Chapter 12
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Translator: volt
Chapter Title: Grand General He Jin, Assassinated
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Grand General He Jin, assassinated.
Though no one knew exactly how it happened, that news was now killing another man.
"How is the Governor?"
"Even as he vomits blood, he insists we hurry across the river."
When I asked Zhang Liao as he approached, he immediately reported on Ding Yuan's condition.
"He hasn't died, has he?"
"No. Thankfully."
"Good. That's what matters."
Ding Yuan had collapsed the moment he heard the news.
-You... you...!!
The glare he fixed on me as he fell was anything but ordinary.
-Gah...!!
-Governor!!
It was as if some massive disaster had struck, and he was blaming me with his eyes: 'Because of that bastard.'
He'd fainted briefly and was now so depleted he couldn't even rise.
"That old man's got such a bad case of anger poisoning he's coughing up blood."
"Isn't it because of you, General?"
"Because of me?"
I was dumbfounded by Hou Cheng's attempt to shift the blame.
"Do you really think that?"
"That's how it looked from 'Governor Ding Yuan's eyes.'"
Hou Cheng had seen that glare too.
"Isn't that right, Zhang Liao?"
"...The Governor must blame you greatly."
It hadn't been inside the command tent, but everyone—including Hou Cheng—had witnessed that venomous old man's gaze as he was carried away by his officers, still spitting blood and glaring at me.
"Did I do something wrong?"
I looked at each of them in turn and asked.
"Is this my fault right now?"
"No."
"Absolutely not."
Both Hou Cheng and Zhang Liao denied it.
"To judge right and wrong, we first need to know what the wrong even is. What do you think your wrongdoing was, General?"
"From Ding Yuan's perspective. And I mean strictly from his point of view."
That old coot.
"He must think that because I dragged the soldiers off to exterminate bandits for no good reason, we couldn't cross the river properly and this mess happened."
That's the delusion he harbors, so he pours all his resentment on me.
"That black-clad messenger didn't give the full story, but he clearly said Grand General He Jin is dead."
"And assassinated, at that."
"...The Ten Attendants, maybe?"
Zhang Liao ventured the suspicion cautiously.
"Wouldn't the cornered eunuchs have assassinated He Jin?"
"Makes sense. Assassinated, not just killed."
The culprit behind the Grand General's death was already pegged.
And that culprit was most likely one of the eunuchs, just as Zhang Liao guessed.
"So what should we do? With He Jin dead, there's no reason for us to head to the capital, is there?"
"There is. Not for us, but for Ding Yuan."
It felt like the moment we arrived, they'd hold Bing Province Governor Ding Yuan's funeral in the capital. Yet he was shouting he'd go to Luoyang even if it killed him there.
"Maybe he plans to use the Bing Province Army to seize control of the court."
"...Pardon?"
"Wouldn't that be treason?"
"No, no. If he demands the eunuchs' expulsion and vows bloody revenge on them, he'd have the justification."
I racked my brains.
'How did they handle it back at the company when the directors fought?'
I'd been a lowly peon, but the clashes between directors felt like full-scale wars.
The head of one faction got axed.
And those below him?
They either groveled their way in or kept their heads bowed to the floor.
That was the norm.
The victors who purged the opposing head would brand anyone who didn't submit as a 'traitor' and scheme to oust them entirely.
'Either become a traitor and lose your head, or stand shoulder-to-shoulder and fight back.'
Most did that, but one ambitious soul eyed even higher and claimed the seat for himself.
"Just my take."
Probably.
"He Jin's subordinates will try to round up and slaughter all the eunuchs. It's their only way to survive."
They were high officials at court, so they'd pull even more ruthless political maneuvers than I could imagine.
"In the end, we'll know once we reach Luoyang."
"What will you do, sir? Cross quickly?"
"We'll cross. But..."
I pointed at my stomach.
"Cavalry can race across land, but not over rivers."
Horses were just starting to board the boats one by one.
"If we meant to cross with cavalry, we should've prepared big ships ahead of time."
Infantrymen could pile onto small boats, but cavalry? Not so easy.
Yet if he was so desperate to rush to the capital, cavalry was essential. What a contradictory mess.
"Think of it this way. It's going to take time anyway. If he was that urgent, why didn't he cross ahead by himself?"
The one in a bind was Ding Yuan.
"We didn't even leave early from the start, and pausing to wipe out bandits midway won't change the big picture."
This much I could say for sure.
"If Ding Yuan calls it late, he was already late before we even set out."
A certain wise man's words came to mind.
"When you think it's late, it's already too late."
Followed by urgings to hurry even now.
"If Governor Ding hears that, he'll spit blood again."
