Hearing the constant murmurs around him, Liu Bei couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
He was in a panic!
Even though he had escaped from prison back then, so what?
For one, there was no evidence.
Secondly,
As a prefect, one cannot leave their post without the orders of their superior.
Yes!
This time, Emperor Ling had issued a decree to rally troops, and prefects from all over could come to support the emperor.
But he hadn't left Guangyang at this time!
It had been several months since he left Youzhou, right?
He had neither reported back to Emperor Ling nor informed his direct superior, Qin Feng...
"Hiss~!"
The more he thought about it, the more fearful Liu Bei became, and he knelt down with a 'plop'.
"Governor, I, I had an urgent matter, and thus did not have time to report to you."
"Is that so?"
Seeing Liu Bei readily kneel and beg for mercy, a flicker of boredom crossed Qin Feng's eyes.
"Never mind!"
"Get up!"
"I was merely asking casually upon seeing you here. Don't take it to heart!"
Saying this, Qin Feng feigned as if he had just remembered something, and looked apologetically at Lu Zhi.
"Lord Lu, look at me, I've already caused you trouble as soon as I arrived!"
"N-nothing..."
After glaring fiercely at Liu Bei, Lu Zhi forced a smile onto his face.
"It is an event we can only wish for, for Governor Qin to be able to come!"
"Who doesn't know that the governor commands a strong army and powerful horses? Are the mere Yellow Turbans not easily defeated?"
"Haha, of course!"
Listening to Lu Zhi's continuous praise, Qin Feng's face also broke into a smile.
"Lord Lu, to be frank, I am here precisely to fight the Yellow Turbans!"
"Those fellows took me captive during the chaos, and this is a debt that cannot be left unpaid!"
"No question about it!"
"We will certainly use my Youzhou elite cavalry for the vanguard, ensuring a resounding victory to begin with!"
"Excellent!"
Lu Zhi, who had been waiting for these words, was so excited that he almost clapped his hands in applause.
What was the reason for him to humble himself and come here?
Was it not for this?!
As long as Qin Feng's elite cavalry led the charge, followed by infantry to press the attack.
The mere Yellow Turbans would be conquered in no time!
Thinking of this,
Lu Zhi, whose mood had greatly improved, found Qin Feng more pleasing to the eye and directly made a gesture of invitation.
"Governor Qin, let us discuss the details inside!"
"No problem!"
Noticing the change in Lu Zhi's expression, a mysterious smile touched Qin Feng's lips.
I hope you can still smile in a few days!
Using a rebel leader to fight rebels?
How dare you!
If I don't disrupt this allied army for you, do you really think I, a rebel, am harmless?
It's just that they have a low drop rate for now, and the barbarians are indeed good at drawing aggro.
But the powerful families within the Great Han are no less formidable!
As the saying goes: In times of plenty, landlords feast on peasants; in times of famine, peasants feast on landlords.
And the result?
These powerful families, who controlled vast tracts of land, exploited the peasants relentlessly in times of plenty. That's one thing.
But did you do the same in times of famine?
And they even had the audacity to claim:
If you don't do it, there are plenty of others who will. There are so many refugees in the world who can't get enough to eat.
Did they ever consider how these refugees came to be?
Was it not precisely the good deeds of these powerful families?
As the saying goes: Wearing blue and not rebelling is like wearing white in vain. It's the same for those who don't kill the powerful families while wearing Han attire!
Unfortunately,
Lu Zhi had no idea what Qin Feng was thinking and was still chatting with him.
...
In Henei Commandery,
In Jixian County,
Outside the city walls,
Continuous Yellow Turban encampments were arranged in neat rows.
Inside the command tent,
Zhang Bao, who had rushed from hundreds of miles away, was reprimanding his third brother in a low voice.
"Look at the mess you've made? You didn't even tell me when you left!"
"If it weren't for Big Brother noticing something was wrong, you would have planned to fight those soldiers alone?"
