court intrigue

  • The unraveled tassel [Three Kingdoms]

    In Chapter 8 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wang Yun, the loyal Han minister, devises a cunning plan to destroy the tyrant Dong Zhuo. At the heart of this scheme is Diao Chan, a beautiful courtesan in Wang Yun’s household.

  • Wang Yun, Lü Bu, and the Assassination of Dong Zhuo [Three Kingdoms]

    In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhuo’s seizure of power in Luoyang ushered in an era of brutality and tyranny. After deposing Emperor Shao and installing Emperor Xian, Dong Zhuo ruled with unchecked cruelty. He executed officials who dared to oppose him, burned cities, looted the imperial treasury, and instilled terror throughout the…

  • Two fatal errors of He Jin and Yuan Shao [Three Kingdoms]

    In the second and third chapters of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, He Jin and Yuan Shao made a series of erroneous decisions in the critical struggle to eliminate the eunuchs and control imperial power, including exterminating all eunuchs and summoning Dong Zhuo to the capital.

  • The fall of He Jin and its lesson [Three Kingdoms]

    In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, maternal relatives and eunuchs alternated in holding power. He Jin, the Grand General and brother of Empress He, monopolized military and political authority, wielding immense influence. The eunuch group, the Ten Regular Attendants, plotted to assassinate He Jin to seize power. He Jin ignored advice, acted arbitrarily, and…