Read Online The Three Kingdoms Volume 1 by Luo Guanzhong - Free Book Online
Authors: Luo Guanzhong
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the palace to see if everything was all right. To their great dismay, they found the imperial jade seal, the hereditary seal for the Emperor, was missing.
Dong Zhuo camped outside the capital, but every day he was seen playing the tyrant in the streets with an escort of armored soldiers so that the common people were in a constant state of trepidation. He also went in and out of the palace regardless of any rules of propriety. His unscrupulous behavior angered an officer called Bao Xin, who went first to see Yuan Shao and then Wang Yun, warning them of Dong Zhuo’s ambition and urging them to take measures to get rid of him. But both of them were undecided, so Bao Xin left the capital with his army to go to Taishan.
By this time Dong Zhuo had gained control of all the soldiers of the former He brothers. He spoke to Li Ru in private about his intention to depose the present Emperor in favor of the Prince of Chenliu.
Li Ru said, “The empire is really without a ruler. There can be no better time than this to carry out your plan. Any delay will spoil it. Tomorrow, assemble the officials at Wenming Gardens and address them on the subject. Put all opponents to death and your absolute power is established.”
Dong Zhuo was very pleased to hear these words. So the next day he invited all the high-ranking officials and generals to a huge banquet. As all of them were terrified of him, no one dared stay behind. He himself rode up at leisure, the last to arrive, and took his seat without taking off his sword. When the wine had gone round several times, he stopped the service and the music. Then he began to speak.
“I have something to say—listen quietly, all of you.”
All turned toward him.
He said, “The Emperor is lord of all and if he lacks dignity in manner, he is not fit to inherit the throne. The present Emperor is a weakling, inferior to the Prince of Chenliu in intelligence and love of learning. The Prince is in every way fitted for the throne. So I want to depose the Emperor and set up the Prince of Chenliu in his place. What do you say?”
The assembly was stupefied. None of them dared utter a word of dissent at first. Then suddenly one guest rose from his seat and, pushing his table to the side, he came forth and cried out: “No! No! Who do you think you are that you dare utter such nonsense? The Emperor is the son of the lawful consort and has done no wrong. How can you talk about deposing him? Do you want to usurp the throne?”
The speaker was Ding Yuan, governor of Jingzhou.
Dong Zhuo glared at him. “There is life for those who are with me and death for those against,” he roared.
He drew his sword and made for the dissenter. But the watchful Li Ru had noticed standing behind Ding Yuan a particularly powerful and dangerous-looking young man, who was then glowering at Dong Zhou, his long and heavy halberd in his hand. So he hastily interposed, saying, “But this is the banquet hall and state affairs should be left outside. These matters can be fully discussed in the meeting hall at a later date.”
The other guests persuaded Ding Yuan to leave, and after his departure, Dong Zhuo asked: “Is what I said just and reasonable?”
“No, sir,” said Lu Zhi. “In ancient times, Emperor Tai Jia * of the Shang Dynasty broke the law and his chief minister Yi Yin imprisoned him in Tong Palace till he reformed. There was also the case of Prince Chang † in our dynasty. He had not been on the throne for a month when he had committed 3,000 or more wrongs. Therefore Huo Guang, the regent, declared his faults in the ancestral temple and deposed him. Our present Emperor is young but he is intelligent and kind. He has not committed a single fault. You, sir, are a mere governor of a frontier region and have had no experience in state administration. Neither have you the great ability of Yi and Huo. How can you pretend to be an authority on matters like enthronement and dethronement? As sages say, ‘With Yi
Dong Zhuo camped outside the capital, but every day he was seen playing the tyrant in the streets with an escort of armored soldiers so that the common people were in a constant state of trepidation. He also went in and out of the palace regardless of any rules of propriety. His unscrupulous behavior angered an officer called Bao Xin, who went first to see Yuan Shao and then Wang Yun, warning them of Dong Zhuo’s ambition and urging them to take measures to get rid of him. But both of them were undecided, so Bao Xin left the capital with his army to go to Taishan.
By this time Dong Zhuo had gained control of all the soldiers of the former He brothers. He spoke to Li Ru in private about his intention to depose the present Emperor in favor of the Prince of Chenliu.
Li Ru said, “The empire is really without a ruler. There can be no better time than this to carry out your plan. Any delay will spoil it. Tomorrow, assemble the officials at Wenming Gardens and address them on the subject. Put all opponents to death and your absolute power is established.”
Dong Zhuo was very pleased to hear these words. So the next day he invited all the high-ranking officials and generals to a huge banquet. As all of them were terrified of him, no one dared stay behind. He himself rode up at leisure, the last to arrive, and took his seat without taking off his sword. When the wine had gone round several times, he stopped the service and the music. Then he began to speak.
“I have something to say—listen quietly, all of you.”
All turned toward him.
He said, “The Emperor is lord of all and if he lacks dignity in manner, he is not fit to inherit the throne. The present Emperor is a weakling, inferior to the Prince of Chenliu in intelligence and love of learning. The Prince is in every way fitted for the throne. So I want to depose the Emperor and set up the Prince of Chenliu in his place. What do you say?”
The assembly was stupefied. None of them dared utter a word of dissent at first. Then suddenly one guest rose from his seat and, pushing his table to the side, he came forth and cried out: “No! No! Who do you think you are that you dare utter such nonsense? The Emperor is the son of the lawful consort and has done no wrong. How can you talk about deposing him? Do you want to usurp the throne?”
The speaker was Ding Yuan, governor of Jingzhou.
Dong Zhuo glared at him. “There is life for those who are with me and death for those against,” he roared.
He drew his sword and made for the dissenter. But the watchful Li Ru had noticed standing behind Ding Yuan a particularly powerful and dangerous-looking young man, who was then glowering at Dong Zhou, his long and heavy halberd in his hand. So he hastily interposed, saying, “But this is the banquet hall and state affairs should be left outside. These matters can be fully discussed in the meeting hall at a later date.”
The other guests persuaded Ding Yuan to leave, and after his departure, Dong Zhuo asked: “Is what I said just and reasonable?”
“No, sir,” said Lu Zhi. “In ancient times, Emperor Tai Jia * of the Shang Dynasty broke the law and his chief minister Yi Yin imprisoned him in Tong Palace till he reformed. There was also the case of Prince Chang † in our dynasty. He had not been on the throne for a month when he had committed 3,000 or more wrongs. Therefore Huo Guang, the regent, declared his faults in the ancestral temple and deposed him. Our present Emperor is young but he is intelligent and kind. He has not committed a single fault. You, sir, are a mere governor of a frontier region and have had no experience in state administration. Neither have you the great ability of Yi and Huo. How can you pretend to be an authority on matters like enthronement and dethronement? As sages say, ‘With Yi
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