10. Three Men and Women (3)
10. Three Men and Women (3)
He Jin hated the Ten Eunuchs, but their help was absolutely vital for his rise to General-in-Chief.
It was thanks to the Ten Eunuchs that his sister entered the Emperor's harem, and that she was eventually crowned Empress. It was even thanks to the Ten Eunuchs that He Jin, a former butcher, was able to be promoted from Governor of Henan to General-in-Chief.
Everything was accomplished by the Ten Eunuchs.
Finally becoming the General-in-Chief and seizing the military of the Han Dynasty, He Jin could not tolerate that.
'I used those cunning Ten Eunuchs; I am absolutely not playing the role of a puppet for the Ten Eunuchs!'
A butcher who used to bow to eunuchs.
He Jin vowed to kill the Ten Eunuchs, if only to forget his own ugly past.
Their existence always made his stomach churn.
He remembered the past of offering bribes, and thought of the nightmares where he always bowed to them.
If only to erase that nightmare-like past, he had to kill the Ten Eunuchs with his own hands and prove that he had become a power superior to them.
"Traitor He Jin, obey the Imperial Edict!"
The Director of the Imperial Workshop, Ju Mu, shouted.
Ever since He Jin killed Jian Shuo, the leader of the Ten Eunuchs, he had held a grudge.
Hearing that he had entered the palace with only a small escort, he immediately set an ambush with soldiers armed with spears and swords.
"Imperial Edict? You ball-less bastard, how dare you speak of an Imperial Edict with that hole in your face!"
He Jin shouted back furiously.
He absolutely did not believe Ju Mu's words.
The Emperor is my nephew.
There is no way that child would issue an order to hunt me down. It was clear that the eunuch bastard was abusing the Imperial Edict to manipulate things.
"What are you doing!"
The personnel ambushing in Gadeok Hall raised their spears and swords.
Including the eunuchs of the Imperial Palace, even their private soldiers all stepped forward and leveled their spears and swords. The number was quite large. Seeing them, He Jin, who had only trusted his escort, couldn't help but flinch.
"Strike the traitor!"
Starting with Ju Mu's shout, the eunuchs and private soldiers rushed in and attacked He Jin's party.
He Jin's forces were outnumbered.
What use is being elite in front of an overwhelmingly large number?
Many guards died, pierced by spears and swords.
And He Jin, too, was instantly driven into a precarious position.
"Th-these bastards...! I am the General-in-Chief of the Han Dynasty! The Emperor is my nephew, and my sister is the Empress Dowager of the Han Dynasty! Where do you think you are, you clueless bastards, trying to take my life!"
He Jin shouted at the assassins approaching him.
However, the assassins did not stop.
There was no reason to listen to the words of a General-in-Chief who was a lowly butcher.
They rushed in like beasts and plunged sharp spears and swords into He Jin's body. They stabbed his belly, tore through the guts inside, and thoroughly ended his life.
And after climbing on top to cut off his head, they lifted the head of He Jin, who had died with his tongue sticking out, high into the air.
"He Jin is dead!!"
The Director of the Imperial Workshop, Ju Mu, shouted.
Subsequently, the Ten Eunuchs, who had been watching the situation, gathered and began to join the rebellion.
Finally, they had killed the General-in-Chief, He Jin.
The eunuchs, who had been driven into a defensive position by the death of Jian Shuo, began to harbor the ambition to use this as a turning point to seize power once again.
A military officer came running in a hurry.
"Colonel! Colonel!!"
He opened the main gate as if kicking it.
Then he came to me and reported that the movements of the Ten Eunuchs were unusual.
I had built friendships with the military officers of Luoyang.
Thanks to that, I was able to quickly snatch up information about the Imperial Palace and Luoyang, and I also came to know the fact that the eunuchs were plotting something suspicious.
The eunuchs started gathering weapons.
Hearing that, I realized that the eunuchs had finally started a rebellion (Rebellion of the Ten Eunuchs).
"It's time to move."
