General's Palace.

The general slowly walked into the mansion, bowing his head and pondering along the way, looking in a trance.

The official position of general has not been established since September of the first year of Jianning (168 AD), after the failure of the general Dou Wu and Taifu Chen Fan to join forces to eradicate the traitorous eunuchs in the palace.

Zhongguan Cao Jie, Wang Fu and a group of eunuchs of all sizes believed that once their relatives and important ministers became generals, they would inevitably take charge of military power. The generals were in charge of the whole country's troops and horses, especially the direct control of the northern army, which was too much of a threat to them. The lesson that the great general Dou Wu almost killed them was too profound. The generals are generally close to the bureaucrats of the clan, and the bureaucrats of the clan hate the lieutenants, and over time, the combination of these two forces may lead to the chaos of the inner palace, behead the eunuchs, and take over the authority of the state, so the lieutenants strongly advised the emperor not to set up a general when the country is not at war.

In March of the first year of Zhongping (184 AD), the Yellow Turban rebelled. After the unanimous proposal of the lieutenants and ministers, the Son of Heaven issued an order to re-establish the post of general, worship the brother of Empress He, He Jin of Henan at the time, as the general, Feng Shenhou, and command the northern and southern armies of the Beijing Division and the left and right Yulin Five Battalions of Shitun Army Duting, to town the Beijing Division. He Jin was appointed as a general at that time.

The general is in his forties, and in recent years, due to his pampering, his burly body has been blessed, and his white face has become more and more rounded, he does not look like a mighty general, but more like a gentle and elegant Taixue teacher.

He Jin's family is a small rich man in Wancheng, Nanyang, and his family is well-to-do. He Jin is the eldest son at home, he has been smart since he was a child, his father has high hopes for him, hoping that he will learn to enter the office, glorify his ancestors, and stop doing business.

He has read poetry and books since he was a child, has quick thinking, and is very famous in the local area, but because of his background, he has not been recommended by the local governor and cannot become a filial piety. Without the qualification of filial piety, you can't go to Beijing to pass the class test for Lang, and Lang is an official, which is the only way for ordinary scholars to enter the office. His father ran around for this, paying for the upper and lower joints, which cost a lot but had little effect. Nanyang is the imperial hometown of the Han Dynasty (Emperor Guangwu of this dynasty is a native of Nanyang), and there are many wealthy families in the gate valve family, but the number of filial piety is limited, and there are only one or two a year, so it is not the turn of an ordinary rich man like him.

Someone told him that his father should not waste his efforts, no matter how much money he sent, he should find another way. Someone suggested that his father ask someone to send He Jin to study under several Confucian sects in Nanyang, and maybe there would be a bright future. But several heads of the great Confucian clan were reluctant to accept He Jin as a protégé, saying that it would be discrediting to accept a rich scholar with oily and copper-smelling hands as a disciple. He Jin was very stimulated and vowed to get ahead.

The opportunity has finally arrived. Guo Sheng, a regular servant, presided over the selection of concubines for one year, which was called "counting people" in this dynasty. He is also a native of Wancheng, Nanyang, and was ordered to go to Nanyang to elect a palace maid. He Jin bribed Guo Sheng with all his family wealth through his connections, hoping that Guo Sheng could send his half-sister to the palace. Guo Sheng received money from He Jin and helped him out. He Jin's sister also entered the palace court as a nobleman by virtue of her appearance, and won the emperor's favor.

When he enters, he comes to run, and he gets his wish. He was noble because of his relatives, and was successively worshiped as Langzhong, and then moved to Huben Zhonglang General, and then served as Yingchuan Taishou. Soon, through Guo Sheng, he married his other sister to the adopted son of Zhang Rang, a regular servant. He Guiren was therefore unanimously recognized by the eunuchs in the palace and trusted by them.

He Jin's efforts paid off. His sister He Guiren gave birth to a little prince for today's son, and was immediately canonized as the queen. He Jin was recruited into Beijing, worshiped in the service, and later moved to be a master craftsman, and then moved to Henan Yin, until the general.

He Jin knew that the power struggle between the DPRK and China was fierce and he did not dare to set foot easily, so in the first few years, he was cautious and kept a certain distance from any of the forces in Beijing, neither too affectionate nor too distant, lest he bring disaster to himself and his family. There are many relatives of this dynasty who died because they participated in the power struggle. He conscientiously did a good job in government affairs, was respectful and courteous to all forces, and slowly, he was recognized by the princes and nobles of Luoyang, Zhongguan and the clan of the gate lords, and gradually had his own power. Even so, he still tried his best to keep his light and obscure, lest he become a thorn in the side of others.

After he became a general, he could no longer hide his edge, and his power was suddenly released. Overnight, the various forces in the DPRK and China were surprised to find that there was another powerful force in Beijing and a powerful force of foreign relatives. The first to feel threatened were the officials. On the contrary, the relationship between the gate lord family and him is much closer. After the ban on the party was lifted, many ambitious and famous party members and famous people gathered in the General's Mansion, which made the general's power increase suddenly.

Once in the whirlpool of power struggle, who can be immune?

The Son of Heaven favors the little prince Liu Xie, which is understandable, but he suddenly vigorously cultivates his cronies, especially supports Li Hong, which is a bit wrong. Li Hong is now a hot military powerhouse in the Han Dynasty.

