Han officials

Chapter 13 The world has been in turmoil since then!
When the military commander finished counting the results of the battle, everyone was delighted.

Because of this battle, 30,000 Yellow Turban soldiers were killed in the battle, and nearly 50,000 of them fell into the Qing River and drowned in the panic when they fled, which almost blocked the Qing River. As for the captured Yellow Turban old and weak, there were as many as 60,000 to 70,000.

Upon hearing this, Zou Jing, Zong Yuan, and the others immediately suggested slaughtering all the captives to save military rations. Niu Fu, with a fierce gleam in his eyes, suggested, "General, why not behead all of them and build a memorial to deter all the rebels in the world? I want to see who dares to rebel again!"

When he said this, it immediately caused a controversy in the tent, with some agreeing and some opposing.

Fu Xie was even more furious and said, "People don't fear death, so why are you trying to scare them with it?"

"If the people could survive, how many would rebel? How many would dare to rebel?"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a sudden silence in the tent.

Only Fu Xie dared to say this. If it were someone else, they would probably agree in their heart but would not dare to say it out loud.

However, Fu Xie was no fool. After silencing the clan members, he bowed deeply to Huangfu Song, who was at the head of the group, and said, "General, the stubborn Yellow Turbans who fought today have all drowned in the river. The only ones left are the civilians who were coerced. Killing them would be a violation of the harmony of nature!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but secretly praise Fu Xie's quick wit.

Fu Xie's move can truly be regarded as changing one word and saving thousands of lives!

It was obvious that the more than 40,000 Yellow Turban soldiers fell into the Qinghe River and drowned in panic during their rout, but he used the phrase "jumped into the river and died" to clearly separate the attitudes of the two parties. His method was truly brilliant.

Hearing him say this, Huangfu Song was obviously moved.

Seeing this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but step forward and say, "General, after this disaster, Guangzong has lost nine out of ten houses. If we kill all of them, Guangzong's spring plowing season will be delayed. When famine strikes, Julu County will be overrun with bandits, and the country will be in turmoil. Instead of killing them all, wouldn't it be better to let them atone for their sins?"

Finally, under the strong persuasion of Fu Xie, Wei Zhe and others, Huangfu Song finally chose to show leniency.

However, he was not soft-hearted. He ordered the beheading of 80,000 Yellow Turban soldiers who had died in battle or drowned, and built a Jingguan outside Guangzong City to intimidate the world's rebellious forces.

As for Zhang Jue, his coffin was broken into and his body was mutilated. His head was transported back to the capital along with Zhang Liang's.

Thus, the issue of prisoners came to an end.

……

With the fall of Guangzong City and the death of the bandit leader Zhang Jiao, the Han army finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Under such circumstances, the atmosphere in the army became much more harmonious, at least not as turbulent as before.

This shows that victory is the best soothing agent.

Especially after cleaning the battlefield and counting the spoils, the whole army was in a happy mood.

Even though the Yellow Turban treasury in Guangzong City was sealed by Huangfu Song, the remaining funds were enough for the soldiers to take away.

You must know that since Guangzong City became the base camp of the Yellow Turbans in Jizhou, there are almost no normal families in the city. Even if there were, they were all wiped out by Zhang Liang and others during the six months of siege.

So after the Han army entered the city, it can be said that everything they saw was spoils of war.

Even the beautiful women and maids looted by the Yellow Turban Army from other places became the objects of competition among the generals.

As for who the original owner was, no one cared anymore.

Tens of thousands of Han infantry and cavalry divided up all the wealth in the city.

Except for Fu Xie, almost all the generals made a fortune, and Wei Zhe was no exception.

Of course, he didn't want beautiful women or pretty maids, but mainly wanted gold, silver and books.

However, he distributed the cartloads of gold, silver, and other valuables to his cavalry, leaving behind only agricultural and industrial texts such as "Fan Sheng Zhi Shu" and "Four People's Monthly Orders." It's unknown where the Yellow Turbans collected these, but they were quite comprehensive, though Confucian classics were extremely rare.

……

"My dear, you are so generous! Please leave some for me!"

The next afternoon, Zhong Hu couldn't help but mutter it again.

However, Wei Zhe said casually without even raising his eyelids: "People's hearts are more important than wealth!"

Personal charm is also based on material things, and is even a part of it.

Didn’t you see that after he distributed these five carts of wealth, the cavalrymen who came later were almost the same as the Liaodong Yicong?
It’s not that Wei Zhe wants to value righteousness over money, but that’s just the way it is in this era.

Take Dong Zhuo, for example. In the first year of the Yongkang reign, the rebellious Qiang people invaded the Three Prefectures. Zhang Huan dispatched his military commanders, General Dong Zhuo and Yin Duan, to defeat them, beheading their leader and capturing over 10,000 prisoners. Later, Dong Zhuo was appointed a doctor for his meritorious service and was awarded 9,000 pieces of silk by the court. However, Dong Zhuo distributed all of this among his subordinates and soldiers.

