Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 86 Zhang Jue, do you still remember your original intention?

Just one day after Zhang Bao sent the letter, a Yellow Turban army of more than 70,000 soldiers marched towards the city of Xindu.

Inside Dong Zhuo's army tent, the charcoal fire was crackling and burning fiercely. The jumping flames danced wildly, making everyone's faces look gloomy and uncertain.

The army of more than 70,000 people came in a mighty force, so it was natural that they could not escape the detection of the scouts.

However, the intelligence obtained by the scout camp Sima Zhang Ji made everyone silent, and it was not because of the number of people.

No matter how many peasants there are, they are still peasants. They are holding inferior weapons that cannot even be called weapons, and they do not pose a big threat to the Han army.

But among the 70,000 troops under Zhang Jue, more than 10,000 were wearing armor, equipped with the standard ring-handled swords and long spears of the Han army, and were also issued a certain number of crossbows, and even had siege equipment such as battering rams. Such armaments were enough to make this Yellow Turban Army truly worthy of being called an "army"!
Li Jue's face was filled with suspicion, his eyes wide open as he looked at Zhang Ji, the commander of the scout camp, with a questioning look. He turned his head slightly and whispered in his ear, "Shidu, are you sure you're not mistaken? How could those peasants come up with so many tricks?"

Zhang Ji shook his head helplessly. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that the Yellow Turban Army had such weapons.

They had been in Xindu County for two months and had fought dozens of battles with the Yellow Turban Army, large and small, and had already fully understood the Yellow Turban Army's strengths. How could they have such complete weapons?
Among Zhang Bao's 60,000 Yellow Turban soldiers, only 3,000 were able to wear leather armor, and only one-third of the soldiers were equipped with swords and other sharp iron weapons.

There were more than a thousand bows and crossbows, but the number of arrows was too small.

In a county town, the arsenal was not well stocked and could only arm about 400 people.

Among these 400 men, 50% were armored and nearly 30% were equipped with bows and crossbows. However, the first order Lu Zhi issued to the governors and county magistrates of Jizhou after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was, "If the battle is exhausted and the city cannot be defended, the armory and weapons should be burned to cut off the enemy's supplies, and the crime of losing the territory can be forgiven."

In other words, if the city could not be defended, as long as all the weapons in the arsenal were burned, the guilt of losing the city could be avoided.

As for what circumstances are considered to be unable to defend the city, this standard is very flexible.

To put it bluntly, Lu Zhi knew the character of these county governors and magistrates, and did not expect them to fight to the death, but even if they wanted to abandon the city and flee, they had to burn the armory first.

This is also the reason why the Yellow Turban Army captured so many cities but did not have many weapons and armor.

However, things are different now. The Yellow Turban Army equipped with such weapons can no longer be taken lightly.

All the generals in the tent were silent, and they all looked sideways at Dong Zhuo who was still sitting calmly in the position of commander.

Dong Zhuo folded his hands on the table, tapping the tabletop rhythmically with his fingers. His face was as gloomy as water and he said nothing.

Although the familiar face had not changed, it looked particularly hideous and terrifying at this moment, as if the person in front of them was not their General, but a bear that had quietly sneaked into the tent at some point, sitting in the position of the commander-in-chief, ready to devour anyone at any time.

At the same time, in the Yellow Turban camp, Zhang Bao excitedly mounted his horse, kicked the horse's belly hard, and rushed to meet his brother like an arrow.

Naturally, he could also obtain the intelligence that the Han army could obtain.

If not for the yellow turbans worn by everyone in this well-equipped army, he would have thought that it was reinforcements from the Han court.

I just don’t know where his brother got so many weapons from. Could it be that they were really given by the God of Heaven?
When Zhang Bao arrived in front of the army, he only saw a carriage with two large banners with "General Tiangong" and "Great Sage Teacher" on the left and right. When he entered the carriage and saw his brother whom he had been thinking about day and night, the excited smile on his face froze in an instant.

There was no majestic general in the carriage, only a haggard old man.

Zhang Jue leaned on the soft couch in the carriage, his back hunched like a dead branch, and he curled up in the corner, his originally wide yellow Taoist robe hanging empty.

His once dignified face now had sunken cheeks, his sallow skin was tinged with a sickly red, and his eyes were filled with cloudy gray. Where was the demeanor of the great and virtuous teacher who had followers across the eight states and commanded hundreds of thousands of followers?

"Big...brother?"

Zhang Bao's lips trembled as he boarded the carriage. He could hardly believe that the person in front of him was his brother. Suddenly, his vision went dark and his legs went weak. The Taoist boy in the carriage was quick-witted and held him firmly with both hands, thus preventing him from falling in the carriage.

