In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhuo’s seizure of power in Luoyang ushered in an era of brutality and tyranny. After deposing Emperor Shao and installing Emperor Xian, Dong Zhuo ruled with unchecked cruelty. He executed officials who dared to oppose him, burned cities, looted the imperial treasury, and instilled terror throughout the court.
Two failed assassinations
One of the earliest attempts to resist him was by Wu Fu, a loyal minister who concealed a dagger beneath his robe and attempted to assassinate Dong Zhuo. The attempt failed, and Wu Fu was brutally executed, serving as a grim warning to others.
Still, hatred for Dong Zhuo grew. Yuan Shao, then a powerful warlord, secretly wrote to Wang Yun, the Minister of the Interior, urging him to find a way to eliminate the tyrant. Wang Yun gathered a group of trusted officials to plot in secret. Among them, Cao Cao volunteered to carry out an assassination.
But Cao Cao’s attempt also failed. Dong Zhuo, suspicious and alert, turned to see Cao Cao drawing his blade. Cao Cao had to give up and pretended to present the sword as a gift to Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao fled the capital swiftly under the pretext of testing the horse given by Dong Zhuo, avoiding exposure of his assassination plot and pursuit by Dong Zhuo. From that moment, Wang Yun knew he was under suspicion—he had been part of the plot, and if exposed, he would surely suffer the same fate as Wu Fu.
The move to Chang’an: Deepening despotism
In 191 AD, Dong Zhuo ordered the forced relocation of the capital from Luoyang to Chang’an, burning Luoyang to the ground and displacing thousands. Chang’an was within Dong Zhuo’s established power base, where his armies were strongest and his control absolute.
Once in Chang’an, his rule grew even more paranoid and oppressive. Officials were executed for minor slights or careless words. The court lived in constant fear—life and death depended on Dong Zhuo’s whim.
That same year, in October 191, Dong Zhuo falsely accused Zhang Wen, a former superior and respected elder statesman, of colluding with Yuan Shu. Zhang Wen was dragged into the marketplace and publicly beaten to death—a slow, humiliating execution meant to terrorize the bureaucracy. (Note that, in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhuo, enraged, immediately orders Lü Bu to drag Zhang Wen from a royal banquet and execute him on the spot. )
Everyone knew Zhang Wen was innocent. The real reason? Old grudges and political convenience. Years earlier, Zhang Wen had nearly executed Dong Zhuo for insubordination according to Sun Jian’s advice. Now, with power reversed, Dong Zhuo took his revenge. More details can be found from this post: the execution of Zhang Wen by Dong Zhuo.
Wang Yun watched in horror. He had once conspired to kill Dong Zhuo. He had aided Cao Cao’s attempt. If Dong Zhuo discovered the truth, Wang Yun’s life would be forfeit.
A glimmer of hope: The rift between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu
Wang Yun longed to rid the empire of Dong Zhuo, but the tyrant was heavily guarded, and his adopted son Lü Bu—the most formidable warrior of the age—served as his personal bodyguard.
Yet Wang Yun observed a crack in the armor: the relationship between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu was fraught with tension.
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this rift is dramatized through the legendary tale of Diao Chan, the beautiful courtesan in Wang Yun’s household. To manipulate the two men, Wang Yun:
- Promised Diao Chan to Lü Bu in secret, stirring his hopes.
- Presented her to Dong Zhuo as a gift, making her part of his harem.
Diao Chan then played her role with masterful deceit—weeping to Lü Bu about being “stolen” by Dong Zhuo, while whispering to Dong Zhuo that Lü Bu gazed at her with lustful eyes.
This created a “love triangle” of jealousy and betrayal, turning Lü Bu’s loyalty into burning resentment.
Though Diao Chan is likely fictional (no historical record confirms her existence), the core conflict between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu is well-documented.
As recorded in Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi):
“Dong Zhuo was fierce and short-tempered. Once angered, he threw a hand dagger at Lü Bu, narrowly missing him.”
Moreover, Lü Bu had secretly slept with one of Dong Zhuo’s maids, living in constant fear of exposure and execution.
Wang Yun, sensing Lü Bu’s vulnerability, approached him not with tricks, but with reason and patriotism:
“Dong Zhuo is a traitor to the Han. To kill him is to obey Heaven and serve the people. If you do this, you will not only save your life but become a hero who restores the dynasty.”
He appealed to both survival and glory: Lü Bu could either die as Dong Zhuo’s scapegoat—or live as the liberator of the empire.
The final plot: From conspiracy to execution
Lü Bu, though bound to Dong Zhuo by a foster-father relationship, ultimately valued self-preservation and ambition over loyalty. He agreed to join Wang Yun’s conspiracy.
Now, the plan became feasible. Only Lü Bu could get close enough to strike—and his unmatched martial prowess could overpower Dong Zhuo’s guards.
In 192 AD, the moment arrived. Dong Zhuo was summoned to the palace to attend a ceremony of abdication—a sham ritual where Emperor Xian would “voluntarily” hand power to Dong Zhuo, formalizing his usurpation.
Wang Yun and Lü Bu set their trap.
According to Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 9:
- As Dong Zhuo’s carriage entered the palace gate, ambush soldiers surged forward.
- Dong Zhuo’s elite guards resisted fiercely.
- At the critical moment, Lü Bu charged forward, shouting:
“By imperial decree, I execute the traitor!” - He plunged his spear into Dong Zhuo’s throat, ending the tyrant’s life.
Historically, as recorded in Zizhi Tongjian, the event was less theatrical but equally decisive:
- Lü Bu led a group of loyalists and killed Dong Zhuo at the Beiyi Gate.
- The act was swift, coordinated, and backed by imperial authority declared by Wang Yun.
The result was the same: Dong Zhuo was dead.
A tyrant falls, A legacy begins
The assassination of Dong Zhuo stands as one of the most pivotal moments in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was not the work of a single hero, but a masterstroke of strategy, psychology, and betrayal.
- Wang Yun was the architect: patient, calculating, and politically astute.
- Lü Bu was the executioner: driven by fear, ambition, and the promise of redemption.
- Diao Chan, whether real or fictional, symbolizes the use of deception as a weapon of statecraft.
Though Dong Zhuo’s death did not bring peace—Lü Bu soon fled, and chaos spread—it marked the end of a reign of terror and proved that even the most powerful tyrant could fall.
Wang Yun’s success was a triumph of intelligence over brute force, a reminder that in the Three Kingdoms, the sharpest weapon was often not the sword, but the mind.
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