Chapter 2939: Ambitions
For the next few days, Zu An and the others trained the troops, repaired the tattered city walls, and maintained watch to guard against the Yellow Turban Army’s vengeance. However, Zu An also discovered that taking in the surrendered soldiers was easier said than done.
First, the surrendered soldiers resembled bandits more than soldiers. They had many bad habits. It was one thing for them to squabble and cause trouble, but what was worse was their inclination to plunder from the local populace and take advantage of young ladies. Zu An was enraged by their behavior. He ordered for those who engaged in such despicable behaviors to be harshly punished.
Second, the surrendered soldiers didn’t harbor great loyalty for Zu An. If a chance arose, they wouldn’t hesitate to stab him in the back.
Other than those issues, rations were still a problem.
Zu An had picked out three thousand elites from the Yellow Turban Army to join his force, while freeing the others. However, the Yellow Turban Army brought their families along wherever they went. In other words, he had to take care of not just three thousand soldiers but their families as well. An astronomical amount of rations was being expended each day. They were still able to feed everyone thanks to the provincial granary, but this wasn't a long-term plan.
Zu An finally understood why others often said that theory was only as thick as paper.
In history, Cao Cao had accepted a million of the Qing Province’s Yellow Turban Army soldiers, bulking up his force while saving him a lot of money. In contrast, the other marquises massacred the Yellow Turban Army, not showing any mercy. He had thought that the other marquises were foolish to have not taken in the Yellow Turban Army’s soldiers, but it turned out that this option caused difficulties as well.
The problem regarding the rations could be solved later, though. What was more urgent was the crisis right before their eyes.The Yellow Turban Army’s General Gao Sheng had learned about Deng Mao and Cheng Zhiyuan’s fate, and he planned to attack Ji County with his army of fifty thousand. Furthermore, Zhang Bao’s army was on standby, ready to be mobilized if needed.
In comparison, the combined forces of Zu An and Zou Jing didn’t even number ten thousand. While their soldiers were more well-trained than an average Yellow Turban Army soldier, the huge numerical disparity still made this an impossible war to win. They needed to find reinforcements.
In fact, Zu An had already sent someone to Liaodong Commandery to request reinforcement from Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan was Liu Bei’s old classmate and Liaodong’s Chief Clerk. As he had to fend against the northern barbarians, he had a division of elite mounted troops. If Zu An could secure his help, their chances of victory would be higher. But Liaodong was located at the easternmost border of Eastern Han, several counties away from Ji County. As the saying went, a distant lake wouldn’t help in extinguishing a fire.
Zu An and Zou Jing discussed the matter, and they decided to part ways and request reinforcement from the nearby provinces and commanderies. Zou Jing would head to Gu Commandery, which he had some ties with, whereas Zu An would make his way to the neighboring Zhongshan Commandery in the west.
Zhongshan Commandery’s marshal, Zhang Chun, had an imposing reputation, and he had a powerful army. In terms of military prowess, he was on par with Liaodong Commandery’s Gongsun Zan. Only Zhongshan Commandery remained relatively unaffected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Zu An planned to travel to Zhongshan Commandery alone, but Yun Jianyue advised him to bring Tingxue with him. He was about to refute that suggestion when Yun Jianyue whispered into his ear, and he ultimately decided to go along with it.
Tingxue was unbothered. She would rather travel with Zu An than deal with miscellaneous matters here. Shortly after leaving Ji County, she asked, “What did she tell you before we left?”
“Nothing much. She just told me to take care of you,” Zu An replied.
Yun Jianyue had advised him that since he had to collect the universal deities’ soul fragments, he needed to grasp every chance he had to bump up his favorability with Tingxue. She could tell that they had an ambiguous relationship that was above friendship, but beneath being lovers. He had to work a bit harder to push through the final hurdle.
She assured him that Ji County was in good hands. She had managed far more people than this back when she was the demonic sect’s leader. There had been an excited gleam in her eyes, as if she was dragging a virtuous lady into the pits of depravity.
