Chapter 8 Promotion and Wealth

After the female official who read the imperial edict left, Cao Cao went to the palace.

The emperor's imperial edict, delivered to the home, was a form of compassion.

Cao Cao needed to go to the palace to express his gratitude.

But he did not see the emperor when he entered the palace.

The attendant said that Emperor Liu Bian was frightened, took a decoction and just went to bed.

When leaving the palace, Cao Cao could still see some servants and palace maids with panic-stricken expressions on their faces.

Some buildings even had blood stains that had not been wiped off.

"Sir, we just received news that the incident last night had not stopped until dawn. In the end, it was Grand Tutor Yuan who came out in person and brought the imperial guards led by Si Li to quell the incident."

Xiao Xiang followed beside him, saying as he walked:

"Last night, more than 2,000 eunuchs were hacked to death in the palace. Even the Queen Mother's bedroom was attacked. It almost became a mutiny."

Cao Cao waved his hand slightly: "Let's talk about it when we get back."

At this time, he was walking to the palace gate when he suddenly heard a voice: "Cao Dianjun!"

It was a palace maid, wearing the inner court robes, who came to Cao Cao with a somewhat nervous look, took out a brocade box and handed it to him:
"Please keep it, General. Concubine Yu said she saved me, so I should have come to thank her. But it is inconvenient to enter the palace right now, so I am giving you this as a small token of my gratitude. I will thank you again when I have time some other day."

Concubine Yu... Cao Cao's mind flashed through the image of the woman who was imprisoned in Zhang Rang's carriage last night, her watery peach blossom eyes filled with fear.

Xiao Xiang beside him took the brocade box.

The maid bowed and left.

Continuing to walk outside, he met Yuan Shao who was entering the palace.

He didn't care much about the removal of Xiyuan Army's military power.

The main reason was that Dong Zhuo was about to arrive, and the Yuan family had further plans and did not care about the minor military power of Xiyuan.

The two exchanged a brief exchange and then went their separate ways.

When Cao Cao left the palace again, he was wearing armor, surrounded by his personal guards, and riding a horse quickly.

In history, Dong Zhuo met the emperor and Chenliu King Liu Xie who were held hostage by Zhang Rang on his way to Luoyang. He rescued the two and returned together and entered Luoyang.

The process of Zhang Rang's escape from Luoyang has been changed. Where is Dong Zhuo now?
Cao Cao was thinking about something. After he left the palace, Xiao Xiang approached him from the side and whispered:
"The team that searched the mansions of the Ten Eunuchs has returned. The Ten Eunuchs have been exploiting their families for many years, and their wealth is shocking. Our people only took the important things from the confiscated items, and there are still sixteen large carts."

"Some of the things were transported directly outside the city as instructed by the young master, and are on their way back to my hometown in Qiao County."

This can be considered as getting promoted and making money... Cao Cao thought to himself in a self-deprecating manner and lightly squeezed the horse's belly.

The warhorse neighed softly and its speed increased dramatically.

Yongle Palace in the afternoon.

Empress Dowager He's real name was He Lingsi. She was tall and had outstanding looks. That's why she was favored by Emperor Lingdi Liu Hong during his lifetime as a palace maid and became the queen and empress dowager.

She was jealous and vicious by nature, and most of the concubines in the harem were afraid of her like a tiger.

Because of her jealousy, she once poisoned other concubines of Liu Hong, which made the emperor furious.

It was Zhang Rang and other eunuchs who risked their lives to plead for her, which finally calmed Liu Hong's anger.

Therefore, He Lingsi has always had a close relationship with eunuchs such as Zhang Rang.

Her brother He Jin repeatedly advised her to get rid of the eunuchs, but she declined.

She also married her own sister He to Zhang Rang's adopted son Zhang Feng.

Empress Dowager He was also an eyewitness to last night's shocking incident.

Zhang Rang, contrary to his usual behavior, led people into Yongle Palace and not only took Emperor Liu Bian and Prince of Chenliu Liu Xie hostage, but also took her hostage.

Fortunately, Shangshu Lu Zhi was still in the Zhengdian Hall of Nangong late at night.

Zhang Rang held the empress dowager hostage, and the emperor walked out. Lu Zhi heard the noise, and rushed out from under the window of the attic with a spear in hand, and stopped Duan Gui who was responsible for holding the empress dowager hostage.

At that time, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui were anxious to get away and did not get entangled.

Empress Dowager He jumped down from the gallery in a hurry and sprained her ankle before she managed to escape and reunite with Lu Zhi.

When Lu Zhi learned that the emperor had also been held hostage, he was shocked and led people to chase after him.

Zhang Rang had disappeared into the secret passage without a trace.

At midnight, Empress Dowager He was relieved to learn that her son Liu Bian had been rescued by Cao Cao.

At this time, Lu Zhi and Grand Tutor Yuan Wei were both in Yongle Palace.

Empress Dowager He was wearing her royal robe and sitting at the most senior seat in the hall. Her usually pretty face now looked somewhat pale and miserable.

There was a woman sitting next to her, crying softly. She was Empress Dowager He's sister, He, and Zhang Rang's daughter-in-law.

"Sister, Zhang Rang made a mistake, and I had no idea about it. Now that he's dead, he has nothing to do with me anymore. Last night, a group of soldiers broke into my house. They didn't tell me where they came from, and took advantage of the chaos to loot all the valuables and utensils, leaving nothing behind."

