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

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“Your Majesty, please!” the eunuch Cao Jie interrupted with a show of emotion. “We are slandered! Dou Wu speaks of proof of guilt… where is the proof of our guilt, that he calls us ‘wicked’???”
“We understand your upset, but his letter will be heard in full,” Emperor Huan insisted. He then turned to Yuan Tang and said, “Continue.”
Yuan Tang coughed nervously and said, “The letter continues by saying that the attendants control the provinces and counties, as well as the affairs within the palace. It says that as many, if not more allegations can be found against them, and that they should be as subject to the law as Li Ying and the other men accused of being ‘partisans’.”
“Speak as it is written,” Emperor Huan prompted.
“…Trust only those who are truly loyal and honourable, correctly determine what is right and what is wrong, do not grant positions purely for favouritism, give praise and blame their proper places, and govern only in the public interest, never personal; for did not Confucius say, ‘To be an Emperor is to be a judge’…?”
“This from the father-in-law of the Empress!” one eunuch whimpered. “Does he not abuse favouritism now by slandering us without due punishment…?”
Emperor Huan hummed thoughtfully and asked of Yuan Tang, “Was that all?”
“No, Your Majesty,” Yuan Tang said fearfully.
“Continue, then,” Emperor Huan ordered.
“There have been reports of omens, such as sightings of a yellow dragon, and harvests of grain deemed auspicious, but those omens can be good or bad, depending on one’s conduct,” Yuan Tang narrated. “If… if virtue becomes foremost from now on in Your Majesty’s rule, then these signs will be good omens, indeed. If virtue is not shown… then… then these things are portents to disaster. That… that is all, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Huan hummed thoughtfully once again.
Heresy!” Cao Jie shrieked. “Heresy, and such egregious factionist rhetoric amidst a speech condemning us for slandering his friends for that very thing!”

“We… will make final judgement here, as is proper,” Emperor Huan insisted. “We are satisfied that Dou Wu is a man of fine character, and not prone to insulting us; furthermore, it is the actions of his esteemed ancestor, Dou Rong, that ensured the security of our dynasty… this is, therefore, meant as the kindest advice for us, and it shall be considered where we believe it may have merit. We would like time to ponder this matter.”
The eunuchs and Yuan Tang left the Emperor to his thoughts.

“I have also submitted a memorial,” Mister Huo said as he drank tea with Dou Wu in the latter’s house several days later. “If there are to be consequences, then let them be shared between us, Mister Dou.”
“To use some of the words once used by venerable Magistrate Li Ying was potentially fatal… but I can only hope that His Majesty sees the truth in those words, now that he has reached a greater age,” Dou Wu replied. “Yet men often live as they will, blind to the obvious truth that they are repeating the oldest mistakes… I can only hope that a Son of Heaven can be made to see before it is too late.”
Mister Huo nodded slowly.

The atmosphere of the next few weeks was tense as the Emperor deliberated on the fates of the ‘partisans’. Mister Huo’s letter was said to have softened the Emperor’s stance, but ultimately, it was always going to be the eunuchs that decided the outcome.

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