Chapter 120

Chapter 120: The Fire at the Southern Palace

Fire at the Southern Palace!

Lu Zhi watched Cao Cao leave, then turned his gaze toward the rising flames, worry etching his face.

Even if it was just an accidental fire, it was hardly good news.

After the disaster in the second year of Zhongping, rumors had circulated in Luoyang, claiming that the Emperor’s moral failings had brought down divine fire, especially during a time of dynastic transition. Such rumors couldn’t be tolerated.

But if it was arson?

That would be a whole new level of trouble!

The walls of the Luoyang imperial city were also the protective barriers of the royal authority; arson was a blatant act of disrespect and provocation against the imperial family.

None could have anticipated such a twist at this moment.

At least it wasn’t in Liu Hong’s original plans.

Lu Zhi had already achieved military merits in quelling the Jiujiang Rebellion and capturing Zhang Jiao during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Liu Hong was wary of his accomplishments, so he appointed him as the Minister of Rites, the highest official in the inner court.

Moreover, since Lu Zhi studied under the great Confucian scholar Ma Rong, he was well-versed in knowledge and had groomed many disciples.

In terms of position, experience, and capability, Lu Zhi was well-qualified to be a senior minister in the central government.

However, when He Jin was killed in the Southern Palace, the noble families, eager to eliminate the eunuchs and restore the situation to pre-Party Purge times, were neither deterred by Zhang Rang’s suggestion to wait for Lu Zhi and Liu Yu before making a decision.

When Yuan Shao asked if this was a good opportunity to act, Yuan Shu glanced down at the severed heads of Dong Zhong and He Jin, swiftly making his choice.

To be precise, it was only Dong Zhong’s head.

At that moment, He Miao, the General of the Chariots and Cavalry, was cradling He Jin’s head in his arms, weeping uncontrollably.

While Yuan Shu looked down on this relative, it was also evident that He Miao could be a useful tool.

The eunuchs were dead set on fulfilling the late Emperor’s wishes and placing Liu Xie on the throne; they needed a grand reason—or a convenient excuse, really.

For example, Liu Bian.

Yuan Shu said, “The General of the Chariots and Cavalry is crying, but now is not the time for that. If we let them stall, and Liu Xie ascends the throne, these usurpers will quickly become loyal subjects. Even if they first eliminate General Biaoqi and then the Grand General, they can justify it as a temporary measure.”

“The Dong family doesn’t have only Dong Zhong; there can be more Grand Generals. What will the General do then?”

He Miao immediately stopped crying.

His sister, Empress He, had originally been selected from the common folk, and while the He family had a bit of money, they certainly didn’t have an intricate clan network.

If Liu Xie took the throne, the Dong Matriarch would surely target them for retribution due to Dong Zhong’s death; they had zero capacity for risk management.

Today it was He Jin, tomorrow it could very well be He Miao!

No, even if they had clan backing, it wouldn’t help; look what happened after the death of the late Empress He—Emperor An of Han wiped out the Deng clan despite her warnings to keep a low profile; the emperor’s blade spared no one.

What made He Miao think he would be any different?

It’s always been the saying—”new emperor, new ministers.”

He wiped his tears and looked towards Yuan Shu, asking, “My lord, let’s skip the formalities and just say how we should act.”

Yuan Shu pointed to the palace gates ahead, saying, “We suspect that the edicts in the hands of those eunuchs are forged, and the Grand General saw through the lies, which is why he was killed. If their scheme succeeds, our Han Dynasty’s authority will be seized by these bandits!”

“When the hierarchy collapses and chaos reigns, that’s a recipe for disaster. At this time, we cannot hold back; even if we breach etiquette, it’s for the sake of the Han’s prosperity.”

“Why not charge into the Southern Palace, capture Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, and rescue Prince Bian, supporting the legitimate heir to the throne?”

He Miao knew that Yuan Shu’s suggestions served his interests, but at the end of the day, Yuan Zhi’s point about letting Lu Zhi and Liu Yu come assist the new emperor held some truth—but…

He needed to fight for his own life!

Now, these noble scions had already prepared reasons to take action, so what did he have to be wary of?

Hesitating meant death, while offending royal authority would merely lead to punishment—taking the lesser of two evils was a thought any butcher would make!

But—

“My lord,” He Miao understood the decision but couldn’t help but look at the Yuan brothers with a pained expression, “Right now, the Southern Palace is packed with numerous loyal subordinates of Zhang Rang from the Eight Schools of the Western Garden. Add to that their higher ground; it’s not something we can easily break through.”

“No, it’s easy to take.” Yuan Shao replied calmly, looking at the palace walls without a hint of panic.

If Cao Cao had still been inside the Southern Palace, he might have posed some trouble given his skills.

But they had just learned that he had broken through and was clearly looking for Lu Zhi, which made things manageable.

