usurpation

  • Why Sun Ce broke with Yuan Shu? [Three Kingdoms]

    In the turbulent years of the late Eastern Han dynasty, alliances were fragile, and loyalty was often a transaction. Nowhere is this more evident than in the dramatic rupture between Sun Ce and Yuan Shu in 197 AD. What began as a patron-client relationship—born from the legacy of Sun Ce’s father, the famed general…

  • Dong Zhuo’s strategic delay at Mianchi [Three Kingdoms]

    In the third chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhuo received He Jin’s secret edict and dispatched troops to the capital to eliminate the eunuch faction. However, instead of entering the city directly, Dong Zhuo’s forces stationed themselves at Mianchi, approximately 150 kilometers west of Luoyang.

  • The politics of legitimacy: Li Ru’s strategy for Dong Zhuo [Three Kingdoms]

    In the second chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, He Jin intended to exterminate the Ten Regular Attendants but hesitated due to indecisiveness. Despite repeated persuasions from his subordinates, he delayed taking action. Forced by circumstances, Yuan Shao suggested summoning local troops to the capital to eliminate the eunuch faction. Thus, He Jin…