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Among the Three Great Campaigns of the Three Kingdoms—the Battles of Guandu, Red Cliffs, and Yiling—the Battle of Guandu was by far the most critical for Cao Cao. While his loss at Red Cliffs merely cost him control of Jing Province, defeat at Guandu would have meant total annihilation. For Yuan Shao, too, this…
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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.
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The assassination of Dong Zhuo in 192 AD marked a pivotal moment in the late Eastern Han dynasty, symbolizing the end of one tyrant and the beginning of another chaotic era. This event is famously depicted in Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms and corroborated by historical records such as Chen Shou’s Records…
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The real reasons behind Lü Bu’s betrayal of Dong Zhuo, beyond the legend of Diao Chan.
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Following the death of Emperor Ling of Han, military authority within the imperial court was effectively controlled by General-in-Chief He Jin. Originally a butcher by trade, He Jin unexpectedly rose to power after his sister entered the imperial palace. As his entire family rose to prominence, He Jin became the General-in-Chief, establishing himself as…
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Dong Zhuo’s entry into Luoyang stands as one of the most pivotal events in Eastern Han history, fundamentally altering the course of the dynasty.
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In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the imperial court was mired in severe political chaos and decline. The central government saw a power struggle between three key forces: the eunuchs (who controlled the emperor and court affairs for decades, known as the “Ten Attendants” clique), the consorts’ families (relatives of empresses/empresses dowager who vied…
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The turbulent Three Kingdoms era saw numerous heroes emerge, yet few could have predicted that a power struggle would begin with a reluctant capital relocation.