The Three Kingdoms Volume 1 (8 page)

“You are too suspicious; therefore, unequal to great schemes,” sneered He Jin.

Lu Zhi also tried to warn him. “I know Dong Zhuo very well. He appears kind but actually he is cruel at heart. Let him in and disaster is bound to follow. It would be better to stop him to avoid trouble.”

But He Jin would not listen and both of them gave up their posts and retired. So did more than half of the court officials. He Jin sent his men to welcome Dong Zhuo to Mianchi. However, Dong Zhuo took no action.

By then the news had traveled fast. The eunuchs knew that He Jin was directing a move against them and recognized that if they did not strike first, their families would be wiped out. So they arranged to have fifty swordsmen hidden behind a palace gate and then went in to see the Empress Dowager.

They said: “The Great General has issued an edict in the name of the Emperor to call up armies from all around to destroy us. Please save us.”

“Go to the Great General’s house and confess your faults.” she said.

“If we do, we would be cut to mincemeat. Please summon him in and tell him to cease. If he does not, we will die in your presence.”

So she gave orders for He Jin to enter the palace. And he readily prepared to obey. But just as he was leaving, Chen Lin advised him not to, saying that the eunuchs were certainly behind the order and warned him of the danger of going.

“It is the Empress Dowager who wants to see me, how can there be any danger?” retorted He Jin.

“The plot is no longer a secret,” Yuan Shao said, “and you still want to go to the palace?”

“First get the eunuchs out, then go in,” suggested Cao Cao.

“How childish you are!” laughed He Jin. “I have all the power in the world, what can The Ten do to me?”

“If you must go, we will get a band of guards to go with you, in case anything happens,” said Yuan Shao finally.

So Yuan Shao and Cao Cao each choose five hundred veteran soldiers. Placed at their command was Yuan Shao’s brother, Yuan Shu, who, clad in full armor, drew up his men outside Qingsuo Gate, while the other two went as the general’s escort. When they came near the palace, a eunuch came to announce the Empress Dowager’s words: “The orders are to admit the Great General and none other.” So the escort was detained outside the palace.

He Jin walked on proudly. When he got to Jiade Gate, he was met by the two chief eunuchs, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui—to his great alarm, they came to his sides, holding him trapped in between. Then Zhang Rang began rebuking him harshly.

“What crime had Empress Dowager Dong committed that you should have her poisoned to death? And when she, mother of the empire, was buried, you even dared feign sickness and did not attend the funeral. You and your followers were but lowly butchers and hucksters. It is we who recommended you to the Emperor and raised you to the dignity and wealth you now have. And this is your gratitude! You only want to slaughter us. You called us sordid and dirty, who is the clean one?”

He Jin was panic-stricken and looked about for a way to escape, but the gates were all closed. Then the assassins appeared, and did their bloody work.

Closing the days of the Hans, and the years of their rule were near spent,
Stupid and tactless was He Jin, yet stood he highest in office;
Many were those who advised him, but he was deaf as he heard not;
Therefore he fell a victim under the sharp swords of the eunuchs.

So He Jin was killed.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shao had been waiting for him to come out for a long time. Impatient at the delay, he called out through the gate: “Your carriage is waiting, General!” In response, the head of the murdered man was flung over the wall. A decree was then proclaimed that He Jin had contemplated treachery and had therefore been slain, but all his followers would be given pardon. Yuan Shao shouted angrily, “The eunuchs have murdered the Great General. Let all those who want to slay this wicked party come and help me!”

Then one of He Jin’s officers set fire to a palace gate. Yuan Shu and his men burst into the palace and began slaying eunuchs regardless of their age or rank. At the same time, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao also broke in. Four of the notorious Ten were driven to the Blue Flower Lodge, where they were cruelly killed. Everywhere in the palace, flames of fire went high into the sky. Another four eunuchs led by Zhang Rang carried off the Empress Dowager, the new Emperor, and the Prince of Chenliu toward the North Palace.

