My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 326 Faint move
"It's come to this point. There's no point in saying more. Let's first consider our survival!"

"He Jin was already powerful and difficult to control, and now he has poisoned the Empress Dowager. I'm afraid you and I will be the next to be killed!"

Zhang Rang sighed and spoke to the others.

"Although we were all powerful in the past, we relied on the emperor's power. Now that the previous emperor has passed away, the new emperor is too young to rule the country. And He Jin has just killed the Dong family and seized the military power of the General of Cavalry, making it even more difficult to stop him."

"What can I do?"

Although Zhang Ran said so, the ten eunuchs present all had sorrowful looks on their faces, as if the sky had fallen.

"For now, it's probably too late to rely on the little emperor. We might as well surrender to He Jin!" Zhao Zhong said after thinking for a long time.

"Where to go?"

"Brother Zhao, this is a good idea, but how can this bastard He Jin accept our service when he wants to get rid of us?"

Everyone was shocked at first when they heard this, then they all nodded in succession. However, when they thought of the hostile relationship between themselves and the Ten Attendants and He Jin, they couldn't help but look bitter again.

"Although He Jin has great power and is determined to kill us, the palace is not a place he can reach out to!"

"Although the emperor is weak now, Empress Dowager He's words are still effective. In my opinion, it is better to start with Empress Dowager He. As long as we can make her happy, and then we can give in to He Jin, even if He Jin wants to kill us again, he will have no excuse and will have to give up!"

Zhang Rang was indeed a shrewd man. He figured out the whole thing in a flash and immediately told everyone about it.

"Brother Zhang, this plan is good. Although He Jin is easy to fool, it is not easy to fool the ministers under his command. If you want to serve him, you will definitely not succeed without paying a lot of money!"

Zhao Zhong added with a cold look on his face when he heard this.

"Oh? What does Brother Zhao mean?"

Zhang Rang raised his eyebrows and asked subconsciously.

Zhao Zhong did not answer immediately after hearing this, but first came to the door of the side hall and carefully observed outside. After seeing that there was no one, he carefully closed the doors and windows and returned to the crowd.

"Under the current circumstances, if we don't produce a head of some importance, I'm afraid it will be difficult to appease He Jin's anger."

"Among the Ten Eunuchs, Jian Shuo is the one with the biggest conflict with He Jin, and is also the one that He Jin fears the most."

After Zhao Zhong said this, he kept silent and looked at everyone with a gloomy face.

Everyone present were veterans who had been through the ups and downs for most of their lives, so it was clear to them that they understood what Zhao Zhong meant.

"Brother Zhao, is that what you mean?"

Zhang Rang was startled and made a gesture of wiping his neck towards Zhao Zhong with a gloomy face.

"As the saying goes, a friend dies rather than I die. Anyway, Jian Shuo and He Jin are already at loggerheads, so why not hand over his head, so that we don't all die with him and our clan is exterminated."

"At most, we can take care of his clan's descendants in the future."

Zhao Zhong couldn't help but sneer when he heard this and said in a low voice.

"In that case, let's do it this way!"

After Zhang Rang closed his eyes and pondered for a long time, he suddenly opened his sinister eyes and nodded fiercely.

"it is good!"

The other ten eunuchs in the hall also understood that this was an extremely urgent time, and they no longer cared about their past friendship and agreed one after another.

"However, you all still need to be careful in serving Empress Dowager He!"

"We can save that!"

……

While the Ten Eunuchs were plotting in the palace, in the Yuan Mansion in Luoyang, Yuan Wei and his nephew Yuan Shao were quietly discussing the current situation in a secret room.

However, unlike the Ten Attendants who were sad and panicked, the uncle and nephew of the Yuan family were in a very happy mood. They even prepared a table of wine and food to drink and chat.

"Hahaha, now He Jin and the Ten Attendants are completely at odds with each other. As long as we put in a little more effort, the two sides will surely fight to the point of mutual destruction!"

"If the foreign relatives and the eunuch party can be completely eliminated, then the government of the court will return to the hands of our noble families!"

Yuan Wei was very happy. He drank the wine in the glass and laughed loudly.

Yuan Shao, who was standing by, saw this and immediately stepped forward to fill his uncle's glass with wine.

"Uncle is right. In ancient times, the emperor and the literati ruled the country together. However, Emperors Huan and Ling repeatedly supported the eunuch party and the eunuch party to restrict the power of our noble families. They even issued a ridiculous decree such as the Party Imprisonment Disaster, which was nakedly aimed at our noble families. They were really stupid!"

"Well, what Benchu ​​said is right!"

"The emperor is the Son of Heaven, but he is just a noble man of blood. How can he know how to govern the world better than the noble families like us?"

