In the Three Kingdoms period, the opening scene features the killing of Huang Gai, shocking Zhou Yu!

"rebel?"

Is this for real? The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are?

"I haven't even dealt with their crimes of freeloading, yet they've jumped out first? What nonsense did they write in their manifesto?"

The messenger swallowed hard, bracing himself against Cao Cao's murderous aura.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, those Grand Masters said...that Lord Zhang was brainwashed by the Prime Minister's 'braised pork sorcery' and 'gunpowder evil magic,' which is why he lost his conscience and surrendered."

They also said that the foundation of the Five Pecks of Rice sect lies in the "charitable shrine" below, and the holy land must not be defiled by the Prime Minister's dirty hands.

They have sealed off all large granaries, and their slogan is: "We swear to defend the charitable institution to the death! We will never accept food offered by the traitor Cao! We would rather starve than be tainted by worldly affairs!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhang Lu, who was standing to the side, turned pale instantly.

Zhao Yu's venomous snake was right after all.

His proud twenty-odd years of absolute rule unexpectedly crumbled from within after he decided to surrender for the sake of the people.

Moreover, these subordinates who once obeyed him without question are now accusing him of being brainwashed by pork.

Faith is less valuable than a piece of paper window decoration in the face of self-interest.

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

Another wail came from outside the hall:

"Prime Minister—! This humble servant is suffering—!"

The person who came was Ding Yi, whose face looked utterly hopeless and whose head was covered in cobwebs.

He was still clutching a shriveled object in his hand, but as soon as he entered the hall, he threw it on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, everyone realized it was a skin and bones, just a layer of skin and skeleton left—a dried rat!

"Zhengli, weren't you supposed to be inspecting the vault? What are you doing here? Are you bringing me a dead rat to do feng shui?"

Ding Yi pointed to the dried rat on the ground.

"Prime Minister, your humble servant rose early this morning and, with three hundred armored soldiers, went excitedly to search and confiscate the official and local treasuries of Nanzheng!"

"When they broke down the door, they found nothing inside, not even a single copper coin, let alone any gold or silver treasures!"

"Your humble servant was not giving up, so I went to the city's granary, where I found the rat."

It didn't die of old age; it was starved to death and turned into a dried-up corpse!

"Zhang! Gong! Qi!"

Cao Cao was now completely off guard.

Look at this! Look at how a leader behaves.

If you don't know the answer after three questions, that's one thing, but you can't control your subordinates either.

Nanzheng is the most prosperous area in your Hanzhong region, your stronghold, yet the official granary can't even support a single rat.

Cao Cao was furious. He drew his sword, Yitian, and cleaved the dried-up rat in two.

"Where's the money? Where's the grain? You charlatan, you've emptied Hanzhong out of business, and now the people below are going to rebel against me?"

Are you playing dumb with me?

Zhang Lu was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground, feeling extremely aggrieved.

"As I just said, I didn't take a single penny or keep a single grain of the money and grain donated by the believers. I immediately distributed them all to the 'Grand Masters' of various counties and townships to build charitable homes!"

"I am usually very frugal! I don't know how they could have rebelled; they are clearly upright and honest practitioners of Taoism!"

"Great virtue my foot! Integrity my foot!"

Cao Cao's spittle was practically spraying onto Zhang Lu's face.

"A complete mess of unaudited accounts! A bottomless pit!"

"Fine, fine, you're a good 'cult leader,' but you're absolutely a foolish prefect!"

Cao Cao was now filled with rage but had nowhere to vent it.

You might call Zhang Lu a good-for-nothing, but he truly embodied the idea that "money is just an external thing."

The official treasury in Nanzheng was just for show; it didn't even keep a single grain for itself, distributing it all to the local officials.

This absolute incorruptibility ironically led to absolute loss of control.

"Where is Xiahou Dun?!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Xiahou Dun, the one-eyed man, strode out.

He was bursting with fighting spirit, and the anger he had been holding back all the way finally had a place to vent.

This is not his fault. He came to Hanzhong hoping to earn some military merits and embellish his resume.

As a result, Zhao Yu and Cao Zhang took all the credit.

He, the second-in-command of Cao Cao's camp, has become a mere spectator.

"Here are five thousand elite cavalry! Go to Bazhong and Chenggu! Slaughter those few charlatan villagers!"

"I'll see whether their divine spirit or my blade is sharper!"

"Prime Minister! Absolutely not! Hanzhong has just surrendered; we should appease them, not carry out a massacre."

Just as Xiahou Dun was about to receive the order, Yang Xiu stepped out and stood between the two.

"Dezu? You're going to plead for these evil Taoists?"

Xiahou Dun was about to get angry.

"What do you know about warfare, you pedantic scholar!"

"It's not a plea for mercy! If they led the ghost soldiers of Hanzhong in a rebellion, that's treason, and they should be slaughtered."

"But didn't the messenger just say that their banner was to protect the charitable institution? They must have misled a lot of fanatical believers who have been brainwashed by the charitable institution's 'free lunch'—those are ordinary people."

"Zhang Gong has already surrendered. If we launch a full-scale attack with swords and spears, causing bloodshed for miles, it will only confirm our reputation as 'brutal demons'."

Zhao Yu, standing to the side, was surprised that Yang Xiu, who usually liked to show off his wit, actually had such a broad perspective when it came to matters of principle.

This must be supported.

"Dezu is right. Those people are the root of Hanzhong. Once they become martyrs, countless 'mountain tribes' will emerge in the mountains of Hanzhong."

"Then what do you suggest we do? Just stand by and watch them carve up their own territories?"

Xiahou Dun was clearly unconvinced.

Zhao Yu chuckled; he was all too familiar with this tactic.

"Didn't they say they wouldn't accept charity? Didn't they vow to protect the charitable institution to the death?"

"To deal with this kind of makeshift group that relies entirely on moral blackmail and conscience, using swords to cut them down is too low-class and could easily harm innocent people."

"Prime Minister, leave this matter to me, and I will arrange everything perfectly for you."

Regardless of whether Cao Cao agreed or not, he summoned Ding Yi.

"Zhengli! Forget about that rat! Go to the barracks and our engineering battalion and find me ten 'big mouths'!"

"Big mouth?"

"Big brother, do you mean you can eat meat in big bites?"

"Eat your head! I mean 'sheniu,' the kind of guy who looks honest and simple, can talk the dead back to life, and loves to chat with old ladies and gentlemen!"

……

One hour later.

Ding Yi, carrying a small booklet, had already wandered around the military camp and engineering battalion three times.

During this period, even Yang Xiu was brought into the group by him.

Yang Xiu was initially extremely unwilling.

"No, no! Absolutely not! I am the eldest son of the Yang family, a family that has produced four generations of high-ranking officials. I am well-versed in literature."

How could one engage in such petty and despicable acts, like a shrewish woman ranting in the street? It's an insult to civility!

Ding Yi couldn't resist following Zhao Yu's bad influence. Back then, he was just writing sentimental poems and was seduced by Zhao Yu.

Ding Yi feigned regret.

"Sigh, Dezhu, as you know, your reputation in Yecheng circles has never been very good."