Story of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 2
Story of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 2
Zhang Fei Angered to Whip The Post Officer
He Jin Conspired to Kill the Eunuches
Dong Zhuo was from Lingzhao, Shaanxi. He was the Governor of River East
at the time. He was an arrogant man. This time he offended Liu Bei and
that really pissed Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei was threatening to kill him.
Liu Bei and Guan Yu stopped him. They said, "He is an official. You
can't kill him." Zhang Fei replied, "If I don't kill him, I cannot bear
having to follow his orders. If you two want to stay here, I'll go
elsewhere." Liu Bei said, "Then we'll all go together." Zhang Fei
replied, "Now that's better."
They took their men to join the army of Zhu Jun. Zhu treated them
well, and they went along with Zhu to suppress Zhang Bao. By now Cao
Cao had joined Huangfu Song battling Zhang Liang, and here Zhu Jun was
attacking Zhang Bao. Zhang Bao's ninety thousand men were camped behind
the mountain. Zhu ordered Liu Bei's men to spearhead the attack. Zhang
Bao send out his captain Gao Sheng to challenge Liu Bei. Liu Bei ordered
Zhang Fei to match him. Zhang Fei charged forward on the horse with his
spear in the hand. He killed Gao Sheng in just a few rounds. Liu
Bei ordered his men charge. At that moment, Zhang Bao loosened his hair,
pulled out his sword, and on the horse he started his voodoo. Suddenly
a storm started, and a thick black cloud descended from the sky.
There seemed an infinite army coming down with the cloud. Liu Bei
hurriedly ordered retreat. His men were disorganized, and returned in
defeat. Zhu Jun said, "We need to do something to stop his voodoo.
Tomorrow we can use the blood of pigs, sheep and dogs. Let soldiers
hold the blood and feces, and hide on the top of the hill. When the
rebels come, we pour the dirty stuff from the top of the hill. This
can break the voodoo." Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei and Guan Yu to prepare
as said. Next day, Zhang Bao' army and Liu Bei's met again. Zhang Bao
again started voodoo in the middle of the battle. Suddenly wind,
thunder, sands and stones, and a huge army came down from the sky in a
black cloud. Liu Bei ordered to retreat, and Zhang Bao pursued. Just as
they turned over the hill, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei gave the signal, and all
the dirty stuff poured down from the top of the hill. Many paper men
and straw horses fell to the ground. The wind and the thunder suddenly
stopped. Zhang Bao hurried the troops back. Zhang Fei, Guan Yu attacked
from both sides, and Liu Bei, Zhu Jun turned around and attacked from
the front. The rebels were totally defeated. Liu Bei saw the flag of
Zhang Bao and chased it. As he got close he shot an arrow at Zhang
Bao. It injured Zhang Bao's arm. Zhang Bao retreated into the city of
Yang. Zhu Jun's army surrounded the city. He now received news that
Huangfu Song had won a few battles, and because Dong Zhuo kept losing,
the Emperor replaced him with Huangfu Song. Now Zhang Jiao had died of
disease. Huangfu Song won seven consecutive battles, killing Zhang
Liang at Quyang. They dug out the body of Zhang Jiao and chopped off
his head. The rest of the rebels all surrendered. Huangfu Song was
promoted. Huangfu Song also urged the Emperor to return Lu Zhi back to
his old post. Cao Cao was also promoted. After Zhu Jun heard this news,
he asked his troops to increase the pressure on the city of Yang. The
rebel finally crumbled. A rebel general Yan Zhang killed Zhang Bao,
and surrendered with Zhang Bao's head.
