So it was done. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took each a thousand troops and hid them on the high cliffs behind the hills, and they had a plentiful supply of the blood of swine and goats and dogs and all manners of filthy things. And so next day, when the rebels with fluttering banners and rolling drums came out to challenge, Liu Bei rode forth to meet them. At the same moment that the armies met, again Zhang Bao began his magic and again the elements began to struggle together. Sand flew in clouds, pebbles were swept along the ground, black masses of vapor filled the sky, and rolling masses of foot and horse descended from on high. Liu Bei turned, as before, to flee and the rebels rushed on. But as they pressed through the hills, the trumpets blared, and the hidden soldiers exploded bombs, threw down filth and spattered blood. The masses of soldiers and horses in the air fluttered to the earth as fragments of torn paper, the wind ceased to blow, the thunder subsided, the sand sank, and the pebbles lay still upon the ground.
Zhang Bao quickly saw his magic had been countered and turned to retire. Then he was attacked on the flanks by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and in rear by Liu Bei and Zhu Jun. The rebels were routed. Liu Bei, seeing from afar the banner of “Zhang Bao The Lord of Earth,” galloped toward it but only succeeded in wounding Zhang Bao with an arrow in the left arm. Wounded though he was, Zhang Bao got away into the city of Yangcheng, where he fortified himself and was besieged by Zhu Jun.
Scouts, sent out to get news of Huangfu Song, reported: “Commander Huangfu Song had been very successful, and Dong Zhuo had suffered many reverses. Therefore the court put Huangfu Song in the latter's place. Zhang Jue had died before Huangfu Song's arrival. Zhang Liang had added his brother's army to his own, but no headway could be made against Huangfu Song, whose army gained seven successive victories. And Zhang Liang was slain at Quyang. Beside this, Zhang Jue's coffin was exhumed, the corpse beheaded, and the head, after exposure, was sent to Capital Luoyang. The common crowd had surrendered. For these services Huangfu Song was promoted to General of the Flying Cavalry and the Imperial Protector of Jizhou.
“Huangfu Song did not forgotten his friends. His first act after he had attained to power was to memorialize the Throne concerning the case of Lu Zhi, who was then restored to his former rank for his meritorious conducts. Cao Cao also received advancement for his services and was preparing to go to Jinan to his new post.”
Hearing these things Zhu Jun pressed harder yet upon Yangcheng, and the approaching break-up of the rebellion became evident. Then one of Zhang Bao's officers, Yan Zheng, killed his leader and brought the head in token of submission. Thus rebellion in that part of the country was stamped out, and Zhu Jun made his report to the government.
However, the embers of the Yellow Scarves still smoldered. Three other rebels, Zhao Hong, Han Zhong, and Sun Zhong, gathered some thirty thousand rebels and began to murder and rob and burn, calling themselves the avengers of Master Zhang Jue.
The court commanded the successful Zhu Jun to lead his veteran and successful troops to destroy the rebels. He at once marched toward the city of Wancheng which the rebels were holding. When Zhu Jun arrived, Han Zhong went to oppose him. Zhu Jun sent Liu Bei and his brothers to attack the southwest corner of the city. Han Zhong at once led the best of his troops to defend the city. Meanwhile Zhu Jun himself led two thousand of armored horsemen to attack the opposite corner. The rebels, thinking the city being lost, abandoned the southwest and turned back into the city to help the defenders. Liu Bei pressed hotly in their rear, and they were utterly routed. They took refuge in the city which was then invested. When famine pressed upon the besieged, they sent a messenger to offer to surrender, but Zhu Jun refused the offer.
Said Liu Bei to Zhu Jun, “Seeing that the founder of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang the Supreme Ancestor, could welcome the submissive and receive the favorable, why reject these?”
“The conditions are different,” replied Zhu Jun. “In those old days disorder was universal and the people had no fixed lord. Wherefore submission was welcomed and support rewarded to encourage people to come over. Now the empire is united, and the Yellow Scarves are the only malcontents. To receive their surrender is not to encourage the good. To allow brigands, when successful, is to give way to every license, and to let them surrender when they fail is to encourage brigandage. Your plan is not a good one.”
