Taiheiki

Chapter 233 Left General
"Someone is secretly watching me!" A thought flashed through Huang Wan's mind. He recalled the servants in his house who had suddenly come forward to report and testify. He felt as if countless eyes were staring at him in the darkness. He had never felt so naked and exposed to the gaze of others before. He couldn't help but shiver. He went back into his room and began to write furiously.

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April of the second year of Jianning (169 AD).

"How many self-reflection letters has Huang Wan sent this time?" Wei Cong asked casually, looking at the rain outside the window.

"Which one?" Lu Ping counted on her fingers and answered uncertainly, "Eighth or ninth? I need to check first before I can be sure."

"Alright, no need to investigate further, that's enough!" Wei Cong turned around. "He's a renowned scholar from Jingzhou, and my grandfather is one of the Three Dukes. We can't humiliate him too much. Let's leave it at that! Send someone to tell Huang Wan that this matter is over. Also, I plan to invite him to serve in my staff!"

"Understood!" Lu Ping replied. "What about those self-reflection letters? What should we do with them?"

"Of course we should keep a record of it! This thing might be useful in the future. Also, the surveillance within the Huang family cannot be removed!"

"I understand!" Lu Ping asked, "My lord, you still don't trust this person! Then why did you invite him to serve in your staff?"

"Huang Wan's grandfather is one of the Three Dukes, and his family has been the Ministers for generations. It would be very good for my reputation if such a person could serve in my staff. Moreover, once he joins my staff, he will be my disciple and former subordinate, and we will have a relationship of loyalty between ruler and subject. At least on the surface, he will not dare to go against me."

“That’s true!” Lu Ping nodded. “Then I’ll make the arrangements immediately! By the way, since you don’t trust Huang Wan, aren’t you afraid that if he comes to your headquarters, he might secretly collude with outsiders and leak secrets?”

"You don't need to worry about that, he won't have any access to classified information!" Wei Cong smiled. "I plan to appoint him as the chief priest!"

"Chancellor of the Imperial Academy? Isn't that the official in charge of the Imperial Academy? What would your government need this position for?"

“It will be very useful! For example, if I don’t like someone, but I can’t kill him or arrest him, I can order him to go to Huang Wan’s place to listen to his lectures. If he doesn’t learn well, he can’t leave.”

"Hahahaha!" Lu Ping laughed upon hearing this: "Your method is quite wicked, but is it really necessary to go through all that trouble?"

"Of course, in our Great Han, everything must be done with a just cause. If your reputation is ruined, you will be attacked by everyone, and that would be terrible. Huang Wan is a renowned scholar and official. If someone goes to study under him, no one can say that I am detaining or mistreating him! Studying for three or five years is not a short time, and seven or eight years is not a long time. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

“That’s true!” Lu Ping nodded. Just as Wei Cong said, the pursuit of knowledge by scholars was extremely popular during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It wasn’t uncommon for a Confucian scholar like Huang Wan to open his doors to students from all over the country, sometimes attracting thousands of students. During their studies, these students often brought their own servants and belongings and lived near their teachers, sometimes even forming their own villages or towns. It was also common for them to study for more than ten years. If Wei Cong sent someone he didn’t like to study under Huang Wan, no one could accuse him of mistreating them.

After Lu Ping left, Wei Cong turned around and continued watching the rain outside the window. In his memory, the local rainy season came a little later than it was now, usually after May. However, this was a great boon for the Moth Rebels, as the rainy season meant higher water levels, and higher water levels meant a more effective naval force. Having already controlled large swathes of land in southern Yangzhou and the southeastern corner of Jingzhou, the Moth Rebels were far superior in terms of naval power to the government troops who had been driven to the Nanyang Basin. Of course, he himself benefited the most from this situation, since everyone knew that Jiangling was one of the most important naval bases of the Han Dynasty, and now it was under his control.

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Luoyang, the General's Mansion.

"Lord Yuan, look at these! These are all memorials impeaching Feng Kun!" Dou Wu said with a wry smile. "Almost all of them demand the replacement of the general, and some even want Feng Kun imprisoned and punished!"

“These two things are essentially the same!” Yuan Wei shook his head. “Once the general is replaced, Feng Kun will definitely be imprisoned and punished. He can’t escape responsibility for how the war has turned out. But if the general is replaced, who will it be?”

"How is Zhang Huan?" Dou Wu asked.

Yuan Wei remained silent, his eyes slightly closed. Dou Wu gritted his teeth: "What about Huangfu Weiming (Huangfu Gui)?"

Yuan Wei remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard Dou Wu's question at all. Dou Wu gritted his teeth: "What about Duan Jiong?"