There were three Yellow Turbans, Zhao Hong, Han Zhong, and Sun Zhong.
they gathered tens of thousands of rebels, ravaged through the country,
and declared revenge for Zhang Jiao. Zhu Jun took the order from the
Emperor and went to the Wan City to put down the rebels. Zhao Hong sent
Han Zhong out for the battle. Zhu Jun ordered Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang
Fei attack the southwest corner of the city. Han Zhong came to defend
the southwest corner. Zhu Jun then led two thousand cavaliers to the
northeast. Han Zhong worried about the defense in the city, so he
hurried back to the city. Liu Bei attacked the retreating rebel and
scored a big victory. The enemy finally retreated into the city, and
Zhu Jun had it completely surrounded. When the city was out of food,
Han Zhong asked to surrounder. Zhu Jun refused. Liu Bei asked, "The
Gaozu (high ancestor) Emperor won China because he welcomed people who
turned to him. Why are you doing the opposite?" Zhu Jun answered, "The
time is different. Then at the end of Qin dynasty, people had no leader,
Gaozu did what he did to convince people to follow him. Now China is
ruled by one Emperor, and only rebellion is the Yellow Turban. If we
allow them to surrounder when they lose, and they rebel again when we
leave, it sets a bad example to the country." Liu Bei said, "I Agree.
But now we have them completely surrounded, and refused them to
surrounder. They will fight to death now. It will be hard to overcome
tens of thousands of men who will fight to the end. We can remove the
troops from the southeast corner, and attack from northwest. The rebels
will abandon the city and flee. And they will not have the will to
fight. Then we will be able to defeat them." Zhu Jun agreed. They
removed the troops from the southeast and stepped up the offense from
the northwest. Just as they expected, Han Zhong abandoned the city and
ran. Zhu Jun's army followed. They shot Han Zhong, and the rest of the
rebels scattered and fled.
Just as Zhu Jun is mopping up the battlefield, Zhao Hong and Sun Zhong
arrived. Zhu Jun immediately pulled back to avoid the strong rebel
army. Zhao Hong retook the Wan City. Zhu Jun camped ten miles outside
the city and was preparing for battle. A reinforcement arrived from
east. The general leading the army was Sun Jian. He had a large forehead
and a wide face, and a very strong and big body. He was from the
country of Wu (southern China). His ancestor was the famous Sun Tsu
(who wrote "The Art of War"). When he was seventeen, he and his father
were going through Qiantang River, when they saw pirates robbing some
merchants and dividing the goods on the bank. Sun Jian told his father,
"I can get them." He took a knife and went ashore, and yelled orders as
if commanding an army. The pirates fled. Sun Jian caught a pirate and
killed him. He was named by the mayor as the captain. Later there was
a rebellion by Xu Chang, who called himself "Yang Ming Emperor," and
gathered tens of thousands of men. Sun Jian and the county marshal
led a thousand volunteers and defeated the rebels. They beheaded
Xu Chang and his son. The Emperor therefore named him a governor.
Now he led the army of Huai-Si to join the battle against the Yellow
Turbans. Zhu Jun let Sun Jian to attack the south gate, Liu Bei the
north gate, himself the west gate, and left the east gate open.
Sun Jian climbed up the wall first. He killed twenty rebels, and
the rest ran away. Zhao Hong took a spear and jumped on a horse, and
charged Sun Jian. Sun Jian grabbed the spear and stabbed Zhao Hong
with it. Zhao Hong fell off the horse. Sun Jian mounted the horse and
rode back and forth among the rebels, killing many. Sun Zhong led
the rebels charge out the north gate, Liu Bei shot him with an arrow.
Zhu Jun's army killed tens of thousands of rebels, and the rest all
surrendered. Zhu Jun returned to the Capital, and was promoted to
be Cheqi General, and the Governor of Henan. Zhu Jun also praised
Sun Jian and Liu Bei. Sun Jian had connections and was promoted.
Liu Bei waited for many days and was not offered any position.
The three brothers were bored in the Capital. One day when they
were wondering on the street, they met Minister Zhang Jun. Liu Bei
told him of his achievements. Zhang Jun was surprised. He immediately
went to see the Emperor. He said, "The Yellow Turban rebellion was
caused by the Ten Eunuches, who used only their relatives in the
government. Now we should behead the Ten Eunuches, hang their heads,
and announce to the world that we will reward merits. Only this way
we can have true peace." The Ten Eunuches countered, "Zhang Jun is
lying to the Emperor." The Emperor ordered Zhang Jun to get out.
