The Rebellion of the Ten Eunuchs (8)
In the afternoon of the sixth day of the sixth month, in the sixth year of Zhongping (189 AD), inside the Eastern Palace of Empress Dowager Dong in Luoyang.
The chamber held nothing but the faint, labored breathing of an elderly woman. Empress Dowager Dong remained seated beside the bed, her hair unbound and disheveled. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, her gaze fixed rigidly upon the wall.
“...What in heaven’s name are we to do now?”
As her grief-stricken murmur faded, a court lady approached with careful steps.
“Your Majesty, the Regular Attendant Jang Yang begs an audience.”
Empress Dowager Dong did not turn her head. In a hoarse voice she answered, “What face does that wretch have to show himself before me?”
Yet even as she spoke, her hand fell limply in a gesture of resignation. “Let him enter.”
Moments later Jang Yang stepped into the room. He dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead deeply to the floor.
“Your Majesty… this humble servant has committed a crime deserving of death.”
“You caused Geon-seok’s death, yet you dare appear before me?”
Her tone was icy, but the final words trembled. Jang Yang lowered his head even further, his voice soft and oily with deference.
“Your Majesty, I am truly ashamed. Yet the court is collapsing, and His Majesty the Emperor cannot restore order.”
“The Emperor?” Empress Dowager Dong gave a derisive snort. “You mean that puppet Ha Jin installed? Must I be the one to protect the boy?”
Jang Yang let out a long, deliberate breath before he finally spoke the decisive words.
“…The traitor Ha Jin has already been executed.”
Time itself seemed to freeze inside the chamber.
“What did you say?” Empress Dowager Dong’s voice cracked low and raw. “Ha Jin… is dead?”
“Yes. At noon today, the loyal servants and I joined our strength in the Palace of Empress Dowager Ha and successfully executed the traitor.”
Empress Dowager Dong’s hands shook violently. “That traitor finally received heaven’s punishment?!”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.” Jang Yang slowly raised his head, his tone smooth and persuasive. “That is why I come before you with a request. With the traitor Ha Jin gone, the court has fallen into chaos. Now that the faction supporting the deposed Prince of Bian has vanished, this is the moment to reestablish the true will of the late Emperor.”
“What exactly are you saying?”
“The Prince of Chenliu, Your Highness Liu Xie,” Jang Yang declared with firm conviction. “He was the son the late Emperor cherished most. I know full well that his true desire was to place Prince Xie—not Prince Bian—upon the throne.”
“And yet you betrayed Geon-seok?”
“Your Majesty, that was never my intention. When the ship is already sinking, how can one refuse to board another? Had I joined them then, how could this opportunity have arisen?”
At those words, a flicker of life finally returned to Empress Dowager Dong’s previously lifeless eyes.
“Then what do you want from me?”
Jang Yang bowed his head once more. “At present we control only a portion of the imperial guards. We cannot know when the traitor’s remaining forces will turn their blades against us. The military authority in the capital lies in their hands; although we issue edicts, there is a high chance of failure.”
“Continue.”
Jang Yang swallowed lightly before pressing on. “The only force in the capital not yet under the traitors’ control is that of the General of Agile Cavalry. Please, lend us your strength!”
Empress Dowager Dong sank into deep contemplation. Jang Yang, still kneeling, whispered softly, “If not now… the chance will never come again, Your Majesty.”
After a long silence, she wordlessly lifted a brush. With trembling fingers she wrote across the spread silk.
The traitor Ha Jin has met heaven’s wrath and been executed, yet the chaos he left behind still convulses both court and capital. In the midst of this turmoil, I intend to restore the dying wish left by the late Emperor. The one His Late Majesty truly held in his heart was none other than the Prince of Chenliu, Liu Xie, who remains confined within these palace walls. I shall remain silent no longer. I will reestablish the late Emperor’s true will and restore the dignity of the imperial house. In accordance with this purpose, I seek to enthrone the Prince of Chenliu. You, the only commander in the capital who still answers the call of the imperial will—heed my summons. Your loyalty is known to me, and known to the imperial family. If we fail to act now, this realm will sink forever into darkness. You must stand with me.
Jang Yang accepted the letter with both hands. Still kneeling, he smiled inwardly.
Perfect. With this, the world will fall back into our grasp once more.
At the Grand General’s residence in Luoyang, Lu Zhi quietly observed the eunuch who had entered his chamber. A single imperial edict wrapped in silk bearing the imperial crest lay before him.
The eunuch bowed low. “An edict from Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor.”
Lu Zhi nodded silently, accepted the document, and slowly unfurled it.
We hereby appoint the former Grand Commandant Fan Ling as Colonel Director of Retainers and the former Minister of Works Xu Xiang as Governor of Henan. In this time of turmoil, we summon men of experience and virtue to shoulder heavy responsibilities. All of this is for the stability of the realm.
