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Chapter 120 He Jin is dead, Liu Bei goes on a killing spree (Please subscribe and vote)

"That woman has ruined my plans!"

Inside the General's mansion, He Jin was both anxious and angry.

Last night, He Jin forcefully entered the palace and replaced the eunuchs guarding Changle Palace with Yuan Shu's Tiger Warriors.

When Empress Dowager He saw that He Jin was serious, she had no choice but to issue an edict in front of He Jin, ordering all the eunuchs and palace attendants to leave the palace and return to their hometowns, hoping that He Jin could give them a chance to live.

He Jin did not want to strain his relationship with Empress Dowager He, so he pretended to agree and returned to the General's Mansion to await orders. At the same time, he ordered the Tiger Guards to guard Chang Le Palace and not allow the eunuchs and palace attendants to see Empress Dowager He in private, so as to prevent any further accidents.

Once all the eunuchs and palace attendants leave Luoyang, they can all be arrested. At that point, the deed will be done, and even if Empress Dowager He wanted to save them, she would be powerless to do so.

Although He Jin had a good plan, the eunuchs and palace attendants were not ones to sit idly by and wait for their doom. Zhang Rang, in order to save his life, was even more eager to find his daughter-in-law, He Shi.

Although Zhang Rang was a eunuch, it was common for eunuchs to adopt sons or godsons.

Besides his adopted son Zhang Feng, who transported money to Yongzhou, there was also an adopted son named Zhang Feng, who is now the Imperial Physician.

The relationship between He Jin and his siblings and the eunuchs was extremely complicated; Zhang Feng married He Taihou's sister.

As soon as Lady He arrived, Zhang Rang immediately resorted to a sob story, kowtowing to her and pleading, "Before I leave, I beg to visit the Empress Dowager and the Emperor again. If I return, I will die without regrets."

Lady He was soft-hearted and dared not approach He Jin directly, so she went directly to Lord Wuyang to plead for mercy.

Lady Wuyang was the birth mother of Empress Dowager He. She initially married a woman surnamed Zhu, and after giving birth to her son Zhu Miao, she remarried to He Zhen from Nanyang. Zhu Miao was He Miao.

Lady He was the daughter of He Zhen's maid, and she recognized Lord Wuyang as her mother.

Since Lady Wuyang was not He Jin's biological mother, and eunuchs often gave money to Lady Wuyang and He Miao to speak well of them to He Jin, and He Miao was not on good terms with He Jin, He Jin only nominally recognized Lady Wuyang as his mother, and usually did not have any contact with her.

In the face of this momentous event, Lord Wuyang dared not go directly to He Jin to plead for mercy, so he went directly to the palace to seek help from Empress Dowager He to plead for Zhang Rang and the others.

When Empress Dowager He poisoned Consort Wang, Emperor Liu Hong was furious and wanted to depose her. It was only by Zhang Rang and others contributing ten million coins that Empress Dowager He was protected. Empress Dowager He already felt guilty for the imperial edict dismissing the eunuchs and palace attendants, so she ordered them to return to the palace.

Although the Tiger Guards were guarding Chang Le Palace, they dared not disobey Empress Dowager He's edict. They could only send Zhang Rang and others into the palace first, and then send a message to He Jin.

Last night, Empress Dowager He ordered all the eunuchs and palace attendants to leave the palace and return to their hometowns. This morning, Empress Dowager He summoned all the eunuchs back to the palace. This kind of change of orders from evening to morning infuriated He Jin!
"If I had known this would happen, I would have just had Yuan Shao lead his troops into the palace last night and wiped out all the eunuchs and palace attendants!"

Seeing He Jin's anger, Yuan Shu, the Tiger General, seized the opportunity to advise: "When the eunuchs enter the palace, they will surely beg the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is soft-hearted and nostalgic, so she may allow the eunuchs to continue to stay in the palace. At that time, it will be difficult to kill them."

"In my opinion, General, you should first go to Chang Le Palace and ask the Empress Dowager to execute all the eunuchs, and then select three officials to reside in the palace. Without their cronies, even if the eunuchs manage to survive by chance, they are not a threat, and General, you don't need to strain your relationship with the Empress Dowager too much."

The term "San Shu Lang" refers to the officials under the jurisdiction of the Guanglu Xun, and consists of officials from the Wu Guan Shu, Zuo Shu, and You Shu.

