Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

He stood up abruptly, so quickly that he knocked over the chair behind him, but he was completely unaware of it.

"Is that really true?!"

Zhang Jiao grabbed Zhang Liang's arm, his voice hoarse with excitement.

"Absolutely true! The spies risked their lives to bring back the news!"

Zhang Liang nodded emphatically, his face full of excitement.

"Bo Cai really made us proud this time! He surrounded two of the imperial court's lieutenant generals!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Zhang Jiao said "good" three times in a row, as if the gloom of the past few days had been dispelled by this good news from Yingchuan.

He loosened his grip on the beam and paced back and forth in the hall. His previously furrowed brows relaxed, and he even revealed the first genuine smile he had shown in recent days.

"Bo Cai, well done! You didn't let me down!"

He walked to the window, his gaze seemingly reaching beyond the city walls of Guangzong towards the distant direction of Yingchuan, and murmured to himself:

"Well done... keep fighting like this! Bo Cai, keep it up, quickly break through Changshe, and then take advantage of the momentum to march straight to Luoyang!"

"Once Luoyang falls into chaos, the very foundation of the Han dynasty will be utterly shaken! Then, let's see how Lu Zhi will be able to comfortably besiege my Guangzong!"

"The more chaotic the world, the better! The more chaotic it is, the greater our chances as the Yellow Turban Army!"

His words were full of anticipation, as if he could already see Luoyang engulfed in flames and the Yellow Turban banners raised in every prefecture and county across the land.

Zhang Jiao was still basking in the news that Bo Cai had besieged Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly flung open, and a gust of cold wind carrying the stench of blood rushed in.

A Yellow Turban soldier, covered in blood and with his helmet nowhere to be found, tumbled and fell to the ground, his voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Great...Great wise teacher! Something terrible has happened! Commander Cheng Yuanzhi...he...he has been defeated!"

The bamboo slip in Zhang Jiao's hand fell to the table with a "thud." He leaned forward, staring intently at the messenger.

"What did you say? Defeated? Cheng Yuanzhi has an army of 100,000!"

The deserter cried out, his voice trembling with sobs:

"The entire army...the entire army was wiped out! That Prefect of Zhuojun, Liu Ce, somehow managed to acquire a force of black-armored cavalry; they were so fierce they seemed otherworldly!"

"Commander Cheng and Deputy General Deng were killed in a single encounter! Of the 100,000 brothers, some died, some scattered, and very few escaped!"

"One hundred thousand...one hundred thousand troops..." Zhang Jiao felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his body swayed twice, and he quickly used his hands to support himself on the table to avoid falling over.

The joy I felt from Bo Cai's good news was instantly extinguished by this bucket of ice water. My happiness shattered into pieces, leaving only a bone-chilling cold.

Zhang Jiao closed his eyes, his chest heaving violently. After a long while, he slowly opened them, his eyes burning with fury. He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself in a low, hoarse voice:

"Liu Ce...it's Liu Ce again!"

This guy used to ruthlessly arrest and expel his disciples who were preaching in Zhuojun.

These old and new grudges piled up together, gnawing at his heart like a venomous snake.

"They opposed me even before they started their uprising, and now they've swallowed up my army of 100,000! A full 100,000 believers!"

This loss far exceeded any previous defeat against the government troops, how could it not cause him immense heartache and resentment?

……

Luoyang, the Imperial Palace, Deyang Hall.

Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, sat on the dragon throne, with bamboo slips piled up on the table, all of them reports of defeats sent from various places—today this county was captured by the Yellow Turban army, tomorrow that governor abandoned the city and fled.

Latest battle report:

Lu Zhi and Zhang Jiao were locked in a stalemate in Guangzong, while Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were surrounded by the Yellow Turban Army and trapped in Changshe City, unable to escape!

