After a fierce battle, Guangzong City grew busy instead. Medical attendants hurried through the wounded soldiers' camp, treating the injured, while auxiliary troops expanded the prisoner camp and cleared corpses from the battlefield. Women busied themselves washing armor and clothes, while He Yi, Huang Shao, Tian Feng, and the others did their best to persuade the captured Han generals to surrender.
Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, Zong Yuan, Fu Xie, Guo Dian, Li Jue, Guo Si...
Though the Yellow Turban Army had quite a few capable generals of its own, they were all self-taught men with no formal training. If they could persuade the Han generals to surrender, it would greatly demoralize the Han Court and strengthen the Yellow Turban Army.
In the prison of Guangzong County.
Huangfu Song leaned against the dark wall, his eyes blank. Lu Zhi was also lost in thought, the image of the young man on the city wall appearing in his mind.
By then, he had already learned from the jailer that the young man was the "Sovereign Yellow Absolute God."
The jailer had told him, "The Holy Venerable descended into the world in the form of an infant. After walking five paces, he took the form of a five-year-old child. Every day that passed, he grew a year older, until he became a young man and stopped growing, his appearance preserved forever."
Lu Zhi let out an incredulous laugh. "How could there be Immortal Gods and ghosts in this world..."
For a thousand years, the histories had never clearly said that immortals existed in the world. Confucius himself had once said, "Respect the ghosts and gods, but keep your distance." How was it that now, in his time, the immortals had descended to earth?
It was absurd!
Utterly absurd!
Lu Zhi gave a low, bitter laugh, rousing Huangfu Song. The latter looked at him and spoke in a hoarse voice. "I regret not listening to your advice, Lord Lu!"
Back in Lieren, Lu Zhi had insisted that they must not engage the enemy until they had figured out what God Huang Tian was. Huangfu Song had paid him no heed, dismissing his concerns, and in the end, they had suffered a crushing defeat.
Lu Zhi fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "God Huang Tian is a true Immortal God. No matter what we do, we will ultimately lose."
Huangfu Song sighed.
Indeed. What could mere mortals like them do against an immortal in the world?
With a wave of his hand, an immortal could scatter beans and turn them into soldiers, shattering the Han Army's formation. No matter what strategies or tactics they used, they were utterly useless before the might of an immortal.
As the two sighed, a tall, upright young man approached, guided by a jailer.
"Lord Huangfu, Lord Lu." The young man had the jailer open the cell door, then entered and greeted them.
Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi looked up at the young man but said nothing.
The young man smiled and introduced himself. "I hail from the Tian Clan of Julu. I am Tian Feng, courtesy name Yuanhao, currently serving as a registrar in Julu Commandery."
Lu Zhi was surprised. "Tian Yuanhao of the Tian Clan of Julu? I've heard your name. Before the army marched from Luoyang, Grand Marshal Deng once advised His Majesty to recruit talented men from across the realm to Luoyang. Among them, he mentioned a gifted man from Julu in Ji Province named Tian Yuanhao. Could that have been you?"
Tian Feng nodded, then looked a little surprised. "Deng Boneng, Grand Marshal Deng, wanted to recruit me?"
"Indeed." Lu Zhi gave a slight nod, suddenly finding it rather absurd.
The Han Court's Grand Marshal had wanted to recruit a talented man who was now serving the Yellow Turban Army. It was quite comical.
Tian Feng shook his head with a wry smile as well. In the past, he would have greatly valued the chance to be recruited into the Grand Marshal's household, but now he did not care much for it.
In his view, the vast Han Court would not last much longer. It was about to fall. What use was there in becoming Grand Marshal then?
To be buried with the Han Court?
He had no such intention.
Now, as the first scion of an Aristocratic Clan to join the Yellow Turban Army, he enjoyed the Great Virtuous Teacher's deep trust and had a bright future ahead of him. If he earned further merit and caught the eye of the Holy Venerable Huang Tian, he might even be taught the immortal arts and gain the chance to live forever. What were worldly riches and honors to him?