The Ten Eunuches discussed, "This must be someone who had helped
put down the Yellow Turbans who complained. We can just give them some
small position and we'll deal with them slowly." Therefore Liu Bei
got to be the mayor of Ding Province Zhongshan region County of Anxi.
He sent the soldiers back to home, and just kept a dozen or so
people with him. During the whole time he was in Anxi, Guan Yu and
Zhang Fei were with him all the time. They ate on the same table,
slept on the same bed. When Liu Bei sat somewhere, Guan Yu and Zhang
Fei stood beside him.
Less than four months later, the Emperor sent an order that all who
got their positions because of their military merits should be
screened, and those who did not fit should be removed. Liu Bei was
among them. The Minister of the Post came by the county. Liu Bei
went out the town to greet him. The Minister did not even dismount
the horse, and just acknowledged him with the point of the whip.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both angry. When they arrived at the guest
house, the Minister sat down and Liu Bei stood below. After a long
time, the Minister asked, "What is the family background of the mayor?"
Liu Bei answered, "I am the descendent of the King of Zhongshan. I
made to this post through thirty odd battles against the Yellow
Turbans." The Minister said, "You pretend to be the relative of the
Emperor, and fake your military records. We are screening out the kind
of officers like you!" Liu Bei did not dare to argue and returned to
his office. Others suggested to him, "The Minister is obviously asking
for bribes." Liu Bei said, "I never made any money from my post, how
can I bribe him?" Next day the Minister arrested the deputy and ordered
him to accuse the mayor of abusing his post.
Zhang Fei had a little too much to drink, and was passing by the
guest house. He saw a few dozen old men crying in front of the house.
He asked why they were crying. The men said, "The Post Minister is
forcing the deputy to harm the mayor. We are here to beg him, and we
were beaten by the guards." Zhang Fei was enraged. He jumped off the
horse, walked straight into the guest house. The guards tried to stop
him, he just brushed them aside. The Minister was sitting, and the
deputy was tied up on the floor. Before the Minister was able to say
anything, Zhang Fei grabbed his hair and pulled him out of the house.
He tied him on the wooden post, took a willow branch and started lashing
at the Minister. He broke a willow branch and took another, then another.
After he broke a dozen or so branches, Liu Bei arrived. The Minister
begged Liu Bei to save his life. Liu Bei stopped Zhang Fei. Guan Yu
cam out from behind Liu Bei and said, "Brother, you only got this small
post for all of your military accomplishments. Today you are further
humiliated by this Minister. I don't think this is the place for us.
Why don't we kill him and go away. We can pursue a different future."
Liu Bei took his official seal, hung it on the neck of the Minister,
and said, "You deserve to die. But I'll let you live this time." And
they left. The Minister asked the Governor of Ding Province to arrest
the three brothers. Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fled to Dai Province
where Liu Hui was Governor. Liu Hui hid them at his home.
The Ten Eunuches since had the power, they killed anyone who disagreed
with them. Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang asked for bribes from the generals
and the soldiers, and whoever refused would lose their positions.
Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun both did not give bribes and both were removed
from their posts. Things got worse. There were bands of rebels
everywhere in the country. Urgent reports went to the Capital, and
the Ten Eunuches hid them from the Emperor.
One day, The Emperor dined with the Ten Eunuches in the imperial garden.