"Does that make it my fault for harming him?"
"If anger kills him upon hearing it, that's not murder—it's a happy death."
"Happy death?"
"At least he won't choke on rage after arriving at court to find everything's already over."
"Everything's already over."
Really.
"Even if he wants confirmation, it'll take at least a day to march to the capital. This is inconvenient."
No modern communications was a real shame.
"If we knew what was happening in Luoyang, we could adapt on the fly."
Perhaps.
Ding Yuan might charge to Luoyang alone, even faster than he wished.
"Tch..."
Beyond the Yellow River, the darkening Luoyang lay eerily silent.
"Right."
It was late. Probably.
But.
"We need to hurry from here on out."
Being late didn't make it my fault.
I'd killed bandits and saved people.
Could rescuing people dying right before my eyes be called a waste of time?
No matter the greater cause dangled before me.
"Nothing's more important than human life."
At that moment, in Luoyang.
"We've killed He Jin. What now?"
"Ugh, if I'd known he'd die so easily, we'd have done it sooner."
"Let's brand them all traitors. Call He Jin a conspirator, and slaughter all his followers as traitors too."
In some secret chamber of the imperial palace, eunuchs in green robes huddled urgently.
"Hah."
Zhang Yang, the white-haired elder at the head, sighed, and the other eunuchs fell silent.
"...They charge right in, believing a single forged edict from the Empress Dowager."
Zhang Yang, leader of the infamous Ten Attendants, let out a hollow laugh of lament.
"No choice. That was our only option. Yes. Otherwise, we'd all have ended up like Jian Shuo."
Jian Shuo.
There were nine eunuchs here; one was already dead.
"When He Jin killed Jian Shuo, we decided to avoid clashing with him as much as possible. But he gathered all sorts of warlords under him and pressured us."
"That Yuan Chu from the Yuan clan?"
"His sons too, but..."
Zhang Yang's white eyebrows twitched.
"The Bing Province Army is in Henei."
"...!!"
"Wh-why?! They're northern garrison troops...!"
"Ding Yuan betrayed us. He sent us treasures behind our backs while secretly joining hands with He Jin."
Zhang Yang covered his face with one hand.
"The northern guard dog should've stayed in its pen."
"B-but how threatening can the Bing Province Army really be?"
"Dangerous."
Zhang Yang tapped his ear with the hand that had covered his face.
"Ding Yuan has a man named Lü Bu under him."
"Lü... who?"
"...Tch. Better not say it."
Zhang Yang scowled at the fidgeting eunuchs and slammed the table with his palm.
"I said no choice. Seize Luoyang before the Bing Province Army arrives. If my intel's right, they can muster up to 10,000 at most."
"10,000...!"
"Assume the Western Garden Eight Commandants have all defected. Mobilize every private soldier to guard the palace. We've secured the Emperor and Empress Dowager, so we can forge another edict."
Zhang Yang rose.
"Dismiss and arrest the traitor He Jin and his cronies. The ringleaders among his cronies are..."
"S-sir!!"
A young eunuch burst in frantically.
"Flee!!"
With those words came shouts from outside.
"Yuan Shao has stormed the palace!!"
"Set the palace ablaze! Seize every bastard in green eunuch robes──!!"
Drawing his sword amid the flames, Yuan Shao kicked open the palace gates and bellowed.
Rooooar────!!
The soldiers pouring into the palace burned with rage and madness in their eyes.
The grief of losing the general they'd sworn loyalty to.
The fury unleashed on the eunuchs responsible.
And—
"They'll brand us traitors and kill us! If we don't strike first, we're the ones who die!"
The survival instinct to endure in the central court.
"Rescue His Imperial Majesty the Emperor from the clutches of the traitor Ten Attendants, and restore righteousness to this land───!!"
Rooooar────!!
Soldiers flooded into the palace.
Yuan Shao slowly lowered his raised sword.
"Damn, it's brutal out there. Friend."
Behind Yuan Shao stepped a shorter man, matching his stride shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Restoring righteousness? Or seizing power?"
"If I, Yuan Ben Chu, seize power and restore righteousness, wouldn't that be the righteous path?"
Yuan Shao chuckled lowly at the man beside him.
"A-Man."
"Come on. I'm already..."
"Just between us."
Yuan Shao's face softened briefly, but the man called A-Man recoiled in disgust and stepped back.
"Fine. Meng De. Tell me. What's the next step?"
"You've already schemed this up yourself and now dump it on me?"
"Tricks like these are your domain."
"Ha! You really know how to paint a man as a schemer. Alright."
The man stroked his thin beard and pointed at the burning palace.
"You've already greased the court officials well, haven't you?"
"...Can't you say 'coordinated with' instead?"
