In the late years of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25--220),because of the corruption of the state administration exacerbatedby years of famine, the ordinary people lived a ver ar life. InJulu county, local man Zhang Jue, together with his brothersZhang Liang, and Zhang Bao, managed to enlist some 500,000people from today's Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Hubei and Jiangsuprovinces, into a rebel force and they launched a joint attack upongovernment troops. Several days later, from every side peoplejoined the army of the rebel Zhang Jue. The rebel army began towrap yellow scarves around their heads and this quickly becametheir signature. As the strength of the rebel army increased, theimperial troops became less and less able to control them.