This is Explanation Three from Han Feizi: Inner Congested Sayings, Part II. It compiles cases of political assassination: ministers exploit the ruler’s suspicion to eliminate rivals. These domestic power‑struggle cases use frame‑ups and false appearances to trigger the ruler’s wrath against political foes.
In Chapter 57 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a clandestine conspiracy unfolds in the heart of Cao Cao’s capital. Huang Kui, an imperial secretary, secretly allies with the veteran general Ma Teng to assassinate the powerful warlord Cao Cao, whom they view as a usurper threatening the Han dynasty.
Was Lü Meng’s capture of Jing Province in AD 219 a betrayal of an ally? Some people argue that the Sun–Liu alliance effectively collapsed after the Xiang River Partition (circa AD 215), when Liu Bei and Sun Quan divided Jing Province along the Xiang River. However, primary sources from the Records of the Three…
The real reasons behind Lü Bu’s betrayal of Dong Zhuo, beyond the legend of Diao Chan.
The collapse of the Coalition against Dong Zhuo marked not the end of chaos, but its intensification. With the tyrant retreated to Chang’an, the regional warlords turned on each other, driven by ambition, vengeance, and the pursuit of territory.
After Dong Zhuo was assassinated by Wang Yun and Lü Bu, his former generals—Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou—stationed in Shan County east of Chang’an, were on the verge of collapse. It was Jia Xu who advised them to unite and strike back, warning that surrender would mean certain death.