by Luo Guanzhong
6 After Zhang Jue had heard that the plot was exposed, he worked both day and night to build his army. He called himself general of the heavens, --- Zhang Bao was called general of the earth, and Zhang Liang was called general of the people. --- They proclaimed to the multitudes that, "The end of the Han is at hand; the great saint has arrived; all of you must abide by the will of heaven in order to accommodate the great peace. Four to five hundred thousand common people, from the four corners of the empire, tied yellow turbans around their heads, and followed Zhang Jue into rebellion. The bandit rebels wielded a huge amount of power, and easily routed the government troops in battle after battle. He Jin petitioned the emperor to quickly issue an edict, ordering defensive preparations in every region, so that a campaign could be launched against the bandit rebels. In addition, he dispatched Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun --- all three of them being commanders of a their own team of palace guards --- to launch campaigns against the bandit rebels from three different directions.7 Let us now take a moment to talk about Zhang Jue's army, which was advancing on the borders of Youzhou. The governor of Youzhou was Liu Yan, whose family came from Jingling County, which was a part of the Jiangxia Commandery. Liu was a descendant of the Han Prince, Gong of Lu. When he heard that the bandit army was approaching, he summoned his assistant, Captain Zou Jing, so that they could discuss the matter. Jing said, "The bandit army is large, but our army is small. Your excellency, you should quickly enlist conscripts in order to meet the enemy. Liu Yan concurred, and immediately issued an official announcement calling for troops to be conscripted. The notice had made its way to Zhuo County, where it caught the attention of a certain hero who was living there.
Continued next week. Tomorrow's installment from Lays of Ancient Rome by Macaulay.
This is one of four great novels from China, published when it was the most highly civilization in the world. Map shows China at the time of this story.
Chapter Summary: Three brave men swear an oath of allegiance at the feast in the peach gardens; our heroes' first achievement is the vanquishing of the Yellow Turbans.
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