[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-131":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},1222890,1620,"Chapter 131: Sudden Turn","overthrowing-han-chapter-131",131,"\u003Cp>That evening, Gongsun Xun returned safely, his expression as composed as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wenqi.\" Lu Fan came over on his own initiative to ask. \"How did it go?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How else could it go?\" Gongsun Xun replied with a helpless laugh as he removed his shoes and changed into clogs. \"Just as we expected — that Chen Qiu had originally counted on waiting for the Three Excellencies, but instead got stuck with the humiliating post of Yongle Junior Steward. He grew resentful toward Cao Jie and wanted to contact me and Yang Qiu to plot against Cao Jie.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Qiu is a renowned minister throughout the realm...\" Lu Fan shook his head. \"How did it come to this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ziheng doesn't understand.\" After washing his hands and face, Gongsun Xun took a seat in the main hall, and a maidservant naturally brought him a sour broth to sober up — come to think of it, the 'tea' that Lady Gongsun had pursued so obsessively for half her life still had yet to materialize. \"Although Master Chen comes from a distinguished scholarly lineage, he hails from Xiapi in Xuzhou, not from the so-called Wan-Luo-Ru-Ying region. His previous ascent to the Three Excellencies had already nearly exhausted his strength. But precisely because of that, he craves the Three Excellencies all the more. Think about it — with his family background, if he could repeatedly reach the Three Excellencies in his lifetime, the Chen clan would naturally force its way into the ranks of the realm's great houses.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fan couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truth be told, in the past, Lu Ziheng, who hailed from Runan, might well have largely agreed with this logic of family-rank ascent and decline. But having followed Gongsun Xun far and wide and seen much, and with someone like Lou Gui — who was clearly born into a powerful Nanyang house yet had believed since childhood, and constantly proclaimed, that the Great Han was doomed — always hovering around, he too had come to dismiss such things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, dismissing it was one thing; if others took it seriously, you couldn't exactly stop them, could you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Never mind all that.\" Lu Fan collected himself and quickly asked again. \"Did Wenqi agree to them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I agreed.\" Gongsun Xun answered nonchalantly, blowing on the steam rising from his sour broth. \"What else could I do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why?\" Lu Fan was startled. \"Doesn't Wenqi dismiss it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do dismiss it.\" Gongsun Xun lowered his head, swallowed a mouthful of sour broth, then set the bowl down and explained seriously to his trusted aide. \"But what Ziheng doesn't realize is that whether it's Chen Qiu or Yang Qiu, although both are dead set on having another go at Cao Jie, both also know their own limits... Yang Qiu said plainly that if he cannot be reinstated as Colonel-Director of Retainers, then trying to kill Cao Jie is no different from a fool's daydream. Chen Qiu also said that without someone close to the Son of Heaven inside the palace as an inside agent, this matter will ultimately be nothing but the moon's reflection on the water.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fan was relieved. \"So in other words, they're just paying lip service and won't recklessly act on their own?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That should be the case.\" Gongsun Xun nodded. \"Besides, in a few more days we may well be leaving the capital. No matter what they do, it won't touch us, so let them be. And... this trip wasn't entirely without gain. At the banquet I had a good conversation with that Shen Pei, and I also met Chen Qiu's nephew Chen Gui — both are rare talents!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Speaking of leaving the capital,\" Lu Fan first nodded slightly, then suddenly continued, \"I waited here not only to ask Wenqi how things turned out, but also because there's another matter I need to discuss with Wenqi...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Speak.\" Gongsun Xun said indifferently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Today Wang Lang, Wang Jingxing, from the Imperial Secretariat came by.\" Lu Fan said. \"He came to pass on a message from Teacher Lu — there may soon be a vacancy in Xiangping in Liaodong...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun frowned, then immediately fell silent... while Lu Fan stood to the side, quietly waiting for his lord's reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, for Gongsun Xun, if he truly followed his mother's wishes and spent his whole life managing Liaoxi, then Xiangping in Liaodong might not be a bad destination. After all, Liaodong Commandery was the core of the five commanderies beyond the frontier, and Xiangping was the foremost city and largest county beyond the frontier — the capital of what his mother called the 'Liao River Plain.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, the current situation left him no room to pick and choose; it was essentially an escape anyway!