Its members were selected through the recommendation system of the prefectures and kingdoms, and mainly undertook the duties of guarding the palace and serving the monarch. They also served as an important source of candidates for the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Yuan Shu's words seemed to be a scheme for He Jin, but in reality, they were a scheme for the Yuan family, because many of the officials in the three departments were Yuan's protégés, former subordinates, and their sons and nephews.

After the eunuchs were executed, the officials of the Three Departments were appointed to replace them and move into the palace. In this way, the power of the eunuchs was effectively swallowed up by the Yuan family.

Most importantly: the eunuchs have a large amount of money accumulated by Zhang Rang and others over the years. The three officials of the Ministry of Personnel moved into the eunuchs' palace. Isn't all this money the property of the Yuan family?
No, all this money belongs to me, Yuan Shu!
Yuan Shu licked his lips secretly, as if he had the eunuch's money under his control.

He Jin didn't think too much about it. He was furious and snorted, "Why bother with all this trouble? Just summon Yuan Shao to bring troops into the palace. I want to kill all the eunuchs and palace attendants!"

Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao were already at odds, so he was unwilling to let Yuan Shao interfere at this moment. He then advised, "When the Grand General killed Jian Shuo in the past, there were rumors in the palace that the Grand General wanted to seize power and weaken Your Majesty. The Empress Dowager has some doubts about this."

"If the Grand General were to summon Yuan Shao to bring troops into the palace, the Empress Dowager would surely suspect his intentions. Furthermore, with the eunuchs influencing His Majesty, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty would surely believe that the Grand General is deceiving the Emperor. Now that the Tiger Warriors are stationed at Chang Le Palace, killing the eunuchs would be as easy as turning one's hand. So why would we need to summon Yuan Shao to bring troops into the palace?"

"Moreover, the Western Garden Army also needs to be wary of foreign generals to prevent them from causing trouble. The Governor of Yongzhou, Liu Bei, recently accepted hundreds of cartloads of money from Zhang Rang, and now he is making friends with officials and powerful figures in the city. We must be on guard."

Upon hearing Yuan Shu's words, He Jin hesitated.

If Empress Dowager He were to become suspicious, the plan to eliminate the eunuchs would have to be postponed again.

Meanwhile, the ambiguous stance of Liu Bei, the governor of Yongzhou, within Luoyang, also made He Jin quite wary.

Only now did He Jin truly understand the meaning of "it's easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away." With Liu Bei, this great god, standing in Luoyang, He Jin dared not let his guard down even if he did nothing.

He Jin snorted coldly: "If that's the case, then send someone to inform Yuan Shao to keep a close eye on Liu Bei. Also, have Wu Kuang, Zhang Zhang, and others keep a close eye on the General of Chariots and Cavalry's residence. Now that Lord Wuyang has helped the eunuchs enter the palace, He Miao will also be implicated!"

Thinking of He Miao, He Jin felt another wave of irritation.

I do not mind that He Miao is a son of the Zhu family and regard him as my younger brother, but He Miao is unwilling to be of one mind with me. How disheartening!
Yuan Shu was secretly pleased.

Yuan Shao, Wu Kuang, and Zhang Zhang all had military duties, so only Yuan Shu followed He Jin into the palace. He said, "I will immediately dispatch the Tiger Warriors and the Three Gentlemen of the Palace. Today, I will make sure that the eunuchs and palace attendants will never dare to disobey the General's authority again."

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, He Jin did not hesitate and hurriedly led Yuan Shu and others to Changle Palace.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang Rang and his men were greatly alarmed. They sent men to eavesdrop and learned that He Jin intended to execute all the eunuchs and then select three officials to reside in the palace. Zhang Rang and his men were even more panicked.

The reason these people have such power today is because they rely on thousands of eunuchs in the palace as their henchmen. If these henchmen are killed, who will take these servants seriously in the future?

Zhang Rang hastily gathered the court attendants and said indignantly, "We have already agreed to return to our hometowns, but He Jin has entered the palace at this time, actually trying to emulate Dou Wu. Gentlemen, this is urgent. If we don't get rid of He Jin, we will all die."

