In the Ninth month of the year, Dong Zhuo asked for a meeting of the Emperor and all the ministers and the generals. Dong Zhuo held his sword, and said, "The Emperor is weak. He is unable to rule the country. I have an announcement here." He asked Li Ru to read it:
After Li Ru finished, Dong Zhuo ordered the guards to escort the Emperor out of the Palace. They removed the belt and the Seal from the Emperor, and forced him to kneel down to wait for orders. Then the order was also given to the Empress. The Emperor and the Empress both cried, and the ministers all felt sad. Minister Ding Guan, yelled, "Dong Zhuo, how dare you rebel against the Emperor! I'll bath you in my own blood." He waved the ivory board in his hand, and aimed it at Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo ordered the guards tie him up and they executed him immediately. Ding Guan was not quieted until his death.
- After the Xiaoling Emperor left his country and his people, people had high expectations of the heir of the throne. But the new Emperor has no character nor the ability as a ruler, and he was disrespectful during the mourning period. The Empress did not teach him well, and set an bad example for the country. The sudden death of the Yongle Empress was under suspicious circumstance. It's time now to correct these wrongs. Xie, the son of the late Emperor, the King of Chenliu, have done many good deeds. He was respectful and quiet, and have had a good reputation among the people. Per this announcement the current Emperor is demoted as the King of Xuannong, and the Empress is ordered to relinquish all of her power. We sincerely ask the King of Chenliu to be the Emperor, and to save us and the country.
Dong Zhuo asked the King of Chenliu into the Hall. The ministers congratulated him. Dong Zhuo ordered to move the Empress and the King of Xuannong and his wife Tang to the Hall of Yongan, and to lock the gate, and no one to be allowed into the Hall. The Emperor only had the throne from the Fourth Month to the Ninth Month. The King of Chenliu now became the new Emperor, named Xian Emperor. He was nine years old at the time. Dong Zhuo was appointed Prime Minister. He had all the privilege. He did not need to ask for permission to see the Emperor, he did not have to kneel in front of the Emperor, and he could bring his sword when seeing the Emperor. Li Ru advised him to use famous scholars to gain popularity. He especially recommended Cai Ye. Dong Zhuo ordered Cai Ye to come to the Capital. Cai Ye refused. Dong Zhuo sent a message saying, "If you don't come, I'll kill your whole family." Cai Ye reluctantly came. Dong Zhuo was glad, and he promoted Cai Ye's rank three times in a month.
The Emperor and his mother Empress He and his wife Tang were forced to live in the Hall of Yongan. As days went by, they had less and less food and clothings. The Emperor wept every day. One day he saw a pair of swallows flying in the courtyard, and wrote a poem,
Dong Zhuo had people spying on them. That day they obtained this poem, and showed it to Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo said, "Writing a poem in resentment is a good reason for death." He ordered Li Ru to bring ten guards to kill the Emperor. The Emperor, his wife and Empress He were all on the second floor. The maid reported that Li Ru came. They were all scared. Li Ru came in and gave a cup of poison wine to the Emperor. The Emperor asked, "What is the occasion for the wine?" Li Ru said, "It spring and the Prime Minister gave the wine as a good will." The Empress said, "In that case, You can drink it first." Li Ru ordered the guards to put forward a dagger and a rope. He said, "You can take these two as substitutes." Tang said, "I'd like to drink the wine for my husband. Please spare him." Li Ru said, "Who do you think you are? How can you substitute for a King?" The three of them knew it was the end. They hugged each other, and cried. Empress He cursed He Jin, blamed him for the decision to bring Dong Zhuo into the Capital. Li Ru said, "The Prime Minister is waiting for me. Don't waste my time. Are you waiting for someone to rescue you?" Empress said to him, "You help Dong Zhuo in his evil deeds. You kill us now, one day you will get your due." Li Ru dragged her and threw her down the building. The guards forced poison wine down the Emperor's throat, and then they strangled his wife. The bodies were buried outside the city. Since then Dong Zhuo went into the Palace every night and raped the concubines and maids, and slept on the Emperor's bed. Once he led the army out to the city of Yang. It was the Second Month of the year, and there was a market meeting in the town. Dong Zhuo ordered the soldiers surround the town. They killed all the men, and captured all the women and the goods. They hung a thousand heads on their carriages and returned to the Capital, announcing that they had just won a battle over the rebels. They burnt the heads outside the city, and divided women and the goods among the soldiers.
