeated?"

Lu Zhi said nothing. Zong Yuan gave a bitter smile and whispered, "We were defeated."

The Magistrate's body shook, and he nearly lost his footing, his teeth chattering. "Then... how many troops remain?"

He peered around, hoping to see a defeated force of ten thousand, or at least a few thousand—anything as long as the entire army hadn't been wiped out.

However, Zong Yuan shook his head slightly. "Everyone is here."

The Magistrate was stunned. "All of them are here?"

He looked around again, seeing only a hundred or so cavalrymen, all of whom had discarded their armor, leaving them as nothing more than unarmored riders.

He stumbled back, nearly falling, his heart filled with despair.

With the entire Han Army wiped out, how was he to defend Lieren, which sat so close to Guangzong, against the advance of the Yellow Turban Army? If he lost Lieren, he wouldn't just be executed—his entire future would be ruined.

Lu Zhi said in a strained voice, "Our army is gone, and Lieren is close to Guangzong. The most urgent task is to conscript the populace, set up city defenses, and request reinforcements from Luoyang."

The Magistrate recovered his senses and nodded repeatedly. "That is what must be done, that is what must be done. Everything shall be as you decide, Lord Lu."

His words were laced with an intent to shift responsibility, though one could hardly blame him. After all, Lu Zhi had lost the twenty thousand elites the Court had struggled to organize; what was a mere magistrate to do to hold the city? The total population of his county probably didn't even outnumber the Yellow Turban Army!

Lu Zhi had no choice but to shoulder the responsibility of defending the city. He did not intend to retreat any further until a new batch of Han reinforcements arrived. If he retreated again, he would have to fall back to Ye City, pull out of Ji Province, and retreat all the way to Luoyang!

As the group entered the city in a stifling atmosphere, the Magistrate slapped his forehead, suddenly remembering something. He said cautiously, "Lord Lu, the Court has sent an Imperial Envoy."

The Imperial Envoy was the Emperor's messenger.

Lu Zhi paused. "Is the Envoy currently in Lieren?"

"He arrived yesterday," the Magistrate said hesitantly. "This Envoy is named Zuo Feng, a Junior Yellow Gate. It is said he is close to the Regular Palace Attendant Zhang Rang and has always been arrogant. Along his journey, he has extorted bribes from every city. Those who dared not offer gold or silk were insulted, threatened, or even whipped by him. Everyone is furious but dares not speak."

Lu Zhi's expression shifted uncertainly.

He had already lost his army, and now the Son of Heaven had sent a "Military Supervisor"—and this supervisor was an incredibly arrogant eunuch. With all these debuffs stacked together, he felt a splitting headache.

"Let us enter the city first," Lu Zhi said helplessly.

Regardless of whether Zuo Feng was arrogant, he would have to be faced eventually. Furthermore, there was an advantage to the Envoy being in Lieren: he could quickly transmit the news of the Han Army's defeat back to Luoyang and request reinforcements from the Emperor, Liu Hong.

The group entered the city, dejected. Lu Zhi did not even wash his face before heading straight to see the Junior Yellow Gate, Zuo Feng.

When he saw Zuo Feng, the man was sitting on a mat, the low table before him laden with honey water, wine, and fruit. Below the dais, a dozen beauties in flowing skirts were dancing with shy, coy expressions.

The sound of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air, and the atmosphere was thick with the heat of wine and revelry.

Lu Zhi walked into the room without casting a glance to either side, waving a hand as he commanded, "All of you, withdraw."

The music ceased, and the beauties looked on in uneasy confusion. Zuo Feng gazed at Lu Zhi with drunken eyes, blinking as he asked uncertainly, "General Lu?"

"It is I," Lu Zhi replied.

Zuo Feng looked Lu Zhi up and down, and seeing the deep worry etched between his brows, he felt a jolt of alarm and barked at the musicians and beauties, "All of you, get out!"

The musicians and beauties lowered their heads and retreated with small, hurried steps. Zuo Feng rose and walked over to Lu Zhi, asking in astonishment, "Shouldn't you be leading the grand army to besiege Guangzong at this hour, Lord Lu? Why have you come to Lieren?"

Lu Zhi fell silent for a moment, unsure of how to begin.

Seeing Lu Zhi's expression, the last of Zuo Feng's drunkenness vanished in a fright. He pressed, "Could it be that our army—has our army been defeated?!"

"We were defeated," Lu Zhi said in a muffled voice.

Zuo Feng's vision went black. "Hasn't Lord Lu been sending victory reports to Luoyang, claiming that the rebel leader Zhang Jiao was already trapped in Guangzong? How could the situation have changed in less than a month?"

Lu Zhi pulled at the corner of his mouth. "I had indeed surrounded Guangzong heavily. Seeing that his doom was sealed, the rebel Zhang Jiao led his forces out of the city to engage us in a life-or-death struggle. Our elite troops crushed the enemy's vanguard in less than an hour; victory was within our grasp..."

He let out a long, weary sigh. "Yellow Heaven Descends!"

Zuo Feng looked blank. "What do you mean, 'Yellow Heaven Descends'? Isn't that just a slogan for the Moth Bandits' rebellion?"

Lu Zhi spoke each word with heavy deliberation: "Yellow Heaven, the God Huang Tian! Sovereign Yellow Absolute has descended upon this world!"