[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-123":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing Han",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1222882,1620,"Chapter 123: Real Men","overthrowing-han-chapter-123",123,"\u003Cp>\"Lord Cao!\" A middle-aged warrior, his face drained of color, burst in from outside into the rear courtyard chamber, throwing the several people inside into a panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What news?\" Seeing this man return, even the normally composed Cao Jie could not help a trace of tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have made thorough inquiries. Yesterday afternoon, Yang Qiu issued an official summons, demanding that Zhang Feng, Attendant Zhang, report for questioning.\" The warrior answered hurriedly. \"It is said that when Attendant Zhang went this morning, he immediately kowtowed on the spot, pleading that he was too old and feeble and voluntarily requested to resign from his post as Attendant. He then guaranteed that as soon as the next natural disaster struck, he would have his younger brother Zhang Hao also plead guilty and resign from the post of Grand Commandant. The two brothers would leave Luoyang alone, asking only to return to their hometown...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what did Yang Qiu say?\" Cao Jie's younger brother, Cao Poshi, who was similarly gray-haired but sported a beard, could not help pressing the question. \"Did he agree?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At first, Yang Qiu refused, saying eunuchs could not leave Luoyang... However, later, Attendant Zhang pleaded repeatedly, saying only that when the time came, he would let his younger brother return to their old home in Changshan, while he himself would find lodgings in Wancheng to settle down. Only then did Yang Qiu agree!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie remained silent, but Cao Poshi let out a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There is one more matter.\" The warrior swallowed a mouthful of saliva before continuing. \"Chen Jiu, the Palace Attendant of the Yellow Gates, died yesterday evening!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie was suddenly stunned. \"How did he die?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shot dead by random arrows from that Gongsun Xun.\" The warrior's face grew even paler. \"According to the decree Yang Qiu obtained from the palace, Chen Jiu was also implicated in the case. So the Office of the Colonel-Director of Retainers also issued a summons for him, sending Gongsun Xun, the Capital Internal Officer, to summon him. I heard that at the time, Attendant Chen was terrified and wept to the guests in his household, saying that if he left with them, he would surely end up just like Wang Fu. He then had his household guests feign a welcome at the front while he crawled out through a dog hole, preparing to flee back to the Northern Palace...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And then?\" From behind Cao Jie, a young scholar with a Jiang-Han accent, a refined face, yet a flourishing beard, suddenly spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then Gongsun Xun, seeing that the man would not come out, guessed he was fleeing and immediately led his volunteer followers in pursuit. He caught up with him on the main street outside the eastern wall of the Northern Palace! I heard that at the time, Attendant Chen knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but Gongsun Xun pretended not to hear. He directly ordered him shot dead with random arrows under the pretext of pursuing an escaped criminal. Then, right there in the street, he tied the corpse to the back of a horse and dragged it to the Office of the Colonel-Director of Retainers... It is said the bloodstains in the street have still not been covered up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time it was Cao Jie's turn to swallow hard... Seeing this, the middle-aged warrior tactfully withdrew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is all your idea, Luo Zixian!\" The room fell silent for a moment, then suddenly, Cao Jie's younger brother Cao Poshi angrily shoved the young, heavily bearded scholar. \"You insisted my elder brother should 'remain calm and steady'! Now look at the situation! That Yang Qiu and Gongsun Xun have clearly gone mad with bloodlust! If they also come here to 'pursue an escaped criminal' and loose a volley of random arrows, wouldn't my elder brother lose his life for nothing?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This heavily bearded scholar was, naturally, Luo Mu, Luo Zixian, who had dealings with Lu Fan. He could only reply helplessly, \"I did indeed miscalculate in this matter. I truly did not expect them to be so ruthless and so direct...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is not Zixian's fault.\" Cao Jie forcibly steadied his nerves and quickly rebuked him. \"That day, I approved Zixian's plan. Even I did not expect those two brats to be so... so ruthless. With a great enemy before us, we must not fall into internal strife.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu immediately bowed in obedience, while Cao Poshi, his face full of indignation, continued to mutter curses under his breath. But in the end, constrained by his elder brother's authority, he gradually quieted down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord.\" Once Cao Poshi had fallen silent, Luo Mu immediately offered his counsel. \"A man of great worth does not sit beneath a collapsing hall. Now that the situation has exceeded our expectations, there is no need for you, my lord, to remain outside in your home to 'remain calm and steady.' You must find a way to enter the palace swiftly! At this moment, the only safe place in all of Luoyang is the Northern Palace!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zixian speaks truly.