When people were desperate, they would turn to any doctor. The ancients had been right about that.
Liu Hong was the Son of Heaven, yet he had personally resorted to a curse ritual and even brought a wooden effigy into the ancestral temple. Even God Huang Tian was left dumbfounded.
How filial! Truly filial!
For a ruler this filial, perhaps they could leave him with his whole corpse after taking Luoyang.
Huang Tian gradually stopped laughing. Just then, Zhang Jiao's voice sounded outside the door.
"Come in."
Zhang Jiao pushed the door open. After greeting him, he knelt before Huang Tian and reported on the past month's developments.
"...After our army took Ji Province, our momentum swelled. Many scions of powerful clans and scholars from humble backgrounds have joined the Political Academy of their own accord. The Science Institute has also taken in some people. Several prominent clans in Ji Province, such as the Feng Clan of Fanyang, the Zhen Clan of Wuji, and the Geng Clan of Julu, have all expressed their willingness to join us..."
After summarizing the general situation in Ji Province, Zhang Jiao went on to report on the army:
"After the great battle at Guangzong ended, our army captured the Han Army's generals and commanders. Huangfu Song stubbornly refused to surrender, cursed us, and had slaughtered far too many of our Huang Tian believers, so he was executed as an example. Lu Zhi hasn't surrendered, but he didn't refuse outright either. Fu Xie struck a pillar and died. Generals such as Zong Yuan, Li Jue, Guo Dian, and Guo Si have all surrendered, and are now drilling and training our troops.
"After incorporating the Han Army's surrendered soldiers, and counting the troops stationed across the commanderies of Ji Province, we have a total of 110,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry. Zong Yuan and the others intend to discharge the old and weak, leaving us with 90,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry..."
Huang Tian nodded slightly. "Let them freely discharge and train the troops. Of course, you must assign people to supervise them. It's not that we distrust them; it's to put their minds at ease."
Zhang Jiao understood what Huang Tian meant and nodded.
"How long will the discharge and reorganization take? Will there be enough provisions?" Huang Tian asked.
"Two months should do," Zhang Jiao replied. "Ji Province is prosperous, and the commanderies and counties have plenty of grain in their storehouses. Add to that the grain donated by the many powerful clans, and there'll be enough to feed all the armies for more than a year."
Huang Tian smiled. "Since the discharge and reorganization will take two months, then we'll wait. Two months from now, we march on Luoyang. But before that, begin measuring the fields in Julu Commandery. Make a big commotion—the bigger, the better. Ideally, before we set out to conquer Luoyang, we'll have startled every last vermin in Ji Province awake. Then we can catch a good batch and slaughter another!"
Zhang Jiao replied solemnly, "This disciple understands!"
The great land survey began in Julu Commandery.
They called it a land survey, but in truth it was more like "strike down the local tyrants and divide up the land." The great clans would never allow the imperial court—or any other power—to survey their fields.
Land was their foundation, an inexhaustible source of wealth, a treasure to pass down through the generations, and the means to command tenant farmers, slaves, and retainers. Without their land, the powerful clans would no longer stand so far above everyone else.
Though a survey didn't mean they had to give up all their land, only the fields and people they had concealed, the concealed portion was, in fact, the lion's share...
So even under the Dao Court and Political Academy's explicit orders, the powerful clans and wealthy merchants of Julu Commandery still dragged their feet, paid lip service, and secretly resorted to petty tricks.
It wasn't that they feared no God Huang Tian. Rather, they thought that even if he was a god, he still needed the help of powerful clans and scholars to rule the realm. These Yellow Turban bandits were nothing but a bunch of peasants. Did they know anything about governing a country?
They couldn't even recognize characters. What the hell did they know?
With that attitude, they dared to secretly defy the Dao Court's orders. What they hadn't expected was that Huang Tian and Zhang Jiao were waiting for them to show themselves.
Zhang Jiao put the powerful clans that paid lip service to the survey order on a list, then ordered the Yellow Turban Army to hunt them down and wipe them out.
