Story of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 4
Story of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 4
Changing the Emperor, Chenliu King Got the Crown
Attempting at Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao Lost the Knife
That day on the banquet Dong Zhuo wanted to kill Yuan Shao. Li Ru
said, "Please don't." Yuan Shao walked out with the sword in his
hand. He left his seal at the gate, and left for Ji Province.
Dong Zhuo said to Yuan Shao's uncle, Yuan Kui, "I'll forgive Your
nephew this time for your face. What's your opinion on changing the
Emperor?" Yuan Kui said, "Your idea is great." Dong Zhuo said,
"Anyone who is against it will be court marshalled." Others said,
"We all agree with you." After the dinner, Dong Zhuo asked Generals
Zhou Bi and Wu Qiong, "What do we do about Yuan Shao?" Zhou Bi said,
"If we push him too hard, he might rebel. The Yuan family has many
friends and students around the country. If he rebels, we may lose
control of the whole China. It's better that we forgive him and
give him a province. He'll be glad that he didn't get into trouble,
and won't cause us any more problem." Wu Qiong said, "Yuan Shao's
character is indecisive. He won't be a big threat. It's a good idea
to give him a province." Dong Zhuo then named Yuan Shao Governor of
Bohai.
In the Ninth month of the year, Dong Zhuo asked for a meeting of
the Emperor and all the ministers and the generals. Dong Zhuo held
his sword, and said, "The Emperor is weak. He is unable to rule the
country. I have an announcement here." He asked Li Ru to read it:
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After the Xiaoling Emperor left his country and his people,
people had high expectations of the heir of the throne.
But the new Emperor has no character nor the ability as a
ruler, and he was disrespectful during the mourning period.
The Empress did not teach him well, and set an bad example
for the country. The sudden death of the Yongle Empress was
under suspicious circumstance. It's time now to correct these
wrongs. Xie, the son of the late Emperor, the King of Chenliu,
have done many good deeds. He was respectful and quiet, and
have had a good reputation among the people. Per this
announcement the current Emperor is demoted as the King of
Xuannong, and the Empress is ordered to relinquish all of her
power. We sincerely ask the King of Chenliu to be the Emperor,
and to save us and the country.
After Li Ru finished, Dong Zhuo ordered the guards to escort the
Emperor out of the Palace. They removed the belt and the Seal from the
Emperor, and forced him to kneel down to wait for orders. Then the
order was also given to the Empress. The Emperor and the Empress both
cried, and the ministers all felt sad. Minister Ding Guan, yelled,
"Dong Zhuo, how dare you rebel against the Emperor! I'll bath you in
my own blood." He waved the ivory board in his hand, and aimed it at
Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo ordered the guards tie him up and they executed
him immediately. Ding Guan was not quieted until his death.
Dong Zhuo asked the King of Chenliu into the Hall. The ministers
congratulated him. Dong Zhuo ordered to move the Empress and the King
of Xuannong and his wife Tang to the Hall of Yongan, and to lock the
gate, and no one to be allowed into the Hall. The Emperor only had the
throne from the Fourth Month to the Ninth Month. The King of Chenliu
now became the new Emperor, named Xian Emperor. He was nine years old
at the time. Dong Zhuo was appointed Prime Minister. He had all the
privilege. He did not need to ask for permission to see the Emperor,
he did not have to kneel in front of the Emperor, and he could bring
his sword when seeing the Emperor. Li Ru advised him to use famous
scholars to gain popularity. He especially recommended Cai Ye. Dong
Zhuo ordered Cai Ye to come to the Capital. Cai Ye refused. Dong
Zhuo sent a message saying, "If you don't come, I'll kill your whole
family." Cai Ye reluctantly came. Dong Zhuo was glad, and he promoted
Cai Ye's rank three times in a month.
The Emperor and his mother Empress He and his wife Tang were forced to
live in the Hall of Yongan. As days went by, they had less and less
food and clothings. The Emperor wept every day. One day he saw a pair
of swallows flying in the courtyard, and wrote a poem,
-
Grass is like smoke that freezes,
Swallows fly in a pair freely.
River Luo flows in its deep blue,
People on the banks are moved.
Far away I can see the roofs,
of the Palace that I am so used to.
I wait for a hero,
To relieve my anger and sorrow.
Dong Zhuo had people spying on them. That day they obtained this poem,
and showed it to Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo said, "Writing a poem in resentment
is a good reason for death." He ordered Li Ru to bring ten guards to
kill the Emperor. The Emperor, his wife and Empress He were all on the
second floor. The maid reported that Li Ru came. They were all scared.
