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Inside Luoyang City, within the palaces
Dong Zhuo and Li Ru walked one behind the other, slowly making their way through the palace corridors.
Since the emperor had already been sent to the western capital, Chang'an, most of the eunuchs, guards, and court ladies who had been in Luoyang had been relocated as well. Hardly anyone remained. The entire imperial palace now felt vast and empty.
In front of Xuande Hall stood a bronze horse. The horse was three feet four inches tall, with a girth of four feet five inches. Its body was full and robust, its posture majestic. Its front hooves were slightly raised, as if it might gallop away at any moment.
Dong Zhuo stood before the bronze horse, silent for a long time. Then he reached out, touched the horse's head, and patted it lightly twice. "Wenyou, once I wished only to become a General of the Flying Cavalry, and that would have been enough for this life. I never imagined... heh..."
Li Ru, standing to the side, bowed with clasped hands. "Nothing that moves the heavens is like the dragon; nothing that moves the earth is like the horse. The horse is the foundation of arms, the great tool of the state. In peace, it establishes distinctions of rank; in crisis, it facilitates travel to near and far. In ancient times, there was Qiji who could travel a thousand li in a day. Bo Le saw him and recognized him without doubt. King Wen of Zhou recognized Jiang Taigong at the Wei River. Duke Mu of Qin exchanged five hides for Baili Xi. Though you, Illustrious Lord, harbor the ambition of a Flying Cavalry general, you have not yet encountered a figure like Emperor Guangwu. What can be done?"
This bronze horse had been presented to Emperor Guangwu by General of the Flying Cavalry Ma Yuan. Ma Yuan had obtained bronze drums from the ethnic minorities in Jiaozhi, melted them down, and cast this horse. It had stood here for over a hundred and fifty years.
Because Ma Yuan excelled at judging horses, he had incorporated into this bronze horse the knowledge of several major horse-judging families of the time, including the Yi family's method of examining the sheath, the Zhongbo family's method of examining the teeth and mouth, the Xie family's method of examining the mane and hair whorls, and the Ding family's method of examining the body structure. Thus, Emperor Guangwu used this bronze horse as the standard for selecting fine horses. Additionally, the Emperor deliberately placed this bronze horse here, partly to symbolize Bo Le and the thousand-li horse.
Dong Zhuo listened to Li Ru's words and nodded silently. He flicked his sleeves, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked on.
Past Mingguang Hall was Jiade Hall.
Before Jiade Hall was the Jiade Gate, also known as the Nine Dragons Gate. This was the site of the Nine Dragons Hall from the Zhou Dynasty. Of course, the Nine Dragons Hall had long since fallen into ruin by the Han Dynasty, with only the Nine Dragons Gate remaining. Thus, Emperor Guangwu had built Jiade Hall on the foundations of the Nine Dragons Gate. At that time, the Nine Dragons Gate became the main gate of Jiade Hall.
Dong Zhuo looked up at the plaque above Jiade Gate, lost in thought.
Li Ru, standing behind Dong Zhuo, felt a different emotion towards Jiade Hall, much as Dong Zhuo had felt towards Ma Yuan's bronze horse.
Jiade Hall was originally the hall used to establish Han ritual.
Han ritual was, in essence, ceremonial protocol. At the time, Cao Bao, a disciple of the Legalist school, argued: "In the early Han, court regulations lacked refinement. Shusun Tong drew heavily from the 'Book of Rites,' incorporating Qin law. Though he adapted to circumstances and observed the times, remedying collapse and decay, the grand canons of the former kings were largely neglected."
In the first year of the Zhanghe era, Emperor Zhang summoned Cao Bao to Jiade Hall, ordering him to go to the Eastern Library of the Southern Palace to carefully revise the twelve chapters of Shusun Tong's 'Han Rituals' from the Western Han, formulate new Han ritual standards, and prepare for their implementation.
Cao Bao examined old canons, consulted the apocryphal texts of the 'Five Classics,' and formulated systems for capping ceremonies, weddings, funerals, and other rites for each rank, totaling one hundred and fifty chapters. With devoted effort, he finally presented the revised 'Han Rituals' in October of that year.
