In the wake of that brutal battle, the city of Guangzong became bustling instead. Physicians hurried about the wounded camps treating injuries, auxiliary troops expanded the prisoner stockades and cleared corpses from the battlefield, women busied themselves washing armor and garments, while He Yi, Huang Shao, Tian Feng, and others did their utmost to persuade the captured Han commanders to yield.
Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, Zong Yuan, Fu Xie, Guo Dian, Li Jue, Guo Si...
Although the Yellow Turban Army already possessed plenty of capable commanders, they all hailed from rough, unorthodox backgrounds. If the captured Han generals could be persuaded to surrender, it would deal a heavy blow to the Han court's morale and significantly enhance the Yellow Turbans' combat strength.
Inside the Guangzong county jail.
Huangfu Song leaned back against the blackened wall, his eyes vacant and dull. Lu Zhi sat in a daze as well, the figure of the young man atop the gate tower lingering in his mind.
By now, he had learned from the jailer that the young man was the God of Zhonghuang Taiyi.
The jailer had told him, "The Holy Sovereign descended into the mortal world in the form of an infant. Taking five steps, he assumed the form of a five-year-old child. With each passing day, he grew a year older, until he attained the form of a young man, whereupon he ceased aging, his countenance frozen forever."
Lu Zhi let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "How could there truly be gods, immortals, ghosts, and spirits in this world..."
For thousands of years, across all recorded history, the chronicles had never explicitly attested to the existence of living immortals. Long ago, Master Kong himself had said, "Revere ghosts and spirits, but keep aloof from them." How could it be that in his own time, a divine immortal had descended to earth!
Absurd!
Utterly absurd!
Lu Zhi's low, wretched chuckle stirred Huangfu Song from his stupor. The latter looked over at Lu Zhi, his voice hoarse and raspy: "I regret not heeding your words, Lord Lu!"
Back at Lieren, Lu Zhi had insisted time and again that they must not engage the enemy without first uncovering the true nature of this Yellow Heaven God. Huangfu Song had turned a deaf ear, scorning the warning, only to suffer catastrophic defeat in the end.
Lu Zhi fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "The Yellow Heaven God is a genuine immortal, a true divinity. No matter what we did, we were destined to fall."
Huangfu Song sighed.
Indeed. Faced with a living immortal walking the earth, what could mere mortals accomplish?
With a simple wave of a sleeve, turning beans into soldiers, the immortal had shattered the Han army's formations. Before such divine might, any strategy or tactic was entirely useless.
As the two sat sighing, a tall, upright young man walked over, guided by a jailer.
"Lord Huangfu, Lord Lu." The young man bade the jailer open the cell door, then stepped inside and bowed in greeting.
Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi looked up, studying the young man in silence.
The young man smiled and introduced himself: "I am Tian Feng, courtesy name Yuanhao, of the Tian clan of Julu. I currently serve as Chief Clerk of Julu Commandery."
Lu Zhi was taken aback. "Tian Yuanhao of the Julu Tian clan? I have heard your name. Before marching out from Luoyang, Grand Commandant Deng submitted a memorial to His Majesty, recommending that talents from across the empire be summoned to the capital. Among them, he mentioned an exceptional talent in Julu of Ji Province named Tian Yuanhao. Could that be you?"
Tian Feng nodded, feeling a touch of surprise. "Grand Commandant Deng Boneng wished to summon me to office?"
"Indeed," Lu Zhi replied with a slight nod, suddenly overcome by a sense of absurdity.
A talent whom the Grand Commandant of the Han court sought to recruit was now serving the Yellow Turbans—it was deeply ironic.
Tian Feng shook his head with an amused smile. In the past, he would have treasured the opportunity to be summoned into the Grand Commandant's administration, but now he hardly cared.
To his eyes, the vast Han court could not hold out much longer; its collapse was imminent. Even if he were to become Grand Commandant, what purpose would it serve?
To be buried alongside the Han dynasty?
He had no such intention.
