Taiheiki

Chapter 234 Infiltration

"Brother Huang, you flatter me! Friends should share money, and a few meals are nothing. As long as you're willing to come, I'll prepare food and drinks for you every day and welcome you with open arms!"

Huang Yuan was deeply moved by Kuai Sheng's words. He knew that Kuai Sheng's words were mostly just polite talk, but for a scholar to prepare food and wine to entertain a convict like himself, especially when the emperor had no power and he could see no hope, was a rare and valuable long-term investment.

"Brother Kuai! If my family ever gains power in the future, I will repay your kindness a thousandfold!"

"Good, good, good!" Kuai Sheng laughed loudly, "Then I will remember it. If Brother Huang becomes successful in the future, I will definitely pay him a visit. I only ask that Brother Huang will not forget me then!"

"Don't worry, Brother Kuai!" Huang Yuan patted his chest. "If I were to do something so heartless, may my brother never have a son and may my family line end!"

“Brother Huang, there’s no need for that!” Kuai Sheng couldn’t help but chuckle upon hearing this. It turned out that people at the time often used the curse of being unable to bear sons, thus ensuring the extinction of their lineage, as an oath. Huang Yuan was a eunuch, and since he was already unable to have sons, using this curse as an oath was inappropriate. However, once eunuchs rose to power, they would usually adopt sons from close relatives to continue their family line. Huang Yuan was essentially saying that even after achieving success, he would still have no descendants—a truly vicious oath.

"Brother Huang, please rest assured, in my opinion, your days of wealth and honor are not far off!"

"Brother Kuai, are you just trying to make me happy?" Huang Yuan asked. "The emperor has no power; all the power is in the hands of the Empress Dowager and the Grand General. How could we eunuchs possibly become rich and powerful? You wouldn't be suggesting I go to the Empress Dowager's palace, would you? It is indeed better there, but it's not much better!"

"Brother Huang, how come the General and the Empress Dowager are able to wield such power?"

"That's simple. The Empress Dowager is the mother of the Emperor, and since the Emperor is too young to rule personally, the Empress Dowager must be asked to do so. However, the Empress Dowager is, after all, a woman, and many things are inconvenient for her. The Grand General is the Empress Dowager's father, so he is in charge of the government on her behalf!"

"Brother Huang is wrong!"

"Wrong? What's wrong with what I said?" Huang Yun was taken aback. "When the emperor is young, the empress dowager holds court, and her maternal family wields power. This is an ancient system of our Han Dynasty! What's wrong with it?"

“What you say is correct, but the current emperor’s mother is clearly in Hejian Kingdom, not the current empress dowager,” Kuai Sheng asked. “The empress dowager who is ruling should not be Empress Dowager Dou, and the general should not be General Dou!”

"This—" Huang Yun stammered, "You can't say that. After all, the current emperor was able to ascend the throne thanks to Empress Dowager Dou and the General."

"Everyone knows this! The emperor was able to ascend the throne only after he acknowledged Empress Dowager Dou as his mother. Otherwise, how could the throne have fallen to someone like the Marquis of Jiedu? But times have changed. Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, he is the sovereign, and the Empress Dowager and the Grand General, no matter how great their favors, are still subjects. This cannot be reversed, don't you agree?"

"That's certainly true!" Huang Yun said with a wry smile, "But it doesn't seem to have anything to do with me, does it?"

"How could it not be related? In my opinion, Brother Huang, your wealth and fortune lie precisely here!"

"My wealth?"

"Yes, I'm asking you, how old is the Emperor this year?"

"Thirteen, no, it should be fourteen!"

"He's not young anymore. In ordinary families, some people have already gotten married. The emperor and nobles are even more extraordinary. But now, power is in the hands of others, and he can't even see his own mother. I'm afraid the emperor wouldn't be happy with this situation, would he?"

"This, this should be how it is, right?" Huang Yong replied in a somewhat uncertain tone.

"If someone can help the emperor regain power and bring back his birth mother, will the emperor bestow wealth and honor upon him?"

“That’s for sure, but—” Huang Yun answered subconsciously, then realized something was wrong and pointed to himself, asking, “Brother Kuai, are you kidding me? I’m just a food official in charge of purchasing ingredients for the palace, only two hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), how could I have such great ability!”

Seeing Huang Yun's panicked expression, Kuai Sheng knew that the time wasn't right yet, so he laughed and said, "Since Brother Huang thinks this matter won't work, then just pretend I never said anything. Come, let's drink to our hearts' content today, and not leave until we're drunk!" After saying that, he raised his cup in a toast.

