The great man will live forever

Chapter 297 The court’s reaction

“When the red sun rises, its path shines brightly; when a river flows out of its undercurrent, it empties into a vast ocean;

The dragon lurks in the abyss, its scales and claws fly; the tiger roars in the valley, and all the beasts are frightened;

The falcons are testing their wings, and the wind and dust are blowing; the first-born of strange flowers are shining brightly;

The cadres and generals have hair with their awnings; the sky wears its green color, and the earth wears its yellow color;"

The wheel of history is rolling forward, and no one can stop it. The power of the people is like a landslide, or like the Yellow River bursting its banks, flowing thousands of miles.

In the first month of the seventh year of Guanghe (AD 184), the famous Yellow Turban Uprising broke out.

Under the leadership of Zhang Jiao, with the voice of "The sky is dead, Huang Tian will stand, the year will be Jiazi, the world will be prosperous", the rebel army burned the government offices, killed the officials, and occupied the city. In just 10 days, the world responded, Jiuzhou is restless and the capital is shaken.

This frightened Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. He was trembling and helped to sit on the throne by the eunuch. General He Jin quickly entered the palace. He was considered the uncle of Emperor Ling.

He Jin himself came from a family of butchers. Because his sister was elected to the imperial palace, she was favored by the Ling Emperor and was appointed as a doctor. He was then moved to Huben as a doctor, and then served as the prefect of Yingchuan (now Yu County, Henan).

Later, his sister was made empress, and He was called into the court as a servant, and he was to be a great craftsman and Henan Yin.

A few days ago, after learning that Zhang Jue was planning to rebel, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty worshiped him as a general. He led the left and right Yulin troops to guard the capital, suppressed Ma Yuanyi who had raised an army in Luoyang, and named him Marquis Shen for his merits.

The emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty relied on his relatives and eunuchs to rule the world. He could only trust his uncle, they were one and the same.

He Jin is in his 30s. He is tall and looks fat, but he is not ugly at all, but rather handsome. His sister is a rare beauty. Otherwise, how could he become the queen?

He knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the Yellow Turbans are now powerful and the imperial court has few soldiers. We should order all states to recruit their own troops for defense."

"Just General Yi." Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong pointed at He Jin and spoke with a slight tremor, mainly because the rebellion was too violent and he did not expect it.

If they break into the capital, he will be the first to be killed.

As soon as Xiang Yu entered Xianyang, he killed Ziying and all the descendants of Qin Shihuang.

Others in the Liu family might have spared his life if they became emperor. After all, when Liu Xiu became emperor, they also spared Liu Penzi. Liu Penzi could be considered an emperor, but if the rebels really overthrew him, they would definitely kill him. dead.

"Your Majesty, we still need to send a general to lead the army to conquer them."

After all, He Jin has killed pigs and seen life and death. Maybe he has killed too many pigs, but the same goes for killing people. People may be easier to kill than pigs. There is no need to remove the hair, disembowel the belly, divide the inside, and wash the foul-smelling large intestine...

Maybe in their eyes, these ordinary people are worse than pigs and dogs.

"I know, I will immediately summon the ministers to discuss!"

"promise!"

In March, Wushen (the third day of the Lunar New Year), Han Ling Emperor Liu Hong asked General He Jin to command the left and right Yulin armies and the five battalions of Tunqi, infantry, Yueqi, Changshui and Shesheng, and stationed them in Duting for renovation. Ordnance, guarding the capital city of Luoyang.

At the same time, eight pass captains including Hangu Pass, Taigu Pass, Guangcheng Pass, Yique Pass, Yuan Pass, Xuanmen Pass, Mengjinguan and Xiaopingjinguan were also set up.

On that day, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

"My dear friends, now that the Yellow Turban bandits are plotting rebellion, what are your countermeasures?"

Everyone looked at me and I looked at you. I didn’t know what to say for a while.

At this time, a man about 40 years old stood up. This man was Huangfu Song, the governor of Beidi County.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the ban on party members from serving as officials should be lifted, and you should take out your private Zhongzang Mansion money and the fine horses in the Xiyuan stables to reward the soldiers who go on the expedition, so as to encourage the soldiers to work together as one, and then use The general will be the vanguard, only in this way can we destroy the Yellow Turban bandits..."