Minister of Criticism Liu Tao walked to the Emperor and cried loud. The
Emperor asked the reason. Liu Tao said, "The Heaven is about to fall,
and the Emperor is still dining with the Ten Eunuches. There are
rebellions throughout the country, and all the good men have left the
government. Disaster is in front of your eyes." The Ten Eunuches all
knelt down and removed their hats, and said, "We cannot live anymore if
the Ministers don't let us. Please save our lives and let us return
home. We'll donate all our properties to the government." The Emperor
was angry, and said to Liu Tao, "You have your own servant, why don't
you let me?" and ordered him beheaded. Liu Tao yelled, "I'm not afraid
of death. I just regret the four hundred years of Han Dynasty will end
in your hands." The guards pushed him out. As they were ready to
execute him, a man yelled, "Stop! Let me talk to the Emperor." It was
Minister Chen Dan. He went in and asked the Emperor why Liu Tao was to
be executed. The Emperor said, "He slandered my servants and offended
me." Chen Dan said, "Everyone wants to eat the Ten Eunuches alive. They
have no contribution to the country, yet you revere them as your own
parents, and make them run the country. The country is collapsing.
Eunuch Feng Xu was a Yellow Turban. Others are bad also." The Emperor
said, "The matter is not clear regarding Feng Xu. Aren't there a few
loyal men among the Ten Eunuches?" Chen Dan Knocked his head on the
steps, trying to convince the Emperor. The Emperor was angered, and
ordered him be put in jail along with Liu Tao. The Ten Eunuches murdered
them during the night. They then faked an Emperor's order to Sun Jian
asking him to lead an army to put down the rebellion by Ou Xing.
Withing fifty days Sun Jian put down the rebellion and he was named the
Duke of Wucheng. They then named Liu Yu as the Governor of You Province
and asked him to put down the rebellion of Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun in
Yuyang. Liu Hui of Dai Province sent a letter to Liu Yu and recommended
Liu Bei. Liu Yu used Liu Bei as his forward. Liu Bei arrived in Yuyang
and fought a battle with the rebels for several days. Zhang Chun's
soldiers killed him and surrendered. Zhang Ju saw that it was over, and
hung himself. Liu Yu wrote to the Emperor stating the merits of Liu Bei,
and the Emperor pardoned Liu Bei's past offense of beating the official.
Gongsun Zan also wrote to the Emperor stating Liu Bei's contribution in
putting down the Yellow Turbans. Liu Bei was thus named the mayor of the
town of Pingyuan. Pingyuan is a rich town, and Liu Bei was able to set
up a rather good army there.
In the summer, the Fourth Month of the Sixth Year of Zhongping, the Ling
Emperor was ill. The Emperor asked General He Jin into the Palace to
discuss the heir of the thrown. General He Jin started out as a butcher.
He had a sister who was a concubine. After she had a son, named Bian,
for the Emperor, she became the Empress. He Jin became a General because
of his sister. Another concubine, Wang, also gave birth to a son, named
Xie. Empress He poisoned Wang. The son Xie was raised by the grandmother,
Empress Dong, who was the mother of the Ling Emperor.
Empress Dong asked the Emperor to set up Xie as the heir. The Emperor
liked him too. When he was ill, eunuch Qian Shuo said, "To set up Xie,
you must first kill He Jin." The Emperor agreed, and ordered He Jin to
come to the Palace. As He Jin went to the gate, Minister Pan Yin told
him, "Don't go in. Qian Shuo wants to kill you." He Jin turned back and
went home. He gathered all the ministers and planned to kill all the
eunuches. An officer rose from his seat and said, "The problem with the
eunuches has been a long time, and they are many. How can we kill all of
them? If we are not careful we will all be killed." It was Cao Cao. He
Jin yelled at him, "You are too young to understand these affairs."
Just as they couldn't decide what to do, Pan Yin arrived and told them
the Emperor had died. Cao Cao said, "We should first set up the right
man as the emperor, then we can deal with the eunuches." He Jin asked,
"Who will do this for me?" A man said, "I will. Please give me five
thousand men and I'll do it." This man is Yuan Shao. He Jin gave him
five thousand imperial guards. They went into the Palace, directly to
the coffin of the Emperor, and held the ceremony for the son Bian
that crowned him as the new Emperor.
After the ceremony, Yuan Shao led the men to arrest eunuch Qian Shuo.
