“Yellow Sky”: Crisis for the Han Dynasty sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne

-

JavaScript is off/unavailable on your browser. You will not be able to experience this website as it was intended without JavaScript enabled.

Cao Song nodded cautiously and said, “Yes… well, anyway, they were glad to be of service, and they helped His Majesty by sending soldiers to arrest Empress Dowager Liang’s brother, Liang Ji, who was the most dangerous of them all. Liang Ji committed suicide when he realised what was happening, and the Empress Dowager was told to stay at home and stay out of politics in future… and that was that. The eunuchs were thanked with some money and their families were thanked with nice houses, and, uh, well, that was that.”
Cao Cao smiled dryly, as he suspected that his father’s version of events might be slightly biased.
“Eunuchs are not an enemy of the world… they are people, like men and women everywhere,” Cao Song suggested. “I know that recent rumours place a lot of the blame on eunuchs for ‘corruption’, but… they serve His Majesty loyally, and they always ensure that divine consent is sought on all matters. My role, for example, is, like Father’s appointment as a marquis, a result of recognition of valued service, Cao’er… and you tell that to anyone that criticises me again.”
Cao Cao’s smile disappeared again, and he said, “But what about the arrested people, Father? If people insulted you, I would rebuke them, because my devotion to your name is always foremost in my mind: a good son should always honour his father, as Confucius always said.”
Cao Song smiled gratefully.
“But the people that were arrested… I thought that it was okay to challenge the way of things, that Confucius once challenged the Emperor on his conduct… why is that now wrong?” Cao Cao prompted. “All that anyone did was march and say things, I heard someone say… it that now wrong…?”
“Uh, well… the eunuchs are accused of being ‘evil’, and although very little evidence has appeared to prove that, it is a growing sentiment, because of the deaths of the Liangs, who were seen as champions of the intellectuals,” Cao Song explained reluctantly.

“The universities saw the Liangs as patrons that helped them, and they say that there’s been less help or support since the Liangs died. Others were glad of the removal of the Liangs… but the intellectuals, they only know what he did for them, so they protest, and blame the eunuchs for their slight drop in fortunes, and now they say that His Majesty is being lied to by those same eunuchs, who they also accuse of stealing money. You can’t accuse people without proof, and there are some that say the people speaking out might be planning something bad, and His Majesty feels that they need to be taken into custody while proof is sought of their guilt… so it is complicated, Cao’er… very complicated.”
Cao Cao hummed thoughtfully.

Many of the higher-ranking court eunuchs had been enjoying power anyway, but this newest shift in power was almost unprecedented, and the intellectuals that had enjoyed positive reforms to education and the potential for elevation via schooling made it clear that they resented the destruction of the Liangs and the rise of the eunuchs by protesting openly in the streets of the capital. In retaliation, the eunuchs fawned on the emperor and played on his vanity, encouraging him to expand his harem and invest in new residences and hunting parks. Emperor Huan was eager to follow their words, and public finances were quickly steered toward feeding an ever more demanding royal budget and away from the improvements for the masses that had won previous emperors the respect and tolerance of the people.

<< Main Product Page

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>