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| Campaign against Dong Zhuo | |||||||
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| Part of the wars of the Three Kingdoms | |||||||
 A mural in Fragrant Hills depicting the famous joust between the three sworn brothers and Lü Bu at Hulao Pass in a fictional encounter. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Guandong Coalition | Dong Zhuo | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Yuan Shao | Dong Zhuo | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 100,000+[1] | Unknown | ||||||
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The Campaign against Dong Zhuo (董卓討伐戰) was a punitive campaign in the year 190 during the Eastern Han Dynasty of ancient China. It was initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the Chancellor Dong Zhuo. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong Zhuo had the intention of usurping the throne by holding the Emperor Xian hostage and by establishing a strong influence in the Imperial Court. They justified their campaign as to remove Dong Zhuo from power. The campaign led to the evacuation of the capital city Luoyang and the shifting of the Imperial Court to the new capital city of Chang'an. It was a prelude to the end of the Han Dynasty and, subsequently, the Three Kingdoms period.
In the Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the campaign is memorable for at least two famous incidents: one is Guan Yu's slaying of Hua Xiong; the other is the three-on-one duel between the three sworn brothers (Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei) and Lü Bu. The two scenes are often reenacted in Chinese opera along with other famous scenes from the novel. Both incidents however, are fictional; Hua Xiong was killed in battle with Sun Jian. Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were not active in the campaign. They were fighting remnant Yellow Turbans in the north and thus did not duel Lü Bu, who, historically, was routed by Sun Jian.
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Background
Following the death of the Emperor Ling in 189, the General-in-Chief He Jin summoned the warlord Dong Zhuo from the northwest into the capital city of Luoyang. Dong was ordered to lead his troops into the capital city to aid He Jin in eliminating the eunuch faction, the Ten Attendants, from the Imperial Court. However, before Dong Zhuo's arrival, He Jin's plan was revealed and he was assassinated by the eunuchs. [2] He Jin's associates led by Yuan Shao stormed the Imperial Palace after He Jin's assassination and started a massacre of the eunuchs in the Palace. The young Emperor Shao and his younger brother, the Prince of Chenliu, were brought out of the Palace by the surviving eunuchs during the chaos. Amidst the chaos, the Emperor lost the Imperial Seal. They were eventually discovered by a search party and escorted back to the Palace safely by Dong Zhuo and his men.
Subsequently, the warlord Ding Yuan was killed by his subordinate Lü Bu for opposing Dong Zhuo's decision to depose the Emperor Shao. Lü Bu then defected over to serve Dong Zhuo.
In 190, Dong Zhuo deposed the young Emperor Shao and installed the Prince of Chenliu on the throne. The Prince of Chenliu was henceforth known as Emperor Xian. Dong Zhuo appointed himself as Chancellor of State, an official post abolished almost 200 years ago. On March 26 in the same year, Dong Zhuo had the Prince of Hongnong (the deposed Emperor Shao) and the Empress Dowager He killed.
Since then, Dong Zhuo had established a strong influence in the Imperial Court. He was authoritarian and showed no regard for the absolute monarchy as he made the final decisions on policies without consulting or seeking approval from the Emperor. He eliminated several of his opponents in the Imperial Court as well to further strengthen his grip over the feudal system. Yuan Shao fled from Luoyang after openly disagreeing with Dong Zhuo's decision to depose the Emperor Shao. Dong Zhuo feared that Yuan Shao might rise in revolt against him as Yuan Shao was also an influential figure in the Imperial Court as well. Dong Zhuo heeded his advisor's suggestions and proposed to the Emperor to appoint Yuan Shao as Grand Administrator of Bohai (勃海) to appease Yuan Shao.
Course of events
Forming of the coalition
While in Bohai, Yuan Shao was not appeased by Dong Zhuo's proposal to appoint him as Grand Administrator. He planned to start a coup d'etat to remove Dong Zhuo from power by rising in revolt but he was kept in check by Han Fu, the Governor of Ji province (冀州).
