The Han army numbered fully forty thousand frontline troops and tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers. Marching along the wide thoroughfare, the column stretched for dozens of li, an endless line extending beyond the horizon.
Often, when the vanguard had marched for an entire day and reached the next encampment to rest, portions of the rear guard had not even set out from the previous day's campsite.
Amid such a mighty, imposing host, nearly everyone felt a profound sense of security.
Only defeated commanders like Lu Zhi and Zong Yuan felt uneasy, along with Army-Protecting Major Fu Xie, who was plagued with worry.
Fu Xie hailed from the Fu clan of Beidi. Standing eight chi tall, with an imposing, dignified countenance, he had studied under Grand Commandant Liu Kuan and entered officialdom upon being recommended as Filial and Incorrupt.
When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, he happened to hold an official post in Luoyang and was appointed Army-Protecting Major to campaign against the Yellow Turban Army alongside General of the Household of the Left Huangfu Song. Before setting out, Fu Xie had submitted a memorial advising Emperor Liu Hong to distance himself from corrupt flatterers, earning the deep resentment of Regular Palace Attendant Zhao Zhong.
After taking to the field, Fu Xie repeatedly performed meritorious deeds. In particular, at the Battle of Cangting in Dong Commandery of Yan Province, his division slew three Yellow Turban qushuai—Bu Si, Zhang Bo, and Liang Zhongning—earning the foremost credit for the victory.
Having achieved such great merit, Fu Xie ought to have been enfeoffed as a marquis, or at the very least promoted. But Zhao Zhong obstructed him, framing Fu Xie with slander. Liu Hong "still remembered Xie's upright words," so while he did not punish him, neither did he confer any rewards or titles, instead ordering him to accompany Huangfu Song to continue subjugating the Yellow Turbans in Ji Province.
Fu Xie craved neither high rank nor generous stipends, so he harbored no resentment. Yet upon arriving in Ji Province, a deep unease had settled into his heart.
For legends of "the descent of Zhonghuang Taiyi" were spreading like wildfire across Ji Province. From commandery administrators and heads of aristocratic clans down to ordinary foot soldiers, everyone had heard rumors that the Yellow Turban Army enjoyed divine protection from a deity.
If that were all, it would not have troubled Fu Xie so deeply; throughout history, countless rebels had falsely claimed divine favor, only to be proven frauds in the end.
The real problem lay in how extraordinarily abnormal the Yellow Turbans in Guangzong were acting.
They clearly possessed over fifty thousand elite troops, and together with Zhang Bao's forces in Xiaquyang, numbered a hundred thousand strong. Yet they had only marched out to secure Julu Commandery, showing no hunger for further territory, composed and taking their time.
It was as though they were deliberately waiting for the Han army to arrive at Guangzong to fight a pitched battle, head-on.
This march only reinforced Fu Xie's assessment: tens of thousands of Han soldiers had set forth from Lieren to subdue Guangzong with tremendous fanfare, yet along the entire way, they had encountered only scattered Yellow Turban scouts. These mounted outriders merely tailed them from a distance, making no aggressive moves whatsoever, their eyes brimming with sheer contempt.
Suppressing his unease, Fu Xie rode his horse up alongside Lu Zhi and Zong Yuan.
"Elder Lu, General Zong," Fu Xie greeted them with cupped hands.
The two returned the courtesy. Seeing the gloom on his face, Lu Zhi asked, "Nanrong, are you troubled about the battle ahead?"
Fu Xie nodded. "Might I trouble you two, Elder Lu and General Zong, to recount once more in detail the scene of the Yellow Sky God's descent that day?"
Zong Yuan spoke up. "Allow me..."
He explained the entire course of the previous battle of Guangzong in detail, then sighed, "To be frank with you, Nanrong, neither Elder Lu nor I have high hopes for this battle. In any military engagement, one must know both oneself and the enemy. Our army knows nothing of this Yellow Sky God, nor do we possess any means to counter it..."
Fu Xie knitted his brows tightly. "Is General Zong certain that what you saw was a true deity, and not mere trickery or illusion?"
Zong Yuan could not help letting out a hollow laugh. "If an illusion could deceive tens of thousands of people across a battlefield, then it is indistinguishable from true immortal magic. Besides, though I am old, I am not blind. How could I have mistaken it?"
Fu Xie immediately voiced his greatest perplexity: "Since you believe it was a god—and one aligned with the Yellow Turbans—why were you and Elder Lu able to escape unscathed?"
Lu Zhi and Zong Yuan had been the highest-ranking commanders of the Han court in Ji Province at the time. Had they been captured or killed, the realm would have been instantly shaken, the court's authority would have teetered on the brink of collapse, and ambitious warlords would have risen everywhere—making it all the easier for the Yellow Turbans to consolidate their footing amidst the chaos.
