The Rise of Dong Zhuo

Emperor Ling died, and another struggle began between the court eunuchs for control of the Imperial family . Court eunuch Jian Shuo planned to kill General He Jin, a relative of the royal family, and to replace the Crown Prince Liu Bian with his younger brother Liu Xie, the Prince of Chenliu (in modern Kaifeng), though his plan was unsuccessful. Liu Bian took the Han throne as Emperor Shao of Han, and General He Jin plotted with warlord Yuan Shao to assassinate the Ten Attendants, a clique of ten eunuchs led by Zhang Rang who controlled much of the imperial court. He Jin also ordered Dong Zhuo, the frontier general in Liangzhou, and Ding Yuan, Inspector of Bingzhou (the area now between Baoding and Taiyuan), to bring troops to the capital to reinforce his position of authority. The eunuchs learned of General He's plot, and had him assassinated before Dong Zhuo ever reached the capital, Luoyang. When Yuan Shao's troops reached the capital they stormed the palace complex, killing the Ten Attendants and two thousand of those loyal to them. Though this move effectively ended the century-long feud between the eunuchs and the Imperial family, it ushered in the era of warlords and martial law that became the Three Kingdoms Era.

 Dong Zhuo Modern Potrait

 

This event prompted the invitation of Dong Zhuo to enter Luoyang from the northwest boundary of China. At the time China faced the powerful barbarians of Qiang tribe to the northwest, and thus Dong Zhuo controlled a large army with elite training. When he brought the army to Luoyang, he was able to easily overpower the existing armies of both sides and took control of the imperial court, ushering in a period of civil war across China.

Dong Zhuo then manipulated the succession so that the future Emperor Xian could take the throne in lieu of his elder half-brother. Dong Zhuo, while ambitious, genuinely wished for a more capable emperor. On his way to Luoyang, he encountered a small band of soldiers protecting the two sons of Emperor Ling fleeing the war zone. In the encounter Dong Zhuo acted arrogantly and threateningly, causing the elder half-brother to be paralyzed with fear; the younger brother, the future Emperor Xian, responded calmly with authority and commanded Dong Zhuo to protect the royal family with his army to return to the Imperial Court.

While Dong Zhuo originally wanted to re-establish the authority of Han Empire and manage all the political conflict properly, his political capability proved to be much worse than his military leadership. His behaviour grew more and more violent and authoritarian, executing or sending into exile all that opposed him, and showed less and less respect to the Emperor. He ignored all royal etiquette and frequently carried open weapons into the imperial court. In 190 a coalition led by Yuan Shao was formed between nearly all the provincial authorities in the eastern provinces of the empire against Dong Zhuo. The mounting pressure from repeated defeat on the southern frontline against the Sun Jian forces drove the Han Emperor and later Dong Zhuo himself west to Chang An in May 191.

 Lu Bu Modern Potrait

Dong Zhuo once again demonstrated his political shortcomings by forcing millions of residents of Luoyang to migrate to Chang'an. He then set fire to Luoyang, preventing occupation by his enemies and destroying the biggest city in China at that time. In addition, he ordered his army to slaughter a whole village of civilians. The soldiers beheaded the civilians and carried their heads into Chang'an to show off as war trophies, pretending to have had a great victory against his enemies. A year later Dong Zhuo was killed in a coup d'etat by Wang Yun and Lu Bu.