- Grass is like smoke that freezes,
Swallows fly in a pair freely.
River Luo flows in its deep blue,
People on the banks are moved.
Far away I can see the roofs,
of the Palace that I am so used to.
I wait for a hero,
To relieve my anger and sorrow.
A captain named Wu Fu was very angry at this. He hid a dagger inside his clothes and looked for a chance to kill Dong Zhuo. One day he met Dong Zhuo, he took out the dagger and tried to stab Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was very strong. His two hands held Wu Fu's hand. As they were struggling, Luu Bu came and dragged Wu Fu to the ground. Dong Zhuo ordered him sliced. Wu Fu did not stop shouting until his death. Since then Dong Zhuo always carried fully armed guards with him.
General Yuan Shao was now in Bohai. He sent a secret letter to Minister Wang Yun. The Letter said,
Wang Yun received the letter, thought about it for a long time. He could not find a plan. One day, he was chatting with a few ministers at the office, he said, "Today is my birthday. I'd like to invite all of you to my place for supper." That evening the ministers all came to his place. After the dinner, Wang Yun suddenly cried. Others asked why he was crying. Wang Yun said, "Today is not really my birthday. I wanted to talk to you about something. Birthday was only an excuse to avoid Dong Zhuo's suspicion. The Han Dynasty lasted till today, but now it will end in the hands of Dong Zhuo. That's why I'm crying." The rest all cried with him. One man bursted into laughter, "Dear ministers, you can all cry to sunrise, then cry to sunset, do you think you will cry Dong Zhuo to death?" Wang Yun looked at him, it was Cao Cao. Wang Yun said, "Why? You don't want to serve the country? What's so funny?" Cao Cao said, "I'm just laughing that you can't think of a way to kill Dong Zhuo. Although I'm not smart, I'll kill him and hang his head at the gate of the Capital." Wang Yun stood up and asked, "What plan do you have?" Cao Cao said, "I have been very obedient to Dong Zhuo. Now I have gained his trust, so I can get close to him. I'd like to borrow the antique knife from you and use it to kill Dong Zhuo." Wang Yun poured some wine into Cao Cao's glass, and said, "If you can do it, the country will be saved." He took the knife and gave it to Cao Cao.
- Dong Zhuo betrayed the Emperor and betrayed the country. You are seeing this and not doing anything about it. How can you call yourself a loyal minister of the Emperor? I have prepared an army here to clear the house for the Emperor, but there have not been any opportunities. If you plan to do something, my army will be ready.
Next day, Cao Cao brought the knife with him as he went to the Palace of Dong Zhuo. He asked the guards, "Where is the Prime Minister?" The guards said in the bedroom. Cao Cao went into the bedroom. Dong Zhuo was sitting on the bed, and Luu Bu stood beside him. Dong Zhuo said, "You are late." Cao Cao said, "The horse is getting old." Dong Zhuo said, "I've just got some very good horses from Xiliang. Luu Bu, why don't you go choose one for Cao Cao." Luu Bu took the order and went out. Cao Cao thought, "This is my chance." But he was afraid that Dong Zhuo was very strong, and couldn't bring himself to pull the knife. Dong Zhuo was fat and he couldn't sit for long. So he laid down and turned inward. Cao Cao immediately pulled out the knife. Dong Zhuo saw it through the bronze mirror, and turned and said, "Cao Cao, what are you doing?" Luu Bu was already outside with the horse. Cao Cao was startled and knelt down, said, "I have an antique knife. I would like to give it to you as a gift." Dong Zhuo asked Luu Bu to take the knife and put it away. They went outside the room. Cao Cao mounted the horse and thanked Dong Zhuo. He left the Palace and headed directly to southeast. Luu Bu said, "I saw Cao Cao wanting to assassinate you. It was discovered so he said he wanted to give the knife." Dong Zhuo said, "I suspected it also." As they were talking, Li Ru came. Dong Zhuo asked Li Ru about it. Li Ru said, "Cao Cao has no family in the Capital. He lives alone. We can send for him. If he comes then the knife was a real gift. If he doesn't come then it was an attempted assassination." Dong Zhuo sent four prison guards for Cao Cao. After a long time, they returned and said, "Cao Cao never returned to his place. He went directly out of the city. The guards at the gate said Cao Cao told them that the Prime Minister sent him for important business." Dong Zhuo immediately ordered to send bulletins to the provinces, and put forward a reward for arresting Cao Cao.
