Hearing that an imperial edict had arrived, Zhang Huan immediately knelt down to receive it, while Cao Ding hid behind a screen in the room, holding his breath and waiting silently.
The young eunuch hurriedly announced the decree as soon as he arrived at Zhang Huan’s residence, given the urgency of the situation.
The contents of the edict were exactly as Cao Ding had just described:
[Dou Wu had incited a rebellion using the Northern Army’s infantry camp, and Zhang Huan, the Protector-General of the Xiongnu, was ordered to lead the remaining four camps of the Northern Army to suppress the uprising.]
After receiving the edict, Zhang Huan excused himself, saying he needed time to prepare, and returned to his private quarters. Cao Ding entered as well, clasped his hands in salute, and said:
“This edict is a forgery, General. Please remain vigilant.”
“Mm.”
Zhang Huan gave a slight nod and glanced down at the edict in his hands.
There was indeed something wrong with it.
The issue wasn’t with the edict’s legitimacy—it bore the emperor’s imperial seal and was therefore completely valid on the surface.
The problem lay in its format.
The formatting of this edict was riddled with errors.
In the Eastern Han, imperial edicts were typically drafted by the Secretariat.
The officials there were all learned scholars.
Even under extreme pressure, someone who had been writing edicts for over a decade would never produce something so sloppily written—unless, just as Cao Ding had said, the emperor and empress dowager had been taken hostage by the eunuchs and the decree was written under duress.
Those scholars at the Secretariat would never willingly side with the eunuchs.
If forced to draft an edict for them, they would surely leave behind deliberate mistakes as hidden clues.
Had this happened to the former Zhang Huan, he might have overlooked those small details due to the urgency of the situation.
But now, with Cao Ding’s warning, he had become more alert and had noticed the flaws.
At this point, Zhang Huan was already sixty percent convinced of Cao Ding’s claims.
A while later, he disguised Cao Ding as one of his household retainers and brought him along to the Northern Army camp.
***
Meanwhile, the eunuch faction had issued another forged edict, ordering the Minister of Finance, Zhou Jing, to act as General of Chariots and Cavalry, wielding an imperial baton of authority.
He was to lead the Northern Army alongside Zhang Huan to attack Dou Wu.
Because Wang Fu had been unable to break through the heavily defended Secretariat—thanks to Cao Song’s reinforcements—he temporarily gave up and left soldiers to keep the Secretariat surrounded.
Then, he personally led a thousand palace troops, made up of the Imperial Guards and Feathered Forest Army, out of the palace to join Zhou Jing and Zhang Huan in suppressing Dou Wu.
This was done not only to join the battle but also to act as supervision.
Wang Fu was unwilling to let outsiders like Zhou Jing and Zhang Huan command thousands of Northern Army soldiers without any oversight.
***
Late at night, Zhang Huan and Cao Ding arrived at the Northern Army camp and began organizing the troops in preparation for the campaign against Dou Wu.
Soon after, Zhou Jing also arrived, followed by Wang Fu with his palace troops.
“Palace troops…?”
Zhang Huan’s gaze deepened slightly.
Under normal circumstances, palace troops should never be deployed outside, especially not when Grand General Dou Wu was allegedly rebelling inside Luoyang.
Those soldiers were supposed to protect the empress dowager and the emperor.
Even if the young emperor, out of ignorance, had ordered all forces to suppress the rebellion, would the empress dowager really have been foolish enough to agree?
The deployment of palace troops absolutely did not come from the emperor or empress dowager.
‘Then who gave the order?’
Zhang Huan silently glanced at Cao Ding standing behind him.
If what Cao Ding said was true—that the eunuchs had taken the emperor and empress dowager hostage—then everything made sense.
Wang Fu had brought the palace troops not to support Zhang Huan in suppressing a rebellion, but to keep a close watch on him.
If Zhang Huan managed to contact Grand General Dou Wu and coordinate with him, all of the eunuchs’ schemes would collapse.
Wang Fu’s “reinforcement” was really just surveillance.
And as for the palace being left defenseless without its troops? If the emperor and empress dowager were put in danger—so what? Their lives clearly meant less to the eunuchs than their own safety.
At that moment, Zhang Huan was completely convinced of Cao Ding’s words.
***
Upon entering the Northern Army camp, Zhang Huan summoned all officers at the rank of Qujunhou and above to convene.
He also invited Wang Fu to join the strategy meeting to discuss how to suppress the rebellion.
