Taiheiki

Chapter 265 The Two Palaces
“General Zhang is a veteran of this dynasty, while I am but a junior. I would appreciate your guidance on military tactics!” Wei Cong said with a smile.

"Wei Hou is not yet thirty years old and has been ennobled for his military achievements. You are being too modest!" Zhang Huan replied lazily.

Wei Cong could easily see through Zhang Huan's perfunctory attitude, and smiled: "Master Zhang, now you and I are like two rats fighting in a hole. If we move forward, we will win; if we retreat, we will lose. If we hesitate and waver, it will not only be our own disgrace, but also the calamity of our family's destruction!"

Zhang Huan sneered, "Lord Wei, you are good at arguing, but have you forgotten that I am where I am today thanks to you!"

"So, Lord Zhang is blaming me!" Wei Cong laughed. "It's alright. As long as Lord Zhang is appointed one of the Three Dukes and enjoys a salary of ten thousand households in the future, he will not forget my small contribution!"

Zhang Huan snorted coldly, remaining silent and seemingly indifferent to Wei Cong. Seeing this, Wei Cong wasn't in a hurry. He stepped forward and whispered, "Lord Zhang, have you considered that if this fails, I can still flee to Jiaozhou, using the Five Ridges as my fortress, fighting like a cornered beast, and perhaps even become a king in the south? At worst, I can buy a boat and go to sea, fleeing to the islands. Lord Zhang is from Liangzhou; do you intend to flee among the Qiang and Hu tribes and become a chieftain?"

"You—" Zhang Huan was furious. Just as Wei Cong had said, even if he lost this gamble, he could still return to Jiaozhou. He had many more options than Zhang Huan, who was from Liangzhou. The thought of how he had been reduced from a high-ranking official to this state by this man made him want to kill him with one blow, if it weren't for the iron-tower-like guard behind him.

"Lord Zhang! I'm not saying this to mock you, but simply to tell you about my current predicament! You think I framed you, but surely I didn't obtain the imperial edict that Dong Yilang brought? How could I possibly have that ability? Why don't you blame the Emperor for framing you? It's common for the Emperor and the Grand General to fight each other in this dynasty, as you should know, Lord Zhang. If you encounter such a situation, you can only accept your bad luck. I, Wei, was also dragged into this by chance, but I saw it as an opportunity, instead of complaining like you, Lord Zhang!"

Zhang Huan was speechless after hearing Wei Cong's words. Just as Wei Cong said, the emperor had started this whole thing, and unless they disobeyed the imperial edict, Wei Cong was the only one who could follow. At most, one could say that Wei Cong was too ambitious for fame and fortune, and that he clung to the imperial edict to punish the Grand General. But as a subject, he couldn't be said to be wrong for acting in accordance with the edict.

“But have you considered the consequences of this?” Zhang Huan sighed. “General Dou has not committed any major offense, and if war continues and the people suffer, wouldn’t that be our fault?”

"Master Zhang, the emperor is the sovereign. Whether General Dou has made mistakes or not is not up to you or me to decide, but up to the emperor, isn't it? As for what you said about the continuous calamities of war, as long as we quickly enter Luoyang, won't the people be spared from suffering?"

"Very well! I didn't expect that you, Lord Wei, are not only skilled in warfare but also so adept at debate. I, Zhang, cannot argue with you. Tell me, how should we advance this time?"

"In my humble opinion, it only takes eight words: spread your influence widely and act swiftly!" Wei Cong laughed. "Tomorrow we will march north with light troops to Wancheng. After arriving in Wancheng, we will split into three routes. One route will go through Wuguan to intimidate Guanzhong; another route will go through Luyang, Linru, and Yique, and head straight for Luoyang; the third route will go through Fangcheng, through Yexian and Xuxian, to spread our influence. What do you think, Lord Zhang?"

Zhang Huan, a seasoned soldier, could naturally see the intention behind Wei Cong's advance route. Zhang Huan, Feng Kun, and Wei Cong were not originally from the same trough, but were forced to stand on the same side by circumstances. Instead of having them cooperate, it would be better to split them into three routes and advance separately. In any case, the strength of any one of the three routes was greater than that of the defenders of Luoyang. It would be better to split them into three routes, make a bigger show of force, and ideally, a coup would occur in Luoyang before the main army even reached the city.

"Let's do as Lord Wei says! I am already in my declining years, so let Lord Wei handle the matter of advancing on Luodu! Let me take the route through Fangcheng and Xu County!"

Zhang Huanming clearly didn't want to get associated with the infamy of leading troops to Luoyang, and Wei Cong wasn't annoyed. He smiled and said, "Very well, let's do as Lord Zhang says!"

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Luoyang, Nangong, Hehuan Hall.

