This campaign against Luoyang mobilized fifty thousand frontline combat troops, accompanied by several tens of thousands of auxiliaries and laborers, bringing the grand total to roughly one hundred thousand men. In earlier times, commanders would have brazenly proclaimed it an army of three hundred thousand.
Huang Tian had accompanied the marching host as well, though he did not personally direct the army. Professional matters were best left to professionals. The commander-in-chief of the Yellow Turban Army was Zhang Jiao, who held command over generals such as Zhang Liang, He Yi, Huang Shao, Zong Yuan, and Guo Dian.
Meanwhile, Zhang Bao and Tian Feng coordinated to oversee their home base in Ji Province. Under their banner remained nearly fifty thousand elite soldiers, leaving no cause to fear enemy incursions. It was already a blessing for the neighboring commanderies that they did not launch aggressive expeditions elsewhere. Their primary mission was logistics, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of provisions and military equipment for the expeditionary force.
If one were to describe the Yellow Turban Army's military campaign against Luoyang in a single phrase, it would be:
Completely unhindered!
Setting out from Guangzong, the army passed Yecheng and struck straight at Henei Commandery. Henei offered a token resistance of merely several thousand men, which did nothing to slow the Yellow Turbans' advance.
After securing Henei, the army took a brief respite in Huai County before setting off once more toward Mengjin Pass, forcing a crossing across the formidable natural barrier of the Yellow River.
Zhang Jiao had anticipated a brutal battle at Mengjin Pass. After all, the terrain of the stronghold was exceptionally precipitous, anchored by the perilous Yellow River, meaning a forced crossing was bound to cost the Yellow Turban Army dearly.
To everyone's surprise, Mengjin Pass fell in a mere three days. With that, the road ahead to Luoyang lay broad and open, stripped of all obstacles.
The army surged southward in a ferocious display of force.
The imperial court in Luoyang fell into sheer panic. Emperor Liu Hong moved with frantic haste to pack up his "family assets," preparing to relocate.
Yet his hoarded gold, silver, and precious silks were so vast that it took fully fifty large wagons just to hold them!
Before those fifty wagons could even clear the gates of Luoyang, numerous senior ministers discovered the convoy and blocked its path. The commotion was simply too massive; anyone not blind could spot the endless train of wagons piled high with treasure trundling along the thoroughfare.
"My ministers, by barring Us from departing, do you mean to leave Us in Luoyang to be captured by the moth-rebels?!" Liu Hong demanded, furious at the officials obstructing his way.
In truth, the moment word arrived that the Yellow Turban Army had launched an expedition against Luoyang, his immediate instinct had been to flee west toward Hongnong and Jingzhao, and then head south to Yi Province if the situation warranted, putting the greatest possible distance between himself and the rebels.
However, Yang Ci, Zhang Wen, Deng Sheng, and others had continually urged him to remain in Luoyang and watch how events unfolded, assuring him that Mengjin was an impregnable stronghold the moth-rebels could hardly breach. Yet Mengjin, with all the natural defense of the Yellow River at its back, had been seized in just a few days. Now the rebel host was bearing down on Luoyang with menacing momentum, and these ministers still refused to let him leave. It was utterly infuriating!
Faced with Liu Hong's cutting accusation, the gathered officials had no choice but to drop to their knees and beg forgiveness.
Liu Hong looked down at them with a sullen face. "Since you know your error, why haven't you cleared the way?!"
Grand Commandant Deng Sheng raised his head, his voice steeped in sorrow. "Your Majesty, there are still seventy thousand troops in the city! Why must we flee?! If the Son of Heaven flees west and Luoyang is lost, the imperial dignity will be dragged through the dust and the whole realm will be thrown into turmoil! When that happens, the ambitions of warlords commanding mighty armies will be impossible to curb. They will carve out their own domains and style themselves lords, and our dynasty will truly meet its end!"
Liu Hong sneered. "Minister Deng, tell Us this: why did Mengjin Pass fall in a mere matter of days?"
Naturally, it was because the defending garrison had completely lost its courage.
If the Han troops guarding Mengjin had lost their nerve, would the seventy thousand soldiers in Luoyang possess any more?
"Do you imagine We have not looked upon those seventy thousand troops? Though there are no few valiant men among them, and men like Gongsun Zan and Sun Jian truly possess talent, the disparate forces are thrown together under divided command. They are like a hundred-headed serpent! How could such an army face moth-rebels who move with a single heart and mind?!"
Deng Sheng pleaded earnestly, "Though the various forces belong to different commands, every man possesses a sincere heart to serve the state! Every one of them has sworn to defend Your Majesty unto death!"
