The Moth Bandits are here!
The news exploded through Luoyang like a bomb. The people had heard long ago that the Yellow Turban Army was marching on Luoyang in force, but many had believed that, as the capital of the realm, surrounded by the Eight Passes, the city could hardly be taken so easily.
Who could have guessed that the Yellow River's natural defenses and the formidable Mengjin Pass would do nothing to halt the Yellow Turban Army's advance? Nor did the garrisons from the various regions, upon whom so much hope had been placed, have any heart to resist. The Yellow Turbans had marched straight to the walls of Luoyang.
The city erupted into turmoil.
Some planned to stay holed up inside, going nowhere. Others sought connections, hoping to shelter under prominent officials and great clans in the city. Still others planned to surrender without putting up any resistance...
The Grand General's Residence.
He Jin sat cross-legged in the hall, his face dark. After downing three cups of wine in a row, he caught a hint of drunkenness. He seized the beauty who had been pouring his wine and yanked her toward him. She started in surprise, then let herself fall into his arms and wrapped hers around his waist.
"Grand General!"
Yuan Shao, seated to He Jin's lower left, looked displeased and spoke up.
He Jin turned his bleary eyes toward the dignified, imposing Yuan Shao and chuckled. "Benchu, do you seem displeased?"
Yuan Shao said coldly, "The Grand General invited me, Mengde, Lord Dong, Lord Sun, and the others to this banquet. I thought you intended to discuss how to deal with the Moth Bandits surrounding the city. I never expected you to fondle a woman in front of us. Is that not a sign that you're displeased with us? How has this become a matter of my being displeased with you?"
At his words, Cao Cao, Dong Zhuo, Wu Kuang, Chen Lin, Sun Jian, and the others all turned their eyes toward He Jin. Their gazes might not have been disapproving, but they still gave He Jin a start, sobering him considerably. He shoved the beauty in his arms away, sending her sprawling on the floor, then laughed twice. "I was wrong. I've had too much to drink. I'm drunk, I'm drunk!"
The beauty dared neither cry nor complain after he threw her down. She simply got to her feet, bowed, and left the hall.
Seeing that He Jin seemed to have come to his senses, Yuan Shao's expression softened a little. "Grand General, a hundred thousand Moth Bandits are surrounding us. They haven't begun their assault yet, but the people in the city are already uneasy. We must discuss a plan as soon as possible."
He Jin sighed. "Yes, we need a plan. Gentlemen, what advice can you offer me?"
He looked around, his gaze settling on each of their faces.
Dong Zhuo shook his head to himself. Cao Cao remained silent. Wu Kuang was one of He Jin's subordinates and had always obeyed his every command, so he had no intention of offering advice...
"Wentai, do you have a plan?" He Jin asked, fixing his gaze on Sun Jian.
Sun Jian had been fighting alongside Zhu Jun against the Yellow Turbans at Wancheng. But the Court was in such dire straits that it finally ordered Zhu Jun to send some of his elite troops to Luoyang to reinforce its defenses.
When Zhu Jun learned that Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song had both been defeated, he understood the Court's predicament. Without hesitation, he sent his bravest and most battle-hardened general, Sun Jian, to Luoyang, along with five thousand soldiers.
As soon as Sun Jian arrived in Luoyang with his five thousand men, He Jin, Yuan Shao, and the others began to take him seriously. They often hosted banquets for him, letting him experience the splendor of royal power and wealth, the lofty airs of the scholar-officials, and the prestige of the great clans.
Under the many celebrated scholars' "campaign," Sun Jian soon threw in his lot with He Jin.
Another force, the Youzhou troops, was said to be just as elite. Led by Gongsun Zan, they sided with Clan Chief Liu Yan—or, more accurately, with Emperor Liu Hong.
The reason was that one of Gongsun Zan's generals was named Liu Bei. Liu Bei had a remarkable appearance and considerable strength. He was also a student of Lu Zhi and, most importantly, bore the surname Liu. At this critical moment, Liu Hong and Liu Yan immediately came to rely on him.