"Wei Cong, Zhang Huan, and Feng Kun have already captured Wancheng and are heading towards Luoyang. They claim to have received an imperial edict to destroy the Dou clan and enthrone the emperor in his own right!"

Although it was daytime, the side hall was still dark. Dou Wu knelt on the ground, surrounded by flickering candlelight and heavy shadows. To his left sat a young woman in a plain robe, who was Dou Wu's daughter and the current Empress Dowager Dou Miao.

"Does the General have a plan to resist?"

"I have already ordered reinforcements to be sent to the passes of Dagu, Yique, Huanyuan, and Luhun, and have also ordered the troops from Guanzhong and Liyang to enter the capital to defend the emperor, but—"

"Just what?"

"The rebel army is very powerful, and most of them are ragtag troops hastily recruited after countless battles. I'm afraid they will be hard to resist!"

Silence fell over the side hall. Both Dou Miao and Dou Wu knew that the key to defending Luoyang lay in its surrounding strongholds, the famous Eight Passes of Luoyang: Hangu Pass, Yique Pass, Guangcheng Pass, Dagu Pass, Huanyuan Pass, Xuanmen Pass, Mengjin Pass, and Xiaopingjin Pass. If enemy troops reached the walls of Luoyang, it would be essentially over, because Wei Cong and his forces were demanding the emperor's personal rule, and a coup was likely to occur within the city, eliminating the Dou family. However, Luoyang's existing defensive forces were far from sufficient in both quantity and quality.

"Could we devise a plan to sow discord among these three?" Empress Dowager Dou asked. "As far as I know, Zhang Huan and Feng Kun are not on the same side as Wei Cong!"

"If we want to use a tactic to sow discord, we must first hold our ground and stalemate the war!" Dou Wu said. "Otherwise, even Zhang Huan and Feng Kun, with the emperor's edict, will not start a conflict with Wei Cong for the time being!"

"That damned brat!" Empress Dowager Dou roared. "If we hadn't chosen him, he would still be a mere Marquis of Hejian. How could he be in this state today? He's barely grown up and he's already repaying kindness with enmity. It's simply, simply outrageous!"

"Empress Dowager, there's no point in saying all this now!" Dou Wu was much calmer than his daughter. He said in a deep voice, "In my opinion, there is only one way right now: we should let the Emperor take personal control of the government and then order Wei, Feng, and Zhang to withdraw their troops!"

"Should we voluntarily allow the emperor to rule in his own right?" Empress Dowager Dou asked.

"That's right. Wei Cong and the other two launched their attack on the grounds that our Dou family is monopolizing power and demanding that the emperor assume personal rule. Once the emperor assumes personal rule, they will have no reason to continue fighting. If any of these three still want to fight, then they will be in conflict with the other two, making it easy to deal with the remaining one!"

"Wouldn't it lead to endless troubles if the emperor were to rule personally?" "It's better than letting these three invade!" Dou Wu said calmly, "The emperor has no one on his side right now. Even if he were to rule personally, he would still be fighting us in the court. If Wei Cong and the other two were to invade Luoyang, I'm afraid we would all be in grave danger!"

"Was this the wicked idea that Yuan Wei gave you?" Empress Dowager Dou suddenly said angrily, "That old bastard is trying to jump ship again. He shouldn't forget who gave him the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat! Now he's trying to curry favor with the Emperor. I haven't forgotten his relationship with Wei Cong!"

Dou Wu fell silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, you may not know, but Yuan Shao has already been killed by Wei Cong?"

"What?" Empress Dowager Dou was taken aback. "How could this be? Wei Cong was not a protégé or former subordinate of the Yuan family. How could he have killed Yuan Shao?"

"Here's what happened: When Wei Cong, Feng Kun, and Zhang Huan conspired to launch an uprising, Yuan Shao happened to be present. He fled to Runan overnight, but Wei Cong sent men to catch up and kill him. His body was then sent back to his hometown in Runan. Lord Yuan was deeply grieved and hasn't come to the Ministry of Personnel for two days!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Dou sighed deeply: "Yuan Shao is dead. No wonder he is so grieved. This Wei Cong is truly ruthless. He dares to do such a thing. Isn't he afraid of being condemned by the world?"

"Given the circumstances at the time, it's hard to say whether Wei Cong sent someone to kill him, or whether it was an unintentional act during the pursuit. But it doesn't matter anymore. Since he dared to do something like that, what's killing Yuan Shao?" Dou Wu sighed. "What does the Empress Dowager think about the Emperor assuming personal rule?"

"Since the General says so, then so be it!" Empress Dowager Dou sighed. "How could I be a person who covets power? It's just that the Emperor has received such great kindness from the Dou family, yet he repays kindness with enmity and wants to exterminate my family. I really don't know what kind of heart he has!"

