Chương 307: Liu Ce Saves the Day, Yuan Shao's Mafia Strategist

The young emperor Liu Bian was merely a figurehead, and He Lian nodded repeatedly in agreement.

The approval was just one word: Approved!

On the sixth day of the fifth month, He Jin gave Dong Zhong no more chances.

He personally led his troops to surround the General of Chariots and Cavalry's residence, making it impenetrable like an iron barrel.

Then they sent someone in to "invite" Dong Zhong out to speak.

When Dong Zhong saw the dark mass of troops outside the door, he knew that the situation was hopeless.

He did not want to be humiliated, and knew that He Jin would never let him go. In despair, he drank poison in the back room and committed suicide.

Before he died, he murmured, "Aunt... your nephew is going first..."

The biggest pillar of the Dong family's power collapsed.

When Empress Dowager Dong heard the news of her nephew's death, she was struck as if by lightning and collapsed to the ground.

Without Dong Zhong, what can this old woman rely on?

Soon, cold-blooded eunuchs and palace guards arrived and "escorted" her away from Yongle Palace, where she had lived for many years, and she immediately set off to return to Hejian.

The imperial carriage was desolate, with only a few old servants accompanying it.

The caravan reached a remote inn halfway through its journey.

The military leader sent by He Jin to "escort" her served a cup of wine with a forced smile, saying, "It's hot, Your Majesty, have some wine to relieve your fatigue."

Looking at the murky wine, Empress Dowager Dong understood everything.

She gave a bitter smile, not taking the cup, but only murmuring, "Hong'er... Mother has come to find you..."

Just as the sergeant's face darkened and he was about to force-feed the drugs, several short crossbow bolts suddenly shot out from the shadows of the post station! With a few "whoosh" sounds, they accurately pierced the throats of several of He Jin's trusted soldiers!

Immediately afterwards, several figures pounced out like ghosts, their blades flashing. Before the remaining soldiers could react, they fell into pools of blood.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Empress Dowager Dong and her old servants were terrified.

A young man dressed as an ordinary courier, but with sharp eyes, strode up to the still-shaken Empress Dowager Dong.

He snatched the wine glass, smelled it, and sneered, "It really is poison."

He then knelt on one knee and whispered, "Your Majesty has been frightened. We are here on the orders of the Prince of Yan to protect you. Please rest assured, Your Majesty. We will escort you safely to Hejian from here on. After you arrive, there will also be people secretly protecting you."

Empress Dowager Dong was stunned for a long time, and two lines of tears slowly flowed from her cloudy old eyes.

She said in a trembling voice, "Prince Yan... Liu Ce... Hong'er, Hong'er... you've found a good brother, a good sworn brother... Don't forget your roots, don't forget our fellow townsmen from Hejian... we share the same ancestry..."

She was filled with mixed emotions: the relief of surviving a disaster, the grief of her nephew's wrongful death, and an indescribable gratitude towards the young Prince of Yan in the distance.

They were secretly escorted by Imperial Guards disguised as merchants and couriers to Hejian.

Empress Dowager Dong sat in her carriage, touching the jade pendant bestowed upon her by Liu Hong, and sighed inwardly: He Jin wanted to kill me, but Liu Ce came to my rescue. What a world...

...

Meanwhile, He Jin received a report in Luoyang: "The Empress Dowager's entourage was attacked, all the guards were killed, and the Empress Dowager... is nowhere to be found."

"What!" He Jin exclaimed in shock, "Who did this?"

"I... I don't know... there were no survivors at the scene."

He Jin stomped his feet in anger, but there was nothing he could do. The person had run away; where could he find them?

Meanwhile, in Luoyang, with Dong Zhong's suicide and Empress Dowager Dong's "disappearance," the once-powerful Dong family's influence vanished overnight! He Jin had eliminated another major threat.

...

On May 17th, the imperial court held a grand funeral for Liu Hong and buried him in Wenling.

Because of Liu Ce's appearance and his outstanding military achievements (suppressing the Yellow Turbans, stopping Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, destroying the Wuhuan, defeating the Xianbei, destroying Goguryeo, and expanding the territory by thousands of miles), this emperor, who was not highly regarded during his lifetime, actually benefited from his posthumous title.

After deliberation by the court officials (mainly those controlled by He Jin), the posthumous title was finally decided to be "Wei," Emperor Xiaowei, Emperor Wei of Han.

The posthumous title system explains it as follows: "Mighty and resolute is called Wei," "Strong, resolute, trustworthy and upright is called Wei," and "Subduing and winning over distant lands is called Wei." Although it has little to do with Liu Hong himself, it at least matches the "illustrious military achievements" he made during his reign (relying on his younger brother Liu Ce), so it's acceptable on the surface.

Interestingly, during the funeral, General He Jin claimed to be ill and did not attend court, nor did he even show up at the mausoleum for the funeral procession.

The reason? The psychological trauma from Jian Shuo's ambush last time was too great! He always felt that there were traps everywhere in the palace, and that every eunuch wanted to harm him. He would never dare to enter the palace again so easily.

He publicly claimed that he had suffered a sudden stroke and was paralyzed on one side, requiring rest, but in reality, he was hiding in the General's Mansion, where he had deployed a large number of troops to guard him. He was blatantly cowardly and self-righteous.

...

In July, in order to completely extinguish Liu Xie's faint "political aspirations," the court issued an edict to change the title of King of Bohai to King of Chenliu.

The fiefdom was moved to a different location, further away from the political center, the meaning of which was clear: Kid, go play somewhere else, the throne is not for you.

...

Having just dealt with the Dong family and barely settled in, Yuan Shao eagerly jumped out again, playing the roles of "radical reformer" and "He Jin's number one strategist."

He went to the General's Mansion almost every day, chasing after He Jin and repeating the same thing over and over again, with only one core idea: kill the eunuchs! Kill them all! Leave no one alive!

"General! Remember the lessons of the previous dynasty!"

Yuan Shao was heartbroken, as if the Han Dynasty was about to perish at the hands of the eunuchs.

"Back then, General Dou Wu was wholeheartedly devoted to the country and wanted to eliminate the eunuchs. What was the result? Wasn't it because his plan was not secretive enough and his methods were not ruthless enough that he was killed by those eunuchs instead! A warning from the past, General!"

He abruptly changed the subject, showering He Jin with praise and empty promises: "The situation is completely different now! You are the Grand General, in charge of the government and commanding the nation's elite troops! Mengde, myself, Gonglu, and many other heroes and wise men are all willing to serve you!"

"This is Heaven's will to help you achieve great things! Opportunity knocks but once! As long as you are determined to eliminate all the eunuchs and eradicate the court's long-standing corruption, you will surely be remembered in history, becoming a renowned minister like Yi Yin or Huo Guang! This opportunity is once in a lifetime; you must not hesitate!"

He Jin was annoyed by his nagging.

To be fair, he also disliked eunuchs, especially after experiencing Jian Shuo's ambush, he regarded eunuchs as poisonous snakes.

But to kill them all? He hesitated, also fearing it would cause too much of a commotion.

So he went to discuss it with He Lian and came up with a compromise: "Empress Dowager, you see... the eunuchs are indeed a bit outrageous. How about this, we replace the senior eunuchs below the rank of Zhongchangshi with scholars and officials to manage palace affairs, what do you think? That way, we can stop them from constantly nagging in your ear."