Chapter 648: The Game in Luoyang
Chapter 648: The Game in Luoyang
September 25, 2017
Luoyang, Nangong, Hall of the Mysterious Chamber.
On the third day after Dong Zhuo sent back the good news of suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, numerous high-ranking officials gathered in the Hall of the Mysterious Chamber.
Interestingly, Emperor Han Lingdi, who was supposed to be present, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, General He Jin, the current Grand General, was presiding over the meeting, discussing the rewards for several generals who had distinguished themselves in the Yellow Turban campaign.
Emperor Han Lingdi had originally intended to come, and it was he who had summoned these ministers to the Hall. Otherwise, why would so many ministers be needed to discuss this matter?
The previous day, Emperor Han Lingdi had repeatedly promised Zhang Lang that he would greatly reward Lu HaiKong for his achievements. However, that night, the Emperor indulged in wine and women, and by the time all the ministers had arrived, he was nowhere to be found, leaving the entire hall of ministers waiting for an entire morning.
In reality, when these ministers arrived early and did not see the Emperor, they all knew what kind of situation he was in. Most likely, he was still sleeping at that moment.
This situation wasn't unprecedented, and there were people who could have gone to wake him up. However, they would have to get permission from the eunuchs attending to the Emperor.
If the ministers went to wake up the Emperor, they would be showing their loyalty, but the Emperor might not appreciate it. The eunuchs serving him, on the other hand, would definitely not be pleased, so they guarded the door, refusing entry to anyone who wanted to see the Emperor, regardless of the reason, as they did not want to disturb their master's rest.
Under these circumstances, the entire court waited for the Emperor, who finally woke up around noon, past lunchtime. Only then did he remember the meeting in the Hall of the Mysterious Chamber to discuss the rewards for the meritorious officials in the Yellow Turban campaign.
Although Emperor Han Lingdi had woken up, he was still suffering from a hangover, and was in no mood to preside over the meeting. Instead, he handed the matter over to General He Jin.
Fortunately, although Emperor Han Lingdi was incompetent, he wasn't foolish. At this moment, he did not make the mistake of letting a eunuch like Zhang Lang take charge, which would have been embarrassing.
However, what Emperor Han Lingdi did not know was that by handing over the matter to General He Jin, the discussions in the Hall of the Mysterious Chamber took a different turn, or rather, it gave General He Jin an opportunity.
For the past few days, General He Jin had been trying to find a way to bring down Lu HaiKong, or at least suppress his rising fame.
Recently, General He Jin had grown tired of Zhang Lang's boasting in front of him, constantly bringing up Lu HaiKong's achievements in the Ji Province campaign. Therefore, he felt the need to suppress Lu HaiKong.
Of course, although General He Jin was from a butcher background, he had been an official for a long time and had gathered some strategists around him. There were plenty of people to help him plan, so although he wanted to suppress Lu HaiKong, he did not directly confront him.
Since General He Jin did not make a move himself, his subordinates took action on his behalf.
As the discussions progressed, when it came to the issue of rewarding Lu HaiKong, one of General He Jin's subordinates spoke up.
This person directly brought up the conflict between Lu HaiKong and Huangfu Song in Ye City, accusing Lu HaiKong of being lawless and disobedient. He went on to blame Lu HaiKong for Huangfu Song's defeat in Guangping, saying that if Lu HaiKong had not disobeyed orders, Huangfu Song would not have lost in Guangping.
Furthermore, this person even hinted that Lu HaiKong was the mastermind behind the assassination attempts on Huangfu Song and Zhu Juan.
With all this mud being slung at Lu HaiKong, this originally brilliant general on the battlefield was now portrayed as a lawless, disobedient suspect in the assassination of Huangfu Song and Zhu Juan.
Of course, the ministers present were not fools. They all knew what was really going on—this was clearly a new round of struggle between the consort clan led by General He Jin and the eunuch party led by Zhang Lang.
In this situation, anyone with a bit of intelligence would not get involved, so no one spoke up for Lu HaiKong. Instead, they chose to observe with cold eyes.
General He Jin, however, had his own tricks up his sleeve. He was well aware that these accusations against Lu HaiKong were weak, and it was impossible to use them to directly bring Lu HaiKong down, especially with Zhang Lang supporting Lu HaiKong from the sidelines.
Therefore, General He Jin feigned indignation and severely reprimanded the official who had accused Lu HaiKong. He then continued as if nothing had happened, presiding over the discussion of Lu HaiKong's rewards.
In this situation, who would dare to speak up?
If the rewards were too generous, it would offend He Jin, and if they were too meager, it would be as if they were taking He Jin's side, which would also cause Zhang Lang to hold a grudge. Under these circumstances, everyone could only remain silent.
