Zhang Jue
Before the rebellion started, Zhang Jue had sent Ma Yuanyi (馬元義) to recruit followers from Jing and Yang provinces and gather them in Ye. As Ma Yuanyi frequently travelled to Luoyang, the Han imperial capital, he managed to build connections with Feng Xu (封諝) and Xu Feng (徐奉), two members of the influential eunuch faction in the imperial court, and convince them to secretly collaborate with Zhang Jue. They set 3 April 184 as the date for the rebellion, but before the plans was set in motion, the Yellow Turbans were betrayed. One of the founders of "The Way of Peace" movement, Tang Zhou (唐周) had been left out of the Zhang brothers' further plans, so he reported Ma Yuanyi to the authorities. Ma Yuanyi was arrested and executed by dismemberment in Luoyang.