30. The Ten Attendants' Rebellion (2)
In any case, they had to link the Black Mountain Bandits of the Bing Province mountains with the Ten Attendants and eliminate them together. The Ten Attendants, symbols of corruption and decay—only by rooting them all out could they eliminate every potential threat and seize the Han throne.
Yuan Shao intended to elevate He Jin to the position of one above all, higher than even the emperor. By enshrining him there, based on his many contributions and exploits thus far, she aimed to solidify the second-in-command role in the Grand General's office. And someday... she harbored the ambition to inherit that seat in his wake.
"But didn't the Empress Dowager firmly oppose it? She surely knows the truth behind it all."
True to her experience navigating the filthy political quagmire of the palace with all its dark schemes, the Empress Dowager was quick on the uptake. She was clearly wary of the Grand General's office. That was why she was blocking its dominance, even harboring the Ten Attendants—symbols of malfeasance and sworn enemies of the pure faction scholars.
"Hoo... I expected as much."
At Xun Yukyeong's words, Yuan Shao let out a deep sigh and ruffled her hair. Things had seemed to be going smoothly, but as expected, an obstacle had arisen to bar their path. Merely prodding the indecisive He Jin from behind was exhausting enough, and now the Empress Dowager—the highest elder of the imperial family, acting as regent in the emperor's stead—had begun obstructing them.
Yuan Shao quietly bowed her head, hesitating over whether to deploy the contingency plan she had prepared for such an emergency.
Disguise the separate detachment led by Martial Attendant Commander Jeong Won's men as Black Mountain Bandits, burn Mengjin to the ground, then condemn the Ten Attendants—who had pursued appeasement policies toward the bandits alongside the late emperor—for their crimes and strangle them all...
If Mengjin, not far from Luoyang, suffered a brutal raid by the Black Mountain Bandits, public outrage would erupt. Court ministers would stir the pot, and provincial scholars would inflame the anxious populace. The Empress Dowager, who had vehemently opposed in court, would inevitably yield to the fierce public sentiment and permit the Grand General's office to subjugate the bandits.
"I'll prepare a plan for the Grand General within three days."
"A way to break the Empress Dowager's resolve?"
Xun Yukyeong asked in surprise at Yuan Shao's words. She nodded.
"Yes, though it's still in the early stages. Once it's ready, I'll inform the Commander first."
"I trust you alone, Benchu."
Yuan Shao had already devised a plan to manipulate public opinion through a Black Mountain Bandits false-flag operation, but lacking full confidence, she hadn't shared it with Xun Yukyeong. Attacking Mengjin would surely claim the lives of thousands of innocent civilians. She had sworn to herself that for her grand ambition, she would accept any sacrifice or condemnation—but human sentiment lingered, breeding hesitation.
"Monitor the Empress Dowager's movements, Commander. I'll stay at my residence preparing the plan until the Grand General summons me."
"Understood. If anything suspicious stirs in Jadok Hall, I'll inform you at once."
After entrusting him with that, Yuan Shao rose, claiming urgency in devising the plan. Leaving the Grand General's office, she glanced back at Xun Yukyeong's office, then turned away with a sigh laced with lament.
Get a grip, Benchu. Are you pretending to be pious now, of all times? It's too late for hypocrisy. You've strangled countless political rivals for the Grand General's office—how can you hesitate over innocent sacrifices when the greater cause and ambition are at stake?
Even if her scheme doomed thousands in Mengjin to innocent deaths, she would press on for success alone. To avenge herself on the elders of the Runan Yuan clan who had tormented and scorned her. She would ascend to the seat above all. As the illegitimate daughter of a slave mother, she had to prove to the world that one could succeed—that with ability and will alone, great causes and ambitions could be achieved.
The eunuch from Zhangde Hall monitoring Attendant Commander Yuan Shao slipped out of the palace gates with suspicious haste. The palace maid headed straight for Zhang Rang's residence—the gathering point for the Ten Attendants plotting their coup.
"Yuan Shao has left the palace and is heading to her residence."
Having endured abuse and contempt from her birth clan, the Runan Yuan family, since childhood, Yuan Shao refused to stay at the Yuan family compound and resided instead in a new annex. Songhyeon, near a pine forest, was home to renowned scholars and luminaries—and there stood Yuan Shao's annex.
Upon learning from the Zhangde Hall maid that Yuan Shao was returning home, the Ten Attendants prepared to dispatch swordsmen famed in the Capital Guard to her residence. To swiftly eliminate her and seize the Attendant Commander's authority.
"This is the Empress Dowager's edict to send to that wretch Cheonchul."
Zhang Rang, seated at the head, unfurled the forged edict before the assembled eunuchs. No, it wasn't forged. Bearing the Empress Dowager's true seal, it was genuine—gripped in the claws of this old fox.
"Huran, are preparations to strike Cheonchul complete?"
Zhang Rang asked. Huran, who had secretly placed swordsmen inside the palace, nodded.