\" Cao Jie nodded repeatedly. \"Even that plan we two settled on last night must ultimately be launched from within the palace...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What plan?\" Cao Poshi could not help but interject curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, asking was useless. This Colonel of the Elite Cavalry only received a glare from his elder brother and silence from Luo Mu in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, it was no wonder even his own elder brother looked down on him. This Cao Poshi was simply the sort of person of particularly low caliber. One must understand, although the Cao clan itself was a family from Wei Commandery that had produced officials of the two-thousand-dan rank for generations, by the time he was born, the family fortunes had utterly collapsed—everything was gone. Not only did his elder brother enter the palace as a eunuch, but after his own birth, he was simply given a two-character given name, which shows just how far the family's circumstances had fallen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, although he vaulted to the two-thousand-dan rank overnight with Cao Jie's sudden success, the rogue mannerisms of his village days could never be changed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just last year, already in his fifties or sixties, he took up the two-thousand-dan post of Colonel of the Elite Cavalry to help his elder brother control military power. And what was the result? As soon as he entered the camp, he heard that a Platoon Commander under his command—a man of the thousand-dan rank—had a beautiful wife at home. He then, with no regard for face, demanded her. In the end, the man's wife was driven to suicide... It was only fortunate that there was no one named Gao Shun in the Elite Cavalry camp, or else he probably would have died too!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, such low and disgusting acts were not uncommon in the Great Han, which prized utilitarian pragmatism, and were especially rampant among the middle and lower ranks of the military... But to continue such behavior after reaching high office was truly beneath one's station. Historically, men who rose from the bottom, such as Lu Bu and Han Shizhong, had similar flaws. Xiahou Dun, too, once got drunk and made a subordinate's wife come out to serve wine, earning widespread ridicule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there might also be a case of 'the fish rots from the head down' at play here. No one kept Lu Bu in check, and Cao Mengde might well have thought his buddy was just showing his true colors, much like himself, and been quite pleased! Meanwhile, Zhao Gou and Qin Hui probably wished Han Shizhong would keep acting that way forever!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the matter at hand, although Cao Poshi was Cao Jie's own younger brother, in such critical affairs, he could not get a word in edgewise. Instead, it was Luo Mu, who refused to change his surname and would only address Cao Jie as 'my lord,' who held Cao Jie's trust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, left with no choice, Cao Poshi sullenly rose and left the room, going to sit idly in the front courtyard. However, before he could settle down there, he suddenly heard a clamor at the gate and then saw the guests and retainers from the gatehouse swarming into the courtyard in a panic...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's all this running around?!\" Cao Poshi flew into a rage. \"Don't you know your old man is here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second Master!\" The forms of address in a eunuch's household were always brimming with virile energy. The leader of the guests immediately knelt in panic. \"Disaster has come! That Gongsun Xun is leading his white-horsed cavalry and armored soldiers here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing these words, Cao Poshi was so terrified he stood frozen on the spot... After a few dozen seconds, he recovered, and regardless of his age or status, frantically picked up his legs and ran toward the rear courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elder Brother, there's no time to run! Hide, quickly!\" Cao Poshi, panting heavily, rushed into the rear courtyard. After briefly explaining, he immediately urged, \"You absolutely must not confront him head-on right now...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie's face was also ashen white... No matter how cunning and experienced he was, no matter how well-traveled and knowledgeable, no matter that he already had a strategy in mind, as the saying goes, 'youth fears not the fist.' If the other party truly barged in recklessly and then delivered a 'death by random arrows,' all his myriad schemes would be meaningless!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, at this thought, Cao Jie immediately moved to hide in his outhouse... He had long ago dug a cellar there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, at that very moment, Luo Mu suddenly reached out and grabbed his patron. \"My lord, do not panic!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What reasoning do you have, Zixian? Speak quickly!\" Cao Jie urged, quite agitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I once lived for a time in Gongsun Xun's volunteer hostel and have carefully considered his methods...\" Luo Mu, his large beard quivering at his chin, answered rapidly. \"Observing his conduct, although he repeatedly takes risks for gain, there is ultimately a logic to it! His involvement in this matter is nothing more than a desire for fame. And now that Wang Fu is dead, as far as he is concerned, he has already achieved something. That being the case, why would he risk his future for a mere embellishment? You, my lord, are not implicated in the Wang Fu case. To kill a two-thousand-dan official without an imperial decree is not worth it for him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Poshi immediately flew into a rage. \"My elder brother has controlled the court for over ten years and installed the Son of Heaven on the throne! How is a life so precious not worth that brat taking a gamble?! You just said yourself, 'a man of great worth does not sit beneath a collapsing hall'...