29. The Turmoil of the Ten Attendants (1)
Empress Dowager He and Grand General He Jin. The once ironclad bond between these two siblings, who had forged the He clan's dominion over the realm, was beginning to fray. This signaled that the Ten Attendants' Rebellion was not far off.
The Ten Attendants' Rebellion. It was the incident where they forged an imperial edict in the empress dowager's name to lure Grand General He Jin into the palace, then unleashed hidden assassins to slaughter him and his escorting warriors wholesale. At the same time, it was the event that ushered in the era of warlords vying for supremacy.
'The Little Emperor ascends the throne, and four months later, the Ten Attendants revolt. With the situation accelerating due to the assassination attempt on Bohai Wang, it wouldn't hurt to prepare thoroughly from now on.'
Lee Seong-hwi grew concerned as the crisis worsened faster than anticipated. Chaos was descending sooner than expected. Like tiny anomalies accumulating into a colossal catastrophe, the palace atmosphere was spiraling toward doom.
Was it because the assassination of Liu Xie had failed? Or because she had been betrayed by her trusted sister? Even at the pinnacle of wealth and glory, He Hou acted with the frantic desperation of a cornered animal.
"I've dispersed the private troops led by Miao Zai throughout Luoyang. Send the signal for crisis, and they'll all rally at the Cao encampment."
Xiahou Dun shrugged as she spoke. She explained that, as planned, they'd summoned all the private troops, so once things kicked off in earnest, her clan's younger cousin Xiahou Yuan would lead them.
Lee Seong-hwi nodded in approval.
"If rebellion breaks out, the Southern Palace will be the fiercest battlefield."
"Don't worry. Mengde and I will seize the Southern Palace first."
The black-haired woman listening to Lee Seong-hwi and Xiahou Dun's exchange cut in with a face full of suspicion.
"There's no solid proof the Ten Attendants will rebel. Mobilizing private troops is dangerous enough... but talking about leading armies to seize the palace? Isn't this exactly the kind of chatter that paints us as rebels?"
It was absurd to blindly believe that the fallen Ten Attendants, stripped of all power, would assassinate the grand general. That's why Cao Hong, tasked by Cao Cao to monitor Lee Seong-hwi, rejected the story as too far-fetched.
"The situation has changed, Jiam."
Cao Cao spoke up at Cao Hong's sharp retort. She had been skeptical too, but after witnessing the He clan's infighting in the palace and the Grand General's maneuvers, she had come to see merit in Lee Seong-hwi's claims.
"He Jin is assembling provincial legions in Luoyang under the pretext of suppressing the Black Mountain Bandits. For the Ten Attendants lurking in the empress dowager's shadow, the Grand General's military buildup must be their worst nightmare."
Those very Ten Attendants had pushed for appeasement policies toward the Black Mountain Bandits alongside the late emperor. It was only natural they'd feel their lives threatened by He Jin's calls for a full-scale extermination. After all, it was obvious he'd use the charge of their collusion with the bandits to purge them once the provincial forces arrived.
"Moreover..."
As Lee Seong-hwi had pointed out, if the Ten Attendants plotted to assassinate Grand General He Jin, they had to act before the legions led by Bingzhou Inspector Dong Zhuo and Fierce Vanguard Captain Zheng Yuan entered Luoyang.
"Sister, then shouldn't we warn the Grand General's headquarters right away? If he's assassinated by the Ten Attendants..."
"That's precisely what I want."
As evidence mounted that the Ten Attendants might revolt, Cao Hong spoke up. Cao Cao replied firmly, revealing she had already made up her mind—the die was cast.
"Lady Mengde, but our forces alone won't suffice."
"You mean we must coordinate with Benchu... That's what you're saying."
"Yes."
Seizing the palace and Luoyang with just their Gold Army troops was impossible. To prepare for the Ten Attendants' Rebellion, they needed more like-minded patriots to join in occupying the palace and the city. Though visibly displeased at Lee Seong-hwi's suggestion to seek Yuan Shao's aid, Cao Cao nodded silently in partial agreement.
She wanted a straight answer. Why had she humiliated him? Was it, as Yuan Shao claimed, to check her half-brother by blocking the Black Mountain Bandits campaign?
He Jin stormed into the Jadede Palace—Empress Dowager He's chambers—with his guards seething in outrage.
He left the escorts outside the palace gates and entered the hall alone, guided by a palace maid.
"Why block the extermination of the Black Mountain Bandits? They're a northern scourge, no different from Zhang Jiao and his brothers who plunged all thirteen provinces of Han into misery! We must slaughter them all to show the realm that law and order still reign in this land!"
He Jin bellowed, berating his half-sister, who lounged indifferently against the armrest.
He Hou shot back.
"Grand General, how dare you speak so insolently to me, who wields imperial authority in the emperor's stead? You may still see me as your sister, but I am the Empress Dowager of Han and the highest authority in the imperial house! Mind your tongue!"
He Jin nearly exploded at her sharp retort but swallowed his rage with a deep sigh.
"My apologies..."
Bowing his head as if conceding the verbal skirmish, he apologized to his half-sister for his words.
"But please consider my loyal heart for the throne and court. For His Majesty's reign, the Black Mountain Bandits and Ten Attendants are traitors and villains who deserve annihilation from the realm! Entrust me with full military authority, and I will gladly defend the imperial house and court from these wicked scoundrels!"
Even as He Jin wrapped himself in the guise of a loyal minister wronged by false accusations, the empress dowager's gaze remained icy. She treated him—a second Yang Qi wielding influence over the court, throne, and provinces through military might—as a treacherous minister.