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for some reason, ever since returning from Mount Danhan that day, Gongsun Xun had felt a vague, inexplicable resistance welling up inside him toward his mother's arrangements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, if back in Yanmen, facing his mother, he could still suppress and endure it, then now, having come to Luoyang once more, seeing the future true master Cao Mengde so down and out, having successfully killed off a powerful eunuch like Wang Fu, and even inadvertently leaving Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's own father half-dead... to be honest, Gongsun Xun's heart was now filled with quite a bit of inexplicable self-confidence and restlessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it must also be said that Gongsun Xun knew in his heart that whether or not he went to Xiangping was actually irrelevant to the larger picture. After all, it was just a county magistrate post, just a line on his record. Barring the unexpected, he would be promoted and transferred in two or three years — he couldn't really build it into anything substantial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, all in all, under the influence of these various thoughts, Gongsun Xun somewhat hesitantly gave an ambiguous reply: \"Tomorrow, Ziheng, go pay a visit to Wang Jingxing. Tell him that if there truly is no other place to go, Xiangping is not out of the question!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant he still wanted to look around further. Lu Fan understood immediately and said nothing more... After all, not to mention that the situation hadn't yet deteriorated to the point of having to flee Luoyang immediately, just the thought of a Runan man like himself actually following him to Liaodong beyond the frontier was somewhat daunting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, setting aside Gongsun Xun and Lu Fan's respective private thoughts, on the other side, these two young men had also underestimated the depth of hatred Yang Qiu and Chen Qiu held in their hearts toward Cao Jie!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Qiu had endured a bumpy official career for half his life, finally relying on Qiao Xuan's refusal to hold old grudges to reach the point of 'ranking among the highest ministers,' only to have Cao Jie shatter his prospects with a single blow... To have one's prospects cut off — that kind of hatred cuts to the bone!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Yang Qiu, needless to say, this fellow had a naturally fierce temperament and was prone to extremes. In the words of Lady Gongsun's letter, this man was sick!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, likewise returning home, Gongsun Xun leisurely drank sour broth to sober up, then pondered when he would leave the capital and where he would go to take up his post, then continued to hole up at home waiting for Lu Zhi to arrange a cushy assignment for him... while Yang Qiu and Chen Qiu, over the following days, continuously called on friends and associates, each displaying their own methods, clearly wholeheartedly intent on doing great things!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of this, Gongsun Xun was completely unaware... Perhaps, in the view of those two 'Qius,' Chen Qiu and Yang Qiu, once everything was in place and it was time to wield the blade, it wouldn't be too late to come find Gongsun Xun, this 'sharp blade' now universally acknowledged by the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what the two Qius never imagined was that their supposedly covert activities over these days, though undetected by Gongsun Xun, had long since fallen into the eyes of those with intent... in fact, they had been carefully watched from the very start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have you found out?\" As the big-bearded Luo Mu stepped into the room, Cao Jie, who had been sitting with his cap off and eyes closed in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have some findings.\" Luo Mu sat down and answered calmly. \"We bribed a servant in Chen Qiu's household — he was the one serving wine at the banquet, so he overheard a few words... Although not very detailed, those people's gathering that day was indeed aimed at you, my lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie immediately laughed in extreme fury: \"Do these people take me for a fool? One, two, three of them gathering together — all of them bearing grudges and grievances against me. That Yang Qiu even defied an imperial decree in front of the Son of Heaven and called me a jackal... Do they not think that I could possibly rest easy about such people? What else?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Also,\" Luo Mu continued gravely, \"according to our surveillance outside Chen Qiu's residence, he seems to have been in frequent contact with Infantry Captain Liu Ne these past few days...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Liu Ne?