Liu Jin heard this and quickly clasped his fists, saying,
“As for the bandit leader Cheng Yuanzhi, he has already been slain by my third brother, Zhang Fei. His corpse is still in the military camp; I request Prefect’s judgment.”
Wen Shu felt a sense of relief upon hearing this, and a cold smile appeared on his face as he said,
“Good.”
“Cut off Cheng Yuanzhi’s head and hang it at the entrance of Zhuo Commandery to display to the public, warning the surrounding common people that anyone who dares to become a Yellow Turban will suffer the same fate as this man.”
Liu Jin clasped his hands, bowed, and immediately ordered his personal guards to handle the matter.
Thus, everyone continued to clink glasses and chat in the military main tent.
Even his nominal uncle, Liu Chong, was sitting in the military camp at this time, occasionally raising his wine glass to clink with him, speaking with politeness in his words.
Because he knew that after this battle, Liu Jin’s official position would definitely be promoted, and even he, the Prefectural Supervisor, couldn’t help but want to befriend him.
One must know that the merits Liu Jin had accumulated were already enough for him to serve as a Thousand-Stone Sima Xu, a status significantly higher than his own.
Especially in this chaotic era, military generals building achievements and establishing their careers could happen at any time, and it was not impossible for him to soar to great heights.
With just one more step forward, Liu Jin would be able to touch the threshold of two thousand stones. As long as he remained steady and underwent a few years of tempering, he could serve as a Prefect of a region, becoming the pillar of his Liu clan in Zhuo Commandery.
The other officials also did not want to be left out, and they all raised their wine glasses to toast, with no shortage of flattering words.
Liu Jin accepted all toasts; he returned the same respect others showed him, maintaining good relations with everyone.
Especially with Wei You, the two chatted very happily, calling each other brothers, feeling a sense of mutual appreciation.
However, today’s protagonist was Wen Shu, who sat at the head of the table.
The flattery from everyone never stopped; from the beginning of the banquet to its end, the sounds of praise and compliments never ceased.
Three days later!
The lively atmosphere in the military camp slowly dissipated, returning to its original state.
Everyone resumed their duties, and all the various troops returned to their original positions to guard.
Liu Jin temporarily led his troops and stationed them in the military camp outside the city.
Because the Yellow Turban had just been pacified, no one knew if another group would emerge, so Liu Jin was first kept in Zhuo Commandery to stabilize the commandery.
There was even another layer of meaning: Wen Shu had already sent someone to report the military achievements to the court, and after a period of time, the court’s rewards would arrive.
As for whether Liu Jin would remain in the commandery to serve in an official capacity or be transferred elsewhere, it was still an unknown.
Outside the city camp.
Liu Jin was sitting on a small stool, watching Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Han Dang, and others training the soldiers on the military parade ground.
He had exactly one thousand five hundred men under his command, of which five hundred were regular soldiers, and the other thousand were militiamen. They did not have any court prepared by, and according to regulations, they should have been disbanded after the war.
But he did not disband them; instead, he kept them in the army and trained them just like the regular soldiers.
After these few major battles, the thousand militiamen he had assembled had gradually transformed into veteran soldiers, and their combat effectiveness was naturally not weak.
It was impossible to disband them just like that; at the very least, he had to wait until his official position was confirmed before making other plans.
However, he had some guesses: as long as he entered the court’s sight, he would most likely be transferred to Ji Province to join the court’s main army and pacify the Yellow Turban.
Because Ji Province was the stronghold of Zhang Jiao and his two brothers, holding hundreds of thousands of troops, shaking Hebei, and already showing a trend of escalating expansion.
the court would naturally not sit idly by and would definitely send various troops to gather and encircle them.
According to historical trends, Lu Zhi would still, as usual, serve as the Zhonglang General, responsible for the entire northern front.
There was a high probability that he would be transferred to serve under him as a general.
Although Lu Zhi, since serving as the Central Protector-General against the Yellow Turban Army, had not achieved any major victories, only managing to be mediocre.
He ultimately ended up being transported to Luoyang in a prison cart, which indeed seemed a bit unlucky.
However, Lu Zhi was an upright and honorable man and would not embezzle the military merits of his subordinates. Following him, he could at least get by for a while.
After that, he could only take one step at a time; after all, the events had not yet arrived, and it was useless for him to think too much.
Anyway, generals who participated in the Yellow Turban Rebellion were basically all promoted, and many were enfeoffed as marquises and appointed as generals.
Half a month later!
In the Luoyang Imperial Palace, the Chenming Hall, resplendent and solemn, was where the emperor and officials held court and discussed matters.
On the dragon throne in the main hall, Liu Hong, dressed in a dragon robe, had a weak and listless appearance, but the majesty of the Han Emperor remained.
After all, he was an emperor who held real power, and the civil and military officials in the court were still very deferential.
Liu Hong looked at the battle report that had just been presented, his brows tightly furrowed, his face filled with anger. He threw it to the ground and coldly shouted,
“This is outrageous! These Yellow Turban, attacking day after day, have actually swept across several prefectures of the Han Dynasty!”
“Especially the Yellow Turban in Yingchuan and Runan, winning battle after battle, leading tens of thousands of troops to attack Luoyang. The Prefects of various regions not only lost cities and lands but also defected to the bandits!”
“You are all useless! What good are you to me?!”
The angry voice echoed loudly in the main hall, and the civil and military officials in the court all lowered their heads, not daring to speak out.
His Majesty had been very irritable during this period, precisely because the Yellow Turban had grown larger and larger, already possessing the strength to overthrow the Han empire.
Even though Liu Hong usually indulged in women and did not manage the affairs of the world much, at this moment, he felt the dragon throne was a bit hot, and if this continued, he might very well lose it.
Liu Hong looked at the silent civil and military officials and asked coldly,
“As my court officials, think of a way for me to solve this problem.”
As soon as these words came out, the civil and military officials in the hall began to whisper among themselves, pondering countermeasures.
The newly appointed Great General He Jin stood at the head of the military officials. Although he was somewhat inexperienced and naive, in this chaotic situation, even a fool would know that troops must be dispatched to suppress the rebellion.
He immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands, and slowly said,
“Your Majesty, I believe the most urgent task is to mobilize troops from various regions to suppress the rebellion, eliminate the Yellow Turban as soon as possible, and stabilize the Han dynasty.”
“We can divide the troops into two routes, with two great generals each leading an army, to respectively encircle and suppress Zhang Jiao’s forces in Hebei and Bo Cai’s forces in Yingchuan and Runan. As long as these two Yellow Turban forces are pacified, the remaining stragglers and rabble will surely flee in disarray.”
The civil and military officials behind him heard this and all stepped forward to agree!
“Your Majesty, the Great General is right. The most urgent task is to pacify these Yellow Turban.”
Liu Hong nodded slightly, quite satisfied with his brother-in-law, and continued to ask,
“Since that is the case, Great General, who do you think should be appointed as the commanding general, and how many troops need to be mobilized?”
He Jin paused for a moment when asked this, thought for a while, and continued to say,
“I believe that Lu Zhi, a renowned scholar within the seas, a model for scholars, and a pillar of the nation, can hold the imperial insignia and serve as the northern main general, mobilizing the Five Regiments of soldiers to pacify the northern bandits for Your Majesty.”
“The other route can be led by Huangfu Song, a man of great prestige from Liang Province, who can hold the imperial insignia and serve as the left main general, mobilizing the Three Rivers cavalry and the elite soldiers of the Five Regiments to pacify the southern bandits.”
“As long as these two great armies are dispatched, the Yellow Turban can be pacified within a few days.”