Among these eunuchs, even Jian Shuo, who Liu Hong had put in charge among the Eight Schools, hadn’t experienced much real combat.

This was a fact that couldn’t be changed by just being brave or cunning.

Just a paper tiger!

Yuan Shu added, “That’s right, we should start a fire.”

“Start… a fire?” He Miao was dumbfounded.

But his opinion clearly didn’t matter much; the Yuan brothers only needed his support.

Despite He Jin being a bit foolish, his open-minded approach to warrior conduct meant many who were promoted from humble beginnings were willing to fight for him.

At that moment, as soon as they heard Yuan Shu’s burning plan, He Jin’s subordinates, like Wu Kuang and Zhang Zhang, stood up without needing anyone to personally execute it.

These brutes were all about settling scores, and now they wouldn’t be worrying about royal authority’s dignity.

Just as He Miao hesitated, the Southern Palace’s gates burst into flames.

This spark led him to grit his teeth and follow through.

If after all this, he could become the Grand General of the Han, it would all be worth it!

This fire simultaneously sent shockwaves through the palace’s guarding troops and Zhang Rang’s band.

Because at that moment, Yuan Shao had quickly brought Yuan Wei over to proclaim a tangible rallying cry—

“Inherit the late emperor’s last will and eradicate the eunuchs!”

Yuan Wei held no edict from the late emperor, but he could always create one later!

What mattered now was breaking the deadlock as fast as possible; the formalities could come later.

However, they hadn’t noticed that as the attack order was issued, Dong Min discreetly instructed one of his trusted subordinates, who quickly galloped back to the ranks.

Though Dong Min might lack some capabilities, he understood the importance of the situation and had to inform Dong Zhuo, who wasn’t far from Luoyang.

Everyone had their own agenda, and that meant nobody was following the script.

If Liu Hong had seen this scene, he might regret how his trading of official positions created an easily punctured illusion of imperial power.

He thought those loyal to royal authority, like Zhang Rang, weren’t betraying him and were executing his plans stringently, but they were… they couldn’t defend the Southern Palace!

And they couldn’t uphold the precarious dignity of the Han dynasty’s emperor!

As the fire blazed on outside the Southern Palace, consuming the palace city within, the sound of the collapsing Qing Suo Gate echoed like a mournful wail—also echoing the demise of a kingdom crumbling into chaos.

Illuminated by the flames, the guards and eunuchs inside the Southern Palace were paralyzed with terror.

“They’ve gone mad, these people are insane!” Zhang Rang muttered, stepping back in fright.

At this point, how could he fail to see the biggest surprise that had infiltrated the late emperor’s plans?

Yet, he still retained some sense; he quickly made two decisions.

To prevent He Jin’s direct assassination, he had stashed away the Imperial Seal, ensuring that even with the fire raging, it would not be discovered.

Now, all he had left to do was…

He shoved the edict into Bao Hong’s hands, “Bao Commander, you and Qiao Hou originally had interaction. Given our situation, we must use the emperor’s backup. Please take your men and swiftly head towards Bingzhou. As soon as Qiao Hou returns from the frontier, have her lead the Bingzhou tigers to guard the emperor!”

“Do you understand?”

Zhang Rang spoke urgently, but he made the directive crystal clear.

The late emperor had been cautious around Qiao Hou, but at this point, only Qiao Ye Shu possessed the ability to dominate others!

Bao Hong, having traveled to Bingzhou, was the best candidate for this message; he wouldn’t cause misunderstandings by rushing in.

Zhang Rang had no time to waste pondering whether Bao Hong might be compromised; he had to pass on this responsibility.

Fortunately, Bao Hong had no ulterior motives; he tucked the imperial edict into his robes and set out.

Zhang Rang, alongside Jian Shuo, immediately took the late emperor’s body and the two princes, charging through the direct path between the Northern and Southern Palaces, intending to retreat towards the Northern Army’s five divisions, hoping to rendezvous with Lu Zhi.

However, the Southern Palace was quite large, and their decision could not be quickly communicated to everyone.

As Zhang Rang and the others retreated, Yuan Shao and his group rushed in, catching the unprepared Duan Gui and Guo Sheng and immediately cutting them down.

The eunuchs within the Southern Palace were fleeing in all directions.

But at that moment, it wasn’t just the infamous eunuchs who were at risk of being taken down; even those typically handling menial tasks weren’t spared.

This was evidently not a force only aimed at pursuing Zhang Rang and retrieving Liu Bian and Liu Xie.

But in such a chaotic situation, no one could say much more.

Only when that group made their way out of the Northern Gate of the Southern Palace in Luoyang, and continued their pursuit, did the place regain a slight sense of calm.

Although, ‘calm’ might not be the right word, since those people were now spreading out in all directions to hunt down the fleeing palace attendants.