He Jin repeatedly inquired, and when no one spoke up, he directly set aside the discussion of Li HaiKong's rewards and moved on to others.
After all the rewards were discussed, He Jin casually gave Li HaiKong a title.
As they reviewed the initial rewards, everyone frowned upon seeing He Jin's decision, feeling that he was being rather unreasonable.
Huangfu Song was appointed Marquis of Huaili and General of the Left Chariots and Cavalry, and became Governor of Jizhou.
Dong Zhuo was appointed Marquis of Laixiang and General of the Chariots and Cavalry, and Inspector of Liangzhou.
Zhu Juan was appointed Marquis of Xixiang and Colonel Who Pacifies Bandits.
Li HaiKong was appointed Marquis of Hanting and General Who Defeats Bandits.
These were the initial rewards they had decided upon. Despite Li HaiKong's significant contributions, he only received the title of Marquis of Hanting and a miscellaneous generalship. As for his position, He Jin probably wanted to demote him indirectly by transferring him out of Bingzhou, but he might have felt that it was not the right time.
In comparison, Huangfu Song, who had lost the Guangping Battle and retreated during the latter part of the battle, was surprisingly appointed Marquis of Huaili and Governor of Jizhou.
He Jin's move was to tie Huangfu Song to his chariot, attributing the merits to Huangfu Song and completely denying Li HaiKong's contributions.
No one present spoke up for Li HaiKong, as in the eyes of these power brokers, this was a struggle between He Jin and Zhang Lang. Although Li HaiKong had achieved great military accomplishments, he had risen too quickly, and he still carried the scent of bloodshed. At this moment, in the eyes of these power brokers, Li HaiKong was still that same commoner who had been lifted up by Zhang Lang.
In the 1619 book, there is no mistake in this version!
In their opinion, since Li HaiKong had climbed up by cozying up to Zhang Lang, enjoying benefits while enduring some grievances was only natural.
Moreover, at this time, no one was paying attention to Li HaiKong, who was a thousand miles away. Essentially, after this list of rewards was drafted, anyone with a bit of discernment would know that a new round of conflict between the Consort Clan and the Eunuch Party was inevitable.
Since He Jin had already made his move, they also wanted to see how Zhang Lang would respond.
Zhang Lang did not disappoint them. After He Jin's proposed rewards were submitted, the next day, Han Lingdi rejected them, without saying much, only asking He Jin to revise them.
This outcome was completely unexpected by everyone, as they knew Zhang Lang would definitely respond, but no one anticipated that Zhang Lang's actions would be so swift. He Jin had just submitted the proposed rewards, and the next day, they were rejected.
They had no idea that Zhang Lang's actions were not only swift but also ahead of the game. While He Jin had yet to make his move, and news of Li HaiKong's achievements in Jizhou kept pouring in, Zhang Lang had already been working on Han Lingdi.
In reality, when He Jin submitted the rewards, Zhang Lang himself did not say anything, and Han Lingdi directly rejected them.
Did Zhang Lang's efforts go unnoticed?
In Han Lingdi's eyes, Li HaiKong was a lucky general, and yet such a capable general only received the title of a marquis and a miscellaneous generalship. Han Lingdi did not approve, so he rejected them.
This served as a signal, and the contest between Zhang Lang and He Jin over Li HaiKong's rewards officially began.
He Jin and Zhang Lang were old rivals, having already clashed over the Bingzhou issue.
During the Bingzhou conflict, He Jin initially held the upper hand, directly securing the position of Governor of Bingzhou for Ding Yuan, but from the current outcome, it was clear that He Jin had suffered a crushing defeat in the Bingzhou affair.
Not only did Li HaiKong become the Governor of Bingzhou, but he also became the greatest contributor to the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. In contrast, Ding Yuan, after several setbacks, was almost abandoned even by He Jin, so from this perspective, He Jin had undoubtedly suffered a crushing defeat.
However, the failure in the Bingzhou affair became He Jin's motivation, and no matter what, he had to suppress Zhang Lang or Li HaiKong's momentum.
This was not only a matter of saving face but also a political struggle.
The Consort Clan and the Eunuch Party had always been the Emperor's tools to balance the power of officials and the aristocracy. Emperors with political acumen would generally maintain a delicate balance between the two, allowing them to balance each other while also balancing the officials. However, Han Lingdi clearly lacked this skill.
In this situation, once the Eunuch Party's influence became rampant and caught Han Lingdi's attention, the Consort Clan's influence would naturally diminish.
Therefore, He Jin had no choice but to suppress Li HaiKong and no reason not to compete with Zhang Lang...
(End of Chapter)
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