Chapter 22 The Imperial Court Inspects the Troops
Early morning, Luoyang City.
Luoyang's humanitarian spirit has not been withdrawn, and the state of suppressing Luoyang is still maintained .
The Yulin Army rushed into the mansions of the wealthy families, and then there was chaos and noise inside. Then the Yulin Army escorted out groups of men, women, old and young.
Groups of people were imprisoned in the prison. The cells in Luoyang were overcrowded and so crowded that there was no room for anyone to stand.
Everyone in Luoyang City knew about last night's commotion, but they were not aware of the undercurrent behind it. However, everyone knew what was about to happen.
The timid residents stayed at home and dared not go out, and would not take a step out even if they had no food at home.
The brave residents secretly stared at the street outside the window, but when they saw the Yulin Army passing by, they immediately retreated back into their houses and dared not peek.
There were also residents who were so desperate that they ran to the streets and tried to touch something from the corpses. They were then captured by patrolling soldiers and helped the army to clean up.
"Damn the Yellow Turbans, who knows how many people will die this time!" The old ministers who had experienced the Party and Faction Rebellion were extremely angry, and they did not want to experience that kind of turmoil again.
Civil and military officials gathered outside the palace. When they smelled the bloody odor, they all found it difficult to bear.
Even though soldiers had cleaned the passage at the south gate, the traces of war at the palace gate had not yet disappeared, and the strong smell of blood in the air had not yet dissipated.
It was not until Liu Hong summoned them that they followed him carefully into the Golden Palace. However, they had no time to care about the smell of blood in the air, because Liu Hong, the emperor of the Han Dynasty who seldom attended court, was sitting in the hall.
Liu Hong looked very bad, and from his expression it could be seen that he was in a state of extreme anger.
No one would try to offend an emperor who holds the power of heaven, especially when he is in a state of rage.
Behind Emperor Liu Hong of Han stood the Ten Eunuchs, but the sharp-eyed ministers noticed that two of them were missing.
"Speak!"
Liu Hong's voice was a little weak, but it made everyone feel his endless murderous intent.
Someone actually tried to break into the palace? Liu Hong, whose life was threatened, had made up his mind that whoever was behind it must die.
Zhang Rang, who was standing behind Liu Hong, stepped forward and announced to the ministers, "Your Majesty has ordered that all the rebels who participated in the riot yesterday will be beheaded in public! The general will also report the emergency military information to the ministers!"
General He Jin stepped forward and shouted, "Last night, the evil Taiping Daoist Zhang Jiao gathered a crowd to rebel, and all the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty responded! Currently, Julu has been captured by the rebels!"
There was a burst of discussion in the court. Most of them knew that the Taiping Dao was going to rebel, but they did not expect that Zhang Jue would do it in advance.
He Jin made another suggestion: "The Taiping Dao has been established for more than ten years. The rebellious intention has long existed, but officials of all levels in various places either failed to detect it or did not report it. They are all negligent. What's worse, some even colluded with the rebels, which is truly a crime that deserves death."
Liu Hong tried to calm himself down, closed his eyes, and said impatiently: "General, read out what you found."
“Yes!”
He Jin responded, took out the list and started reading out the names one by one.
When they saw He Jin really took out the list, many people in the court changed their faces greatly. Some of the timid ones even became incontinent and could not cope with the situation.
"Dog Emperor, accept your death!"
Before He Jin could speak, a minister stepped forward, took out a dagger from somewhere, and stabbed Liu Hong.
"Hmph! Longteng!"
Liu Hong opened his eyes and without waiting for the guards to come forward to protect him, several dragon-shaped energy forces appeared and directly beat the rebel, causing fractures all over his body.
"Drag him away and kill all nine generations of his clan!"
"Yes!" After the Yulin Army dragged the rebel down from the hall, Liu Hong signaled He Jin to continue.
All the new ministers present were shocked. It was the first time they saw Liu Hong take action. Moreover, the Luoyang formation was now activated, and Liu Hong was able to use extraordinary means.
He Jin also felt a chill down his spine. For the first time, he truly recognized his nominal brother-in-law. Upon seeing Liu Hong's gesture, he quickly read out the list aloud.
"The eunuchs Feng Xian and Xu Feng secretly colluded with the Yellow Turban rebels and deliberately mobilized the palace gate guards to leave, providing convenience for the rebels to plot rebellion."
Liu Hong's expression became even more angry. The Ten Attendants were the eunuchs he trusted the most, and their daily evil deeds were all the result of his indulgence.
He never expected that the person he trusted the most would actually betray him. He gritted his teeth and said, "These two people should be torn to pieces, and anyone who is involved should be killed as well."
The Han Emperor wanted to kill the two men's entire clans, but they were eunuchs and had no descendants, so he could only kill the implicated persons instead.
He Jin continued reading: "Minister Li Jue provided shelter for the Yellow Turbans."
"punish!"
Every time He Jin said a name, Liu Hong would coldly say a word, either kill, chop, scrape, or split.
Kill means beheading, punish means killing three generations of the clan, split means quartering, and cut means cutting into pieces with a thousand cuts.
There were many officials whose names were called standing in the court. They were hoping for a lucky victory, but when they actually heard their names, they collapsed to the ground. The Yulin Army dragged them out of the hall, and the result can be imagined.
Among them, the word "kill" seems particularly merciful. For participating in such a turmoil, the only consequence is beheading... At least the family is saved. The officials who receive this word will even be grateful and shout "Long live the emperor."
He Jin read the list for a full hour.
"Your Majesty, there are 18 court officials on the list, 324 officials of all ranks in Luoyang City, and 1,253 people who followed the thieves. Please review the list."
What else is there to look at? Those who should be killed have been killed. Why look at the list again? Does it make you angry?
Zhang Rang took the list and handed it to Liu Hong, who threw it away.
"General, there are rebels in all thirteen states now. How should we deal with them?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Taiping evil sect is deceiving the people. It seems to be powerful, but the rebels are all from the fields. Most of them are a mob. There is no need to worry about them at all. As long as the court sends a few capable generals, it will be enough to quell the rebellion."
Although He Jin was born a butcher, he was a representative of scholars after all. There were many scholars behind him who gave him advice and analyzed everything thoroughly. This was also the reason why He Jin could speak so eloquently.
"Is there anyone suitable?"
Before he finished speaking, Grand Tutor Yuan Wei stood up.
"I recommend Zhu Jun, the Marquis of Duting. He is proficient in the military and once served as the governor of Jiaozhou, where he quelled the rebellion. With your great talent, it would be easy for you to quell the rebellion."
He Jin glanced at the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei with dissatisfaction. He, a general, didn't say a word, so how could you, even if you are one of the Three Dukes, steal the limelight?
Although he was dissatisfied, He Jin still stepped forward and said, "I recommend a man, Huangfu Song, the counselor. He is the son of Huangfu Gui, the general who crossed the Liao River. He is a descendant of a general and is loyal to our Han Dynasty. He was born in a filial and honest family and is good at commanding troops. Now is the time for him to serve the country. I guarantee that he will be able to quell the rebellion."