After a light cough, Tian Feng said, "You can probably guess why I've come, Lord Lu, Lord Huangfu. May I ask what the two of you intend to do?"
The two exchanged glances and fell silent.
After a long while, Huangfu Song asked, "If we insist on refusing to surrender, what will happen?"
Tian Feng smiled. "Nothing much. You'll either spend the rest of your lives in prison or be executed in accordance with the law."
"In other words, we will certainly die?"
"You may put it that way," Tian Feng said. "I hope you both understand that the Holy Venerable Huang Tian has no shortage of talented generals. Even a million-strong army is no match for the Holy Venerable's flowing-cloud sleeve.
"We are urging you to surrender because we do not wish to keep troubling the Holy Venerable by asking him to intervene. That is why we hope you will serve our army and train its soldiers."
Lu Zhi pondered for a few breaths, then suddenly asked, "What happened to Fu Nanrong? That day, I saw him knocked unconscious by a stone man, then bound by your soldiers."
Tian Feng looked regretful. "Lord Fu is dead."
"Dead?"
"The stone man didn't kill Lord Fu. After the battle, the medical attendants revived him. But once he awoke, Lord Fu wept aloud, his tears streaming without end. He said, 'The sage fulfills his duty according to the times; when that is impossible, he upholds his principles.' Even a brutal ruler like King Zhou of Shang had Bo Yi, who starved himself to death for him.
"The court has not yet become as brutal as King Zhou of Shang, and Lord Fu's virtue does not surpass Bo Yi's. Having accepted the court's salary, he had to shoulder its burdens. Now that he had been captured, he had to die to make his principles clear.
"After saying this, he struck his head against a pillar and died."
Hearing this, Lu Zhi's eyes reddened. He let out a long sigh. "Nanrong was a true hero!"
Huangfu Song was deeply moved. "Nanrong upheld the principles of the ancients. Am I any less capable of doing so?"
Tian Feng looked at Huangfu Song. "You refuse to surrender?"
Huangfu Song sneered. "If I had won a great victory and captured you rebels, I would have executed every last one of you and built a mound of skulls as a warning to those who came after!"
Tian Feng sighed and said no more. He turned to Lu Zhi, who did not rush to decide, but remained silent.
Tian Feng immediately knew that Lu Zhi could be persuaded. He gave an order to have Huangfu Song taken to another cell for questioning, then sat down on his heels and carefully explained the land-clearing policy the Yellow Turban Army was about to implement in Ji Province. He also told Lu Zhi that if he was willing to join the Yellow Turban Army and later distinguished himself, he might have the chance to learn the immortal arts—and perhaps even live forever.
After saying all that, Lu Zhi still did not speak. Tian Feng did not press him. He left for another cell to persuade Zong Yuan and the others.
News of the Han Army's defeat under Huangfu Song spread rapidly. Many defeated soldiers had fled in all directions from the battlefield, carrying word of "Yellow Heaven Descends" and "the Han Army's crushing defeat" everywhere they went. All of Ji Province erupted in an instant.
Soon after, the Yellow Turban Army's mounted scouts rode out from Guangzong in every direction, racing through the commanderies and counties of Ji Province. Wherever they went, they posted proclamations declaring, "The Han Army has been defeated. Surrender your cities at once!" and the like.
The clerks and soldiers in the commanderies and counties feared the might of the Yellow Turban Army and did not dare tear down the proclamations. As a result, even ordinary villagers learned that the Han Army had been defeated and its commander captured.
The powerful families and wealthy households built fortified settlements to protect themselves. The great Aristocratic Clans either waited to see how things unfolded or moved to Luoyang.
When they arrived in Luoyang, they brought news of Huangfu Song's crushing defeat with them.
Forty thousand elite Han troops had been wiped out, and another twenty thousand had already been lost in Lu Zhi's defeat. The Han Court had lost all sixty thousand of its finest troops. Luoyang was gripped by terror, the emperor was alarmed, and the people were in a state of panic.
The realm was shaken!
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