After the compilation was confirmed, before Zhang Qi could breathe a sigh of relief, Zhou Cang immediately raised an important question.

"Lord, what kind of resounding name should we call more than 2,000 of us in the future?"

In fact, the Yellow Turban Army of Zhang Qiang originally had a name.

However, in the first major battle after the founding of the army, it was defeated by only one-fifth of its own Han army and county soldiers, and the personnel lost more than nine-tenths. Because of this bad omen, no one wants to use the original name anymore.

When there were only four or five hundred people in the army, the need for a name was not urgent. However, now that the size of the army has reached more than 2,000 people, if it does not establish a resounding name, it will also have an adverse impact on the morale of the army.

――So, what kind of name should you call it?

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Zhang Mad thought for a moment and asked his henchmen.

"Qu Shuai, how about calling it the 'Iron Bull Army'? There is a big cow in our hometown, and it is very old, and it has killed a leopard on the mountain. ”

A farmer-turned-subordinate, a tentative proposal.

"'Iron Bull Army'? Is there a 'Tiger Army' majesty? ”

Dian Wei said disdainfully.

"We are the rebels of the 'Taiping Dao', so let's just call it the 'Taiping Army'."

Hearing Zhou Cang say this, Zhang Qiang almost didn't roll his eyes. "Taiping Army"? It's also the "Taiping Heavenly Kingdom"!

"It's not funny. Didn't we say that we had to fight desperately for the peace of the world? According to me, it's called the 'Tianping Army', okay? ”

Zhang Yan held his breath hard. The name is also very joyful. As soon as he heard it, he couldn't help but think of the "Golden Holy Clothes of the Balance Seat", which was known as the "arsenal".

"Wonderful! That's a good name! ”

"Yes, there is not only the name of our 'Taiping Dao' in it, but also in line with the wishes of our Li people. That's it! What do you say, my lord? ”

Everyone has unanimous praise for the title of "Tianping Army". Zhang Mad thought about it, but he really couldn't think of a better name, so he had to nod in agreement.

In this way, in the second month after coming to this world and merging with a native soul, Zhang Mad had an army of his own, the Tianping Army.

However, the current arrogance must first solve one problem, and that is:

-- How to fill more than 2,000 mouths and stomachs underneath.

The Yellow Turban Army, which was originally arrogant, had already raised enough food and grass to last for a month after laying down a small dock fort. However, when his team suddenly became more than 2,000 people, the maintenance time of grain and grass became only six or seven days.

Wanting to be full, Zhang Crazy thought about it for a long time, and found that there was still only one way.

Eat big!

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the local heroes and powers can be said to control most of the Han Empire. These high-ranking clans, known as the "scholar clan", originated in the period of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu.

Because of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, in the process of raising troops to fight for the world, he was deeply helped by local heroes. Even the famous "Yuntai Twenty-eight Generals" are basically from wealthy families. As a result, when Emperor Guangwu ascended the throne as emperor, these powerful forces have formed a trend from the central to the local.

Although Emperor Guangwu once tried to use cool officials like Dong Xuanzhi of the "Strong Order" to rectify these powerful clans, but because his generals were too widely implicated, in order to ensure the stability of the empire, with the wisdom of Emperor Guangwu, it can only be a symptom rather than a cure.

Later, several Han emperors who succeeded to the throne felt that the power of these high-ranking families was too great, so they had to find ways to support the two forces of "eunuchs" and "relatives" to act as thugs and suppress those high-ranking families.

In this way, the power of the scholars in the center of the court was greatly hit, and the government gradually fell into the manipulation of the two groups of "eunuchs" and "relatives" in turn. The scholars, who were unwilling to lose the authority of the central government, repeatedly took advantage of the mutual crushing of the "eunuch" group and the "foreign relatives" group to stir up trouble and try to turn the tables and re-enter the central court.

This kind of strong provocation was countered by the "eunuch" clique, which felt a huge threat, and caused two famous "disasters of the party"1.

However, the central government belongs to the central government, and the foundation of the Gaomen clan is firmly rooted in the local counties. The defeat in the battle for the central court did not affect the strengthening of the foundation of the wealthy families among the local counties. With the passage of time, the current Han Empire, most of the local political power, has fallen into the hands of the local Gaomen clans.

The most direct proof of the existence of these powerful forces is the countless manors scattered all over the Central Plains. The drastic land annexation made the entire Han Empire, the rich have no land, and the poor have no place to stand.

The turmoil in the world began to rise, and the powerful people built strong defensive fortresses inside the manor for their own safety. These small family forts were called Dock Fort by the people of the time.

Now, more than three months after the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Uprising, almost all the local tyrants have shrunk their possessions into a fortified dock fort. If he wants to get enough supplies, the only means available to him at the moment is to attack the dock fort.

However, since the Dock Fort can be regarded as their last refuge by the rich and powerful, it is naturally not easy to conquer. Especially for the Yellow Turban Army, which lacked siege equipment, even a small dock fort with hundreds of people only had to face the resistance of dozens of strong men, and if it did not pile up hundreds of lives, it was almost impossible to conquer it.

