Luo Guanzhong

“ They heard the shouts and screams of battle, and also saw the fires lighting up the skies. They hastily led their troops into the area, but when they arrived, the bandit rebels had already fled in defeat. Xuande visited with Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, and told them of Lu Zhi's plans. Song said, "Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao are all but finished; you must head for Guangzong, and go after Zhang Jue. Xuande, you should travel night and day so that you can render assistance." ”

“ Xuande invited the man to sit with them, and inquired as to his name. The man said, "My surname is Guan, my given name is Yu, my style name was Shouchang, [39] but then I changed it to Yunchang. [40] I am from Xieliang in the Hedong Commandery. Because there was a man from a wealthy family who was acting like a big shot and bullying everybody, I ended up killing him. I had to become a fugitive, and have been living the life of an itinerant mercenary for the past five or six years. When I heard that this area was recruiting soldiers to go smash bandit rebels, I came especially to join up." ”

“ Xuande exclaimed, "The heavens have blessed us!" The three men went out of the compound to receive the visitors. As it turns out, the two visitors were big-time merchants from Zhongshan: one of them named Zhang Shiping, and one of them named Su Shuang. Each year, they traveled north to sell horses, but had to turn back this time because of the bandit rebels. Xuande invited the two of them to come in, and arranged a full banquet in their honor. He then proceeded to explain how he planned to fight the bandit rebels and pacify the citizenry. ”

“ Seeing as Xuande was from a poor family, his uncle would often supplement their income. When he was fifteen, his mother sent him away for school. His teachers included Zheng Xuan and Lu Zhi, and he made friends with fellow classmates, such as Gongsun Zan. By the time that Liu Yan had posted his conscription notice, Xuande was already 28 years of age. When he saw the announcement that day, his heart became heavy and he let out a long sigh. Right afterward, a man said sternly, "An able bodied man not lifting a finger for his country! ”

“ Four to five hundred thousand common people, from the four corners of the empire, tied yellow turbans around their heads, and followed Zhang Jue into rebellion. The bandit rebels wielded a huge amount of power, and easily routed the government troops in battle after battle. He Jin petitioned the emperor to quickly issue an edict, ordering defensive preparations in every region, so that a campaign could be launched against the bandit rebels. ”

“ People from the households of eight administrative regions --- Qingzhou, Youzhou, Xuzhou, Jizhou, Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou --- all worshiped the great and virtuous teacher Zhang Jue. Jue secretly sent one of his cronies, Ma Yuanyi, to offer gifts of gold and fine cloth to the eunuch Feng Xu, in order to establish friendly relations, so that he could have an inside man. [19] Jue discussed the situation with his two brothers, saying, "The hardest thing is to win over the peoples' hearts. Right now, the people are already on our side. ”

“ Xuande rushed to stop him, saying, "The royal court naturally has the support of the people; how can you be so rash?" The soldiers surrounded Lu Zhi and departed. Lord Guan said, "Palace guard Lu has already been arrested, and someone else will be leading the army. If we go with them, we will not have anyone that we can count on for support. It would be better to return to Zhuo Commandery. Xuande followed his suggestion, and headed his troops north. ”

“ At the end of the Zhou Dynasty, seven kingdoms vied for supremacy, and became part of the Qin Dynasty. Similarly, after the Qin Dynasty was destroyed, Chu and Han vied for supremacy, and became a part of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty had ruled over a unified empire ever since Emperor Gaozu chopped a white serpent in half. [2] Later on, Emperor Guangwu reestablished control of the country. [3] After that, control of the empire was maintained through the generations until the time of Emperor Xian, whereupon the empire divided into three kingdoms. ”

“ If one were to deduce the origins of the Han Dynasty's decline, one might start with Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling. Emperor Huan imprisoned many gentlemen of talent, and put the palace eunuchs on a pedestal. [4] Then Emperor Huan passed away, and Emperor Ling ascended the throne. Commander-in-Chief Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan were two of his closest advisors. When eunuchs such as Cao Jie began to abuse their power, Dou Wu and Chen Fan plotted the assassination of the head eunuchs. ”

“ Later Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, Duan Gui, Cao Jie, Hou Lan, Jian Shuo, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun, and Guo Sheng all conspired to form a faction; they were called the "Ten regular attendants." The emperor venerated Zhang Rang in particular, even calling him "dad." The running of the government became more and more corrupt after that. This caused people from all over the empire to consider rebellion, and bandits began to pop up everywhere. ”

“ Once you have mastered its contents, you will represent the heavens in spreading this knowledge, and thereby save all of mankind. If you start to have second thoughts, there will be terrible consequences for you. ”

“ The fortune tellers all said, "This family will definitely produce a man of importance."
9 玄德幼時,與鄉中小兒戲於樹下曰:「我為天子,當乘此車蓋。」叔父劉元起奇其言,曰:「此兒非常人也!」因見玄德家貧,常資給之。年十五歲,母使游學,嘗師事鄭玄、盧植;與公孫瓚等為友。及劉焉發榜招軍時,玄德年已二十八歲矣。當日見了榜文,慨然長嘆。隨後一人厲聲言曰:「大丈夫不與國家出力,何故長嘆?」 Gongsun Zan When Xuande was little, he used to play with children at the foot of a tree, saying, "If I become the Son of Heaven, [26] , I should mount my chariot by this tree." His uncle Liu Yuanqi said in amazement, "This child has an extraordinary soul!" ”

“ Because of this, Cao was able to do whatever he wanted without a care in the world.
23 時人有橋玄者,謂操曰:「天下將亂,非命世之才,不能濟。能安之者,其在君乎?」南陽何顒見操,言「漢室將亡,安天下者,必此人也」。汝南許劭,有知人之名。操往見之,問曰:「我何如人?」劭不答。又問,劭曰:「子治世之能臣,亂世之奸雄也。」操聞言大喜。年二十,舉孝廉,為郎,除洛陽北都尉。初到任,即設五色棒十餘條於縣之四門。有犯禁者,不避豪貴,皆責之。中常侍蹇碩之叔,提刀夜行,操巡夜拏住,就棒責之。由是,內外莫敢犯者,威名頗震。後為頓丘令。因黃巾起,拜為騎都尉,引馬步軍五千,前來潁川助戰。正值張梁、張寶敗走,曹操攔住,大殺一陣,斬首萬餘級,奪得旗旛金鼓馬匹極多。張梁、張寶死戰得脫。操見過皇甫嵩、朱雋,隨即引兵追襲張梁、張寶去了。 At the time, there lived a person named Qiao Xuan, who said to Cao, "The world is descending into chaos; only a man of outstanding ability can save us. ”

“ However, Lu Zhi stayed with them, rather than returning to whatever he was doing before they came.↑ i.e. the two younger brothers of Zhang Jue↑ i.e. they had to rely on straw as building material for the living quarters and other structures↑ i.e. after 11:00 pm↑ One chi was approximately 23.1 cm, seven chi was approximately 1.617 meters (~5.305377 feet) .↑ Literal meaning: the most virtuous↑ Literal meaning: little deceiver↑ Literal meaning: lucky↑ The uncle was his father's younger brother.↑ The person in this post was in charge of the northern district of a city. ”