Chapter 121: Swift Execution

Gongsun Xun, leading his personal guard and a squad of armored soldiers, and carrying the bloodstained door lintel inscribed with the three characters 'Champion Marquis' — which was really just a prototype of what later generations would call a plaque — had not gone far when someone blocked his path.

"Wenqi!" Wang Yun, wearing his court cap and a plain household robe, hurried forward with quick steps, disregarding his status and image as he directly stopped Gongsun Xun's white horse in the street. "I heard at home that you have already seized Wang Fu? Has the matter truly succeeded?!"

Gongsun Xun immediately nodded. "I am just on my way to arrest Duan Jiong as well!"

Wang Yun gripped the other's reins and shook his head repeatedly. "Duan Jiong is but a military man, merely a claw and fang of Wang Fu and his ilk. If Wang Fu is dead, he is hardly worth worrying about... But Wenqi, you must speak plainly with me — is Wang Fu certain to die this time?"

Gongsun Xun immediately nodded again. "Rest assured, Lord Wang. That father and son will not live past three days, perhaps not even past today... I will speak plainly: even if the realm issued an edict to pardon him, Lord Yang and I would certainly kill them both to answer to the realm before the edict arrived!"

Hearing these words, Wang Yun could not help but release the reins and step back several paces. Right there in the street, tears welled from his eyes. "I never thought that old villain would see such a day! I must hurry home and prepare the sacrificial offerings. The moment news of Wang Fu's death arrives, I shall pay homage to my former lord, Lord Liu..."

Gongsun Xun naturally offered him kind words of comfort.

But just as Wang Zishi was about to return home to pay homage to the Grand Administrator of Taiyuan, Liu Zhi, who had died for him that very day, he turned and caught sight of that plaque.

"Is this the blood of that villain Wang Fu?" Wang Yun could not help but stop in his tracks.

At this moment, Gongsun Xun naturally would not dampen the man's spirits, so he gave a slight nod in silent acknowledgment.

And upon hearing this, Wang Zishi, right there under the gaze of the crowd, immediately did something that left everyone utterly dumbstruck — he rolled up his sleeves, extended a finger to dab at the bloodstains on the plaque, and finally put it into his mouth and licked it.

Not to mention the household members who had followed Wang Zishi, not to mention the passersby around them — even Han Dang and the other frontier warriors were momentarily speechless.

Gongsun Xun naturally broke out in goosebumps as well, but after all, he had some understanding of Wang Yun as a person, so he was the first to recover. He forced a laugh and managed to ask, "I wonder how it tasted?"

"Ptui!" Wang Yun spat directly onto the ground, his expression turning bitter. "Foul and rank beyond compare — there is nothing in this world more vile than this!"

"Isn't all human blood in the world salty?" Gongsun Xun continued with a dry laugh.

"The blood of eunuch traitors who bring calamity to the realm — how could it not be vile?!" Wang Yun declared with righteous conviction.

Gongsun Xun threw his head back in laughter, but then his expression suddenly turned solemn, and he hastily spurred his horse toward Duan Jiong's residence.

It must be said that Duan Jiong held the post of Grand Palace Grandee, and Grand Palace Grandee, Imperial Household Grandee, and the like were all typical sinecures — high in rank but without any real duties. Generally, they were positions given to high officials of the caliber of the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers after they left office, when no corresponding vacancy existed, yet their status was such that appointing them as a Court Gentleman would be an insult. Thus, such official posts were used to maintain them.

In other words, if a person today was a Grand Palace Grandee or Imperial Household Grandee or the like, no one should be surprised if tomorrow that person was suddenly appointed as one of the Three Excellencies overseeing the Imperial Secretariat... Was that not exactly the case with Qiao Xuan? And Yang Biao repeatedly shifted between the Three Excellencies and Imperial Household Grandee.

Returning to the matter at hand, when Duan Jiong, Duan Jiming, had stepped down from his post as Grand Administrator of Yingchuan and then entered Luoyang to join forces with Cao Jie and Wang Fu, his original intent was to make one final bid for a position among the Three Excellencies. Considering that he had previously served as Grand Commandant, if he could truly serve twice among the Three Excellencies, the Duan clan's future would at least have some foundation to speak of, and they would have firmly established themselves in Luoyang...

Of course, everyone now knew that Duan Jiming, after all this time in Luoyang, had never received an appointment to the Three Excellencies!