"Good, good!" Huang Yun hurriedly raised his wine cup, and sure enough, Kuai Sheng never mentioned the matter again, only telling interesting stories and urging him to drink and serve food. This continued until Huang Yun became completely drunk, at which point someone was sent back to his residence.

"Lord Kuai!" As soon as Huang Yun left, Dong Zhong cautiously entered the room and asked, "You spoke with Huang Yun, didn't you?"

"I tested the waters!"

"And what was his reaction?"

Kuai Sheng glanced at Dong Zhong and thought to himself that this guy was so impatient that he was probably just an ordinary person. However, this was a good thing, as it would be beneficial for him to control things from behind the scenes.

"He looks terrified; he must be frightened!" "Then, what should we do?" Dong Zhong asked anxiously, "Does this mean we can't go any further?"

“It’s not that it’s impossible!” Kuai Sheng laughed. “Actually, this is something I expected. The Dou family, father and daughter, are a Grand General in the court and an Empress Dowager in the palace. How powerful are they? Dou Wu is also a great Confucian scholar in Guanzhong, with hundreds of disciples and the reputation of the entire nation’s partisan faction. It would be abnormal if he, a mere official in charge of food supplies of two hundred shi, wasn’t afraid of such a behemoth!”

"Then how about we change someone else?" Dong Zhong asked. "We'll change to a Palace Attendant, or at least a Junior Eunuch or a Senior Eunuch!"

“Absolutely not!” Kuai Sheng shook his head. “Young master, you are unaware of this. After the late emperor’s death, Yuan Shao led his faction to wipe out almost all the palace eunuchs. Those who remained were either of low rank or loyal to the Dou family, such as the eunuchs you mentioned, including the junior eunuchs. If we rashly test them, we will only be walking into a trap. The reason I chose Huang Yun is not only because we are both from Jingzhou, but also because although he is already a high-ranking official, he is only in charge of food procurement and has not offended anyone. Therefore, his faction suffered little damage in the great purge. As a result, his chances of promotion are very high!”

Kuai Sheng's words left Dong Zhong completely bewildered, so Kuai Sheng had no choice but to explain in detail. The eunuch system in ancient China reached its peak during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Before the Eastern Han, although a specialized bureaucratic system existed to serve the emperor and his concubines and empress, its members were not all eunuchs. It wasn't until the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the empress dowager's regency, that this institution became entirely composed of eunuchs. Broadly speaking, the eunuch system of the Eastern Han Dynasty can be divided into two categories: one was those who served as attendants, handling official business, and facilitating communication between the inner court and the outer court, such as the Zhongchangshi, Zhonghuangmen, and Xiaohuangmen; the other was departments responsible for the inner court's supplies and miscellaneous tasks, such as the Yetingling and Goudunling. Huang Yun's position as the head of the food service department belonged to the latter category.

Clearly, the former held far greater power and status than the latter, but the former typically lacked subordinate institutions, while the latter had actual authority, assignments, and officials. Therefore, high-ranking eunuchs at the time often held both the former's and the latter's positions concurrently. For example, the Zhongchangshi and Xiaohuangmen often "concurrently held the positions of ministers." The recent purge launched by Yuan Shao naturally affected the former the most, while the latter were minimally impacted.

Due to the existence of autocratic imperial power, although Yuan Shao led the radical faction of young scholars to kill many eunuchs, he could not destroy the bureaucratic organization of eunuchs. Neither Dou Wu nor Empress Dowager Dou would allow it. Therefore, to fill the void created by the purge, they could only select from the original members of the eunuch organization, and even promote them exceptionally.

People like Huang Yun had the opportunity to rise to positions they previously could not even dream of. Of course, the Dou family would try their best to select and eliminate those they were not satisfied with, and try to use their own people for key positions. However, Yuan Shao's wave of killings was too numerous, and the special nature of eunuchs made it impossible for the Dou family to use scholars to fill these positions. Therefore, in reality, the Dou family could not possibly have so many people occupying all the key positions.

Therefore, in Kuai Sheng's view, Huang Yun's timidity could even be considered an advantage. From Dou's perspective, if he couldn't fill the positions around the emperor with his own people, it would be much safer for him if the emperor's entourage consisted of timid, incompetent, and mediocre individuals.

"I see! You've considered everything so thoroughly, Lord Kuai!" Dong Zhong suddenly realized. "But what if Huang Yun still doesn't dare to accept it in the end?"

"Young master, you must understand one thing: a person's courage can change! Take you for example, are you brave?"

"This—" Dong Zhong hesitated for a moment before shaking his head: "I wouldn't call it bold!"

“That’s right, but you still came to Luoyang! So, the amount of courage you have depends on how much benefit you get after the deed is done. As long as the benefits are big enough, even a timid person will become bold!” Kuai Sheng laughed. “If Huang Yun never comes here again from now on, then naturally I can’t do anything about him. But if he comes again, he will eventually give in!”