But unfortunately, Emperor Zhang died, and Emperor He succeeded to the throne. The young Emperor He, in order to compete for imperial power with Empress Dowager Dou, General Dou, and the entire Dou clan, needed to win over more supporters. Thus, the somewhat controversial 'Han Rituals' were quietly shelved, left to gather dust.
The Nine Dragons Gate had three bronze pillars, each with three dragons coiled around them, simple and grand. Li Ru gazed at the Nine Dragons Gate before Jiade Hall, looking at the dragon patterns winding around the bronze pillars, his heart surging with a thousand emotions. If Emperor Zhang had lived a few more years, perhaps later events would not have...
Suddenly, Dong Zhuo threw back his head and laughed loudly, his beard trembling with each chuckle. "Jiade! Jiade! Though named 'Excellent Virtue,' where is its virtue?! A hen crows at dawn, aiding cruelty in tyranny, selling offices and titles, ruining the state and harming the people. First Emperor Ling was interred here, then Xiaoren died here, and even Suigao perished here... Hahahaha... Truly, 'Excellent Virtue' has no virtue, and a palace hall becomes a killing ground!"
Dong Zhuo's hands spread and clenched, the veins on his arms bulging. He roared at the sky, "What use is such a place, a receptacle for filth and corruption?! How can such a place, a den that slaughters loyal and good officials, continue to exist?! If Grand Progenitor were alive, he would be enraged! If Emperor Guangwu were alive, he would grieve! Now, the court is filled with cowardly men, petty thieves, wine sacks and rice bags, each indulging their selfish schemes, achieving nothing. The empire is in flames. The Han... Han..."
Suddenly, Dong Zhuo's voice choked, as if something had lodged in his throat. He spoke with difficulty, "...Han... Han has lost its deer... lost it..."
Dong Zhuo lowered his hands and bowed his head. A single tear seeped from the corner of his eye, rolling down his cheek and into his beard, where it vanished, leaving only the tear track to prove it had ever existed.
Li Ru watched, a flash of sharp light in his eyes, thoughtful.
"Wenyou..."
"Your servant is here."
Dong Zhuo took a final look around and said slowly, "...Burn it."
"...As you command."
Sun Jian, now south of Luoyang, led his Changsha troops and Yuzhou troops, approaching Guangcheng Marsh. Dong Zhuo had temporarily deployed Hu Zhen and Lü Bu with troops to intercept him.
Though Dong Zhuo acknowledged Sun Jian's bravery, it didn't mean he would deliver Luoyang City intact into his hands. As one who had experienced prolonged warfare beyond the frontier, Dong Zhuo was naturally adept at scorched-earth tactics.
Relocating the capital meant leaving here sooner or later...
And if leaving, would he leave Luoyang City intact?
Now, troops were deployed everywhere—Henei, Hongnong, Suanzao, Liangdong. Dong Zhuo had essentially committed all his available forces. Even the troops sent to attack Sun Jian were a mixed force of Luoyang's Northern Army, Bingzhou troops, and Liang Province troops. This shows how dire his manpower shortage had become.
Thus, evacuation was urgent.
Dong Zhuo had come here only to bid farewell to his own past, perhaps also to sever his last dreams.
Perhaps also to sever his last shreds of loyalty.
Li Ru, hands tucked into his sleeves, followed behind Dong Zhuo and suddenly said, "Illustrious Lord, I wish to borrow an item. It could turn the lords east of the mountains against each other. I wonder if you would permit it?"
"What item?"
"The Imperial Seal."
Dong Zhuo spun around with a "whoosh," his bloodshot eyes fixed intently on Li Ru.
Li Ru said unhurriedly, "The lords east of the mountains are a motley crew, united in appearance only, each harboring selfish motives. If they obtain this item, chaos will surely ensue. Then they will inevitably attack each other, and their alliance will instantly dissolve."
In truth, for Li Ru, the Imperial Seal was not an indispensable element for disrupting the eastern scholar-official families. Even without it, when these eastern coalition forces arrived at Luoyang, lacking provisions, they would naturally disperse.
In Li Ru's eyes, the Imperial Seal was merely a somewhat larger meat bone.