Liu Hong was at a loss for words. "Minister Deng, must We spell it out for you? Do you think what We fear is fifty thousand moth-rebels? If it were merely tens of thousands of ordinary rebels, We would sit comfortably within the city walls and watch you gentlemen crush them at your leisure! But... the moth-rebels are protected by a god! What do we have to defend the city with? How could we possibly hold it?!"
Deng Sheng was left speechless.
The consecutive crushing defeats suffered by Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song had convinced the Han court's senior ministers that the Yellow Turban Army truly enjoyed divine favor. Faced with the mysterious and formidable God of the Yellow Sky, they had no countermeasure whatsoever.
Liu Hong continued, "If the Grand Commandant has a way to deal with the false god, We shall not take one step out of Luoyang!"
What way could Deng Sheng possibly have? He knocked his head against the ground and said in a hoarse voice, "If the false god breaches the walls, this old minister shall die before Your Majesty!"
In truth, what he longed to say was that fleeing might buy time, but it could never buy safety forever. Rather than being hunted down and slaughtered by the Yellow Turbans across the land, it was better to make a desperate stand in Luoyang, where tens of thousands of soldiers remained at their disposal.
Fleeing to other provinces and commanderies would merely be dragging out a shameful, lingering existence.
Liu Hong fell silent.
He did not want to die. He only wanted to live, to survive one day longer if he could.
"Enough talk! Ministers, make way at once!" Liu Hong waved his hand, his patience exhausted.
"Your Majesty, you cannot!" Deng Sheng remained kneeling in the center of the road, resolutely blocking the passage.
"You... you!" Liu Hong sputtered with rage, pointing a trembling finger at Deng Sheng as he stomped his feet.
As ruler and subject remained locked in their impasse, General-in-Chief He Jin came sprinting up in frantic haste. His face was stark white as he skidded onto his knees before the Emperor, his voice shaking. "Your Majesty, rebel outriders have been spotted outside the city!"
The news struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Liu Hong stumbled back a step, utter despair crashing over him.
It was over. There was no leaving now!
With several dozen heavy wagons slowing them down, they were already moving at a crawl. Now that the Yellow Turban advance cavalry had reached the outskirts of Luoyang, any hope of swift escape was gone.
Unless he abandoned all the gold, silver, and silk, taking only a handful of elite cavalry to slip out under the cover of night, an escape from Luoyang was virtually impossible.
Yet wealth is hard to part with. Liu Hong could not bear to cast aside the treasures he had painstakingly "amassed" over all these years just to flee alone. What was more, with the moth-rebels outside, the risks of running were immense. If he was spotted, pursued, and slain amidst a chaotic skirmish, it would be a pitiful joke.
He stomped his foot heavily and pointed at Deng Sheng, Yang Ci, and the other kneeling ministers. "Now look at what you have done! No one can leave! Are you satisfied now?!"
The gathered officials bowed their heads, trembling.
Liu Hong raised a sleeve to cover his face. "Never mind. We shall not leave!"
He dared not leave!
The ministers let out a collective breath of relief.
Regardless of why Liu Hong chose not to abandon Luoyang, so long as he remained, everyone retained a pillar of support, and the seventy thousand troops in the city could still hold firm.
The morale of the people was the linchpin of city defense.
Liu Hong sighed, stepped forward to help Deng Sheng and the others to their feet, and said with solemn sincerity, "We know nothing of fighting battles, and even less of defending cities. The safety of Luoyang is entrusted entirely to you, my ministers!"
"Your ministers will exert every ounce of our strength to repay Your Majesty's grace!"
Liu Hong waved his hand, turned to order the eunuchs to secure the treasures on the wagons, and trudged back to the imperial palace with a heavy heart.
The external officials scattered to their respective duties, busying themselves with reinforcing and organizing Luoyang's urban defenses.
Just two days later.
The sky was overcast, accompanied by howling winds.
An army so vast its rear stretched beyond the horizon marched slowly toward the outskirts of Luoyang. At the very vanguard were scout cavalry, riding light and swift, fanning out like a flock of birds to reconnoiter the surroundings of Luoyang.
Behind them came an immense mass of infantry arranged in several dense columns. They wore yellow cloths wrapped around their foreheads, ochre-yellow military tunics, and fitted suits of firm leather armor. The spears and halberds in their hands rose and fell like ocean waves with each synchronized stride.
In the heart of the countless foot soldiers stood a carriage with vermilion wheels and a splendid canopy. Behind it rose a towering grand standard, bearing four large characters inscribed upon its fabric:
*Peace and the Yellow Sky.*
The great standard fluttered wildly in the howling wind, heralding the arrival of the Yellow Turban Army!
Chapter 29