Yuan Wei finally opened his eyes: "Yanping, you've seen the urgent messages from Nanyang, haven't you? Months of torrential rain have caused the river to swell, and the rebel fleet is as large as a mountain, almost leveling the city. These three you mentioned are all from Liangzhou! Yes, they are all capable generals, but they've spent their lives dealing with the Qiang, Xiongnu, and Xianbei peoples, and have barely even ventured south of the Yellow River. How do you expect them to deal with the rebel fleet?"

Dou Wu then realized what was happening, his face slightly flushed. During the mid-to-late Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the Qiang rebellion, the military focus was concentrated in the northwest region, especially Liangzhou. As a result, military talents also gathered in Liangzhou. The Three Ming of Liangzhou (Huangfu Gui, Zhang Huan, and Duan Jiong) were the representatives of this group. Among them, Huangfu Gui had the highest seniority and reputation. Dou Wu was his junior, so he addressed Huangfu Gui by his courtesy name, "Unknown."

"Then we'll have to use Feng Kun again?" Dou Wu asked.

"General!" Yuan Wei sighed, "To deal with the naval forces, we can only use them. The imperial naval forces are located in Jingzhou, Jiaozhou, and Yangzhou. Yangzhou is now mostly occupied by the Emei rebels, and Jiangling and Jiaozhou in Jingzhou are currently in Wei Cong's hands. We cannot quell the Emei rebels without this man!"

"But this person always makes excuses—"

"General, you are mistaken!" Yuan Wei shook his head. "Wei Cong traveled thousands of miles from Jiaozhou and the South China Sea, clearing post roads to reach Jiangling. That can't be faked, can it? As for his inability to send troops, he has his reasons. Such a long journey naturally requires a small force. Sending him to attack the bandits from both sides would be tantamount to suicide." "The court has already granted him permission to assemble in Jiangling, and the troops from Jingnan will march north—"

“A mere general with a minor title—the local heroes aren’t blind. With that alone, he can’t command many people!” Yuan Wei sighed. “General, I know you’re wary of Wei Cong, and so am I. But if you want to use him, you can’t be stingy with prestigious titles; otherwise, you’ll end up with nothing!”

"That Lieutenant General?"

Yuan Wei lowered his eyebrows and returned to his previous half-dead appearance. Dou Wu knew that Yuan Wei was dissatisfied with the low rank, so he could only say, "Then let's add the title of Imperial Envoy! After all, we should leave him some room for promotion after suppressing the Moth Rebels!"

"Alright!" Yuan Wei sighed. "General, what's the difference between a Lieutenant General and a General Who Guards the South? If you want someone to fight hard, why can't you let him fight happily? He's just a general; once the war is over, he'll naturally be relieved of his duties. What's there to worry about?" With that, he shook his head, got up, and walked out.

"That old bastard has taken so many bribes from Wei Cong, always speaking up for him!" Dou Wu cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do. Even if the Empress Dowager was his daughter, she wouldn't be willing to let him be the sole person in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. And although Yuan Wei was a bit selfish, at least he was willing to cooperate with him on most matters. If it were someone else who opposed him on everything, wouldn't it be even more troublesome?

"Guards, draft an imperial edict appointing Wei Cong, the Governor of Jiaozhou and General of the Strong Crossbows, as Left General of the Household, to lead an expedition against the E'er bandits; and summon Zhang Huan, the Protector of the Xiongnu, to the capital to serve as Grand Minister of Agriculture!"

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In late April, the fields outside Luoyang were ablaze with green, willows lined the banks of the Luo River, and poplar and elm seeds filled the air, while wild animals and birds roamed freely. In any other year, people would be out enjoying the scenery along the Luo River, riding horses, hunting rabbits and deer, a vibrant and lively season. But this year, Luoyang was shrouded in silence and desolation due to the uprising of the southern bandits and the invasion of the northern Xianbei. Martial law remained in effect, and official and private travel was scarce, making it seem as if winter lingered and spring had not yet ended. Rumors circulated that the bandits had reached Wancheng, and that the city could fall at any moment. Fear gripped the people. Some said that the Qiang rebellion of the fifth year of Yonghe, in which the Qiang plundered the Three Auxiliary Regions and even Hanzhong on the southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains, was similar to the current situation. But could the court quell the rebellion this time as it had then?

It was at this time that Kuai Sheng arrived in Luoyang. He carried a handwritten letter from the current emperor's birth mother, Lady Dong, and brought Dong Zhong to Luoyang. To avoid attracting unwanted attention, he did not seek refuge with relatives or friends, but instead found a dilapidated Taoist temple outside Luoyang.

