Like an earth dragon turning over.
At the front lines, where tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans and Han soldiers were locked in battle, the ground suddenly shuddered violently. Sand and stones leapt into the air, and clouds of dust billowed up, sending everyone stumbling backward in terror.
In the next instant, the dirt and rocks on the ground swiftly gathered, swelling upward and melding together.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A dozen-odd thundering crashes rang out. Dirt and broken stone burst apart, revealing fifteen colossal figures.
They were earth men made entirely of packed dirt and stone. Each stood nearly ten feet tall, almost twice the height of an ordinary man. Their forms were rough and solid, without faces, only a crude outline of the human shape. In their broad right hands, they gripped enormous stone hammers that looked to weigh dozens, perhaps even a hundred pounds.
The Earth Giants' appearance plunged the Han Army into a moment of dead silence.
"W-what are those?!"
On his carriage, Huangfu Song stared as if in a dream. How could giants that tall, molded from stone and earth, possibly exist in this world?!
"Impossible! This is impossible! Could there really be Immortal Gods in this world?!" He had completely lost his composure.
Lu Zhi, meanwhile, was both shocked and grief-stricken. "The Yellow Turban rebels have the protection of Huang Tian. Our Great Han..."
On the battlefield, Fu Xie's mind went blank for an instant at the sight of the towering, fearsome Earth Giants. Then he saw Han soldiers shriek in terror, abandon their weapons, clutch their heads, and flee, throwing their formation into chaos. He roared at once, "They're an illusion! Don't panic! Kill!!"
At his shouted command, the Han soldiers barely managed to steady their ranks. A Han Army colonel in gleaming armor even led a dozen or so bodyguards in a valiant charge at the front.
"Clang!"
His spear struck one Earth Giant squarely in the chest, but failed to pierce it at all, leaving only a faint white mark.
The Earth Giant looked down at the "little man" in front of it, as if puzzled by what he was doing. The Han colonel froze for an instant, then tried to thrust again, but the giant stone hammer was already sweeping toward him with a suffocating gale.
The Han colonel's pupils contracted. He tried to rein in his horse and pull back, but it was too late.
"Thud!!!"
A muffled, earth-shaking impact rang out. The hammer's terrifying force smashed into the Han colonel and his horse together. The horse gave a brief, mournful whinny and flew away like a broken sack, while the colonel was instantly reduced to a mangled heap of shattered armor and flesh.
That horrifying sight shattered the Han Army's will in an instant. Fu Xie's expression changed completely; now he could no longer claim the Earth Giants were an illusion.
The fifteen Earth Giants kept moving, rumbling as they strode into the Han Army's ranks. They needed no techniques—only the simplest swing of their stone hammers.
Every time a hammer fell, the earth trembled. The Han soldiers nearby were either killed or wounded; even a glancing blow left bones and tendons broken. Some still tried to raise their shields to block the strikes, only to be hammered into meat patties along with their shields.
The Earth Giants carved several bloody corridors straight through the formation. Behind them, countless frenzied Yellow Turban soldiers charged forward, hacking at the demoralized Han troops, who were sobbing and crying for their mothers.
In an instant, the tide turned. The tens of thousands of Han soldiers wished their parents had given them two more legs as they fled frantically away from the Earth Giants, shattering their formation into pieces.
By then, no one cared about keeping ranks. Huangfu Song had gone nearly mad and could barely think of commanding. Lu Zhi was dazed and despondent, consumed with worry for the Han Court. Cao Cao was aghast, feeling his entire worldview rocked to its foundations. Dong Zhuo was trembling so badly that the fat on his face quivered.
Only Fu Xie remained resolute. He forcibly suppressed his fear and tried to rally the fleeing troops, but how insignificant was one man's strength when a great river burst its banks? He couldn't stop the panicked soldiers, and even his own bodyguards were scattered by the surging mass.
"Die!!!"
Gritting his teeth, he snatched up a spear and roared as he charged at an Earth Giant rampaging through the crowd.
But before he could drive his spear into it, the giant slapped him away. He fell unconscious, and several Yellow Turban soldiers rushed over to bind him tightly, while the rest continued forward in pursuit of the fleeing enemy.
From the sky, one could see the vast wilderness below: a rolling yellow flood surged toward a crimson tide and swiftly swallowed it. Only a handful of thin red tributaries escaped in time, eluding pursuit.
Of the roughly forty thousand Han soldiers, most had either been killed or captured. Even Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi had failed to escape. They were the greatest targets on the battlefield, and the Yellow Turban Army pursued them relentlessly until they, too, were captured.
"We've won! Our army has won!!"
On the carriage, Tian Feng laughed with delight, and Zhang Jiao smiled as well.
This battle had not only crushed the Han Army's elite forces; it had also captured Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song. The Han Court had lost both its main pillars and could no longer stand against the Yellow Turban Army in battle.
As for Zhu Jun... he was no match for Huangfu Song or Lu Zhi, and was no cause for concern.
"See to the battlefield. I'm going to pay my respects to the Holy Venerable."
After giving the order, Zhang Jiao stepped down from the carriage, mounted his horse, and rode into Guangzong City. He went up to the wall and bowed to Huang Tian, who stood there tall and straight.
"Master, the Han Army has been utterly defeated. Our forces captured Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, Fu Xie, Li Jue, and the other commanders. Only Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao escaped with a few dozen cavalry. Huang Shao and He Yi are leading troops in pursuit."
Huang Tian nodded with a smile. "After this battle, let the troops rest for several days. Then send swift riders to post notices in the commanderies and counties of Ji Province, ordering them to surrender their cities. They must not put up a pointless resistance. Any official who refuses will be executed; those coerced into following them will be imprisoned."
"This disciple understands!"
"After taking Ji Province, expand the Political Academy and recruit more literate commoners and impoverished scholars. Give them some training, then send them to survey the lands of Ji Province and uncover the hidden land and population held by the Aristocratic Clans, powerful families, wealthy merchants, and tycoons.
"Confiscate their lands, free their servants and slaves, and restore them to commoner status. Then distribute the confiscated land among the common people. As for how much each person or household should receive, you'll need to consider that carefully."
Surveying the land and population held by powerful clans would inevitably stir discontent among the Aristocratic Clans and local strongmen. Even if the Yellow Turban Army took Ji Province, considerable trouble could follow.
Hadn't the same thing happened when Emperor Guangwu of Han unified the realm? Even with the prestige of a founding emperor behind him, his decree to measure the land still led to "bandits rising everywhere in the commanderies and kingdoms. The commanderies and counties would pursue them; when the troops arrived, the rebels dispersed, only to regroup after they left. The four provinces of Qing, Xu, You, and Ji were worst of all."
It took quite a while before all the uprisings were finally put down.
If even Emperor Guangwu had struggled so much to survey the land, it went without saying that the Yellow Turban Army, which had merely taken Ji Province, would have an even harder time.
But Zhang Jiao, who followed the command of the Sovereign Yellow Absolute God, was not worried in the slightest.
Dared anyone refuse?
Then kill!
Kill until heads rolled!
Kill until rivers ran red!
Kill until everyone trembled in fear!
As long as all who opposed them were killed, wouldn't Ji Province be at peace?
As for the possibility of being capsized in a gutter, that was impossible. Even the Han Army's elite had been defeated. No matter how formidable the private retainers and dependents of the Aristocratic Clans might be, they couldn't withstand the Yellow Turban Army's advance!
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