The Three Kingdoms Volume 1 (10 page)

D
ong
Zhuo was on the point of slaying Yuan Shao, but his advisor Li Ru checked him, saying, “You must not kill rashly while the business hangs in the balance.” Then Yuan Shao, sword in hand, left the assembly. He hung up the symbol of his office at the east gate and went to Jizhou.

Dong Zhuo said to Yuan Wei, “Your nephew was impudent but I pardoned him for your sake. What do you think of my proposal?”

“What you said is right,” was the reply.

“If anyone opposes the great scheme he will be dealt with by military law,” said Dong Zhuo.

After the banquet Dong Zhuo asked two of his subordinates what they thought of Yuan Shao’s departure. One of them said, “He left in a state of great anger. If you press him too hard, he will surely rebel. The Yuan family have been noted for their kindness to the people for four generations, and their protégés and dependents are everywhere. If he assembles bold spirits and disciples, all the valiant warriors will rise in arms and the vast area east of Huashan Mountains will be lost. It would be better if you pardon him and make him head of a prefecture. He will be glad to be forgiven and will do no harm.”

As the other one was also of the same opinion, Dong Zhuo followed this advice. An envoy was sent that day to announce the appointment of Yuan Shao as Prefect of Bohai.

On the first day of the ninth month, the Emperor was asked to be present at Jiade Hall to meet all his officials and generals. There, Dong Zhuo, sword in hand, addressed the assembly. “The Emperor is weak and unintelligent, and not fit to be the ruler of the empire. Now, all of you, listen to the document I have prepared.”

Li Ru read as follows: “The dutiful Emperor Ling too soon left his subjects. And all the people of the land looked up to his inheritor, but upon the present Emperor Heaven has conferred small gifts: in dignity and deportment he is deficient and in mourning he is remiss. His faults being apparent, he is inadequate for the throne. The Empress Dowager is improper in instruction and inefficient in administration. The sudden death of the late Emperor’s mother has caused many to wonder. How can the doctrine of The Three Guides
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and the rule of Heaven and Earth be injured? Now Prince Xie of Chenliu is sage and virtuous in every way. He conforms to all the rules of propriety. In mourning he is sincere and in speech he is always correct. His fine reputation spreads throughout the empire. He is well-fitted for the great duty of continuing the rule of Han to infinity.

“Therefore the Emperor is deposed and created Prince of Hongnong and the Empress Dowager retires from the administration.

“Pray accept Prince of Chenliu as the new Emperor in compliance with the will of Heaven and the desires of men, so as to fulfill the hopes of all the people.”

This having been read, Dong Zhuo ordered the attendants to lead the Emperor down from the throne, remove his imperial seal, and cause him to kneel facing the north as befitting his new status of a prince waiting to be commanded by his master. Moreover, he bade the mother take off her dress of ceremony and await the imperial command.

Both victims wailed bitterly and every official present was deeply affected. One of them put his anger in words, saying, “Shameless Dong Zhuo, how dare you plot this insult against the will of Heaven? I will give my life to stop it!” So saying he threw his ivory baton
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at the conspirators. It was Minister Ding Guan and he was immediately taken and put to death at the vicious man’s order. But before he was executed he never ceased rebuking the oppressor nor was he frightened at death.

The rebel Dong conceived the foul design,
To thrust the King aside and wrong Han’s line.
With indifference the courtiers stood, save one
Ding Guan who dared to cry that wrong was done.

Then the Emperor designate was asked to take the seat of the throne to receive respects from his officials. After this the deposed Emperor, his mother, and his wife were removed to a separate building. The entrance gates were locked and no official could enter without permission. It was pitiful! There was the young Emperor, having reigned less than six months, already deposed and another put in his place. The new Emperor was his younger brother Xie, then only nine years old. He was known in history as Emperor Xian of the East Han Dynasty. The reign title was changed to Chu Ping.

