Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

That day, the sky over Luoyang was overcast, as if it were about to snow again.

The Imperial Guards dispatched three groups of soldiers, completely surrounding the residences of Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, and Xu Feng. All ninety-eight people from the three families, including men, women, children, and relatives, were taken to the Court of Justice.

No one cried out for justice, and no one dared to.

Because the imperial edict clearly stated—treason, collusion with traitors, assassination of the crown prince, and extermination of three generations of the offender's family.

Seven days later, at the East Market.

The execution ground was surrounded by a dense crowd of onlookers. The executioner's blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and the supervising official sat on the high platform, expressionless as he unfurled the imperial edict and read it aloud.

Zhao Zhong knelt at the front, his hair disheveled and his prison clothes tattered.

He raised his head, looked at the official on the platform who was reading the imperial edict, and suddenly asked loudly, "Where is His Majesty? Does His Majesty have any message for this old servant?"

The executioner paused in reading the imperial edict, then ignored him.

Zhao Zhong waited for a while but received no reply.

He lowered his head and suddenly smiled.

That smile was complex—it contained disappointment, resentment, and a hint of inexplicable relief.

"Twenty-three years," he murmured. "Twenty-three years, and not even a single word in the end..."

The sound of weeping came from behind; it was the family of Feng Xu and Xu Feng. Feng Xu knelt to Zhao Zhong's left, trembling all over, muttering something unintelligible; Xu Feng, on the other hand, was more composed, remaining silent, though his face was as white as paper.

At midday, an imperial envoy arrived at the market with the imperial edict.

"The time has come—execution!"

The executioner raised his broadsword, the blade flashing.

The knife fell.

Blood splattered three feet deep.

The onlookers gasped in surprise, then fell into dead silence.

Ninety-eight human heads rolled onto the yellow earth at the entrance of the East Market.

Blood flowed like a river.

In the crowd, one figure stood there the whole time.

He was wearing a worn-out gray short brown coat, with the brim of his hat pulled low, looking like an ordinary porter.

But when the knife fell, the head rolled, and blood flowed like a river, his shoulder still trembled uncontrollably—not because he was afraid of blood, but because he suddenly realized: this was not "killing a few people".

This is the imperial court telling everyone—whoever dares to extend the "Yellow Heaven's" hand into Luoyang, the imperial court dares to uproot them and expose them to the sun.

Then he turned around and staggered as he squeezed out of the crowd.

After walking a dozen steps, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer and leaned against the wall, dry heaving twice, his fingers trembling so much that he couldn't grip the brick seams.

He fears.

I'm afraid I'll be the next head to fall.

What's even more frightening is that he suddenly discovered that the "Yellow Heaven" he believed in was a joke in this city.

-

He Jin has been busy these days.

After Zhao Zhong's downfall, he was promoted to Grand General, holding military power over Hanoi, Yingchuan, and Chenliu. The daily flow of official documents piled up like mountains, making him wish he could split himself in two.

He was just about to rest when the gatekeeper came to report.

"There was a man who claimed to be from Jinan who said he had important business to discuss with me, which concerned the safety of Luoyang."

He Jin frowned: "Who is it?"

"They refused to give their names, only saying they were from the Way of Peace."

He Jin was stunned for a moment, then put on his clothes and walked out.

-

When Tang Zhou was brought in, he seemed to shrink back. He knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

He Jin sat behind his desk, staring at him for a long while before speaking:

"You said you're from the Way of Peace?"

"Yes."

"Here to inform on us?"

"Yes."

He Jin sneered, "Why don't you just go find the magistrate of Luoyang?"

Tang Zhou lay prostrate on the ground, his voice trembling:

"This humble citizen...this humble citizen has heard that the Luoyang County Prison was recently breached by an insider..."

"This humble subject dares not approach the magistrate of Luoyang; this humble subject only wishes to live."

He Jin stared at him:

"Speak."

Tang Zhou took a deep breath and poured out everything he knew:

Where was Ma Yuanyi hiding in Luoyang? Which inside agents in the capital did he contact? And what was the plan to launch the uprising on March 5th? Every single detail was explained clearly.

After listening, He Jin remained silent for a long time.

Then he got up and walked outside.