I sent word to the Minister of Education, Wang Yun, and the General of the Guard, Lu Zhi.
I informed them that the General-in-Chief, He Jin, had been murdered, and that the main culprit was the eunuchs.
There was no information yet that He Jin had been murdered.
However, I was certain that if the eunuchs were gathering weapons and even preparing assassins, it was definitely for the assassination of He Jin—that is, the Rebellion of the Ten Eunuchs had broken out.
"Minister, please guard the Southern Palace with the General of the Guard. Soon, the General of the Household, Yuan Shu, will lead the Imperial Army to attack the Qing-suo Gate."
"Understood."
Wang Yun, wearing armor, nodded.
As a former military officer, the armor suited Wang Yun quite well.
He possessed a private army composed of people from Bingzhou, his hometown. He led his private soldiers and hurried his steps to join the General of the Guard, Lu Zhi.
"Then what about us?"
"Just follow me."
"Good. Time to fight, right? To think we'd be having a bloody fight in this Luoyang!"
Win, and you're a loyal subject; lose, and you're a traitor.
It was close to a high-risk tightrope walk.
However, that danger seemed to provide stimulating pleasure to Lu Bu. She was greatly delighted by the fact that internal strife had broken out in Luoyang.
"He Jin croaked, right? Then we're getting revenge?"
"No, the opposite."
The troops I lead total about 100.
They are the troops standing guard at the gate I am in charge of. They all follow my orders, and they followed me to an extent where I didn't have to doubt their loyalty.
Intelligence 100. Politics 100. Charm 100.
And it was possible because I possessed the [Military Commander] and [Famous Teacher] skills, which command soldiers and inspire the masses.
"We hit Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang."
Wu Kuang still doesn't know the truth.
On the other hand, I knew in advance that He Jin was dead, and I knew that he was staying at his mansion after leaving the General-in-Chief's Office.
"Colonel, isn't Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang a person trusted by General-in-Chief He Jin?"
"Is it okay to hit such a person...?"
Punish Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang according to the Imperial Edict.
I had already received the edict from the Minister of Education, Wang Yun.
Because major high-ranking officials, including the Minister of Education Wang Yun, the Secretariat Sa Son-seo, and the Minister of Works Yang Biao, were all involved in this matter, no one would suspect it was a 'forgery'.
"We are military officers following the Imperial Edict. We punish the traitor by obeying the Imperial Edict."
"Yes!"
The soldiers eventually surrounded Wu Kuang's house.
The door opened, and servants appeared.
It looked like they opened the door to check the noise happening outside, but that was their fatal mistake.
"Ugh!"
I was the first to step forward and cut down the servant.
After kicking the servant who had collapsed while bleeding from his body, I rushed into the mansion and came face to face with Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang.
"Who, who are you! Do you know who I am...!"
"Traitor Wu Kuang. I will arrest you on charges of assassinating General-in-Chief He Jin."
It is time to aim for the chaos that occurred in the Imperial Palace.
General-in-Chief He Jin was murdered by the Ten Eunuchs.
However, the General-in-Chief's Office has not yet obtained accurate information.
I must aim for that chaos.
Before the fact that the Ten Eunuchs were behind the assassination of General-in-Chief He Jin becomes known in Luoyang, I had to frame Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang for the charge and execute him.
"Lu Bu!"
"I thought it would be difficult since it's a fight in Luoyang, but it's good that it's easy. It just means I have to kill that guy, right."
Lu Bu approached, holding the Painted Halberd.
At her ferocious momentum, Wu Kuang made a scared expression. He drew the sword offered by a servant and resisted, but in the end, he could not block Lu Bu's strike and fell.
Kwaduk!!
The Painted Halberd pierced Wu Kuang's body.
After twisting the sharp spearhead to confirm he was definitely dead, she finally pulled the Painted Halberd out again.
"What's next?"
"Now the General-in-Chief's Office will have noticed that He Jin was assassinated. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao will definitely raise troops to use force in the Imperial Palace."