"The world should be ruled by our noble families, and the emperor should just sit back and relax, indulge in pleasures, why should he personally take charge of the government?"

Yuan Wei obviously agreed with Yuan Shao's point of view and stroked his beard repeatedly in admiration.

"You have done well recently. Next, you must do your best to plan with He Jin and provoke a war between He Jin and the Ten Attendants!"

"It would be best if the fight never ends and we cannot reconcile!"

"My nephew obeys your order, but do you want me to inform my brother Shu about this matter?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao first accepted the order respectfully, then observed Yuan Wei's expression and tested him in a low voice.

"Well, Benchu, you don't hate Shu'er just because he targets you everywhere. This is very good. You are worthy of being the successor of the next generation of the Yuan family that we old guys value."

Yuan Wei was pleased to see that Yuan Shao still thought of his brother at the critical moment, and patted Yuan Shao's shoulder gently to show encouragement.

However, when he thought of Yuan Shu's many bad deeds, he couldn't help but start to fuss and glare again.

"But this rebellious son is not worthy of being a son. There is no need to let him get involved in such an important matter. Just let him cooperate from the sidelines!"

"This……"

"My nephew obeys your command."

Yuan Shao pretended to be embarrassed, but he was smiling in his heart.

……

"Hahahaha, you old bastards, you're really something. You've even gone to my mother and my second uncle!"

A few days later, in the imperial garden of the harem, Empress He was admiring the flowers in the imperial garden, and the Ten Attendants were all carefully serving behind Empress He, following her closely, appearing to be extremely well-behaved and docile.

"Now that the late emperor has passed away and the Empress Dowager is gone, who else can we serve if we don't take the trouble to serve you, the Empress Dowager?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rang immediately stepped forward with a big smile and began to flatter him.

"That's right, that's right. We old slaves are disabled people, without children or descendants. We are your dogs in life and your dead dogs in death. We are stupid and don't understand other things, but we only know who we should be loyal to."

Zhao Zhong, who was standing by, also expressed his loyalty upon hearing this.

"alright, alright!"

"Don't I understand what you old dogs are thinking?"

"Since you have served me well these past few days, just tell me what reward you want!"

Empress Dowager He smiled and waved her hand to stop the Ten Attendants from speaking, and snorted and said softly.

"Replying to the Queen Mother, it is our duty to serve the Queen Mother, and we dare not ask for any reward."

"But recently there have been rumors outside the palace that the general is dissatisfied with us, the ten eunuchs, and wants to kill us as soon as possible."

"I just hope that the Queen Mother will consider how diligently I, an old servant, have served her over the years and invite the general to the palace so that I can confess my crime and beg for mercy in person!"

Zhang Rang saw the opportunity and immediately stepped forward and cried.

Zhao Zhong on the side also quickly added.

"That's right. Even if the general is unwilling to forgive us and wants to kill us, we would rather die in the palace than outside!" "This...?"

Empress Dowager He couldn't help but frown when she heard this.

In fact, Empress Dowager He did not have a very good relationship with her brother.

Although they are said to be siblings, in essence their relationship is one of exchange of interests.

She also knew that her brother had wanted to kill the Ten Attendants for a long time. If she pleaded for mercy rashly, she might only become enemies with He Jin.

However, the Ten Eunuchs were somewhat resourceful after all, and they served her quite wholeheartedly. In addition, Empress Dowager He also wanted to recruit the Ten Eunuchs as her own minions, and did not want to see the two sides fighting to the death.

Therefore, when she heard the request of the Ten Attendants, she couldn't help but hesitate.

When Zhang Rang saw that Empress Dowager He was wavering, he immediately stepped forward and told them the decisive backup plan they would make.

"It was Jianshuo and the general who were at odds before. The rest of us, the ten eunuchs, had no involvement. Now Jianshuo has been killed by us. Please, Queen Mother, save our lives!"

"In that case, I will swallow my pride and summon the general to the palace, but I am not sure whether it will work or not!"

When Empress Dowager He saw that Zhang Rang and others had a strong head, she thought that this matter should be able to be accomplished, so she spoke in a relaxed manner.

"We would like to thank the Queen Mother. Even if it fails, it is just our bad luck, not the Queen Mother's!"

……

That afternoon, He Jin was summoned to the palace by Empress Dowager He.

"I wonder what the Queen Mother wants to send for you?"

After He Jin bowed to his sister with the etiquette of a subject, he asked respectfully.

"It's not a big deal. It's just that a few ignorant servants in the palace have offended the general. As the saying goes, it's better to resolve an grievance than to create one. I am here today to be a lobbyist and summon the general to the palace to negotiate peace."

Empress Dowager He chuckled when she heard this and spoke lazily while fanning herself.