"I, I..."
Facing Zhang Bao's reprimand, Zhang Liang also felt wronged and gritted his teeth, saying,
"I never expected the Great Han to be so shameless and raise another two hundred thousand troops!"
"More than two hundred thousand?"
Zhang Bao glared at his third brother impatiently and reprimanded him with disappointment,
"Don't just look at what's in front of you, think about what's behind, look around!"
"Qin Feng's two hundred thousand troops are watching menacingly. Have you forgotten about that fellow?"
"Qin Feng?"
Zhang Liang was stunned when he heard this and said uncertainly,
"Aren't we both rebels? Why would he come to fight us?"
"Why wouldn't he?"
Thinking of the intelligence brought by spies, Zhang Bao's voice turned cold as he said:
"As long as we are dealt with by uniting with the imperial court, wouldn't a weakened and unsuspecting court be a match for him?"
"Wouldn't the world be his for the taking then?"
"Besides..."
"If he truly wouldn't make a move against us, what about the First Army in Jizhou?"
"This, this..."
Zhang Liang really wanted to say that wasn't something we abandoned and he just picked up!
But seeing his elder brother's grim expression, Zhang Liang swallowed the words that were about to be spoken.
Forget it!
Since this was his elder brother, so be it!
Of course!
If it weren't for the subsequent arrival of another two hundred thousand troops, Zhang Liang wouldn't have minded teaching Zhang Bao how to treat his brother.
But alas!
In the face of two hundred thousand Yellow Turbans, Zhang Liang knew that in the end, he was just a younger brother.
"By the way~!"
Thinking of the confluence of the allied forces on the other side of the river, Zhang Bao asked with some uncertainty,
"Third Brother, what was your planned operation before?"
"Cross the river!"
Pointing to the simple map in front of him, Zhang Liang said as a matter of course,
"I planned to lead the brothers across the river at midnight and directly attack their encampment!"
"Idiot!"
After cursing Zhang Liang fiercely, Zhang Bao felt fortunate that he had rushed over.
"Are you even capable of fighting?"
"Huh?"
"We clearly have the advantage now, why would we cross the river to fight them?"
"This, this..."
Zhang Liang shrunk his neck, pondered carefully for a moment, and then said earnestly,
"Second Brother, because Luoyang is on the other side of the river. If we don't go over, how can we attack Luoyang?"
"???"
Hearing the answer his younger brother gave, Zhang Bao ran his hair through his hair in frustration.
"Luoyang is on the other side of the river, what is the necessary connection to us fighting the allied forces?"
"We are the attacking party, that is true, but who in their right mind would foolishly engage in a head-on confrontation?"
"The Yellow River is so long!"
"Can't we just create some feints to confuse them and send people across from elsewhere?"
"Besides!"
"Even if we were to engage in a head-on confrontation, we would have to get the entire army across first!"
"You plan to move hundreds of thousands of troops across the river in one night?"
"I..."
Facing Zhang Bao, who looked as if he was about to devour him, Zhang Liang sighed in dejection.
"Second Brother, since you know everything, why don't you stop asking me?"
"Anyway, the command is in your hands now. Whatever you say, I'll do!"
"This..."
Zhang Bao, who had intended to lecture his brother a few more times, couldn't help but pat his forehead upon hearing this.
It's over!
He himself had been angered to the point of confusion by his annoying little brother!
Indeed!
Now that the command was in his hands, he could just issue orders!
Thinking of this,
Zhang Bao ignored the somewhat dejected Zhang Liang and roared at the messenger outside,
"Summon all the commanders of the large divisions, not a single one is to be missed!"
"Yes!"
The Yellow Turban soldier who received the order acknowledged and hurried off to deliver the message.
Seeing this,
Zhang Bao returned to the command tent and kicked Zhang Liang impatiently.
"Get up quickly. If they see you like this later, what will they think!"