Wang Fu, who had come precisely to monitor Zhang Huan, had no reason to refuse the invitation and readily entered the Northern Army camp for the meeting.
Once everyone had gathered, Zhang Huan’s expression suddenly changed.
In front of the assembled officers, he fixed his eyes on Wang Fu and declared in a stern voice:
“The palace eunuchs heard rumors that the Grand General and Grand Tutor intended to eliminate them. So they took the emperor and empress dowager hostage and plotted rebellion. They forged imperial edicts to try and kill the Grand General. Forced into a corner, the Grand General raised troops to resist. Yet now he is slandered as a traitor.”
“Think carefully, everyone! The empress dowager is the Grand General’s own daughter. Why would he rebel? The eyes of the entire realm are upon us. Whether we purge the eunuchs and rid the court of corruption—or suppress the Grand General and Grand Tutor and crush the people’s hopes—rests in your hands. But as for me, Zhang Huan, I will fight the eunuchs to the death!”
At that moment, Cao Ding also stepped forward and added in a heavy tone:
“Everyone here has heard of the atrocities committed by the eunuchs’ sons throughout the provinces. The soldiers under your command hail from all over the Han Empire—some of their own relatives may have died at the hands of those corrupt officials. If you choose to side with the eunuchs today, how will your soldiers feel? Will they still remain loyal to you? Will you still be able to hold your positions?”
From within the crowd, Cao Chi stepped forward according to plan.
Seeing his younger brother appear behind Zhang Huan, he immediately shouted out the slogan that Mengde had prepared:
“Death to the eunuchs! Down with corruption! Defend the emperor! Punish the traitors!”
The Qujunhou officers behind Cao Chi followed his lead without hesitation and shouted loudly.
“Death to the eunuchs! Down with corruption! Defend the emperor! Punish the traitors!”
The slogan, with its rhythmic cadence and strong appeal, had a powerful effect.
Most of the men in the camp were only Qujunhou—mid-level officers without much political sophistication.
With just a bit of agitation, they joined in the chant with fervor.
“Death to the eunuchs! Down with corruption! Defend the emperor! Punish the traitors!”
Seeing their own men joining in, the three remaining colonels had no choice but to raise their voices as well.
“Death to the eunuchs! Down with corruption! Defend the emperor! Punish the traitors!”
In the end, only the eunuch Wang Fu, the Shaofu Zhou Jing who stood on the eunuchs’ side, and a dozen or so of their followers remained silent and did not join the chant.
“……”
Everyone present turned to look at them.
“Ahhh!”
***
Moments later, a series of agonizing screams rang out, and Wang Fu, Zhou Jing, and the others were all beheaded.
Zhang Huan, full of confidence, sat in the commander’s seat and issued orders.
“Zheng Huai! Go to the Grand General’s camp and inform him that Wang Fu has been executed. The remaining five regiments of the Northern Army will now follow his command! Hao Hong! Take Wang Fu’s head to the Tiger Guards and the Feathered Forest Army. Tell them to surrender immediately and join us in exterminating the eunuchs—or we won’t be so polite!”
“Yes, sir!”
The two officers accepted the orders and quickly departed.
“As for the rest of you—assemble the troops and prepare for battle! Uphold the Emperor’s authority and punish the traitors! Heaven shall destroy the enemies of the nation!”
“Uphold the Emperor’s authority! Destroy the traitors of the nation!”
All the officers echoed the rallying cry with passion and excitement, then left the command tent to carry out their orders.
***
In the infantry camp
Upon receiving the news, Dou Wu burst into hearty laughter.
“Heaven itself aids me! General Zhang Huan saw through the eunuchs’ plot and rose in support! Excellent, excellent! The Han dynasty is not yet doomed!”
In the Tiger Guards and Feathered Forest Army camps—
The two commanding officers looked at each other in silent confusion.
It was known that the Northern Army had six regiments, with over a thousand men in each—more than six thousand troops in total.
In contrast, the Tiger Guards and Feathered Forest Army only had two regiments, with eight hundred men each.
Sixteen hundred against six thousand.
Who exactly had the advantage here?
Could they win?
‘We’ll win… right?’
Ultimately, both officers chose to follow their hearts.
Even if they did win, so what? They were currently siding with the eunuchs.
In the end, all they would gain was a place in history as cursed traitors.
By midnight, the Tiger Guards and Feathered Forest Army surrendered to Zhang Huan.
He led the troops to join Dou Wu’s infantry camp, and together their combined force of over seven thousand soldiers surrounded the Northern Palace.