Now Lu Zhi did not leave the capital after his resignation. Hearing of the trouble in the palace, he donned his armor, took his spear, and stood waiting by the side of a building, ready to fight. Then he saw in the distance the eunuch Duan Gui hurrying the Empress Dowager along. “You treacherous rebel, how dare you abduct the Empress!” he shouted. Duan Gui fled at once. The Empress leaped out of a window but was rescued in time by Lu Zhi and was taken to a place of safety.

At this time, He Jin’s brother He Miao came out of the inner palace, sword in hand. “He was also in the plot to slay his brother,” cried an officer. “He shall die with the others!”

“Let’s kill the plotter against his own brother,” cried the others in unison. He Miao tried to escape but was hemmed in on all sides. He was slain mercilessly.

Yuan Shao then ordered his soldiers to go and seek out all the families of The Ten, sparing none. In that slaughter many beardless men were killed by mistake.

In the meantime, Cao Cao was busy putting out the fire in the palace. Then he asked the Empress Dowager to assume responsibility for state affairs for the time being. A search party was also sent out at his order to chase Zhang Rang and others and to look for the young Emperor.

The two chief eunuchs, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui, had hustled away the Emperor and the Prince of Chenliu. Breaking through the fire and smoke, they rushed all the way to Beimang Hills. At about the second
geng,
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or the second watch, they heard an uproar behind them and saw the soldiers chasing them. Riding in front was an officer from Henan called Ming Gong who shouted, “Stop, you wicked rebels!” Zhang Rang, seeing that the end had come, drowned himself in a river.

The two boys, ignorant of the meaning of all this, dared not utter a cry, but crept in among the rank grass by the river bank. The soldiers scattered in all directions to look for them but failed to find them. Four hours later they were still hiding among the dew-wet grass, feeling very hungry. They wept in each other’s arms quietly lest anyone should hear them.

“This is no place to stay long,” said the Prince, “We must find some way out.”

So they knotted their clothes together and managed to crawl up the bank. They found themselves in a thicket of brambles and they could not see any path in the dark. Just as they were feeling desperate, hundreds of thousands of fireflies emerged out of nowhere and circled in the air in front of the Emperor, lighting up the path ahead.

“God is helping us,” said the Prince.

So they followed the fireflies and gradually found a road. They walked for about two hours and their feet became so sore that they could go no further. Seeing a heap of straw by a hill, they crept over to it and lay down to rest.

Close to the heap of straw was a farmhouse, whose owner dreamed of two bright red suns dropping behind his dwelling in the night. Alarmed, he hastily threw a coat upon his shoulders and went out to investigate. Then he saw a bright red light shooting up from a heap of straw behind his house. He hastened forward and found two boys lying by its side.

“Whose children are you?” he asked.

The Emperor was too frightened to reply but the Prince, pointing to his brother, said, “This is the Emperor. There has been a rebellion against the ten eunuchs at the palace and we have fled here. I am his brother, Prince of Chenliu.”

The owner of the house was greatly surprised. He immediately knelt down and said, “My name is Cui Yi. My brother was a minister under the late Emperor. I was disgusted with the behavior of the eunuchs, so I retired here.”

Then he helped them into the house and on his knees served them with food and drinks.

Meanwhile, Ming Gong had overtaken and caught Duan Gui.

“Where is the Emperor?” he bellowed.

“He got lost on the way. I do not know where he is,” answered Duan Gui.

Ming Gong slew him and hung the bleeding head on his horse’s neck. Then he sent his men searching in all directions for the Emperor while he rode off by himself on the same quest. Presently he came to the farm. Cui Yi, seeing what hung on his horse’s neck, questioned him and, satisfied with his story, led him to the Emperor. The meeting was emotional—all were moved to tears.

“The state cannot be without its ruler, not even for one day,” said Ming Gong. “Pray return to the capital, Your Majesty.”

