Great Han Empire

Chapter 408 Mustafa: Speaking of Dong Zhuo

is talking about Dong Zhuo

Before I start, I want to say that this article is not to reverse the case for Dong Zhuo, but the history books of our country often contain strong personal feelings and subjective processing of historians, and the compilation of history books will also meet the political needs of the time.In Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Romance, Dong Zhuo was criticized in the world as a complete villain.So what kind of character was Dong Zhuo in history?As someone who read history more than 800 years later, I should review this man after an unbiased re-examination.

Dong Zhuo's father was Dong Junya, a county lieutenant of the Lun family in Yingchuan.Dong Zhuo was born in the seventh year of Emperor Shun Yongjian, that is, in 132 AD.There were three brothers, and he was the second. The elder brother Dong Zhuo died early, and the younger brother was named Dong Min.When Dong Zhuo was young, he left home and traveled in the Qiang people's gathering area for several years. During these years, he was known as a chivalrous man in the Qiang tribe, and he made many friends of the Qiang people. Very good personal relationship.

After Dong Zhuo left the Qiang area and returned home, he worked as a farmer at home.During this period, many of his friends from the Qiang nationality came to him, and every time he came, Dong Zhuo gave him warm hospitality.Once, when several Qiang friends visited his home, Dong Zhuo killed his cattle to entertain the guests because the food in the house was exhausted.In the farming and animal husbandry society, I believe everyone knows what the farming cattle in the family mean to a farming family, and Dong Zhuo's family is not rich.Because of this incident, the leader of the Qiang tribe was very grateful to Dong Zhuo. After returning, in order to repay Dong Zhuo's friendship, he once sent a thousand cattle and sheep at once.

Lintao, Dong Zhuo's hometown, is close to the border. There have been constant battles since ancient times, and the folk customs are martial.In this environment, Dong Zhuo, according to the records of the Three Kingdoms, is "excellent in talent and martial arts, less in brigade strength, with two belts and two swords, and gallops left and right."In addition, Dong Zhuo has always been a chivalrous man. In the local area, especially in the Qiang resident, Dong Zhuo is better known as another name "Jian Xia" (recorded in the Later Han Dynasty).

Because of Dong Zhuo's prestige among the local and Qiang people, when he was nearly 30 years old, he was recruited by the governor of Liangzhou as a soldier and horseman. His main task was to fight against horse thieves and bandits in the border areas.In the "Book of Wu" of the Three Kingdoms, it is recorded that "the county called Zhuo as an official, and made the supervisor lead the thieves. Hu tasted the banknotes, and many people were captured. , and won thousands of tricks."

In the fourth year of Yanxi Emperor Huanxi (161), the imperial court selected the children of good families in Hanyang, Longxi, Anding, Beidi, Shangjun, Xihe and other six counties to serve as the Yulin Army.At this time, Dong Zhuo was recommended by Duan Jiong, the governor of Bingzhou, because of his performance in the frontier, and he entered Beijing and became a Habayashiro.

Not long after entering Beijing, the Qiang people rioted in Hanyang. Zhang Huan, the general of Zhonglang, led his troops to conquer.In this battle, Dong Zhuo and Sima Yinduan attacked the Qiang army together and defeated it.Killed the leader of the Qiang tribe and beheaded more than [-] people.Quickly defeated the Dongqiang and Xianling Qiang tribes who invaded the Guanzhong area.After the war, Dong Zhuo "worshiped the doctor and gave him nine thousand horses".After being rewarded, Dong Zhuo said, "Whoever does it will be himself, and whoever has it will be a scholar." He was allotted to the officials and soldiers, leaving nothing. (Book of the Later Han Dynasty)
After experiencing this war, Dong Zhuo's official career went smoothly. He successively served as Guangwu Ling, the captain of the northern part of Shu County, and was later promoted to the captain of Wuji in the Western Regions.During this period, Dong Zhuo's deeds are recorded in the "Heroes" written by Wang Jie, the historian of the Wei State during the Three Kingdoms period, which is "Zhuo's numerous battles against Qiang and Hu, and more than a hundred battles before and after."