Huangfu Song is not a simple man, he is an outstanding person. He is the son of Huangfu Gui's brother, that is, Huangfu Gui's nephew. He is considered to be born into a family of generals.

Huangfu Gui is also very impressive. He comes from a family of generals. He is quite knowledgeable and familiar with the art of war.

In his early years, he served as county meritorious officer, Shangji Peng, and Langzhong. He was also transferred to the Taishan prefecture and successfully quelled the uprising of Shusun Wuji. He successively held the positions of General Zhonglang and General Du Liao, and reached the rank of Colonel Protecting the Qiang. He defeated and surrendered the Qiang many times and eased the conflicts between Han and Qiang.

In the third year of Xiping (174), Huangfu Gui passed away at the age of seventy-one. He was given the gift of Da Si Nong, and together with Zhang Huan and Duan Ji, he was called "Liangzhou Sanming".

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was not stupid. He knew that Huangfu Song's uncle was a loyal minister. He also knew that Huangfu Song was born in a family of generals and was capable. However, he was not sure to pay attention for a while. After all, he personally gave the order of the party.

At that time, Zhang Jian, the governor of Shanyang County, impeached Zhang Jian, who often served Hou Lan when he returned to his hometown to sweep his mother's tomb. He was extravagant and disturbed the people, and demolished Hou Lan's house and even his ancestral grave. This angered Hou Lan and instigated Zhu Bing, a fellow countryman, to write a letter to impeach Zhang Jian and other 24 Shanyang celebrities for forming a clique and plotting against evil.

After Liu Hong, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, saw the memorial, he asked the eunuch Cao Jie about the plan. Cao Jie used the topic to explain that the party members were harming the country and asked to expand the nationwide purge of party members. Liu Hong approved the memorial.

In the end, this political disaster caused a large number of scholars to flee, and as many as six to seven hundred people were persecuted to death. It is known in history as the "Second Disaster of Party Confinement".

In the fifth year of Xiping (176), Cao Luan, the prefect of Yongchang, wrote a letter to vindicate the grievances of the party members and requested the court to vindicate them. Liu Hong was furious and tortured Cao Luan to death in prison, and imprisoned party members and their relatives and friends on a larger scale.

Now he is asked to lift the shackles of the party and re-employ party members, which seems to be a slap in the face. No one likes to be slapped in the face. Liu Hong looked around. His uncle He Jin was defending the capital. Huangfu Song should be able to use it. Is there anyone else?

Yes, there were quite a few, and there were many officials in the imperial court, but they were all bought with money, and he himself had people sell them to them. He could be regarded as taking the selling of official positions to the extreme.

How could he, Liu Hong, not know what they were capable of? Each one is more greedy for money than the other, and his ability is probably worse than his.

The rest are all eunuchs. If we expect them to fight and suppress rebellion, they might as well surrender.

Emperor Ling was helpless, and suddenly saw a person in the crowd, his eyes lit up, "Lv Changshi, do you think the party imprisonment should be lifted?"

It was a eunuch about 45 years old, a regular servant, standing far away from Liu Hong. This man's name was Lu Qiang, and he was considered an alternative among the eunuchs.

As the saying goes, this is the kind of person who emerges from the mire without staining. Other eunuchs are busy greedy for money, and he is busy making suggestions.

When it comes to eunuchs, people often don't have a good impression. They are either yin and yang, neither male nor female, or they cause chaos in the government and harm the loyal.

But there are still many eunuchs in history who are loyal to the country, passionate, and strong in spirit.

Lu Qiang can be regarded as an epitome and representative. He was named Han Sheng and was from Chenggao (now Xingyang), Henan. When he was young, he entered the palace as a small Huangmen, and later served as a Zhongchangshi, which was almost the pinnacle of eunuchs. Especially in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Zhongchangshi was extremely powerful and could almost influence the political situation of the court.

At that time, Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, had established a rule that no one could be named a marquis without meritorious service, which meant that one could not be named a marquis without major achievements such as military merit.

However, in order to get rid of his relative Liang Ji, Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty made a blood alliance with the eunuchs and borrowed their power. After Liang Ji was eliminated, five eunuchs were named marquises.

Since then, it has almost become a routine for Zhongchang to serve as a marquis.