At the farm they had but one sorry nag and this they saddled for the Emperor, while the Prince was taken on Ming Gong’s charger. Thus they left the farm. Soon, however, they fell in with a big search party of officials and hundreds of soldiers. Among them was Yuan Shao. Tears were shed freely as the ministers met their Emperor. One of them was sent at once to the capital to expose the head of Duan Gui. Placing the Emperor and the Prince on better horses and guarding them carefully, they then began their journey back to Luoyang.

The Emperor and his men had not proceeded far when they saw coming toward them a large body of soldiers, their banners covering up the sun, their dust rising up to the sky. All the officials turned pale and the Emperor was greatly alarmed. Yuan Shao rode out and asked who they were. From under the shade of an embroidered banner rode out an officer, shouting in a harsh voice: “Where is the Emperor?” His Majesty trembled in fright, unable to respond, but the Prince of Chenliu rode forth to the front and demanded angrily, “Who are you?”

The man replied, “My name is Dong Zhuo. I am governor of Xiliang.”

“Have you come to protect the Emperor or to harm him?” asked the Prince.

“I have come specially to protect,” answered Dong Zhuo.

“If so, the Emperor is here. Why do you not dismount?” said the Prince.

Dong Zhuo hastily got down from his horse and knelt on the left side of the road. Then the Prince spoke graciously to placate him, carrying himself very well in his speech. Dong Zhuo was very much impressed and in his heart rose the desire to set aside the Emperor in favor of the Prince. They returned to the palace that same day and there was an emotional meeting with the Empress Dowager. Then they checked the things in the palace to see if everything was all right. To their great dismay, they found the imperial jade seal, the hereditary seal for the Emperor, was missing.

Dong Zhuo camped outside the capital, but every day he was seen playing the tyrant in the streets with an escort of armored soldiers so that the common people were in a constant state of trepidation. He also went in and out of the palace regardless of any rules of propriety. His unscrupulous behavior angered an officer called Bao Xin, who went first to see Yuan Shao and then Wang Yun, warning them of Dong Zhuo’s ambition and urging them to take measures to get rid of him. But both of them were undecided, so Bao Xin left the capital with his army to go to Taishan.

By this time Dong Zhuo had gained control of all the soldiers of the former He brothers. He spoke to Li Ru in private about his intention to depose the present Emperor in favor of the Prince of Chenliu.

Li Ru said, “The empire is really without a ruler. There can be no better time than this to carry out your plan. Any delay will spoil it. Tomorrow, assemble the officials at Wenming Gardens and address them on the subject. Put all opponents to death and your absolute power is established.”

Dong Zhuo was very pleased to hear these words. So the next day he invited all the high-ranking officials and generals to a huge banquet. As all of them were terrified of him, no one dared stay behind. He himself rode up at leisure, the last to arrive, and took his seat without taking off his sword. When the wine had gone round several times, he stopped the service and the music. Then he began to speak.

“I have something to say—listen quietly, all of you.”

All turned toward him.

He said, “The Emperor is lord of all and if he lacks dignity in manner, he is not fit to inherit the throne. The present Emperor is a weakling, inferior to the Prince of Chenliu in intelligence and love of learning. The Prince is in every way fitted for the throne. So I want to depose the Emperor and set up the Prince of Chenliu in his place. What do you say?”

The assembly was stupefied. None of them dared utter a word of dissent at first. Then suddenly one guest rose from his seat and, pushing his table to the side, he came forth and cried out: “No! No! Who do you think you are that you dare utter such nonsense? The Emperor is the son of the lawful consort and has done no wrong. How can you talk about deposing him? Do you want to usurp the throne?”

The speaker was Ding Yuan, governor of Jingzhou.

Dong Zhuo glared at him. “There is life for those who are with me and death for those against,” he roared.

He drew his sword and made for the dissenter. But the watchful Li Ru had noticed standing behind Ding Yuan a particularly powerful and dangerous-looking young man, who was then glowering at Dong Zhou, his long and heavy halberd in his hand. So he hastily interposed, saying, “But this is the banquet hall and state affairs should be left outside. These matters can be fully discussed in the meeting hall at a later date.”