Li Ru came in and gave a cup of poison wine to the Emperor. The Emperor
asked, "What is the occasion for the wine?" Li Ru said, "It spring and
the Prime Minister gave the wine as a good will." The Empress said, "In
that case, You can drink it first." Li Ru ordered the guards to put
forward a dagger and a rope. He said, "You can take these two as
substitutes." Tang said, "I'd like to drink the wine for my husband.
Please spare him." Li Ru said, "Who do you think you are? How can you
substitute for a King?" The three of them knew it was the end. They
hugged each other, and cried. Empress He cursed He Jin, blamed him for
the decision to bring Dong Zhuo into the Capital. Li Ru said, "The Prime
Minister is waiting for me. Don't waste my time. Are you waiting for
someone to rescue you?" Empress said to him, "You help Dong Zhuo in his
evil deeds. You kill us now, one day you will get your due." Li Ru
dragged her and threw her down the building. The guards forced poison
wine down the Emperor's throat, and then they strangled his wife. The
bodies were buried outside the city. Since then Dong Zhuo went into the
Palace every night and raped the concubines and maids, and slept on the
Emperor's bed. Once he led the army out to the city of Yang. It was the
Second Month of the year, and there was a market meeting in the town.
Dong Zhuo ordered the soldiers surround the town. They killed all the
men, and captured all the women and the goods. They hung a thousand heads
on their carriages and returned to the Capital, announcing that they had
just won a battle over the rebels. They burnt the heads outside the city,
and divided women and the goods among the soldiers.
A captain named Wu Fu was very angry at this. He hid a dagger inside
his clothes and looked for a chance to kill Dong Zhuo. One day he
met Dong Zhuo, he took out the dagger and tried to stab Dong Zhuo. Dong
Zhuo was very strong. His two hands held Wu Fu's hand. As they were
struggling, Luu Bu came and dragged Wu Fu to the ground. Dong Zhuo
ordered him sliced. Wu Fu did not stop shouting until his death. Since
then Dong Zhuo always carried fully armed guards with him.
General Yuan Shao was now in Bohai. He sent a secret letter to
Minister Wang Yun. The Letter said,
-
Dong Zhuo betrayed the Emperor and betrayed the country. You
are seeing this and not doing anything about it. How can you
call yourself a loyal minister of the Emperor? I have prepared
an army here to clear the house for the Emperor, but there have
not been any opportunities. If you plan to do something, my
army will be ready.
Wang Yun received the letter, thought about it for a long time. He
could not find a plan. One day, he was chatting with a few ministers
at the office, he said, "Today is my birthday. I'd like to invite all
of you to my place for supper." That evening the ministers all came
to his place. After the dinner, Wang Yun suddenly cried. Others asked
why he was crying. Wang Yun said, "Today is not really my birthday. I
wanted to talk to you about something. Birthday was only an excuse to
avoid Dong Zhuo's suspicion. The Han Dynasty lasted till today, but
now it will end in the hands of Dong Zhuo. That's why I'm crying." The
rest all cried with him. One man bursted into laughter, "Dear ministers,
you can all cry to sunrise, then cry to sunset, do you think you will
cry Dong Zhuo to death?" Wang Yun looked at him, it was Cao Cao. Wang
Yun said, "Why? You don't want to serve the country? What's so funny?"
Cao Cao said, "I'm just laughing that you can't think of a way to kill
Dong Zhuo. Although I'm not smart, I'll kill him and hang his head at
the gate of the Capital." Wang Yun stood up and asked, "What plan do
you have?" Cao Cao said, "I have been very obedient to Dong Zhuo. Now
I have gained his trust, so I can get close to him. I'd like to borrow
the antique knife from you and use it to kill Dong Zhuo." Wang Yun
poured some wine into Cao Cao's glass, and said, "If you can do it,
the country will be saved." He took the knife and gave it to Cao Cao.
Next day, Cao Cao brought the knife with him as he went to the Palace
of Dong Zhuo. He asked the guards, "Where is the Prime Minister?" The
guards said in the bedroom. Cao Cao went into the bedroom. Dong Zhuo
was sitting on the bed, and Luu Bu stood beside him. Dong Zhuo said,
"You are late." Cao Cao said, "The horse is getting old." Dong Zhuo
said, "I've just got some very good horses from Xiliang. Luu Bu, why
don't you go choose one for Cao Cao." Luu Bu took the order and went
out. Cao Cao thought, "This is my chance." But he was afraid that Dong
Zhuo was very strong, and couldn't bring himself to pull the knife.
Dong Zhuo was fat and he couldn't sit for long. So he laid down and
turned inward. Cao Cao immediately pulled out the knife. Dong Zhuo
saw it through the bronze mirror, and turned and said, "Cao Cao, what
are you doing?" Luu Bu was already outside with the horse. Cao Cao
was startled and knelt down, said, "I have an antique knife. I would
like to give it to you as a gift." Dong Zhuo asked Luu Bu to take the
knife and put it away. They went outside the room. Cao Cao mounted the
horse and thanked Dong Zhuo. He left the Palace and headed directly
to southeast. Luu Bu said, "I saw Cao Cao wanting to assassinate you.
