Episode 146. Craniotomy (1)
Janggoe’s long knife jumped up into the air and caught Cheol-woong’s knife, then cut him five more times while falling to the floor.
Cheol-woong received Janggoe’s knife with disbelief.
‘I’m as good as I am!’
While Cheol-woong received Janggoe’s attack, the daggers that had left Ok-ju’s arms got stuck in the words of Cheol-woong’s men.
The horses hit by the dagger ran amok, and the men fell or jumped off their horses.
They were attacked by Ok-ju and several warriors and died without being able to withstand the half-cut, and only one survived with an arm cut off thanks to Ok-ju’s consideration.
Cheolwoong endured Janggoe’s attack for quite some time, but when another warrior joined in, his limbs became dizzy and his heart was pierced by Janggoe’s sword, and he died.
After a while, Ok-joo brought the man he saved to the painter.
The painter took out the sword, but put it back into the scabbard without swinging it once. Then he asked the man Ok-ju had brought with him.
“Who came to pick me up because he was injured?”
“The Cheo Cheung factory suddenly collapsed. That’s why I came to see Hwata.”
“A drilling factory? Are you talking about Janggak?”
“yes yes. Please save me.”
“He tried to trick me into killing me a little while ago, but he’s so shameless.”
When the fireman nodded, Zhang Goe cut the lifeline of the last Janghan.
The painter pondered over the words that the chief of the Yellow Turbans had fallen while the warriors who had followed him from the medical room were disposing of the corpses.
‘I thought he would die within this year… Did Zhang Jia die of an illness? Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about it anyway.’
The painter raised his head and looked at the western sky, which was already dyed red. Under that red sky, countless people are still dying.
‘My job is to save the people who are dying over there, right?’
The fireman secretly sighed.
There was still a thought in the back of my mind that I didn’t want to go anywhere near the battlefield. However, when I think of the countless people who will die there, a corner of my heart hurts terribly.
The fireman lowered his head and looked at the executioners who had followed him.
Each and every one of them is a great master.
Although they are a little less than Janggoe or Okju, they are people who can lead a thousand men if they join the army.
All of them were attached by Eulji for the safety of the fireman.
‘If they protect me… the risk won’t be too great.’
mentally strong enough. Even so, the fireman somehow felt an emptiness.
I feel like I’m missing something by 2%.
What is it?
Suddenly.
In an instant, the painter remembered that Eulji was not here. If he were there, it would make security more secure than it is now.
“Do lion.”
When the fireman called, one of the executioners bowed his head.
“Yes, Mr. Hwa.”
“Please go and tell Bishop Eul that I will come.”
“All right.”
It was only after the messenger Do left to pick up Eulji that I felt that the 2 percent lacking had been filled.
* * *
“Brother! Tongue ah ah ah ah.”
A chorus full of sorrow rang out from Zhang Liang’s mouth.
Cheol-woong, who went to pick up Hwa-ta, did not come back for 15 days, and Jang-gak, who was suffering from anxiety, eventually died.
When Zhang Ge, who claimed to be a heavenly agent and claimed to be an agent of heaven, died, the morale of the Yellow Turbans immediately began to hit bottom.
Zhang Liang was saddened by his brother’s death, but he couldn’t just sing.
He immediately buried Zhang Jia and summoned the army, claiming that he was the agent of heaven.
While that was happening to the Yellow Turbans, Huang Bo-song joined forces with Dong Zhuo.
Hwang Bo-sung and Dong Tak in the original city are on equal terms because they are the same Jungnangjang, but Hwang Bo-sung had a series of victories while Dong Tak had a losing streak, so the operational control was naturally placed under Hwang Bo-sung.
“Finally, Zhang Jak is dead.”
Hwang Bo-song learned that Jang Gak was dead through the Sejak planted by the Yellow Turban Redeemer.
“This is a heaven-sent opportunity. Jo Ki-do-wi, cut the head of the chief thief Zhang Liang.”
When Hwang Bo-sung ordered the entire army to participate and raged at them, the Yellow Turban enemy, whose morale was at rock bottom, had no choice but to retreat.
* * *
The fireman was treating the wounded near the battlefield and listening to the situation on the battlefield through Eulji.
“You said brother Cao cut Zhang Liang’s head?”
“It is said that Zhao Qi Wei, who drove the four Yellow Turbans to Goyang, finally beheaded Zhang Liang yesterday.”
“Then, is there only Jangbo left?”
“yes. Jangbo is fighting the army of Joojun Jungnang in the capital city of Yangseong, but it seems that the fortress is so strong that even Joojun Jungnang is not able to win easily.”
“is it so? That’s amazing too. Isn’t the vanguard of that side, Sun Gyeon’s left commander?”
The fireman put on a slightly puzzled expression.
Isn’t Sun Jian, the vanguard of Joo Jun, also a great general like Cao Cao?
‘If it’s Sun Jian’s resourcefulness and tactics, it’s more than enough to destroy it long ago, but am I taking it too easily?’
“The left army sama is said to be missing. That’s why I can’t use my full strength.”
“You lost your hand? why?”
“Many cities have requested help and went to help, but they haven’t returned yet.”
The fireman immediately recalled the gun barrel. He also went to help Taesan-gun in Yeonju and was unable to join the main unit yet because Judae was injured.
“Then, we won’t be able to destroy Yangseong until Sun Jian returns or General Hwang Bo-sung’s troops join us.”
