The Ten Eunuchs' Rebellion (3)
In the sixth year of Zhongping (189 AD), on the second day of the sixth month, at the Empress Dowager's Palace within the imperial grounds of Luoyang.
Ha Jin straightened his back rigidly as he stepped forward. The moment his long cloak billowed behind him, the eunuchs and palace attendants held their breath and retreated one cautious step at a time. Today, he came as the true ruler of the realm to meet Empress Dowager Ha.
Just yesterday, Liu Bian had ascended the throne. The great power of the court now rested entirely in the hands of Grand General Ha Jin. In all the world, there was only one voice that could move the realm.
“Grand General Ha Jin greets Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
Ha Jin bowed his head with formal respect. Yet his posture remained upright and his voice firm.
The Empress Dowager quietly observed him. Though she had aged, her bearing was still noble and her gaze sharp as a blade.
“Elder Brother, what urgent matter brings you to the palace at such an early hour? It has not even been a full day since Bian’s ascension.”
“Since His Majesty has taken the throne, it is urgent that we secure the very foundation of the realm. I could not delay, and so I have come despite the early hour.”
Ha Jin lifted his head and spoke directly.
“The Ten Eunuchs are traitors who have toyed with the imperial house for decades, abusing both the inner and outer courts for their own gain. Now is the time to uproot their wickedness and restore the true foundation of the world.”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes flickered slightly.
“Elder Brother, those words go too far.”
Ha Jin kept his head lowered, silently waiting for her next words.
She narrowed her eyes and continued slowly.
“With His Majesty newly enthroned, the court has only just begun to regain stability. At a time like this, we must not make decisions that invite bloodshed.”
“Their very existence causes the court and the entire realm to tremble. For the court and the world to find true peace, their blood must be the price.”
Ha Jin spoke quickly, pressing his point.
“If we do not act now, they will once again toy with the court and the realm.”
The Empress Dowager rose slowly from her seat. Though she had once been his younger sister, the dignity she now carried as the mother of the empire was so overwhelming that even the Grand General of the realm could not easily raise his head before her.
“Have you already forgotten, Elder Brother?”
Her voice was calm, yet the meaning within it was resolute.
“The reason you were first able to enter office, the reason this humble one could rise to become Empress—”
She paused for a moment and let out a slow breath.
“All of it was possible only because of them.”
Ha Jin’s hand trembled faintly. Yet he said nothing, merely gazing at the Empress Dowager in silence.
“It is true that the Ten Eunuchs have committed crimes against this court and this realm. However, they have not defied imperial decrees, they have served His Majesty faithfully, and now they kneel and beg for forgiveness.”
Her eyes gleamed with both a trace of pity and an iron will.
“If they repent of their sins and walk the righteous path, is that not enough? Any further bloodshed… would not be good for our Ha clan either.”
Ha Jin closed his eyes, then opened them again.
I never wanted to kill them in the first place. But…
In his mind, the voices of the Qingliu faction that supported him clashed and echoed.
“We must execute the Ten Eunuchs to stabilize the realm!”
“If you hesitate, they will once again toy with the world!”
“Make your decision!”
Ha Jin muttered to himself.
It cannot be helped. If I betray their will to the end, they will no longer support me.
Yet outwardly, he raised his head as if cutting off the Empress Dowager’s words.
“Your Majesty, I speak as the Grand General of the realm.”
His voice trembled slightly, but he clenched both fists tightly and cried out.
“Even if they kneel, offer bribes, and swear to change, their crimes cannot be washed away! The people of the realm are watching! If the court covers up corruption and I, the Grand General, fail to punish them—!!”
But before Ha Jin could finish, the Empress Dowager took one step forward.
“No matter that you are my elder brother… I can never permit that!!”
Her voice shook the entire imperial palace. It was steady, without the slightest tremor, filled with an unyielding resolve that would retreat no further. She was no longer merely the mother of the Emperor. In this moment, she was a mother protecting her son from the Grand General.
Ha Jin did not panic. Instead, as if he had expected it, he gave a small nod. Yet his lips remained tightly sealed, and his eyes gradually grew cold, as though he no longer saw her as blood kin.
“Your Majesty.”
Ha Jin continued in a low voice.
“The Ten Eunuchs are not mere eunuchs. For decades they have sold His Majesty’s name to satisfy their greed, corrupted the government, and framed loyal subjects both inside and outside the court, driving them to their deaths.”
“Even so, they remained at His Majesty’s side,” the Empress Dowager countered. “You know this as well, Grand General. When His Majesty lay ill, who was it that attended him most closely?”
“And they prevented His Majesty’s illness from becoming known to the realm,” Ha Jin’s voice finally carried open anger. “They shielded him, but hid a blade within that shield. The schemes to eliminate the Ha clan, the tricks to obstruct the Crown Prince’s appointment—all of it was their doing!”
The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes. Her hands trembled lightly beneath her sleeves, yet her expression remained serene.
“Elder Brother.”
She continued slowly while still seated.
“Do you remember? When you were first promoted to Grand General, His Majesty hesitated. Who was it that whispered at his side then?”
Ha Jin’s body stiffened momentarily and his head lowered.
The Empress Dowager kept speaking.
“And on the night this humble one was chosen as Empress. A palace maid came running to tell me how hard Guo Sheng, Jang Yang, and the others had worked to place me at His Majesty’s side. Once I learned all of that, I chose to set aside my feelings toward them.”
A silence so complete it seemed even breathing had stopped filled the hall.
The Empress Dowager spoke again.
“They have sinned. But now, they kneel. Geon Seok is dead, Jang Yang has bowed his head to the Grand General, and the rest have all fallen silent. Those who deserved to bleed have already disappeared. Is this not the end of it all?”
