power vs. legitimacy

  • Why Yuan Shao not to hold the Emperor hostage? [Three Kingdoms]

    In 195 AD, Emperor Xian of Han, having escaped the clutches of the warlords Li Jue and Guo Si in Chang’an, began a perilous journey eastward. After enduring months of hardship and displacement, he finally reached Luoyang in 196 AD. Though stripped of real power, the emperor remained the sole legitimate symbol of Han…