Therefore, when Lu Qiang was appointed as a regular minister, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty made him a Duxiang Marquis according to the usual practice. Lu Qiang firmly refused to accept, and Emperor Ling had no choice but to let it go.

Lu Qiang didn't want to make him a marquis. He also wrote to Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty to make suggestions: "I have heard that the princes are like four seven, and they are tearing apart the king's land. Emperor Gaozu's promise to honor the treaty is not due to meritorious ministers, so I have to give my advice to you..."

There are three main contents in the letter, which roughly means: "First, Emperor Gaozu agreed that those who have not done meritorious service will not be treated. Now the eunuchs have been named princes and have power over the government. Their descendants and relatives are doing evil in the local area and deceiving the emperor. I hope your majesty can Break this routine or it could lead to disaster.

Second, I heard that there are thousands of harem ladies now, and they spend a lot of money every day. Many people among the people are hungry and have hungry faces. I hope that His Majesty can implement benevolent policies and reduce taxes and taxes so that the people can live a good life.

Third, although Your Majesty ascended the throne from the Hejian Kingdom, you are now carrying out large-scale construction projects and building palaces in the Hejian Kingdom. It is really a waste of people and money. And now my relatives are interfering in politics and fighting with each other, causing chaos in the court. I hope your majesty can restrain it..."

It can be said that these suggestions from Lu Qiang are good advice and strategies for governing and stabilizing the country. If Liu Hong really adopted it and implemented it seriously, there would probably be no Yellow Turban Uprising, and it is not certain that the Han Dynasty might continue for several decades.

But there are no ifs in history, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was a master who could not hold up the wall.

"I'm just playing. After I die, the flood will come to the sky."

What people like is sensuality, eating, drinking and having fun.

After he saw Lu Qiang's letter, he naturally knew that he was a loyal minister, and he did not accept the title of prince. He was also tired of his persuasion. From then on, he began to alienate Lu Qiang and no longer trusted him.

Later, Lu Qiang submitted another letter, but the other Zhongchang attendants detained it, so they simply refused to let Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty see it.

Now that it was a critical moment, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty naturally knew that the people around him were not worthy of it, so he asked Lu Qiang, the minister of the Central Committee, for his opinion.

Lu Qiang was overjoyed when he heard Emperor Ling's inquiry. He stood up calmly and said: "Your Majesty, what Mr. Huangfu said is extremely reasonable. You have banned party members for a long time. People are resentful and angry. If If they are not pardoned, they will act rashly. Once they unite with Zhang Jiao, the rebellion will expand even more. By then, it will be too late to regret.

Now, please first execute Your Majesty’s officials who are corrupt and pervert the law, grant amnesty to all party members, and examine the abilities of governors and county guards in various places. If this were done, the rebellion would not cease. "

Emperor Ling was afraid of the power of the Yellow Turban Army, and the world would be shaken by just opening his mouth. If the party members rebelled again, it would be even worse.

"What Ai Qing said makes sense! Send me an order to pardon all the party members in the world."

Watching Liu Hong accept Lu Qiang's suggestion, the eunuchs around him, such as Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Xia Yun, Guo Sheng, Sun Zhang, Bi Lan, Li Song, Duan Gui, Gao Wang, Zhang Gong, Han Kui, Song Dian and the others looked at Lu Qiang with anger in their eyes.

They did not want to pardon the party members, but they had no choice. What was even more frightening was that Lu Qiang suggested that Liu Hong execute officials who were corrupt and violated the law, and examine the abilities of governors and county guards in various places. This is terrible. Aren't they the ones who corrupt and bend the law?

There are also governors and county governors from various places, many of whom are related to them, and some are their godsons.

Of course, Liu Hong did not listen to everything. In March, Renzi (the seventh day of the lunar month), Liu Hong ordered a general amnesty for party members all over the world. Party members and their families who had been exiled to border areas could return to their hometowns.

At the same time, elite troops from all over the country were recruited, and North Zhonglang general Lu Zhi was sent to conquer Zhangjiao, Zuo Zhonglang general Huangfu Song, and You Zhonglang general Zhu Jun were sent to conquer the Yellow Turban Army operating in the Yingchuan area.

Not long after the army set off, Liu Hong summoned the ten permanent servants.

