He Jin

He Jin is a prominant politician for the Han at the beginning of the novel.

Before the Novel
He Jin was born in Nanyang to a relatively poor family, as his father was a butcher. His half-sister, Empress He, however, became consort to and eventually, in 180, wife of Emperor Ling. This gave the He family power, and allowed Jin to enter the Emperors court as a politician, rising the ranks and eventually becoming Regent.

Chapter 2-Jian Shou's Downfall
He Jin appears in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a Regent for Emperor Ling, and an opponent of The Ten Attendants. When Emperor Ling falls ill, Jin is asked to make plans for succession. However, the emperor wants Liu Xie, the son of the deceased Lady Wang to become emperor, and fears that Jin will favour his own nephew, Prince Bian over Ling's desires. As a result, the Emperor allows himself to be convinced by Jian Shuo to summon He Jin and kill him.

He Jin nearly falls into the trap, but is stopped at the palace gate and warned by commanding officer, Pan Yin. Jin flees to his quarters and meets with his political allies and ministers. Present at the meeting are; Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, He Yu, Xun You, Zheng Tai and Cao Cao, amongst other. Most are in favour of storming into the imperial palace and killing The Ten Attendants, but Cao Cao objects. Before the dilemma can be resolved, Pan Yin bursts in an interrupts the debate to tell He Jin that Emperor Ling is dead and that the eunuchs are planning on summoning and murdering him.

As a result, He Jin and his attendants decide to raid the palace. They crown Prince Bian Emperor, force the royal guard to surrender and hunt for Jian Shou. Shou hides from the attackers, but is betrayed and killed by another eunuch, Guo Sheng. The nine remaining eunuchs, afraid for their lives, appeal to Empress He, claiming that they had no part in Shou's crimes, and that Yuan Shao had lied to He Jin and convinced him of their guilt. The Empress, convinced by the eunuchs' lies, persuades Jin to let them live, despite Yuan Shao's protests.

After the attack of the palace, Empress Dowager Dong and the nine remaining attendants regain power quickly. Liu Xie is crowned the Prince of Chenliu, Imperial Uncle Don Chong (Dowager Dong's brother) is named General of the Flying Cavalry and The Attendants are permitted to participate in the court again. As a result, Empress He invites Dowager Dong to a banquet, and requests politely that she step down from politics. This request is met with fierce accusations and an abrupt ending to the banquet.

Empress He summons He Jin to tell him what had transpired, and to implore him to take action. As a result, Jin speaks with some political allies of the He Clan, and has Empress Dong escorted back to Hejian, her original fief, where she is later poisoned and killed. Dong Chong's house is surrounded and he commits suicide.

Yuan Shao visits He Jin later to tell him that Zhang Rang and Duan Gui are spreading the rumour that it was he who ordered Empress Dowager Dong be killed. He refers to Dou Wu's death at their hands 30 years earlier, and warns He Jin that he has to act now before they get to him. He urges He Jin to muster his followers and eliminate the eunuchs, once and for all. He Jin, ever indecisive, says that he will think on it.

Unbeknownst to He Jin, some of his men are reporting to Zhang Rang on all of his dealings. Rang is, in turn, informing He Miao, (He Jin's brother). Miao appeals to Empress He, accusing Jin of being 'cruel', and saying that 'klling' is 'his sole concern'. As a result, when Jin reveals to her his plan of killing the eunuchs, she dismisses the idea and accuses him of being disrespectful. He agrees timidly and leaves.

Later, he confers with his allies, including Yuan Shao, who advises him to gather his men and attack the capital. Chen Lin, however, disagrees, saying that bringing an army to Luoyang would only cause war, and that he should instead strive to execute the eunuchs. Jin dismisses this idea as foolhardy, insulting Lin in the process. Cao Cao, also present, then shares his views. He suggests that it would be best to seek out the leader of the Attendants and execute him, disco-ordinating the rest. Jin, again, dismisses the idea and decides to contact his allies outside the city to build an army.

Chapter 3-Demise
And so He Jin sends secret summons to Dong Zhou, an infamously ruthless and zealous warlord and politician, who bribed his way out of jail and into power, commanding 200,000 men in the Western Xizhou province. Zhou, ever-amitious, takes up the call, and marches on the palace. However, when He Jin's petition to allow Zhou's entry to the city is presented to Empress He, it is denied. Jin ignores all objections and goes ahead with the plan, resulting in the resignation of half the court.

The Attendants catches wind of the plan, convince Empress He to summon He Jin to save them. He Jin, despite being warned by Chen Lin, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao against the summons, agrees to go to the Empress. To satisfy them, Jin allows Shao and Cao to give him a guard unit of 1,000 men, led by Yuan Shu. However, the guards are not admitted. Jin, alone and unguarded, walks into the palace 'grandly'. He is met by Zhang Rang and Duan Gui and read his charges, before being sliced in two at the waist.

After Death
When Yuan Shao calls for Jin to return, his head is tossed from the wall. Shao, distraught, calls out for help, and Wu Kuang sets a fire outside the gate. Yuan Shu then promptly leads the attack into the palace, followed closely by his brother and Cao Cao, killing all eunuchs that they come across. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao kill Zhao Zhong, Cheng Kuang, Xia Yun and Guo Sheng. Emperor Han Shao, Empress He and Prince Xie are forced out of the main compound and along a path leading to the northern compound by Zhang Rang, Duan Gui, Cao Jie and Hou Lan until they are stopped by Lu Zhi. He alarms the eunuchs, and Empress He escapes, but the eunuchs escape with Emperor Han Shao. Many are slaughtered. Wu Kuang and the crowd surrounding him kill He Miao for his cooperation in the plot, and Cao Cao-the voice of reason-convinces Empress He to regain control and extinguishes the fires.Once the battle is over, men are sent to find Emperor Han Shao.

He Jin-noble and foolish-has achieved, in death, the revolution that he so desperately sought in life. The Ten Attendants are gone from Luoyang, and their corruption no longer taints politics. But The Emperor has been kidnapped, and Dong Zhou has been reintroduced to politics. The Empire's old problems have just been replaced with new ones.

Personality
He Jin was infamously indecisive, preferring to get all advice and information before making any decisions. This led to his decisions being delayed, allowing his opponents time to prepare or to form their own plans. It also meant that he was easily influenced, as proven by Yuan Shao. He was persuaded time and time again to do Shao's bidding, and, it has been inferred, valued the opinion of his advisers far higher than his own. He was also foolish, and rarely adapted his plans to suit situations, and arrogant towards the end, refusing to listen to the advice he had always desperately sought out.

Family
He Jin was born into a relatively poor family. His father was a butcher, his clan held no real wealth. His sister, Empress He (birth name unknown) was the one that earned the clan any real power. Her marriage to Emperor Ling won He Jin and his brother, He Miao, their political positions.