This is Explanation Five from Han Feizi: Inner Congested Sayings, Part II. It assembles cases on how royal favour distorts succession and brings usurpation and regicide. Unlike prior sections focusing on ministers’ frauds, it highlights a root structural issue: uncertain inheritance fuels all palace intrigues.
In the chaotic aftermath of Dong Zhuo’s seizure of the Han capital in 190 AD, the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, led nominally by Yuan Shao, struggled to maintain unity.