Guo Sheng, who had repeatedly helped He Jin and his sister, was also indignant: "If it weren't for me, how could He Jin and his sister have been favored by the late emperor? When Jian Shuo wanted to kill He Jin, it was I who helped He Jin kill Jian Shuo. Now that He Jin has gained power, he doesn't remember his benefactor. Such a cold-hearted person deserves to die!"

Zhao Zhong, Duan Gui, Bi Lan, and dozens of others were also furious.

After discussing it, the group decided to strike first.

It was fitting that He Jin died. He relied on the fact that there were guards in Chang Le Palace, so he did not take any precautions and went in and out alone!

He Jin then saw that Guo Sheng claimed the Empress Dowager had other matters to attend to and issued a separate edict, so He Jin had no doubts.

He Jin then hypocritically promised Guo Sheng, "Guo Changshi, rest assured, I will only execute others, not you. We are both from Nanyang, and the late emperor helped us a lot. If you hadn't betrayed me, I wouldn't have known that Jian Shuo was plotting against me." "However, the execution of eunuchs is the will of the people, and even as the Grand General, I cannot go against the will of the people. Later, when I see the Empress Dowager, I will plead for you. You should no longer stay in the palace. After this matter is settled, you can return to Nanyang to retire."

Guo Sheng secretly sneered: If you truly remembered my kindness, why would you have driven me to this dead end? Without me, would you gain the support of the world? You're just a butcher! Your surname is He, not Yuan! Do you think those powerful ministers would even look at you with any respect? And you're even pleading for me! Ha! If I hadn't lied and said the Empress Dowager had other matters to attend to, would you have pretended to plead for me?
Although he thought this in his heart, Guo Sheng pretended to be overjoyed and said, "Thank you for sparing my life, General. Don't worry, General, once we return to Nanyang, I will change my name and surname and will never cause you any trouble."

Guo Sheng smiled and accompanied He Jin all the way, which made He Jin feel very happy.

Only after he was seated in the forbidden room did He Jin realize something was wrong, and he shouted at Guo Sheng, "Guo Sheng, where is the Empress Dowager?"

Guo Sheng sneered: "The Empress Dowager should naturally be where she belongs."

Seeing Zhang Rang and dozens of others surrounding him with swords, He Jin felt a chill run down his spine and shouted again, "You scoundrels, what do you intend to do?"

Zhang Rang drew his sword and pointed it at He Jin: "He Jin, you don't know what's good for you. Is the chaos in the world solely our fault? If we hadn't cried and rescued you back then, and each of us had given you millions of our family fortune as gifts, the late emperor would have deposed the Empress Dowager long ago, and you wouldn't have the power you have today."

"We only wanted to rely on the He family's influence, yet you still want to kill us? Even a dog is more trustworthy than you! You say the palace is filthy and corrupt, but how many of the officials and ministers are truly loyal and honest? Are you really going to keep targeting us?"

Glancing around, He Jin gripped his sword hilt and forced a smile, "Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! The Empress Dowager has already issued an edict ordering you to leave the palace and return to your hometowns. How could I possibly kill you? If you don't believe me, we can go see the Empress Dowager now."

"See the Empress Dowager?" Zhang Rang sneered, "If we see the Empress Dowager, will we still be alive? Today we can hold the General hostage, who knows if we won't hold the Empress Dowager hostage tomorrow? At this point, there's no point in saying anything more. Where is the Imperial Workshop Supervisor Qu Mu? Quickly execute He Jin!"

He Jin was shocked and was about to turn around when Qu Mu struck him in the face with a sword, then struck him again, killing him instantly.

"Now that He Jin has been killed, we should quickly forge an imperial edict and send it to the Ministry of Personnel, appointing the former Grand Commandant Fan Ling as the Commandant of the Capital Region, expelling Yuan Shao and taking over the Western Garden Army; appointing the Minister of the Treasury Xu Xiang as the Governor of Henan, expelling Wang Yun and pacifying the officials."

The eunuchs and palace attendants held power for many years, and many ministers were close to them. Fan Ling and Xu Xiang were the eunuchs' cronies.

The eunuch delivered the imperial edict to the Ministry of Personnel. After returning from Liu Bei's camp, Lu Zhi had been pondering what Liu Bei had said that day.

