Yellow Turban Rebellion
In 184, after the start of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, one of the eunuchs who sympathized with the partisans, Lü Qiang (呂強), persuaded Emperor Ling that if he did not pardon the partisans, they might join the Yellow Turban Rebellion and inflict great damage on the imperial administration. Emperor Ling therefore granted the partisans a full pardon and restored their civil liberties. (As a result, though, Lü himself would become a victim of the wrath of his fellow eunuchs, and he was falsely accused of conspiring to depose the emperor later that year. He committed suicide.)