Cao Cao left the Capital and headed directly to his hometown. He was arrested as he was passing by Zhongmou County. He was brought in front of the mayor. Cao Cao said, "I am a merchant. My name if Huangfu." The mayor looked at him carefully, and said, "I have seen you when I was in the Capital. You are Cao Cao. Guards, put him in the jail and we'll send him to the Capital tomorrow and get our rewards." That night, the mayor ordered the guards to take Cao Cao out of the jail and bring him to the garden of his house. He asked, "I heard that the Prime Minister was treating you well. Why did you do it?" Cao Cao said, "How can an average person understand the intentions of a real hero. You can take me and claim your rewards. There is no need for questions." The mayor ordered the guards to leave, then said to Cao Cao, "Don't regard me as an average person. I just haven't met the right people yet." Cao Cao said, "I am serving the Han Emperor. I was obedient to Dong Zhuo looking for a chance to kill him. Now I failed I won't regret it." The mayor asked, "Where were you headed?" Cao Cao said, "I was going home. I would gather an army, bring down Dong Zhuo and return the power to the Emperor." The mayor untied Cao Cao, asked him to sit down, and said, "You are a real hero." Cao Cao asked the mayor's name. The mayor said, "My name is Chen Gong. My mother and my wife are both at Dongjun. I am willing to give up my position here and follow you." That night they changed clothes, each took a sword and a horse, and left for Cao Cao's hometown.
After three days, they arrived at Chenggao in the evening. Cao Cao said, "There is a man here, named Luu Boshe. He is my father's good friend. We can spend the night there." They went to Luu's place. Luu Boshe said, "I heard that the government is looking for you. Your father is hiding at Chenliu. How did you get here?" Cao Cao said, "Mayor Chen saved me." Luu Boshe went to the back for awhile. After he came out, he said, "We don't have a good wine here. Let me go get some from the west village." And he left.
Cao Cao and Chen Gong sat in the room for a long time. Suddenly they heard the sound of someone sharpening a knife. Cao Cao said, "Luu Boshe is not a close relative. I am suspicious of him leaving us here. Let me see what they are up to." The two of them quietly walked to the back of the house. They heard, "Let's tie up before killing." Cao Cao said, "That's it. Let's do it first before they capture us." Cao Cao and Chen Gong pulled out the swords and went in. They killed all eight people in the house, before they found a pig that was tied up in the kitchen. Chen Gong said, "Cao Cao is too untrusting. We have killed innocent people." They took the horses and left. On the road they met Luu Boshe on a donkey, with two bottles of wine and some fruits and vegetables. He saw them and asked, "Why are you leaving? I have asked them to slaughter a pig and prepare a dinner. At least spend the night." Cao Cao said, "We are fugitives. We don't want to stay at one place for too long." They went past him. Suddenly Cao Cao turned back and said to Luu Boshe, "Who's there that's coming?" As Luu Boshe turned his head, Cao Cao killed him with his sword. Chen Gong was surprised. He asked, "We killed the other people by mistake. Why did you kill him?" Cao Cao said, "If he returns and finds out that we killed his family, he will hate us and bring the government people to us." Chen Gong said, "Killing innocent people intentionally, that's not something a real hero would do." Cao Cao said, "I'd rather betray everyone in the world, than letting anyone in the world betray me."
They finally found a small hotel to spend the night. After they fed the horses, Cao Cao went into sleep quickly. Chen Gong thought, "I took Cao Cao to be a hero. Now I found out that he is really a villain." In a impulse, he took his sword and wanted to kill Cao Cao. If you worry whether Chen Gong was able to kill Cao Cao, read the next chapter.