Taiheiki

Chapter 112 A History of Turmoil

"With so many armors and weapons, how can you say you haven't done anything meritorious?" Lu Ping said with a smile.

"That's just business. Lu Jijiu has already paid!" Wei Cong smiled and thought to himself, "No matter how tempting your bait is, I won't bite. Let's see what you can do to me."

"Armor and weapons can't be bought with money! Lord Wei has taken a huge risk for us this time. How can we reward him without granting him a county?" Lu Ping smiled and said, "Lord Wei, there's no need to refuse. I can open my talisman as proof. If you don't want it, do you think it won't work and don't want to get involved?"

Wei Cong was hit by Lu Ping's words and laughed dryly twice. He wanted to explain but didn't know what to say for a moment. In the end, he could only laugh and said, "It's such a big deal. I'm not a god, how can I know so much!"

"Really? Why do I feel like you know everything? Otherwise, why would you give up your position as a rebellion-suppressing captain and come to this remote place to forge iron and make weapons? Could it be that you already knew about the upcoming chaos? I offered such generous conditions, but you always ignored them. Could it be that you knew we would lose in the end and didn't want to get into trouble?" Having said that, Lu Ping gently whipped his mount and moved closer to Wei Cong, looking him in the eye: "Tell the truth, don't lie to me!"

Wei Cong could only feel the fragrance filling his nose and the bright eyes staring at him. The lie he had prepared came to his lips but he couldn't utter it. Finally, he said, "Did you cast a spell on me? Otherwise, why can't I say what I want to say?"

"Magic?" Lu Ping laughed. "Do you know? On the first day I learned magic from my mother, she told me that the most powerful magic in the world is sincerity! Magic, magic, as long as it is a spell, there are ways to break it, only sincerity can't break it!"

After hearing Lu Ping's words, Wei Cong was speechless for a moment, and finally said: "In fact, victory and defeat are common in the military. Even if the rebellion fails in the end, with your ability, it will not be difficult to save your own life. Even if there is no way to escape in the end, there is still a place for you here!"

"Really?" Lu Ping's eyes lit up. "Well, I feel relieved with what you said, Wei Jun. If I really lose, I'll escape to you. You can't chop off my head and send it to the government for the reward."

"Of course!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "Killing friends for the sake of wealth and honor will not end well for you in the end. I will never do such a thing."

------------------

As usual, after helping Wei Cong wash up, Ayun returned to bed, waiting for her husband to go to sleep. But today, she lay back in bed, and after a while, she didn't see Wei Cong coming over. She got up and saw him standing by the window, facing the dark night sky outside. The mountain breeze blew past him, making a whirring sound. Ayun pulled up the quilt to her chin and asked, "Don't stand there. It's windy at night. Be careful not to get hurt!"

"Haha!" Wei Cong laughed twice. "I'm not made of clay. I can't be blown away. You should rest first. I can't sleep. I need to think about something!"

Ayun hesitated for a moment, then stood up, picked up the brocade robe beside her, and put it on Wei Cong's shoulders: "My dear, if you have something on your mind and can't sleep, you might as well tell me and I will help you find some comfort!"

"I'll tell you?" Wei Cong laughed. "It's nothing, actually. I saved someone a long time ago, and now when I think about it, it seems like I saved the wrong person!"

"We saved the wrong person?" Ah Yun was stunned when she heard this. "That person was a wicked and evil person?"

"Greatly evil?" Wei Cong's eyes flashed to Liu Xin's face. He shook his head. "This man's actions can't be described as utterly evil. In fact, he's done quite a bit of good. In the eyes of many, he's a rare and kind man!"

"Then why does my dear think that saving him was a mistake?" Ayun asked, puzzled. "He has done many good deeds in his life. If he had lived, wouldn't he have been able to save more people?"

"This..." Wei Cong was speechless. Ayun's words revealed the secret hidden deep in his heart. He had learned from Lu Ping that Liu Xin used magic water to save people, developed followers, and established strictly organized parishes according to regions. The doctrine contained a lot of content about the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of a new world. These were exactly the same as Zhang Jiao's Taiping Dao that broke out more than 20 years later.
Clearly, Liu Xin had a close relationship with the three Zhang Jiao brothers. Judging by the timing, it's quite possible that Liu Xin was their teacher, or perhaps even their uncle. Furthermore, judging by the current situation, even if the current religious uprising didn't spread across the eight prefectures of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu, like the Yellow Turban Rebellion twenty years later, with hundreds of thousands of followers, it certainly affected Jing and Yang.

