In the third chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after He Jin was assassinated, generals such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Wu Kuang led soldiers into the palace, killing all eunuchs regardless of their ranks. He Jin’s subordinate, Wu Kuang, even killed He Jin’s younger brother He Miao, the General of Chariots and Cavalry.
“Wu Kuang charged into the inner court and saw He Miao also emerging with a sword. Kuang shouted, ‘He Miao conspired to harm his brother! We must kill him together!’ The crowd echoed, ‘Let us slay the traitor who plotted against his brother!’ He Miao tried to flee but was surrounded and cut to pieces.”
Why did Wu Kuang kill He Miao?
Superficially, it appeared to be an act of revenge by a subordinate for his former superior, Grand General He Jin. However, it was ultimately the inevitable result of three overlapping factors: internal faction within the maternal relative group of the late Han Dynasty, factional struggles between scholars and maternal relatives, and opportunistic self-preservation by lower-ranking generals.
Internal division within the He clan
Although the He brothers were both core figures among the maternal relatives, they had fundamental disagreements regarding the treatment of eunuchs and power distribution. These differences had long sown the seeds of internal conflict.
- He Jin’s Stance: As Grand General, He Jin advocated allying with scholars (Yuan Shao, Cao Cao) to completely exterminate the eunuch group, thereby consolidating the alliance between maternal relatives and scholar-officials and securing control over central power.
- He Miao’s Stance: As General of Chariots and Cavalry (the second-highest military position), He Miao had long accepted bribes from eunuchs and feared that his older brother He Jin would monopolize power after eliminating the eunuchs, squeezing his own authority. Thus, he repeatedly publicly opposed He Jin’s plans. On this point, He Miao shared the same view as Empress He, who also harbored reservations about her brother He Jin’s excessive power potentially threatening the emperor.
The scholar-official group’s need for a clean sweep
After He Jin’s death, the scholar group led by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao became the core force dominating the situation in Luoyang. Their primary goal was to thoroughly exterminate remaining eunuch influences and those compromisers within the maternal relative group, paving the way for the scholar-official group’s power control.
The basis for cooperation between scholar-officials and He Jin was jointly exterminating eunuchs. He Jin’s death cost the scholars their maternal relative ally but also provided an opportunity to weaken the maternal relative faction.
As the second-most powerful figure in the maternal relative group and someone who had long colluded with eunuchs and opposed their extermination, He Miao was seen as a threat that had to be eliminated. If He Miao survived, he could potentially use his influence to incorporate He Jin’s former troops, rebuild maternal relative power, and compete with the scholars for control.
The scholars needed to use the pretext of “avenging He Jin” to launch a purge, achieving the elimination of rival forces under the cover of justice.
Wu Kuang’s choice: No neutrality in factional struggles
As a direct subordinate of He Jin, Wu Kuang’s killing of He Miao appeared to be an act of revenge for his former leader. On a deeper level, however, as a mid-ranking officer who had lost his patron, he had to align with the scholar group (Yuan Shao, Cao Cao) to avoid being sidelined or even purged. Eliminating He Miao was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to the scholar group. His actions reflected the cruel power logic of the late Han chaos.
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