August arrived, and as expected, events unfolded just as Mengde had predicted—after all, that was how it had happened in the original history.
After the chaos from the deaths of Central Regular Attendants Guan Ba and Su Kang had somewhat settled, Palace Attendant Liu Yu wrote to Grand General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Chen Fan, urging them to act immediately—eliminate the eunuchs before any unexpected situation could arise.
Dou Wu received the letter and immediately began preparations.
He first appointed Zhu Yu as the Colonel-Director of Retainers, Liu Yu as Intendant of Henan, and Yu Qi as Prefect of Luoyang.
As for the previous Colonel-Director of Retainers—Mengde’s father, Cao Song—he was promoted to Minister of the Imperial Clan.
Soon after, Dou Wu dismissed Wei Biao, the Director of the Yellow Gates who managed the eunuchs, and replaced him with a young eunuch close to him, Shan Bing.
Shan Bing was then ordered to submit a memorial to arrest Zhang Le Palace Secretary Zheng Sa and have him imprisoned at the Northern Prison.
Chen Fan suggested executing Zheng Sa immediately, but Dou Wu disagreed.
Instead, he instructed Shan Bing, along with Yin Xun and Surveillance Censor Zhu Zhen, to interrogate and torture Zheng Sa until he confessed to the crimes of eunuchs like Cao Jie and Wang Fu.
Once they obtained the confessions, Dou Wu ordered Shan Bing and Yin Xun to submit a memorial for the arrest of Cao Jie and Wang Fu.
In order to prevent the eunuchs from intercepting the edict, he also had Liu Yu directly report the matter to the Empress Dowager.
***
On the seventh day of the ninth month, Dou Wu took his scheduled day off and returned to his residence outside the palace.
His memorial was delivered to Empress Dowager Dou Miao at her residence in the Chang Le Palace.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhu Yu, a clerk of the Chang Le Palace, peeked at the memorial.
Upon seeing that he was listed among the guilty, he exploded in rage.
“Those lawless eunuchs may deserve to be executed, but what crime have we innocent eunuchs committed, that we should face the extermination of our entire clans?!”
After his outburst, he shouted loudly to the others around him.
“Chen Fan and Dou Wu have asked the Empress Dowager to depose the Emperor! This is an act of treason!”
That very night, Zhu Yu gathered seventeen of his subordinates and trusted aides and reported the matter to Central Regular Attendant Cao Jie.
Cao Jie was initially panicked but quickly regained his composure.
He launched a coup, leading a group of eunuchs to the palace of Emperor Liu Hong.
Using the excuse that Chen Fan and Dou Wu intended to depose the Emperor, he allied with Liu Hong’s wet nurse Zhao Rao and persuaded the Emperor to order the palace gates closed for his protection.
After securing the palace, Cao Jie coerced the officials at the Secretariat into drafting an edict appointing Wang Fu as Director of the Yellow Gates.
Wang Fu was then sent with an imperial token to the Northern Prison to arrest Yin Xun and Shan Bing, both appointed by Dou Wu.
Shan Bing was suspicious and refused to obey the edict.
In response, Wang Fu killed him on the spot, freed Zheng Sa, and returned to the palace.
Cao Jie and his allies then took armed troops and kidnapped Empress Dowager Dou Miao, seized the imperial seal, and forged a new edict.
Using the forged decree, they ordered the arrest of Dou Wu.
Dou Wu refused to obey and led his household guards out of the Grand General’s residence.
Mounted on horseback, he rushed to the garrison of the Palace Infantry, where he joined forces with his nephew, Captain of the Infantry Dou Shao.
Together, they shot and killed the eunuch delivering the imperial edict and then rallied the Northern Army’s Five Schools—several thousand soldiers—to surround the palace.
He commanded his troops: “The eunuchs are plotting rebellion! Whoever kills them will be rewarded with a marquisate and great honors!”
***
At the same time, Chen Fan received word of the coup.
He led his subordinates from the Grand Tutor’s Office and dozens of students from the Imperial Academy to storm the Secretariat.
Meanwhile, inside the Cao residence, Cao Song was paralyzed with shock as he listened to the news.
It was identical.
Exactly as Mengde had predicted months ago.
He looked at his five-year-old daughter, Mengde, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
Mengde, however, remained calm and analyzed the situation for him.