Zu An was convinced by her words, though there was no way he could share them with Tingxue. Tingxue stared at him, unconvinced by his excuse, though she didn’t probe any further.
So, the two of them continued traveling in silence. Some time later, Tingxue suddenly asked, “Tell me more about that Yan Xuehen.”
Zu An was delighted to hear that. Her interest in this matter was a good start. So, he shared with her how he met Yan Xuehen and how they eventually fell in love.
Tingxue listened intently without interrupting him. A long time later, she finally asked, “What’s the situation between her and Yun Jianyue? Why are they always fighting with each other?”
“That’s a long story...” Zu An smiled. She might have lost most of her memories, but her disharmony with Yun Jianyue has already become second nature to her.
The two of them continued chatting while avoiding the Yellow Turban Army. Given their cultivation, as long as they avoided the Yellow Turbans’ encirclement, they would be safe even if they bumped into small groups along the way.
The devastation they witnessed along the way left Zu An with a heavy heart. While the Yellow Turban Army was a revolution of farmers and peasants, the ones who were suffering due to war across the provinces and commanderies were also the common populace. Not to mention that Eastern Han hadn’t completely declined yet. The Yellow Turban Army was destined to end in failure.
There were noticeably fewer people from the Yellow Turban Army around by the time they reached Zhongshan Commandery. The local populace they encountered along the way were thriving. Even Tingxue was awed by the capability of Zhongshan’s marshal.
It didn’t take long for soldiers to notice them. They stated their intent and were escorted to Zhongshan Commandery’s administrative capital, Lunu County. They were brought to Marshal Zhang Chun’s residence to seek an audience, but his servants informed them that the marshal was currently out, and they would have to wait several days for the marshal to return.
So, Zu An and Tingxue settled down in the city. While waiting for Zhang Chun’s return, they spent their time scouting for intelligence. They noticed that there were many Wuhuan people in Lunu County. The Wuhuans were an ethnic group in the empire’s north. Their relationship with the Eastern Han was fickle. Sometimes both sides invaded each other, but other times, they would mend ties and become friendly.
Zu An and Tingxue deduced that Zhang Chun must have borrowed the Wuhuans’ cavalry prowess to protect Zhongshan Commandery. This inspired Zu An. There were many ethnic groups north of You Province. They weren’t under the same leadership, and it was common for them to have conflicting interests or even harbor animosity against one another. Zu An could borrow the strength of one group to curb another. If he could maneuver their politics, these groups could just become potent weapons for him to conquer the world. So, he reached out to the Wuhuans, hoping to gather information about the grasslands.
But not long later, a servant approached him and informed him that the marshal had returned. So, Zu An made his way to the marshal’s manor together with Tingxue.
Zhang Chun was sitting in the main seat, leisurely sipping on tea when the duo arrived. His eyes lit up when he saw the beautiful Tingxue, and he quickly stood up to warmly welcome them. “Ah, it’s Lord Liu! Could this be the renowned Miss Guan who slew Cheng Zhiyuan?”
Zu An frowned. He has thoroughly investigated our background. But since he was here to make a request, he politely exchanged pleasantries with Zhang Chun first before revealing his intent.
Zhang Chun looked troubled. “It’s not that I don’t want to reinforce you, but Hejian, Anping, and Changshan have been taken over by the Yellow Turban Army. Zhongshan is facing enemies on three fronts. I have to prioritize the safety of Zhongshan’s populace. However, you don’t have to worry. Why don’t you send a message to Ji County and call your subordinates to head over to Zhongshan? I am at least confident I can protect you all here.”
Zu An’s heart sank. Not only is he refusing to reinforce us, but he also intends to eat us whole.
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Translator Note:
I’ll be interchanging ethnic group and barbarians.
The exact term used here is 胡人, which is basically used to refer to foreigners. However, foreigners are often viewed with disdain in this era, so the term has a connotation of ‘barbarians’. (Which is not surprising since there were nomadic tribes that often plundered from the people, and wars and invasions were commonplace in that era.)