Tang Zhou knelt on the ground, staring blankly at his retreating figure, and suddenly asked, "General, can this humble subject...can this humble subject survive?"

He Jin paused for a moment, but did not turn around.

"Look at what you're saying, how many lives could you possibly save?"

-

That night, He entered the palace and relayed Tang Zhou's words to Emperor Ling of Han without missing a single one.

Emperor Ling of Han leaned back on his couch and listened without speaking for a long time.

Zhang Rang stood to the side, not daring to utter a sound.

After a long pause, Emperor Ling of Han suddenly spoke up: "Where is that Tang Zhou now?"

He Jin replied, "I will temporarily place him in my residence and have someone keep an eye on him."

Emperor Ling of Han nodded: "Take him to the Court of Justice and take his statement."

He Jin accepted the order and withdrew.

After a long pause, Emperor Ling of Han suddenly spoke: "Zhang Rang."

"This old servant is here."

"Tell me, isn't my crown prince... a little too capable?"

Emperor Ling of Han didn't expect him to answer, and simply said to himself, "Zhao Zhong's matter was just finished. And now someone's come to report it—what a coincidence!"

He opened his eyes and looked at the caisson ceiling of the palace, his gaze complex.

"Did he push those people too far, or did he scare them?"

Zhang Rang kept his head down and remained silent.

He couldn't answer that.

-

Chengde Hall.

Liu Bian was listening to Xun Shuang lecture on the Book of Documents. The sky outside the window was overcast, but inside the hall, a charcoal fire burned, making it warm and cozy.

Suddenly, slightly hurried footsteps came from outside the door; it was He Jin.

Xun Shuang stopped speaking and looked at He Jin.

Liu Bian also spoke up, "Uncle, what's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"

He Jin was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"Today, a whistleblower came to my residence."

"A man from Jinan named Tang Zhou, who was said to be from the Taiping Dao (Way of Peace)."

"He revealed the entire layout of the Taiping Dao in Luoyang—including Ma Yuanyi's."

Liu Bian paused, his pen still.

His first reaction was not to breathe a sigh of relief.

It's not "Good, the Yellow Heaven will perish."

Instead, it was a deeper chill.

Xun Shuang noticed that Liu Bian was acting strangely, put down his book, and looked up at him:

"Your Highness, Tang Zhou has informed us, and Ma Yuanyi may be able to be captured."

"The Yellow Emperor is about to perish, so why is Your Highness becoming so uneasy?"

Liu Bian shook his head.

"The Yellow Heaven is about to perish." He repeated these four words softly, then looked up at Xun Shuang.

"Sir, the building is about to collapse; who knows how many people it will crush."

"When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, the world was thrown into chaos. Those people who were coerced, those refugees forced to rebel, those innocents who died under the swords of government troops... they were human beings too."

Although Xun Shuang did not understand the meaning of "building", he understood the meaning of the sentence.

Under the nest, the eggs are finished.

He looked at the eleven-year-old boy in front of him, at the deep light in his eyes, and a thought suddenly welled up in his mind—

He who understands the hardships of the people and the weight of the blade is fit to be a ruler.

He stood up and bowed to Liu Bian.

Liu Bian was taken aback: "Sir?"

Xun Shuang straightened up and said only eight words:

"It is a blessing for the nation that Your Highness has this intention."

-

Everything that followed happened just as Liu Bian had feared.

Ma Yuanyi was captured by the Court of Justice and confessed to having hundreds of spies within the capital. Emperor Ling of Han issued an edict to have them all executed.

Ultimately, he was torn apart by chariots.

He was torn apart by five horses, his body shattered and his flesh and blood scattered.

The capital was thrown into turmoil.

Meanwhile, in Jizhou, Zhang Jiao raised his banner ahead of time after receiving the news.

"The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise; in the year of Jiazi, great fortune will come to the world."

This slogan spread from Jizhou and spread like wildfire throughout the eight provinces.

The news quickly reached Chengde Hall.

Liu Bian stood by the window, listening to the news Wang Ming brought from outside:

Julu, Guangzong, Xiaquyang... one county town after another fell, the Yellow Turban army attacked and seized territory, and urgent documents from all over the country flew into Luoyang like snowflakes.

He stood there, motionless for a long time.

The wheels of history keep turning, and eventually they have come full circle.