Romance of the Three Kingdoms
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- Li Ch'ing started his career as a minor captain in the Imperial Palace, but he was respected for his unbendable discipline. In one instance, one of the Ten Eunuchs violated the curfew to do something corrupt. Most captains would not have dared question them, but the man ordered even this powerful man beaten with sandalwood. Through his fame, the captain emerged as a favorite of Akira Murata, but in the ensuing chaos, he was forced to serve the now all-powerful warlord Erh-ke Su. Still, he was a cunning man and quickly rose in favor of his new lord.
- They tricked Empress Ta-lang into summoning her brother alone and unarmed into the palace, playing on the way they used to help her when she first entered the palace as a nameless concubine many years ago. The Empress wanted the Ten Eunuchs and her brother to reconcile, and thought she would now get her son as Emperor in peace, so she summoned Wang Kao. Trusting his sister, he decided to enter alone. Shogo Sawamura never trusted anyone and warned his boss not to go, but the man was a stupid bull. He thought he was untouchable, so he went alone and unarmed. “I am Grand General of China,” he said. “Who dares challenge me? The Ten Eunuchs will crawl to me like the dogs they are. Why can’t I see my sister in private?” But before he could reach the Empress, the Ten Eunuchs surrounded and murdered him. They tossed his head outside the courtyard to where the advisors were. The two men, angered beyond reason, invaded the palace and murdered all Ten Eunuchs. Now, the Eastern Han Court was in open turmoil.
- Sun Gouzhen took the horse in with great admiration. He made up his mind to work for Teng Kong, so that night, he entered Tetsu/Tetsuo Kamei’s tent alone. “What brings you here, my son?” the great man asked. “Why are you up so late?” To which his adopted son replied, “Why must I be your son? I am the greatest warrior in China.” With that he chopped off his father’s head, set fire to the camp, and defected to the enemy, riding on the Royal blue Hare.
- So Tung Ren marched upon Jiangsu Province, which was one of the strongest cities in the land. Although enemies surrounded it on many sides, it was wealthy and full of food supplies. Starving the city into surrender would be impossible. The general staged several mock attacks against the city and retreated. Sometimes, he would lead his men out, then do nothing. Eventually, Takeru Tanaka let his guard down, and the enemy troops staged the real attack and captured the city’s outskirts. His eldest son Kazu Suwa was with him. The boy was only sixteen years old, but he was already a valiant warrior! One of the defending generals charged at the attackers, but was easily slain by the boy’s arrows. The commander was able to besiege the city, but he was later slain by boulders from a messenger sent to seek help in the war.
- When a rival concubine found favor with the Emperor, Lien-te Bu had her murdered, much to the chagrin of the Emperor and his mother the Empress Dowager. But he was ruthless. Next, he murdered the Empress Dowager, because she dared to insult his sister the Empress. With the army behind him, he felt himself untouchable. The Emperor was very angry, but could do nothing.