ATPnovel Chapter 48 The Eunuch's Nemesis
Chapter 48 The Eunuch's Nemesis
"Thump—"
The final chime of the Jingyang Bell echoed over the Forbidden City, signaling the approaching dawn and the morning court session to begin.
In the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, instead of the emperor, a group of guards from the Northern Garrison rushed in and dragged out several eunuchs who were in charge of the hall without saying a word.
One of the eunuchs simply asked, "What do you want?" and his neck was snapped on the spot by the guards.
Everyone was stunned. Was this a warning to others?!
The princes and ministers who were trapped in the Eight Great Hutongs had already guessed what was going on, but they all pretended not to know and didn't say anything for fear of losing face.
With the eunuch in charge gone, the censor was still there, but no one spoke; they could only wait idly.
Finally, footsteps came from the back hall.
Dai Quan walked in, cleared his throat, and said, "His Majesty has urgent business to attend to, so the morning court session is adjourned. If there's anything, let the cabinet discuss it first." He then turned and walked back inside.
The palace erupted in chaos. What could possibly cause the emperor to halt the morning court session?
Upon leaving the Qianqing Palace, everyone was shocked again. Everywhere were guards from the Northern Garrison, some escorting trembling eunuchs, others carrying eunuch corpses covered with white sheets, hurrying back and forth, the air thick with a suffocating stench of blood.
Only after inquiring did I learn that the emperor had issued an edict to thoroughly purge all eunuchs in the palace who were not personally selected by the Imperial Household Department.
Liu Feng also came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation at this time. After this incident, he truly learned what it meant for an emperor to be ruthless.
Upon learning of last night's events, the emperor immediately issued an edict ordering the Directorate of Ceremonial to arrest all powerful and influential eunuchs in the capital who had left the palace. As expected, the news leaked out; some escaped, others hanged themselves, and despite the effort, not a single useful clue was found.
When an emperor is enraged, corpses float for miles.
Since no clues could be found, the emperor made a decisive move: "Better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free." All the eunuchs suspected, whether they were veterans who had entered the palace in the previous dynasty or newcomers who had just entered the palace in recent years, were all arrested and thrown into the imperial prison, leaving no one alive.
"Innocent! Your Majesty, spare my life! I am innocent!"
A heart-wrenching cry rang out as a young eunuch was roughly dragged past Liu Feng by two guards. The young eunuch's innocent face was filled with fear and helplessness, his eyes brimming with a desperate desire to survive. But no matter how much he cried out, no one paid him any attention, and he was quickly dragged into a distant alley.
Seeing this, Liu Feng sighed deeply.
He looked down at his brand-new red robe, an official robe stained with the blood of thousands of eunuchs.
Overnight, he was promoted three ranks, rising to the top and becoming a fourth-rank commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, in charge of arrests and directly commanding two thousand-household units. He held real power and was considered a very important figure in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Liu Feng gained the emperor's favor for several reasons. First, he had rendered great service. Second, it was a coincidence that there were no vacancies for the positions of commander of a thousand households or garrison commander. There was also a deeper reason: Prince Zhongshun. The emperor did not want to, or rather, was constrained by the circumstances, punish Prince Zhongshun. Fearing that Liu Feng, a handy tool, might harbor resentment, he rewarded him handsomely.
To appease Liu Feng and reassure him to serve with peace of mind.
They had only taken a few steps forward when they saw Dai Quan talking quietly with several eunuchs in red robes.
Liu Feng didn't rush forward. He waited until Dai Quan saw him before slowly walking over and bowing respectfully: "Prime Minister."
Dai Quan wore a faint smile, but his heart was filled with mixed emotions. He was glad that his judgment hadn't been wrong; Liu Feng was indeed a talented person, a good weapon. But unfortunately, this weapon had struck the Directorate of Ceremonial.
In just over ten days since he entered the capital, nearly two thousand eunuchs have died directly or indirectly at his hands.
Now, the palace servants are all filled with anxiety and are constantly complaining in private.
The red-robed eunuchs standing nearby didn't give them a friendly look. This incident involved far too many people, including many of their familiar colleagues, and even their adopted sons and grandsons.
If Dai Quan hadn't been there, he would have spat and cursed, "You damned bastard, using us, the ones who have lost our roots, as stepping stones to climb up the social ladder!"
Dai Quan looked at Liu Feng with a complicated expression, "Do your job well and don't let His Majesty down."
Just as he was about to leave, Liu Feng spoke up: "There is something I would like to ask the Grand Chancellor to say a few good words for me before the Emperor."
Dai Quan, being extremely astute, instantly guessed Liu Feng's thoughts: "You want to transfer those two commanders?"
Liu Feng rubbed his hands together: "It would be best to transfer him along with the deputy commander."
Dai Quan retorted irritably, "You've really gone too far!"
Liu Feng, thick-skinned, grinned and said, "I'm young, inexperienced, and ignorant. I'm afraid of being deceived and schemed against by others."
"You're as shrewd as a fox, who could fool you?"
Dai Quan rolled his eyes at him. "The commanders are all appointed by the Emperor. You can't just transfer them away as you please."
Just as Liu Feng was about to speak, a eunuch in red robes spoke up: "No need to make any changes, there are two vacancies already."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other eunuchs in red instantly turned strange.
Dai Quan glanced coldly at the eunuch, who was so frightened that he raised his hand and slapped himself.
Dai Quan snorted coldly, then briefly explained the cause and effect.
Liu Feng was shocked after hearing this; there were actually hidden details behind that palace coup back then.
Two officers from the same command post responsible for perimeter security betrayed the Emperor Emeritus and were all killed, leaving the two posts abandoned.
Liu Feng blinked rapidly, then cupped his hands and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is His Majesty's personal army, the emperor's eyes and ears. Leaving two thousand-household garrisons empty will greatly affect intelligence gathering and the defense of the capital, which is tantamount to undermining imperial power. I hope the Grand Chancellor will grant my request. I am willing to personally reorganize these two thousand-household garrisons to protect the capital and its surroundings, and to forever serve as His Majesty's trusted eyes and ears."
He stepped forward and lowered his voice, saying, "You can rest assured about the filial piety you are entitled to from now on."
Dai Quan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "You're right, it will indeed affect intelligence gathering. Go back and wait for my news."
Liu Feng was overjoyed and quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Excellency!"
After Dai Quan had walked away, Liu Feng turned and walked out of the palace.
The eunuchs he encountered along the way avoided him from afar, as if he were a plague god, which greatly annoyed Liu Feng.
With the help of certain individuals, the news quickly spread throughout the capital.
Some acquaintances involved in the case cursed Liu Feng behind his back.
The people who had been oppressed by those old eunuchs in the past all praised Liu Feng as a just and upright official, and lauded him for eliminating evil for the people.
Some well-informed people even found out that Liu Feng was involved in the previous purges in the palace, so they gave him the nickname "Eunuch Nemesis," which spread like wildfire.
The emperor's move was too ruthless, causing heavy losses to many scheming forces. They all blamed Liu Feng for this, secretly hating him to the core.
Liu Feng ignored the rumors, gave Li Shoutian a few instructions, went home to sleep, and planned to attend the banquet at the Jia family's house that evening to see what was really going on...