The Ten Eunuchs' Rebellion (6)
The thick fog still clung to the alleys of Luoyang as the great gates around the imperial palace remained firmly shut in the early dawn hours of the sixth day of the sixth month, Zhongping 6th year (189 AD). Inside a small detached pavilion deep within Zhang Rang's residence, a few candles burned with a soft, wavering glow.
The familiar faces gathered there belonged to the very Ten Eunuchs who had accepted Empress Dowager He's decree and been stripped of their offices. They sat quietly on the floor, and a heavy silence filled the room.
It was Guo Sheng who finally broke that silence.
"Must we... truly leave?" His voice trembled at the end.
Seated beside him, Zhao Zhong let out a low sigh.
"If we do not leave, will we not die? Her Majesty has promised to spare our lives... so there is no other path but to depart."
"To think that we, who have guarded the Han imperial house for decades, would be driven out like this..." one of the Ten Eunuchs murmured.
The atmosphere in the room grew even heavier. Some seemed to accept their fate with calm resignation, while others could not suppress their rage, their hands visibly shaking.
"Without us, could the successive emperors have truly exercised imperial authority?"
"It was only because we supported them that the He clan has risen this far..."
They appeared ready to let go of the past, yet the bitter regret for their lost power still clung thickly to their lips.
Until then, Zhang Rang had remained silent. Only now did he speak.
"Everyone."
A single word. Yet every gaze in the room turned to him at once.
Zhang Rang slowly lifted his head from behind the candlelight. His face was obscured by shadow, but his eyes gleamed with unusual intensity.
"Do you truly... intend to end things like this?"
No one could answer.
Zhang Rang rose quietly from his seat and began to pace slowly through the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
"It is true that Her Majesty has given up on us. However, that was only because external pressures left her no choice."
He stopped walking.
"But this is not the end. Not yet. Even with external factors at play, if Her Majesty changes her mind, we can easily turn the situation around once more."
Yet Zhang Rang did not reveal the full plan he kept hidden in his heart.
If we can hold out for just one or two more days, the bandit army will arrive. There are still those who follow me, and if only the gates are opened... Moreover, with Empress Dowager Dong and the General of Agile Cavalry still present, if we can secure Prince Xie...
Zhao Zhong asked with a puzzled expression.
"Do you mean... we can return to the court?"
Zhang Rang neither nodded nor denied it. He simply raised his hand silently and pointed to the long sword leaning against the wall.
"Eunuchs have seized power in the past by checking the empress's relatives in place of His Majesty. What method have we employed for decades?"
He turned to face them all.
"We will use that same method once again."
Zhao Zhong drew in a sharp breath.
"But we currently hold neither position nor justification. And our military power—"
"No. We still possess one thing."
Zhang Rang pressed his thumb against his own chest.
"My adopted son, Zhang Jin, is married to Her Majesty Empress Dowager He's younger sister."
Guo Sheng's eyes widened.
"You mean...?"
"We need only move our daughter-in-law. We will request one final audience. After decades of serving the emperor, if we say we wish to pay our final respects to His Majesty and Her Majesty before departing..."
Zhang Rang narrowed his eyes.
"It will stir Her Majesty's emotions. She has always been weak to sentiment."
Zhao Zhong asked hesitantly.
"...Will that truly lead to reinstatement?"
"Reinstatement is not the goal."
Zhang Rang spoke firmly.
"It is merely a foothold. If we succeed in gaining an audience... we will once again throw a spark into the court. In the meantime, we will buy ourselves time to counterattack."
The silence in the room soon turned to agreement. One by one, they began to nod slowly.
Zhang Rang quietly issued his command.
"Before dawn breaks, let us all prepare to visit our daughter-in-law."
As his words ended, the candlelight in the room flickered slightly. The sun had not yet risen, but the fallen power was already preparing to sprout new buds.
The atmosphere in Zhang Jin's residence had grown so turbulent after the Ten Eunuchs lost their authority that no one could sleep. Empress Dowager He's younger sister, Zhang Jin's wife, remained in the side chambers, and the maids attending her moved about in stifled silence beneath the heavy air.
That same dawn, Zhang Rang, leader of the Ten Eunuchs, arrived at Zhang Jin's residence leading Zhao Zhong, Guo Sheng, and the other dismissed eunuchs. The sun had not yet risen.
