The Three Kingdoms Volume 1 Read Online Free PDF

and straw horses. At once the wind abated, the thunder ceased to roll, the sand sank, and the stones lay still on the ground.
    Seeing that his magic had been countered, Zhang Bao quickly turned to retreat. But, attacked on the flanks by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and in the rear by Liu Bei and Zhu Jun, his army was completely routed. Liu Bei, seeing from afar the banner bearing the title of “General of Earth”, galloped toward it at full speed. Scared, Zhang Bao picked a side path and fled. Then Liu Bei shot an arrow, wounding Zhang Bao in the left arm. However, he still managed to get away into the city of Yangcheng, where he fortified himself and would not come out to fight.
    Zhu Jun laid a siege outside the city. At the same time he sent out scouts to get news of Huangfu Song. The scouts returned with the following report: “Huangfu Song had won great victories and was given the command of Dong Zhuo’s army by the Emperor because Dong Zhuo had suffered many defeats. When Huangfu Song arrived at Guangzong, Zhang Jue had already died and his brother Zhang Liang had added Jiao’s army to his own in a vain attempt to confront the imperial troops. Huangfu Song had won seven successive victories and Zhang Liang was slain at Quyang. Beside this, Zhang Jue had been exhumed, the corpse beheaded and the head, after exposure, had been sent to the capital. For these services Huangfu Song had been promoted to the rank of General of Carriage and Cavalry and now ruled the prefecture of Jizhou. Then he presented a memorial to the Emperor concerning the case of Lu Zhi, who was restored to his former rank after the Emperor learned that he had committed no crime but had rendered good service. Cao Cao, too, had received advancement for his services and would soon return from the front and go to his new post at Jinan.”
    After hearing these reports, Zhu Jun pressed even harder on the city of Yangcheng, putting the rebels in a desperate situation. Then one of Zhang Bao’s officers killed the rebel leader and brought his head as a token of submission. So Zhu Jun was able to wipe out rebellion in that part of the country and a report was sent to the Emperor to announce the victory.
    However, the embers still smoldered. Three remaining members of the Yellow Turban rebellion—Zhao Hong, Han Zhong, and Sun Zhong—again gathered an army of tens of thousands of men. They burned and looted as they went, calling themselves avengers of Zhang Jue. Zhu Jun was commanded to lead his victorious troops to destroy them.
    So he at once set out toward Wancheng, which had fallen into the hands of the rebels. When he arrived, the rebels sent Han Zhong to oppose him. Zhu Jun asked Liu Bei and his two brothers to attack the city from the southwest. Han Zhong immediately rushed to the scene with the best of his men to confront them. Meanwhile, the general himself led 2,000 armored horsemen to attack it from the opposite direction. Afraid that the city might be lost, the rebels abandoned the southwest and turned back. Liu Bei pressed hotly in their rear, defeating them completely. The rebels took refuge behind the high walls of the city, which was surrounded on all sides by the imperial forces. Famine soon followed and in desperation the rebel leader sent out a messenger to offer surrender, but the offer was turned down by the general.
    Liu Bei asked, “In the past, Emperor Gao-zu, founder of the Han Dynasty, welcomed and accepted those who surrendered, so he was able to rule the land. Why do you reject Han Zhong, sir?”
    “The situations are different,” replied Zhu Jun. “In those days disorder was everywhere and the people had no fixed lord. Therefore, submission was welcomed and those who surrendered were rewarded so as to encourage people to come over. Now the empire is united and the Yellow Turbans are the only malcontents. To allow brigands to plunder and rob when successful and to let them surrender when unsuccessful is to encourage brigandage. This