\" Cao Jie sneered further. \"Chen Qiu truly has grand ambitions but meager abilities! Liu Ne is no longer a minister in the Imperial Secretariat — he's the Infantry Captain! Secretly contacting someone who holds military authority — what is he trying to do?! Does he not fear the Son of Heaven's suspicion? Besides, if he really had military authority, that would be one thing, but Liu Ne just took up his post — who in the infantry camp listens to him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Luo Mu couldn't help but laugh too: \"Chen Qiu probably just thought that Liu Ne, like himself, had his prospects blocked by you, my lord, so he was simply pulling him in a bit, without thinking too much... Military authority or not, suspicion or not — a scholar from a Guandong gentry family, what does he understand of such things?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's true. What else?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing else.\" Luo Mu frowned. \"Gongsun Xun and Yang Qiu are both just as they've always been — no unusual actions observed. The former is still holed up next door at Liu Kuan, Grand Commandant Liu's place, reading books; the latter is attending court and performing his duties as usual, only occasionally accompanying his beloved junior wife Lady Cheng on outings and family visits.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is strange.\" Cao Jie uneasily stroked his graying hair bun. \"Gongsun Xun's pattern is ordinary enough — he's already killed Wang Fu and made his name known throughout the realm, and is just waiting for Lu Zhi at the Imperial Secretariat to arrange a good post for him, so naturally he can spend all day at home reading. But how could that madman Yang Qiu be content with obscurity? There must be trickery afoot!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This humble one thinks the same.\" Luo Mu said gravely. \"But my lord, neither Chen Qiu nor Yang Qiu are minor figures, and we are not what we once were. Without solid evidence to move the Son of Heaven, it will be difficult to deal with them. So, even knowing that Yang Qiu is up to something and Chen Qiu harbors malice, we must still obtain genuine, irrefutable proof that will enrage the Son of Heaven before we can take them down.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed.\" Cao Jie sighed deeply at these words. \"After all this turmoil, I, Cao Hanfeng, am truly at the end of my strength.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu looked despondent for a moment, but immediately raised his voice in exhortation: \"My lord, do not lose heart! It is precisely because of this that you must strike with thunderous force, to let the realm know your power. Otherwise, in the future, you won't even be able to spend your remaining years in peace...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well said, well said.\" Cao Jie rallied his spirits. \"The more my strength wanes, the more I must strike with thunderous force, so the realm cannot see my weakness. Only by intimidating everyone can I spend my remaining years in peace and allow my clan to endure. Zixian, continue to keep close watch on these people and do your best to find evidence for me... Whether I can intimidate the realm and allow the Cao clan to endure peacefully after I am gone depends on you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu lowered his head and said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does Zixian have anything else to say?\" Cao Jie naturally noticed the other's unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, my lord.\" Luo Mu immediately answered in a low voice. \"This humble one believes that if possible, you should not only strike with thunderous force against people like Yang Qiu, but also impose some restraint on certain figures within your own household. Otherwise, once Yang Qiu is gone, there will be Yin Qiu; once Chen Qiu is gone, there will be Wang Qiu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are right.\" Cao Jie nodded repeatedly again. \"Even for the sake of my descendants, I must restrain them somewhat. I must make them understand that I can shelter them for a time, but I cannot shelter them for a lifetime! In a few days, have Feng Fang (Cao Jie's son-in-law) and the others all come to the house — I want to give them a stern admonition.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu nodded slightly but still did not move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\" Cao Jie couldn't help but laugh. \"You and I are as close as father and son. If you hadn't stubbornly refused to change your surname, we might already be true father and son... Speak your mind!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, everyone else is easy to restrain... but what about the Second Master?\" Luo Mu asked through gritted teeth. \"As long as you are here, my lord, you can still manage him somewhat. But once you are gone, he will surely be the one to bring calamity and extermination upon the Cao clan!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, it was Cao Jie's turn to fall silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, this Grand Prolonger of Autumn and Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat asked somewhat uneasily: \"Then what does Zixian think should be done?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I may speak bluntly,\" Luo Mu continued through gritted teeth, \"the Second Master is old enough now. Why not send him back to the ancestral home in Wei Commandery? It would save him from staying in Luoyang and stirring up trouble.