To check her half-brother, she had allied with the Ten Attendants. It couldn't have been an easy choice. Perhaps she feared him so much that she had no recourse but to join hands with those infamous for corruption and greed.
"Grand General, withdraw. Send back all the legions of Dong Zhuo and Zheng Yuan marching on Luoyang, and order the Grand General's headquarters to exercise restraint."
He Jin ground his teeth, head bowed low at his half-sister's peremptory command.
For fifteen long years, he had served the realm loyally. He had placed his half-sister on the empress dowager's throne and enthroned his cherished nephew as emperor. I am the prime contributor who opened this new imperial era. So why must I suffer as a vile traitor?
"From my first posting as Langzhong, I have never harbored a disloyal thought even for an instant. With the devotion of a dog or horse, I have served you, Empress Dowager, and the current emperor, securing the realm for you! How can you ignore this brother's loyalty and embrace vile wretches like the Ten Attendants?!"
He had endured years of grinding toil for the He clan's dominion. His fury could no longer be contained. He resisted her favoritism toward the greedy Ten Attendants over her faithful brother.
That bastard He Jin is summoning provincial legions to Luoyang. He's clearly plotting to kill us. Using the Black Mountain Bandits as an excuse, he means to wipe us out in one fell swoop.
At the Grand General's headquarters' large-scale military maneuvers, the Ten Attendants—hiding in Empress Dowager He's shadow—rose like a swarm of bees.
Like cornered rats biting the cat, the Ten Attendants, convinced they faced death, began plotting to kill He Jin instead.
"We must act before the legions led by Bingzhou Inspector Dong Zhuo and Fierce Vanguard Captain Zheng Yuan enter Luoyang! Just as Upper Army Colonel Jian Shi did... It's time for an all-or-nothing gamble against the He clan!"
The eunuchs nodded vigorously at Senior Eunuch Duan Gui's bold declaration, like a vanguard charging ahead.
To survive, they must kill. With resolve for mutual destruction, they had to assassinate the grand general and his subordinates. Since Jian Shi's rebellion was crushed, the Ten Attendants had lost all their power and wealth to the Grand General's headquarters. Blinded by rage, they saw no other path.
"Forge the empress dowager's edict and kill him! Elder Zhang Rang's son married her sister, so borrowing the seal is child's play, isn't it?"
"I'll deploy swordsmen to strike him down."
Hou Lan responded to Eunuch Zhang Gong's words. Boasting many skilled swordsmen, he vowed to disguise them as palace guards, infiltrate, and ambush He Jin from behind.
"The problem... is what comes after. Killing He Jin to right the world's justice is vital, but we must also seize the palace and Luoyang, no?"
Zhang Rang, the cunning leader, spoke as the eunuchs eager to eliminate future threats fell silent and listened intently, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
"Once we lure He Jin into the palace and behead him, appoint Minor Tutor Xu Shang as Henan Yin and former Tawei Fan Ling as Sili Colonel to seize Luoyang. I'll coerce the emperor and empress dowager into issuing an edict branding the He Jin faction as traitors."
Like a predator long awaiting its chance, Zhang Rang revealed his ambition to reclaim lost power by simultaneously occupying the palace and Luoyang upon hearing of the He clan's rift.
The eunuchs marveled at Zhang Rang's plan, sensing the end of the He clan's reign was nigh. He Jin had exposed vulnerabilities through his conflict with his half-sister. This was their golden opportunity, and they all knew it.
Having long manipulated the Han imperial house and dominated politics, these leaders excelled at seizing moments and exploiting gaps.
"Buqu Captain Wu Guang is reckless and foolish—no great threat. The real issues are Sili Colonel Yuan Shao, He Jin's right-hand man, and Wang Yun, who holds Staff Officer and Henan Yin concurrently."
To occupy the palace and Luoyang, Xu Shang and Fan Ling needed those posts. And to secure them, they absolutely had to eliminate core Grand General figures like Wang Yun and Yuan Shao.
"I'll kill that Yuan girl."
"Count me in. That self-righteous Qingliu pretender Wang Yun, and the filthy whore who clung to He Jin to persecute us—I'll handle them."
Upper Joy Supervisor Gao Mang and Constant Attendant Lü Chong, harboring deep grudges against Yuan Shao, the Grand General's advisor, eagerly volunteered to kill her.
Though they'd lost many private troops to the Grand General, their elite, well-trained soldiers—disguised as hunters—waited near Luoyang. They boasted of summoning them all to eliminate Yuan Shao.
"Once we kill Yuan Shao and Wang Yun, seize the palace and Luoyang, then issue edicts from the emperor and empress dowager to round up all He Jin's subordinates, the Grand General's headquarters will be a headless serpent! Even if Dong Zhuo and Zheng Yuan rush to Luoyang, they'll kneel before imperial command—no need to worry!"
Mid Constant Attendant Zhao Zhong rallied the eunuchs, arms outstretched.
Topple the He clan's realm. Restore the eunuchs' dominion.
Driven from power's core by the Grand General's schemes and oppression, the eunuchs mulled their humiliations at the He clan's hands and cried for vengeance.
"Didn't we kill the traitor Yang Qi?"
"He Jin is a second Yang Qi! Abusing his imperial in-law status to monopolize state affairs and deceive the throne and court—what else but a traitor?"
"Depose the He clan's puppet emperor and enthrone His Highness Bohai Wang! With Bohai Wang on the throne, many Qingliu scholars and provincial worthies will rally to us, letting us seize public opinion effortlessly!"
The foxes whispered plots in the shadows, biding their time. Kill He Jin! Kill Yuan Shao and Wang Yun! Slaughter all the Grand General's generals who ran rampant under the He's protection! To reclaim the realm briefly stolen by the He bastards, the foxes began to move.