"That means the troops of the General-in-Chief's Office will pour out. Our numbers won't be enough. Surely you didn't start a fight like hitting a rock with an egg... so what's the next plan."
"Go into the inner palace immediately and secure the Emperor. Hurry! The Ten Eunuchs will already be targeting the Emperor and Empress Dowager."
"Working us hard from the start."
Lu Bu lifted the blood-stained Painted Halberd.
After putting the Painted Halberd on her shoulder, she bared her teeth and revealed a fierce laugh.
Fun.
She was genuinely thinking of this situation as pleasant.
From the start, she killed Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang.
After killing the person who acted as the enforcer for the General-in-Chief's Office, she was now trying to secure the Emperor.
"Hahaha, fun. Feels like I'll get used to this. Such things happen because I'm with you. Glad I stayed in Luoyang."
A fighter loves a big battlefield that even they cannot handle.
This Luoyang was a battlefield.
A battlefield of foolish humans fighting like demons for things called wealth and power.
I started a fight to become the winner within it.
To trample on countless humans and rise above them, I must win the life-or-death fight.
'By now, Commandant of the Imperial Carriages Dong Min must have sent a courier to Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo of Xiliang will break through Chang'an and arrive in Luoyang.'
The time it takes for Dong Zhuo to come to Luoyang is only one day.
In just one day, he will lead his troops and arrive in Luoyang.
If the well-trained Xiliang Cavalry breaks through the wide wilderness with a forced march and enters Luoyang, everything will come to nothing.
We have 24 hours left.
Within those 24 hours, I have to organize the chaos in Luoyang and construct a defensive line that can block external armies from entering.
"Only a day? You have to do all that in one day!"
Lu Bu shouted in surprise.
She said it was absolutely impossible.
She raised her voice, asking how that was even possible when we had less than 100 troops.
"Have to try. Probability of success isn't high, though."
I said, clicking my tongue.
Being in a position where I was chased by time, I didn't even have the luxury to talk leisurely.
First, I had to head to the Imperial Palace.
After leaving the cleanup to the Colonels for a moment, I finished preparations for a forced march to the inner palace.
"See you again."
As I left the mansion, there were many troops.
Strong soldiers wearing well-ordered spears and swords and armor that was as good as new were surrounding the mansion of Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang.
To be precise, they were surrounding our troops who had entered the mansion.
"Colonel of the Vanguard Cao Cao."
A beauty with black hair flowing down to her waist.
Wearing silver armor, she was being escorted by an army of about 1,000.
She noticed my movement.
Wasn't it her who told me to handle Buguo Zhang Wu Kuang in the first place? It was natural that she knew my movements.
"Murdering a Buguo Zhang... do you know what that means? From now on, you are at odds with our General-in-Chief's Office."
The archers nocked arrows to their bowstrings.
They hadn't pulled the strings yet.
Whether they were waiting for the commander Cao Cao's order, or waiting in a state of being covered from behind the shield bearers.
"The Buguo Zhang was executed on charges of participating in the assassination of General-in-Chief He Jin. The Imperial Edict stamped with the seal of the Han Dynasty's Three Excellencies and His Majesty the Emperor is right here."
I took out the Imperial Edict from my bosom.
Seeing the Imperial Edict decorated with gold, Cao Cao's red eyes flashed as if she found it interesting.
"You've even co-opted the Imperial Court and high-ranking officials, and in this short time..."
"I don't think this is the time to be so leisurely. Shouldn't you go to the South Gate and stop General of the Household Yuan Shu? If you are the Colonel of the Vanguard who is a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, you wouldn't sit idly by while the inner palace burns due to the violent Yuan Shu."
There were still tons of things to deal with.
General of the Household Yuan Shu, and Commandant of the Imperial Carriages Dong Min.
If these two are not handled, the chaos caused by the Rebellion of the Ten Eunuchs cannot be calmed.
It is an urgent situation.
At my words, Cao Cao made a thoughtful expression, then finally raised her hand, causing the archers to withdraw.
"You should be thankful that I hate Yuan Shu."
Cao Cao said to me.