The First Chapter: The Heroes of Yuanyang Banquet Threefold Alliance, Cutting off the Yellow Turban Heroes and Establishing Merit

As for the great trend of the world, after being divided for a long time, it must unite; after being united for a long time, it must be divided. At the end of the Zhou Dynasty, the seven states were in conflict and eventually merged into Qin. After the Qin Dynasty was destroyed, Chu and Han were in conflict and then merged into Han. The Han Dynasty, since the founder, Gaozu, cut a white snake and rose in rebellion, unified the world. Later, the light of the Han Dynasty was reborn, and it passed to the Xian Emperor, and then it was divided into three states. The cause of the chaos can be traced back to the emperors Huan and Ling. Emperor Huan confined the good people, and believed in the eunuchs. After Emperor Huan died, Emperor Ling ascended the throne, and General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan jointly assisted him. At that time, eunuchs like Cao Jie were exercising power, and Dou Wu and Chen Fan planned to eliminate them, but the secret was not kept well, and they were killed instead. From then on, the eunuchs became even more tyrannical.

In the fourth month of the second year of Jianning, on the day of the full moon, the emperor ascended the Wende Hall. Just as he was about to take his seat, a fierce gale burst from the corner of the hall. Suddenly, a large green snake flew down from the beam, coiling itself on the chair. The emperor was frightened and fell, and his attendants rushed to rescue him and took him back to the palace, while all the officials fled in panic. In a short while, the snake disappeared. Suddenly, there was a great thunderstorm and hail, which lasted until midnight, causing countless houses to collapse. In the second month of the fourth year of Jianning, an earthquake struck Luoyang; the sea also overflowed, and the coastal residents were all swept into the sea by the great waves. In the first year of Guanghao, a female chicken turned into a male. On the first day of the sixth month, a dark cloud ten to twelve chi long flew into the Wende Hall. In the seventh month of autumn, a rainbow appeared in the Yutang Hall; the entire Yuyuan Mountain岸 collapsed. All kinds of misfortunes occurred, not just one. The emperor issued an edict to inquire from the ministers about the cause of the disasters, and the censor Cai Yong submitted a memorial, arguing that the rainbow falling and the female chicken turning into a male were due to the women's palace interfering in state affairs, and his words were quite direct. The emperor sighed after reading the memorial and got up to change clothes. Cao Jie looked at him from behind and whispered to the attendants; he was framed for other reasons and sent back to his rural home. Later, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Mu, Duan Gui, Cao Jie, Hou Luan, JIan Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun, and Guo Sheng were ten men who colluded with each other, known as the 'Ten Eunuchs'. The emperor respected and trusted Zhang Rang, calling him 'Afu'. As a result, the state affairs deteriorated day by day, leading to the hearts of the people all over the world yearning for chaos, and bandits rising in droves.

However, as he had no achievements in defeating the Yellow Turban rebels, the court discussed punishing him for his failure. He managed to escape punishment through bribery of the Ten Eunuchs. Later, he befriended influential officials and was appointed to a prominent position, commanding the strong western army of two hundred thousand. He often harbored rebellious thoughts. At that time, upon receiving the imperial edict, he was overjoyed, gathered his troops, and began to set out; he sent his son-in-law, General Niu Fu, to guard Shaanxi, while he himself led Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, Fan Chou, and others to advance towards Luoyang.

第二回 张翼德怒鞭督邮 何国舅谋诛宦竖

The second chapter: Zhang Yide lashes out at the Marshal; He Guotu plots to exterminate the eunuchs.

Meanwhile, Dong Zhuo, known as Zhongying, was from Lingxiang, Longxi. He was appointed as the Prefect of Hedong and had always been proud. On that day, he was negligent towards Sun Quan, and Zhang Fei's temper flared up, wanting to kill him. Sun Quan and Guan Yu hurriedly stopped him and said, "He is an official appointed by the court, how can we kill him arbitrarily?" Zhang Fei said, "If we don't kill this guy, we will have to obey his orders under his command, which is really unacceptable! If you two brothers want to stay here, I will go elsewhere!" Sun Quan said, "We three are bound by the same fate, how can we separate? Let's go elsewhere together." Zhang Fei said, "If it's like that, it will slightly ease my grudge."