“The Grand Tutor only brought a few dozen people to attack the Secretariat. He won’t be able to stand against the eunuchs in the palace. Father, you must split your forces—send a small group to inform General Zhang Huan of the current situation, and send the larger group to support the Grand Tutor. Father, which side will you personally lead?”
‘Which side?’
Cao Song was momentarily stunned.
From a practical standpoint, it was obvious he should assist Grand General Dou Wu.
After all, the Grand General was the Empress Dowager’s father and the real power behind the court.
If Cao Song personally helped save him, the rewards would be substantial.
But…
The other side was Chen Fan—Chen Zhongju—the paragon of their generation, one of the Three Exemplars!
Cao Song deeply admired Chen Fan.
Otherwise, in the original timeline, his son Cao Cao would not have grown up standing with the scholar-officials.
So when it came down to making a decision, Cao Song chose Chen Fan without hesitation.
“Jingjie!”
“Big Brother!”
Cao Ding, Cao Song’s cousin, stepped forward and bowed respectfully with clasped hands.
“You go find General Zhang and report the situation. Once he reaches the Northern Army, tell Yuan Sheng to support the general and assist him in eliminating the wicked eunuchs. Understood?!”
“Understood!”
Cao Ding replied, though he was clearly displeased.
After all, Chen Fan wasn’t just Cao Song’s idol—he was also Cao Ding’s.
‘What scholar in the world didn’t look up to Chen Fan?’
Here he was, presented with the perfect chance to save his idol personally—and yet it had been taken from him by his elder cousin.
‘How could he possibly be happy about that?’
Still, Cao Ding accepted the order and promptly left the Cao residence.
Yuan Shengming, whose real name was Cao Chi, was a clan elder of the Cao family and a cousin to Cao Song.
He currently held the position of Changshui Colonel in the Northern Army.
With his support, Zhang Huan could gain control of the four remaining camps of the Northern Army—excluding the Infantry Camp under the command of Grand General Dou Wu—while eliminating the eunuchs.
After Cao Ding departed, Cao Song also led more than one hundred of his private soldiers to assist Grand Tutor Chen Fan.
These soldiers had been secretly transferred from their family estate in Qiao County over the past three months since May.
Under normal circumstances, moving over a hundred private soldiers into Luoyang would have immediately drawn the emperor’s attention and led to Cao Song’s execution.
But the new emperor had just ascended the throne, and the court was bitterly divided between the outer officials and the eunuchs.
No one was paying attention to what seemed like a minor matter—Cao Song bringing in men from his clan.
The Cao family had some influence in the military, so these private soldiers were all former veterans.
Though they lacked heavy armor and powerful weapons like crossbows, each man was equipped with basic weapons like swords and shields.
***
At this time, Chen Fan had already led his subordinates and students to storm through the Chengming Gate and arrived at the Ministry of Personnel.
Upon hearing some of the officials inside cursing Dou Wu for allegedly leading a rebellion, Chen Fan raised his arm and shouted, “The Grand General is a loyal protector of the nation! It’s the eunuchs who have rebelled and forced him to act. How can anyone claim Dou Wu has violated his duty as a minister?”
Meanwhile, on the eunuchs’ side, Wang Fu, who had just been appointed as Director of the Yellow Gates, was rushing toward the Ministry.
Upon hearing Chen Fan’s declaration, he let out a cold laugh and retorted, “The late emperor has only just passed away, and his tomb is not even completed. What merit does Dou Wu have that he and his family—father, son, and brother—should all be enfeoffed as marquises? Furthermore, he’s taken away many palace maids, spends his days drinking and indulging in pleasure, and in just a month has amassed wealth in the tens of thousands.”
“Is this the behavior of a loyal minister? You, Chen Fan, are supposed to be a pillar of the state, yet you abuse your power and form factions. And now you come here accusing others of rebellion? Who’s the real traitor here?”
Chen Fan, seeing Wang Fu arrive with soldiers, momentarily fell into despair and could not immediately refute Wang Fu’s words.
But just then, Cao Song entered the Ministry and loudly spoke out.
“The Grand General’s daughter is the Empress Dowager. His ennoblement as a marquis is in accordance with ancestral laws. You eunuchs are uneducated, so naturally, you don’t understand how ancestral law works.”