Quite the contrary — what Grand Commandant Duan had first awaited was the complete failure of the northern expedition he had led alongside his two beloved generals! A complete political downfall!

Then, he had awaited the news that his two beloved generals had been demoted to commoners and killed by the roadside!

And now, he had awaited the arrival of the Capital Section Officer from the Imperial Secretariat coming to his door to make an arrest, along with armored soldiers directly under the Colonel-Director of Retainers!

This time, however, Duan Jiong, who had always been famed throughout the realm for his ability to kill, offered no superfluous resistance. In fact, shortly after Gongsun Xun had the plaque bearing the three characters 'Champion Marquis,' torn from Wang Fu's gate, delivered into the Duan residence, the main gate swung open. Duan Jiong's son personally came out to receive them, saying that his father was in the courtyard, dressed in white and awaiting punishment!

Gongsun Xun let out a long breath. He first had the squad of armored soldiers enter, and only then led his personal guard striding into the Duan residence. Yet it seemed he had been measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's mind... Duan Jiong was indeed in the courtyard, dressed in white and awaiting punishment, without the slightest falsehood.

"Lord Duan!" Gongsun Xun stood in the courtyard and offered a slight cupped-hand salute to the elderly man sitting on the ground before him. "Have you accepted your fate?"

"Since armored soldiers have arrived, it must be with the Son of Heaven's approval." Duan Jiong's hair and beard were streaked with white, stirring though there was no wind. "And since Regular Attendant Wang has also been captured without resistance, this matter is already settled. That being the case, as a subject, should I resist stubbornly and draw blades against you?"

"Lord Duan." Gongsun Xun nodded slightly, then glanced with keen interest at the several dozen robust and resentful-looking guests and household members under the corridor behind Duan Jiong. He continued, "I will not deceive you. Others may be spared, but once you enter the prison, you are certain to die alongside Wang Fu and his son. You must prepare yourself early!"

At these words, not to mention the panic of Duan Jiong's wife and children, those several dozen robust guests directly drew their blades in fury, prompting Han Dang and the others to draw their own swords in response... The Duan residence, which had just moments ago been filled with an air of desolation, instantly threatened to turn into a battlefield.

"Do not fall for his scheme!" Duan Jiong, sitting on the ground, did not move a muscle, nor did he even turn his head, yet with a single shout he silenced all these men. "He is deliberately provoking you, wanting you to draw your blades. But drawing blades now will only see you all die in vain, and earn you the name of rebellious criminals besides!"

Unperturbed, Gongsun Xun stepped forward twice, came before Duan Jiong, and also sat down cross-legged. "Does Lord Duan think I speak empty words? In the first year of the Xiping era, to curry favor with Cao Jie and Wang Fu, you threw over a thousand Imperial Academy students into the imperial prison, and then beat so many young scholars to death inside. Later, it was precisely on the merit of this deed that you advanced to Grand Commandant. On that day, when you were brimming with delight, did it never occur to you that one day you would have to pay with your life for this?"

The two sat facing each other, separated by no more than a few feet — truly, their four eyes met.

And now, faced with such a question, Duan Jiong answered with frank composure. "I served in the military for decades — how could I possibly not understand gain and loss, advantage and consequence? Just as you say, on that day when I threw in my lot with the eunuchs and sought high office, I had long since contemplated the calamity of this day. That is why today I face you calmly, dressed in white. It is just that I truly did not expect you to be so impatient, seeking to put me to death the moment you arrived! Even less did I expect that you, Gongsun Xun, would question me with such righteous self-assurance... Back then, I thought you were someone of note. Seeing you today, you are nothing but a fool!"

Gongsun Xun immediately burst out laughing. "I think I understand Lord Duan's meaning. You see the scholars and the eunuchs as two opposing sides, where the victor becomes king and the loser an outlaw, and so on the day you entered the fray, you were already prepared for this. And I, Gongsun Xun, am clearly nothing more than a hired thug for the scholars, merely enjoying a slightly better reputation. One day, when the cause fails, I too will die without a burial place... So, I am in no way superior to you, yet I strut about smugly, which is truly laughable. Is that your meaning?"

"Is it not?" Duan Jiong gave a cold laugh. "All you rely on is that you now have many paths of retreat, so no matter how wildly you act, your life is temporarily secure! You must understand, the world turns and shifts — twenty years from now, will you still be able to..."

"There are no twenty years left!" Gongsun Xun could not help but shake his head and sigh. "What a pity, Lord Duan!"