As prime minister, Dong Zhuo was arrogant beyond all reason. When he bowed before the throne he did not declare his name; when he went to court he did not hasten; and when he entered the audience hall he did not take off his boots or sword. Never had anyone been as powerful as he.

His chief advisor constantly urged him to employ men of reputation so as to gain public esteem. So when someone recommended Cai Yong as a man of talent, Dong Zhuo summoned him, but to his fury, Cai Yong refused to come. Then Dong Zhuo sent a message to him, threatening to kill his whole clan unless he did as he was told to do. Cai Yong had to give in and appeared before him. Dong Zhuo was very gracious to him and promoted him three times in one month. He became a high-ranking official and seemed to be much favored by the tyrant.

Meanwhile the deposed Emperor, his mother, and wife were imprisoned in their lodging and found their daily supplies of food and clothing gradually diminishing. The former ruler wept incessantly. One day he chanced to see a pair of swallows flying about in the courtyard, which moved him to verse.

Green in the mist grows the tender grass,
Graceful and gentle do the swallows dance.
Clear is the water in the rippling stream
Which travelers praise when they softly pass.
With lingering gaze the roofs I see,
Of the palace that once sheltered me.
May someone with a noble mind
Help me vent the grievance in my heart.

The spy, sent by Dong Zhuo occasionally to the place for news of the prisoners, got hold of this poem and showed it to his master.

“So he shows his resentment by writing poems, eh! A good excuse to put them all out of the way,” he said.

Li Ru went with ten armed men to commit the foul deed. The three were in one of the upper rooms when they arrived. The deposed Emperor shuddered with fright when the maid announced the visitor’s name.

Presently Li Ru entered and offered a cup of poisoned wine to the Emperor. The Emperor asked him what it meant.

Li Ru said, “Spring is the season of harmony and the prime minister Dong sends you the wine of longevity.”

“If so, you drink it first,” said the Empress Dowager.

“You will not drink?” cried Li Ru furiously. He called his men to place the dagger and the roll of white cloth before her.

“Take these if not the cup,” he bellowed.

Then Lady Tang, the Emperor’s wife, knelt down and pleaded, “Let me drink the wine for my lord. Please spare the mother and son.”

“Who do you think you are that can die for a prince?” he shouted.

Then he presented the cup to the mother once more and pressed her to drink. She railed against her brother, the unresourceful He Jin, for bringing in the wicked Dong Zhuo and causing all this trouble.

Li Ru approached the Emperor and pressed hard.

“Let me bid farewell to my mother,” he entreated, and weeping heart-brokenly, he sang the following lines:

Oh, Heaven and Earth change places, the sun and the moon leave their courses,
I, deprived of my empire, am driven to the farthest confines.
Oppressed by a vicious minister, my life nears its end,
Everything fails me and in vain my tears fall.

Lady Tang also sang:

Heaven is to be rent asunder, Earth to fall away,
I, having served an emperor, would grieve if I followed him not.
We are fated to part for the quick and the dead do not cross in their ways,
Alas, I am left alone with grief in my heart.

When they had sung these lines they fell weeping into each other’s arms.

“The prime minister is expecting my report,” shouted Li Ru, “and you delay too long. Do you think there is any hope of succor?”

The Empress Dowager burst into another fit. “The vicious Dong Zhuo forces us, mother and son, to die. Heaven will not permit it! And all of you who help him to do this evil will surely suffer extermination of your whole clans!”

Li Ru became more angry. He laid his brutal hands on her and pushed her down the stairs. Then he ordered the soldiers to strangle Lady Tang and poured the wine of death down the throat of the poor young Emperor. Then he reported the bloody deed to his master, who ordered him to bury the victims outside the city.