He rebuked the ministers: "You often say that the party members are plotting evil intentions, so you imprison them all, and some of them are even killed.

Now the party members are doing their best for the country. Should some of you, such as Zhi Feng and Xu Feng, collude with Zhang Jiao, be executed? "

He was really angry. Fortunately, Zhang Jiao's conspiracy was discovered in advance and there was no chaos in the capital. Once an uprising broke out in the capital, he might have been overthrown.

At this time, the eunuchs were all frightened and their faces turned pale. No matter how great their power was, it was given by Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. If Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty really wanted to kill them, just say one word.

They all kowtowed and said, "These are all done by Zifeng and Xu Feng. We don't know anything about it. We are loyal to His Majesty. Please give His Majesty a clear warning."

"Boom boom boom!"

They kept kowtowing, and some even kowtowed to the point where their heads bled.

"Forget it, get up, I believe you." Liu Hong relented.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. If we are ever disloyal, we will be pierced by thousands of arrows and die badly!" They swore a poisonous oath.

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty really favored these eunuchs. The regular servants Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang, Xia Yun, Guo Sheng, Duan, Song Dian, etc. in front of him were all named marquises and had high status and favor.

Emperor Ling often said: "Zhang Changshi is my father, and Zhao Changshi is my mother."

In the past, these eunuchs were unscrupulous and even carried out large-scale construction projects, building residences in the style of royal palaces.

Once, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty wanted to climb to the observation deck of Yong'an Palace to watch the scenery around the palace. The eunuchs were afraid that Emperor Ling would see their mansion, so they asked Shang Dan, the great minister of Zhongda, to dissuade Emperor Ling, saying: "The emperor should not climb high. Climbing high will cause the people to disperse."

Emperor Ling no longer dared to climb higher towers or pavilions.

However, due to the Yellow Turban uprising and the reprimand of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, they all retreated and immediately recalled their relatives and children who were serving as state and county officials.

On this day, several eunuchs gathered together. Although they restrained themselves, they would retaliate.

"Have all your disciples and godson been recalled?"

"Call back."

"This Lu Qiang is not from the same group as us. He might instigate His Majesty to kill us again that day."

"The rocks in the latrine are smelly and hard. Why do you think he is hanging out with those nobles?"

"He still wants to leave a name for Qingshi? He is a eunuch, unlike us. All the names left by Qingshi are false. What can he leave behind? There is no one to offer incense and worship after his death. What else do we have to do? As for the son, Cao Teng is now Cao Cao's grandfather, enjoying the incense."

"Yes, and the money is real."

"Master Zhao is right." Xia Yun took out the golden gold and weighed it repeatedly, with a look of obsession on his face.

"It seems that now we can only find a way to get rid of him."

"Ah."

Therefore, Zhao Zhong, Xia Yun and others gathered together and falsely accused Lu Qiang to Emperor Ling, saying: "Lü Qiang discussed the court with party members and often read "Huo Guang Zhuan". All his brothers were corrupt and perverted the law in their official positions."

Emperor Ling was a little angry after hearing this. He always thought that Lu Qiang was a loyal minister.

"It seems that I misjudged him. Someone will check him carefully for me and bring him to see me."

"promise!"

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty ordered Zhonghuangmen to summon Lu Qiang into the palace with weapons.

When Lu Qiang learned that Emperor Ling had summoned him, he said angrily: "After my death, there will be great chaos. How can a man face the jailer if he wants to be loyal to the country?"

"what!"

Immediately, he drew his sword and committed suicide. The blood flowed out and sprayed on his captors. Those people felt as if something flowed into their hearts, but it only passed away in a flash.

Zhao Zhong, Xia Yun and others learned the news and framed him again: "Lu Qiang was summoned, but he committed suicide outside without knowing what to ask him. This shows that he is indeed guilty."

Good guy, your mouth is yours anyway, they are already dead, you can say whatever you want.

"This traitor seems to have a different mind than what he says, and he still pretends to be a loyal minister. It's really abominable,"

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was furious and ordered the arrest of Lu Qiang's relatives and confiscated their property.

At this time, Shi Changshi was naturally very happy.

There are still some loyal ministers in the Han Dynasty. Xiang Xu, a servant and a native of Hanoi, wrote to Emperor Ling, criticizing the eunuchs.

