Liu Jin smiled and nodded, signaling everyone to take their seats on both sides, then asked, "Are the Yellow Turbans in the city pacified?"
Zhang He immediately stepped forward and respectfully said, "Reporting to General, the Yellow Turbans in the city have been completely annihilated. All those who resisted have been killed, and the rest have surrendered."
"However, our army is small, so we couldn't capture all of them. Many Yellow Turbans managed to escape during the chaos."
Liu Jin didn't seem surprised by this. With only seven thousand troops, being able to charge into Guangzong City during the chaos and achieve victory was already a great accomplishment.
He didn't expect to annihilate all the Yellow Turbans. After all, there were hundreds of thousands of them in the city, and although most were civilians with no fighting power, if they really wanted to flee, his small force couldn't capture them all.
As long as Guangzong City was pacified and Zhang Jiao was dead, there would be no major issues.
Even those Yellow Turbans who escaped wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.
Once the news of Zhang Jiao's death spread, the Yellow Turbans in various regions would be terrified. They would either open their gates and surrender, becoming captives of the Han Army, or break out and flee into the mountains, becoming bandits, no longer posing a threat to the imperial court.
Just then, Guan Yu, surrounded by soldiers, escorted four people towards them.
He smiled, clasped his hands, and respectfully said, "General."
"I captured many Yellow Turban Generals who were trying to escape outside the North Gate. They are all here now. How should they be handled?"
The Generals in the hall looked at the Yellow Turban Generals on the ground, who were bound with five flower knots, their eyes filled with terror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Liu Jin glanced at them a few times, then lost interest. He said in a cold tone, "Since they are enemy Generals, drag them out and behead them for public display. Seal their heads and send them to Luoyang."
As soon as he spoke, the four bound men's eyes filled with panic. Their bodies shook like sieves, and they continuously kowtowed, begging for mercy!
"General, we have already surrendered! Please don't kill us! Besides, the Han imperial army does not kill captives. If this gets out, it will harm General's reputation!"
Liu Jin sneered at this, his tone growing even more severe! "You traitors and rebels, who raised an army in rebellion, plundered, burned, and killed, bringing disaster to the land, causing countless civilians to be displaced and suffer heavy casualties—even as captives, you deserve to die!"
"Yun Chang, drag them out and execute them all!"
Upon receiving the order, Guan Yu immediately waved his hand, signaling the soldiers nearby to drag the men out and execute them.
A burly man in the crowd, his pupils filled with fear, seemingly unwilling to die like this, quickly shouted loudly, "Reporting to General, spare my life! I can atone for my crimes by rendering meritorious service!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Jin immediately waved his sleeve, signaling the two soldiers to pause.
He stared intently at the burly man before him and coldly asked, "Tell General, how will you atone for your crimes by rendering meritorious service?"
Seeing that no one was dragging him, the burly man's face filled with joy. He immediately fell to his knees with a thud and hastily said, "General, I have a major matter. Can I speak after the others in the hall have been dismissed?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Jin's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he coldly ordered, "Just speak directly. There's no need to be secretive."
The Yellow Turban General hesitated, scanning the Generals in the hall, and whispered, "General, this matter is not simple. The fewer people who know about it, the better. If the news gets out, General won't gain any benefit."
The Generals in the hall frowned upon hearing this. Although they were somewhat displeased by the Yellow Turban General's mysteriousness, they still prepared to get up and leave.
Seeing this, Liu Jin quickly extended his hand to stop everyone and said loudly, "You are all my sworn brothers, Liu Jin's, who have fought alongside me on the battlefield. There is nothing that you cannot know."
Zhang He, Cheng Pu, and Xu Rong, who had just stood up, were deeply moved upon hearing this. They hadn't expected Liu Jin to consider them sworn brothers.
Liu Jin's gaze was sharp as he stared at the Yellow Turban General and coldly commanded, "If you dare to utter another word of nonsense, General will execute you right now!"
The Yellow Turban General trembled upon hearing this and dared not procrastinate further. He immediately spoke from the side, "General, all the wealth Zhang Jiao amassed during his uprising, plus the gold, silver, and jewels sent by various Qu Shuai, he hid all of it."
"I happen to know where this place is, and I am willing to contribute these treasures. I hope General can spare my life."
As soon as this was said, the air instantly fell silent. Many people's eyes showed gravity. No wonder this Yellow Turban General wanted to dismiss everyone.
It was Zhang Jiao's treasury. It went without saying that the gold, silver, and jewels inside must be piled high like mountains.
It should be known that the Yellow Turban Army had swept across most of the world, occupying countless cities and government treasuries.
Moreover, if no one knew about this money, it could become Liu Jin's private property, without needing to be reported to the imperial court.
Liu Jin, sitting at the head, was slightly stunned for a moment. It was Zhang Jiao's treasury after all.
His eyes revealed greed. If he could keep this treasury to himself, his early development would be much easier, and he could even organize his own forces before the great chaos. It was indeed an extremely tempting piece of news.
Zhang He, Cheng Pu, and Xu Rong in the hall were somewhat restless.
Although their relationship with Liu Jin was very good, and they admired and respected him greatly, already having the intention to pledge allegiance, they had not yet recognized him as their lord and were not considered trusted confidants. Now that they knew about this matter, they wondered how Liu Jin would view them.
Would he kill all of them for the sake of this treasure?
After a moment of silence, Liu Jin threw his head back and laughed heartily!
"Good!"
"General can spare your life. As long as you can find this treasure, I will let you live a prosperous life, never again needing to be on edge."
The Yellow Turban General was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately kowtowed repeatedly, "Thank you, General, thank you, General!"
Liu Jin nodded and immediately ordered Zhao Teng to take the Yellow Turban General away to first search for Zhang Jiao's treasure and see how much wealth there truly was.
A moment later, the atmosphere in the main hall became solemn.
Liu Jin looked at Zhang He, Xu Rong, and Cheng Pu, who seemed restless, and chuckled, then spoke to reassure them, "Junyi, De Mou, Zhong Ya."
"You three are my brothers; there's no need to worry about this. If Zhang Jiao's treasure is real, the three of you will naturally not be left out."
Zhang He, Xu Rong, and Cheng Pu trembled upon hearing this.
Just now, they had been wondering if Liu Jin would kill them for this treasure.
After all, such a vast sum of money was enough to make anyone murderous.
And they were merely Sima in the army; their official positions were not particularly high. If they were killed and the imperial court was reported that they died in battle, it would probably be difficult to find any clues.