Duan Jiong was bewildered and uncomprehending.

"Let us speak no more of this!" Gongsun Xun suddenly rose to his feet. "The old gives way to the new, factional strife is merciless, private grudges are hard to settle. Lord Duan... I say it once more: as you go to prison now, whether it be the Son of Heaven, Yang Qiu, or I, Gongsun Xun — none of us will permit you to come out alive! But I was born in a frontier commandery, and I know better than anyone the service you, Duan Jiong, have rendered to the House of Han. That is why I prattle on here! I only hope you will end things yourself beforehand, so as to avoid humiliation in prison... And if you do so, I can still mediate from within to allow your wife and family to return home and live in peace!"

Duan Jiong pondered for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly. "You have tried three times now to trick me into suicide — it may well be a ruse. Perhaps this case still has room for a turnaround! Please take me to the prison of the Colonel-Director of Retainers. I will not commit suicide!"

Gongsun Xun nodded helplessly. "In that case, I shall visit Lord Duan in prison tomorrow. I imagine by then, Lord Duan will have come to some realization... At that time, my promise will still hold. Even if it means personally sending you on your way, I would not mind!"

Duan Jiong paid him no heed whatsoever. He abruptly rose to his feet and strode out with his head held high. With a wave of Gongsun Xun's hand, that squad of armored soldiers immediately followed, preparing to escort this former famed general of Liangzhou into prison!

It must be said that Duan Jiong was heading to certain death. Yet, looking at those several dozen robust warriors, their faces grief-stricken and still faintly glaring at him with indignation, Gongsun Xun, whose private grudge was now repaid, felt his spirits wane and was momentarily speechless.

Thus, although the day was still early, he did not go to the prison to observe the punishment, but instead headed straight home... However, Gongsun Xun truly had not expected that a guest had been waiting at his home for quite some time.

"Wenqi," Cao Cao, sitting in the main hall, drinking with Lu Fan while teasing the cat, raised his wine cup slightly in greeting. "I never imagined your home held such a world — fine wine and a civet cat, both rare treasures... It is fortunate I came by today."

Seeing the other so at ease, Gongsun Xun could not help but feel somewhat awkward... The truth was, how could he not know the reason for the other's visit?

Lu Fan, as a mere household retainer, had only been making strained conversation earlier. Now, seeing his lord return, he naturally rose and withdrew promptly. Gongsun Xun had no choice but to sit down and, with the very hands that had just killed, raise a cup and drink with Cao Cao.

"I have come to bid farewell." After drinking several cups of wine in succession, Cao Cao came straight to the point. "I never imagined you would be so impatient, accomplishing such a great deed just after the Empress died... That day, what you and Lord Qiao spoke of — I fear it was this matter?"

"Indeed," Gongsun Xun nodded slightly, then could not help but look abashed. "The Empress..."

"The Empress died in the Cold Palace." Cao Cao raised his cup, drank alone, and spoke to himself. "His Majesty made no mention of how she should be buried..."

For a moment, no one in the hall spoke, only a few small birds chirping incessantly under the eaves... As for 'made no mention of how she should be buried,' it simply meant that the body was still not permitted to be collected. Truly, one could not fathom what kind of ruthlessness had seized the Son of Heaven, nor where this ruthlessness came from.

One must understand, this was, after all, the Empress who had been mother to the realm for several years. Even if the witchcraft was real, even if he wanted to use the Song clan to make an example and sweep away the old powers... the person was already dead, yet he still forbade the collection of the body — this was truly going too far!

To speak frankly, this was no longer making an example; this was tyranny!

And that being the case, it was no wonder Gongsun Xun felt so awkward... After all, they had exploited the Empress's tragic death and, with the aid of a tyrannical Son of Heaven, swiftly launched this affair.

"The case of Empress Song was murky and unclear from the start, and there is much discontent both in the palace and at court. With the Son of Heaven acting thus, I fear new waves of trouble will arise." After a long pause, Cao Cao, sitting cross-legged, continued.

"Who says otherwise?" Gongsun Xun answered stiffly.

"Wenqi and the others slaying eunuchs is a matter of great righteousness — you need not feel awkward." Cao Cao had likely perceived Gongsun Xun's unease and thus offered words of comfort. "If others do not understand your difficulties, do you think I do not? If you do not strive to slay the eunuchs, how could the scholars tolerate you? These next few days are critical. Now that matters have reached this point, you must not waver."

