Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 36: Butchering the Meat
"We congratulate the General of Chariots and Cavalry!"

"Yes, congratulations, General, on your promotion!"

He Jin stood at the main entrance of the mansion, his posture upright, his face filled with an irrepressible smile that spread from the corners of his mouth to the corners of his eyes. His chest was slightly raised, and he looked full of vigor and vitality.

At this moment, his heart was filled with emotion. He had tried his best to get closer to the gentry over the years, and the countless energy and hard work he had put in had finally borne fruit.

He Jin was welcoming the scholars who came to congratulate him at the gate of the main hall of his mansion, and he couldn't help but feel that his energy in getting closer to the gentry over the years was not wasted.

Especially Situ Yuanwei, who was indeed his ally and gave him enough face. All the officials in the court and his students and former officials came to his house to celebrate today, and even presented him with a "treasure"!
Yuan Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, a gleam of brilliance flashed in them, and with a smile on his face, he took a step forward, raised his right hand, gently stroked his beard, and said slowly: "General Chariot and Cavalry, I recommend a young man to you, please don't despise it."

As he spoke, he turned his head slightly to look at Yuan Shao behind him.

Upon hearing this, He Jin's eyes lit up. He fixed his gaze on Yuan Shao, who was standing beside Yuan Kui. His face was filled with eagerness and anticipation. He asked anxiously, "Could the young man Lord Ci Yang was talking about be Yuan Benchu?"

Yuan Wei's smile grew gentler. He nodded gently, raised his left hand and waved it, his tone carrying a hint of intimacy: "It is my nephew Yuan Benchu."

He Jin quickly agreed, a smile plastered across his face, fearing Yuan Wei might go back on his word. He kept muttering, "It's truly a blessing to have Benchu's help!"

This is Yuan Benchu!
"Don't worry, Benchu. Now that you've entered the General of Chariots and Cavalry's residence, I will never treat you unfairly in the future!"

He Jin was so excited that his voice unconsciously rose a few decibels. As he spoke, he patted Yuan Shao's shoulder heavily as he leaned over to salute him. The patting action was full of heroism and enthusiasm, and his eyes were full of eagerness.

Yuan Shao also responded in a cooperative manner: "Then I will rely on the care of the General of Chariots and Cavalry from now on."

"Okay, okay, hahaha!"

He Jin threw his head back and laughed out loud. His laughter was hearty and resounding, echoing for a long time in the courtyard of the mansion. His laughter was full of pride and satisfaction with his current status.

He was really happy that the prince had not forgotten his uncle and had conferred upon him the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry and granted him the courtesy of a third-rank official.

The General of Chariots and Cavalry, with a gold seal and purple ribbon, was second only to the General and the General of the Cavalry, and above the General of the Guards and the generals of the front, rear, left and right. He was ranked below the senior minister, or equal to the Three Dukes, and was in charge of the capital's military guards, the palace guards, and the suppression of rebellions.

As for the Yitong Sansi, it was created by Empress Dowager Hexi, Deng Sui, when she took power in the name of "female ruler", meaning that officials who were not of the Three Dukes were given the same treatment as the Three Dukes.

The Empress Dowager Hexi appointed her brother Deng Zhi as the General of Chariots and Cavalry and granted him the title of Yitong Sansi. This shows that her nephew, the crown prince, still valued her and hoped that he would emulate Deng Zhi and stabilize the world for her.

Of course, what He Jin cared about most was the power to establish a government.

According to the system of the Later Han Dynasty, only the crown prince, the grand tutor, the three dukes and eight generals with important titles could set up their own offices and recruit and appoint subordinate officials. The court would recognize these subordinate officials as court officials and pay them salaries.

With the power to establish a government office, he could recruit the scholars he had made friends with in the past into his General of Chariots and Cavalry's government office. For example, Yuan Shao was recruited by him as an official in the General of Chariots and Cavalry's government office, with a rank equivalent to that of a three-hundred-stone official.

Yuan Shao is now also a top figure among the younger generation of scholars in the Han Dynasty. After joining his General of Chariots and Cavalry Mansion, even if he is promoted in the future, he will still be branded as He Jin's former official. In this way, he has further strengthened his interest ties with the Yuan family of Runan and will certainly not repeat the fate of Liang Ji and others.

