In the initial operation, except for a few teams who did not do anything excessive under the constraints of the team leader, most of the Yellow Turban Army not only wiped out the powerful landlords, but also launched an indiscriminate sweep against ordinary people.
For a time, many cities that were breached were looted, and even the homes of some Taiping Dao believers in the city were robbed, making these Taiping Dao believers extremely dissatisfied.
They were very angry and argued with the people who robbed them, which even led to a fight between people wearing yellow scarves and people wearing yellow scarves with knives.
This phenomenon happened so often that Gao Zheng and other officials had to issue an order stating that the property of people wearing yellow scarves could not be plundered. Everyone was our own people, and we should not rob our own people.
After the promulgation of this order, the situation has been alleviated to a certain extent, but it has not been fundamentally solved.
There are always people who rob and ignore the superiors. Gao Zheng and others have not issued any punishment regulations for this behavior, and there is no deterrent effect.
However, the initial uprising of the Yellow Turban Army went smoothly. It officially started on the 29th of the first lunar month and reached Litao County, the county seat, on the 7th of February. The escaped Julu governor.
Then the poor prefect was treated as a lackey of the Luoyang court and was killed to sacrifice the flag and Zhang Jiao by the way.
In mid-February, the Yellow Turban Army expanded to 50,000 men and captured almost the entire Julu County.
At this time, a very clear question was placed in front of them.
How should they take further action under the current situation?
Should we continue to operate in Hebei and Jizhou, or go somewhere else?
What’s even worse is that although they swept away all the enemies in Julu County, wiped out more than 200 families of powerful landlords, and destroyed all the wealthy families, they did not even go to [contact the Taiping Road Marshals of other states]. Do.
No one was even sent to inform them that the three Zhang Jiao brothers were dead.
Without the leadership and command of a relatively powerful leader like Zhang Jiao, these three people thought of nothing and only focused on the present.
And when they realized that they should first notify everyone to rebel together, another problem was placed in front of them.
When Zhang Jue was not dead, Zhang Jue was of course the boss of the uprising and the leader of everyone.
But now that Zhang Jiao is dead, Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao are also dead, then who should lead this uprising?
Who listens to whom?
Who will direct whom?
Who will be the boss?
Who will be the younger brother?
After this practical issue was put before us, differences broke out among the first three advocates of the uprising, Gao Zheng, Yan Sheng and Wang Meng.
A dispute ensued among themselves over the issue, and they could not come to an agreement.
Gao Zheng was the oldest, Yan Sheng was the first to become a Taiping Dao believer, and Wang Meng had a higher status in the sect than the other two. Each of the three had their own support and rhetoric, and in the previous stage of military operations, it was difficult to distinguish them.
Before going external, conflicts broke out within them. They suddenly realized that they needed a leader, but who was this leader and who would be responsible for giving orders was a problem.
None of the three people was convinced by the other, but everyone had something to say. They called their respective younger brothers over to have a meeting together, and they all felt that they had something to say, but no one could convince the other.
So in the end, everyone was unable to bridge the differences and could only agree that the three of them would work together to handle things. If there was any matter, the three of them would consult with each other, and the minority would obey the majority, and that would be the way it was done.
But this is only a very temporary measure with no real binding force. It all depends on the level of personal consciousness. Once real interests are involved, it is over.
The three of them can't bridge the gap on their own, let alone things in other areas.
Moreover, the Qushuai who were dispatched to Yuzhou, Jingzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou and other places were all Zhang Jiao's proud disciples, and their status in Taiping Road was relatively high, which was not comparable to them.
Even when Zhang Jiao was still there, they showed some signs of independence and disobedience to Zhang Jiao, and they had a sense of self-respect as a supporter of the army. Even some of the utensils used locally were no different from Zhang Jiao.
Zhang Jiao also had some complaints about this.
Zhang Mancheng, Bo Cai, Peng Tuo, Bu Si, and Zhao Hong each have many followers. Which one is easy to get along with?
If they really knew that Zhang Jiao was dead, it would be a blessing not to separate the family immediately. How dare you expect them to obey orders?
As a result, the heads of Gao Zheng and the other three people began to spin.
"If we tell them that the great sage master is dead, we all know what the result will be. Not to mention whether they will obey the order and cooperate with us, we just want to talk about whether this battle should be fought, and whether Huang Tian should stand up , with them, there is probably no guarantee.”
Gao Zheng first expressed his opinion: "So I think we should not tell them these things for the time being. Anyway, the news does not spread that fast. It is difficult to tell the truth from the false, and they cannot guarantee it. We insist that the Great Master is still here." Isn’t that enough if he’s not dead? Could they just come back and see the great sage’s body?”
Yan Sheng looked hesitant.
"Will they believe it easily? They have a lot of troops and are far away. It is not impossible for them to surrender to the Han Dynasty immediately. By betraying us, they can still get high-ranking officials and generous salaries. I really can't tell them, but I'm afraid it's not that easy. ."
Wang Meng's view is more direct.
"I think we shouldn't think too much. Just follow the great master's plan before his death and let them work together. Otherwise, we will fight alone. Once the Han army comes, the result will be unpredictable, right?"
"That's what it says."
Gao Zheng said: "But we are the first to inherit the legacy of the great virtuous master and decide to start the uprising. If they fight better than us and make more achievements than us, don't we have to listen to their orders in turn? Are you willing?"
These words touched the hearts of Yan Sheng and Wang Meng.
They admired Zhang Jiao, but not the others. There was no one among the three who was superior, let alone those guys outside who had eyes on their heads.
They are also full of contradictions.
So these three people didn't know what to do.
Not to mention this aspect, they have not yet determined how to fight after the connection.
Zhang Jiao's plan was to let Ma Yuanyi rebel in Luoyang first, and then they could seize Luoyang in one fell swoop, and then they could seize the city and land in a leisurely manner.
But now the situation suddenly changed, Zhang Jiao died, and they started fighting. It is estimated that the news has reached Luoyang now, and Ma Yuanyi's move is considered useless.
So what to do next?
Is it to expand the base by conquering local territory?
Or go to Luoyang to win the bird position?
Or go south to the Central Plains to join the major commanders in the Central Plains?
The third path is definitely not an option.
Now going south to the Central Plains, with their strength, they probably won't be able to convince the crowd. This flag may be taken away by someone, and their subordinates are in danger of being annexed.
It is quite dangerous to attack Luoyang to seize the bird position. Luoyang may have already taken precautions, and they find it a little difficult to directly attack the middle gate with the elite Han troops in Luoyang.
Then there is only one option left.
Stay in Jizhou to expand your base area and strength, gain a foothold in Jizhou first, and then wait and see the situation.
But we cannot wait and see this situation in vain.
If they were the only ones to rebel and the Han army attacked alone, they would soon be unable to bear it and would have to find someone to share the pressure.
So Gao Zheng came up with a way.
"Let's lie about the order of the wise master and let Bo Cai and Zhang Mancheng lead the army to attack Luoyang. Whoever captures Luoyang will be put in charge of Guanzhong. In this way, they will definitely send troops to Luoyang. Emperor Han If we don’t have time to worry about others, we will have time to develop and grow in Jizhou.”
(End of chapter)