For grassroots people like him and Dong Zhuo who have no family background, valuing righteousness over money is the only option.

But then again, the Han army's spoils of war were indeed quite a lot this time. Huangfu Song counted more than 30,000 carts of treasures alone, and other supplies such as food and armor were counted by room.

Therefore, after the Battle of Guangzong, Huangfu Song rested here for several days, in order to report the victory to Luoyang and let the soldiers rest for a while.

After all, there was still "Earth Lord General" Zhang Bao entrenched in Xiaquyang, so it was not time to celebrate yet. However, the facts proved that Huangfu Song was still too cautious.

After Huangfu Song led his victorious army to Xiaquyang and joined forces with Julu Prefect Guo Dian's 20,000 county troops, the city was captured and Zhang Bao died within a few days.

In fact, this result is not too surprising.

Even though Zhang Bao had more than 100,000 Yellow Turbans under his command, his elite soldiers were no more than 10,000 at most. The real main force of the Yellow Turban Army was on the side of Zhang Jue and Zhang Liang, and Xia Quyang could only be considered a detachment at best.

This is also the reason why Julu Prefect Guo Dian was able to block him in Xiaquyang City with only 20,000 volunteer soldiers from the county.

Do you really think Zhang Bao doesn't want to escape? He can't escape anyway.

It's his own fault, since he was the one who chose Xiaquyang.

Unlike Guangzong, which is surrounded by water on one side and plains on three sides, Xiaquyang is surrounded by water on three sides and has a plain on one side. After flowing through here, the Zhang River forms a "J"-shaped river channel outside the city of Xiaquyang.

Zhang Bao chose to station his troops at Xiaquyang because it was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

However, Zhang Bao obviously did not learn the art of war well, and did not know the truth that "if you fight quickly, you will survive; if you don't fight quickly, you will die; this is a dead end"!

Since then, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which lasted for more than nine months, was finally put down!

……

November 3, the seventh year of Guanghe.

Let’s not talk about how Luoyang felt after receiving Huangfu Song’s victory report.

After taking Xiaquyang and killing Zhang Bao, Huangfu Song finally showed leniency to the Han army.

Even if there were still some Yellow Turban remnants causing chaos in various states across the country, he could only guard Xiaquyang with his large army.

After all, he can't move at this time, otherwise Luoyang will think too much.

Of course, Wei Zhe and others would love to have such a situation.

It should be noted that since February this year, every soldier under Huangfu Song has not had a break.

Fighting for thousands of miles across the north and south, running around and working hard, how can the bitterness be described with just one word "hardship"!
It is because they are lucky that they are still alive today, otherwise they would have been buried in some wilderness.

Huangfu Song also knew that everyone had worked hard, so he specially held a celebration banquet in the camp, with singing and dancing, and endless drinking, so that everyone could relax.

As for the necessary materials and personnel, they will naturally be provided by the surrounding powerful families.

And they were indeed happy to serve, and even hoped that Huangfu Song could clean up the entire Jizhou by the way.

Therefore, the celebration banquet in the central military tent was a great success for both the host and the guests.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, the clapping of drums and music;
The singing and dancing are so beautiful that it is a feast for the eyes.

And when the big tent was brightly lit, with fine wine, beautiful women, and delicacies from land and sea, Wei Zhe even thought for a moment that he was in some peaceful and prosperous era with banquets on rivers and seas.

So in the atmosphere filled with the aroma of wine, Wei Zhe gradually became a little confused.

It was not until the banquet reached midnight that the generals returned to their respective headquarters in a drunken state.

As for Huangfu Song, who has always been old-fashioned and serious, he was in a good mood and drank a few more glasses tonight.

However, just when Huangfu Song was feeling overwhelmed, an old friend from Liangzhou suddenly came to visit him at night.

This man was called Yan Zhong, a famous scholar in Liangzhou, and had known Huangfu Song for a long time.

Huangfu Song didn't care about his old friend's visit at first, but before Yan Zhong said a few words, Huangfu Song was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat, and the remaining bit of drunkenness disappeared in an instant.

The reason is simple: Yan Zhong's words are simply too shocking.

Huangfu Song didn't even dare to finish listening to Yan Zhong's words, and urged him to leave quickly.

However, after Yan Zhong left in disappointment, Huangfu Song in the big tent fell into silence.

After a long while, he looked at the waning moon in the sky and finally couldn't help but sigh, "Have the people of Liangzhou become so disappointed with the court?"

One leaf falls and the world knows autumn.

If even a famous scholar in Liangzhou like Yan Zhong has abandoned the Han Dynasty, will other people in Liangzhou still be loyal?

Thinking of this, Huangfu Song's joy in pacifying the Yellow Turbans suddenly disappeared.

For some reason, he had a vague feeling that the world would be in turmoil from now on...

(End of this chapter)