Jinting Han people

In the official ranks of the Jin Dynasty, the first-rank officials were the eight dukes and the founding dukes, the second-rank officials were the founding marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons, as well as the generals and local governors appointed by members of the imperial clan.

Therefore, even a prime minister could only hold a third-rank position in the imperial court. In other words, reaching the third rank meant reaching the pinnacle of officialdom. Unless one performed some extraordinary feat to turn the tide, there was no further promotion possible.

Liu Xian's target for assassination, Jia Mo, was a third-rank official, a prime minister of the three departments, alongside the Grand Secretary and the Minister of Works.

It must be said that, as prime minister, Jia Mo had the least airs. He traveled without guards, simply riding in an open oxcart with two servants, one driving and the other serving. Even among all the officials in Luoyang, he could be considered frugal and content with his lot. Furthermore, Jia Mo did not have his own residence. As a member of the Pingyang Jia clan, he did not boast of his prime ministership, but rather likened himself to a servant of the Empress and Duke Lu. He worked in the Secretariat during the day and stayed at Duke Lu's residence at night, living a monotonous life, seemingly devoid of emotion and desire, unchanged for years.

Assassinating such a person seems simple at first glance, since he has no guards, little defense, and his movements are very regular, so it should be easy to succeed. However, after careful consideration, Liu Xian found it extremely difficult.

First, Jia Mo himself had no guards, but he spent a long time in the Lu Gong Mansion and the Menxia Province, both of which were heavily guarded places, making it virtually impossible for him to break in and assassinate someone.

But what if they acted on the way? The Duke of Lu's residence was only three hundred paces from the Sima Gate of Luoyang Palace, just east of the most conspicuous Tongtuo Street. From this location, the journey from leaving the palace to returning home took less than a quarter of an hour, making a silent assassination virtually impossible. Even if successful, the guards at the Duke of Lu's residence and the palace gates would notice, and then they could surround him from both sides, making escape extremely difficult.

Therefore, we have to find a solution elsewhere.

After returning from the Eastern Palace, Liu Xian contacted Lu Ji the next day. As usual, the two met at Longmen. This place was some distance from Luoyang, making it difficult for spies from various factions to reach, ensuring absolute secrecy. Therefore, Liu Xian, under the guise of hunting, bought a thatched hut used by hunters for their secret discussions.

The two arrived at the thatched hut almost simultaneously. Liu Xian arrived first and lit the stove, while Lu Ji followed shortly after. Both men looked extremely solemn, for they both knew that this matter could only succeed; failure was not an option. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Liu Xian first listed out all the possible methods and discussed them with Lu Ji.

His first idea was to bribe the servants of the Jia family to poison Jia Mo from within.

Lu Ji quickly denied it, saying, "That's impossible. I've eaten with Jia Mi a few times. People from families like theirs would arrange for someone to test the food for poison before eating. Especially someone as cautious as Jia Mo would never eat unsafe food."

Liu Xian asked, "Then could we avoid poisoning and simply hire someone to assassinate him?"

Lu Ji countered, "Huai Chong, would you dare entrust this matter to someone else?"

Liu Xian truly dared not, for those who could be bought off with money were also highly susceptible to betrayal, and once exposed, the consequences would be catastrophic. He rejected this plan in his mind and then asked:
"Jia Mo is a human being too. He can't stay like this forever. Besides his home and the palace, he must have come out here before! Is there any way to lure him out and ambush him on the road?"

Lu Ji recalled for a moment and stated: "Jia Mo's actions did have exceptions, but they were mostly for official business. Such as recruiting students at the Imperial Academy or worshipping Heaven and Earth at the Temple of Heaven. But for such matters, he would be surrounded by a large entourage, making it difficult for him to carry out his plans."

"Is there no one who can invite him out?"

"As far as I know, I'm afraid not." Lu Ji also gave a wry smile. He sighed and said, "This person has absolutely no social connections. No matter how high-ranking or powerful the person who invites him is, he will politely decline. When the Crown Prince married the Crown Princess, he invited almost all the powerful and famous people in Luoyang, but even so, Jia Mo still didn't go. I don't believe that anyone can get him to come out now."

Liu Xian was greatly troubled. This person hadn't revealed a single flaw? He stood up and paced back and forth, thinking to himself: This is impossible. There is no one in the world who is flawless, especially one so deeply bound to Empress Jia Mi. Wait, Jia Mi?

Thinking of this, Liu Xian suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He turned to Lu Ji and asked, "Shiheng, think carefully, is there any time when Jia Mi can get Jia Mo to come out?"

Lu Ji was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "What, do you think Jia Mi can do as you wish?"