At the same time, the Grand Administrator of Dongjun (東郡), Qiao Mao, forged letters of accusation against Dong Zhuo, denouncing Dong Zhuo as a traitor to the Imperial Court with the intention of usurping the throne and calling for a punitive war against Dong Zhuo. These letters were distributed all around the nation in the name of officials from the capital city. The regional officials and warlords all around China received these letters and responded to the call for all to rise against Dong Zhuo and remove him from power.
In February 190, the Guandong Coalition (關東聯軍, lit. Coalition East of the Pass) was formed after several regional officials and warlords gathered east of Hangu Pass with their armies in response to the call for a punitive war against Dong Zhuo. Yuan Shao was elected to be the leader of the coalition. The forces of Sun Jian and Cao Cao also participated in the campaign under the banners of Yuan Shu and Zhang Miao respectively. The participants of the campaign included:
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The coalition forces encamped in several locations east of the capital city of Luoyang, effectively surrounding it. The locations of the coalition members in relation to Luoyang are as follows:
- To the north, in Henei (河內): Yuan Shao, Wang Kuang, Zhang Yang, Yufuluo
- To the east, in Suanzao (酸棗): Zhang Miao, Liu Dai, Qiao Mao, Yuan Yi
- To the south, in Luyang (魯陽): Yuan Shu
- To the southeast, in Yingchuan (穎川): Kong Zhou
- To the northeast, in Ye: Han Fu
Razing of Luoyang
Dong Zhuo was alarmed by the formation of the Guandong Coalition against him. He proposed that the capital city of Luoyang be evacuated immediately and the Imperial Court be shifted to the city of Chang'an in the west which will be the new capital city. All civilians were to evacuate Luoyang as well and move to Chang'an, with only Dong Zhuo and his military forces staying behind to defend Luoyang from the coalition forces.
Dong Zhuo's proposal was met with strong criticisms from other court officials but Dong silenced them by deposing anyone who opposed him. On April 9, Dong Zhuo's proposal was implemented. He ordered his soldiers to loot and rob from the rich households of Luoyang and drive Luoyang's civilian population towards Chang'an. The Emperor Xian, nobles, aristocrats and imperial officials followed the civilians and Dong Zhuo's troops as they made their long journey towards Chang'an. Anyone who refused to obey orders to evacuate Chang'an was killed immediately on the spot. Dong Zhuo also ordered Lü Bu to lead men to raid ancient tombs and burial mounts for their valuables and treasure. After the evacuation, Luoyang was set on fire and razed to the ground. The Records of the Three Kingdoms described the event as, "the numbers of the innocent dead were beyond measurement".
In Suanzao(酸棗), Cao Cao led his men westward to attack Dong Zhuo's forces. He was followed by a contingent from Zhang Miao's army led by Wei Zi. Cao Cao's men encountered Dong Zhuo's forces led by Xu Rong in the Battle of Xingyang. Cao Cao's army was defeated and he was wounded in the battle. Cao Hong offered his steed to Cao Cao and he followed Cao Cao on foot, and they managed to escape from the battlefield. Xu Rong withdrew his troops after the battle.
When Cao Cao returned to Suanzao, he suggested that the coalition pursue Dong Zhuo's retreating forces to threaten Dong Zhuo by showing him that the coalition was still on the move. However, Zhang Miao and the others present dismissed his suggestion. Cao Cao then led his men to join Yuan Shao in Henei together with Xiahou Dun. After Cao Cao's departure, the coalition forces stationed in Suanzao ran out of supplies and dispersed. Liu Dai seized the opportunity to kill Qiao Mao, whom he held a grudge against.
At the same time, Dong Zhuo sent reputable men such as Han Rong (韓融), Yin Xiu (陰修), Humu Ban (胡毋班), Wu Xiu (吳修), and Wang Gui (王瑰) to see Yuan Shao and negotiate for an armistice. However, Yuan Shao had all the negotiators detained and killed except for Han Rong.