However, as he had no achievements in defeating the Yellow Turban rebels, the court discussed punishing him for his failure. He managed to escape punishment through bribery of the Ten Eunuchs. Later, he befriended influential officials and was appointed to a prominent position, commanding the strong western army of two hundred thousand. He often harbored rebellious thoughts. At that time, upon receiving the imperial edict, he was overjoyed, gathered his troops, and began to set out; he sent his son-in-law, General Niu Fu, to guard Shaanxi, while he himself led Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, Fan Chou, and others to advance towards Luoyang.

At this point, the three men led their troops to seek refuge with Zhu Jun. Zhu Jun treated them generously, merged their forces, and advanced to fight Zhang Bao. At that time, Cao Cao was following Huangfu Song in fighting Zhang Liang and had a fierce battle at Quyang. Here, Zhu Jun attacked Zhang Bao. Zhang Bao led the rebels, numbering nearly ninety thousand, and camped in the mountains behind. Zhu Jun ordered Sun Quan to lead the vanguard against the rebels. Zhang Bao sent his deputy, Gao Sheng, to challenge them. Sun Quan sent Zhang Fei to fight him. Zhang Fei charged on horseback, brandishing his spear, and fought with Gao Sheng. After a few exchanges, Gao Sheng fell from his horse. Sun Quan led his troops to charge forward. Zhang Bao, on horseback, unveiled his hair, drew his sword, and performed a magical ritual. Suddenly, thunder and lightning struck, a dark aura descended from the sky, and countless horses and soldiers seemed to come crashing down from the heavens. Sun Quan quickly retreated, and the army was thrown into chaos. They retreated and discussed the situation with Zhu Jun. Zhu Jun said, "They use magic, so tomorrow we can use pig, sheep, and dog blood. We will hide soldiers on the mountain top and pour the blood down from the high slope when the enemy comes. This method can counteract the magic." Sun Quan followed the order, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led a thousand soldiers each to hide on the high ridge behind the mountain, preparing pig, sheep, and dog blood as well as other impurities. The next day, Zhang Bao raised his banners and beat his drums, leading his troops to challenge them. During the battle, Zhang Bao performed the ritual, and thunder and lightning struck, sand and stones flew, the dark aura filled the sky, and countless soldiers seemed to pour down from the heavens. Sun Quan turned his horse and fled, and Zhang Bao chased after him. As they approached the mountain top, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's hidden troops set off signal rockets and poured the impurities down. Suddenly, paper men and grass horses fell from the sky; the thunder and lightning ceased, and the sand and stones no longer flew.

The third chapter: Wenming discusses with Dong Zhuo, who scolds Ding Yuan; Li Su persuades Lü Bu with gold and jade.

On that day, Cao Cao said to He Jin, "The trouble caused by eunuchs has existed throughout history; but the sovereigns of the world should not entrust them with power and favor, leading to such a situation. If one wants to punish them, one should eliminate the root of evil, and a single jailer would suffice. Why summon foreign troops? If one wants to exterminate them, the matter must be exposed. I believe they will surely fail." He Jin was angry and said, "Does Mengde also have personal intentions?" Cao Cao retreated and said, "The one who will bring chaos to the world is He Jin." He Jin then secretly sent messengers with a secret edict to various military districts at night.

However, as he had no achievements in defeating the Yellow Turban rebels, the court discussed punishing him for his failure. He managed to escape punishment through bribery of the Ten Eunuchs. Later, he befriended influential officials and was appointed to a prominent position, commanding the strong western army of two hundred thousand. He often harbored rebellious thoughts. At that time, upon receiving the imperial edict, he was overjoyed, gathered his troops, and began to set out; he sent his son-in-law, General Niu Fu, to guard Shaanxi, while he himself led Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, Fan Chou, and others to advance towards Luoyang.