“Cao Jie! I curse your mother! Give us a straight answer—are you surrendering or not!?”
A soldier shouted outside the palace gates.
“The Grand General has issued a decree: this campaign to eliminate the eunuchs targets only the truly evil ones! Eunuchs who have not abused their power and whose families haven’t caused havoc in the provinces will not be pursued. You need only serve the palace faithfully and behave with integrity! So stop blindly following Cao Jie!”
A scholarly-looking official followed the soldier’s harsh words with a calm and reasonable persuasion from the outside.
With a good cop–bad cop approach, most of the palace eunuchs lost the will to resist.
Inside the palace, Cao Jie sat motionless on his cushion, staring blankly at the young emperor Liu Hong, who was glaring at him furiously from the arms of his wet nurse, Zhao Rao.
The eunuchs serving Liu Hong watched Cao Jie and his people intently, ready to intervene should they attempt anything desperate.
Now that Dou Wu had arrived with his army, Cao Jie’s earlier lies—claiming the Grand General intended to depose the emperor—had completely fallen apart.
With the emperor no longer on his side, the imperial secretariat under control of Cao Song and Chen Fan, and the palace surrounded by thousands of troops, Cao Jie had no cards left to play.
***
After a long silence, Cao Jie waved weakly at his loyal attendants.
“Go… all of you, leave.”
Despair written all over their faces, his followers slowly withdrew.
Cao Jie picked up a goblet of poisoned wine and drank it, ending his own life.
Many eunuchs who believed themselves guilty beyond redemption followed suit, ending their lives through various means.
The eunuchs serving the emperor finally let out a sigh of relief.
Liu Hong waved his hand.
“Take Us outside. We wish to meet with the Grand General. Zhang Changshi.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Zhang Rang—still an unremarkable eunuch at the time—bowed to Liu Hong, then ordered the remaining palace eunuchs to escort the young emperor out of the palace to meet Dou Wu.
***
At a court assembly days later, the official judgment of Cao Jie and Wang Fu’s treason was announced—
Cao Jie and Wang Fu were beheaded, their heads hung at the Luoyang city pavilion.
Guilty relatives were executed.
Innocent ones were exiled to Bijing County in Rinan Commandery, Jiaozhou.
All eunuchs who followed them in rebellion were executed.
Zhu Yu and Zheng Sa were dismembered by five chariots.
Grand Tutor Chen Fan, who contributed to the suppression of the rebellion, was granted the title of Marquis of Gaoyang and awarded a fief of 1,000 households.
Grand General Dou Wu was likewise credited for the victory.
His fief was increased to 2,000 households, totaling 10,000.
Zhang Huan, the Zhonglang General in charge of guarding the Xiongnu border, was granted the title of Marquis of Anding, a fief of 1,500 households, and was appointed as Shaofu (Minister of the Imperial Household).
As for Miss Mengde’s father, Cao Song—he played a pivotal role in this entire incident.
His fief was increased to 3,000 households, and he rose from being a mere pavilion marquis to a county marquis.
He was also appointed Grand Minister of Agriculture.
Cao Ding and Cao Chi also received honors.
As for Miss Mengde herself… she was merely a five-year-old girl.
What merit could she possibly have contributed to the rebellion?
However, the greatest benefit Cao Song gained from this incident wasn’t just titles and positions—it was reputation.
Before this, Cao Song had been viewed as a typical son of a eunuch.
But now? After rescuing both Chen Fan and Dou Wu, he had become a model of virtue among the scholar-official class.
From then on, whenever Cao Teng—Cao Song’s father—was brought up among the gentry, people would nod and say, ‘Now there was a worthy eunuch indeed,’ personally endorsed by none other than Chen Fan, one of the Three Exemplars of the age.
And speaking of the Three Exemplars—because Cao Song had participated in the rebellion and helped execute the eunuchs, some people even began to group him together with Chen Fan, Dou Wu, and Liu Shu as the “Four Exemplars.”
When Miss Mengde heard this news, she was so excited she couldn’t sleep.
After all, no one liked being called the descendant of a eunuch.
In the original timeline, Cao Cao was often enraged by such accusations.
But now, when chaos breaks out at the end of the Han dynasty and someone calls her the descendant of a eunuch, Miss Mengde can proudly declare:
“My father is one of the Four Exemplars. What is your father?”
In the end, the emperor personally announced rewards to all the others who had contributed to the success of the rebellion during the court assembly.
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