"Do you have any last words?"
The sharp question cut through the air like a bucket of cold water, jolting Wang Yan awake. He opened his heavy eyelids and stared in bewilderment at his surroundings.
In his vision was a vast square surrounded by a dozen dilapidated houses, exuding the aura of ancient architecture. In front of him, nearly a thousand ragged, bony people, all wearing yellow turbans with bloodshot eyes, glared at him as if they wanted to tear him apart.
Wang Yan was stunned. Where was he? A film set?
He remembered being forced by his boss to stay up late writing an academic paper on the Qin and Han Dynasties. How did he suddenly become an extra on a historical drama set?
The lines, actors, props, and scenery all seemed too natural!
It had to be a grand historical drama!
Suddenly, the air was filled with a nauseating stench of blood, making him want to vomit. Wang Yan frowned and looked to his left. On the ground lay several beheaded corpses, their heads severed, blood splattered everywhere.
Then, a torrent of unfamiliar memories flooded his mind, making him feel as if his brain was being stirred, almost to the point of bursting. He couldn't help but shiver all over.
He had transmigrated.
Eastern Han Dynasty, 184 AD, Jizhou, Guangzong.
He was on the execution ground!
His original body, Wang Yan, courtesy name Ziwen, was the son of Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou.
At this time, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was in full swing.
Due to the corruption of the court, the eunuchs and foreign relatives wielding power, constant warfare on the borders, and natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, and plagues, the people were in dire straits, and their lives were miserable. Yet, taxes were not reduced but increased.
Zhang Jiao of the Taiping Daoist sect, harboring ambitions to change the world, led tens of thousands of followers across thirty-six regions to rise, attacking various cities.
Wang Yan's father, who had suffered from the political persecution of the Party Prohibition, was reinstated and appointed as the governor of Jizhou to deal with the Yellow Turbans.
However, the rebellion was overwhelming. During an attempt to flee from a battle, Wang Yan was separated from his father and, unfortunately, captured by the rebels.
At this moment, Guangzong was occupied by the Yellow Turbans, and the county officials, including Wang Yan, were ordered by Zhang Jiao to be beheaded as a warning.
The Yellow Turbans did not spare all officials. As the son of the governor, Wang Yan was especially hated and was about to become the last victim.
"If you have nothing to say, it's time to go."
The executioner's cold voice, like a death knell, echoed in his ears again.
The execution plank behind Wang Yan was suddenly pulled away as if also pulling away his trembling soul.
The beginning was already a knife at his neck!
"Cut him!"
"Cut him!"
The crowd roared in anger, throwing sand, stones, and curses.
The starving peasants were venting their deep-seated class hatred.
In their eyes, Wang Yan was a blood-sucking accomplice of the elite, not an innocent seventeen-year-old boy.
What to do? What to do?
The breath of death was closing in.
Ding.
A mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Orator System successfully bound]
[Host: Wang Yan]
[Universal Store activated]
[The host can gain emotions such as trust, admiration, and gratitude from the audience through speeches. When the audience's emotional value reaches 100, they will become a follower; emotional values can be exchanged for items in the Universal Store]
[Speech Talent: LV1]
(LV1: Emotion Stirring, LV2: Consciousness Hypnosis, LV3: Mind Control, LV4: Thought Imprint, LV5: Words Become Deeds)
(When the host has 100,000 followers, the speech talent will be upgraded to the next level)
[Store Level: LV1]
(LV1 Store items: One white steamed bun/1 emotion point, one bowl of white rice porridge/1 emotion point, one military compressed biscuit/1 emotion point, one pound of pork/100 emotion points)
(When the host spends 1,000,000 emotion points, the store level will be upgraded to the next level)
[Followers: 0]
[Emotion Points: 0]
[Portable System Space: 10x10x10 cubic meters]
(The system space will increase with the host's store level; the store refreshes every midnight, with a daily spending limit of 1,000,000 emotion points)
An orator system?
This was meant for him to conquer the world with his eloquence.
With the LV1 speech talent integrating into his body, Wang Yan recalled a failed art student from his previous life who almost became a global leader through highly persuasive speeches.
Now that he had transmigrated, how should he live this life?
Wang Yan knew that lineage was highly valued in the Three Kingdoms era. As the son of a governor, his background was decent, but historically, Wang Fen would fail in a coup attempt in 187 AD and die.
His father was ambitious but lacked political and military strategy, which is why people like Cao Cao, Tao Qian, and Hua Xin refused to follow him.
He was faced with a knife now and another in three years.
Looking at the yellow turbans on the crowd's heads, Wang Yan suddenly thought of a way to break the situation—religious faith.
Throughout history, large-scale peasant uprisings were invariably held together by faith.
Liu Bang, the rogue, rose with a bowl, and Zhu Yuanzhang, the beggar, was said to be born under auspicious signs.
The Taiping Dao, with their slogan "The Blue Heaven is Dead, the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise," was also built on faith.
Moreover, he had a robust Universal Store.
Even the LV1 store items were excellent and highly targeted.
Military compressed biscuits, essential for soldiers on the march, could alleviate worries about food supplies.
White rice porridge and steamed buns are saviors in times of famine!
Why did these illiterate peasants rebel? Wasn't it because they couldn't get enough to eat?
In the Three Kingdoms era, white steamed buns were a delicacy that could cause a sensation, making people cry joyfully and crave more.
Many older women joined religious groups for a few eggs in his previous life but later became deeply entrenched.
If he could continuously provide white steamed buns and rice porridge, wouldn't he have endless followers?
In this life-or-death moment, Wang Yan's mind raced.
He would take Zhang Jiao's path and leave Zhang Jiao with no path to take!
Make speeches, build an army, seize territory, become a leader, and dominate the chaotic times.
Some might ask, why not restore the Han dynasty and honor romantic ideals?
Am I becoming a lackey of the feudal dynasty, ensuring that the Liu family could only rule the world?
As a modern person from the future, how could he still believe in the divine right of kings?
His father, Wang Fen, attempted to depose the emperor and establish a new one, taking the path of reform, but the Han court was beyond saving. He knew that reforming was better than trying to fix the old system.
Why not ignite a spark that could set the whole land ablaze?
With this supernatural speech talent, when emotion values reached 100, he could forcibly convert listeners into followers.
Compared to Yuan Shao's noble birth, would he need to boast about his ancestry if he had followers all over the thirteen provinces?
Would he need to form a brotherhood with Liu Bei to compete with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in virtue?
With generals aplenty under his command, wouldn't that be reasonable?
After conquering cities and territories, would he need to emulate Cao Cao's tactics to win over beautiful wives?
Having three thousand beauties in his harem in the future, wouldn't that be justified?
"Bah!"
The executioner's voice snapped Wang Yan out of his chaotic thoughts.
With a black face and long beard, the burly man beside him spat in his palm, gripped the large knife with both hands and raised it high.
In the next moment, the gleaming blade enlarged in his vision.
Wang Yan understood that to achieve all this, he had to survive first; otherwise, it would all be a dream of the underworld.
With his hands tied and no external help, he had to rely on himself.
"I must first divide the Yellow Turban rebels, awaken the kind-hearted among the commoners, convert them into followers, and then incite them to oppose the other rebels. Only then can I seize the opportunity to escape."
Wang Yan knew that his lifeline was his voice, so he shouted at the crowd:
"Fellow countrymen, please listen to me!"