First Battle, Decisive Battle

The Han Army boasted forty thousand combat troops and tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers. As they marched along the wide main road, the formation stretched for dozens of miles, with no end in sight at a single glance.

Often, by the time the vanguard had marched for a full day and reached the next location to set up camp and rest, another portion of the army had yet to even depart from the previous day's encampment.

Surrounded by such a formidable and imposing military force, everyone felt a strong sense of security in their hearts.

Only the defeated generals like Lu Zhi and Zong Yuan felt uneasy, and the Protector of the Army, Fu Xie, was filled with deep concern.

Fu Xie hailed from the Fu Clan of Beidi. He stood eight feet tall with a dignified and imposing countenance. He had studied under the Grand Tutor Liu Kuan and entered officialdom through the Filial and Incorrupt recommendation.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, he happened to be serving as an official in Luoyang and was appointed as the Protector of the Army to campaign against the Yellow Turban Army alongside the Left General of the Household, Huangfu Song. Before departing, Fu Xie submitted a memorial to Emperor Liu Hong, urging him to distance himself from treacherous sycophants, which earned him the hatred of the Regular Palace Attendant, Zhao Zhong.

After the campaign began, Fu Xie achieved repeated military successes. In particular, during the Battle of Cangting in Dong Commandery, Yan Province, his unit beheaded three Yellow Turban Commanders: Bu Si, Zhang Bo, and Liang Zhongning, earning him the highest merit.

Having achieved such a great feat, Fu Xie should have been enfeoffed as a marquis, or at the very least promoted. However, Zhao Zhong obstructed him and slandered him. Liu Hong, still remembering Fu Xie's words, did not punish him, but neither did he grant him any rewards, ordering him instead to continue following Huangfu Song to suppress the Yellow Turbans in Ji Province.

Fu Xie did not crave high office or generous stipends, so he felt no resentment, yet since arriving in Ji Province, he had been deeply unsettled.

This was because the legend of "Sovereign Yellow Absolute descending to the world" had spread like wildfire throughout Ji Province. From the various commandery governors and clan heads down to the common foot soldiers, everyone had heard rumors that the Yellow Turban Army was protected by immortals and gods.

If it were merely this, it would not have been enough to worry Fu Xie; there were many thieves in the world who falsely claimed to be immortals or gods, and hadn't they all been proven fake in the end?

The key was that the behavior of the Yellow Turban Army in Guangzong was highly abnormal.

They clearly possessed over fifty thousand elite troops, and with the addition of Zhang Bao's forces in Xiaquyang, they had a total of one hundred thousand men. Yet, they had only taken Julu Commandery, showing no desire for more territory, remaining unhurried and composed.

It was as if they were specifically waiting for the Han Army to go to Guangzong for a pitched battle, a head-on collision.

This march further solidified Fu Xie's judgment: the movement of tens of thousands of Han troops from Lieren to campaign against Guangzong was massive in scale, yet along the way, they had only seen sporadic Yellow Turban scouts. These scouts followed them from afar without making any move to attack, their eyes filled with disdain.

Suppressing his unease, Fu Xie rode his horse to the side of Lu Zhi and Zong Yuan.

"Lord Lu, General Zong." Fu Xie cupped his hands in a salute.

The two returned the gesture. Seeing the worried look on his face, Lu Zhi asked, "Is Nanrong worried about the upcoming battle?"

Fu Xie nodded. "Could I trouble Lord Lu and General Zong to describe the scene of God Huang Tian's descent that day in more detail for me?"

Zong Yuan spoke up, "Let me tell it..."

He explained the entire process of the previous Battle of Guangzong in detail and sighed, "I will not hide it from you, Nanrong; Lord Lu and I are not optimistic about this battle. In warfare, one must know oneself and the enemy. We know nothing of God Huang Tian, not even a method to counter him..."

Fu Xie frowned tightly. "General Zong, are you certain that what you saw was a god and not some trick of the eyes?"

Zong Yuan could not help but laugh out loud. "If there were a trick of the eyes that could deceive tens of thousands of people on a battlefield, then it would be a true immortal art. Furthermore, although I am old, I am not blind; how could I have seen it wrong?"

Fu Xie immediately asked the question that puzzled him the most: "Since you believe it was an immortal god, and one close to the Yellow Turban Army, why were you and Lord Lu able to escape safely?"

Lu Zhi and Zong Yuan were the highest-ranking commanders of the Han Court in Ji Province at the time. Once they were captured or killed, the world would have been shaken, the majesty of the Han Court would have teetered on the brink of collapse, and ambitious men would have risen everywhere, making it even easier for the Yellow Turban Army to establish a firm foothold amidst the chaos.