Liu Hong grabbed the bamboo slips and smashed them against the palace pillar, roaring:

"Useless! All of you are useless! Before the war, you all boasted that the Yellow Turban rebels were mere chickens and dogs, easily defeated with a flick of your finger!"

"And now? Our soldiers are being chased and beaten by a bunch of peasants. I'd rather keep a bunch of toads than you guys; at least they'd make a commotion!"

The officials kneeling below huddled together, holding their breath.

Grand Commandant Qiao Xuan was about to look up and say, "Your Majesty, please calm down," when Liu Hong grabbed an inkstone and threw it at him.

"Calm down? What else can you say besides that nonsense! The Han Dynasty is about to be changed to the Zhang family!"

Liu Hong stumbled down the steps, kicking the battle report so hard it flew all over the hall:

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly! These are the 'loyal ministers and generals' of our great Han Dynasty! The prefect ran faster than a rabbit, and the governor died a more miserable death than a chicken!"

The officials scrambled to pick up the bamboo slips, exchanging glances—who didn't know about the repeated defeats?

But seeing the blood-written words "A certain prefecture has fallen, and the prefect has committed suicide by fire" and "A certain general has fled and the entire army has been wiped out" still made my legs go weak with fear.

Suddenly, a sound came from outside the hall.

"Report—"

A messenger rushed in, "Your Majesty, urgent battle report!"

"Read it!" Liu Hong said calmly.

"Your Majesty! Dongjun has been captured by the Yellow Turban rebels, and Prefect Wang has been killed in battle... The Prefect of Yingchuan fled with his family last night!"

Liu Hong stared at the messenger:

"Another one ran away? I remember he swore last month to live or die with the city?"

The messenger said, "I heard that Prefect Wang... the prefect said, 'Where there's life, there's hope...'"

"In your ancestors' eyes!"

Liu Hong kicked him to the ground, then turned and roared at the imperial guards outside the hall:

"Go! Tie up that runaway governor and his entire family, and let them be reunited! They want Qingshan, don't they? Very well, I'll send them to the underworld to ask King Yama for it!"

After saying that, he suddenly stared at the messenger's feet and gave a sinister smile:

"When you first entered the hall, didn't you step in with your right foot? I hate it when someone steps on the imperial steps with their right foot—that's considered unlucky! Drag them out and behead them!"

The messenger's wailing echoed far and wide, causing all the officials to shudder and instinctively bring their feet together.

(Messenger: Listen to me, thank you, because of you...)

Liu Hong, panting heavily, surveyed his assembled officials and suddenly called out the name of General He Jin:

"General He, didn't you say you could quell the rebellion with 50,000 troops? Now the Yellow Turban rebels are almost at the Yellow River!"

He Jin broke out in a cold sweat: "Your Majesty, the rebels are numerous and powerful; we need to consider this carefully..."

Liu Hong interrupted him directly: "Planning my foot! I think you want to wait until Zhang Jiao sits on my throne before you start planning!"

He then pointed to Situ Yuan Wei:

"And you! You keep complaining about the empty treasury, but now that thieves have looted all the grain from the official granaries, are you satisfied?"

Yuan Wei lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.

To deal with the cunning Zhang Wen, Liu Hong simply pinched his nose and imitated his tone:

"Your Majesty, do not be hasty; suppressing bandits is as easy as cooking a small fish." Does this mean you treat my empire like lamb for hot pot?

An official below was trying so hard not to laugh that he squealed like a pig, and quickly pinched his thigh hard.

Liu Hong became more and more excited as he cursed, bringing up old grievances from the time of Emperor Huan to the late emperor drooling during his afternoon nap. Every word he uttered was devoid of profanity, yet he practically cursed the ancestral graves of all the officials until they were smoking.

Attendant Zhang Rang tried to smooth things over, saying just as "Your Majesty, please take care of your health," but Liu Hong immediately retorted:

"Take care? When Zhang Jiao storms the palace, I'll be the first to shove you into a well and wish you well!"