Yet that "god" had stood by and watched Lu Zhi and the others flee.
Could it be that its power was limited?
Combined with the accounts of Lu Zhi, Zong Yuan, and the others, none of them had personally witnessed the deity strike in combat. Thus, Huangfu Song, Fu Xie, Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, and the rest had naturally deduced that the "Yellow Sky God" lacked true divine might!
Zong Yuan fell silent.
This was precisely what puzzled both him and Lu Zhi the most.
Why would a god let them go?
Was it unable to seize and execute them?
Lu Zhi coughed softly. "If I had not been baffled by that very point, I would have risked my life to stop Lord Huangfu from marching."
'Indeed, Elder Lu harbors doubts as well!'
Fu Xie felt slightly more at ease. "Let us hope this god is nothing more than trickery."
Lu Zhi murmured faintly, "Let us hope so..."
A few days later.
The forty thousand troops of the Han army gathered outside Guangzong. They pitched camp, erected palisades, and set up barricades, the clamor echoing to the heavens.
Yet inside the city of Guangzong, the atmosphere was far from tense. The Yellow Turban soldiers drilled battle formations and patrolled the walls as usual, while the civil clerks unhurriedly attended to administration and logistics.
Only Tian Feng took the initiative to seek out Zhang Jiao with a proposal: "Great Virtuous Teacher, the enemy has marched from afar and is exhausted. Their fortifications are not yet secure, and the soldiers' morale has yet to settle. We could send a force outside to challenge them to battle. If the enemy accepts, our well-rested troops will easily prevail over their weary ones; if they decline, their morale will suffer a blow."
Zhang Jiao nodded in praise. "Yuanhao is indeed versed in military strategy. However, there is no need to send troops out to challenge them."
"Why is that?" Tian Feng asked, taken aback.
"Because tomorrow, our entire army will march out to fight a decisive battle with the Han forces."
Tian Feng's mind went momentarily blank.
Two armies meeting in battle, without even a probe or skirmish, going straight for a decisive showdown?
Who ever waged war like this? Since antiquity, siege and defense operations dragged on for half a month, a month, or even a year or more.
"This is the Holy Venerable's will," Zhang Jiao explained.
Tian Feng immediately understood. "Feng understands."
Having spent these days in Guangzong, though he had not laid eyes on the Yellow Sky Holy Venerable, he had witnessed miracles and knew just how mighty divine power was. Naturally, he harbored no doubts about the Holy Venerable's arrangements.
The next day, during the hour of si.
The sky was clear azure, wisps of drifting clouds floating on the breeze.
Dong, dong, dong—
Muffled, powerful drums resonated from within Guangzong, followed closely by the clatter of armor, the clinking of weapons, and the dense rush of marching footsteps.
In the Han camp, Huangfu Song stood clad in black armor draped in a crimson cloak, watching the movements around Guangzong from afar, accompanied by a host of generals and civil officials.
"Are the moth-rebels coming out to fight us in a pitched battle?" Dong Zhuo guessed, observing the crowds swarming atop the ramparts and hearing the rumbling drums.
Cao Cao said excitedly, "We were just worrying that Guangzong's walls were too high and formidable to breach. If the moth-rebels dare venture out to fight, it suits us perfectly!"
He turned to Huangfu Song. "Cao is willing to lead troops into battle and blunt the rebels' edge!"
Huangfu Song raised a hand to halt him. "Do not be hasty. Let us observe further."
Fu Xie cautioned Cao Cao, "The enemy is advancing on their own initiative; they may harbor a hidden scheme. Beware of falling into a trap."
Cao Cao thought to himself, 'How many grand stratagems can there be in this world? When troops are strong and numbers formidable, victory follows as a matter of course.'
Yet he could hardly voice such thoughts at this moment, forced to rein in his urge to gallop onto the battlefield and vie for supremacy.
Even as they spoke, the heavy gates of Guangzong swung slowly open. Countless Yellow Turban soldiers surged from the city like an ocean tide. No longer dressed in plain coarse garments and armed with pitchforks and farm tools as in the past, each now gripped a long spear; many even donned leather armor and bore sabers and shields.
Wave after wave, the Yellow Turban soldiers poured forth in an endless stream. Infantry marched in disciplined unison under their commanders' orders, deploying into several battle arrays outside the city. Several thousand cavalrymen thundered out with roaring shouts, sweeping up a violent gust of wind and kicking up vast clouds of dust beneath their hooves.
Immediately after, an apricot-yellow grand banner bearing the characters "Great Virtuous Teacher" emerged alongside Zhang Jiao's carriage, prompting earth-shaking cheers to erupt from the ranks!
The Yellow Turban Army had mobilized in full force.
The first battle would be the decisive battle!
Chapter 21