"Those soldiers were very fierce. If anyone in the family showed any resistance, they would be arrested. Some were even beaten to death."

"Fortunately, I was not at home at the time, otherwise I would never see my sister again."

He cried bitterly: "The Queen Mother must make the decision for me."

Empress Dowager He remained silent. Last night's shocking events made her feel powerless.

The eunuch she had always relied on held her and the emperor hostage.

Her brother He Jin also died. Some things that she thought she had firmly grasped in the past were shattered to their original state overnight.

Now the only ones he can rely on are a few ministers who are still loyal to the Han Dynasty.

Empress Dowager He glanced at Lu Zhi and Yuan Wei, and said in a sad voice: "We were in danger yesterday. Fortunately, Minister Lu was in the palace. When things settle down, I will give him a reward to express my gratitude for saving us."

"Now my brother and all his clansmen have died. If the late emperor were still alive, I wonder how sad he would be when he saw the miserable state of me and his son."

Lu Zhi was a famous tall man in history. He had a sturdy build, a square face, a long beard with three sideburns, and was handsome and calm.

This person is a man of both civil and military talents, famous in his time, and a fair and impartial person.

"Don't worry, Queen Mother. We will do our best to assist Your Majesty and revitalize the government," said Lu Zhi.

Yuan Wei, who was standing on the side, was tall and thin, with half his hair and beard white, but he looked energetic and also bowed.

He entered the palace ostensibly to ask for forgiveness.

After all, the palace coup last night was closely related to him, the Yuan family.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were the initiators and leaders of the attack on the palace.

In contrast, Cao Cao withdrew after saving the emperor and did not openly participate in subsequent actions, thus avoiding many problems.

Looks like a loyal minister.

The fault cannot be blamed on Cao Cao.

Afterwards, Empress Dowager He was the first to reward Cao Cao, encouraging him to be loyal and brave and to rescue the emperor, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

Empress Dowager He asked: "Do you two have a good plan to solve the current political situation? What should we do next?"

Lu Zhi glanced at Yuan Wei.

He Jin and the Ten Eunuchs fought for power, and both sides died.

However, He Jin was close to Yuan Shao during his lifetime and recruited generals from all directions to Luoyang. On the surface, it was a joint decision between Yuan Shao and He Jin, but behind the scenes it was the calculation of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei.

The current political decline is not something that happened overnight.

Lu Zhi then offered some advice to the empress dowager, all of which were good suggestions.

However, it is extremely difficult to implement it step by step in the court and rectify bad policies.

After Yuan Wei apologized, he asked Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who had just entered the palace, to apologize to the Queen Mother in person.

The uncle and nephew then withdrew from the Empress Dowager's Yongle Palace.

Yuan Wei's face was gloomy. "You were too hasty about what happened last night. After entering the palace, you should have immediately restrained the soldiers and first protected Your Majesty and the Queen Mother, and then surrounded the palace gate instead of entering the palace to capture and kill the eunuchs.

He even allowed the soldiers to confiscate the property of the Ten Eunuchs, further expanding the chaos and causing so many casualties."

Yuan Shao said calmly: "The soldiers are carrying out massacres, but we did not condone it.

It is because the corrupt officials are unpopular, and many things were done by the soldiers on their own, without our instructions."

After a pause, he said, "Meng De saw it most clearly. After rescuing His Majesty, he withdrew his troops, returned home, and stayed indoors."

Yuan Wei didn't know the details of what happened last night. After listening to Yuan Shao's explanation, he narrowed his eyes slightly:

"Almost all the participants in last night's incident are to blame, except for the Cao family who got such a huge benefit.

He saw things clearly and reacted so quickly... According to what you said, Cao Cao rescued His Majesty and avoided the subsequent chaos. No one can find fault with him."

Yuan Shao smiled and said, "Meng De and I have known each other since we were young. If he takes over the Xiyuan Army, the Xiyuan Army will still be in my Yuan family's hands."

Yuan Kui looked at Yuan Shao with the look of a person who was sold out but still helped others count their money: "The Queen Mother did not see the situation clearly. She wanted to win over Cao Cao and was eager to control a force in her hands, so she promoted him to the rank of lieutenant of the Central Army."

"Let's go, we'll take care of other things later."

----

Cao Cao rode his horse quickly.

There were few people and cars on the street, and occasionally one could see troops passing by.

There are quite a few people implicated by the Ten Eunuchs, and the aftermath is still continuing.

After last night's changes, the authority of the emperor and the empress dowager will fall to the bottom.

At the end of the dynasty, the entire country's system was like a leaky house. In one disaster after another, its bricks and tiles were constantly being removed until it collapsed completely.

Cao Cao soon arrived at Cihuifang, one of the more than 100 markets in Luoyang, south of the imperial palace, and stopped in front of a house.

"Sir, the person you asked us to investigate earlier is right here." said Xiao Xiang who was accompanying us.

Cao Cao got off the car and walked towards the gate of the house.

----

The sun is setting.

A hundred miles away from Luoyang, an army of 3,000 men, wearing armor and holding sharp weapons, appeared on a hill.

The commander of this army was a fat, tall figure.

He held the handle of the sword at his waist with one hand, stood on a low hill and looked towards Luoyang. A smile slowly rose on the corner of his mouth, and he waved behind him and said, "Let's go. We must reach Luoyang before tomorrow morning."

All the soldiers agreed in unison.

The entire team rushed towards Luoyang like sharp arrows, with an overwhelming momentum.

(End of this chapter)