Sun Jian's advances
In Luyang to the south, Sun Jian, who had joined Yuan Shu with twenty to thirty thousand men, was given the rank General Who Quells Rebels (破虜將軍) and Governor of Yu province by Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu made Sun Jian the vanguard, and Sun started to train his men in Luyang.
In the winter of 190, Dong Zhuo sent a force of some ten thousands to attack Luyang. At the time, Sun Jian's men were having a drinking party, but Sun did not stir upon hearing the news; instead, he calmly continued to pass his wine around while his troops gathered into formation. Seeing such discipline, Dong Zhuo's men turned around and retreated.
In March 191, Sun Jian moved his camp north to Liangdong (梁東), but he was outnumbered by Xu Rong there. With several dozen men, he broke through the encirclement. Seeing that his red scarf could easily identify him, Sun Jian gave it to his trusted general Zu Mao, whom Xu Rong's soldiers chased while Sun Jian escaped. Zu Mao later hung the scarf onto a half-burnt pillar, and hid himself in the tall grasses nearby. The enemies surrounded the pillar and approached cautiously till they realized they had been fooled, whereupon they retreated.
Gathering his scattered armies, Sun Jian went forward to camp in Yangren (陽人). This time, Dong Zhuo sent Hua Xiong, Hu Zhen, and Lü Bu with 5000 men to attack Sun Jian. However, Lü Bu, in charge of cavalry, was not in good terms with Hu Zhen and quarrelled with him. Sun Jian seized the opportunity to attack them, and Dong Zhuo's forces were defeated in a rout. Hua Xiong was captured by Sun Jian and was promptly executed.
At this time, someone told Yuan Shu that if Sun Jian defeated Dong Zhuo and took over the capital, he would not be controllable anymore. The doubtful Yuan Shu then ceased the food supply to Sun Jian. Sun Jian rode the hundred odd li from Yangren to Luyang in the night to see Yuan Shu, whereupon he said to the latter, "I put myself to danger in battle, first to remove the rebel (Dong Zhuo) for the country and second to avenge the deaths of your kinsmen (Yuan Shu's uncle was killed by Dong Zhuo). I have no personal grudge against Dong Zhuo. Yet you could believe slanderous talks and suspect me!" The words put Yuan Shu to shame and he immediately ordered the food supply to be delivered.
Fearing Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo sent his officer Li Jue as an emissary to seek peace and cement an alliance. Li Jue also promised Sun Jian government positions for his sons. To this, Sun Jian replied, "Dong Zhuo opposes Heaven and defies the law. Until I have killed you and all your clan, and shown your heads to the four seas, I shall not be able to die in peace. How can there be alliance with you?"
Sun Jian then led his forces to Dagu Pass (大谷), a fortified pass guarding Luoyang to the south, 90 li away from Luoyang. Dong Zhuo himself came out to fight amongst the Later Han tombs, but he was defeated and fled to Mianchi and Shan (陝), west of Luoyang. Sun Jian then continued to march into Luoyang, where he met and routed the forces of Lü Bu. Settling in, Sun Jian ordered his men to reseal the tombs of former emperors that were excavated by Dong Zhuo. It was said in the Book of Wu (吳書) by Wei Zhao that Sun Jian found the lost Imperial Seal in a well south of Luoyang and kept it for himself.
Sun then sent part of his force forward to Xin'an and Mianchi to threaten Dong Zhuo's defense positions. Dong Zhuo now sent Dong Yue (董越) to camp at Mianchi, Duan Wei (段煨) to camp at Huayin, and Niu Fu to camp at Anyi (安邑). His other commanders were spread out among the counties to block any attack from the east of the mountains. After these arrangements, Dong Zhuo led his own troops away to Chang'an.