He remembered that last year, the captain of Huqiang Colonel, Ji Chou, had recommended this person to him, and he had also argued with a group of bureaucrats in the court about Li Hong's promotion to lieutenant. Unexpectedly, after more than a year, the existence of this person actually broke the balance between the forces of the DPRK and China and provoked the dispute between the Han Dynasty.

As early as when Li Hongxi was fighting corruption, Zhao Zhong and Situ Cui Lie, the regular attendants, repeatedly warned themselves to pay attention to this person. Although the queen's sister and herself were a little worried, they didn't feel threatened.

He and his staff thought of a way to kill Li Hong, and they secretly sent Huang Yan to Liangzhou to persuade Wang Guo and Han Sui to rebel again. If the rebellion is not good, it is natural to be convicted, and after being convicted, it is easy to kill him. They were close to success. But Li Hong's toughness made them dumbfounded, this leopard in northern Xinjiang suddenly turned his hands into clouds and covered his hands into rain when he had no chance of victory, and beat the entire Xiliang rebel army to the point that he lost his armor and collapsed, and even killed him in June thunder that had been crisscrossing Western Xinjiang for decades. Things have completely changed.

After the great victory of Xiliang and Li Hong became a new generation of famous generals of the Han Dynasty, the battle for imperial dominance was finally completely exposed.

The Son of Heaven slapped Liu Bian hard today, just because Liu Bian knocked over his piano platform and broke his piano. The piano was used by Wang Meiren since she was a child, and the Son of Heaven cherished it very much. The Son of Heaven was furious and scolded incessantly. The queen ran to intercede, but was also scolded by the Son of Heaven. The queen has an arrogant temperament, likes to be competitive, and cannot suffer losses since she was a child. When she was at home, her brothers and sisters let her, and when she arrived in the palace, this character not only did not change, but intensified. Because of jealousy and worry that she would fall out of favor, she sent someone to poison Wang Meiren, offended the Son of Heaven, and almost lost her own life, but she still didn't change, relying on the support of the Middle Palace, and the Queen Mother, the Son of Heaven quarreled and quarreled, and now she finally caused trouble. The Son of Heaven is about to abolish his heirs.

In the morning, He Jin was called into the palace by the queen and listened to her cry. He Jin couldn't say anything, so he could only comfort and comfort her, but the queen asked He Jin to do one thing, something that made He Jin's soul fly. He Jin was frightened and left the palace in despair.

The general stood in the courtyard, turned his hands to the sky, and exhaled a long breath to relieve the depression and distress in his heart.

He feared for the future of himself and his family. In recent years, my sister's bad temper has not only not been reined in, but has become more and more powerful, and it has also brought herself and her family to an unpredictable fate. However, such is the case with the palace struggle. If my sister is virtuous and gentle, will she be poisoned like Wang Meiren, and her parents and family members will be killed? He couldn't imagine. In all dynasties, the struggle for imperial power has always been bloody and cruel, either you die or I live.

If he had listened to his father's last words, honestly did business at home, and married his two younger sisters to an ordinary family, would the family have fallen into the current crisis because of this?

He Jin's heart was sour, and he shook his head again and again. If you are doing business at home, you are a butcher, a butcher who is abused and abused. The corners of his mouth suddenly showed a trace of sadness, self-deprecation, and helpless smile. Butcher? When did I work as a butcher? But today, there is no one who does not say that I am a butcher, as if I am a butcher who stands behind a meat case with my sleeves rolled up and a leather skirt to kill pigs and chop up bones.

He Jin is indeed not a butcher. His family was a nobleman. If it weren't for the scholars, his sister would not be qualified to enter the palace as a palace maid. Before his family made a living, he was engaged in raising pigs, killing pigs and selling pigs, and after his ancestors became rich, they expanded their business in other industries, purchased land and farms, and accumulated a lot of wealth over several generations, which became a rich man in Nanyang. Otherwise, where did he get the money to bribe Guo Sheng? That's not a small amount. Who is Zhang Rang? has no power, no power and no money, will he marry He Jin? The scholars were forced to engage in lowly industries for their livelihood, and they were generally spurned by the world, so although He Jin's family was rich, they were looked down upon. His sister became the queen, and the whole family enjoyed the glory and wealth because of it, and the world hated it much more.

Everyone in the world calls He Jin a butcher, and He Jin is angry. But what can he do when he is angry, he cannot shut the mouth of the people of the world. Later, he figured it out, the butcher is the butcher, so what if Gaozu is still a little rascal? Heroes don't ask where they come from. He is a butcher, not only can he make his opponent despise and despise him, but he can also better hide his strength, so as not to provoke a strong blow from his opponent, which is good for his own development. In addition, he found that a large part of the world's famous party members and scholars were also from poor backgrounds, or because of sympathy, as long as they sent out invitations, they came to vote one after another, and they flocked to them.

He Jin saw his younger brother He Miao hurrying over. He Miao was brought to the He family by He Jin's stepmother. He Miao is in his thirties, not tall, relatively thin, cautious, has no opinions, and is timid, and has always followed his brother.

"Big brother, Lord Zhao, Lord He, Lord Zheng, Lord Xun and several other adults have already arrived in the study."

He Jin nodded slightly.

"Does the queen have anything to do with her eldest brother?" He Miao glanced at him and asked, "I see that the eldest brother's face is very bad." ”

He Jin barely squeezed out a smile and said, "You'll know later." ”