I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 231 The outcome is unknown!
At that time, eunuchs had great power over the whole world. In many places, eunuchs' cronies served as prefects, prime ministers, county magistrates, etc. There were also many land estates, economic parks, etc. controlled by the eunuchs' relatives and white gloves.

And all of these were snatched from scholars and local tyrants.

These local eunuch cliques rely on the eunuchs' power in Luoyang to continue to exist. Without the eunuchs in Luoyang to control the overall situation, they will definitely be doomed.

Not to mention that Yuan and his son also issued an order to wipe out all traces of the eunuchs from the Han Empire and to thoroughly liquidate all those who colluded with the eunuchs to harm officials and civilians, and not a single one would be let off.

These people must be panicking.

Without the support of the court, they became the losers in the political struggle. The thought that all the things they had done in the past would be returned to them exactly as they were or even doubled made them even more worried.

So what next?
Waiting to die?
of course not.

There were people who abandoned their official positions and lands and fled out of fear; of course there were also people who were unwilling to accept their fate and surrender.

They felt that they had power, soldiers, food, weapons and equipment. If they just surrendered and waited to be killed, it would be really stupid and cowardly.

They decided to resist.

This type of people is represented by Wang Ji, the adopted son of the eunuch Wang Fu, the prime minister of Pei State.

When Wang Ji was young, he was fond of Confucian books and history. He had read books, was well-educated, and had a good reputation. Relying on Wang Fu's power and favor, he was appointed as the prime minister of Pei State in his twenties and held the position of two thousand stones.

Because he was talented and well-versed in political affairs, he was able to judge and examine difficult cases and expose hidden treacherous villains. Therefore, he made some real political achievements and punished many evil people.

But he has a cruel and ruthless temperament, and he likes to do things to the extreme without showing any mercy.

He ordered everyone in the county to report traitors. Even if they were petty officials who had embezzled a small amount of money for wine and meat, even if it was decades ago, they would be demoted and their names would be removed from the register, even after their death.

In order to strengthen his power and deter villains, he also specially selected a group of tough officials to crack down on criminals.

If a child is born but not raised, the parents will be killed and buried together.

Anyone who killed someone would be crucified, and their body would be placed on a cart. Their crime would be made public and they would be paraded through the streets for public display.

In the summer, when the weather was hot, the corpses would rot quickly, so he would tie the bones together with ropes and parade them through all the counties in Pei. This was to demonstrate his power and warn everyone not to break the law.

He had been in office for only two years, but he had already killed more than 4,000 people in Pei.

It should be said that he was a ruthless official who emphasized severe laws and severe punishments for lawbreakers. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, when social order was gradually collapsing, his actions did have positive significance.

However, the overly harsh and merciless punishment made the people in the county terrified. They worried every day that they would be the next victim, which made people uneasy and was not conducive to long-term stability.

Overall, his achievements in Pei were acceptable, and he had no reputation for corruption, but as Wang Fu's adopted son, he was definitely on the death list and there was absolutely no possibility of him surviving.

Wang Ji was used to being domineering in Pei State, and he had a group of capable subordinates under him. He was serving as the prime minister, but suddenly he received news that his adoptive father had died and he would be held accountable.

Can he accept it?
He obviously can't accept it.

In fact, when he learned that a mutiny had broken out in Luoyang and a new emperor had ascended the throne, he had already realized that things were going badly. Without his backing and with his foundation dug up, how could he still survive in officialdom?

The eunuchs were too ruthless, killing people everywhere. Once they lost power, how could they survive? As Wang Fu's adopted son, Wang Ji knew better than anyone else that the eunuchs' actions would end their lineage. The main reason was that the eunuchs had no penises and could not pass on their legacy, so they did not have any psychological burden when doing these things.

When it is prosperous, it dominates the world.

Once you die, you will be despised and punished by the whole world.

It's over now!

When Wang Ji heard the news, he fell to the ground and couldn't get up. The lackeys serving him looked at each other in bewilderment, and each of them had given up.

Before, I followed Wang Ji and enjoyed the good life and the tyranny. It was really refreshing and killing people was satisfying. But the situation changed suddenly and I was about to be buried with Wang Ji. What should I do?

So not long after, before Wang Ji could react, someone was already preparing to pack up and run away.