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie fell into thought, but quickly shook his head: \"Zixian's words certainly have merit, but after all, I have only this one blood brother, and all my children were adopted from his line... How can I just drive him out? Why not wait until my health is failing to arrange this matter — what do you think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu wanted to speak but stopped, and in the end said nothing more. When all was said and done, who could blame him for not changing his surname to Cao? An outsider, though he called him 'my lord,' ultimately could not meddle in the flesh and blood of another's family... It seemed he would have to think of another way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this thought, Luo Mu immediately bowed in assent, then took his leave and departed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The night deepened. Cao Jie, unable to withstand his advancing age, retired early to rest, while Luo Mu, as Cao Hanfeng's trusted aide, relying on his youth, still sat twirling his large beard under the oil lamp in his room, cross-referencing intelligence from all sides... In this era, it wasn't that there were no professional spies and scouts, but in practice their effectiveness was very poor, so real intelligence came from a wide variety of sources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laid out on the desk before Luo Mu were: intelligence obtained by bribing the other party's servants; intelligence obtained by staking out the gate like waiting for a rabbit; intelligence sent in by those coveting glory and wealth who voluntarily turned informant; of course, intelligence obtained by capable retainers tailing targets; and even things like marketplace rumors!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dense and bewilderingly complex... But truth be told, Luo Mu's work was much simpler now than before — after all, now Gongsun paper was available to use, whereas before they had to mix wooden slips and silk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And on this point, Luo Mu was actually quite grateful to Gongsun Xun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"On the evening of the third day of the fifth month, Regular Attendant Cheng held a banquet at his home. All his foster daughters and sons-in-law attended, with Minister over the Masses Liu He seated in the place of honor, and Yang Qiu accompanying him in the second seat...\" Luo Mu was utterly exhausted and had been about to go to sleep, but for some reason, he felt this piece of intelligence nagged at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet nagging as it was, after mulling it over, Liu He and Yang Qiu had both married foster daughters of Regular Attendant Cheng, \"Lord Cheng.\" The old father-in-law was hosting a banquet, and his two sons-in-law were attending... was there anything impermissible about that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, Luo Mu just felt he was missing something! And this man Luo Zixian, having earned Cao Jie's favor and become the most trusted of his confidants in just a few short years, owed it not only to their mutual affinity and a certain \"bond of father and son,\" but also to his own competence in handling affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone else would probably have been asleep by now, but Big Beard Luo gritted his teeth, piled up all those jumbled and chaotic intelligence reports, and actually began reading through them all over again, one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First day of the fifth month: Gongsun Xun castrated a cat at home, naming it A-Man... husband and wife once again in harmony!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second day of the fifth month: Gongsun Fan accompanied Grand Commandant Liu Kuan into the Grand Commandant's office to handle miscellaneous affairs...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thirtieth day of the fourth month, rest day: Chen Qiu and Liu Ne conversed the entire day at Chen Qiu's residence, only leaving at nightfall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First day of the fifth month: Lu Fan went to see Wang Lang, Chief Clerk of the Imperial Secretariat...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second day of the fifth month: Chen Qiu's nephew Chen Gui and his uncle's trusted aide Shen Pei went to the Yuan residence to meet with Yuan Shu. On the way, they encountered Yuan Shao visiting his father. Shen Pei and Yuan Shao conversed with great delight; rumors say Yuan Shu was seething with resentment...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fourth day of the fifth month: Liu Ne, citing unclear handover of the Infantry Captain post, entered the Minister over the Masses' office directly and quarreled with the former Infantry Captain, now Minister over the Masses Liu He... In the evening, Liu He saw him off with full courtesy, opening the central gate to send him out...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this point, Luo Mu was so utterly exhausted that his eyelids drooped, and out of sheer instinct he wanted to skip over this piece of intelligence... after all, such reputation-seeking gestures were all too common these days, and Liu Ne and Liu He did indeed have the factual matter of a post handover between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as Luo Zixian lurched unsteadily and knocked his forehead against the table, his gaze suddenly sharpened intensely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord!\" Half a quarter-hour later, Luo Mu suddenly burst straight into Cao Jie's bedchamber. \"Grave trouble!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie was very old and slept lightly, so he was alert almost instantly, rising and draping a robe over himself: \"Do not panic, speak slowly... what has happened?