Having finished reading, Lu Zhi lifted his head. His expression remained calm, yet his eyes swirled with deep suspicion.
Fan Ling and Xu Xiang… both have long been entangled with the Ten Eunuchs. The Grand General would never have appointed such men.
He neatly folded the edict, set it on the table, and spoke to the eunuch with polite formality.
“I understand the intent of the edict. However, appointments are the foundation of the state. When the Grand General returns, we shall discuss the matter together and decide with due caution.”
The eunuch’s face twisted for an instant. Then, slowly, he drew something from his robes—an old sack. With a heavy thud, he hurled it onto the floor in front of Lu Zhi.
The sack rolled, and a dull, rounded object tumbled out, knocking across the floorboards. It was Ha Jin’s severed head. The blood had dried to a dark brown, the eyes were closed, and the word “Traitor” had been crudely carved into the forehead with a blade.
The eunuch shrieked, voice wild with triumph.
“The traitor Ha Jin attempted rebellion and was executed by imperial decree of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor!”
His eyes burned with killing intent as his scream tore through the room.
“How can you, a subject of the Han, still side with a traitor?!”
The eunuch advanced several steps, jabbing his finger accusingly. The words “traitor” and “execution” flew from his mouth without restraint.
Lu Zhi did not blink. He simply rose slowly from his seat, eyes cold and lips pressed into a firm line.
Then—
His hand dropped to his waist.
A moment later—
The sword flashed. The eunuch’s head flew from his shoulders, rolling across the floor as blood sprayed in every direction.
Lu Zhi stood motionless, sword tip dripping. Ha Jin’s head and the freshly severed head of the eunuch lay on the ground. Between them, Lu Zhi’s gaze remained perfectly steady.
“So… the Ten Eunuchs have risen in rebellion.”
Lu Zhi knelt upon the blood-spattered floor and carefully lifted Ha Jin’s severed head into his arms. His face trembled, his breathing ragged, yet his voice rang with iron resolve.
“Grand General… this old Lu Zhi will make certain the world knows. How you died… and by whose hand…”
He rose to his feet.
“Send messengers at once. Inform the Colonel Director of Retainers Won So and the Governor of Henan, Wang Zi-sa, with utmost urgency. The Grand General has been murdered by the Ten Eunuchs!”
Lu Zhi’s voice was unwavering. When he left, the chamber was left in utter silence.
“All troops, form ranks!”
At Lu Zhi’s command echoing through the Grand General’s headquarters, soldiers hurriedly adjusted their armor and assembled fully armed. Still wearing his blood-splattered official robes, Lu Zhi strode to the front of the formation. In his hands he carried Ha Jin’s severed head.
“Open your ears! The truth I am about to speak—”
He stepped forward and shouted.
“The Grand General was lured into a trap at the Empress Dowager’s palace and murdered by the eunuchs!”
A deathly silence fell over the soldiers.
“The vile Ten Eunuchs dug a pit, and our Grand General never returned!”
Lu Zhi raised the severed head high.
“Look with your own eyes. This is the end of the man we followed!”
Some soldiers swallowed hard; others ground their teeth. Lu Zhi lowered his voice, yet it grew deeper and more resolute.
“The Ten Eunuchs have launched a rebellion. They have manipulated the realm, slain loyal ministers, and now even the Grand General of the Empire is dead. Who will be next?”
The military compound fell deathly quiet. Lu Zhi drew his sword. Fresh blood still dripped from the blade.
“This Lu Zhi will now lead every soldier of the Grand General’s headquarters to spread this truth across all of Luoyang. The Ten Eunuchs murdered the Grand General! Post their crimes on every gate and shout them to every citizen!”
From among the troops a voice roared.
“Slay the Ten Eunuchs!”
“Avenge the Grand General!”
Lu Zhi did not hesitate.
“We move for loyalty and righteousness. When the court rots, a servant of Han must cut away the decayed flesh with his blade.”
He unfurled a banner—the battle standard of Grand General Ha Jin. Though Ha Jin was gone, that banner would now reveal the truth.
“The Ten Eunuchs have risen in revolt!”
Lu Zhi mounted his horse with that cry. As he took the lead, the soldiers fell into formation behind him. There were no cheers—only eyes burning with unified fury and determination.
Ha Jin’s severed head was placed reverently inside a gilded chest. The chest was set at the head of the column, and Lu Zhi spoke beside it.
“We march with this chest at the fore. The Grand General is dead, and the crime belongs to the Ten Eunuchs. Let the entire realm know it.”
With those words, the soldiers of the Grand General’s headquarters scattered in every direction.
That night, in the streets of Luoyang, names began to spread quietly, one by one. The names of the Ten Eunuchs… and after every name, the same damning words were appended.
The names of the Ten Eunuchs now echo through the blood-stained streets of Luoyang, branded with eternal infamy.