by Luo Guanzhong
5After Li Ru finished reading the proclamation, Zhuo ordered his aides to assist the emperor off of the throne. They confiscated his imperial jade seal, which had a silk cord attached to it; they made him kneel down facing north, declare himself a vassal, and agree to obey any orders given to him. They also instructed the empress dowager to remove her royal vestments, and await the imperial decree. Both the emperor and the empress dowager began to wail and cry, and all of the ministers were saddened. A senior minister, who was standing at the base of the throne, became angry and screamed out, "Dong Zhuo, you villainous scoundrel! You dare carry out a scheme which deceives heaven. I shall stain you with the blood of my severed neck!" With that, he raised his ivory tablet and lunged at Dong Zhuo, intending to strike him. Zhuo was outraged, and ordered the soldiers to seize him. It was chief of staff Ding Guan. Zhuo ordered him to be dragged outside and beheaded. Guan shouted expletives non-stop, and did not change his demeanor until he was dead. People of later generations wrote a poem lamenting him, it went:
6
The villainous Dong harbored plans of deposing the emperor; the ancestral hall and imperial alter of the house of Han lay in ruins.
Out of all of the ministers in the imperial court, Lord Ding was the only real man!
7
Zhuo asked the Prince of Chenliu to ascend the throne. After all of the ministers had finished performing the ritual obeisance celebrating the crowning of a new emperor, Zhuo ordered Empress Dowager He, along with the Prince of Hongnong and his consort -- the lady Tang --, to be exiled to Yong'an Palace. The doors to the palace were to be sealed, and none of the ministers were to be allowed unauthorized entry. The poor young emperor had only assumed the throne in the fourth lunar month, and was now being deposed in the ninth lunar month. The emperor chosen by Zhuo, Prince Xie of Chenliu -- whose style name was Bohe -- was the middle son of Emperor Ling, and is now known as Emperor Xian. At the time, he was nine years old. Chuping was chosen as the new era name. Dong Zhuo made himself Chancellor of State. However, he did not need to announce his name during the ritual audience with the emperor. Furthermore, he was able to casually saunter in or out of the throne room, as he pleased. Finally, he wore his sword and shoes when in audience with the emperor. His tyrannical ways were unparalleled. Li Ru advised Zhuo to select a prominent personage for appointment to a post; this would satisfy the hopes of the people. Therefore, the talents of Cai Yong were recommended. Zhuo ordered him to be appointed, but Yong would not come. Zhuo became angry, and sent someone to tell Yong, "If you don't come, your entire clan shall be put to death." Yong was terrified, so he had no choice but to do as ordered, and came. Zhuo was overjoyed at the sight of Yong. He visited him many times in one month. He made him his trusted attendant; he was very much treated with warmth and kindness.
Continued next week. Tomorrow's installment from Lays of Ancient Rome by Macaulay.
This is one of four great novels from China, published when it was the most highly civilization in the world. Map shows China at the time of this story.
Chapter Summary: Deposing the Han emperor: Chenliu becomes emperor; plotting against the villain Dong: Mengde presents a dagger.
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This translation from Wikipedia. See license CC-BY-SA.
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