By the end of the 2nd century,the once infallible Han dynasty suffered from internal strife and corruption,and had become a shadow of its former self.The land fell into chaos,and the people no longer able to rely on the authority of the Han.Turned to a religious sect known as "The way of peace" for salvation.
seeds of rebellion,Zhang Jiao,the leader of the way of peace,boldly declared that the age of Han has passed and that he would usher in a "new age of the way of peace"Through his rhetoric,anti imperial sentiment began to spread across the land.In 184AD,Zhang Jiao finally made his move to take control of the land.Giving himself the title of "great teacher"he began to organize the many followers he accumulated through his miracles into military force.When news of his plans was leaked to imperial court,Zhang Jiao immediately mobilized his new army with the help of his brothers Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang.The bulk of this force was a peasant militia that numberd in the hundreds of thousands.All soldier under Zhang Jiao wore yellow scarves around their heads as a tribute to their master.Thus,these soldiers came to be known as the :yellow turban"and their movement would go down in history as "The yellow turban rebellion".Their unity made them seem unstoppable as they tore through the imperial forces in regions accros the land.
To seize back the momentum,the imperial court assigned the generals Huangfu Song,Lu Su,and Zhu Jun to form asubjugation force and go on the offensive againts Zhang Jiao.Meanwhile,You province prefect Liu Yan began to recruit volunteer to aid the effort of the imperial forces.One of the many who answered Liu Yan's call was Liu Bei,who with his sworn brothers,Guan Yu and Zhang Fei,had vowed to bring order back to the land and restore the Han dynasty to its former glory.Meanwhile,Cao Cao the aptly named "hero of chaos" had already begun to make a name for himself by defeating Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang.Liu Bei,though joining the battle later,also makes an impression by breaking through yellow turban lines to rescue imperial general Dong Zhuo.The momentum had begun to sway towards the imperial forces.The loss of momentum for
the yellow turban would become permanent after the loss of their leader,Zhang Jiao to illness.the rebellion was quelled within a year after that,and remnant forces were subjuganted effectively through the efforts of imperial officers such as Sun Jian.The end of this rebellion was only to be the beginning of an age of war and chaos.
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