"Swordsmen disguised as palace servants are already at Shengchan Gate. The moment Cheonchul passes through, they'll seal the gate and slaughter He Jin and his entire faction!"
Lure He Jin to the northern palace's Shengchan Gate with the false edict from the Empress Dowager and strangle him. Preparations were already complete. True to their dominance over two reigns—from Emperor Huan to Emperor Ling—the eunuchs gripped the palace like their own home, even after losing all power to the Grand General's office.
"I'll handle Wang Yun. On charges of plotting rebellion, I'll arrest him, then use my Henan Governor authority to seal all Luoyang gates and deploy my forces to wipe out the Grand General's faction!"
"Heosang, your role is crucial. Capture Adjutant General O Gwang, Army Supervisor Sima Jangjang, Tiger Division Commandant Yuan Shu, Staff Officer Jin Rim, Scribe Jeong Tae, Minister Luo Shi... Round up everyone in the Grand General's office."
"I'll see it done, my lord."
Simultaneously with luring He Jin to Shengchan Gate via the false edict, launch the coup. Kill Yuan Shao, arrest Wang Yun, seize the palace and Luoyang—end it in a swift stroke before the Grand General's office could counterattack.
"What of Efficiency Attendant Commander Cao Cao?"
"She took sick leave from court today to meet kin arriving from her hometown."
"Entertaining hometown kin at a time like this... Utterly carefree. But fortunate for us. Keep her under strict surveillance."
Attendant Commander Yuan Shao was at her residence; Efficiency Attendant Commander Cao Cao was on leave, meeting kin. Was this not heaven's gift? The two heroines commanding the Grand General's Gold Army had both vacated the palace.
Zhang Rang and the eunuchs believed heaven itself aided them.
"The operatives dispatched to the assassination are swordsmen renowned in the Capital Guard. Seasoned as they are, they'll execute without a single mistake."
They had emptied their slush funds from selling offices to hire these nimble experts. Veteran private soldiers joined the coup as well. Preparations were flawless. All that remained was to carry it out.
"You, hurry to Jadok Hall and tell the Empress Dowager's maid to commence the great affair."
"Understood, my lord."
The Zhangde Hall maid who had reported Yuan Shao's movements nodded at Zhang Rang's command. They had turned a Jadok Hall maid. To avoid suspicion if a stranger delivered the edict to He Jin, they had suborned one he knew.
"Then we'll move out as well."
"We'll bring you Yuan Shao's head, my lord."
Supreme Secretary Go Mang and Attendant Yeol Sung, tasked with assassinating Attendant Commander Yuan Shao, rose. Beonneung, aiming to kill her and claim her authority, stood from his seat as well.
"Strike Yuan Shao in Songhyeon. Kill the Yuan wench without a single error."
As Go Mang and Yeol Sung exited, over twenty elite swordsmen waiting outside rose. Followed by the Ten Attendants' private soldiers disguised as hunters, they headed for Yuan Shao's annex in Songhyeon.
The Ten Attendants' coup had begun. The moment the Zhangde Hall maid set off for Jadok Hall, the assassination squad targeting the Grand General's second-in-command, Attendant Commander Yuan Shao, departed Zhang Rang's residence.
As the eunuchs' spies reported, Cao Cao was indeed meeting kin from Pei Guo in Yezhou—Xiahou Yuan. But it wasn't for catching up. It was to mobilize Xiahou Dun's Gold Army forces and the Cao clan's private soldiers under Xiahou Yuan the instant the Ten Attendants assassinated Grand General He Jin, thereby seizing the palace.
"Sister, all preparations are complete. At your command, we'll assault the palace held by the Ten Attendants."
Xiahou Yuan reported that his private soldiers awaited only the order to march. The handsome youth, Xiahou Dun's younger brother newly appointed Gold Army Attendant, gripped his bow, awaiting orders from his cousin Cao Cao.
"Sister, we've confirmed the maid who visited Zhang Rang's residence has returned to the palace. She's surely heading to Jadok Hall where the Empress Dowager is."
"Likely."
At Cao Hong's report, Cao Cao slowly opened her closed eyes, sensing the moment had arrived. With a resolute expression, she girded her waist with the ancestral heirloom of the Cao clan, the Yicheon Sword.
"Then we charge the palace now?"
Cao Cao shook her head at Xiahou Dun's impatience.
"First, the eunuchs must kill He Jin. The moment they assassinate him and try to seize the palace and Luoyang, we enter and purge the coup's Ten Attendants."
Cao Cao held the perfect justification: suppressing the Ten Attendants' rebellion. Yet she moved not lightly. She waited silently for the coup leaders to butcher He Jin. To eradicate both the Ten Attendants and the Grand General's faction, its leader and linchpin had to die.
"Lady Mengde, it's time."
"...Be careful."
"Yes."
As tensions reached breaking point, Lee Seong-hwi stepped forward and spoke. Cao Cao nodded.
"I'll be back."
Cao Hong prepared to depart alongside Lee Seong-hwi.