Chapter 56: Plundering the Emperor

The perimeter of the Yong'an Palace measures six hundred and ninety-eight zhang. Within its walls stand the Jingfu, Anchang, and Yanhxiu halls, serving, much like the Yongle Palace, as a residence for empress dowengers in their retirement.

However, Han dynasty empress dowengers harbored an admirable habit of not only sticking a hand into court politics but thrusting an entire foot in as well. Consequently, various administrative offices were invariably established within the palace grounds, bearing little to no resemblance to the peace and joy implied by their names.

The Yong'an Palace was once the residence of Empress Dowager Dong. Later, when Empress Dowager He ascended to power, she had Empress Dowager Dong put to death, leaving the palace abandoned ever since.

Had Cao Cao not hailed from a lineage of eunuchs—meaning that while many of his spies within the palaces had perished during the recent palace turmoil, he still retained a few operatives planted through generations who could report to him—who else could have possibly imagined that Li Ru would conceal the deposed Emperor Liu Bian right here?

To breach the palace and rescue the captive, one first had to overcome the guards of the Yong'an Palace.

Normally, palace guards were drawn from the Feathered Forest Guards, and the Yong'an Palace was originally no exception. However, following the death of Empress Dowager Dong, the garrison of Feathered Forest Guards at Yong'an Palace was disbanded, and most of the original personnel were dispersed and exiled to guard the distant frontiers. At present, the palace was jointly defended by a detachment of Feathered Forest Guards transferred from other palaces and a contingent of Xiliang soldiers.

Since these personnel were on duty within the palace, their daily meals were naturally prepared inside as well.

Yuan Shu's original plan involved utilizing Cao Cao's insiders within the palace to spike the evening meal of these guards with a sleeping potion rather than a lethal poison. This was because poisons tended to cause too much commotion when taking effect, whereas a sleeping potion was relatively safer and more secure.

In this manner, they would only need to deal with those guards whose meals were delayed due to watch duty, thereby significantly reducing the pressure of penetrating the palace.

This time, Cao Cao had truly staked everything. He not only had his spies in the Southern Palace drug the Feathered Forest Guards but also contrived to smuggle agents into the Yong'an Palace to drug its garrison. Yet, as a result of this maneuver, regardless of whether the rescue of the deposed emperor succeeded or failed, these exposed agents would effectively be ruined, if not killed outright.

The cruelty of struggles within the palace was no whit less than that outside its walls. With only a handful of palace positions available, no one would ever employ someone with a tainted record or lingering suspicion. Therefore, for the sake of Cao Cao's ambition, these people were paying not merely with a temporary downfall, but potentially with lifelong ostracism or their very lives.

Furthermore, Cao Cao had also dispatched agents to make arrangements regarding the mansions of the nobility in Buguangli and Yongheli.

Now, they simply waited quietly for the right moment to arrive...

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Yuan Shu and Zhang Xiao were stationed just outside the Southern Palace, their eyes unblinking as they stared fixedly at a side gate in the southwestern direction of the Southern Palace.

A side gate was a small portal with only a single leaf, typically used for the entry and exit of servants, purchasing provisions, or clearing away unsightly refuse.

As the agreed-upon hour drew closer by degrees, Yuan Shu's breathing grew increasingly ragged...

That accursed Cao Cao still had not shown his face!

Yuan Shu desperately wanted to turn on his heel and leave right then and there, but Zhang Xiao had already brought his troops and armor, standing right behind him. Things had progressed to this stage; there was only forward to go, with no reasoning left to retreat.

Under the tense gazes of Yuan Shu and Zhang Xiao, the side gate of the Southern Palace finally began to inch open. A minor eunuch poked his head out from behind the door, glanced around in all directions, and then produced a piece of red cloth, waving it left and right outside the door before instantly pulling his head back, leaving the side gate half-ajar.

It worked!

Yuan Shu had previously worried that if Cao Cao failed to appear, Cao Cao's men inside the Southern Palace might not act according to the original plan. Seeing the agreed-upon signal appear at last, a heavy stone finally dropped from his heart.

