“Can a strategist not take the throne?”
Chapter 119: The Death of He Jin
How does it stand?
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through He Jin’s mind.
What was the current situation? Though he wasn’t the smoothest talker, he wasn’t just some pawn pushed forward by these scholars. He had a scale of judgment in his heart.
The people standing here weren’t divided into two camps based on the inner and outer walls of the Southern Palace.
It was rather a triangle.
Eunuchs, gentry, and of course, He Jin himself!
As Zhang Rang had said, if he forced the eunuchs who had just lost their strongest ally into a corner, then while he could certainly ensure Liu Bian ascended the throne after thoroughly eliminating them, the gentry’s power would be completely untethered.
Not to mention the uneasy relationship between the royal family and the maternal relatives.
Even his half-sister, Empress He, once she became Empress Dowager, would be more concerned about the little emperor’s interests rather than the He family as a whole!
So maybe he really should let Zhang Rang and the others off the hook for now, just like the recently deceased Liu Hong did, by skillfully maneuvering between the eunuchs and gentry, getting enough benefits from both sides to keep himself in a position of strength.
These guys were far more reliable than Yuan Shao and his lot, who just talked a good game because they had already taken concrete actions.
After all, killing Dong Zhong was the best loyalty test!
The Cavalry General Dong Zhong had no relation to Dong Zhuo, who was then camped in Hedong and getting close to Luoyang. He was actually the nephew of the current Empress Dowager Dong and thus part of Liu Xie’s faction.
If Lord Dong wants to sit on the throne, he needs both the emperor’s decree of succession and the support of Dong Zhong’s troops.
He Jin originally thought Zhang Rang and the others summoned Dong Zhong to the emperor for a legitimate reason, but little did he know, out of fear of death, they had already killed Dong Zhong to win favor with him, He Jin.
How wonderful! This was simply perfect.
Zhang Rang and his faction had proactively severed ties with Liu Xie!
Who would have thought that Liu Hong’s final plan before dying was to eradicate him, the Grand General, even willing to let Zhang Rang and Jian Shuo take out Dong Zhong first to gain his trust?
This was the imperial scheme that could utilize anyone at will.
As the decapitated head of Dong Zhong lay under his horse’s hoof, He Jin felt nothing except pure delight when he glanced back toward the imperial city.
So what if Zhang Rang only allowed him to bring along two hundred troops?
Having these people beside him was more than enough for his safety.
Too many troops could raise suspicions of rebellion.
He Jin proclaimed, “Let my trusted men first confirm the emperor’s fate.”
No sooner had he spoken than he saw a basket being lowered from the Southern Palace walls.
He raised his hand, signaling a subordinate to approach.
The loyal attendant climbed into the basket, was brought into the Southern Palace, and about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea later, was lowered back down.
He rushed over to He Jin and reported, “The emperor has indeed passed away, and the decree of succession has been given to Lord Dong.”
This was all seen with his own eyes.
He also saw Dong Zhong’s body, headless, lying in the Hall of Jiyu.
That Cavalry General likely never expected that what he would see upon entry wasn’t the living emperor but rather a fatal blow.
Upon hearing that Liu Hong ultimately chose to pass the throne to Liu Xie, He Jin felt no anger but rather smiled at that moment.
After all, Liu Hong thought Liu Xie was smarter and more aligned with his intentions than Liu Bian—a notion that wasn’t formed in just a moment. It was no surprise that his final decree came to such a conclusion.
He Jin chuckled because despite Liu Hong’s disdain for their pulled-together siblings, deeming the offspring of Liu Bian unsuitable, the eunuch faction that once swarmed him had remained silent concerning Liu Hong’s death, even killing Dong Zhong and siding with him!
In the end, the true winner was still He Jin!
With these facts in mind, He Jin completely disregarded Yuan Shao and the others who were advising him to reconsider the situation, or whatever they were babbling about—he immediately ordered everyone except the two hundred men following him to step back a ways.
Then, as the city gate slowly opened, he marched into the Holy Land at the heart of the palace with this escort.
As the palace doors swung wide, he saw Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and the others waiting to greet him.
Perhaps due to their earlier act of killing Dong Zhong, both of them were stained with plenty of blood, making these once-high-and-mighty eunuchs look like two wet…
Like two drowned rats!
That was the only comparison He Jin could think of.
He rode forward, too proud to dismount even in the Southern Palace, and arrogantly halted beside Zhang Rang, saying, “Lord Rang, if you had been this wise earlier, why would you need to kill imperial relatives today to prove your loyalty to me?”
Zhang Rang bore a pained expression, replying, “Grand General, that’s a jest! If I had sided with you earlier, I would have probably been cast aside by the emperor.”