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up.\" After pondering for a moment, Cao Jie suddenly sat back down calmly in his original spot. \"Zixian is right. We need not panic. That brat has surely come to make trouble for old Yuan She across the street. Let us sit tight for now!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Poshi had no choice but to suppress his unease and sit down as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And soon, word came back from the guests in the front courtyard that the other party had indeed headed for Yuan She's residence. Only then did the Cao brothers truly breathe a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Luo Mu still kept his head lowered in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is Zixian thinking?\" Cao Jie asked upon seeing this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord!\" Luo Mu suddenly prostrated himself in a grand salute. \"Please prepare yourself, my lord. If my prediction is correct, this Gongsun Xun will inevitably come to your residence seeking you shortly...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie was immediately stunned. \"What do you mean by that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Poshi also immediately grew indignant. \"What is wrong with you? You've changed your tune several times in just a short while! First, stay at home, then go to the Northern Palace, then say he's not coming for us, then say he is coming for us...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord.\" Luo Mu ignored Cao Poshi and spoke earnestly to Cao Jie. \"After Wang Fu was dismembered and publicly displayed, all the elder Attendants and Palace Attendants in Luoyang lost their nerve. Even Attendant Zhang Feng, who had a younger brother as Grand Commandant as an external ally, did not think of resisting and sought only to preserve himself. And Yuan She, Attendant Yuan, clearly has the Yuan clan as a fallback—how could he resist without cause? But if that is so, why has Gongsun Xun brought cavalry and armored soldiers here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He has come to intimidate me!\" Cao Jie suddenly understood. \"And to test me as well... I have been sitting quietly at home all this time; he must have grown suspicious!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Precisely so!\" Luo Mu nodded hurriedly. \"Therefore, he will certainly come to pay a personal visit shortly...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then should I see him or not?\" Cao Jie asked seriously. \"If not, who should go deal with him? If I do, what attitude should I adopt?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu answered without hesitation. \"You must see him! Even if it only sets his mind at ease for half a moment, you must see him! As for your attitude, my lord, you were never implicated in the case to begin with. You merely resigned from the post of Grand Prolonger of Autumn. You are still an enfeoffed Marquis and a two-thousand-dan Regular Palace Attendant. Your attitude should be exactly what it naturally is!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well said! It is naturally...\" Cao Jie nodded slightly and was about to continue when he suddenly heard a commotion from the front courtyard. He immediately sneered and changed his words. \"That brat is certainly fast enough!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu immediately offered a fawning smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then you men go see him. I'll go hide for a bit?\" Cao Poshi suddenly spoke up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——————I am the dividing line brimming with virile energy——————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cao Jie, styled Hanfeng, was a man of Xinye in Nanyang. His ancestors were originally from Wei Commandery, serving as officials at the two-thousand-dan rank for generations. At the beginning of Emperor Shun's reign, he was transferred from the Western Garden Cavalry to become a Junior Palace Attendant of the Yellow Gates. During Emperor Huan's reign, he was promoted to Regular Palace Attendant and Commandant of the Equipage. In the first year of the Jianning era, bearing the imperial credentials, he led a thousand men of the Palace Attendants of the Yellow Gates, the Rapid as Tigers guard, and the Feathered Forest army north to welcome Emperor Ling, accompanying him in the imperial carriage into the palace. Upon the Emperor's accession, for his role in determining the succession, he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Chang'an Village, with a stipend of six Company Commander... Jie's younger brother, Poshi, served as Colonel of the Elite Cavalry. A Platoon Commander in the Elite Cavalry camp had a beautiful wife, and Poshi demanded her. The Platoon Commander dared not refuse, but his wife was resolute in her refusal and subsequently committed suicide. His licentiousness, cruelty, and lawlessness were mostly of this sort.\" — Book of the Later Han, Biographies of Eunuchs\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Hmm, there are two more updates... Don't worry, everyone. I'm just trying out splitting chapters. No stockpiling drafts, absolutely no stockpiling drafts. That's just how it is.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, the reader group is 684558115. Everyone can join.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2572,"2026-06-04T19:42:03.441Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","abf2713228cc1114834b0faafd8dfd7f9286da2220904c086f3e018f6e5905fb","overthrowing-han-chapter-124","overthrowing-han-chapter-122",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]