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Extra Chapter: On Every 50 powerstone
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Fei Qian swayed in the carriage, clutching a few sheets of paper in his hand, his expression grim. It wasn't motion sickness that troubled him—it was the contents of those papers, which recorded major official appointments and transfers in Luoyang and other regions from the end of last year to the beginning of this year.
Liu Biao's side had also provided some records, but they were rather sketchy, with some local officials not even listed. Whether it was due to distance or some special channel Yuan Shu had access to, this copy obtained from Yuan Shu's office was far more detailed.
This was an unexpected windfall. Without these government bulletins, Fei Qian would have remained largely ignorant of the current situation in Luoyang.
Originally, Fei Qian had only gone to collect the supplementary supplies promised by Yuan Shu. Yet, to his surprise, he found these official bulletins openly displayed on a desk in the government office. Overjoyed, he immediately borrowed paper and brushes to copy them.
The "government bulletin" first appeared during the early Western Han Dynasty. The Western Han implemented a commandery-county system, dividing the nation into several commanderies, each further subdivided into counties. As a result, central administrative decrees often spread slowly, and local officials sometimes established "di she" (邸舍)—commonly known as "capital liaison offices"—to stay informed of central government changes in real time.
The "di" (邸) had two main responsibilities: "communicating memorials" and "hosting officials awaiting court audiences". The latter is self-explanatory, while the former involved submitting local officials' memorials to the central government via the "Grand Herald" and disseminating imperial edicts, appointments, and major decrees back to their respective commanderies and counties.
Thus, the "government bulletin" was also called "di chao" (邸钞), "court gazette" (朝报), "tiao bao" (条报), or "appointment records" (除目), among other names.
Fei Qian suspected that Yuan Shu likely possessed more confidential or critical intelligence, but such sensitive bulletins would never be left out in the open. The ones Fei Qian copied only concerned official appointments and transfers—matters meant for public dissemination—so they were left unsecured.
From the recent personnel changes, Fei Qian sensed something unusual.
To someone unfamiliar with the Eastern Han, these bulletins might appear as mere lists of names, devoid of meaning. But Fei Qian, now a member of the scholar-official class—albeit a second-tier local one—recognized many of these names.
Some details were particularly intriguing:
For instance, one entry read: "Grand Commandant Dong Zhuo, along with Minister over the Masses Huang Wan and Minister of Works Yang Biao, bearing axes of authority, approached the throne to submit a memorial seeking posthumous justice for Chen Fan, Dou Wu, and their factional associates, in accordance with public sentiment. Thereupon, their noble titles were restored, and their descendants were promoted to office." This likely occurred around late September or early October, shortly after Fei Qian left Luoyang.
At that time, Huang Wan had just been appointed Minister over the Masses, while Wang Yun was made Grand Coachman and later acting Imperial Secretary.
Who were Chen Fan and Dou Wu?
They were the men politically branded as traitors during the coup of the first year of the Jian'ning era (168 AD)—the victims of the First Partisan Prohibition.
Dong Zhuo then proposed rehabilitating the many partisans persecuted in the Second Partisan Prohibition (169 AD). Emperor Liu Xie approved, restoring Chen Fan and others' titles and promoting their descendants.
Chen Fan's son, Chen Yi, was appointed Chancellor of Lu State.
Dou Wu's grandson, Dou Fu, was recommended as Filial and Incorrupt by Guiyang Commandery.
Fei Qian noticed something curious: one name—the erstwhile leader of the scholar-official class—was conspicuously absent from this record.
Meanwhile, Wang Yun's new role as acting Imperial Secretary was noteworthy. The Minister over the Masses originally oversaw civil administration and education, but now Wang Yun held the Imperial Secretary position—the office through which all official appointments flowed.
Even more interesting was that the previous Imperial Secretary, Ma Midi, was a veteran official since Emperor Ling's reign.
Subsequent personnel changes further confirmed Fei Qian's suspicions.
Xun Shuang of the Xun family was directly promoted from commoner to Chancellor of Pingyuan. Before he could assume office, he was reassigned as Court Chamberlain. Three days later, he was elevated to Minister of Works. Xun Shuang, a leading figure of Yingchuan's scholar-official class and de facto leader of the non-court faction, rose from obscurity to one of the Three Excellencies in just ninety-five days.
Yingchuan's recruitment drive didn't stop at the Xun family—the Chen and Han families were also summoned.
Chen Ji, son of the renowned Yingchuan scholar Chen Shi, was directly appointed a Palace Attendant and later made a Palace Attendant-in-ordinary.
Han Rong, another Yingchuan scholar of the same generation as Xun Shuang and Chen Shi (though less renowned), was appointed Grand Herald.
From this, it appeared Li Ru had successfully co-opted the Yingchuan faction to counter the established court officials, even pulling Wang Yun into his camp.
'What a maneuver…'
Fei Qian also spotted a name that unsettled him:
'Cai Yong was transferred to Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk, then promoted to Imperial Clerk, and finally appointed to the Imperial Secretariat.'
Fei Qian frowned. His worst fear had come to pass.
'Damn you, Li Ru! Stick to playing with the Yingchuan faction—why drag my teacher into this?'
There were also local official appointments. Though the exact court dynamics remained unclear, Fei Qian inferred these postings likely weren't Dong Zhuo or Li Ru's doing.
Recommended by Zhou Bi, Wu Qiong, and others:
- Han Fu was appointed Inspector of Ji Province, later promoted to Governor.
- Zhu Jun, a holdover from Emperor Ling's reign, became Governor of Henan.
- Liu Dai was promoted from Palace Attendant to Inspector of Yan Province.
- Yuan Shao was made Administrator of Bohai and enfeoffed as Marquis of Kangxiang.
- Bao Xin became Chancellor of Jibei.
- Wang Kuang was appointed Administrator of Henei.
Clearly, the veteran court faction led by the Yuan family wasn't idle. While ostensibly retreating—ceding control of the Imperial Secretariat and avoiding conflicts over central positions—they quietly placed allies in key regional posts while Dong Zhuo and Li Ru scrambled for central power.
Of the recently appointed local officials, all but Zhu Jun had raised the banner of opposing Dong Zhuo. Was that mere coincidence?
Fei Qian surmised that the already fragile honeymoon between the Yuan and Dong factions in Luoyang had shattered, likely reaching the brink of open conflict.
Originally, the Yuan family had summoned Dong Zhuo to the capital, believing him indebted to them for past promotions—a supposedly reliable subordinate.
Yet Dong Zhuo, upon entering the capital, betrayed them—deposing the emperor, elevating regional scholar-officials, and co-opting Wang Yun, leaving Yuan Wei in an awkward position. Unable to compete with Li Ru for central offices, Yuan Wei leveraged his family's network of protégés to strike a bargain with Dong Zhuo and Li Ru.
The Dong faction secured central positions, while the Yuan family stealthily planted their men in the provinces.
Thus, Fei Qian concluded that the current anti-Dong crusade, while ostensibly motivated by Dong Zhuo's tyranny, was more likely the result of irreconcilable political differences between Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei, forcing them to resort to arms.
Historically, Dong Zhuo's massacre at Yangcheng occurred in February—after the eastern warlords rebelled. In other words, the gentry rose first, and Dong Zhuo retaliated with bloodshed.