Zhang Jin hurriedly straightened his appearance and personally went out to greet Zhang Rang.
"Father, what brings you here so early?"
Zhang Rang gazed at him silently for a moment before giving a slow nod. Then Zhao Zhong stepped forward.
"Young master, would you convey our intentions to your wife?"
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Rang spoke directly.
"The time has come for us to leave the court. As old ministers, we have committed offenses and must retire to our private homes outside the palace. Yet because we have received the grace of the imperial family for generations, even as we prepare to depart far from the palace, a lingering attachment remains in our hearts. We earnestly beg for one final opportunity to enter the inner palace and behold the faces of Her Majesty and His Majesty, if only for a moment. Only then could we withdraw to our place of death without regret."
Zhang Jin pressed his lips tightly together. Though these eunuchs no longer held power or office, a faint shadow of darkness still lingered behind their pitiful appearance.
"I do not know if Her Majesty will permit it..."
Zhang Rang cut him off at once.
"We are not asking for permission. Simply convey our words. We wish to bring a proper close to our service. Having attended Her Majesty more closely than anyone, how could we simply depart in silence without even bidding farewell? That would be unbearable."
Guo Sheng knelt as well.
"We beg you, young master. We ask only to perform one final rite of respect before we go. Nothing more than courtesy."
Zhang Jin looked at them in silence. The sight of them all bowing their heads in unison was a rare scene even within the Luoyang court. He nodded slowly.
"Very well. I will speak with my wife."
The moment he heard those words, Zhang Rang let out a tiny breath of relief. The other Ten Eunuchs also showed clear signs of relief, as if they had been granted a new lease on life. Yet above all... Zhang Rang's eyes remained clear and cold.
This should buy us a little more time.
His gaze pierced through the dawning morning sky and stretched far into the distance. It was not completely over yet.
Morning of the sixth day of the sixth month, Zhongping 6th year (189 AD). Empress Dowager's Palace, Luoyang Imperial Palace.
In the quiet morning, the doors of the Empress Dowager's palace opened. It was still early, and the palace grounds lay wrapped in silence. Sunlight gently illuminated the curtains of the Empress Dowager's chambers.
The one who broke that silence was Empress Dowager He's younger sister. She walked with careful, composed steps into the inner chamber where her sister waited.
"Your Majesty."
Empress Dowager He turned her head from behind the folding screen. Her face was etched with deep fatigue and wariness.
"What brings you here at this hour of the morning?"
Her sister sat down, steadied her breathing, and bowed deeply.
"Father and the others... before they leave the capital, they wish to request one final audience to bid farewell to Your Majesty and His Majesty."
Empress Dowager He remained silent, her expression unchanging. Then she set down her teacup and asked quietly.
"Is their intention sincere?"
Her sister nodded, her eyes reddening.
"Even now, after setting aside all power and position, they think first of Your Majesty and His Majesty... They have been careful not to become a burden. Yet as old servants who have attended the imperial house for decades, they say they wish to offer one final farewell before departing."
Empress Dowager He closed her eyes. She remained silent for a moment, lost in deep thought.
My brother has surrounded me with troops and even replaced the Imperial Guard that protects His Majesty. He claims it is out of loyalty, that it is for His Majesty's sake... Yet what should I call those who, from such a lowly position where they cannot even raise their faces, still come to bid farewell?
She calmly lifted her gaze to her sister.
"...If they are gone now, no one will remain at His Majesty's side."
At those words, her sister's eyes widened slightly. Empress Dowager He rose slowly and walked to the window. Dim sunlight filtered in across the palace courtyard.
"At a time when even my own blood brother raises a sword to pressure me... they still wish to kneel and serve the imperial house."
Empress Dowager He let out a long sigh.
"...Tell them this."
She turned quietly and spoke.
"To Zhang Rang and the Ten Eunuchs, this Empress remembers their loyalty. As they desire, I grant them permission to enter the palace today."
Her sister bowed deeply. A single tear slid down her cheek.
Empress Dowager He added one more thing.
"Also convey that I am withdrawing the decree that stripped them of office."
Beginning with the Empress Dowager's palace, a great wind once again swept through the imperial court.
