by Luo Guanzhong
30After a while, He Jin went to the empress to tell her about his desire to kill the eunuchs. Empress He said, "The eunuchs are in charge of the imperial household. The house of Han has operated in this way for generations. The late emperor has only recently abandoned this world for the next, yet you want to kill all of his old ministers; this does not show proper respect to the temple of our ancestors." Jin was not a decisive man in any case, so he listened to the empress dowager and murmured his compliance as he was leaving. Yuan Shao intercepted him and asked, "What has become of our great undertaking?" Jin replied, "The empress dowager will not allow it, so what can I do?" Shao said, "You could recruit brave soldiers from all over, and bring them into the capital to kill all of the wretched eunuchs. At this point, the situation is desperate. The empress dowager must not be allowed to dissent." Jin said, "That is a brilliant plan!" He then sent notices to every hamlet, calling on troops to come to the capital.
31
Chief of records Chen Lin said, "You must not! As the saying goes, 'to cover one's eyes while trying to catch a brambling,' this is to deceive oneself. If you are still unable to assert your will over small things, what about important matters of state? You now rely on imperial might, and a command of the military, to throw your weight about and do as you please. Your wanting to kill the eunuchs is akin to lighting a large oven just to burn up a few hairs. You merely need to unleash your wrath quickly. If you exercise your powers in a decisive manner, then everyone will follow your lead. But instead, you have issued a call to arms to all of the important ministers. They are streaming into the capital. With all of these heroes gathered together, each with a mind of his own, you are essentially offering the butt of your spear to others. By relinquishing your authority, your endeavor will surely fail, and chaos will emerge." He Jin laughed and said, "This is the view of a coward!" A man standing to the side started to clap his hands as he burst out laughing, saying, "This is as easy as turning over your hand, there is no need for excessive debate!" They looked at the man; it was Cao Cao. It was a case of:
If the king is taken away, then the mice will come out to play. One must listen to the plans of the wise and talented men at court.
Are you wondering what Cao Cao was about to say? Keep reading, and all will be explained
Continued next week. Tomorrow's installment from Lays of Ancient Rome by Macaulay.
This is one of four great novels from China, published when it was the most highly civilization in the world. Map shows China at the time of this story.
Chapter Summary: Zhang Yide gets angry and whips the County Inspector; Royal uncle He plots the murder of the wretched eunuchs.
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This translation from Wikipedia. See license CC-BY-SA.
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