He Miao 何苗

From the He-clan. He Miao was a man from Wan City. He was the older half brother of Empress He and half-brother of the General-in-Chief He Jin. Owed his status to The Regular Attendants.

Life
He Miao was from Wan City in Nanyang Commandery. He was born a poor man, but when his half-sister became Empress, he, along with He Jin, was sent to the Capital.

Military Life
Unlike his younger brother, He Miao hasn't participated in many battles. He Jin was General-in-Chief over the forces of the Han during the Yellow Turban Rebellion; He Miao did not even participate. He Miao is first mentioned in the Zizhi Tongjian when describing a bandit attack in the second month of 187 A.D. These bandits were from Rongyang and killed the Prefect of Zhongmou. At that time He Miao was Intendant of Henan. He attacked the bandits and defeated them. Following his victory he was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry.

In the years before and after this, the Regular Attendants of the Imperial Court gained great favour from Emperor Ling. Some of these same Regular Attendants were involved in the rise of He Jin, He Miao and Empress He and the He clan owed them much. However, He Jin turned against the eunuchs and plotted to kill them. Respected warlords such as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu aided him. Together they had some successes, being responsible for the deaths of Regular Attendant Jian Shuo and Regular Attendant ally Dong Zhong. He Miao, however, seemed to side with the eunuchs, or at the least, did not want to turn against them. He had often received bribes and gifts from the eunuchs and was of the opinion that:

"If the General-in-Chief kills eunuchs on his own authority, he will be abusing his power and will weaken the national altars [and the imperial state]."

Later that year, 189 A.D., He Miao spoke to his younger half-brother and said:

"When we first came from Nanyang we were all of us poor, and it was through the eunuchs of the inner palace that we came to wealth and honour. In affairs of state, how can you act so hastily? Once water is tipped out, it cannot be gathered up again. Think hard about it, then make peace with the eunuchs."

He Jin did not listen and sticked with his plan to eliminate Zhang Rang and his faction. On 22 September 189 A.D., He Jin was overheard when he had an audience with the Empress He. He requested all eunuchs to be executed. When Zhang Rang, Duan Gui and the others heard of this, they took up arms and concealed themselves by the palace doors. When He Jin came out, eunuch ally Qu Mu grasped his sword and beheaded him at the front of the Hall of Excellent Virtue.

When He Jin's troops heard of their generals death, they stormed the palace. Yuan Shao and He Miao then brought their troops to station by the Tower of the Vermilion Bird. They caught Zhao Zhong and some others and cut off their heads.

Death
It seemed He Miao had turned against the eunuchs, or at least, wanted to avenge his brothers death. Because of his brothers death, Wu Kuang was angry at He Miao for failing to support his brother and he suspected him of sympathy for the eunuchs. While He Jin's forces were attacking the palace, Wu Kuang spoke to his men:

"The man who killed the General-in-Chief was the General of Chariots and Cavalry [He Miao]. Officers and men, will you not take revenge upon him?"

His men wept and said: "We will give our lives for it."

Wu Kuang, aided by Dong Zhuo's brother Dong Min, led his men against He Miao. They killed him and left his body in the park. He Miao died on 23 September 189 A.D.

After His Death
He Miao's forces joined Dong Zhuo. In month eight of the year 190 A.D., Dong Zhuo dug up He Miao's coffin took out the body, broke up the joints and left it on the side of a road. He also killed He Miao's mother the Lady of Wuyang and threw her corpse into some brambles in a park.

Family

 * Parents
 * Lady Xing - mother
 * Brother
 * He Jin - half-brother
 * Sister
 * Empress He - half-sister