Morning of the sixth day of the sixth month, Zhongping 6th year (189 AD). Grand General's Headquarters, Luoyang — Conference Hall.
"Grand General, Her Majesty has issued a decree. She has canceled the dismissal of Zhang Rang and the Ten Eunuchs and is reinstating them all."
The kneeling civil official's voice trembled. The eyes of dozens of generals and advisors in the room turned toward He Jin at once.
He Jin sat in silence. That silence foretold the storm that was about to arrive.
The moment his fingertips touched the wine cup on the table—
—Crash!
He Jin snatched up the cup and hurled it. The glass vessel, imported from the Western Regions, shattered, sending shards flying in every direction.
"Reinstatement... you say?"
That single phrase froze the entire conference hall. The usual gentle, dignified tone had vanished from He Jin's voice. Only raw, unhidden fury echoed through the room.
"Zhang Rang and his ilk hated the idea of dismissal so much that now they crawl back in on their own? How could Her Majesty possibly summon such wretches again?!"
Unable to contain his rage, He Jin slammed his fist on the table and rose to his feet. Yuan Shao also stood and approached He Jin's side. In normal times, Yuan Shao would have been the first to insist on sweeping away the Ten Eunuchs, but now He Jin had surged far ahead of him.
"Grand General, what will you do?"
Yuan Shao's question was not incitement but a check on He Jin's current state.
"What will I do? How can I simply watch any longer?!"
He Jin immediately seized the sword he had set aside. Veins bulged at his temples from fury, and his chest heaved with ragged breaths.
"It is true that I have been too weak until now. In the past, I too rose through the ranks on the recommendation of the Ten Eunuchs and tried not to forget that debt. That is why I hesitated so long before drawing my blade. However—"
He Jin drew the sword he gripped and swung it through the air. The cold ring of steel instantly sliced through the conference hall.
"However, at this very moment... if Her Majesty insists on shielding them, then I can endure no more!!"
He Jin shouted with firm resolve.
"Now I must take up the sword myself."
He stretched out his hand and issued orders to the soldiers.
"I will enter the palace in person. Prepare the troops at once. I will drag Zhang Rang and his gang out in front of the Empress Dowager's palace!"
The soldiers hesitated in shock, but they were soon overwhelmed by He Jin's momentum and began moving immediately.
Cao Cao stood with his arms crossed, still watching He Jin with the eyes of a bystander. The He Jin before them was no longer the indecisive man of the past. He had finally shown the decisive resolve of a true Grand General.
But at that moment, the door burst open with a bang and an eunuch rushed in. His official robes were soaked with sweat, his breathing ragged, and beads of sweat covered his forehead.
He Jin still held the drawn sword in his hand. The blade, pulled from its sheath, gleamed in the morning sunlight.
"What is it?!"
At He Jin's shout, the entire room held its breath.
The eunuch dropped to his knees, bowed deeply, and presented the Empress Dowager's decree with trembling hands.
"Her Majesty... wishes to see the Grand General."
The moment those words fell, the atmosphere in the conference hall shifted completely.
He Jin gripped his sword tighter and glared at the eunuch.
"At a time like this? Her Majesty?"
The eunuch remained prostrated, unable to lift his head beneath He Jin's sharp killing intent.
"After reinstating the Ten Eunuchs, she calls for me now?"
He Jin took one step forward. The tip of his sword scraped against the floor with a harsh grating sound.
"Grand General," Yuan Shao spoke cautiously. "You must first calm your anger. If Her Majesty has extended her hand first... at the very least, you must determine whether she truly seeks reconciliation or whether this is a trap."
He Jin closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. His heart still pounded violently and his mind was in turmoil.
—Zhang Rang's reinstatement.
—The Empress Dowager's betrayal.
—And now... the Empress Dowager's summons.
He Jin took a short breath and spoke in a low voice.
"...Have the troops stand by for now. I must go see Her Majesty myself."
The soldiers flinched but quickly obeyed. He Jin sheathed his sword with a heavy motion and turned away.
"Whether Her Majesty is sincere... or whether this is a trap... I will go and see for myself."
He Jin's eyes had grown chillingly cold. Once again, the imperial palace prepared to face a violent wave.