abstract
| - The Ten Eunuchs, otherwise known as the Ten Regular Attendants (十常侍, onyomi: Jūjōji), were a group of eunuchs who served as close advisors to the ruling Emperor in the imperial court of the Han Dynasty. Due to the excellent service they provided during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, their numbers increased to include a total of twelve members. Using the influence and trust they had garnered with Emperor Ling, they would directly implicate any political detractors to maintain their power and often escaped punishment for their crimes by using poor excuses or laying the blame on others. The Emperor established eight Colonels of the Western Garden in 188 in light of the recent Yellow Turbans upraising; he consulted with He Xun for his opinion on raising an army which cast doubts on the wisdom of the attendants and their integrity. Jian Shuo, who was just made Colonel of the First Army, had He Xun sent away and tried to do the same with He Jin. His scheme was not accepted by the attendants and he was executed by He Jin once the ploy was revealed. Enraged at learning of the plot against him, He Jin sought allies against the eunuchs and eventually agreed to Yuan Shao's plan to have Dong Zhuo stage a false rebellion to pressure the Empress He to execute the attendants. Gathering troops for his cause, He Jin eventually confers with the Empress He to condemn the twelve; learning of the proposal to have them all executed, the eunuchs rallied dedicated followers. Forging an imperial order from Empress He, the attendants lured He Jin into an ambush toward their armed, hidden supporters and he was killed. He Jin's death quickly gathered his supporters, Wu Kuang and Yuan Shu, and their troops to the palace. Yuan Shao guarded the gates to slaughter any escaping eunuchs. Zhang Rang and Duan Gui tried escaping with Emperor Shao and King of Chenliu across the Yellow River but were caught by Min Gong and committed suicide. Romance of the Three Kingdoms depicts the Ten Eunuchs as a group of greedy and corrupt schemers who deceive the Emperor and blamed as the primary cause for the Yellow Turban's rebellion. Learning of He Jin's plans of raising a massive army to destroy the eunuchs, the ten ask Empress He to issue her brother a personal summons and command to lay down his arms. Not trusting the edict, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao gather five hundred of their best men to wait outside the city with Yuan Shu, and personally went as armed escorts with He Jin. The two are detained and He Jin is isolated and killed by the eunuchs.
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