After Zhang Rang and others learned about it, they were extremely angry, "We just got rid of Lu Qiang, and here comes Xiang Xu. Are these people really not afraid of death?"

"What are you afraid of? Since he wants to die, we will send him away." Zhao Zhong smiled coldly.

They imitated cats and tigers, falsely accusing Xiang Xu of working together with Zhang Jiao and acting as Zhang Jiao's internal correspondent.

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty naturally believed them, so Xiang Xu was arrested and sent to Huangmen Beisi Prison for execution.

This is not the end, Zhang Jun, a doctor and a native of Zhongshan, was not afraid of death. He wrote a letter saying: "I believe that the reason why Zhang Jiao is able to raise troops and cause chaos, and why the people are willing to join Zhang Jiao, is because many of the Shichang servants let their fathers, brothers, children, Relatives and their followers served as governors of states and counties, collecting wealth and plundering the people.

The people had no place to complain when they had their grievances, so they decided to fight against the imperial court and gathered together to become thieves. The ten permanent servants should be beheaded, their heads should be hung in the southern suburbs of the capital, and the people should be apologized, and envoys should be sent to announce the matter to the whole country.

In this way, the huge bandit group will disband on its own without sending out troops to suppress it. "

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty handed Zhang Jun's memorial to the regular attendants. They were all frightened and immediately took off their hats, shoes and socks, and knelt down to kowtow.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"We are loyal to His Majesty, and heaven and earth can teach you a lesson!"

"Please allow us to go to the imperial prison in Luoyang, where the emperor personally handles cases, to surrender. We are willing to donate our family property to subsidize military expenses."

"You all stand up, I know your loyalty."

Emperor Ling issued an edict, ordering all the regular servants to wear clothes, hats, shoes and socks indicating their official status and continue to hold their original posts.

He was angry about Zhang Jun's memorial and said: "This is really a madman! Shouldn't there be a good person among the ten ministers?"

The imperial censor obeyed Emperor Ling's wishes, and under the instigation of the ten regular attendants, he falsely accused Zhang Jun of believing in the Yellow Turban Dao. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was furious and ordered Zhang Jun to be arrested and imprisoned, and he was tortured to death.

……

With all these methods, the Han Dynasty is not far away!

　"The Biography of Lu Qiang, Book of the Later Han Dynasty":

　　Lu Qiang, whose courtesy name was Hansheng, was from Chenggao, Henan. Those who were less likely to be eunuchs were called Xiaohuangmen, and then moved to the middle to serve as regular servants. He is a man of integrity and loyalty. During the reign of Emperor Ling, those who were ennobled as eunuchs were given the title of Qiang as the Duxiang Marquis. It is hard to accept the forced words and sincere condolences, but the emperor listens to them. Because of this, he said:

　　"I heard that the princes were like four or seven, and they were tearing apart the king's land. Emperor Gaozu kept the treaty and it was not a meritorious minister or a prince, so Zhong Tianjue gave a warning. Fu Wenzhong often served Cao Jie, Wang Fu, Zhang Rang, etc., as well as the minister Xu Xiang, And he is a prince. The eunuchs such as Jie are poor, have low morals, slander and flatter the master, are sycophants and favors, are poisonous people, are jealous of the loyal and good, have the disaster of Zhao Gao, are not punished by Zhili, cover up the brightness of the court, and engage in private affairs. The party of the tree. But your Majesty did not realize that, he granted the thatch in vain, founded the country and inherited the family, and the villain was used for it. He also merged with the family, paid a lot of money and purple, and served as Tibetan assistants one after another. He received the great favor of the country, did not remember his ancestors, and wrote about Xiu Jue If you are virtuous, you associate with evil parties and compare yourself to others. Your Majesty or his trivial talents are particularly favored. Also, if you are obedient and superior, talented people will not be promoted. If you are a vegetarian and you are lucky, you will be promoted. The yin and yang are obedient, and the crops are wild and wild. It is not good for people to use it, and it is useless. I sincerely know that Feng's affairs have been done, but there is nothing wrong with what he said, so I risk my life to offend Chen Yuzhong. I really hope that your majesty will correct the fallacy and stop it from now on..."

　　

　

(End of this chapter)