DragonAtma wrote:He Jin reached his position by luck, not skill. He was raised to become a butcher, and as such had no training for leading armies or running politics. He did nothing when correspondence between the eunuchs and the yellow turbans were found. He rejected Yuan Shao's plan to remove the eunuchs. He refused Yuan Shao's request for permission to arrest the eunuchs. He dilly-dallied when he heard about Jian Shuo's plan to kill him. He ignored Chen Lin's advice that summoning Dong Zhuo was a disastrous idea. He let the eunuch battle split him apart form his stepbrother and sister. Fianlly, he fell for the eunuchs' trap to ambush and kill him.
Even if he evaded their plot and managed to kill all the top eunuchs, something else would topple him, as he was waaaaaay out of his league.
What could He Jin have done when correspondence between the eunuchs and Yellow Turbans was found and his Emperor reacted the way he did?
I thought he executed Jian Shi/Shuo, rather than dilly-dallying. He couldn't do much against him when Emperor Ling was still around, especially not when Shi was made Colonel of the First Army. After Ling's death though he had Jian Shi right where he wanted him. He obtained proof and had all the right to execute him. Good, political move. I don't see much wrong in this. Subsequently he became the most powerful man again, and who could fault him? Btw this was proof he never had against the other eunuchs iirc. And he never fell for the eunuchs 'trap'. It was a spontanious action, from the eunuchs, not a planned one. It could not have been foreseen at that time.
He Jin, I feel, suffers a lot from Romance and Koei's depiction of him. Sure, he wasn't great, but imo he was decent. You can get far with luck, but I do not believe that you can go from butcher-in-training to General-in-Chief by sheer luck and no skill. It's also said he was popular among his fellows, which I don't think you'll be when you get into a high position through luck (and thus shouldn't be there. People who should, would've not liked him one bit, but, instead, he was popular).
Furthermore he saved Wang Yun and recommended Dong Fu. The discovery of the Turbans' plot is ascribed to him and he was enfeoffed for it. He purged and protected Luoyang from within. His assigned Major Fan Zeng did well during the Turban rebellion. He tricked Jian Shi to not go on an expedition against the Liang Province rebels.
The man is not without flaws, nobody is. He could not always make up his mind when it mattered. But I think He Jin was a capable man. Not great, but a man of decent talent. Furthermore, had he survived he had a perfect reason to rid the palace of the eunuchs. A reason nobody could go against, unlike Shao's ideas (I think that's what he was after, it would've preserved peace in the palace and not create multiple camps, because He's action would've been 'right'). Then we would've had Emperor Shao on the throne, with He Jin, Lady He and He Miao right next to him. Would Dong Zhuo have come between them? Depose Shao and set Xian on the throne? No way. Not listening to Chen Lin's advice (to not summon Dong) was only bad because He Jin died (in an unpredictable assassination).
Cao Chao wrote:There are two points that we should all remember. One, Dong Zhuo already arrived at the outskirts of Luoyang. Two, He Jin was being opposed by not just the eunuchs, but also by his sister, Empress He and also He Miao (He Jin's stepbrother). Given He Jin's hesitation and indecisiveness, as well as the existing opposition and the exterior threat, Dong Zhuo would still likely be able to seize power quite easily.
But if He Miao and Lady He found out the eunuchs attempted to kill their brother, they would've agreed to dismiss or execute them. He Miao turned against them historically. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu seemed to be on He's side and not so fond of Dong Zhuo.