C347 (1/2)
He Jin's face turned red, and a burst of anger rose from his body. He Miao's words just so happened to prick his sore spot, one could imagine how embarrassed he was. None of the scholars looked down on him, though they were his lieutenants.
”I have my own ways of dealing with those scholars.” He Jin's tone became much more gentle all of a sudden, obviously showing that he was still lacking a bit of confidence. He no longer hoped that the scholars would accept him, nor would he protect those scholars. He only asked for himself, ”Didn't the empress dowager ask you to command the West Garden Army? Go back and tell Her Majesty that she is to carry out the imperial decree that the country is in turmoil now, that war is on the rise, and that the northern army needs to be expanded immediately to cope with more and more conquests. Once the northern troop is expanded, the West Garden Army will be yours. ”
”You … How dare you disobey the imperial edict! ” He Miao was shocked. He would never have thought that He Jin would actually refuse to hand over the West Garden Army, ”Don't forget, the Hussar General Yang Lin's border forces are all over the Jizhou. As long as the empress dowager orders, he can go south at any time.
”If I hand over the West Garden Army, I'm afraid I won't even be able to wait until Yang Lin's army goes south. I'll be decapitated!” He Jin suddenly stood up, walked to He Miao's side and harshly said: ”Do you know how many military officers in West Garden Army have been castrated and bribed? Only when the West Garden Army is under my control can I completely eliminate them. Only then can I have sufficient strength to guarantee the safety of the current Son of Heaven and our He Clan. ”I don't trust anyone, eunuchs or scholars, I don't trust anyone, understand?”
He Miao looked at He Jin, and Mu Na nodded. ”He really did not think that his brother would have such a deep chance. Is this still that butcher?” ”Fine, immediately draft a Recital for the empress dowager, I'll take it to the palace for you.”
After Empress Dowager He finished listening to He Miao's story, he carefully read through He Jin's Recital again. Even though she was her own blood brother, she couldn't just ignore the laws of the imperial court like that! She passed the Recital to Eunuch and said snappily: ”Take a look, help me think of an idea.”
”Empress Dowager, if Great General refuses to hand over West Garden Army and wants to expand the northern troop, Great General's strength will increase exponentially. ”In this way, it will be a disaster for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager!” Zhang Ci took He Jin's Recital and glanced at it, and immediately understood He Jin's intentions, and was determined to not agree with He Jin's decision to expand the army.
Zhao Zhong stood up angrily and said sternly: ”Great General disregards the authority of the Son of Heaven and the empress dowager, and refuses to hand over the authority of the West Garden Army. He will use this to coerce the empress dowager to agree to enlist more troops.
Although Guo Sheng had always been on He Jin's side, this time he felt that He Jin was being a little too excessive. He said angrily, ”Empress Dowager, if you submit to the Great General's threat, it will definitely encourage his arrogance. In the future, he will have over tens of thousands of soldiers and control over the Luoyang's imperial government.
Zhao Zhong was even more infuriated now. He kowtowed to Empress Dowager He three times and said angrily, ”Empress Dowager, Great General can refuse to hand over his troops today and blackmail the Son of Heaven and the Empress Dowager. If so, tomorrow Great General will rush into the imperial palace and kill all the officials there are, imprisoning the Son of Heaven and the Empress Dowager. From the servant's point of view, since the Great General does not care about kinship, then why would the empress dowager be lenient? This subject pleads for the empress dowager to immediately dispatch the West Garden Army to surround the Great General's Estate and seize their troops, so as to prevent future troubles. ”
Everyone jumped in fright. They all looked at Zhang Jean, but no one dared to make a sound. This suggestion was too audacious, wasn't it provoking the affection between the empress dowager and Great General? Once they made up their minds, these Eunuch would also be on the verge of death.
Zhang Liang frowned, he glared at Zhao Zhong and scolded: ”Are you crazy? What time is it? How can the military power of the Great General be disbanded by force? With the chaos in Luoyang, would the country still want to live? Great General and the other ministers in the court are all worried that they won't have the chance to get rid of us. With such chaos, who would be able to control the West Garden Army? Aren't you courting death? Are you an idiot? ”
Zhao Zhong's mouth opened a few times, he angrily snorted, but did not say anything. However, he was already somewhat regretful in his heart. If he had not helped to kill Jian Shuo back then, when the West Garden Army was still in his hands, would He Jin dare to be so arrogant?
The current West Garden Army had already fallen under He Jin's control, and even General He Miao was unable to take over the control of the West Garden Army, so who could move the West Garden Army? Although there were a few generals who listened to the eunuchs, who could guarantee that they wouldn't turn the tables on the battle?
The reason why the Eunuch had so much power and influence was because they relied on their people's blind compliance with the imperial power. Once the Luoyang was thrown into chaos, or if the Son of Heaven and the Empress Dowager fell into the hands of the Great General, they, as eunuchs, would only be left with the fate of being massacred.
Empress Dowager He sat there, angry and anxious. The Son of Heaven had just ascended the throne, not only did his own brother not help, he had even caused a ruckus in Luoyang in order to gain power. He was even more lawless now, and even dared to disobey the decree.
Yuan frowned and crossed his arms behind his back in his study room. Since his return, he had shut himself up in his study and meditated. However, after half a day had passed, he still hadn't come up with a plan.
”Master, the eldest young master is here and is waiting for you in the living room.” Just as he was at his wit's end, a servant suddenly knocked on the door and reported Yuan Shao's arrival to him in a low voice.