There was once a failed scholar named Zhang Jiao from Julu Commandery in Jizhou. Zhang Jiao had two brothers, named Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao.
Zhang Jiao's family was impoverished, and in these troubled times, they found themselves unable to satisfy their hunger or clothe their backs. The Han Dynasty had spanned nearly four centuries, and although the Western Han had fallen, Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu, established the Eastern Han, temporarily solving the issue of land annexation. But now, the Han Dynasty was weakening, eunuchs dominated the court, and the problem of land annexation had escalated once again. Land was concentrated in the hands of princes, nobility, and families of eunuchs, leaving farmers without land to till, living in destitution. In this chaotic era, the number of troubled wanderers and malcontents had surged.
One day, to make a living, Zhang Jiao went up to the mountains to gather herbs.
