Chapter 514: Starting from scratch

During the late Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out and the country was in chaos. At that time, there were still eighteen vassal states in the world.

Due to the implementation of the Enfeoffment Order in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the territories and populations of various vassal states were divided and enfeoffed from generation to generation, resulting in a smaller and smaller number. Today, a kingdom may be only the size of four or five counties.

Moreover, the activities of the kings were strictly restricted to their fiefdoms, and they were not allowed to build an army or go on an expedition without orders from the imperial court. Therefore, except for people like Chen Wang Liu Chong who took advantage of the weakness of the Han Dynasty to expand the army, the other princes were almost incompetent.

Moreover, the princes of the royal family only had titles and no administrative or military power over their fiefdoms; specific affairs were left to the prime minister.

In the third year of Chuping, when Cao Cao entered Yanzhou, his position was that Bao Xin, the Prime Minister of Jibei, was invited by Yuan Shao to enter Yanzhou to suppress the bandits because Bao Xin, the Governor of Yanzhou in Dongping State, was killed while suppressing the Yellow Turban Army. In the same year, Cao Cao was recommended by Yuan Shao as the Prefect of Dongjun, with his seat in Dongwuyang, so he had a place to settle down.

But Cao Cao was not strong at that time, because the soldiers he had recruited when he started were defeated by Xu Rong in the Battle of Xingyang and were almost all lost, so he did not have enough military force to occupy Yanzhou at that time.

Fortunately, the late Eastern Han Dynasty was a period when dual monarchy prevailed, that is, "the subordinates of my subordinates are not my subordinates, and my master's master is not my master."

The fact that Zhang Xiu was able to lead his troops to leave Liu Biao and join Cao Cao independently, that Sun Ben and Sun Ce were able to break away from the Yuan family, and that Liu Bei wandered around but was able to ensure that the core camp never fell apart, was all related to the special system in this special period. Therefore, the team that Cao Cao had recruited again before became his reliance for making a fortune, and all he needed next was an opportunity.

Then the opportunity came.

The campaign against the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou.

In this battle, Bao Xin, the Prime Minister of Jibei who was friendly with Cao Cao, was killed in the fight against the Yellow Turbans, and Zheng Sui, the Prime Minister of Rencheng, was killed. These two counties were in a power vacuum. Cao Cao then defeated the Yellow Turbans in the east of Dongping State, and claimed to have accepted more than 300,000 surrendered soldiers. These were the source of the Qingzhou soldiers later, and his power expanded rapidly.

Cao Cao occupied Jibei State, Rencheng State, and Dongping State, which had no one to take the throne after Liu Dai was killed, and began the rapid expansion of the Cao family.

At this time, many princes were making their fortunes, and many of them seized the opportunity to get something for nothing. This was the case with Cao Cao, Liu Bei took Jingzhou alone on horseback, Yuan Shao took Jizhou, and Yuan Shu got Nanyang for free because the Nanyang prefect Sun Zi was killed by Sun Jian.

Today, the Jibei Kingdom exists in name only and is actually controlled by Cao Cao, with its seat of government in Lu County.

At this time, Yang Feng arrived at the foot of the city. Lu County was extremely dilapidated and even the guards at the city gate were uneven. Several soldiers were standing at the door listlessly.

Yang Feng walked over, leading the horse, and lowered his voice, saying that he was passing by here on his way back to his hometown in Dongwuyang to attend a funeral.

The soldiers guarding the city heard Yang Feng's hoarse voice, which sounded like a woman's, so they reached out to lift Yang Feng's hat. Yang Feng raised his fingers, but finally forced himself to hold back. When the hat was lifted, Yang Feng's scarred face scared the soldiers, and they couldn't help but take two steps back.

Yang Feng even made her face look dark and ugly, and the soldier lost interest. He put down his bamboo hat and cursed, "Where did you come from, you country woman? You want to scare me to death. I'm going to have nightmares every night!"

He asked, "Where are you from and where are you going?"

Yang Feng replied, "I came from Taishan County and returned to my hometown, Dong County."

The soldier stretched out his hand and spread out his palm, "Ten green coins to enter the city!"

Yang Feng was a little surprised. The value of coins made in the late Han Dynasty was very low, and this price for the entrance fee could be said to be very low.

She counted out ten coins from her bag and put them in the soldier's hand. The soldier waved his hand and said, "Go in!"

Hearing this, Yang Feng thought that it was going well, so she led her horse and walked towards the city. As a result, another soldier looked at her from behind, became suspicious, and said, "Stop."

He walked up to Yang Feng, lifted his bamboo hat and looked at her, then asked, "What does your family do?"

Yang Feng replied: "I'm a farmer."

The soldier said, "Raise your hands and show them to me."

Yang Feng followed his instructions and stretched out his hand. The soldier lowered his head and saw that Yang Feng's hands were covered with calluses. He then asked, "How come you have a horse at home?"

Yang Feng said calmly: "Something happened in my hometown, and I was in a hurry to go back, so I sold my property and bought a horse."

The soldier pondered for a moment, looked Yang Feng up and down, and finally said, "You have a problem."

"Follow me into the city. I'll take you to see the city gate commander."

Yang Feng didn't know how she revealed her flaw. Her hands holding the reins tightened and she subconsciously wanted to attack, but she finally held back.

She followed the soldiers for a few steps and saw that they had entered the city. Then she walked towards a dilapidated house behind the city, thinking that was where the city gate commander was.

Yang Feng's expression remained unchanged. She was not afraid of being exposed. It would be difficult to stop her unless there were a hundred or so people on the opposite side.

