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The Emperor’s Early Austerity When Emperor Wu of Jin (Sima Yan) first ascended the throne in 265 CE, he publicly championed frugality. He ordered civil and military officials to live modestly, setting an example himself. One day at court, he summoned his guards to display a magnificent ‘zhi-tou qiu’ – a luxurious fur coat…
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In 192 AD, after Dong Zhuo’s brutal usurpation of the Han Dynasty had plunged the empire into chaos, Wang Yun conspired with Li Su, Shi Shunrui and Lü Bu to eliminate Dong Zhuo. Although previous assassination attempts against Dong Zhuo by others had all failed, this time Wang Yun and his accomplices succeeded.
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Dong Zhuo’s arrogance, arbitrariness and cruelty ignited widespread fury across the empire. First, he deposed Emperor Shao of Han (Liu Bian), then had him murdered—along with his mother, Empress He and his wife. During the enthronement of the new emperor, Liu Xie, he executed any minister who dared to oppose him.