Dou Wu was relieved to see that his daughter had relented and said, "Now that things have come to this, there's no point in saying more. Let's go see the Emperor first!"

"Very well, men, prepare the carriage, let's go to Deyang Palace!"

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Empress Dowager Dou boarded her carriage and, accompanied by Dou Wu, passed through a small gate separating the two palaces and entered the Southern Palace where the Emperor resided. Dou Wu sat in the carriage, listening to the sound of horses' hooves outside. The shadows of the guards cast on the walls created an eerie atmosphere. In the distance lay layers upon layers of palaces. A sudden surge of resentment welled up within Dou Wu: "I chose you, elevating you from a mere Marquis of Jiedu to the throne, and this is how you repay me? The Emperor is wicked!"

"Your Majesty, the Grand General has arrived!"

As the distinctive, high-pitched voice of a eunuch rang out, Liu Hong stood up in alarm. He already knew about Wei Cong and the others' uprising, but despite his joy, he was still apprehensive about his personal safety, as he was still in Dou's hands.

"Your son pays respects to the Empress Dowager!" Liu Hong bowed respectfully to Empress Dowager Dou, then nodded to Dou Wu beside him: "The General has also arrived!"

"I came here to accompany the Empress Dowager!" Years of cultivation allowed Dou Wu to maintain proper etiquette towards the emperor even in his anger: "Wei Cong, Feng Kun, and Zhang Hong claim to be acting on Your Majesty's edict to exterminate my Dou clan and install the emperor in personal rule. Your Majesty should be aware of this, shouldn't you?"

"I've heard!" Liu Hong's face showed indignation: "These three are extremely rebellious. I owe my current position entirely to the Empress Dowager and the General. The Empress Dowager and the General have shown me great kindness, and I am grateful beyond words. How could I possibly do something so ungrateful? General, please rest assured, I will immediately draft an edict to reprimand these three and declare that the edict they possess is a forgery. I have absolutely no intention of issuing an edict to harm the Dou family!"

Looking at Liu Hong's indignant expression, Dou Wu and the women felt a chill in their hearts. Of course, they didn't believe the nonsense Liu Hong had just uttered. If it were really as he said, why had Dong Zhong been sent to Jingzhou? Recalling the Emperor's previous request to summon Dong Zhong to the capital and his demeanor when he was sent to Luoyang as an embroidered envoy, Dou Wu felt nauseous. Was this young man raised in a den of snakes? So young yet so sinister and vicious—it was truly terrifying.

"Your Majesty need not say any more!" Empress Dowager Dou said, "Our request for you to assume personal rule is sincere, and we have no other intentions!"

"I am still young and incapable of ruling personally. Moreover, my current position is entirely due to the Empress Dowager and the Grand General. Even if it were merely to reward them, I would never assume personal rule—"

Dou Wu finally lost his temper. He grabbed the emperor's arm, stared into his eyes, and said, "Stop acting. We all know you hate my daughter and me. We made you assume personal rule not for any other reason than to prevent Wei Cong and the other two from having an excuse to march on Luoyang. You don't want foreign troops to enter Luoyang either, do you? By then, even if you are the emperor, things won't end so easily!"

The expression on Liu Hong's face vanished, replaced by a repulsive arrogance, as if everything was under his control: "Why? Why isn't it so easy to end this? I am the emperor! With just one command, they will bow down and obey!"

Dou Wu revealed a disdainful expression: "Very well, you can try it then and see if they'll be so obedient! Anyway, they'll be here soon!"

Liu Hong laughed: "General Dou, you're already afraid!"

“That’s right, but what I fear is not the destruction of the Dou family, but the annihilation of the entire country!” Dou Wu looked at the emperor with disgust: “You have no idea what you are doing. If there’s a first time, there will be a second. Sooner or later, Luoyang will be reduced to a wasteland because of your foolish actions today!”

"So the General came today to reprimand me!" The Emperor laughed. "Very well, after all, my life and death are now in the General's hands. What's a few words of reprimand? I'll listen attentively!" With that, Liu Hong sat up straight, looking completely submissive.

"Father, please stop!" Dou Miao finally spoke again: "Since the Emperor thinks this way, there's nothing we can do. If we fight with all our might, we might not necessarily lose to him! Let's go!"

Just as the eunuchs in the Empress Dowager's palace were preparing the carriage, the Emperor suddenly stood up: "Very well, you can let me rule in my own right, and I will guarantee the safety of the Dou family!"

"Hehehe!" Empress Dowager Dou laughed: "Your Majesty should think about how to ensure your own safety first! Don't forget, no matter what, the current Empress Dowager and the Grand General are still my daughter and me! This empire is still in our hands!"

(End of this chapter)