Having repaired the imperial tombs, Sun Jian led his army back to Luyang as the ruined Luoyang was vulnerable to possible counterattacks by Dong Zhuo. The former capital of Luoyang was now abandoned by both contending forces.
Internal conflict
Despite Sun Jian's successes, the coalition did not build upon them due to poor communication and coordination among the members. The warlords in the east were unaware that the Emperor Xian was still alive as they were isolated by the passes separating Luoyang from the east. Yuan Shao and Han Fu proposed to install Liu Yu, the Inspector of You Province (幽州) and a member of the imperial clan, as the new Emperor. Cao Cao and Yuan Shu disagreed with the proposal. When Yuan Shao and Han Fu sent a messenger to Liu Yu to inform him, Liu rebuked the messenger sternly and refused the offer flatly. Liu expressed his loyalty to the current Emperor Xian and threatened to head north into Xiongnu territory if Yuan Shao insisted that he become the new Emperor. After repeated failed attempts, Yuan Shao decided to give up. Also, the warlords turned their attention from Dong Zhuo back to themselves and started to pursue their individual interests again instead of uniting to remove Dong Zhuo from power.
Han Fu, who was in charge of provisions, gradually stopped supplying the coalition army. Han Fu's subordinate Qu Yi rebelled against him and defeated him before defecting over to Yuan Shao. The incident alerted Yuan Shao of his need to secure his sources of supply and he plotted to seize Han Fu's lands. Yuan Shao collaborated with Gongsun Zan secretly to attack Han Fu's Ji Province (冀州) and eventually Han Fu handed Ji Province over to Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao sent Zhou Yu (Renming) to attack Sun Jian, who was returning from Luoyang to join Yuan Shu. In the Battle of Yangcheng, Zhou made a surprise attack on Sun's camp at Yangcheng and captured it. Yuan Shu sent Gongsun Yue to assist Sun Jian in fighting Zhou Yu. Gongsun Yue was killed in the battle even though it was a victory for Sun Jian. Gongsun Zan held Yuan Shao responsible for Gongsun Yue's death and declared war on Yuan Shao, which led to the Battle of Jieqiao subsequently.
By then, the coalition had failed and collapsed, existing only in name.
The death of Dong Zhuo
For the following year, the warlords ceased to take any action against Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo occasionally sent an army to attack the warlord Zhu Jun and plundered his territory.
Dong Zhuo returned to his tyrant status in the Imperial Court, but he had become less tolerant towards dissent, as any official who uttered a slight offensive remark would be killed immediately. He installed all members of his clan and relatives by marriage in high-ranking official posts. Even his infant sons were made marquises and played with gold seals and purple tassels.
Court officials Wang Yun, Huang Wan (黃琬), Shisun Rui (士孫瑞) and Yang Zan (楊瓚) plotted to assassinate Dong Zhuo. They persuaded Lü Bu to join their cause because Lü Bu's relationship with Dong was becoming increasingly strained after Dong threw a hand-axe at him and his affair with one of Dong's chambermaids.
On 22 May 192, Dong Zhuo was on the way to an assembly in his chariot when Li Su advanced towards him and stabbed him. Dong Zhuo shouted for Lü Bu to protect him, but Lü Bu killed him instead. Dong Zhuo's relatives were executed after his death while his corpse was left exposed on the streets of Chang'an. The officer guarding the corpse lit a wick on the navel and it burned for days on the fats of the corpse.
After Dong Zhuo's death, several of Dong Zhuo's loyalists, such as Fan Chou, Guo Si and Li Jue, escaped as they believed that their loyalty towards Dong Zhuo would be considered as treason towards the Imperial Court. Wang Yun, who had taken control of the government after Dong Zhuo's death, heard their appeal for amnesty and said, "Of all those who should be pardoned, they are the exceptions." Dong's loyalists were outraged by Wang Yun's remarks and waged war. However, they were defeated by Lü Bu and the imperial forces. Eventually, Dong Zhuo's remnant forces managed to outwit Lü Bu by distracting him and they seized control of Chang'an. Wang Yun was killed.
