Chapter 2 Schemes and Plots on All Sides

Tang Zhou. None of them had ever imagined that this loyal and honest junior fellow apprentice would betray them.

A few people who shared a good relationship with Tang Zhou even wanted to put in a good word for him, but they quickly lost their nerve and stepped back.

After all, they all knew that the Grand Preceptor would never joke about such a momentous matter. Since the Grand Preceptor could bring it up at such an important gathering, he must have obtained irrefutable evidence.

Besides, the junior fellow apprentice Tang Zhou was one of the Grand Preceptor's favorite disciples; for a matter of this magnitude, the Grand Preceptor would never speak of it without thoroughly investigating it first.

Although the traitor had been successfully rooted out, preventing the uprising from being exposed, Zhang Jiao's heart was far from at ease at this moment; one could even say it felt slightly heavy.

This was because the matter of Tang Zhou had not been discovered by Zhang Jiao himself. Instead, someone had secretly tipped him off, making him realize what a massive hidden danger was lurking within his Yellow Turbans.

Moreover, the informants were not just from a single faction. Over the past few days, Zhang Jiao had successively received four secret letters, all detailing Tang Zhou's private dealings with the imperial officials.

What was even more bizarre was that these letters had all appeared in his room out of nowhere, yet no outsiders had entered his quarters beforehand.

When this happened, Zhang Jiao immediately realized that something had gone wrong among the people in his own household.

However, when Zhang Jiao went to investigate, it was already too late. By the time he decided to conduct a covert inquiry into his household staff, he received a report from a servant that several people in his estate had gone missing.

At that point, how could Zhang Jiao fail to realize that those people hadn't merely gone missing, but had fled? They must have been spies sent by others. Fortunately, these people must have been on the anti-Han side; otherwise, why would they inform him that such a traitor was hidden within the Yellow Turbans, helping him resolve an internal threat?

Yet, shortly after, Zhang Jiao was overcome with lingering fear. The people in his household were all trusted confidants he had personally selected from among the Yellow Turban devotees. If so many unidentified spies were already swarming among these trusted aides, one could only imagine the situation within the broader Yellow Turban sect.

Nevertheless, Zhang Jiao was helpless against this. The Yellow Turbans had been preparing for a long time, and things had reached a point where the arrow was on the bowstring and had to be released. Such minor issues could not stop the Yellow Turbans from rising in revolt two months later.

Meanwhile, it was not only Li Xiang's side receiving reports that the plan regarding Tang Zhou had succeeded.

Across the various states of the Great Han, other figures in black were secretly reporting this matter to their respective masters.

In a gloomy underground palace in Youzhou, Qin Zheng sat high upon his throne, his gaze sweeping over the scene with an unangered majesty.

Below him, over a dozen people stood in two ranks on the left and right, old and young alike, each possessing an extraordinary bearing.

The foremost person on the left stepped forward, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "My lord, that Tang Zhou has already been captured by Zhang Jiao, and the internal threat within the Yellow Turbans is now pacified. When they later raise troops to rebel against the Han, even if they cannot directly annihilate the dynasty, the Han will still emerge from this rebellion severely vitalized.

"In this way, should any further changes occur thereafter, the House of Han will be beyond saving, and the day of its collapse will not be far off. Thus, my lord's opportunity will have arrived."

Hearing these words, Qin Zheng, seated high above, finally revealed a trace of an imperceptible smile. Although it flashed by in an instant—so fleeting that none of the dozen people below noticed this subtle change—it was there.

"Thank you for your trouble, Master Wei. Once our Great Qin is restored, Master Wei shall take the highest credit," Qin Zheng said calmly, his face expressionless despite the slight turbulence in his heart.

At this point, we finally learn the identity of the person who plotted for Qin Zheng: none of other than the Sage of Military Strategy among the Four Sages of the Military, Wei Liaozu!

