Chương 480: In Action

Dear fellow villagers! Please listen to me!

"Fellow villagers! Tell me, is His Highness the Prince of Yan good to us?"

"good!"

"Since His Highness Prince Yan took over this place, how has he governed? Does every family have enough to eat? Does everyone have enough to wear? Are there no more corrupt officials bullying us?"

"yes!"

"We used to be so afraid of going out, terrified of encountering bandits and robbers! Now? No one picks up lost items on the road, and we don't even lock our doors at night! Who gave us this?"

"It's His Highness Prince Yan!"

"His Highness the Prince of Yan has been so kind to us, shouldn't we repay him?"

"Yes"

"Then tell me, shouldn't someone as good as His Highness the Prince of Yan be emperor?"

"should!"

"So what should we do? Write a petition! Put your fingerprints on it! Send it to Luoyang! Request that His Highness the Prince of Yan ascend the throne!"

"Write a petition! Put your fingerprints on it! Send it to Luoyang!"

"If His Highness the Prince of Yan doesn't become emperor, who is qualified? Liu Xie, the Prince of Chenliu, who was put on the throne by Dong Zhuo? Can he feed us well? Can he provide us with a good life?"

"cannot!"

"Therefore, we must unite! Write a petition! Put your fingerprints on it! Those who are willing to go to Luoyang, the Imperial Guard has said they will be provided with food and lodging throughout the trip! We will go to Luoyang ourselves to invite the Prince of Yan to ascend the throne!"

The crowd below the stage was filled with fervor, clenching their fists and shouting at the top of their lungs:

"Yes! Please, Your Highness, ascend the throne!"

"I'll be the first to write! My whole family will write!"

"I'm going to Luoyang too! I've lived for sixty years and I've never been to Luoyang!"

So, sheets of white cloth were laid out, and basins of ink were brought out. The people rushed to put their handprints and signatures on the cloth.

If someone can't write, they draw a circle and someone next to them writes their name on it.

Some elderly people had such shaky hands that they had to press their fingerprints several times before they could get a complete handprint, and they even smiled embarrassedly.

Someone asked, "We're going to Luoyang, what will we eat and where will we stay?"

The Imperial Guards patted their chests and assured them, "Don't worry! Food and lodging will be provided throughout the trip! You only need to go; you don't need to bring anything!"

Upon hearing this, people became even more enthusiastic. This wasn't a petition; it was a publicly funded trip!

The same is true in the countryside.

The Imperial Guards went from village to village, mobilizing people from house to house.

When they encountered illiterate people, they would help them write, and then let the people put their fingerprints on the paper.

If someone hesitates, they don't force them; they just patiently explain.

The result was beyond everyone's expectations; the people's enthusiasm was even higher than the Embroidered Uniform Guard had imagined!

The imperial guards rode their horses, going from village to village, chatting with the villagers: "Grandpa, how was the harvest this year?"

"Great! Excellent!"

"So what do you think of His Highness the Prince of Yan?"

"A living Buddha! The best official in the world! No, the best prince!"

"So, do you think he should be emperor?"

"Of course! If he doesn't take the position, who will? I'll be the first to put my fingerprint on it!"

Without saying a word, the old man pressed his hand into the red inkpad and left a large handprint on the petition.

Not satisfied with just pressing one button, I pressed another one.

...

In the countryside, an old man held the hand of a member of the Imperial Guard, tears streaming down his face: "Young man, is what you're saying true? Is His Highness the Prince of Yan really going to become emperor?"

The Imperial Guard smiled and nodded: "Sir, it's true. If you'd like, please put your fingerprint on this petition and write your name."

Without saying a word, the old man pressed his hand into the red inkpad, slapped it onto the white cloth, and then wrote his name in a crooked and messy manner.

Although the writing was messy and labored, the earnestness behind it was heartbreaking to read.

"Great! Excellent! The Prince of Yan is the emperor, even the heavens are happy!" The old man wiped away his tears, his face crinkling with laughter.

...

In Zhuo County, Youzhou, an old man with gray hair, leaning on a cane, walked shakily to the petition platform, took out a neatly folded white cloth from his pocket, on which names were densely written.

"These are the names of everyone in our village. I can't write, so the village teacher helped me write them. His Highness Prince Yan is from Zhuo County. He was the prefect of Zhuo County back then, and he treated us common people very well!"

Land was distributed, taxes were reduced, and irrigation canals were built. So many people in our village starved to death before, but now every family has surplus grain! If His Highness the Prince of Yan doesn't become emperor, who will?

As the old man spoke, tears streamed down his face, and he handed the white cloth to the Imperial Guards with both hands.

...

In Ye City, Ji Province, a burly butcher carried half a pig to the front of the petition platform, threw it on the ground with a thud, and patted his chest, shouting:

"This is the fattest half of the pig I slaughtered today! I'm sending it to His Highness Prince Yan to help him recover! If His Highness becomes emperor, I'll slaughter pigs for him every day!"

...

In Jinyang, Bingzhou, a group of veterans who had fought alongside Liu Ce against the Xianbei, dressed in worn-out uniforms, stood in neat rows and came to the petition platform.

The leader was an old soldier who was missing an arm. He hung his military medals on the petition and shouted:

"I lost this arm while fighting the Xianbei alongside His Highness Prince Yan! I don't regret it! Without His Highness Prince Yan, none of us would be where we are today! We veterans of Bingzhou all support His Highness Prince Yan! If His Highness doesn't ascend the throne, we'll kneel here every day until we die!"

After he finished speaking, more than a dozen veterans knelt down in unison and kowtowed three times, their foreheads turning red from the kowtows.

...

In Xiangyang, Jingzhou, a middle-aged man who looked like a merchant, with three children, pushed a cart full of cloth to the petition platform.

"This is cloth woven by our family, the finest silk! It's a gift for His Highness Prince Yan to make his dragon robe! If His Highness Prince Yan becomes emperor, he must wear cloth woven by the people of Jingzhou!"

...

In Chengdu, Yizhou, an old woman carried a basket of eggs, walked all day through the mountains, and arrived in the county town to hand the eggs to a member of the Imperial Guards.

"These are eggs laid by my old hen. I've been saving them for three months to nourish His Highness Prince Yan. My grandson never went to school and spent his days playing in the mountains."

Now that His Highness the Prince of Yan has sent a tutor, my grandson can finally study! My greatest wish in this life has been fulfilled. His Highness the Prince of Yan, may you live to be a hundred and remain emperor until you are a hundred!

The Imperial Guardsmen held the basket of eggs, their eyes reddening.

...

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

AD 192, October.

The open space outside the south gate of Luoyang City was unknowingly transformed into a huge temporary camp.

From a few hundred people at the beginning, to a few thousand, then to tens of thousands, and finally a total of more than 300, 000 people gathered!

There were farmers carrying hoes from the outskirts of Luoyang, merchants driving horse-drawn carts from Sili, herdsmen on horseback from Youzhou, and people from Jizhou... There were also mountain dwellers who had traveled for two months from Yizhou, crossing mountains and valleys, and merchants who had traveled north by boat from Jiaozhou for more than two months...

Among them, the people from Youzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou were the largest, forming a dense, dark mass that stretched from the south gate for more than ten miles, with no end in sight.