Upon seeing the imperial edict, he couldn't help but wonder: "Why would His Majesty suddenly change the Commandant of the Capital Region and the Governor of Henan? Does the General know of this?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the head of He Jin, the eunuch general, was thrown at Lu Zhi, who shouted, "He Jin has been executed for treason!"

In an instant.

All the officials in the Ministry of Personnel were astonished.

Those who didn't believe it stepped forward to examine it and were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly.

"You traitor, how dare you!" Lu Zhi, also hot-tempered, drew his sword and pointed it at the eunuch: "You treacherous eunuch, how dare you plot against the Grand General!"

He was originally the Northern General who commanded the three armies in the campaign against the Yellow Turbans. Although he usually dressed in simple clothes and looked no different from an ordinary Confucian scholar, his anger was not something that ordinary people could withstand.

"Lu Zhi, are you also plotting a rebellion?" The eunuch was both shocked and frightened, and shouted at the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, "His Majesty's decree is here. Anyone who dares to disobey will be considered an accomplice of He Jin!"

The eunuchs already wielded considerable power, so most officials chose to back down.

Lu Zhi, however, was furious. He kicked over the middle gate and left.

The eunuch was both angry and helpless, and dared not pursue Lu Zhi. He ordered the officials of the Ministry of Personnel to draft the appointment document immediately.

After leaving the Ministry of Personnel, Lu Zhi rushed to Liu Bei's camp.

Seeing Lu Zhi return and appear quite anxious, Liu Bei had already guessed the reason.

Before he could ask any questions, Lu Zhi shouted as he entered: "Xuande, something terrible has happened. The eunuchs killed the Grand General and forged an imperial edict from the Ministry of Personnel, intending to appoint the former Grand Commandant Fan Ling as the Commandant of the Capital Region and the Minister of the Imperial Treasury Xu Xiang as the Governor of Henan. Both of these men are close to the eunuchs; we must not let them succeed."

Seeing that Liu Bei showed no surprise, Lu Zhi was alarmed: "Did Xuande already know this?"

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "After my mentor left, I heard that after the General entered the palace last night, the Empress Dowager ordered all the eunuchs and palace attendants to leave the palace and return to their hometowns. I then guessed that the General must have been harmed by the eunuchs."

Lu Zhi suddenly realized and asked, "So what does Xuande intend to do now?"

Liu Bei's tone turned solemn: "The eunuch has dared to kill the Grand General. As the Governor of Yongzhou, I should kill the eunuch and support the successor."

Lu Zhi also replied solemnly, "I will go with Xuande."

Liu Bei shook his head: "Military affairs are my responsibility. My mentor can contact ministers who can support the successor. When Dong Zhuo enters Luoyang with a secret edict, that will be the time to support the successor."

Because the change happened so quickly, Lu Zhi had not yet had time to contact ministers who could support the successor, such as Ma Ridi.

Ma Ridi was a grandson of Ma Rong and had a close relationship with Lu Zhi, so he could be trusted.

“That’s fine. Military matters will be left to Xuande.” Lu Zhi didn’t delay and turned to leave the camp.

Although the change came quickly, it did not disrupt Liu Bei's plans.

Liu Bei summoned Xu You and instructed him: "Ziyuan, I will give you two hundred men. Go to the city immediately and find the officials and gentry who were willing to deposit money and grain in Yongzhou Quanfu. Borrow more carriages and quickly wait outside the eunuch palace. There is a lot of wealth in the eunuch palace, all of which are the wealth that the eunuchs have embezzled over the years. Since we are going to kill the eunuchs, take as much wealth as you can."

Xu You solemnly replied, "Rest assured, my lord, I will not make any mistakes."

Subsequently.

Liu Bei then sent Fa Zheng to the neighboring Xiyuan Army camp to inform Cao Cao.

Since they had chosen to cooperate with Cao Cao, they naturally had to show sincerity and let Cao Cao share the credit for eliminating the eunuchs.

The merit of eliminating the eunuchs will be a political resource that can be used to recruit talented people in the future.

After arranging everything, Liu Bei rode his horse to the command platform, summoned the brave warriors of all the camps, and shouted sternly:

"I have been ordered by the late emperor to eliminate the chief villains and support the successor. Now that He Jin is dead, the eunuchs still exist. Gentlemen, follow me into the eunuch palace, kill the eunuchs first, and then support the Prince of Chenliu as the emperor!"

(End of this chapter)