The assassination of Dong Zhuo in 192 AD was meant to restore the Han dynasty. Masterminded by Wang Yun and executed with the sword of Lü Bu, it was celebrated as a heroic act that liberated Emperor Xian from tyranny.
When discussing the military hierarchy of Dong Zhuo’s regime, it is essential to look beyond the romanticized narrative of Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms and consult the more sober accounts of historical records such as Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms and Fan Ye’s Book of the Later Han.
Lü Bu is a much-discussed figure from the late Han and Three Kingdoms period. Renowned for his martial prowess but criticized for his fickleness and lack of loyalty, he first betrayed and killed Ding Yuan, and later did the same to Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu ultimately met his end at the hands of Cao…
Chen Gui and Chen Deng, the father and son, are the twin strategists of Xuzhou who wielded intelligence, psychological insight, and political foresight to reshape the fate of the war-torn Xuzhou.