He Jin chuckled at these words and thought, indeed, Zhang Rang had a point.
He simply asked, “The two princes have already been sent from the North Palace to the Southern Palace. Where is the Imperial Seal?”
With the southern palace gates closed off to Yuan Shao and the others, He Jin felt no threat in his surroundings. Instead, being in a territory devoid of rulers allowed the baser, greedy instincts to take control, and he felt at ease.
Meanwhile, the gate from the north was also opened and closed again, where Liu Xie and Liu Bian were brought into this place according to his command.
Zhang Rang listened as the little palace officials reported, realizing they had managed to place Liu Xie in a relatively secure environment, and let out a sigh of relief.
He responded to He Jin, “Please follow me, Grand General.”
He Jin didn’t bother asking about how Liu Hong’s body would be dealt with or how his funeral would proceed; he simply inquired about the whereabouts of the Imperial Seal, which was perfectly reasonable.
Since there was only the decree of succession for Liu Xie, if Liu Bian wanted to ascend the throne—or rather, ascend legitimately—he ideally needed a new edict.
Even a posthumous one would do, as long as it bore the seal of the Son of Heaven and had the Grand General’s backing; that would be enough!
Seeing Zhang Rang leading him toward the eastern chambers instead of west toward the Hall of Jiyu, He Jin couldn’t help but curse Zhang Rang, the old fox, in his heart.
This guy seemed to be wary of him storming into the palace, so he hid the Imperial Seal away.
Fortunately, he didn’t choose to turn against Zhang Rang; he accepted his allegiance, or else supporting his nephew’s ascension would have been tricky.
In the second year of Zhongping, the Southern Palace caught fire but did not affect this area.
This chamber in the southeastern corner of the Southern Palace, separated from the public office by merely a wall, mostly served as office space.
Even though Zhang Rang was guiding He Jin toward a more northern area, the pathways in this part were still narrower than those between ordinary chambers.
He Jin, focused on quickly obtaining the seal, hardly noticed that his accompanying two hundred attendants were already forming a long line, losing the protective effect they initially provided.
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“He’s just standing by that side door in the courtyard,” he said, “Just wait here for a moment, General.”
Zhang Rang pushed the door open and walked in.
He Jin noticed that this courtyard had clearly been neglected for a long time, with even a wooden beam propped up against the entrance. He couldn’t help but frown, but then realized that Zhang Rang actually picked a pretty good hiding spot for the imperial seal.
If he had barged in earlier, he sure wouldn’t have searched in this corner.
At that point, if the seal went missing, it would have just given him another reason to be scolded by the scholars.
“Please wait a moment, Grand General, I’ll go retrieve it.”
Zhang Rang bowed slightly to He Jin, and without even closing the courtyard door, he headed toward the inner palace.
He Jin had no doubts and stayed put.
But it was precisely at that moment that an unexpected event occurred!
Almost at the very next instant after Zhang Rang vanished from sight, the courtyard door suddenly slammed shut by someone hiding behind it, leaving He Jin and his soldiers squeezed between the high walls.
Before He Jin could react, dozens of archers appeared atop the high walls.
These archers, already with bows drawn and perched on ladders, used that door as a signal, poking their heads out in unison and shooting arrows down at He Jin and his troops.
At least ten arrows were aimed straight at He Jin!
He and his men wore specially crafted armor, nearly impervious to ordinary arrows. But these arrows were aimed at his face!
Out of nowhere, the ambush executed by the elite soldiers trained by Jian Shuo rained down arrows, and one long arrow pierced straight through his face.
This was a fatal blow!
The arrow lodged in his face, its feathers still sticking out, hitting right in the critical spot.
Before He Jin collapsed, he was still dreaming sweet dreams.
Once he got the seal, he would have the honor of supporting his nephew’s ascension.
But now all of that turned into smoke and ashes.
In his fading vision, he saw Jian Shuo’s men pouring in from both sides of the alley, effectively blocking any exits. Even if he had somehow dodged the deadly arrow, he would surely die here.
He Jin hated Zhang Rang to the core, but couldn’t stop his consciousness from fading away under this fatal shot.
All he could do while collapsing backwards was curse, “Zhang Rang, you scoundrel!”
“Scoundrel?” Zhang Rang snorted at He Jin’s shout.
What did he think he was, a scoundrel!
Back in the day, Empress He was famous for her jealousy in the inner palace; she had Wang Meiren’s son poisoned after he was born because she sought the help of those eunuchs to keep Liu Hong temporarily swayed, preventing Empress He from suffering the same fate as Empress Song, with her entire family destroyed.
But what did He Jin do in return?