Qian Shuo escaped to the imperial garden, was killed by eunuch Guo
Sheng. All the guards surrendered. Yuan Shao said to He Jin, "The
eunuches are all part of the rebellion. Now it's time to kill them
all." Eunuches Zhang Rang and others hurried to the Empress He and
begged, "It was eunuch Qian Shuo who wanted to kill the General. We
were not involved. Please save our lives." Empress said, "Don't worry.
I'll save you." She ordered He Jin to come, and told him, "We are
from a poor family. If not for eunuch Zhang Ran, how could we get
to this position? You have killed eunuch Qian Shuo. Why don't you
spare the others?" He Jin went back and told the ministers, "We don't
want to kill too many people." Yuan Shao said, "If you leave them they
will come back and get you." He Jin said, "I have decided."
Next day, Empress He ordered promotions for everyone who contributed.
Empress Dong met eunuch Zhang Rang and said, "He Jin's family now has
all the power. I'm worried. What can I do?" Zhang Rang said, "Empress
can listen and direct in the cabinet meeting from behind the screen.
You can name Xie as a King, give the military power to your brother,
and rely on us." Empress Dong therefore named Xie as the King of Chenliu,
her brother Dong Zhong as General to lead the military, and ordered
the eunuch Zhang Rang to participate in the state affairs. Empress He
did not like this, so she invited Empress Dong to a dinner. Halfway
through the dinner, Empress He said, "We are women, and we are not
supposed to interfere with the Emperor in running the country. When
Empress Luu interfered, she and her family and all of her relatives
ended up executed. We would better stay inside the Palace and let the
ministers run the country. What do you think?" Empress Dong replied,
"You have no place to say this. You poisoned Wang. And now you think
you can rely on your son and your brother. I can easily chop off your
brother's head." Empress He said, "I'm speaking nicely, why are you mean?"
Empress Dong said, "You butchers, what do you know about running a
country?" The eunuches separated them and each returned to their room.
Empress He immediately asked to see He Jin, and told him about this
meeting. He Jin planned with the ministers. Next morning, the ministers
stated that Empress Dong was originally a concubine. It was not
appropriate for her to stay in the Palace anymore. They sent soldiers
to move her out of the Palace. They also sent soldiers to get the
military seal back from Dong Zhong. Dong Zhong hung himself. The
eunuches saw that Empress Dong lost, they approached the brother of
Empress He, He Miao, and her mother, and eventually managed to win
favor from the Empress He and regained their power.
Sixth Month of the year, He Jin poisoned Empress Dong, and buried
her at the Tomb of Wen Emperor. Yuan Shao went to see He Jin, and said,
"Eunuches Zhang Rang and Duan Gui are spreading the rumor that you
poisoned Empress Dong. This is a good excuse to kill them. We must do
it soon, or they'll get us." He Jin said, "Let's discuss it." He Jin's
men secretly told Zhang Rang. Zhang Rang bribed He Miao and had him
go to Empress He. He Miao said, "General He is in charge of assisting
the new Emperor. But he always wants to kill someone. This is not the
way to run a country." After awhile, He Jin came in, and asked Empress
He about killing the eunuches. Empress said, "These are people who
served the old Emperor. Why do you want to kill them? This is not showing
respect to the old Emperor." He Jin returned from the Palace, Yuan
Shao asked, "What happened?" He Jin said, "The Empress would not allow
it." Yuan Shao said, "We can order the armies from the provinces to come
and do it. This is too important to get a permission from the Empress."
He Jin sent for the armies. Minister Chen Lin said, "Please don't do
this. It is too dangerous to have all the armies and generals to come
to the Capital. Who knows what they have in mind? All you have to do
is to make up your mind and do it. You don't need all those armies.
If they come it will be chaos." He Jin laughed at him, "That's a coward's
opinion." Another man also laughed, "This thing is easy. We don't need
to discuss it this much." Who is this guy? It is Cao Cao. If you want
to know what Cao Cao had to say about this, please wait for the
next chapter.