After the "Yellow Turban Uprising", Dong Zhuo, who had been dismissed from office because of Zhang Huan, was reappointed by the court as General Dongzhong to replace Lu Zhi, who was ineffective in suppressing the Yellow Turban Uprising.But Dong Zhuo's performance in this war was very mediocre. He was unwilling to enter the army to fight at first, and then rashly launched a decisive battle under the urging of the court. As a result, he was defeated in Quyang and was dismissed for the second time.

Shortly after Dong Zhuo was dismissed for the second time, Xianling Qiang united with Paohan and Heguan refugees to launch a riot in the north. The leaders of the riot, Bo Yu and Li Wenhou, made themselves generals. Then he became the leader.Han Sui captured Jincheng and killed Chen Yi, the prefect of the county.

In the second year of Zhongping (185), Han Sui's army threatened Guanzhong, and Gyeonggi was shocked.At this time, the imperial court led the general Huangfusong to meet the enemy with chariots.And Dong Zhuo was also appointed by the court for the third time as a general of Zhonglang, under the control of Huangfusong.Soon after the war began, the imperial court was dissatisfied with Huangfusong's slow march and dismissed him.In addition, Sikong Zhang Wen was sent to command Xiliang, Dong Zhuo was promoted to General Polu, and he was conscripted by Zhang Wen, General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Afterwards, the officers and soldiers of the Han Dynasty marched forward triumphantly. Zhou Shen, who was in charge of the frontal attack, surrounded Han Sui in Yuzhong City. Dong Zhuo made a detour to Tianshui, preparing to outflank Han Sui.But at this time, Zhou Shen began to be self-willed, refused to listen to counselor Sun Jian's opinion, and rushed to Jincheng, thus losing the army.Due to Zhou Shen's failure, Dong Zhuo fell into the siege of the Qiang people.Dong Zhuo cut off the Weihe River to store water, and then broke the embankment to release the water, defeating the rebels.Therefore, he was named Tai Xianghou, with thousands of households in Shiyi, and soldiers stationed in Xiliang.Thus became the leader of the Xiliang military department at the end of the Han Dynasty.

After the death of Emperor Ling, the two interest groups of foreign relatives and eunuchs had a sharp confrontation.At this time, Liu Yu, the leader of the clan, was still in Youzhou and had not yet returned to the center of the struggle.The gentry group headed by Yuan Kai did not directly control the army at that time, and the powerful landlords they represented were not unified internally.

In 189, General He Jin recruited former general Dong Zhuo to Beijing in the name of killing eunuchs.Then why did you choose Dong Zhuo at this time instead of Huang Pusong or other generals who also have strong soldiers?Neither of these two men was a general of the foreign relatives group he represented.Then in the situation at that time, only Dong Zhuo clearly stated that he wanted to kill the eunuchs, and he once wrote to the court. Wang Ming, father, son and brothers, according to the prefectures and counties, will get thousands of gold when they go out with a book. The millions of fertile and beautiful fields in the counties of Gyeonggi Province are all belonged to Renang, so that the resentment will rise and the demons will rise. The ministers ordered to discuss Fuluo, The soldiers were hungry and refused to cross the river. They all said that they wanted to go to the capital to kill the eunuchs first to eliminate the harm to the people, and begged for money from the Taige. The minister followed him to comfort him, and even Xin'an. The minister heard that it is better to put out the fire to stop the boiling. Although the carbuncle hurts, it is better than raising meat, and drowning and calling the boat, so there is no time to regret it." After receiving He Jin's call, Dong Zhuo wrote to the court for the second time, expressing his intention to kill the eunuch. Zhang Rang and others took advantage of the favor, and the sea was in chaos. In the past, Zhao Yang promoted the armor of Jinyang to drive away the evil on the side of the emperor. The ministers always ring bells and drums like Luoyang, and ask for concessions." From these two passages, we can see It can be seen that Dong Zhuo's determination to kill the eunuchs was very firm, while the other generals at that time, either because of lack of strength or because they were wise to protect themselves, did not clearly express their position at this time.