Yet, that "god" had simply watched as Lu Zhi and the others escaped.

Was it a lack of ability?

Combined with the accounts of Lu Zhi, Zong Yuan, and others, none of them had seen the deity strike with their own eyes, so Huangfu Song, Fu Xie, Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, and the others logically inferred that "God Huang Tian" possessed no divine power at all!

Zong Yuan was rendered speechless.

This was also the point that he and Lu Zhi found particularly baffling.

Why would a god let them go?

Was it that he lacked the ability to capture or execute them?

Lu Zhi coughed. "If I weren't unable to understand this point, I would have risked my life to stop Lord Huangfu from launching this campaign."

"As expected, Lord Lu also has his doubts!"

Fu Xie felt slightly more at ease. "I hope the deity is merely a trick of the eyes."

Lu Zhi said faintly, "Let us hope so..."

Several days later.

Forty thousand Han troops gathered outside Guangzong City, setting up camps and stockades, and installing caltrops. The noise was deafening.

Yet, inside Guangzong City at this moment, the atmosphere was not tense. The Yellow Turban soldiers practiced their formations and patrolled the city walls as usual, while the civil officials handled administrative and logistical matters without haste.

Only Tian Feng took the initiative to find Zhang Jiao to offer a strategy: "Great Virtuous Teacher, the enemy has traveled from afar and is exhausted. Their camps are not yet secure, and their morale is not yet stable. You could send a force out of the city to challenge them. If the enemy accepts, we can use our rested troops to defeat their weary ones, which would be easy. If the enemy does not accept, their morale will be dampened."

Zhang Jiao praised him, "Yuanhao is indeed well-versed in military strategy, but there is no need to send troops to challenge them."

"Why?" Tian Feng was stunned.

"Because tomorrow, the entire army will march out to engage the Han Army in a decisive battle."

Tian Feng felt his head spin.

Two armies engaging in battle, and they were going straight to a decisive battle without even a probe?

There was no such way of fighting in the world; throughout history, every siege had dragged on for half a month, a month, or even a year or more.

"This is the will of the Holy Venerable," Zhang Jiao explained.

Tian Feng suddenly realized. "I understand."

Having stayed in Guangzong for so many days, although he had not seen the Holy Venerable Huang Tian, he had witnessed "divine miracles" and knew how powerful the god's strength truly was, so he naturally would not doubt the arrangements of the Holy Venerable.

The next day, at the hour of the Snake.

The sky was a deep azure, with a few wisps of clouds drifting away on the breeze.

Thump, thump, thump—

A dull, powerful drumming echoed from within Guangzong City, followed immediately by the friction of armor and weaponry and the sound of dense, rhythmic footsteps.

At the Han Army camp, Huangfu Song, clad in black armor and draped in a crimson cloak, observed the movements of Guangzong City from afar, accompanied by a retinue of generals and scholars.

"Are the Moth Bandits intending to leave the city and engage us in a field battle?" Dong Zhuo speculated, watching the swarming heads and hearing the thunderous drums atop the city walls.

Cao Cao said excitedly, "I was just worrying that the walls of Guangzong were too high to breach; if the Moth Bandits dare to come out and fight, it is exactly what we desire."

He turned to Huangfu Song, "Cao wishes to lead the troops out to battle and dampen the Moth Bandits' spirit!"

Huangfu Song raised a hand to stop him, "Do not be hasty; let us observe further."

Fu Xie reminded Cao Cao, "The enemy is taking the initiative to strike; they may have a scheme. Be careful not to fall into a trap."

Cao Cao thought to himself, How many schemes can there truly be in this world? When one's troops are strong and the force is great, one is naturally invincible.

However, he could not say much more at this moment and had to suppress his impulse to charge onto the battlefield and vie for glory.

As they spoke, the heavy gates of Guangzong City were slowly pushed open, and countless Yellow Turban Army soldiers surged out like a tidal wave. They were no longer dressed in simple tunics and wielding pitchforks as before; instead, every man held a long spear, and some soldiers even wore leather armor and carried shields and blades.

Wave after wave, the Yellow Turban soldiers poured out endlessly. Under the command of their officers, the infantry marched in perfect unison to form several formations outside the city, while thousands of cavalrymen roared out, kicking up a gale and trampling clouds of dust into the air.

Following this, an apricot-yellow banner inscribed with "Great Virtuous Teacher" emerged alongside the carriage of Zhang Jiao, and a heaven-shaking cheer erupted from the ranks!

The Yellow Turban Army had mobilized in full force.

The first battle would be the decisive one!