Gongsun Xun smiled even more bitterly but could only nod.

"Still, it is no wonder Wenqi feels uneasy seeing me." Cao Cao suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly. "I have truly reached the pitiful end! When I first came to Luoyang, my initial goal was to restore my official post; halfway here, it changed to trying to rescue my in-laws; after entering Luoyang, it changed again to wanting to collect my in-laws' bodies; later, it changed yet again to merely begging to collect my own cousin's body. But now, with the Son of Heaven forbidding even the Empress's body to be collected, I fear I cannot even bury my own cousin! Naturally, there is no longer any need for me to remain in Luoyang!"

Gongsun Xun was also momentarily overcome with emotion. "Back then, we even spoke of calling Xu Ziyuan and Lou Zibo over to share a drink together. Who would have thought that Brother Mengde would have to leave so soon?"

"No need for such childish sentiment!" Cao Cao suddenly shook his head. "Wang Fu cannot escape blame for my cousin's death either. If Wenqi can kill him for me, it would fulfill part of my long-held wish!"

Gongsun Xun quickly nodded, then once again recounted the fate of Wang Fu and his son in detail, stating plainly that this father and son had no chance of survival — which made Cao Cao nod repeatedly as he listened.

After hearing this, Cao Mengde could not help but ask about the specifics of Gongsun Xun and the others' plan to eliminate the eunuchs.

On this point, Gongsun Xun naturally had nothing to hide — the matter was already set in motion, and Cao Mengde was so perceptive that he surely would not secretly tip off the eunuchs.

"I will not hide it from you, Brother Mengde. Among the eunuchs at court, Cao Jie and Wang Fu are the leaders. Cao Jie is crafty and far-sighted, and has long since withdrawn into his residence — he will be difficult to eliminate quickly. As for Wang Fu, this man has always been arrogant, domineering, and overbearing in his influence. Therefore, when I discussed the plan with Yang Fangzheng that day, we resolved to begin with him and strike like thunder! If we can eliminate this man first, then the remaining Regular Attendants — Chunyu Deng, Yuan She, Feng Yu, and the others — will surely lose their nerve, and we can use the Wang Fu case to implicate them and seize them all in one move... By that point, Cao Jie will have lost all outside support, and we can break him at our leisure!"

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and indeed seemed to feel that this plan had no major flaws. However...

"However," Cao Cao suddenly said, "these eunuchs have long been entrenched in the court, with connections far and wide. Wenqi, you must use thunderous measures — arrest whoever can be arrested, kill whoever must be killed. You absolutely must not let this drag on..."

Gongsun Xun nodded again. "That is exactly my intention... Tomorrow I will go to the prison and urge Yang Fangzheng to strike swiftly and eliminate future troubles!"

"Good!" Cao Cao immediately nodded. "Let us drink!"

———————I am the well-prepared dividing line———————

"Jiong curried favor with the eunuchs, and thus preserved his wealth and rank, becoming a partisan of the Regular Attendant Wang Fu. In the first year of Xiping, when Empress Dowager Dou passed away, someone wrote on the Vermilion Bird Gate, saying: 'The realm is in great chaos; Cao Jie and Wang Fu have imprisoned and killed the Empress Dowager; the Attendant Hou Lan has killed many partisans; the high ministers all draw their salaries like corpses, and none speak loyally.' Thereupon an edict was issued to the Colonel-Director of Retainers, Liu Meng, to pursue and arrest the culprit, with reports due every ten days. Meng, considering the defamatory writing to speak the truth, refused to make arrests hastily. After over a month, no culprit was named. Meng was demoted and transferred to be Grandee Remonstrant, and the Palace Assistant Secretary Duan Jiong replaced Meng. He then sent men out in all directions to pursue and arrest, including the roaming students of the Imperial Academy; over a thousand were bound and all thrown into prison. Later, Jiong further assisted Wang Fu in unjustly executing the Regular Attendants Zheng Sa, Dong Teng, and others, and was granted an additional four Battalion Commander to his fief, making a total of fourteen Battalion Commander." — Book of the Later Han, Biographies of Duan Jiong and the Eunuchs

PS: Had matters to attend to today; only returned to eat at eight o'clock, then hastily wrote this chapter. The word count is a bit low — I will try to make up for it tomorrow... Please forgive me.

Also, the reader group is 684558115; everyone is welcome to join.

(End of Chapter)