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yang Qiu and Chen Qiu have already persuaded Minister over the Masses Liu He to join their faction!\" Luo Mu stated concisely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie was briefly stunned, then his face paled as well: \"This is nine-tenths certain to be true... you must understand, although it was done through Wang Fu's hand back then, I do indeed bear the blood debt of killing Liu He's elder brother! Is there evidence for this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only conjecture, no evidence!\" Luo Mu answered hastily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That makes it difficult.\" Cao Jie spoke rapidly. \"Liu He ranks among the Three Excellencies and is deeply trusted by both His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. Without evidence, I fear it will be truly difficult to act!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In that case... we must take extraordinary measures!\" Luo Mu suddenly said through gritted teeth. \"We absolutely cannot sit idle and await our doom at this moment... Liu Ne is a mere scholar who cannot control the Infantry Battalion, but Liu He is not only one of the Three Excellencies, he also served long as Infantry Captain... if he and Liu Ne join hands, they can mobilize troops!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well said!\" Cao Jie's face grew even paler. \"If this is their scheme, the opposing side has troops at its disposal — we absolutely must not delay! Zixian, do you have a plan?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have no brilliant scheme, but if my deduction is correct, Yang Qiu first used their familial ties to approach Liu He and was refused, then Chen Qiu went through Liu Ne to persuade Liu He! We might as well seize the intermediary, Liu Ne, subject him to harsh interrogation, and force a confession out of him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hold a moment.\" Cao Jie suddenly raised a hand and asked, \"Yang Qiu and Liu He are relatives?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Both men's secondary wives are foster daughters of Lord Cheng.\" Luo Mu immediately explained. \"Since neither is the principal wife, not many people know of it... this was likely a method used by Regular Attendant Cheng, Lord Cheng, to forge ties with important ministers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jie suddenly laughed: \"I fear it is more than that! I know that old wretch's thoughts and methods like the back of my hand...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Mu looked utterly bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You do not understand. Seizing Liu Ne is not as good as seizing our 'Lord Cheng'!\" Cao Jie's sneer deepened, and with a sudden motion he flung off the covers. \"Have someone prepare treasures and valuables, and summon several dozen of our retainers, all of them armed with sabers... We gentlemen shall not sleep tonight — we go now to question 'Lord Cheng' and get to the bottom of this!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>———I am the dividing line that must be redrawn for the new month———\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Before the affair could be set in motion, Qiu again wrote to persuade He, saying: 'Your Excellency springs from the imperial clan, your rank has ascended to the pinnacle of the Three Excellencies, all under Heaven look to you with expectation, you are the guardian and bulwark of the altars of state — how can you merely conform and accommodate without opposition? Now Cao Jie and his ilk act with unrestrained malice, and yet they remain perpetually at His Majesty's side. Moreover, the harm done to Your Excellency's elder brother, the Palace Attendant, by Jie and his faction is something Empress Dowager Yongle knows intimately. Now you may memorialize to transfer the Bearer of the Mace Yang Qiu to the post of Colonel-Director of Retainers, and thereby successively arrest Jie and the others and execute them. Governance issuing from a sage sovereign, a realm at peace under Heaven — this can be awaited while standing on tiptoe.' Also, Master of Writing Liu Na, having offended the eunuchs by his uprightness and been sent out as Infantry Captain, likewise strongly urged He. He said: 'Those villainous wretches have many eyes and ears; I fear that before the affair can come together, we shall first suffer calamity.' Na said: 'Your Excellency is a pillar of the state — if you do not support it when it totters toward ruin, what use is that chancellor of yours?' He then gave his promise, and also joined in plotting with Yang Qiu.\" — Book of the Later Han, Biography of Chen Qiu\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Let me say, my thanks to the great figure Chi Ji for recommending my book multiple times...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And of course, equal thanks to Taimei and Four-Eyed Birdman for their tips as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, the book-friend group is 684558115, everyone is welcome to join.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",4021,"2026-06-04T19:42:03.441Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","6f956a4d35f15641132d1525e586bc04f75385910072fc0f14a7b5eaf9158061","overthrowing-han-chapter-132","overthrowing-han-chapter-130",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]