"You've probably wrapped things up with your uncle Lord Yuan Kai already, so rally all the Grand General faction, the Clear Faction, the Elders, and us young generals."
"That wasn't what I asked."
"So lofty. Forcing me to say it outright."
"Sarcasm?"
"Good that you recognize it. Fine, I'll spell it out. Blood on my hands is nothing new anyway."
The man stepped forward and drew his sword.
"Frontline Commandant Cao Meng De commands───! Kill every last eunuch in the palace───!"
Rooooar────!!
"Cao Cao...!"
"What? Capture or kill—either way, they're dead. No need to play noble."
"It's not playing noble..."
"Sword drawn means swing it. This is our chance, Ben Chu."
The man—Cao Cao—grinned amid the inferno.
"Come on! Let's go rescue our Emperor from the traitors' grasp and restore justice to the realm!"
Fwosh—thud.
An eunuch died.
Even those not in green robes—if their faces were narrow and unmanly—had their pants yanked down to check their manhood before being slain.
"......"
Yuan Shao clenched his fist, watching the burning palace, fleeing eunuchs, and Cao Cao advancing through them.
"In my way."
Yuan Shao's eyes twitched.
"No one in the realm may stand before me—least of all you and that bastard."
Yuan Shao's gaze fixed on Cao Cao, who laughed as he cut down an eunuch.
"Right."
Heh.
"Watch closely who claims the Emperor. As long as you don't strut before me..."
Yuan Shao leisurely raised his sword and walked forward.
"At least for old times' sake, I'll place you at my right hand. As a brother's bond—"
"Aaaagh!!"
Stab.
"Oh dear."
An eunuch charged; Yuan Shao thrust his sword forward.
"Guh... ack."
"Suddenly impaling yourself on my blade."
Yuan Shao shoved the eunuch—sword piercing his heart—with his knuckles and withdrew the blade.
"Nearly swung at you for nothing."
Thud.
The eunuch collapsed.
"Any who stand before me are my foes, and I shall not hesitate."
Yuan Shao sidestepped the pooling blood and continued into the palace.
"Watch from there, my father. Your son... claiming the realm."
Yuan Shao glanced at the night sky and quietly closed his eyes.
"We're screwed."
No matter how I thought about it, we were screwed.
"Should've swum the Yellow River myself if I'd known."
Horses at full gallop, but the situation looked dire.
"Hey, Cavalry Commander."
"......"
I called to the cavalry commander trailing me, but his lips stayed shut as he rode.
"No chit-chat at full charge? Fine. Nod for yes."
Nod.
"......"
He actually just nodded, catching me off guard, but he'd been like this since enlisting at Jinyang Fortress.
"Was it wrong for Ding Yuan to hide the situation from me, or for me not to dig deeper?"
The cavalry commander stared hard.
"What? You think I messed up too?"
He shook his head but bit his lip, holding back words.
"Then why not answer... Ah."
Yes or no.
Question: Is Ding Yuan bad, or am I?
"Changing the question."
Ahem.
"Right after we crossed the river at night, Ding Yuan told me."
It was well past midnight now.
"We camped near Mengjin Dock after crossing, hoping for a quick nap before riding on, when a man sent by Adjutant Zhang Yang brought news from the capital."
"Yes."
Oh.
He spoke.
"See? Talking works—"
"Eyes front when riding hard."
"......Fine."
So that's why he'd opened his mouth.
"We didn't know the capital's situation before crossing. Only after, when we learned."
"Yes."
"The capital... it's a sea of blood now."
People dying in the palace.
"He Jin's men are slaughtering eunuchs, and the eunuchs have whisked away the Emperor and Empress Dowager separately."
"......"
"Are we too late?"
"......No."
The cavalry commander answered.
"From the moment you said bandits were coming, to now as we ride—have we rested even an hour?"
"No."
He spoke at length, uncharacteristic for a cavalry commander.
"Have you been slack even a little?"
"Save for boat time, I swear not a moment's rest."
"Then what worries you?"
Now he questioned me.
"Worried how you look to others?"
"......"
"You already know the answer. Asking just to hear it from me."
"Tch. Cutting off all conversation."
Still.
"Thanks. Confirms I'm not wrong."
"Then shut up and ride fast. Eyes front."
"Orders now?!"
"......Sorry. But we're nearing the capital—"
The cavalry commander cut off.
I drew the weapon slung on my back.
Dark night.
Several carriages racing our way, pursued by a band of soldiers.
Anyone could see: someone important in the carriages, soldiers chasing them down.
The carriages.
"Protect the carriages!"
Even in the dark, moonlight glinted off golden patterns.
Golden... dragons.