The power of the Eastern Han Dynasty fell into the hands of Dong Zhuo's remnants after that and gradually evolved into a struggle for power, which spread throughout the nation progressively.
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, author Luo Guanzhong employs artistic license rather freely as he changed some details of this campaign to better portray the main characters. For example, the three sworn brothers — Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei — had no historical evidence of being in the campaign at all, yet their achievements eclipse that of Sun Jian's in the novel. Luo Guanzhong also simplified some of the historical events, invented fictional battles, and changed the sequencing of events. However, due to the popularity of the novel, many people hold the events detailed in the novel to be true, not knowing the true history as presented in definitive sources such as Hou Han Shu, Sanguo Zhi, or Zizhi Tongjian. This fictional account of history is also adopted by many Chinese operas and video games.
Uprising
Following a failed attempt to assassinate Dong Zhuo, court member Cao Cao escaped the capital. Once arriving in Chenliu, Cao Cao claimed to have received a secret imperial decree that called for Dong Zhuo's removal from the court, and called for an uprising. Many regional warlords answered his call and formed the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition (反董卓聯合軍).
The novel has a slightly different list of participants in the coalition:
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With eighteen warlords participating in the novel, the campaign is thus popularly known as "Eighteen Warlords campaign against Dong Zhuo" (十八路諸侯討董卓).
In this campaign, Liu Bei, with his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, offered their service to Gongsun Zan, Liu's friend and former classmate.
After the warlords swore allegiance to the coalition, they insisted to have Yuan Shao as the commander-in-chief, a role which Yuan Shao reluctantly accepted. Yuan Shao then made Yuan Shu in charge of provisions, and Sun Jian as the vanguard to attack Sishui Pass.
Battle of Sishui Pass
Dong Zhuo placed Hua Xiong with 50,000 men at the fortified Sishui Pass to ward off the attack. Having repelled Sun Jian and singlehandedly slain four generals of the coalition – Bao Zhong, Zu Mao, Yu She and Pan Feng – Hua Xiong seemed indomitable. Despite mistrust from many warlords of the coalition, Guan Yu, a mere horsed archer then, volunteered to duel Hua Xiong. To convince them to give him the opportunity, he told them that if he failed against Hua Xiong, the coalition could take his head as punishment. Cao Cao, one of the eighteen coalition leaders, poured Guan Yu a cup of hot wine but the latter declined, claiming he would soon return. Within moments Guan Yu truly returned with Hua Xiong's head in hand, while the wine was still warm.
Alerted by the death of Hua Xiong, Dong Zhuo had Li Jue and Guo Si guard Sishui with 50,000 men while he himself went to Hulao Pass with Lü Bu with a force of 150,000. Seeing this, the coalition then turned around to attack Hulao Pass, hoping to strike Dong Zhuo directly.
Battle of Hulao Pass
Eight coalition leaders were sent to confront Lü Bu at his camp in front of Hulao Pass. Wang Kuang was the first to strike, and Lü Bu led three thousand men to meet Wang Kuang. Fang Yue, Wang's officer, rode out to duel Lü Bu but was soon killed by him. Lü Bu continued on, dashing Wang's army apart. Mu Shun, under Zhang Yang, and Wu Anguo (武安國), under Kong Rong, and Gongsun Zan himself also attempted to subdue Lü Bu without any success.
Riding forth on his Red Hare, his halberd in hand, Lü Bu taunted for more challengers to duel him. Wielding his Serpent Spear, Zhang Fei galloped out to fight Lü Bu. Neither could gain an advantage over the other for more than fifty bouts. Then Guan Yu, brandishing his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, dashed out to assist his oath brother. The three fighters were engaged in another thirty bouts or so when Liu Bei, holding up his Dual Swords, also joined the battle.