Yuan Shu turned his head and spoke in a low voice to Zhang Xiao, "The deed is done. Please, General, lead your troops into the palace immediately and search the halls on both sides of the Yong Alley. I shall remain here to guard your rear!"

Zhang Xiao assented with a word, gestured backward, and led his soldiers forward with lowered profiles, filing one by one through the side gate into the Southern Palace.

Watching Zhang Xiao and his armed men storm entirely into the Southern Palace, Yuan Shu stood quietly for a moment. Hearing the commotion gradually rising within the Southern Palace, accompanied by the sounds of shouting and hand-to-hand combat, he let out a cold laugh, turned on his heel, and departed with his personal bodyguards.

Very well, reaching this stage was quite enough.

As for Zhang Xiao's retreat?

He had better ensure his own retreat first—Yuan Gonglu's!

The sounds of slaughter inside the Southern Palace were finally heard by outsiders, plunging the entire city of Luo Yang into utter chaos within a split second.

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Over at the Yong'an Palace, Cao Cao was encountering a spot of trouble.

According to the original plan, Yuan Shu's operation at the Southern Palace had proceeded smoothly enough; unfortunately, over at Cao Cao's end, a mishap had occurred.

Presently in Luo Yang, Dong Zhuo was the undisputed supreme boss, and his subordinate Xiliang soldiers naturally puffed themselves up accordingly, behaving with unbridled arrogance. Today's scheduled ration was millet, but as ill luck would have it, this bunch of Xiliang soldiers stationed at the Yong'an Palace suddenly took a fancy to soup noodles...

The kitchen had to hurriedly remake the meal into soup noodles from scratch, rendering the millet rice laced with sleeping potion entirely useless.

Another point wherein the Yong'an Palace differed from the Southern Palace was that although its side gate was also situated in the southwest corner, it lay far too close to the Northern Palace. If they attempted to use the side gate just like at the Southern Palace and were discovered, the guards of the Northern Palace would rush over in the blink of an eye. At that point, they would not merely be facing the small garrison of the Yong'an Palace, but would also have to contend with the massive force of the Northern Palace's Feathered Forest Guards...

Consequently, if Cao Cao wished to rescue the deposed emperor now, his only option—before the Northern Palace guards realized what was happening—was to storm the main gate in a direct assault, striving for a lightning-fast resolution to seize the deposed emperor and depart.

Before launching the frontal assault, however, a certain stratagem could still be played out. Cao Cao had long anticipated this and left a reserve contingency...

The disturbance in the Southern Palace had begun to affect the entire city. Commoners who had been walking or going about their business on the streets scattered in all directions like headless flies, seeking a place of refuge. The roadways were left in utter disarray, with various goods strewn everywhere. Cries, shouts, and the frantic whinnying of livestock filled the air, making the entire city of Luo Yang boil over like a pot of soup.

The guards of the Yong'an Palace also grew tense, each gripping his weapon tightly and glaring toward the direction of the Southern Palace.

Suddenly, a single horseman galloped frantically from the street corner, arriving before the Yong'an Palace in the blink of an eye. The courier on horseback suddenly hauled back on the reins, horse and rider rearing up and coming to an abrupt, screeching halt.

The courier pulled a tally token from his bosom, raised it toward the guards atop the Yong'an Palace wall, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The Southern Palace is in rebellion! By order of the General, the Feathered Forest Guards are summoned to suppress the rebellion at once!"

Hearing the news, the Feathered Forest Guards on the palace wall hurriedly lowered a wicker basket. After the military commander of the Feathered Forest Guards inside the palace retrieved the tally brought by the courier and carefully matched it against his own tally to confirm it was indeed a troop movement token, he immediately descended from the wall, assembled his subordinate Feathered Forest Guards, flung open the palace gates, and charged directly toward the Southern Palace.

If Cao Cao had had any other way to get his hands on the Xiliang troop tally instead of managing only to secure the mobilization token of the Feathered Forest Guards, he would have loved to draft the Xiliang soldiers away as well!

Very well, now only the final step remained!