“I think so.”
Hwabu, who knows the history to some extent, felt that the first Yellow Turban Rebellion had reached its end.
‘Well, Jangbo will die before the end of this year… It will be a month at the most… Anyway, a lot has died in less than a year.’
It is difficult to count the number of people who died from the plague over two years, but a great number of people also died during the war.
Not only the fireman and his disciples, but several lawmakers were treating the wounded near the battlefield, but in the end, compared to the number of dead, the number that survives is the blood of new feet.
‘I’ll die sooner. War is so… scary.’
When I experienced the reality that I had only seen in movies or books, it was truly devastating.
The fireman removed his hand while performing CPR.
The patient was no longer breathing.
“I’m sorry, I want you to know that I did my best.”
The painter got up from his seat and moved to the patient next to him.
The corpse, which was covered with a white cotton cloth by the fireman, was moved outside by men who did chores. In a small basin over the hill is a place where such bodies are collected and cremated or buried.
At night, when a fire broke out there, the smell filled the air. The fireman was afraid of himself becoming more and more insensitive to it.
In front of him, Pyeonseon was weeping and tying the soldier’s severed leg. Blood was constantly pouring from the soldier’s legs.
‘The emperor and the eunuchs are rotten, so the people pay a huge price.’
Even on the sidewalk, they were all covered in blood and came and went. No one was sane in this.
‘This war will continue for decades.’
The painter could not restrain his mixed feelings as he saw the countless patients dying.
In a history book I saw before, there was a record that 80% of the total population decreased while the Han Dynasty was divided into three countries called Wei Shuo.
Of course, each history book is slightly different, and there are records of 60% and 50%, but at least half of the former population will die.
* * *
Fortnight has passed.
Hwabu heard the news that Liu Bi, who had joined the righteous army again through Eulji, made a trick to kill Jangbo and captured the capital city of Yangseong.
“I heard that heroes come out in troubled times, but it seems that another outstanding hero named Liu Bei has emerged.”
Eulji greatly praised Liu Bei’s excellence for having Jang Bo assassinated by his subordinates only through a ruse without fighting.
“Iknow, right. Liu Bei is also a great hero.”
The fireman nodded, but smiled a little bitterly inside.
Liu Bei has made a great contribution, but his credit is not recognized due to the tricks of the eunuchs, and he is only able to get a position on the throne of Anhui County, Zhongshan District, Jizhou.
Even so, it was only possible because Judo, the godfather of liver, personally went to the emperor and told him about Liu Bei’s achievements.
‘Liu Bei started to make a name for himself after he got Zhuge Liang… It’s still a long way off.’
The painter thought of Zhuge Liang, who was still studying for a long time at the mouth of the Waryong River.
‘Come to think of it, that guy must’ve grown considerably too?’
* * *
“What, there is someone who heals the remnants of the Yellow Turbans?”
Upon receiving the report from his subordinate, Cao Cao’s face was furious.
After Cao Cao cut off Zhang Liang’s head, even Dong Zhuo became the real power that was difficult to ignore.
Dong Zhuo, following Hwang Bo Song, lost face in front of Cao Cao, so he hardly came out of his tent and was only waiting for the day to return to the imperial palace.
“They are in the slash-and-burn village at the mouth of Mt. Odeok to your rear, and dozens of injured people are taken there every day for treatment.”
“If there is such a person, we will arrest them, so why did you just come?”
“It was judged that it would be difficult with only the troops of the search party as there are unusual people camped in that village. That’s why I’m hurrying back and reporting.”
“Unusual ones? The remnants of the Yellow Turbans seem to be protecting them.”
“It didn’t seem like it. In fact, since they saw us too, if it were the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, they wouldn’t have stood still.”
“Hmm~. To say that I connived at seeing you is not an enemy… Why are you treating the remnants of the Yellow Turbans? I don’t understand at all.”
Jojo was suddenly curious.
Normally, upon receiving such a report, he would have ordered another subordinate or sent troops to arrest the congressman and his party. But not this time.
‘Speaking of a member of the council, it somehow reminds me of the fireman.’
Since Jojo made a brother-in-law with the painter, he had a good feeling when it came to a doctor. Because of this, he moved himself.
After a while, Jojo led a few generals and 100 cavalrymen and headed for the slash-and-burn village of Mount Odeok.
* * *
“Boo bu ya!”
“Brother Joe. Long time no see.”
Jojo nodded with a bewildered expression when the painter greeted him.
“Why are you, who should be in Chohyeon, here treating the Yellow Turban… kuhum wounded?”
Cao Cao was about to say that they were the remnants of the Yellow Turban Red Army, but after a brief pause, he refined his expression.
“Didn’t Cho go to the positive side?”
“Since Zhujun Zhonglang’s soldiers had already captured Yangseong and beheaded Zhang Bo, I was in the process of subduing the remnants of the Yellow Turbans by unleashing my soldiers.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But how are you really not in Chohyeon and are in this rugged battlefield?”
When Cao Cao glanced over at the janitors near the medical room, the janghans shrank their necks like a turtle and looked at them.
The spirit of not only Jojo but also the generals and cavalrymen he brought was enough to make even the executioners daunted.
“The war broke out and many people were dying, so I couldn’t sleep with my legs stretched out. So I came here with a few warriors who were close to my disciples.”
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