Moreover, this uprising was deeply involved with the Wuling Barbarians in the south. From the very beginning, a large number of miners joined, and a large number of sophisticated weapons funded by themselves were also involved. Liu Xin was also far more shrewd and scheming than the three Zhang Jue brothers, and his noble background made it easier for him to gain the support of the scholar-official group of the Eastern Han Empire.

Perhaps this uprising couldn't directly threaten the heartland of the Eastern Han Empire like the Yellow Turban Rebellion did, but if Liu Xin died suddenly, it would be impossible for the Eastern Han Empire to suppress it within a year like it did with the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It would likely turn into a long-term war that lasted for decades, just like the Qiang Rebellion, and even directly led to the division of the empire and the long-term confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties. But the problem is that if such a far-reaching peasant religious uprising really existed, it would definitely be recorded in the history textbooks of primary and secondary schools in the Republic, but Wei Cong had no recollection of it. There is only one explanation for all this:
In the original time and space, Liu Xin unexpectedly died during Zhang Boshi's siege. Without this key figure's guidance, the long-prepared uprising was like a bomb with a broken fuse, misfiring only to explode again over twenty years later, sparing the Eastern Han Empire from disaster. However, thanks to the unintentional intervention of the time traveler Wei Cong, Liu Xin escaped death and continued on his own path, igniting the bomb. From this perspective, Wei Cong truly was the scourge of the Eastern Han Empire.

Of course, Wei Cong wasn't standing by the window, enjoying the cool breeze, refusing to sleep out of concern for the fate of the Han Empire. He wasn't that kind-hearted. Selling so many weapons to Lu Ping was also intended to disrupt the empire and allow him to profit from the chaos. He was simply regretting that he had inadvertently destroyed a time traveler's greatest advantage: their ability to predict the future. With Liu Xin's stirrings in the south, everything for the next twenty years would be completely changed; even the Yellow Turban Rebellion might be over.

(For a long time, the Taiping Dao was considered a benevolent path and enjoyed government support. Many powerful people, officials, and eunuchs believed in it. Zhang Jue's plan for an armed uprising included using the eunuchs Feng Yan and Xu Feng as internal supporters to launch a riot in Luoyang and directly attack the imperial palace. If Liu Xin had led this uprising, the Eastern Han Empire would certainly not have turned a blind eye to the development of the Taiping Dao in its heart.)
The rise of the Three Kingdoms, from Cao, Liu, and Sun to Dong Zhuo, the two Yuan brothers, and Gongsun Zan, was inextricably linked to the Yellow Turban Rebellion. It could be said that the Yellow Turban Rebellion ripped open the paper covering the Eastern Han Empire, revealing the numerous flaws beneath.

The emperor, his relatives, and the eunuchs in Luoyang were horrified to discover that the empire's rule was in jeopardy under the onslaught of the hundreds of thousands of "moth bandits" sweeping across the country. To prevent the disenfranchised members of the Yellow Turban Rebellion from joining the ranks, the emperor was forced to grant a general amnesty, exempting all relatives of the members except those with minor merits (minor merits refer to grandparents, cousins, brothers and sisters, married aunts and sisters, and maternal grandparents and uncles).

It was these same group of students and children who, shortly after Emperor Ling's death, intensified the conflict between General He Jin and the Ten Eunuchs, sparking the Ten Eunuchs Rebellion. They simultaneously exterminated the eunuchs and the clique of relatives of the emperor's wife, ultimately securing victory. Twenty years ago, would Luoyang once again prematurely lift the ban on the party to win over the people and confront the enormous external threat? Wei Cong wondered.

Faced with the sudden change, Wei Cong had to adjust his plan to represent the interests of the southern border nobles. If the situation was really as Lu Ping said, Liu Xin's army would definitely not be limited to Jiangxia County. If he did not want to be eliminated, he should, after taking Xiakou, either march north to cut off the important land route from Jiangling to Xiangyang to Wancheng; or go directly west to attack Jiangling and force Feng Gun, who was in Jingnan, to return. This would mean that all the achievements of the Han army since last year would be wasted.

