I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 145 - 55: The Beginning of Reform, Facing Zhang Jiao Directly

Chapter 145: Chapter 55: The Beginning of Reform, Facing Zhang Jiao Directly

This is destined to be an event that influences the entire Great Han.

Gu Xi’s prestige far exceeds that of Emperor Liu Hong.

Liu Hong is destined to be no match for Liu Zhi.

Under Gu Xi’s influence, in the early years of Liu Zhi’s reign, he successively bestowed favor upon the people.

But Liu Hong was different.

The first impression of Liu Hong among the common people was that he did not employ Gu Xi.

And in the subsequent development of the Great Han, it continued to decline. How could such an emperor compare to Gu Xi?

....

Everyone was eagerly anticipating Gu Xi’s deployment of troops, hoping that the young men of each household would gain prestige from it.

And Gu Xi did not refuse this endeavor.

But unexpectedly to everyone, just before the deployment of troops, Gu Xi suddenly submitted a memorial.

He wanted to invoke "the name of punishing traitors" to alter the core system of the Great Han!

——The land system and the recommendation system!

Gu Xi actually planned to use the guise of punishing traitors to establish a "special examination for quelling chaos," allowing people from humble origins to earn the qualification of filial piety and incorruptibility through "punishing traitors" or "donating a thousand units of grain."

And he wanted to requisition nearly thirty percent of the gentry’s land as "public fields for quelling chaos."

These lands would be re-incorporated into public fields, used for military farming to suppress the rebellion.

Under normal circumstances, such a move would clearly not be successful.

Because these two measures both shook the foundations of the gentry.

Gu Xi was clearly aware of this.

So he labeled these arrangements as "wartime" measures, intending to advance by retreating.

This was definitely a monumental change.

Gu Xi had fully realized the core issues of the current Great Han situation.

The clans annexing land and issues in resource distribution have created the undercurrents of today’s situation.

Factional strife began, leading to unclear official systems, which brought this issue to light, contributing to today’s situation.

For Gu Xi.

Even if the Yellow Turban Rebellion is resolved, so what?

The situation in the world has come to this point, if the core issues cannot be thoroughly solved.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, chaos is bound to rise again.

He wants to seize this opportunity to solve the fundamental problems of the Great Han and quickly stabilize the situation after quelling the chaos.

This instantly stirred up a huge storm in the court!

No one expected Gu Xi to go this far, even the allies of the Gu Clan started to hesitate.

But where Gu Xi was brilliant was capturing an extremely suitable critical point.

That was the current formidable momentum of the Yellow Turbans!

The grievances of the people have long destined them to commit acts of plundering when they invade the prefectures and counties.

The great clans keep silent about this.

However, even so, this matter was not directly decided.

This outer garment simply trapped this matter in debate, preventing it from being directly suppressed, but various parties expressed opinions successively.

The matter, surprisingly, got stuck in a stalemate under such circumstances.

Yet Gu Xi was not in a hurry; he seemed to have made up his mind to complete this task.

The atmosphere in all of Luoyang became strange once again under such circumstances.

But the situation in various places would not stop because of this.

The news of Gu Xi commanding the troops had already spread rapidly across the land.

His prestige was too high!

Even before setting out, it was enough to have a huge impact on the overall morale.

The Yellow Turban Army in various places was greatly affected all at once.

Of course, facing this situation, Zhang Jiao was not indifferent.

He seemed to have anticipated this and had thought of countermeasures.

Zhang Jiao was indeed much stronger.

Currently, on the Jizhou battlefield, he was not defeated step by step by Lu Zhi as he was in original history but instead held an advantage.

Of course, this was not because Lu Zhi had become weaker.

It was simply that Zhang Jiao had become stronger.

He perfectly utilized the Yellow Turban Army’s foundation in Jizhou, mobilizing the populace to gather intelligence for him.

At the same time, he used his knowledge of Jizhou’s terrain to conduct various ambushes.

And he constantly dispatched people to conduct small-scale harassment.

Under these maneuvers, he greatly frustrated Lu Zhi with harassment.

Keeping the entire Han Army in a constant state of exhaustion.

This clearly had a great impact on combat effectiveness.

He seemed to be waiting for today, as soon after hearing reports from various regions, he held an even grander sacrificial ceremony in Ye City.

...

Night.

Dark clouds obscure the sky, and the stars all hide.

Thousands of torches were lit inside Ye City.

The overwhelming flame seemed to pierce through the darkness, illuminating the entire firmament.

Countless faithful wearing yellow scarves gathered here, their eyes full of fanaticism, and on the altar in the center of the firelight, everyone’s eyes were filled with fervor.

"The time has come," a high-pitched shout pierced the night sky.

Instantly, the crowd opened up a path.

Zhang Jiao, dressed in a yellow Taoist robe and holding a nine-section staff, walked out with steady steps.

His expression was solemn, as if he merged with heaven and earth, appearing dignified against the backdrop of firelight.

Under everyone’s attention, Zhang Jiao ascended the altar.

In an instant, the entire world seemed to freeze, everyone held their breath, quietly watching him.

The surrounding atmosphere became increasingly fervent, and the believers’ bodies began to tremble slightly, revealing their high expectations.

Zhang Jiao ignored the people, focusing intently on his spellcasting.

He took out a piece of talisman paper, burned it to ashes under everyone’s watchful eyes, and put it into clear water.

"Holy Water is made!," his voice was deep and powerful, as if carrying a magical power. "The Yellow Heaven will bless us, making us invulnerable to blades and spears!"

With his words, a deafening cheer erupted instantly.