Liu Xian said, "Doing things isn't about favoring or disliking; it's about adapting to the situation. On the battlefield, don't we also talk about 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' and 'reducing the number of cooking fires to lure the enemy'? I might be able to trick Jia Mi. You help me think of a way to get Jia Mi to come out with Jia Mo."

After listening, Lu Ji felt that Liu Xian's words made sense, so he carefully recalled the past and said, "Generally speaking, if Jia Changyuan needs advice, he will return to the Duke of Lu's mansion to consult Jia Mo. This has been the case most of the past few years, um... but there seems to have been one exception..."

"On that occasion, Jia Changyuan got drunk at Jingu Garden and wanted to humiliate Yu Fu, the Imperial Academy Chancellor, by making him bray like a donkey."

"Yu Fu?"

“Huai Chong, you know that Yu Fu’s father is Yu Chun! He’s the one who publicly humiliated Jia Chong and asked him, ‘Where is the Duke of Gaogui?’”

"Oh." Liu Xian suddenly realized, "Jia Mi wants to get revenge?"

Lu Ji smiled bitterly, "Yes, but how could Yu Fu possibly agree? Back then, during the Qi Prince's factional strife, he was one of those who dared to oppose Emperor Wu. Therefore, not only was he unwilling to back down, but his stubborn temper flared up, and he publicly cursed Jia Changyuan for being incompetent and immoral. In a fit of anger, Jia Mi dug a pit in the Golden Valley Garden and buried him alive!"

"Such a thing happens? And you didn't even stop it?"

"With his character, who would dare to stop him?!" Lu Ji sighed deeply, then continued:

"When he sobered up the next day, Yu Fu was already dead. Jia Changyuan then hurriedly sent someone to invite Jia Shizhong to come and handle the aftermath. Jia Shizhong ordered us to give the same story, saying that Yu Fu died from a stroke triggered by drunkenness. Then he personally went to talk to the Yu family. I don't know what he said, but in the end, Yu Min and the others did not expose the matter and pretended that nothing had happened."

If Lu Ji hadn't pointed it out, Liu Xian would never have imagined that Jia Mi could be so lawless towards a powerful clan like the Yu family of Yingchuan. However, for the assassination attempt, this was actually a good thing, as it proved one thing: if Jia Mi encountered trouble, he could get Jia Mo to come out of retirement.

Liu Xian walked to the windowsill and gazed for a moment at the sparse trees outside, the fallen leaves and withered grass covering the ground, where a gray rabbit was scurrying about. The gray rabbit raised its head, seemingly noticing Liu Xian's gaze, flicked its hind legs a few times, and darted into the tangled grass, quickly disappearing from sight.

Liu Xian sat back down on the straw mat and said to Lu Ji, "I've come up with an idea, and I need your help." Lu Ji peeled an orange and said slowly, "Tell me about it, let me hear it first."

"Is Jia Mi still living in Jingu Garden?"

"Yes, when he has nothing to do, he stays at Jingu Garden."

Does he still hold poetry readings?

“Jia Changyuan is concerned about his reputation. Especially in times like these, he will try to remain unmoved to show that his position is as solid as a rock. Therefore, he will hold a literary gathering at Jingu Garden every ten days.”

"Then tell me, if someone threatened to kill him in Golden Valley Garden, would he leave?"

"This..." Upon hearing this, Lu Ji glanced at Liu Xian, roughly understanding his scheme, and shook his head in reply:
“Jia Changyuan would never do that. On the contrary, he would take it as a contempt and insult to him, and then fly into a rage. Even if he had to search the entire Golden Valley Garden, Jia Changyuan would definitely find a way to find the person who insulted him.”

Liu Xian nodded in satisfaction and said, "But what if he can't find it? Who will he ask for advice?"

Lu Ji continued, "Of course, we can only ask Jia Shizhong, who is our cousin..."

"At that time, I will hide on the only road leading in and out of Jingu Garden, and shoot Jia Mo dead with an arrow when he passes by!"

At this point, Liu Xian waved his hand lightly towards the air and asked with a smile:
"Could Zhuan Zhu's method of assassinating King Liao possibly have been something he could have guarded against?"

Lu Ji smiled upon hearing this. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, "It is indeed a possible solution, but it is only a rough estimate. Many details still need to be considered."

Over the next few days, the two meticulously refined the assassination plan.

The first method was to provoke and threaten Jia Mi.