When he thought about the future scene of his General of Chariots and Cavalry's Mansion being full of talented people, and the Nanyang He family being accepted by the gentry and transformed from a powerful family to an gentry, He Jin could not help but clap his hands and laugh, and the pride on his face became more and more obvious, as if he had already seen the majestic scene of himself commanding the attention of everyone in the court.

Wang Qian, the chief secretary of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, looked at He Jin who was a little too flamboyant. Although he felt that it was a little inappropriate, he did not make any suggestions at this time to disrupt He Jin's mood.

But there was one thing he still needed to remind him of. "General, should we send someone to the palace to invite the Crown Prince and the Empress?"

He Jin frowned and looked at Wang Qian, thinking, if both the prince and the queen were invited, who would be the protagonist of the banquet today?
Was it him, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, or the Crown Prince and the Queen whom the scholars were paying homage to?

Absolutely ridiculous!
However, this was his chief historian after all, so He Jin forced a smile and said, "The Crown Prince is busy with government affairs and probably has no time to come here. There is no need to bother him."

Then He Jin turned around to entertain other guests, bowing and constantly expressing his gratitude. His steps became light and bold, and he was completely immersed in this great joy and pride.

However, as he watched He Jin chatting and laughing with other guests, the gratitude in Yuan Shao's eyes towards He Jin instantly disappeared without a trace, and was replaced by a cold look.

He Suigao, I killed your mother!

Yuan Shao's gaze turned to his uncle Yuan Wei again, and he cursed in his heart, "You old bastard, you deserve that all three of your sons died young, and you deserve to have no descendants!"

He was the eldest son of the late "Special Advancement General of Chariots and Cavalry" Yuan Feng, born from a marriage with a maidservant while Yuan Feng was drunk. Yuan Feng also had two sons by his legal wives: the eldest son, Yuan Ji, courtesy name Shi Ji, currently serving as Grand Coachman; and the second son, Yuan Shu, courtesy name Gonglu.

Yuan Feng and his wife didn't like him as the son of a maid, so they simply adopted him to their childless brother Yuan Cheng as an adopted son, so that they could pretend they didn't see him.

Yuan Shao was unwilling to accept this and has been working hard to maintain his reputation over the years.

He was handsome and dignified in appearance. He was always willing to lower his status to make friends with others. Regardless of their status, he treated scholars with equal courtesy as himself. Therefore, the carriages of guests visiting his house once filled the streets and alleys of Luoyang, and his reputation even surpassed that of Yuan Ji, the legitimate son of the Runan Yuan family.

So his good uncle Yuan Wei decisively took action to destroy his plan to maintain his reputation and sent him directly to He Jin's General of Chariots and Cavalry's mansion.

This has ended his career!

Based on the solid foundation Yuan Shao had built for himself through cultivating his reputation, and according to the experience of previous scholars, his starting point should at least be the Shangshu of any department in the Shangshu Tai.

But what can he do?

He could not resist Yuan Wei's orders and had to obey them no matter how unwilling he was.

But He Jin was truly an ignorant man. Did he really think that the prince appointed him the General of Chariots and Cavalry and bestowed upon him the title of Grand Master because he trusted him?

Hey, General Cavalry!

The position of General of Chariots and Cavalry is not honorable at all. Countless Generals of Chariots and Cavalry have been conferred this title over the years.

For example, the eunuch Cao Jie, the grandfather of the party member Huang Wan, Huang Qiong, his father Yuan Feng, and He Jin's father He Zhen. The number of Generals of Chariots and Cavalry conferred by the emperors of these two dynasties is too numerous to count with one hand.

And these people have one thing in common, that is, they are all dead!
This is not nonsense literature, but the word "封" (conferring) that these people were given the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry is actually "posthumously conferred" (feng).

In other words, the Generals of Chariots and Cavalry of these two dynasties were all posthumously awarded titles to express the favor of the imperial court.

He Suigao, He Suigao, you think you are trusted by the prince, but you don’t know that you are already a piece of meat on the butcher’s table!
(End of this chapter)