Now, as the first son of a prominent gentry clan to cast his lot with the Yellow Turbans, he enjoyed the deep trust of the Great Virtuous Teacher, and his future was bright. If he rendered distinguished service and caught the eye of the Holy Sovereign of the Yellow Heaven, receiving the divine arts, he might even attain longevity and immortality. Compared to that, what did worldly wealth and glory matter?
Clearing his throat softly, Tian Feng said, "You two surely understand why I have come. May I ask what your intentions are?"
The two exchanged glances and fell silent.
After a long pause, Huangfu Song asked, "What happens if we stubbornly refuse to yield?"
Tian Feng smiled. "Nothing much. At most, a lifetime behind bars, or execution according to the law."
"In other words, death is certain?"
"You may understand it that way," Tian Feng said. "I hope you two realize that the Holy Sovereign of the Yellow Heaven has no shortage of fine commanders. Even against an army of millions, a single flick of the Holy Sovereign's sleeve would sweep them away. The only reason we seek to persuade you is that we do not wish to constantly trouble the Holy Sovereign, and thus hope you two will serve our army and train our troops."
Lu Zhi pondered for a few moments, then suddenly asked, "How fares Fu Nanrong? That day, I saw him knocked unconscious by a stone giant and bound by the moth—er, by your army's soldiers."
Regret crossed Tian Feng's face. "Lord Fu is dead."
"Dead?"
"The stone giant did not kill Lord Fu. After the fighting ended, the physicians revived him. Yet upon waking, Lord Fu wept uncontrollably, declaring, 'A sage comprehends integrity; the next best preserves it.' Even a tyrant as brutal as King Zhou of Shang had Boyi starve to death for him. The current court is not yet as tyrannical as King Zhou, and his own virtue does not surpass Boyi's. Having drawn a stipend from the court, he was bound to share its burdens; now that he was captured, he had to die for his integrity to make his devotion clear. Having spoken, he dashed his head against a pillar and perished."
Hearing this, Lu Zhi's eyes reddened, and he let out a long sigh. "Nanrong was a true hero!"
Huangfu Song was visibly moved. "Nanrong possessed the virtue of the ancients. Do I lack it?"
Tian Feng looked at Huangfu Song. "You refuse to yield?"
Huangfu Song sneered. "Had I won and captured you rebels, I would have executed every last one of you and heaped your corpses into a grand mound to warn all rebels to come!"
Tian Feng sighed and pressed no further. He turned to look at Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi was in no hurry to make a decision, remaining silent.
Tian Feng immediately recognized that Lu Zhi might yet be won over. He called for the guards to take Huangfu Song to another cell, then knelt down and explained in detail the land survey and redistribution policy the Yellow Turban Army was about to implement in Ji Province. He further told Lu Zhi that if he surrendered and performed great merits, he would have the chance to be taught divine arts, and immortality would not be out of the question.
Tian Feng spoke at length, but Lu Zhi did not utter a word. Tian Feng did not push him, leaving the cell to attempt to persuade Zong Yuan and the others in the other cells.
* * *
News of the Han army's crushing defeat under Huangfu Song spread with astonishing speed. Numerous routed soldiers had scattered across the countryside, carrying word far and wide that "the Yellow Heaven has descended" and "the Han army has been utterly routed," throwing all of Ji Province into an immediate uproar.
Soon afterward, Yellow Turban scouts rode out from Guangzong in all directions, galloping across the commanderies and counties of Ji Province. Wherever they arrived, they posted official notices proclaiming: "The Han army has been utterly defeated; surrender your cities without delay."
Intimidated by the Yellow Turbans' terrifying might, the local clerks and soldiers dared not tear down the notices. Consequently, news of the Han army's defeat and the capture of their commander-in-chief reached even ordinary villagers.
Local magnates and wealthy households fortified their estates for self-defense, while aristocratic gentry clans either waited to see how events unfolded or fled to Luoyang.
Upon reaching Luoyang, they brought with them the news of Huangfu Song's catastrophic defeat.
Forty thousand Han elites had been wiped out, on top of the twenty thousand Lu Zhi had lost earlier. The Han court had lost sixty thousand of its finest troops in total. Luoyang was plunged into terror, the Emperor was gripped with panic, and dread hung over every heart.
The world shook!
Chapter 25