After becoming Grand General in the seventh year of Guanghe, he happily accepted the surrender of those power-hungry clans, making him the “brain” behind the extermination of eunuchs.
What a fool rewarding恩 with hatred!
Now that He Jin was gone, all that remained was to let the news reach Lu Zhi and Dong Zhong’s brother, so they could quickly seize control of He Jin’s former troops. Zhang Rang would be the crucial minister to ensure the new Emperor would ascend to the throne!
Previously, to prevent leaks and avoid a repeat of the situation when Liu Hong wanted to eliminate He Jin, Zhang Rang didn’t dare let anyone else from the Southern Palace exit.
Now that He Jin was dead, he figured the biggest obstacle was gone, so it didn’t matter if someone among the messengers turned out to be duplicitous.
He picked up He Jin’s severed head and walked toward the northeast corner of the Southern Palace.
Among the elite troops still loyal to Liu Hong, there were some credible officers left.
Including Cao Cao and Bao Hong, both of whom were still in the mix.
When Zhang Rang, covered in blood and holding He Jin’s head, walked in, Cao Cao said:
“Meng De, I know you have ties with Yuan Shao, but the country is on the brink of disaster. The Emperor ordered Dong Hou as his successor. Shouldn’t we fulfill his wish?”
Cao Cao smiled bitterly inside, though his expression remained calm.
He originally thought the establishment of the Western Garden Eight Schools would fulfill his dream of achieving greatness, but it turned out that Liu Hong merely wanted to use this power to counter He Jin. Now that the Emperor had passed, their situation was even more awkward.
However, it seemed like the only way to clear up this mess was to first establish order, and since he was already in deep, he had to keep going.
Even if he had once executed Jian Shuo’s uncle, he still found himself on the usable side now.
He had fierce and elite soldiers at his disposal, allowing him to break through, so he could only pass the task of contacting the others to him.
He replied, “Just give me your orders, Lord.”
Seeing that Cao Cao remained composed despite the sudden change, clearly exhibiting the bearing of a grand general, Zhang Rang couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction, “You will immediately head out from the northeast gate to find Minister Lu Zhi, as the Emperor wanted Minister Lu to assist the young emperor. Since Minister Lu is skilled in military matters, please ask him to quickly restore the troops with your men and lift the siege on the Southern Palace!”
Ask Lu Zhi?
This was undoubtedly a decision that thrilled Cao Cao immensely.
Choosing between Lu Zhi, He Jin, and Yuan Shao, the loyal and righteous Cao Cao would inevitably pick Lu Zhi!
Even if this transfer of power was a bit too special, at least Lu Zhi was genuinely selfless, without ulterior motives. If he were to hold power, perhaps the Han Dynasty could hope for revival!
With orders received, he immediately led Xu Chu and Cao Hong towards the northeast exit of the Southern Palace.
But before Cao Cao and the others could make their escape, He Jin’s earlier shout of “Zhang Rang, you scoundrel!” echoed between the palace walls. Not only did it reach Zhang Rang’s ears, but it also alerted He Yong, who was in the Minister of Works’ residence.
Realizing things were off, he rushed over to Yuan Shao and the others.
After hearing He Yong’s analysis, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao wasted no time in pushing their troops towards the city walls.
And as expected, it matched He Yong’s speculation; first, there was silence in response to their question of “Where is the Grand General?” and then came the second severed head tossed down from the walls.
He Jin’s head!
Hearing Zhang Rang behind the barricade saying something about He Jin plotting treachery and being executed, asking them to wait for Lu Gong and Liu Youzhou to arrive to take charge, Yuan Shao didn’t retreat as Zhang Rang had hoped. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the source of the voice and suddenly asked Yuan Shu, “Do you think this is the best time to deal with the eunuchs?”
This Southern Palace was definitely not a well-guarded fortress!
Those troops that once served He Jin were now the best weapon to use!
Even if this undermined the Emperor’s authority, what of it? Once they succeeded, what couldn’t be glossed over by the powerful families? Not to mention, they were just getting rid of some eunuchs!
Cao Cao had just met Lu Zhi to discuss the situation in the Luoyang palace, handing over the official letter to him when Lu Zhi looked toward the imperial city and couldn’t help but change his expression.
In the now darkened sky, a bright crimson flame stood out vividly.
That was…
Lu Zhi grabbed Cao Cao’s arm, “Not good! The Southern Palace is on fire! We might have trouble! Meng De, leave twenty riders with me. I’ll head to the northern army camp to gather troops. You hurry to put out the fire and save people!”
“No matter what, we need to ensure the safety of the young emperor… no, we must ensure the Emperor’s safety!”
With the decree from the previous emperor in hand, the young emperor would undoubtedly be the next emperor of the Han Dynasty!
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