After half a cup of tea’s time, the bronze statue in front of the palace finally moved.

The sound of the bronze statue crashing to the ground mixed with the sounds of putting out fires, burning wood, the palace collapsing, and the gradually fading sounds of galloping hooves—it wasn’t that noticeable.

Bi Lan carefully crawled out from inside the hollow bronze statue, quickly recalling the situation from memory as she searched for palace Maids’ clothing to change into. Then, thinking that being in a dangerous place would somehow be safer, she rushed toward the Southern Gate where Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had entered.

That was the direction they had come from, so it was unlikely anyone would run that way, and there would be fewer pursuers.

Another reason was—

Changing clothes wasn’t a foolproof safety measure; she had to find a temporary place to take shelter.

Thinking of her previous encounters and the connection with the Yuan clan, she gritted her teeth and hurried southward towards the Lingtai, which loomed higher than ordinary buildings under the moonlight.

Located to the south of the Southern Palace, the Grand Historian Ma Lun, regardless of whether she had become distant from the Yuan clan in recent years, could not change the fact that she was the wife of the Chancellor Yuan Wei and the mother of Yuan Wei’s two sons.

Thus, even if Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu sought to capture the fleeing eunuchs from the palace, they would definitely show respect to this place.

They would dare to offend the imperial authority but wouldn’t touch their own kind.

What Bi Lan hadn’t expected was that when she arrived near Lingtai, the scene wasn’t one of chaos at all. Instead, she saw a horse-drawn carriage already hitched on the long street before Lingtai, with Ma Jun sitting at the driver’s seat.

Upon seeing her approach, Ma Lun, standing by the carriage, didn’t show any surprise, only decisively said, “Get in!”

If Bi Lan had a chance to escape, this would be the time; beyond that, she wouldn’t wait.

If he couldn’t escape, she wouldn’t delay her journey because of him.

Intimidated by her no-nonsense attitude and the authoritative command to “Get in,” Bi Lan didn’t dare ask any questions and quickly climbed into the carriage.

Once inside, she saw hundreds of scrolls and, sitting in the carriage, was Liu Hong.

As she managed to hide most of her body behind the bamboo slips, the carriage began to move.

“Mr. Yuan… Yuan Zhuo, what’s going on?”

Liu Hong replied, “You were clever to change into women’s clothing first. Since the Southern Palace caught fire, soldiers are hunting down eunuchs in all directions, even young men on the streets are being forced to strip to prove themselves. Ma Jun sensed trouble in the capital and had all the female assistants in Lingtai hidden beneath the high platform in the cellar. To prevent a lack of important astronomical texts, we’ve prioritized getting us out.”

“A cellar?!” Bi Lan’s eyes widened.

What surprised her most wasn’t that Ma Lun sent out Liu Hong, who was crucial, from Luoyang, but that Ma Lun actually dared to dig a cellar underneath Lingtai!

What a bold move!

After all, the reason Lingtai could accommodate the seismometer was that the foundation beneath it was purposely built to be a bit loose. But if a cellar was dug underneath, it would undoubtedly ruin the transmission of tremors.

However, for Ma Lun, sending everyone out at this time was a tall order; hiding so many people in the Yuan estate didn’t seem like a reliable idea.

Perhaps it was because of Qiao Yan’s mention of the Yuan clan being rotten wood, knowing that Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao both held military power and that the Southern Palace fire was an act of their doing; she didn’t want to entrust their lives to the Yuan clan.

Trying digging a cellar beneath the high platform and hide people and food there seemed a more sensible idea.

Once this idea took root, it couldn’t be stopped.

People can fall into cognitive traps; even Bi Lan, who knew the hollow space beneath Lingtai was easy to dig, couldn’t believe anyone would do such a thing, let alone others!

People are alive, and the seismometer can be operated elsewhere; it’s just a mere object!

The weight of truth isn’t hard to judge.

But she decided to send Liu Hong out first.

As long as this inventor of the calendar and abacus was alive, even if Lingtai were to burn down like the Southern Palace, it wouldn’t matter much.

At the time of the Southern Palace fire, she had her people sift through the most crucial parts of the texts while arranging the remaining bamboo slips on the shelves to look as though they were full.

Also, while the young girls seemed to flee back to their homes, they were actually hidden in the cellar.

As the Grand Historian and the Yuan clan’s lady, she sent Liu Hong and Ma Jun out.

Having Bi Lan come along was merely a side note.

The carriage’s destination was, in Ma Lun’s eyes, the safer Bingzhou!

Because of the invitation Qiao Yan had sent her earlier, Ma Lun also had Ma Jun deliver a message seeking help from Qiao Yan.

It would be easy to send Liu Hong away alone, but sending over a hundred people out of Luoyang was truly impossible.

Especially since most of those women who came to work in Lingtai likely had families, and couldn’t leave without ties.