Although I feel a headache, but now, I can only bite the bullet.

According to the information provided by the local Yellow Turban Army, Zhang Qiang chose a small dock fort as a target.

This dock fort is just a stronghold of a small wealthy family. Counting the elderly, weak, women and children, the population is only seven or eight hundred, and the resistance is limited. The walls of the dock fort are not high, only more than two feet. As a soft persimmon, this is a good target for the "balance army" whose teeth are not very good.

Before attacking, Zhang Crazy tried to see if he could outwit it. However, the lord of the Dock Fort was obviously a fine man, and he did not let Wang Guo, who pretended to be the Han army, succeed again. The arrogance of the defeat of the deception city had to lead a large army to the dock fort.

"There is no way in the Han family! Now that the yellow sky is dead, the sky should stand! Why don't you conform to the will of the people of Heaven and quickly surrender to my Yellow Turban army, but you will not lose the reward of the marquis! ”

"Ridiculous moth thief 2, dying to the end, is still talking in glory! I, the loyal martyrs of the Huang family, will not take refuge in those who are about to die! ”

Routine persuasion, routine failure. As early as the expected arrogance, his face did not change, and instructed the "loud public" Dian Wei, and continued to shout:

"If you don't know the destiny of heaven, you will have your own destiny! Our Tianping army intends to travel far away, but the army is short of rations. The lord of the castle can fund my Tianping army with food and grass, and my Tianping army will not commit any crimes in the autumn! ”

The weight of a hull of grain is equivalent to about 20 kilograms. Due to the lack of meat and oil and water, a yellow turban wrestler needs to consume more than one kilogram of grain a day. A piece of grain is just half a month's food for a Yellow Turban Lux.

Moreover, in the ambush battle that had just ended, the arrogant subordinates captured fifty or sixty qualified war horses. The amount of food these precious war horses for a day is worth five or six strong men.

In this way, 1,000 tons of grain is just more than 5 or 6 days' military rations for more than 2,000 people in the Tianping Army. If this dock fort is interesting and avoids a difficult siege battle, even if the amount of grain that is willing to hand over is smaller, Zhang Qiang is ready to let them go generously.

There was silence in the Dock Fort, clearly hesitating. However, Insolence is not prepared to give them too much time. Now there are four days of rations left in the army. If food is not obtained in time, the consequences will be extremely serious.

"If there is no reply within a quarter of an hour, it is disobedient! My Tianping army has 3,000 armor soldiers, and I will wave my division to attack! ”

This quote is very useful. Only a quarter of an hour later, a condition came from the dock fort.

"We have heard a lot about the heroism of the Yellow Turban Army, and we have wanted to see it for a long time. Now it's time to learn a thing or two. I don't know your army, but there are warriors who dare to fight? ”

Hearing this, the soldiers of the Tianping Army in the front row couldn't help but make a noise. Some laughed, some scolded. Everyone has seen Dian Wei's bravery, and they sneered at this dock fort that didn't know the height of the sky.

"If we are defeated, we are willing to have a thousand more grains. But if you win by luck......"

"I don't take the balance army at all, so I will retreat!"

The arrogant and loud promise, and secretly laughed in his heart. With Dian Wei here, why not be afraid of your challenge.

Moreover, in his arrogant heart, he is also a little eager to try. His cultivation of "Taiping True Qi" is already close to the realm of Dacheng. If you really want to compare heads-up methods, even Zhou Cang may not be able to defeat arrogance.

However, the son of a daughter can't sit down.

Dian Wei also laughed twice, and roared arrogantly:

"Yes! Speed! Come! War!! ”

With this "tiger roar", the guards standing on the dock fort were frightened by Dian Wei's monstrous momentum, and their bodies shook one after another. However, a burly figure was unmoved. As soon as Dian Wei's words fell, this figure jumped down from the city wall more than two feet high.

The strange thing is that although this person is tall and weighs amazingly, he jumped from a high place without making much noise. The landing posture is gratuitously reminiscent of a cat?

ps: 1 The disaster of the party refers to the incident of party disputes with eunuchs during the reign of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when scholars and nobles were dissatisfied with the phenomenon of eunuch disorderly government, and party disputes occurred with eunuchs. The incident was named after the eunuch who imprisoned the scholar for life on the charge of "party member". It happened twice.

In the end, the disaster of the party ended with the eunuchs killing the scholars and doctors. The remarks at that time, as well as later historians, were mostly sympathetic to the Shi Dafu party, and believed that the disaster of the party system hurt the foundation of the Han Dynasty, laying the groundwork for the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the eventual demise of the Han Dynasty.

2 Moth thief is the Han Dynasty's contemptuous name for the Yellow Turban Army. Because the yellow turban soldiers have a yellow scarf wrapped around their heads, they look like groups of moths fighting fire, so they are called moth thieves.