“Furthermore, the Grand General has always been upright and incorruptible. He never accepts bribes and lives with only the bare necessities. How could he possibly have hoarded such wealth? Clearly, it’s you eunuchs who do such things and then assume others are just like you. Evil people always believe that everyone else is evil as well!”
“And as for forming factions—there are factions of gentlemen and factions of scoundrels. The Grand General and the Grand Tutor formed a faction to rid the court of wicked eunuchs and restore the Han dynasty.”
“How can that be the same as your petty schemes? If you eunuchs form cabals for selfish gain, are you expecting righteous men to fight you one by one? Isn’t that expecting too much from virtuous people? Is this what Mencius meant by saying ‘a gentleman may be deceived through his principles’?”
As Cao Song spoke, the private soldiers he had brought also stormed into the Ministry to support Chen Fan.
Chen Fan was taken aback by this scene.
“Ju Gao, you…”
Cao Song cupped his fists and said, “Though my father is a eunuch, he is a virtuous one—not of the same ilk as Wang Fu or Cao Jie. Please rest assured, Grand Tutor.”
“I see.”
Hearing this, Chen Fan’s doubts about Cao Song’s identity as the son of a eunuch vanished completely.
Wang Fu could not restrain his anger and roared, “Cao Song! You traitor!”
Cao Song chuckled lightly and replied, “You and I were never on the same path. So how could this be betrayal?”
***
Elsewhere, Zhang Huan, General of the Protecting Xiongnu Command, was pacing anxiously in his home, clearly unable to sit still.
By now, the sounds of killing within Luoyang had grown deafening.
Anyone who could sleep through this would have to be made of stone.
As Zhang Huan restlessly awaited news, one of his household guards rushed in and knelt on one knee to report, “General, the younger brother of Minister Cao is at the door requesting an audience.”
“Minister Cao?”
Zhang Huan was momentarily stunned.
He couldn’t understand why Cao Song would send someone to see him at this critical time.
Still, not wanting to risk missing important intelligence, he quickly ordered the guard, “Let him in!”
“Yes, sir!”
The guard obeyed and left.
A few minutes later, Cao Ding hurried into the room, bowed respectfully to Zhang Huan, and spoke urgently.
“General Zhang, the situation is urgent, so I’ll be brief. The Grand General’s plan to eliminate the eunuchs has been discovered by the palace eunuchs. They’ve taken His Majesty and the Empress Dowager hostage and are now issuing forged edicts ordering the army to suppress the Grand General. In response, the Grand General has mobilized the Infantry Camp to resist.”
“My brother predicts the eunuchs will soon approach you and falsely accuse the Grand General of rebellion, ordering you to lead the other four Northern Army camps against him. We ask that you pretend to believe them for now. Once you reach the Northern Army camp, my brother, the Changshui Colonel, will help you seize control by eliminating the eunuch messengers.”
“We hope you’ll then join us in eradicating the wicked eunuchs and supporting the Grand General!”
“…”
It took Zhang Huan a while to process Cao Ding’s words.
He then nodded seriously and said, “If a messenger from the palace does come with such an edict, I’ll certainly keep your warning in mind.”
“Very well.”
Cao Ding gave a small sigh upon hearing Zhang Huan say he would “keep it in mind” rather than “obey.” Clearly, Zhang Huan did not fully believe what he’d been told.
After all, the claims were staggering—eunuchs seizing the emperor and empress dowager, issuing fake edicts, and the Grand General raising arms in rebellion.
Any rational person would find that hard to accept outright.
But for now, it was enough that Zhang Huan would take the warning seriously.
After all, Dou Wu was the Grand General—he would never rebel without cause.
As long as Zhang Huan asked a few probing questions when the eunuch messenger arrived, it would be impossible for the deception to hold up.
The truth was, while not exactly illiterate, most eunuchs in the Han dynasty weren’t highly educated.
Because really—’who becomes a eunuch if they have other prospects?’
***
Zhang Huan and Cao Ding sat together in the main hall, quietly waiting.
Sure enough, just a short while later, the front gate of the Zhang household resounded with new commotion.
“An imperial decree!”
A young eunuch, flanked by several guards and holding a scroll in his hands, stepped into the Zhang residence.
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