“You believe it is over?”
Ha Jin raised his lowered head. In his eyes burned a clear, blade-sharp fury.
“This is only the beginning. If they do not die, this realm will… without fail, fall once more into the crucible of chaos.”
He paused and quietly met the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
“Your Majesty, I stand here bearing the will of the entire realm. The people beyond the court now look to the heavens and ask, ‘What has become of those many criminals?’”
The Empress Dowager rose to her feet. Behind her, the maids gasped in shock.
“Then you would stain my son’s hands with blood the moment he ascends the throne?”
“Your Majesty—”
Ha Jin tried to speak, but the Empress Dowager cut him off sharply.
“His Majesty is only fourteen years old! If a young emperor is swayed by powerful ministers, how can he be called an emperor at all!?”
Her words were not mere excuses to protect the eunuchs. She knew. Once the Ten Eunuchs were gone, only one man would remain in the court—Grand General Ha Jin.
Even if he is my blood kin, how can I possibly trust him!?
Ha Jin frowned. At that moment, the sunlight spreading through the Empress Dowager’s palace slowly shifted, causing their two shadows to face each other. As the long shadows stretched and touched, they seemed to form the faint image of a butcher slicing meat.
That night, at the Grand General’s residence in Luoyang, Ha Jin quietly summoned his closest aides.
The conversation he had shared with the Empress Dowager that morning still lingered in his mind. The memory tightened around his chest like a vise.
“Even if I wish to move… Her Majesty opposes it so strongly… how can I, as a subject of the Han, go against her will?”
Ha Jin sat at the head of the meeting and spoke bitterly into the empty air. Though his words pretended to follow the Empress Dowager’s wishes, a clear note of displeasure lingered at the end of his voice.
At once, Won So rose from his seat.
“Grand General, while we must respect Her Majesty’s intentions, the eyes of the entire realm are now fixed solely upon you. You have already seized the inner court, and the outer armies are gathering. The Bingzhou Inspector Jeong Won is leading troops southward. Soon Mengjin Port will burn.”
At Won So’s words, No Sik frowned deeply and stepped forward with resolve.
“Grand General, it is not yet too late. Summoning armies from the outer regions harms the dignity of the court. The inner palace troops alone are sufficient. We should proceed slowly, reorganize, and excise the Ten Eunuchs in due course. That is the proper way.”
Ha Jin glanced at No Sik for a moment but offered no reply.
From one corner of the meeting room, Jo Jo quietly watched Won So. He said nothing, merely observing the entire situation without voicing approval or opposition.
No Sik continued.
“You already hold military authority over the realm, Grand General. Why summon outer armies and place yourself in danger? Even if Mengjin Port is burned and the plan succeeds, who in the realm would see you as a loyal subject of the Han?”
“Minister No’s words are excessive!”
Won So continued in a calm but forceful tone.
“The evils committed by the Ten Eunuchs are already known to every person in the realm. They colluded with the Yellow Turbans, blinded His Majesty’s eyes and ears, and wielded unchecked power. Failing to punish such men is disloyalty. It is not the action of a loyal subject.”
No Sik shook his head and shot back.
“So you propose burning Mengjin Port? How can burning a perfectly fine location and dragging in outer armies to shake the court be the duty of a loyal subject?”
Then Jin Rim, who usually spoke little and had opposed mobilizing outer armies, quietly opened his mouth. His eyes were calm, but his tone carried firm determination.
“Minister No is not wrong. The moment outer armies enter the capital, how can the people of the realm not suspect the Grand General’s intentions?”
The meeting room fell silent.
“The Ten Eunuchs have already been weakened, and you control the inner court, Grand General. We can tighten the noose slowly… but surely. Calling forth blood and chaos is not the best course.”
His gaze turned toward Ha Jin.
“If you are to make a resolute decision, it must be justified. The moral authority of the realm cannot be obtained overnight.”
Won So took another step forward and turned toward Jin Rim.
“Chief Clerk Jin’s words certainly have merit… but it is already too late for that.”
Won So’s gaze slowly swept across the room. A heavy silence descended.
“The Bingzhou Inspector Jeong Won is already marching toward the capital with fifteen thousand soldiers. If we order them to turn back now, the confusion will only double and the army’s morale will collapse.”
At those words, the others who had remained silent exchanged glances and nodded.
“The fact that the Ten Eunuchs once colluded with the Yellow Turbans is already known throughout the realm. If the remnants of the Yellow Turbans crawl out again and set fire to Mengjin Port, the people will not suspect us.”
Won So looked directly at Ha Jin.
“And if we draw our blades within those flames, it will become ‘the resolute decision of loyal subjects.’ That is the true moral authority.”
Someone else muttered in a low voice.
“The sword has already been drawn from its sheath. If we try to put it back without cutting anything, the blade will turn on its master.”
Jin Rim and No Sik pressed their lips tightly shut and said nothing. They simply lowered their heads and sighed.
Ha Jin quietly clenched his fist. He looked at everyone present.
I never wanted to kill them… I once rode in the same boat with them, and my own sister relied upon them. I did not wish to slaughter them with my own hands…
Ha Jin lowered his head for a moment and muttered inwardly once more.
But they press me so fiercely. If I cannot persuade them, then I too have no choice but to grasp this blade…
At last, Ha Jin slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again. A dark aura swirled through the room.
“…Send a messenger to the Bingzhou Inspector.”
Ha Jin’s voice was low and heavy. Yet it carried an irreversible decision.
“Have him advance on Mengjin Port with greater speed. And… tell him to set the fire as planned.”
At those words, the heavy, sunken air in the room suddenly surged as if it had burst open.
That night, the spark that would split the realm quietly rode the wind and began to spread.