In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, both Liu Bian and Liu Xie were princes and competitors for the imperial throne. Why did He Jin, when supporting Liu Bian as emperor, not kill the competitor Liu Xie, while Dong Zhuo, when supporting Liu Xie, killed the competitor Liu Bian?
In reality, He Jin had neither the opportunity nor the motive to eliminate Liu Xie. This stands in stark contrast to Dong Zhuo’s later act of killing Liu Bian (Emperor Shao) in terms of motivation, timing, power structure, and historical context.
First, the conclusion: He Jin neither needed nor could eliminate Liu Xie because his goal was to maintain the legitimacy of his own power as a maternal relative, and Liu Xie posed no threat. Conversely, Dong Zhuo killed Liu Bian to completely destroy the old order and establish his own absolute authority.
Why He Jin could not eliminate Liu Xie?
When He Jin held power (summer of 189 CE), Liu Bian was the legitimate emperor, and Liu Xie was merely a prince. He Jin’s goal was to act as regent and monopolize power, not to usurp the throne. Therefore, he had to sustain the legitimacy of the imperial succession and could not actively harm a prince.
No Motive: Liu Xie was not a threat
Liu Xie was only 9 years old, with no political influence or support from maternal relatives (his mother, Lady Wang, had long been poisoned by Empress He). His main supporter, Emperor Ling, had already passed away; Empress Dowager Dong had been poisoned by He Jin; and the entrusted minister, the eunuch Jian Shuo, had been killed as a scapegoat by the Ten Regular Attendants. Thus, Liu Xie posed no threat to He Jin or Liu Bian under the circumstances.
He Jin’s power base relied on his identity as both Imperial Uncle and Grand General, dependent on the legitimacy of his sister Empress He and the young emperor Liu Bian. Killing a prince would equate to destroying his own political foundation.
Moral and political risks
Killing imperial bloodline was an act of treason. Once exposed, it would lose the hearts of the people, and scholars like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao might immediately turn against him.
He Jin’s goal was to wield power, Not to overthrow the dynasty
He only wanted to eliminate the eunuchs, consolidate the power of maternal relatives, and continue the maternal relative regency model (e.g., Huo Guang, Liang Ji). He might even have hoped for Liu Bian’s long reign to maintain his own power indefinitely.
Why did Dong Zhuo kill Liu Bian?
Dong Zhuo’s goal was to completely control the court, so he supported Prince Liu Xie as emperor as the first step to control the court. Compared to Liu Bian, who had strong maternal relative support, Liu Xie was isolated and easier to control. Although Liu Bian had been deposed, he remained a former emperor and crown prince with high symbolic significance and potential appeal. Thus, Dong Zhuo chose to kill Liu Bian and install Liu Xie to pave the way for his future usurpation.
Dong Zhuo was notorious for his brutality. Killing Liu Bian was also meant to establish authority, intimidate the nation, and demonstrate an iron-fisted rule of “those who submit prosper, those who resist perish.”
Consequences of deposing and installing emperors
However, historically, such acts of installing new emperors typically did not end well. Although Dong Zhuo achieved his goal of rapidly expanding his influence and controlling the political situation, it also planted long-term hidden dangers and invited greater disasters.
Liu Bian is the primary prince, according to the political tradition, the primary prince is the crown prince and should be the emperor in the future.
Dong Zhuo’s deposition and installation of emperors became the core excuse for thefeudal lords and warlords to rally against him. In 190 AD, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and other warlords jointly raised armies under the pretext of opposing Dong Zhuo and restoring the legitimacy of Emperor Shao (who had already been poisoned by Dong Zhuo). Although the military alliance against Dong Zhuo eventually dissolved, Dong Zhuo was forced to abandon Luoyang and move the capital to Chang’an, significantly weakening his power. He was ultimately assassinated by Wang Yun and Lü Bu.
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