Hundreds of members of powerful clans, including the You Clan of Julu, the Shi Clan, the Bu Clan, and the Fang Clan, were executed. The army seized 80,000 mu of land and more than a thousand slaves and servants.
The Geng Clan of Julu, whose family had produced officials of the second rank for generations and four marquises, also had more than ten direct-line family members arrested and killed. Three thousand mu of their land was confiscated.
Julu Commandery was shaken to its core, and everyone lived in fear. Some scions of powerful clans working in the Political Academy were too distracted to handle government affairs. A few, worked into a frenzy, even tried to seek an audience with Zhang Jiao and Huang Tian to ask for the survey order to be suspended.
But Huang Tian wouldn't see outsiders at all. Usually, only Zhang Jiao was allowed an audience; ordinary people didn't even bear mentioning. And when Zhang Jiao faced the furious officials from powerful clans, he paid them no heed. He simply ordered them dismissed and barred from future appointments. After that, no one dared urge him to stop the land survey.
The commotion in Julu Commandery soon spread throughout Ji Province, and the Dao Court's ruthless methods terrified the powerful clans everywhere.
Some quietly moved their family's direct-line members out of Ji Province and headed for Yu Province or Luoyang. Others, bolder, formed secret alliances and sent their tenant retainers disguised as bandits and roving outlaws to attack the Yellow Turban Army troops guarding the cities.
For a time, beacon fires blazed across Ji Province.
Faced with this situation, the Dao Court made Julu Commandery its center and calmly dispatched tens of thousands of Yellow Turban troops in every direction. Wherever they went, they wiped out the bandits.
If the bandits fled into the countryside, beyond pursuit and impossible to find, the local powerful clans were ordered to assist the army in capturing them. If a clan couldn't uncover the slightest trace of the bandits before the deadline, it was judged to have colluded with them in rebellion—and its entire lineage was wiped out!
Afterward, all its land and wealth were confiscated.
Such ruthless measures left the powerful clans trembling in fear. Those who could flee did so, while those unwilling to abandon their ancestral homes and family estates had no choice but to surrender all their concealed land and people.
In just two months, Ji Province had been transformed.
In the past, Ji Province had been full of prominent clans. The great families had hundreds or thousands of slaves, and more land than anyone could count. Now, only a few remained. The great clans had fallen, the powerful families had been wiped out, and cries of grief filled the land.
While the prominent clans mourned, the common folk were overjoyed.
Through surveys, executions, and confiscations, the Dao Court had cleared more than two million mu of land and uncovered nearly a hundred thousand people. These were only rough figures; the true numbers were surely far higher.
The land they had seized was gradually being distributed among the poor who had little or none of their own. The process was slow because, after making enemies of the great clans, the Dao Court had too few clerks at its disposal. They had to proceed bit by bit; rushing things would only leave a mess.
After giving Ji Province a preliminary sweep, more than two months had passed. The surrendered Han Army and the former Yellow Turban Army had also completed their reorganization and training. And with no shortage of grain, clothing, weapons, or armor in Ji Province, a grand ceremony to swear in the expeditionary forces was held at Guangzong.
A full 40,000 elite infantry and 10,000 cavalry stood in neat squares across the broad training ground. Blades gleamed, spears bristled like a forest, and banners blotted out the sun.
Huang Tian appeared on the high platform, dressed in a Cloud Pattern Daoist Robe. The 50,000 soldiers gazed up at the god who sheltered them, their faces alight with fervor.
Huang Tian gave a light sweep of his sleeve, and his calm voice carried across the fields: "Today, we march on Luoyang, slay the false emperor, and restore peace beneath the Yellow Heaven!"
His words had barely fallen when the ten thousand troops raised their arms and cheered:
"March on Luoyang! Restore peace beneath the Yellow Heaven!"
"March on Luoyang! Restore peace beneath the Yellow Heaven!"
"March on Luoyang! Restore peace beneath the Yellow Heaven!!!"
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