Kuai Sheng's guess was correct. Sure enough, on the next day off, Huang Yun came to visit again. This time, he did not come alone. He was accompanied by a eunuch, also from Jingzhou, named Mu Han, who was the director of the Shangfangjian (the workshop for making palace utensils and weapons).

“Brother Kuai, this Magistrate Mu is a good friend of mine in the palace. He is also from Nanjun in Jingzhou. I brought him here without prior notice. Please forgive me!”

“Since we are all from the same hometown, it is fate that we met in the capital. We should have come together. There is no need to announce it!” Kuai Sheng said with a smile, “Come, you two, come in and sit down to talk!”

"Thank you!" Huang and Mu entered the house together. Unlike most eunuchs, Mu Han was tall and strong, with dark skin. Except for his clean-shaven chin, he looked every bit the imposing man. After entering the house, they sat down as host and guest. He cupped his hands in greeting to Kuai Sheng: "I had heard of the reputation of the Kuai family of Nanjun when I was in my hometown. I never expected to meet you in the capital. May I ask if Brother Kuai has come to the capital to study or to seek an official position?"

Mu Han asked directly. At that time, Luoyang was the center of the country, and people from all directions came to it. But people like Kuai Sheng would only come to Luoyang for two things: to become an official or to study. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "I used to be the Chief Clerk of Nanjun in Jingzhou. This time I came to Luoyang on the important task entrusted to me by a good friend. I have come to the capital to do something!"

"Nanjun Gongcao?" Mu Han and Huang Yun exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes. They had certainly heard of the Kuai clan of Jingzhou, but such a large surname usually meant a large population, and simply having the surname Kuai didn't prove anything. But a commandery clerk was different. Prefects came and went, but the clerk position remained. Unless one was a respected and powerful leader of a local clan, it was impossible to take on this post. Generally, once appointed, one wouldn't resign unless they got too old or got into serious trouble, as the interests involved in being a commandery clerk were simply too great.

"Then may I ask, why did Lord Kuai take up the post of Gongcao?" Mu Han's title has changed. After all, although he is in Luoyang, his clan is still in Nanjun. Although Kuai Sheng is no longer the Gongcao of Nanjun, his status in the Kuai clan must be very high. Offending him could lead to the extinction of Mu Han's clan with just a word.

“Mr. Mu, there’s no need for such formality!” Kuai Sheng said with a smile. “Since we’re from the same hometown, I won’t hide it from you two. Have you heard of Wei Cong, Wei Mengde?”

"How could I not have heard of this!" Muhan's expression changed drastically: "The Governor of Jiaozhou, the Marquis of Buqi, is the Left General of the Central Army, whom the court has just appointed. Could it be that your departure from office is related to him?"

"Yes!" Kuai Sheng nodded: "Lord Wei entrusted me with a matter, so I resigned from my position as Chief Clerk and went to do it for Lord Wei!"

"So, Lord Kuai was a man of Marquis Wei!" Mu Han was filled with respect and quickly rose to bow again: "My apologies, my apologies. No wonder you said you would give up the position of Gongcao so easily!"

"Please excuse my poor appearance!" Kuai Sheng said with a smile. "Lord Wei has already submitted a memorial to the court, recommending my younger brother Kuai An as the Prefect of Hepu Commandery in Jiaozhou. Now it remains to be seen whether the court will grant his request!"

Mu Han and Huang Yun's envy was palpable. Huang Yun was alright, but Mu Han's official position in the palace was far more important, and his access to information was much better. He naturally knew that Wei Cong, though nominally the Governor of Jiaozhou, was in reality the King of Jiaozhou. His petition to the court to appoint the Prefect of Hepu Commandery essentially sealed the deal. Clearly, Kuai An's position of two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure) was something Kuai Sheng had fought for from Wei Cong. This meant Kuai Sheng's own position by Wei Cong's side was only higher; no wonder he so readily gave up a minor post as a commandery official—there was something even bigger waiting for him.

"If we had known this would happen, we should have come prepared with gifts. It is truly impolite of us to come like this!" Muhan said with a wry smile.

"Why bother, gentlemen!" Kuai Sheng laughed. "Today we'll only talk about our shared hometown ties, nothing else. Ah Chong, quickly order the wine and dishes!"

Dong Zhong responded from outside, and soon two servants brought in a food box, laying out the dishes and wine. All of them were from famous taverns in Luoyang. Kuai Sheng poured himself and the other two a full glass of wine: "Come, we are fortunate to meet today, let's drink until we're drunk!"

(End of this chapter)