Like a merry-go-round, the three brothers galloped in a circle caging Lü Bu inside. Unable to face the combined efforts of his three opponents, Lǚ Bù then made a feign at Liu Bei and retreated through the resulting gap back to the pass gate. The trio chased after Lü Bu but due to the speed of Red Hare, his horse, they could not keep up with him. However, they abandoned the chase after they spotted Dong Zhuo and chased him unsuccessfully.
Battle of Xingyang
In light of his recent defeat, Dong Zhuo asked his aid Li Ru for advice. Li Ru responded that the whole army should retreat to Chang'an, bringing Luoyang's citizens and the imperial court with them. Dong Zhuo was delighted at the idea, and, despite heavy objection, carried through with the move, and razed Luoyang to the ground. Zhao Cen, the guard for Sishui Pass at the time, abandoned the pass once he knew of Dong Zhuo's general retreat.
The coalition then proceeded to Luoyang, where Sun Jian immediately ordered his men to put out the fire while the warlords settled in Luoyang. Cao Cao proposed to chase Dong Zhuo's retreating men, but Yuan Shao denied him, saying that the soldiers need rest. Cao Cao ignored Yuan Shao's words and led his officers in pursuit of Dong Zhuo.
In Xingyang, Cao Cao met the forces of Lü Bu and while they were fighting, Dong Zhuo's generals Guo Si and Li Jue came from behind and surrounded Cao Cao. Cao Cao's forces were eventually overwhelmed and retreated. As Cao Cao's men were preparing to settle for the evening, Xu Rong surprised and scattered Cao Cao's camp. During his escape, Cao Cao was shot in the shoulder by Xu Rong and his horse was slain; however, thanks to the heroics of Cao Hong, Cao Cao returned safely to the coalition headquarters. Xu Rong chased Cao Cao in pursuit, but Xiahou Dun intercepted and killed Xu Rong on the spot. Dong Zhuo's remaining forces left Xingyang to follow Dong to Chang'an.
Dissolution
While restoring order in Luoyang, Sun Jian was alerted by his men that there is light faintly emitting from a well. Sun Jian ordered to retrieve whatever was in the well, and they found a woman carrying the imperial seal. Sun, heeding advice from Cheng Pu, kept the seal for himself and told his men not to say a word about the seal.
Unfortunately for Sun Jian, one of his soldiers went and told Yuan Shao about it, and he was heavily rewarded. At the meeting on the next day, Sun Jian cited health problems for an excuse to return to Changsha with the seal, but Yuan Shao questioned him about the seal, which Sun Jian was stunned to hear. After rounds of accusations and denials, Yuan Shao and Sun Jian's men each drew swords. They were halted by the rest of the alliance, and Sun Jian quickly rode away from Luoyang with his men. Angrily, Yuan Shao sent Liu Biao of Jing province (荊州) a letter asking him to stop Sun Jian which led to the death of Sun Jian.
The next day, Cao Cao returned to the main camp from his defeat in Xingyang. He lamented at the lack of motivation within the alliance, and left the alliance as well. Gongsun Zan told Liu Bei, "Yuan Shao is an incapable leader, and together there shall be strife, we should return", and so he and Liu Bei also pulled their forces from the alliance and returned to the north. Seeing everyone had dispersed, Yuan Shao dismantled the camps and led his soldiers back to his base.
Notes
References
- Chen, Shou. Sanguo Zhi
- de Crespigny, Rafe. "Generals of the South" Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra. 1990. Internet edition 2004.
- de Crespigny, Rafe. "To Establish Peace: being the Chronicle of the Later Han dynasty for the years 189 to 220 AD as recorded in Chapters 59 to 69 of the Zizhi tongjian of Sima Guang". Volume 1. Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra. 1996. ISBN 0-7315-2526-4.
- Luo, Guanzhong. Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Sima, Guang. Zizhi Tongjian
External links
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