Sitting high up, Zhang Jiao was taken aback by the news.
Zhang Liang reported, "According to our information, the two thousand followers we had gathered in Qingyun Village have all defected!"
"What? Why did they defect?" Zhang Jiao asked, puzzled.
"Qingyun Village's leader, Zhang Niujiao, was killed by Wang Yan. Wang Yan swayed his troops, and..."
"And what?" Zhang Jiao was getting anxious.
"Moreover, we can no longer recruit new soldiers around Guangzong. Wang Yan has deceived the villagers, and they are rebelling against our cause to follow him."
In the past two days, after finishing his mission in Jinshi Town, Wang Yan went to Bipobo Village and then to other surrounding villages. He circled Guangzong County, and the villagers who had initially joined Zhang Jiao's Taiping Dao defected one after another.
The Guangzong County, once held by Zhang Jiao with the support of the local villagers, was now an isolated city.
The high-ranking followers of Taiping Dao were all shocked, but they were even more appalled by Zhang Jiao's reaction.
Cough! Cough!
At this moment, Zhang Jiao seemed to miss a breath and burst into violent coughing.
Zhang Liang's expression turned grim.
The other high-ranking followers looked puzzled. The Great Teacher, who could heal all diseases, seemed quite ill.
This incident significantly undermined Zhang Jiao's authority.
Zhang Jiao took a deep breath, calmed his posture, and maintained an expressionless face. "Recently, I've been exhausting my energy by divining the celestial mechanisms."
However, inside, Zhang Jiao was deeply shaken.
He had always believed that the Taiping Dao he founded had deeply rooted itself in people's hearts and that the followers' loyalty to him was unshakable. Yet, reality had dealt him a heavy blow.
"I developed Taiping Dao over ten years by healing people with talismans and gathering many disciples, building today's prestige and influence."
"Who is this Wang Yan, who managed to steal so many of my followers in such a short time?"
"This rival seems formidable."
"And he can conjure steamed buns and white porridge out of thin air?"
"Could it be?"
At this thought, Zhang Jiao's eyes suddenly gleamed with a murderous intent.
Everyone present was terrified, having never seen their leader react so violently.
"Spread my order: Whoever kills Wang Yan will be made a Divine General and can lead a division of our forces!"
Zhang Jiao's declaration shocked everyone.
No one had expected such an enticing reward for eliminating Wang Yan.
However, Zhang Jiao's immediate problem had already arrived.
Julu Commandery.
Lu Zhi led a mighty army of 50,000, advancing triumphantly.
They won battle after battle wherever they went, forcing the Yellow Turbans to retreat continuously.
Lu Zhi knew well of Zhang Jiao's ability to sway people's hearts, which made the rebellion difficult to quell because a continuous stream of villagers joined the Yellow Turbans.
This was Lu Zhi's most significant concern.
He had previously learned that Zhang Jiao had gathered 150,000 rebels, and after more than ten years of development, the Taiping Dao had deeply embedded itself in people's hearts. He couldn't imagine how large the rebel army would grow when he reached Guangzong.
However, upon entering Julu Commandery, he was surprised that the villagers around Guangzong were only partially joining the Yellow Turbans as he had expected.
After sending scouts, Lu Zhi discovered that someone had been using effective propaganda against the Yellow Turbans.
It was Wang Yan.
Lu Zhi was relieved that Wang Yan had already addressed his most pressing issue.
He was very curious about this young scholar, the son of the renowned scholar Wang Fen, and wondered why he chose to pose as an immortal master.
Nevertheless, Wang Yan's actions were all aimed at saving the country and its people.
Lu Zhi resolved to find an opportunity to meet this extraordinary young man.
Little did he know, Wang Yan was also thinking about Lu Zhi.
Wang Yan had led his followers to the outskirts of Guangzong City, intending to defeat Zhang Jiao with the help of Lu Zhi and to establish a connection with him.
Lu Zhi was a model scholar and an idol for Wang Yan, both in the present and his past life.
As a history student, Wang Yan felt like a fan meeting his hero.
Behind Wang Yan, his followers had grown to 8,000, including 3,000 elite soldiers, 2,000 elderly and weak, and the rest were accompanying villagers.
The saying "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" was well understood by Wang Yan.
The 3,000 elite soldiers, all well-armed and selected by Zhou Cang, had been intensively trained and well-fed with steamed buns and white porridge over the past few days. After multiple motivational speeches from Wang Yan, they were now willing to fight for him unconditionally.
This was the confidence Wang Yan had in achieving military merit in this battle.
As they neared Lu Zhi's camp, Wang Yan arranged his troops and, along with Zhou Cang, went to meet Lu Zhi.
Walking through the camp, Wang Yan observed Lu Zhi's solid and well-organized troops digging trenches around Guangzong County and manufacturing siege equipment.
As recorded in the historical accounts, Lu Zhi was preparing for a prolonged confrontation with Zhang Jiao, who was entrenched in the city.
Wang Yan also saw the five regiments of the Northern Army: the cavalry, infantry, and archers.
"Lu Zhi's regular Han troops should be able to trounce Zhang Jiao's peasant army. Why are the two armies in a long-term standoff?" Wang Yan wondered.
After being announced, Wang Yan walked into the command tent, where he heard voices arguing.
"General Lu, our army is invincible. Why not take advantage of the momentum to capture Guangzong City?"
"General Lu, even if Zhang Jiao has a thousand tricks, he is no match for our army. Please give the order to attack the city!"
Entering the tent, Wang Yan saw civil and military officials lined up on both sides.
Among the military officers, one figure stood out.
He was seven feet five inches tall, with ears that touched his shoulders, long hands that reached his knees, a face like a jade crown, and an unusual appearance.
Seeing those large ears, Wang Yan guessed who he was.
Liu Bei.
Wang Yan's gaze then shifted to the men behind Liu Bei: a man with a long beard like a flowing curtain and a face as red as a jujube, and another with a leopard's head, round eyes, a swallow jaw, and a tiger's beard. They were none other than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
These were two formidable warriors.
Wang Yan felt a pang of envy.
He now understood how the Yellow Turban soldiers felt watching others eat white steamed buns—bitter and resentful.
However, what caught Wang Yan's attention the most was Lu Zhi himself, sitting in the main seat.
Lu Zhi had a dignified and resolute face, a majestic appearance, and a calm demeanor, exuding the aura of a scholar-general.
Seeing Lu Zhi's warm smile directed at him, Wang Yan felt a bit unsettled.
This was Lu Zhi, after all.
Throughout the late Eastern Han dynasty, there might be debates over the fiercest warrior or the most brilliant strategist.
But if you asked who the most well-rounded scholar-general was, there was no dispute—it was Lu Zhi.
Those who could fight as well as him didn't have his literary talent, as he was one of the twenty-eight great scholars enshrined in Confucius's temple.
Those with literary talent couldn't fight as well as him, with his achievements in quelling rebellions and leading troops.
Moreover, as the founder of the Fan Yang Lu clan, Lu Zhi's descendants prospered for over a thousand years, influencing history through their scholarly and political contributions.
Lu Zhi rose from an ordinary scholar-gentry background, achieving heights unimaginable to others in the highly status-conscious late Eastern Han period through sheer hard work.
If he had harbored any political ambition, there wouldn't have been room for Dong Zhuo or Cao Cao.
"Student Wang Yan pays respects to General Lu."
Lu Zhi, observing Wang Yan's imposing figure and seeing his scholar's etiquette, smiled and said:
"So, the immortal master is a heroic young scholar!"