It was discovered so he said he wanted to give the knife." Dong Zhuo
said, "I suspected it also." As they were talking, Li Ru came. Dong
Zhuo asked Li Ru about it. Li Ru said, "Cao Cao has no family in the
Capital. He lives alone. We can send for him. If he comes then the
knife was a real gift. If he doesn't come then it was an attempted
assassination." Dong Zhuo sent four prison guards for Cao Cao. After
a long time, they returned and said, "Cao Cao never returned to his
place. He went directly out of the city. The guards at the gate said
Cao Cao told them that the Prime Minister sent him for important
business." Dong Zhuo immediately ordered to send bulletins to the
provinces, and put forward a reward for arresting Cao Cao.
Cao Cao left the Capital and headed directly to his hometown. He was
arrested as he was passing by Zhongmou County. He was brought in front
of the mayor. Cao Cao said, "I am a merchant. My name if Huangfu." The
mayor looked at him carefully, and said, "I have seen you when I was
in the Capital. You are Cao Cao. Guards, put him in the jail and we'll
send him to the Capital tomorrow and get our rewards." That night, the
mayor ordered the guards to take Cao Cao out of the jail and bring him
to the garden of his house. He asked, "I heard that the Prime Minister
was treating you well. Why did you do it?" Cao Cao said, "How can an
average person understand the intentions of a real hero. You can take
me and claim your rewards. There is no need for questions." The mayor
ordered the guards to leave, then said to Cao Cao, "Don't regard me as
an average person. I just haven't met the right people yet." Cao Cao
said, "I am serving the Han Emperor. I was obedient to Dong Zhuo looking
for a chance to kill him. Now I failed I won't regret it." The mayor
asked, "Where were you headed?" Cao Cao said, "I was going home. I
would gather an army, bring down Dong Zhuo and return the power to the
Emperor." The mayor untied Cao Cao, asked him to sit down, and said,
"You are a real hero." Cao Cao asked the mayor's name. The mayor said,
"My name is Chen Gong. My mother and my wife are both at Dongjun. I am
willing to give up my position here and follow you." That night they
changed clothes, each took a sword and a horse, and left for Cao Cao's
hometown.
After three days, they arrived at Chenggao in the evening. Cao Cao said,
"There is a man here, named Luu Boshe. He is my father's good friend.
We can spend the night there." They went to Luu's place. Luu Boshe said,
"I heard that the government is looking for you. Your father is hiding
at Chenliu. How did you get here?" Cao Cao said, "Mayor Chen saved me."
Luu Boshe went to the back for awhile. After he came out, he said,
"We don't have a good wine here. Let me go get some from the west
village." And he left.
Cao Cao and Chen Gong sat in the room for a long time. Suddenly they
heard the sound of someone sharpening a knife. Cao Cao said, "Luu Boshe
is not a close relative. I am suspicious of him leaving us here. Let
me see what they are up to." The two of them quietly walked to the back
of the house. They heard, "Let's tie up before killing." Cao Cao said,
"That's it. Let's do it first before they capture us." Cao Cao and Chen
Gong pulled out the swords and went in. They killed all eight people
in the house, before they found a pig that was tied up in the kitchen.
Chen Gong said, "Cao Cao is too untrusting. We have killed innocent
people." They took the horses and left. On the road they met Luu Boshe
on a donkey, with two bottles of wine and some fruits and vegetables.
He saw them and asked, "Why are you leaving? I have asked them to
slaughter a pig and prepare a dinner. At least spend the night."
Cao Cao said, "We are fugitives. We don't want to stay at one place
for too long." They went past him. Suddenly Cao Cao turned back and
said to Luu Boshe, "Who's there that's coming?" As Luu Boshe turned his
head, Cao Cao killed him with his sword. Chen Gong was surprised. He
asked, "We killed the other people by mistake. Why did you kill him?"
Cao Cao said, "If he returns and finds out that we killed his family,
he will hate us and bring the government people to us." Chen Gong said,
"Killing innocent people intentionally, that's not something a real
hero would do." Cao Cao said, "I'd rather betray everyone in the world,
than letting anyone in the world betray me."
They finally found a small hotel to spend the night. After they fed the
horses, Cao Cao went into sleep quickly. Chen Gong thought, "I took
Cao Cao to be a hero. Now I found out that he is really a villain." In
a impulse, he took his sword and wanted to kill Cao Cao. If you worry
whether Chen Gong was able to kill Cao Cao, read the
next chapter.