Chapter 67: The White Wave Army

  In the east of Hebei, there is a White Wave Valley. Inside the valley, there is a remnant force of Yellow Turbans, known as the White Wave Army. The leader is Guo Tai, with generals Yang Feng, Han Xian, Hu Cai and more than ten others, with an army of several tens of thousands.

  On this day, Guo Tai welcomed a mysterious guest.

  The guest was very young, around thirty years old, with a pale complexion and elegant speech, looking like a Confucian scholar. However, his eyes were bright and spirited, with a hint of a rogue's determination. Guo Tai looked at this young man, feeling inexplicably puzzled, as he had no impression of him whatsoever. The young man smiled, fiddled with the hairpin on his head, twisted it around, took out a rolled-up yellow paper from inside, and handed it to Guo Tai. Guo Tai took a glance, involuntarily gasped in shock, and his eyes widened in surprise. Just as he was about to speak, the young man waved his hand, signaling him to be silent.

  "Is this seal okay?"

  "Not at all." Guo Tai respectfully handed the handkerchief back, his eyes becoming more cautious: "Sir has come from afar, what instructions do you have?"

  The young man tucked the token into his hairpin, reinserting it properly. He glanced at the large tent, then walked confidently to the table and pointed at the map on it: "May I borrow the map for a moment."

  "Please, be at ease." Guo Tai hastily invited him to take a seat and stood respectfully beside him. The young man also didn't stand on ceremony, sitting down in Guo Tai's commander's chair, pointing at the map as he said: "After Da Xianliang Shi fell in battle, although the Yellow Turbans' morale was unbroken, they were struggling to make progress, simply because there wasn't a leader who could command absolute obedience. Now, this leader has appeared."

  Guo Tai hesitated for a moment, his eyebrows slowly rising: "Yuan Shao?"

  The young man nodded: "That's right, I am indeed sent by the Yuanmeng master."

  Guo Tai stared at the young man, his eyes gradually filling with murderous intent, and his two hands slowly clenched into fists. "Those governors and magistrates in Shandong are all enemies of my Yellow Turbans, which one of them doesn't have the blood of my Yellow Turbans on their hands? How could I possibly obey Yuan Shao's orders?"

  "The enemy of the Yellow Turbans is not in Suangan, but in Luoyang." The young man stretched out his hand and pointed a few times: "The secret among them, you don't understand it's okay, but this talisman drawn by Da Xianliang himself can't be wrong, isn't that so?"

  Guo Tai's eyebrows furrowed, staring at the young man, and he didn't speak for a long time. He knew that what the young man said was true. The talisman in the young man's hand was an extremely high-level talisman, on par with the talismans given by Da Xianliang to his eight disciples back then, yet not completely identical. With Guo Tai's identity, he could only confirm that the talisman was genuine, but he didn't know what this young man's background was or how he came to possess such a high-level talisman.

  He also knew who the young man's archenemy was. Indeed, compared to Yuan Shao's subordinates, such as the governor and prefect, Huangfu Song was the greatest enemy of the Yellow Turbans. It was precisely because Huangfu Song had previously been stationed in Guanzhong that he did not dare to enter Guanzhong at all.

  Huangfu Song's prestige and power made the Yellow Turbans both hate and fear him.

  After a long while, Guo Tai said: "Sir, what do you want me to do?"

  "Dispatch troops to the east of the river, cut off the connection between Luoyang and Chang'an."

  "What's next?"

  "After you succeed, someone will take Guanzhong first and then gather the troops to surround Luoyang." The young man stretched out a finger, lightly tapping on Luoyang, his mouth slightly raised, slowly clenched his fist. "Then, the dark sky dies, the yellow sky rises, and the world is at peace."

  ……

  Liu Bian finished reading the urgent military report in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and gently threw the report on the case.

  "What profound insight does Taifu have?" He said calmly and leisurely while adjusting his clothes.

  Huangfu Song gazed quietly at Liu Bian, both shocked and delighted. Shocked that Liu Bian could remain so calm in the face of such important military information, delighted that Liu Bian possessed such composure, already showing a few parts of the demeanor of being unmoved by the collapse of Mount Tai.