"Talk about peace? I wonder who are the servants the Queen Mother is talking about?"

He Jin was stunned when he heard this, and couldn't help but have an ominous premonition in his heart.

"They are all acquaintances of the general."

"Come in, everyone!"

After Empress Dowager He laughed and gave a light shout to the outside of the hall, Zhang Rang and ten other eunuchs immediately rushed in holding a wooden table covered with silk cloth, with their heads lowered and their eyes submissive. Then they immediately knelt down in front of He Jin and cried incessantly.

"It's you guys!"

He Jin was furious when he heard this and was about to leave, but Zhang Rang and others held on to his clothes tightly and kept crying and begging.

"General, spare my life."

"We have no intention of being enemies with the general. It was this Jianshuo who was causing trouble. This thief has been killed. Please forgive us this time."

"That's right, as long as the general spares our lives, we, the ten eunuchs, are willing to repay the general's kindness by carrying a valerian ring in our mouths!"

As they spoke, they quickly lifted the silk cloth on the wooden table, revealing a bloody head with its eyes open.

“He’s actually really strong!”

He Jin had been fighting against Jianshuo for many years, so how could he not recognize his enemy's face? He was shocked when he saw this and stopped.

Seeing that He Jin's attitude had softened, Empress Dowager He also came forward to persuade him.

"Logically speaking, since these bastards have offended the general, they should be killed."

"However, the Ten Eunuchs are the elders of the palace after all. Now that the late emperor's body is still warm, the general is arbitrarily killing old ministers. I think it is a bit inappropriate."

"Moreover, I have also heard rumors from outside the palace that the general wants to kill all the eunuchs in the palace. This method is even more inappropriate!"

"The palace is full of the late emperor's concubines. If there are no eunuchs to serve, do I have to live with those young scholars day and night?"

"This is a disgrace to the imperial court!"

Empress He was worthy of being called the heroine who was able to fight her way out of Liu Hong's harem and become the queen of a country as the daughter of a butcher. With just a few words, she hit He Jin's soft spot, making him hesitate.

"This……"

He Jin frowned and looked at the ten eunuchs who were kneeling on the ground and were extremely obedient. He then looked at the half-smile on Empress Dowager He's face and could only give in first.

"I know."

"The Queen Mother's order, I dare not disobey."

He Jin first bowed to Empress Dowager He, then took the wooden table containing the strong human head from Zhang Rang and others, and threatened Zhang Rang and others in a stern voice.

"Today, for the Queen Mother's sake, I will spare your lives!"

"If I knew that you old dogs still dared to oppose me and tried to harm me secretly, I would kill you without mercy!"

"Yes Yes Yes……"

"We will obey the orders of the general and will never dare to be his enemy again!"

Zhang Rang and the others were relieved to have finally gotten through this difficult time, but at the same time, their resentment towards the arrogant He Jin in front of them increased.

……

"what!"

"The butcher actually forgave the Ten Attendants so easily?"

When Yuan Shao heard the news from the spy in the palace, he was shocked and immediately ran to discuss countermeasures with his uncle Yuan Wei.

Originally, Yuan was prepared to let both the foreign relatives and the eunuch party suffer losses, but he did not expect that the situation would change suddenly and the eunuch party would be suppressed by He Jin without any sound.

If He Jin, who was already a great general with the righteous right to control the world's military power, could completely subdue the Ten Eunuchs and then take control of the palace, then who in this vast world could suppress him?
If this were the case, Yuan's hard work would have become a joke and would have been a hindrance to He Jin.

With such power and influence, it was not impossible for He Jin to usurp the throne and become emperor.

After all, he was only one or two steps away from Wang Mang, who usurped the throne of the Western Han Dynasty.

"No matter what, we can't let He Jin hold all the power!"

"Benchu ​​must find a way to contain He Jin, otherwise my Yuan family will never be able to make a breakthrough again!"

After hearing the news, Yuan Wei immediately gave serious instructions to Yuan Shao.

"Uncle, rest assured. I have a plan in mind!"

Suddenly, a bright idea flashed in Yuan Shao's mind, and he came up with a plan that made him excited.

After coming up with the plan, Yuan Shao immediately summoned a group of He Jin's subordinates to meet He Jin.

"How can the general let the Ten Attendants go so easily?"

"Have you not heard that if you don't uproot the grass, it will grow again in the spring breeze?"

As soon as they met, Yuan Shao gave He Jin repeated advice.

"I also want to kill the Ten Attendants, but the Queen Mother won't allow it. What can I do?"

He Jin also showed a bitter expression when he heard this, and was quite troubled.

"Since the Queen Mother does not allow it, why doesn't the General forge a forged imperial edict to summon foreign troops into the capital?"

……

(End of this chapter)