Dong Zhong was aware of the importance of things, and he stayed in his room every day, refusing to see anyone except the servants who brought him two meals.

After settling Dong Zhong in, Kuai Sheng went out every day, seeking opportunities to contact the emperor. Coming from a prominent family in Jingzhou and with Deng Zhong's connections, he found an opportunity in just four or five days. It turned out that the procurement of food and supplies for the palace was originally managed by eunuchs. Although Yuan Shao and his faction had carried out a major purge of the eunuchs, they had not touched these eunuchs who handled miscellaneous tasks; they remained unchanged.

Kuai Sheng met a eunuch in charge of purchasing cosmetics through a shop that sold rouge and face powder. Coincidentally, the eunuch's name was Huang Yun, and he was also from Jingzhou. The two were from the same hometown and had met in Luoyang, where they became very close. So Kuai Sheng often invited the eunuch to drink and have fun together at the palace on his days off.

"Brother Huang, please drink this cup to the brim!" Kuai Sheng raised his wine cup and laughed.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Huang Yun downed the wine in his cup in one gulp and showed the empty cup to Kuai Sheng: "Come on, Brother Kuai, you should drink too!"

"Good!" Kuai Sheng finished his wine. At this moment, Dong Zhong came in from the outer room with a tray of roasted mutton and fish sashimi on it. Huang Yun saw it and put down his wine cup: "Brother Kuai, we are family. Just some vegetables to go with the wine is fine. Why go to such lengths!"

"Hehehe, no need to spend money, no need to spend money!" Kuai Sheng gestured for Dong Zhong to sit down as well: "We don't do this every day, what's the big deal about having a treat now and then? I've heard that you've been living a rather frugal life serving the Emperor in the palace, so today, since you've come out of the palace, let's make it up to you!"

“Yes!” Huang Yun sighed as he listened to Kuai Sheng mention his days in the palace. “Brother, you know the inside story. Everyone else thinks that the palace is full of delicacies and that they can’t eat or enjoy anything. But those are only for the emperor, the empress dowager, and the favored concubines. Let alone us eunuchs, even the women who are not favored live a very ordinary life!”

"Even they're so ordinary?" Kuai Sheng was taken aback. "Really? At least they're the emperor's women; shouldn't they be able to eat meat and wear fine clothes?"

"There are too many women in the palace! How can the emperor possibly take care of them all?" Huang Yun took a bite of mutton and laughed, "Anything becomes cheap when there's too much of it, just like any other commodity in the market, no different!"

Kuai Sheng nodded: "That's true, I didn't expect that. But brother, you should have your day. Even eunuchs were granted titles during the late emperor's reign!"

"That's all in the past!" Huang Yun shook his head. "That's right, during the late emperor's time, eunuchs could not only be granted titles, but even the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers had to treat the emperor's favored eunuchs as equals. The Five Battalions of the Northern Army were subordinate to the eunuchs. Now it's different. Anyone who dared not think that way has been beheaded and their head displayed on the city wall!"

"You mean because of what that guy surnamed Yuan did last time?"

"Brother, keep your voice down, be careful, the walls may hear you!" Huang Yun glanced warily at Dong Zhong, while Kuai Sheng laughed and said, "He is a nephew of mine, and we have a relationship based on him entrusting his wife and children to him. Brother, you don't need to worry!"

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, brother, but the times have changed!” Huang Yun sighed. “To execute eunuchs in the street and then storm into a mansion in the capital, wiping out the entire family. Have you ever heard of such a thing since ancient times? The Grand General forced the Empress Dowager to issue an edict, dragging eunuchs and palace attendants out of the palace gates one by one to be beheaded, blood splattering everywhere. Where is the Emperor’s dignity? Even if we eunuchs are dogs, we are still the Emperor’s dogs. It’s not that we can’t be killed, but there must be rules and laws, and we must be investigated and tried before being executed. How can we just drag them out of the palace and kill them like pigs and dogs? How can this be allowed? The Han Dynasty is doomed!”

Huang Yuan realized he had misspoke at this point, quickly slapped himself, and cursed, "I taught you to be so talkative and talk nonsense. Brother, I was drunk, what I said just now was nonsense, don't take it to heart!"

"I know that. Don't take what's said at the dinner table too seriously!" Kuai Sheng glanced at Dong Zhong, who stood up knowingly. "There are still dishes in the kitchen. I'll go and urge them to hurry up!"

After Dong Zhong left, Huang Yuan felt a little better. He took a sip of wine, ate a couple of bites of food, and sighed, "Brother, there's no hope for people like us now. If the late emperor were still alive, I might have had a chance to rise in the ranks and repay you. Now, all I can do is eat and drink for free!"

(End of this chapter)