  "Your Majesty, we are guilty." Huangfu Song bowed his head in apology: "Your Majesty had previously issued an edict to instruct us, but it was our fault for not being thoughtful and vigilant enough, allowing the White Wave bandits to take advantage of the situation."

  Liu Bian smiled silently: "Without this opportunity, how would Bai Bo Ze be willing to come out of the mountain? Taifu, what good suggestions do you have next?"

  Huangfu Song felt somewhat embarrassed, and after a moment of silence, he said seriously: "Your Majesty, the White Wave Army is not to be feared. What's fearful are Han Sui and Ma Teng in Liangzhou. Once the White Wave Army occupies Hebei, our main force will be unable to rush back to Guanzhong, and Guanzhong will inevitably be unable to defend itself. Please dispatch a capable general to garrison Guanzhong and resist Han and Ma."

  Liu Bian thought for a moment: "Han Sui and Ma Teng, one is a famous scholar of the Western State, and the other is a brave warrior of Guanzhong. They are not ordinary people who can be compared to. Those who can be their opponents, except for Taifu, only have Taiwei. Taifu is my confidant, cannot leave lightly, then it's better to ask Taiwei to take on this heavy responsibility."

  "Your Majesty's arrangement is quite appropriate. The Grand General has experienced a hundred battles, and naturally there will be no problem with the war. However, he is busy with military affairs, and it is feared that he will not have time to govern the people. If Your Majesty can arrange for a good minister who is skilled in internal affairs to assist him, cultivate soldiers and farm, he will surely be able to make Guanzhong a stable rear base."

  Liu Bian's eyes narrowed, and for a moment he couldn't fully understand the meaning of Huangfu Song's words. However, he could hear that Huangfu Song's few sentences had deep implications. The most obvious point was that he didn't trust Dong Zhuo, and wanted him to arrange for a powerful minister to restrain Dong Zhuo. He thought back to the great play that had unfolded in Chang'an in history, and couldn't help but laugh secretly.

  "Taifu thought, what about Shangshu Ling Wang Yun?"

  Huangfu Song nodded: "Wang Zishi is a famous scholar in Bingzhou, Guo Linzong thinks he has the talent of Wang Zuo, with his help, Dong Zhuo will be safe and sound."

  "All right, I hereby issue an edict to transfer Wang Yun to be the Colonel of the Capital City Garrison, and have him guard Guanzhong together with the Grand Marshal." Liu Bian turned around and said to the Imperial Secretary Huangfu Shansheng: "You go to the Grand Marshal's place to deliver the edict, and make sure he understands my sincere hopes for him."

  Huangfu Jian Shou nodded in agreement and accepted the order with a bow.

  ……

  As soon as Dong Zhuo saw Huangfu Song, he burst out laughing and came forward to greet him, grasping Huangfu's arm and saying warmly: "Old brother, you and your son have really risen to prominence! One is a Grand Tutor, the other an Imperial Secretary - both are high officials close to the Emperor."

  Huangfu Jianshou and Li Ru, who was behind Dong Zhuo, exchanged a glance, and shook his head with a bitter smile: "Dong Gong, don't make jokes. We are both people of Xiliang, you should know why my father did this."

  Dong Zhuo sighed: "Yes, the scholars in the court look down on us people from Xiliang. If it weren't for Taifu yielding military power, how could the Emperor possibly entrust me with such an important task in Guanzhong? Speaking of which, I, Dong Zhuo, owe you and your father a favor."

  "It's all about serving the country, why must you speak so harshly, Lord Dong?" Huangfu Jianxu said warmly: "In order to let Lord Dong go to war with peace of mind, the Emperor has also arranged for a famous scholar from Pingzhou to assist Lord Dong. Whether or not you can govern Guanzhong well is up to you."

  Dong Zhuo burst out laughing, feeling proud and refreshed. He was reassigned to Guanzhong, fully in charge of the western front, which made him see the emperor's trust and reliance on him, sweeping away his recent gloominess, and even making him feel more favorable towards Huangfu Song, with whom he had never gotten along.

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