The soldier turned around and looked at Yang Feng, sneering: "You are not afraid of death. Now there is a war in Yanzhou and Xuzhou, and all the horses have been requisitioned. You can still buy a horse. Who are you trying to fool?"

"You've come out as a spy. When I see the city gate officer, I'll torture you and you'll confess everything."

He saw that they had entered the city and the ugly black woman had no way to escape, so he felt very proud.

Yang Feng had no choice but to put his hand in front of his chest and made a few gestures.

The soldier was stunned for a moment, then he groaned, his stern face fell, and he muttered in disgrace, "Why didn't you guys say so earlier?"

"It's useless to make me walk more."

He looked helpless, turned around and left, "Do as you please in the city."

Yang Feng looked at the other party's departing back and shook her head. She was naturally prepared. When she was in Taishan County, she contacted the Taiping Dao members who were active in private. Relying on a set of methods and secret codes that only the top leaders of the Yellow Turbans would use, she successfully won the other party's trust.

She stayed in there for some time and finally found out that the Taiping Dao had indeed been infiltrated and controlled by Cao Cao. After some twists and turns, she got the secret code and hand gestures representing the identity of a spy of the Yanzhou Taiping Dao, which came in handy today.

She was walking in the city with her horse and found that the road was muddy, full of potholes and mixed with dirt. The ditches on the side of the road emitted a foul odor.

The huts on both sides were dilapidated and had not been repaired for a long time. The yellow mud mixed with the thatch on the roof had broken into many holes, revealing black holes.

There were almost no stalls or shops on both sides of the street. People were lying under the walls on both sides of the road, leaning on their bodies weakly.

The appearance of this city is very similar to Taishan County where Yang Feng had visited before. The mental outlook of its people is far inferior to that of Haixi City.

Yang Feng had to tell himself that Haixi was a commercial port and was naturally different from other places. Maybe other places in Guangling were not as good as Lu County.

After walking half a street, Yang Feng finally found a pancake shop. A white-haired old woman was sitting in front of a griddle, making pancakes.

The ceramic basin in her arms was filled with thin, black batter, and no one knew what kind of grains were mixed in it. As soon as Yang Feng approached, she smelled a sour odor from the jar.

She frowned slightly. This thing was obviously rotten. Could it really be eaten?

But thinking that all the cakes in the bag had been eaten, she had no choice but to walk forward with a frown and said, "Auntie, how much is a cake?"

The old woman looked up at Yang Feng and said, "You can't buy this with money now."

"Either cloth or silk."

Yang Fengqi asked, "Then why do the soldiers at the city gate collect money?"

The old woman sneered after hearing this and said, "Are you from outside?"

"Is it possible for a woman like you to come to a place like Rencheng?"

Yang Feng was puzzled and asked a few more questions, but seeing that the old woman was unwilling to say more, he took out a roll of linen from his bag, handed it to the old woman, and said, "Is this enough?"

The old woman took it and looked at it, then said, "That's enough for two more cakes. Wait a minute."

She poured the batter in the ceramic basin onto the griddle and pushed it back and forth several times with a wooden spatula. A thin pancake gradually took shape. She inserted the wooden spatula between the pancake and the griddle and flipped it over gently.

The aroma of wheat flour should have been diffused at this time, but Yang Feng's nose was constantly filled with a sour and stinky smell, which made her almost want to vomit. She asked: "Auntie, is this cake rotten?"

The old woman gave Yang Feng a sidelong glance and said, "It's good to have something to eat. Take the cake and hurry out of the city."

Yang Feng took the two pieces of dough in his bag and took a bite while it was still hot. As expected, he tasted the long-lost taste of rotten food on his tongue.

She swallowed one bite with difficulty, but could not eat the second one. She thought that she had eaten well after being captured in Youzhou, and her appetite had become more sophisticated. She could not help but ask, "Auntie, is this how everyone in this city eats?"

The old woman sneered: "Of course not, but we only deserve to eat this."

"I tell you the truth, these rice and flour were fished out from the sewers in the mansions of officials in the city."

When Yang Feng heard this, she almost vomited. Although she didn't have a good life in Montenegro, she had never eaten anything from the gutter.

She said angrily: "You old woman, why didn't you say so earlier!"

The old woman shook her head and said, "Why, some people want to eat it, but they can't get it!"

She pointed to the people on the street next to her who were looking over here from time to time and said, "Ask them if they can eat this kind of food."

Yang Feng turned around and saw that the beggars on both sides of the road were staring at this side, looking as if they were longing to see something, but they did not dare to approach.

She wondered, "They are hungry, why don't they dare to come and ask for food?"

The old woman said coldly: "Because even if it is to fish out these scraps from the gutter, not everyone can do it."

"My son and daughter-in-law are both slaves in the City Guard House. I am qualified to fish out the sewers. If anyone else dared to go, they would have been beaten to death on the ground."

"Even so, half of what I sold still needs to be handed over to the city guard."

Yang Feng felt upset after hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, a Taoist priest dressed as a Taoist priest came over and asked Yang Feng, "Were you the one who made the gesture when you entered the city just now?"

"I heard you are also a fellow practitioner?"

After hearing this, Yang Feng made more than a dozen hand gestures. The Taoist priest saw this and immediately became respectful. He bowed to Yang Feng and said, "I didn't expect you to come from afar. Please move over and have a chat."

The old woman next to her jumped at the name and stood up quickly, only to see that Yang Feng had already left with the Taoist priest.

The old woman's face was gloomy and she was in great anxiety. The Taiping Dao had regained power recently. If she offended these people of unknown origin, no one would be able to protect her!

She was so distracted that she didn't even realize that the dough on the griddle was burnt.