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Brief: This article details the fraternal conflict between Duke Zhuang of Zheng and his younger brother, Duan of Jingcheng, during the Spring and Autumn period. It explores how their mother, Lady Jiang, favored the younger son, leading to a conspiracy where she plotted to overthrow Duke Zhuang to install Duan as ruler. The narrative…
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The collapse of Yuan Shao’s once-mighty coalition – ruler of four northern provinces and commander of over 100,000 troops – was not sealed by his defeat at the Battle of Guandu alone, but by the self-destructive infighting among his sons after his death.
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Among the many factors that doomed Yuan Shao after his defeat at the Battle of Guandu (200 CE), none proved more destructive than his attempt to replace his eldest son, Yuan Tan, with his younger favorite, Yuan Shang, as heir.
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In the late Eastern Han period, political crises were set in motion by the controversial decision of Emperor Ling of Han (Liu Hong) to replace his elder son(the Crown prince) with the younger one. Emperor Ling had two sons: the elder son, Liu Bian (born to Empress He), and the younger son, Liu Xie…