"Brother, why have you come to this?" Zhang Bao cried, his voice tinged with tears, nearly collapsing. As if hearing Zhang Bao's voice, Zhang Jiao's scattered gaze gradually focused. He struggled to raise his head, the veins on his neck bulging as he strained to see the person before him, but could only see a blurry figure. His skinny hands trembled as he fumbled forward, mumbling, "Second...brother..."

Zhang Bao grabbed Zhang Jiao's hands. Those hands were as cold as ice. After feeling the body temperature in Zhang Bao's hands, they finally stopped moving.

He struggled to spit the blood and phlegm in his throat into the container in the Taoist boy's hand, then he let out a long sigh, and his whole body fell backwards as if all the strength had been drained away, with a strange flush on the surface of his skin.

Zhang Jue forced himself to stand, his hands bracing against the edge of the couch. The muscles in his arms tensed, and the haze in his eyes seemed to disappear. Zhang Bao's face became exceptionally clear in his sight, but two lines of hot tears could not be stopped from falling from his eyes. He sighed, "Second brother, it was me who dragged you and Third brother into this deadly situation."

"If I hadn't plotted to change the world when I was captured, perhaps the three of us could have been leading a leisurely and comfortable life. But it's a pity... I've implicated you."

In fact, ever since Tang Zhou informed on Ma Yuanyi and he was killed, Zhang Jue knew that the uprising was doomed to fail.

The uprising was forced to be brought forward by nearly a year, and many of his preparations were not yet completed.

Originally, he planned to further develop the officials in the counties and transfer as many weapons as possible from the arsenals of each county. However, before he could transfer them, the Han court learned of their uprising plan and launched a large-scale clearing operation.

At this point, Zhang Jue actually understood that if he had voluntarily surrendered himself to prison, his two younger brothers should have been able to survive like last time, and he would have been the only one to die.

I don't know whether he really wants to protect the people of the world or for his own ambition, but he still chooses to gamble on the last glimmer of hope.

Unfortunately, Lu Zhi's order to burn the armory caught him off guard and ruthlessly destroyed the last bit of hope in his heart.

He really didn't expect that the Han court was still alive and had produced such a prince who united internal forces and dared to personally lead an army to quell the rebellion, as well as so many capable ministers.

Thinking about it now, he really overestimated the strength of the Yellow Turbans spread across the eight states and thirty-six factions, and also underestimated the power of the afterglow of the four hundred years of the Han Empire.

Zhang Bao waved his hands, wanting to reach out and pat Zhang Jiao on the shoulder, but he didn't dare to use force. He silently withdrew his outstretched hands, forced a carefree smile on his face, and said nonchalantly, "How can there be any such thing as getting into trouble between brothers?"

Zhang Jue also nodded. The feelings between the three brothers were not false. They just knew it in their hearts. Besides, he didn't know how long he could hold on, so Zhang Jue turned the topic to the main topic.

"I used this... this broken body of mine to find a last chance for you and my third brother."

"I conquered Guangyang County and killed Youzhou Governor Guo Xun and Guangyang Prefect Liu Wei. The county's armory was intact. I brought these weapons back to you."

As he spoke, Zhang Jue suddenly felt a fishy-sweet taste in his mouth. He covered his mouth fiercely, but still couldn't hold it in. With a "wow" a mouthful of blood spurted out of his throat and splashed onto the couch in front of him.

"Brother!"

Zhang Bao tightly grasped Zhang Jiao's skinny arm. Zhang Jiao also held Zhang Bao's hand and took a deep breath. For some reason, he had a premonition that these might be the last few breaths he would take in this world.

Zhang Jue gasped for breath, each word seeming to exhaust all his strength: "Han... Ting... Prince Han Ting!"

As he spoke, Zhang Jue's vision darkened once more. However, he could still feel his heart beating with all its might, and the warmth in his hands. He murmured, "Outside Xindu City... Fight... Kill... Him!"

"My last...hope...to live...!"

As Zhang Jiao uttered the last word, the last breath he was reluctant to take also dissipated. His skinny arms lost their strength and drooped helplessly, unable to hold Zhang Bao's warm hands anymore, and his heart no longer beat.

Before his eyes completely lost their last glimmer of light, he seemed to hear the wails of millions of people. He also seemed to see the "Great God of Yellow Sky" questioning him with all the people who had been dragged into the war because of him: "Zhang Jue, do you still remember your original intention?"

Oh, original intention?

Whether it was for the people or for his own ambition, he could no longer remember it.

Let future generations judge the right and wrong, merits and demerits!
(2807 words)
(End of this chapter)