When He Jin called on Sun Jian, Sun Jian at once declared fervently, "Grand General, in my view, we should gather several thousand troops and leave the city to fight the Moth Bandits, blunting their ferocity."
Across from him, Cao Cao couldn't help giving a soft, derisive laugh.
Sun Jian immediately sprang to his feet, glaring at Cao Cao with tiger-bright eyes. "Lord Cao, are you mocking me?!"
"Not at all, not at all," Cao Cao hurriedly replied. "Wentai, please sit. I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at myself."
Everyone looked puzzled, and Sun Jian hesitated before sitting down again.
A bitter, helpless smile appeared on Cao Cao's face as he explained, "Back then, I followed Lord Huangfu in the siege of Guangzong. I, too, asked Lord Huangfu to let me lead a force into battle against the Moth Bandits. I never expected..."
He had never expected the Yellow Turban Army to launch a decisive battle as soon as it arrived, routing the Han Army so thoroughly that Cao Cao could only abandon several thousand soldiers in disgrace and flee back to Luoyang alone.
Only then did Sun Jian give a soft snort. Chen Lin promptly said, "Mengde, you've fought the Moth Bandits. Have you thought of a way to deal with them?"
After thinking for a long while, Cao Cao shook his head. Somewhat despairingly, he said, "The Moth Bandits aren't hard to deal with. The Immortal Gods are beyond us."
At the words "Immortal Gods," everyone held their breath.
They all knew that the most important reason for the Han Army's defeat was the fabled, supremely powerful Holy Venerable Huang Tian. Without the protection of the Immortal Gods, mere Yellow Turban bandits would have been wiped out long ago. Even if the realm had thirty-six regions of Yellow Turbans and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, what would it matter? Under the Han Court's campaigns, they would have been swept away like dry leaves before the wind.
But there were no what-ifs in this world.
Dong Zhuo sighed. "I advise you all: rather than thinking about resisting the Immortal Gods, you should make plans now and find a way out, lest the city fall and the rebels kill you."
His words were harsh, but no one could blame him. Dong Zhuo had lost several thousand of his own men in a single battle, and, like Cao Cao, had fled back to Luoyang alone. They could hardly begrudge him a few words of despair.
Silence settled over the hall for a moment before Yuan Shao spoke. "The Moth Bandits are at our gates. We can't abandon the city and flee. The Son of Heaven, the princes, high ministers, and men of noble families are all inside. Most of our own relatives are here as well. To surrender and hand over the city would be no different from placing a knife in the Moth Bandits' hands and letting them carve us up as they please."
Surrender was out of the question, but they couldn't win a fight either. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.
Sun Jian, growing impatient, spoke up. "So what if the Moth Bandits have Immortal Gods? Does that mean we dare not fight them? In the end, we all die once. If we're willing to stake our lives, what is there to fear?"
He stepped out from his seat and faced He Jin, his voice ringing with passion. "Grand General, I am willing to lead five thousand troops out of the city to fight the Moth Bandits. If we win, we can raise morale. If we lose, let them take my head!"
He Jin's face showed his admiration. "Wentai, you are a true hero! I will go to the palace and request an audience with His Majesty, then secure a military order for you to exterminate the Moth Bandits!"
Everyone rose together and bowed to Sun Jian, calling him a hero and praising him. Sun Jian was overjoyed, his spirit growing ever more impassioned.
Only Yuan Shao watched coldly from the sidelines. A flare of anger rose in him, not toward Sun Jian, but toward his own clan.
"Hmph. The elders in my clan resent me for not being of the direct line. As soon as word came that the Moth Bandits were marching on Luoyang, they sent that brat Yuan Shu off with a few direct-line clansmen to flee to Runan, but left me trapped in Luoyang, a city doomed to fall. Damn them! Damn them!"
His anger burned fiercely. Unwilling to sit in Luoyang and await his death, he considered every possible escape route. When he looked at Sun Jian again, a trace of pity involuntarily showed in his eyes.