So she could only hope—

That Qiao Yan would, as she mentioned in her letter, offer assistance because she had already established herself in Bingzhou and wouldn’t hesitate to help those caught in the capital’s turbulence!

Please come quickly to Luoyang!

No matter if Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu could eliminate the eunuchs and support Liu Bian’s rise, at this point, she only believed in this more reliable ally, not in those reckless fools!

In the face of the panic caused by the palace fire, this carriage leaving was hardly overly conspicuous.

Even if patrolling soldiers stopped the carriage, they only saw Ma Lun get out from inside.

Her dark official robes and noble aura ensured she wouldn’t be mistaken in the nighttime.

Holding the official seal, she shouted, “I am the Grand Historian Ma Lun, here to send Mr. Yuan Zhuo north to temporarily leave Luoyang! How dare you stop me?”

With her grandiose proclamation, it was hard for anyone to think of Bi Lan hidden behind the bamboo slips when they saw Liu Yuan Zhuo sitting calmly inside the carriage.

The carriage sped past, heading straight from the south district of Luoyang into the north district.

At this point, Ma Lun no longer needed to rely on her identity to protect the carriage.

She let Ma Jun take the two people northward while she walked back to Lingtai.

As she walked along the long street in Luoyang, watching the Southern Palace fire raging fiercer, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of sorrow.

Did those arsonists ever consider that even if a new emperor were to arise, it would be hard to quickly bring Luoyang back from the state of raucousness?

Did they ever think that when even the Runan Yuan clan, which seemed more favorable to the civil officials, would take such actions, then… could those wielding power among the military do more terrible things?

They might have thought about it.

But in the face of the astonishing temptation to advance their family’s glory, they charged forward without hesitation!

Ma Lun sighed deeply.

In such an absurd scene, all she could do was use her resources to preserve some vital forces.

Beyond that, she could only wait and see how capable those who strive to turn the tide are!

And at this moment, Ma Lun wasn’t the only one hoping someone would stop this chaos.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong retreated too quickly, causing them to miss the returning force of Cao Cao, so they could only rely on Jian Shuo’s troop to stall the pursuers while continuing their escape northward.

He soon noticed that among those pursuing him, there were actually men from the Northern Army Five Divisions belonging to the Cavalry Camp.

This made him thoroughly distrust Lu Zhi’s ability to take control of the Northern Army Five Divisions.

So, he couldn’t throw himself into the trap!

After a quick discussion with Jian Shuo, they decided to head straight for the Beima Mountain, using the terrain to buy some time. If they could climb over Beima Mountain and find a boat across the river, relying on the Yellow River’s natural defenses, there might be room to salvage the situation.

But they hadn’t even reached Beima Mountain when Zhao Zhong had already been struck by an arrow from behind and passed away shortly after.

Seeing the mountains ahead in the night like lurking beasts, and hearing the sounds of battle behind him, Zhang Rang couldn’t help but lament inwardly—

When would he ever receive the aid of a loyal and honorable person?

Heaven! Late Emperor!

Do I have to watch these treasonous bandits who would dare burn down the palace prevail?

By dawn, he finally found a temporary hiding place in a hollow among the mountains of Mangshan.

He walked towards the two princes in the convoy.

They were currently staying with soldiers who bore Liu Hong’s body; having fled along with the group, fatigue was evident on their faces.

They didn’t understand why after their father’s death, they had to face such a situation.

According to the calculation from the Han dynasty, now should have been the timid seventeen-year-old Liu Bian cowering, while the eleven-year-old Liu Xie took the cup of water handed to him by Zhang Rang, asking, “Lord Zhang, where should we go?”

Zhang Rang forced a wry smile and replied, “Let’s cross the hill ahead first.”

For a moment, he hesitated whether to address Liu Xie as Your Majesty, adding another burden to the child, but ultimately, he rallied the group and resumed their march after a brief rest.

After dawn, shaking off the pursuers would become increasingly difficult, but he knew clearly that if he didn’t advance, he would meet the same fate as Zhao Zhong!

Seizing the upper hand in survival, he completely shed the fatigue of the sleepless night.

What he didn’t know was that at nearly dawn, when there was no one to obstruct them, the trusted rider dispatched by Dong Min had reached Dong Zhuo’s camp after a night of hard riding.

This cavalryman nearly fell off the horse; once he caught his breath, he recounted to Niu Fu, Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, Li Ru, Xu Rong, and Hu Zhi, gathered at Dong Zhuo’s call, about the various upheavals occurring in Luoyang.

Dong Zhuo was naturally a decisive man.

After hearing about this startling sudden change, without anyone having to remind him, he immediately recognized that this chaotic situation was the perfect opportunity for him to seize maximum benefits.

He slammed the table and stood up, “We’ll march towards Beima Mountain immediately, eliminate the traitors, and protect the Emperor!”

---