After this Dong Zhuo’s behavior was more atrocious than ever. He spent nights in the palace, defiled the maids there, and even slept on the imperial couch. Once he led his soldiers out of the city, and came to a place called Yangcheng where the villagers, men and women, were assembled for an annual festival in the second month of the lunar year. Dong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to surround the place and begin killing and plundering. All the men were killed and all the women taken prisoners. They took away booty by the cart load, and they hung their victims’ heads under the carts. The procession returned to the city and fabricated a story that they had obtained a major victory over some rebels. They burned the heads beneath the city walls and the women and booty were shared out among the soldiers.

An officer named Wu Fu was disgusted at this ferocity and sought a chance to slay the tyrant. He constantly wore a breastplate underneath his court dress and carried a concealed sharp dagger. One day when Dong Zhuo came to court Wu Fu met him on the steps and tried to stab him. But Dong Zhuo was a very powerful man and held him off till Lu Bu came to his help. Wu Fu was struck down at once.

“Who told you to rebel?” asked Dong Zhuo.

Wu Fu glared at him and cried, “You are not my lord, I am not your minister: where is the rebellion? Your crimes fill the heavens and every man would slay you. I am sorry I cannot tear you apart to appease the wrath of the whole land.”

Dong Zhuo ordered him to be taken out and hacked to pieces. He only ceased cursing as he ceased to live.

Men praise Wu Fu, that loyal servant of the latter days of Han.
His valor was high as the Heavens, in all ages unequaled;
In court itself would he slay the tyrant, so great is his fame!
Throughout all time will men call him a hero.

Dong Zhuo’s misuse of power had also reached Yuan Shao in Bohai. He sent a secret letter to Wang Yun in which he mentioned that he had assembled an army and would sweep clean the royal habitation. He urged Wang Yun to find an opportunity to destroy the wicked man.

One day while waiting in attendance at court he noticed that all the officials of long service were present. So he said to his colleagues, “It is my birthday today. Would you like to come to a little party at my house this evening?”

“Certainly,” they said. “We’ll come to wish you long life.”

That evening a banquet was given in the inner hall and his friends gathered there. When the wine had made a few rounds, the host suddenly covered his face with his sleeves and wept bitterly.

All the guests were aghast. “Why do you cry, sir, and on your birthday, too?” they asked in surprise.

“This isn’t my birthday,” he replied. “But I wanted to call you together and I was afraid lest Dong Zhuo should suspect, so I used that as an excuse. This villain insults the Emperor and dominates the court so that the state is in imminent danger. I think of the days when our illustrious founder destroyed Qin and annihilated Chu to establish the empire. Who could have foreseen this day when it should be lost to Dong Zhuo. That is why I weep.”

Then they all wept with him.

Seated among them, however, was Cao Cao who did not join in the weeping but clapped his hands and laughed. “If all the officials weep from dawn to night and from night to dawn, will the tears kill Dong Zhuo?” he demanded.

His host turned on him angrily. “Your forebears also benefited from the bounty of the Hans—do you feel no gratitude? You can still laugh?”

“I laughed because none of you can think of a way to kill him. Incapable as I am, I will cut off his head and hang it at the city gate to avenge the nation.”

The host left his seat and went over to Cao Cao’s. “What good idea do you have, Meng-de?”

“These days I have bowed my head to Dong Zhuo,” replied Cao Cao. “In fact, I have been waiting for a chance to destroy him. Now he trusts me greatly and I can often approach him. I hear you have a seven-treasure dagger which I would like to borrow and I will take it with me to go to his house and kill him even though I may die for it.”

“What good fortune for the whole country if you are willing to do that!” exclaimed his host. And he himself filled a goblet with wine for his guest, who held it in hand and swore an oath. Then the precious dagger was brought out and given to Cao Cao, who hid it under his robe. Then he finished his wine, took leave of the others, and left. Before long they all dispersed.

The following day, Cao Cao, with the dagger girded on, came to Dong Zhuo’s house. “Where is the minister?” he asked.

“In the small chamber, “answered the attendants.

Cao Cao went in and found him seated on a couch. Lu Bu was standing at his side.

“Why are you so late, Meng-de?” asked Dong Zhuo.