The entire Prime Minister's Mansion was in chaos. Many people were ready to flee, regardless of Wang Ji. They all ran back home, took their families and packed up their belongings, preparing to flee south to see if they could live a little longer.

Wang Ji was completely desperate. He thought that since Wang Fu was dead, how could he survive?
But at the critical moment, Sun Zun, the number one military strategist beside Wang Ji, reminded him.

Sun Zun and Wang Ji had a close relationship, which was known to everyone in Pei State. Most of the cases that Wang Ji solved and the methods of killing that he thought of were all done by him. So if Wang Ji was deposed, he would be buried with him and would not be able to escape.

With this thought in mind, in order to survive, Sun Zun made up his mind and gave Wang Ji an idea of risking his life.

"Now that Chang Shi Wang has died and the new emperor has ascended the throne, the Yuan family will definitely punish all those who have had any connection with the eunuchs. You will not be able to escape no matter what. Even if you go to the ends of the earth, someone will capture you and kill you, and you will have no power to fight back.

But it is different now. The envoy sent by the court to question the crime has not arrived yet. You are still the Prime Minister of Pei State and hold full military and political power in Pei State. You can also mobilize the soldiers and money and food of Pei State. You still have a chance to fight hard and save your life!"

Wang Ji slumped on the ground, his eyes dull, and shook his head dejectedly.

"What can I do if I rely on myself? Even if I can gather a few thousand people to rebel, what can I do? How can I fight against the entire court? Can I win? I am afraid that before the court army arrives, most of my troops will flee, and the time for escape will be wasted in vain.

I might as well run away now. If I'm lucky, I can flee to Jiangnan, or even cross the Wuling Mountains to Jiaozhi. Jiaozhi is such a remote place. Once I get there, no one will be able to catch me, right? It won't be difficult for me to survive, right?"

Sun Zun shook his head repeatedly, looking disappointed.

"You are wrong, absolutely wrong! Even if you can escape successfully, Jiangnan is fine, but the area south of the Wuling Mountains is a wild place with a hot climate, miasma everywhere, and man-eating beasts and poisonous insects everywhere. If you go to such a place, you will die if you are not careful. Who knows if you can survive for a year?
A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. You hold the full military and political power of Pei State. Why do you want to give up such a great power and become a refugee? You are still a 2,000-stone official here. If you run away, a mere village head can catch you and send you to Luoyang for questioning. Do you want to endure such humiliation?"

Wang Ji's complexion gradually became a little strange, and his breathing became heavy.

Sun Zun then struck while the iron was hot.

"If you still have concerns, you might as well think about it this way. If you abandon everything and flee, you will die. If you raise an army to resist, even if you fail, you will die. Since both are death, why not fight hard? Even if nine out of ten are death, don't you still have one chance of living? Although the Yuan family seized the Luoyang court, the world is so big that it is impossible for everyone to be Yuan's supporters!
The eunuchs in Luoyang were all killed. How many people in the world were close to the eunuchs and relied on them to get to the official position? Isn't this a huge group? So you are not alone. There are many people like you around you. They have all encountered such difficulties and must want to change!

Not to mention others, Zhang Hao, the prime minister of Liang, is the younger brother of the eunuch Zhang Feng. The situation you are facing is the same as his, and he must be just as worried. There is also Cao Shao, the prefect of Dongjun, who is the nephew of the eunuch Cao Jie and has the same status as you. There is also Wen Mu, the prime minister of Pengcheng, who was promoted all the way thanks to his relationship with Zhang Rang. Isn't he a member of the eunuchs' gang?
Li Shao, the governor of Jizhou, and Jiong Fu, the governor of Yuzhou, also rose through the ranks by relying on their connections with the eunuchs. Everyone in the world knew that they were eunuchs' cronies. Didn't the Yuan family know that they would definitely die after this mutiny? Wouldn't they know this in their hearts? They must have been just as panicked! They must have been terrified!

This is your chance! They are all very scared, very afraid of being killed, and they have no way out. If you unite with them, raise an army together, raise the banner of attacking the Yuan family, regard Liu Kui as the false emperor, and call on the world to overthrow the false emperor, it will inevitably cause a lot of response. With a large number of people, the outcome is uncertain!"

(End of this chapter)