Wei Liao was a military strategist of the Warring States period, hailing from Daliang in the State of Wei. His personal name is unknown, only referred to as Liao. In the tenth year of King Zhao Zheng of Qin, he entered Qin to lobby the ruler and was appointed as the Grand Commandant, after which he became known as Wei Liao.

Wei Liao made monumental contributions to King Ying Zheng of Qin in his conquest of the six states, advocating for "unifying and expanding the realm under a single set of laws and institutions."

His authored work, *The Master of Wei Liao*, was classified as a classic work of military science in ancient times, revered by military strategists down through the dynasties. During the Song dynasty, it was ranked alongside *The Art of War by Sun Wu*, *The Methods of Wu Qi*, and *The Methods of Sima* as one of the *Seven Military Classics*.

As a military treatise produced during the Warring States period, *The Master of Wei Liao* may not have matched the profound depth of Sun Tzu's and Wu Qi's *Art of War*, but it offered innovative insights across a series of issues.

First, *The Master of Wei Liao* proposed a view of warfare grounded in economic foundations. Second, it put forward several valuable strategic and tactical concepts. Third, another significant contribution was its proposal of a set of military reward and punishment codes deeply characteristic of the era. Fourth, the book preserved several other crucial military regulations.

Within a large estate in Yangzhou, Zhu Sheng was also excitedly reporting something to Zhu Zhuanyuan.

In the Ming dynasty, Zhu Sheng merely maintained a straightforward lord-vassal relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang, but in this lifetime, both of them had become members of the Jiangdong Zhu clan.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang was the direct heir of the Zhu family, whereas Zhu Sheng was merely an inconspicuous member of a collateral branch, frequently subjected to bullying by members of the main family.

Zhu Sheng had decided to follow Zhu Yuanzhang after the latter unintentionally stepped in to help him out once.

Initially, Zhu Yuanzhang did not pay much heed to Zhu Sheng's allegiance. Unexpectedly, however, Zhu Sheng deduced from a few trivial matters that Zhu Yuanzhang harbored ambitions of rebellion, and subsequently offered him consecutive stratagems that greatly aided Zhu Yuanzhang.

Things having reached this pass, with Zhu Yuanzhang's grand talent and bold vision, how could he fail to recognize the brilliance of his inconspicuous kinsman? He immediately treated him as a trusted confidant and strategist, frequently seeking his counsel.

"Elder brother, given the strength of the Yellow Turbans, they will inevitably drain the vitality of the Great Han to the utmost in the future. During this time, elder brother need only store up grain abundantly, build high walls, and delay proclaiming yourself king, quietly watching the various factions fight among themselves. Afterwards, when the morale of all sides is severely depleted, elder brother can sweep across the world with the momentum of a mighty army," Zhu Sheng plotted joyously as he advised Zhu Yuanzhang.

History always repeats itself in astonishing ways. After Zhu Sheng and Zhu Yuanzhang arrived in the Three Kingdoms era, Zhu Sheng offered Zhu Yuanzhang the exact same strategy.

Zhu Sheng, styled Yunsheng, was a native of Xiuning, Anhui. A military strategist, litterateur, and founding strategist of the Ming dynasty in the late Yuan and early Ming periods, he attained the official rank of Hanlin Academician. During the late Yuan, Zhu Sheng was recommended by his hometown to serve as a prefectural school official in Chizhou, but later resigned to live in seclusion in Shimen, where scholars referred to him as Master Fenglin. He subsequently became famous after advising Zhu Yuanzhang to "build high walls, store grain abundantly, and delay proclaiming yourself king," a proposal that was adopted.

Hearing Zhu Sheng's strategic plan for him, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang felt immensely fortunate. The down-and-out collateral kinsman he had casually helped out back then possessed such immense talent. If not for a whim of inspiration at the time, he would likely have missed out on a great talent without ever realizing it.

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous small village in Jingzhou, several people similarly gathered together, discussing the affairs of Tang Zhou and the Yellow Turbans.