The barbarians who had previously surrendered would also raise their banners of rebellion again. After Lu Ping took control of Yuzhang, he would also expand into Lujiang, Jiujiang, and Danyang. In this chaotic situation, local tyrants would undoubtedly rise up in arms, either building strongholds to defend themselves or raising troops to respond. The local governors would also take the form of granting official titles to use the power of the tyrants to quell the rebellion.

This put Wei Cong in a very disadvantageous position—he held no official position and was a convict. Why would other local nobles listen to him? He had only two options: either use Feng Gu's connections to obtain a pardon and a new official position from him, or simply follow Liu Xin through thick and thin—a possible solution. Whether to choose the former or the latter depended on the specific circumstances.

"My dear, my dear?"

Ayun's voice pulled Wei Cong out of his thoughts. The woman's face was filled with worry. She hadn't even noticed the blanket slipping to the ground, clearly worried about him. Wei Cong couldn't help but feel touched. He bent down to pick up the blanket for Ayun and wrapped it around her. He smiled and said, "You're right. It's windy at night, so you should be careful of catching a cold. It's getting late, let's get some rest!"

————————————————————

Downstream, about a kilometer from Wei Cong's camp, lies a vast, beautiful mulberry forest. To preserve this premium bow material, Wei Cong has strictly prohibited logging, preserving its pristine beauty. Beside this mulberry forest lies a vast, flat meadow, picturesquely shaded by verdant grass. On one side of the meadow lies the mulberry forest, while on the other, a patchwork of camphor trees grows. Several of these trees are exceptionally tall, the tallest reaching a full seventy meters above the ground, its trunk so tall that it would take seven or eight people hand in hand to wrap their arms around it. Like a giant from ancient times, gazing down upon its people.

The terrain seemed specially designed for martial arts competitions and gatherings. The grassy terrain was high on the sides and low in the middle. Wei Cong ordered a fence erected around the flat ground, creating an oval-shaped field approximately 700 meters long and half that wide. At each end of the field were two exits, each guarded by soldiers. They were responsible for maintaining order within the field and verifying the identities of participants.

To the south of the site, nestled against the backdrop of several massive camphor trees, stood a naturally raised plateau. Four ornately decorated tents were erected on it. In front of the tents stood four rows of benches, placed on the slope of the plateau like steps. This served as a grandstand for Wei Cong himself, the village elders participating in the meeting, and other distinguished guests.

More soldiers, artisans, and spectators of lower status found spots on the grassy slopes surrounding the field. Because the ground was higher than the central field, they could see clearly from here. However, some people, to avoid being blocked by others, simply climbed up the trees behind them and pointed at the field below.

At this time, all kinds of audiences had arrived one after another. For this alliance, Wei Cong specially gave his men two days off. Except for the workers who had to be on duty, even the lowest-status mountain slaves were free during these two days. Wei Cong even gave them free pickled meat and a small amount of wine.

These tattooed, brown-clad mountain slaves gathered in groups of three or five, eating and drinking while gazing at the colorful flags fluttering around the arena below, uttering tsk-tsk sounds of amazement. The other residents, more respectably dressed, kept a respectful distance from the mountain slaves, chatting about the weather and business while waiting for the tournament to begin.

Besides the camp's residents, there were also many outsiders around the site. Wei Cong had risen to prominence since his previous expedition, when he defeated the mountain beasts and rescued the villagers who had been abducted. The rescued villagers brought back their stories of the camp to their respective hometowns, particularly the prosperous iron industry there.

Soon, the surrounding villages, hundreds of miles in radius, knew that this new Wubao not only possessed a formidable military force but also produced a vast supply of high-quality, inexpensive ironware. Furthermore, they were eager for labor, and even if they couldn't settle down permanently, even temporary labor could earn them a good wage. A few clever Yuzhang locals even learned to use magnets to salvage the iron sand, which they then sold to Wei Cong's ironworks for a profit. Wei Cong also instructed his men to buy it, believing it would free up manpower for more important tasks.

(End of this chapter)