Liu Xian thought this was the simplest approach. He planned to write a list of Jia Mi's crimes, starting from the time of Jia Mi's grandfather, Jia Chong. He would first describe Jia Chong's infamous act of regicide, then his abandonment of his first wife and disobedience to his father's teachings. He wanted to portray Jia Chong as a treacherous villain who was disloyal, unfilial, unjust, incompetent, and lacking in virtue. Next, he would denounce the Empress and Jia Mi, listing their various misdeeds over the years. Finally, he would attach the four characters "Upholding Righteousness and Punishing Traitors" to the back.

If Lu Ji could bring this incriminating evidence into the Golden Valley Garden and secretly place it in some corner as a warning of the assassination, he could lure Jia Mi into discovering it. Jia Mi would be furious and would certainly not let it go. Once he was convinced that the assassin was in the Golden Valley Garden, he would most likely attract Jia Mo's attention, and then Liu Xian could carry out the assassination.

Secondly, regarding the location of the assassination, although there were two roads leading in and out of Jingu Garden, only one led to Luoyang. Beside this road, a canal was dug to bring in water, creating a river seven zhang wide. Over the years, a sizable reed bed had formed on both banks of the canal, providing a place where a person could hide. With proper camouflage, one would not easily be discovered even within two or three feet.

Before entering the Golden Valley Garden, guests were supposed to walk along a tree-lined avenue made of willows and ginkgo trees. However, after the Golden Valley Garden robbery, Shi Chong made a second renovation, turning this avenue into a narrow path. All guests had to dismount before entering, which created an opportunity for assassination. The narrow path was where Jia Mo would dismount, making him move slowly, and the narrowness of the path provided an excellent position for shooting.

Then there's the timing of the assassination. Since the method of shooting is used, the assassination must take place during the day to ensure there's enough light to hit the target.

Therefore, the assassination could not be arranged at night, but had to be done during the day. Considering the transmission of messages and the movement of people, Lu Ji should have initiated the event before noon, so as to ensure that Jia Mo would arrive at Jingu Garden before dusk.

Then came the details of the assassination. To ensure a fatal blow, Liu Xian's own archery skills alone were not enough, so he planned to have Zhuge Yan, who had been hunting since childhood, do the job.

Furthermore, to minimize errors, Liu Xian planned to obtain two hand crossbows from the Eastern Palace. The crossbow bolts would be armor-piercing arrows with pointed, goose-feathered arrowheads, each tipped with a very small barb. Once soaked in a poison made from datura juice, even if the arrow only struck the body and not a vital organ, the arrowhead would still hook into the flesh, poisoning the victim. If anyone attempted to forcibly remove the arrow, they would bleed to death.

Finally, there was the issue of escape. Liu Xian was confident that with the speed of his swift horse, escaping on the spot would be very easy, but the difficulty lay in the subsequent search. Such magnificent steeds were extremely rare, and if they were discovered, the Court of Justice would easily expose the deception by comparing horses one by one in Luoyang.

Liu Xian planned to paint the entire horse black with ink. After the assassination, once he had shaken off his pursuers, he could wash the ink off the horse's mane with water. By then, even if Jia Mi mobilized all the forces of his faction and searched the entire city of Luoyang, he probably wouldn't be able to find a single pure black steed.

Having revised the plan to this point, Liu Xian believed he had done his best, and Lu Ji also found it impeccable. Liu Xian then informed Sima Yu of the plan, and the next day Sima Yu had Jiang Tong reply, "We await your good news."

With Jia Mi planning to hold a literary gathering on the day of Renzi in November, the final assassination date was thus set.

The day before the operation, Lu Ji took the yellow silk scroll written by Liu Xian and moved into the Golden Valley Garden ahead of time. Liu Xian also claimed to have caught a cold and stayed home. In reality, he and Zhuge Yan had already laid an ambush at the canal in the Golden Valley Garden.

It was late at night when they were about to leave. Liu Xian, holding the black-painted horse Fanyu, and accompanied by Zhuge Yan, bid farewell to his wife. When they came out, the sky was cold and a cold wind was blowing.

Liu Xian wrapped his head in white cloth and covered his face with a silk handkerchief, leaving only his eyes exposed. Zhuge Yan was quite unaccustomed to this attire, and since it was his first time undertaking an assassination, he couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable. On the way, he whispered to Liu Xian:
"Your Highness, what if this journey fails?"

Liu Xian remained silent for a moment, then slowly replied to Zhuge Yan, "There's nothing we can do. This time, it's either Jia Mo who dies, or we who die. There's no third option. Are you afraid?"

Zhuge Yan laughed and said, "Your Highness is thinking too badly. In my opinion, killing someone who doesn't know martial arts is just like killing a chicken!"

Wrapped in black cloaks, the two gradually blended into the night. Suddenly, snowflakes began to fall, and a blizzard unexpectedly arrived. (End of Chapter)