However, when Dong Zhuo’s army was marching to Henan, Zhong Shao, the grandson of Dong Zhuo’s old master Chong Hao, stopped him in the Sunset Hall and said: General He Jin is going to kill the eunuch in the near future. I hope he will not enter Luoyang at this time. Intensify the situation in Luoyang.So Dong Zhuojun stationed in the Sunset Hall not far from Luoyang, and then wrote a letter to General He Jin, saying that he was stationed here. If He Jin could kill the eunuch, he would lead his army back to Xiliang. If He Jin continued to hesitate, he would march into Luoyang and kill the eunuch himself. (I forgot the original text. After a few days, I won’t be busy at work. I will go home and check the information and post the original text)
On August 25th of that year, He Jin was tricked into the Changle Palace by the eunuch in the name of Empress Dowager He, and was killed by the eunuch in the Jiade Palace.After hearing the news of He Jin's death, He Jin's officers Wu Kuang and Zhang Zhang teamed up with Huben Zhonglang to attack the imperial palace with Yuan Shu. At dusk, Yuan Shu set fire to the Qingsuo Gate of the Nangong Palace. The riot began to spread to the whole of Luoyang. .Grand Tutor Yuan Kai and his nephew Yuan Shao killed Fan Ling and Xu Xiang in Jiaozhao, and then beheaded Zhao Zhong and others at Zhuquemen and He Jin's younger brother Cheqi General He Miao.But Wu Kuang believed that He Jin's death was caused by his younger brother He Miao and the eunuch, so he joined forces with Dong Zhuo's younger brother Fengche Duwei Dong Min to kill He Miao.Then, Yuan Shao closed the gate of the North Palace, ordered the eunuchs to be killed, and began to attack the inner palace.

On August 27th, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui hijacked Shaodi and Chenliu Wang Liu Xie and other ten people and walked out of the valley gate. On the same night, they were caught up in Xiaopingjin by Shangshu Lu Zhi and Min Gong in central Henan. Zhang Rang and Duan Gui threw themselves into the river. suicide.

On the night of August 25th, the news reached Dong Zhuo’s military camp. Dong Zhuo led his army to Luoyang and arrived in Luoyang in the early morning of August 28th. He saw the fire in the palace in Xianyangyuan, but he did not rush to the palace. Instead, he divided his troops and surrounded Gongqing. shelter, the riots ended.Then he led his ministers to Beimanpo to meet the emperor, accompanied by 500 Qingqi people. At this time, a minister persuaded him to welcome the emperor. According to the system, he could not lead the army. , so that the country spreads, how can there be soldiers!"

At noon on August 28, Dong Zhuo welcomed Emperor Shao and King Liu Xie of Chenliu at Beimangpo. According to historical records: "Zhuo talked to the emperor, and the language was too good; but he talked to King Chenliu, asking about the origin of the disaster. From the very beginning to the end, nothing was lost. Zhuo Daxi, he regards the king as a virtuous man, and he was raised by the Empress Dowager Dong. Zhuo and the Empress Dowager belong to the same family, so he intends to abolish the establishment." Then one question we have to consider at this time is: If Dong Zhuo wants to do something for himself Considering exclusive power, a relatively weak emperor should be established, why did he choose a capable Emperor Xian?So is it possible to put it another way?We all know that Dong Zhuo is a minister with concentrated power, and Zhou Gong and Zhuge Liang also have great power in one person. Yin Yi, Huo Guang and the matter of abolishing the emperor, later generations call them loyal ministers, so Dong Zhuo's behavior at this time is similar to them. , Why has it been criticized by history for more than 1000 years?And when the princes later raised objections to the imperial lineage, Liu Yu, Cao Cao and others had clearly stated that they recognized Emperor Xian's imperial lineage (at that time Emperor Xian was still under Dong Zhuo's control).So can the crime of abolishing the imperial system be established?At that time, the famous so-called loyal minister Liu Bei established himself as emperor after learning that Emperor Xian was abolished. It should be noted here that the abolition of Emperor Xian did not mean that Emperor Xian died. The "loyal man" Liu Bei did not expect to continue to support this true The emperor of the Han Dynasty, but became the emperor himself, and no one has ever said it for more than a thousand years!Moreover, it is more legal for Dong Zhuo to abolish the emperor than them. Dong Zhuo's proposal, after being discussed by the ministers, was an edict written by the emperor's Tai Fu Yuan Kai himself, and he also presided over the ceremony.So now it can be concluded that the real reason why Dong Zhuo has been scolded for more than 1000 years should be - he failed, while others succeeded!

Of course, Dong Zhuo is not completely selfless, why is the young emperor born to the empress dowager, Xiandi was born to Wang Meiren, raised by the empress dowager Dong, Dong Zhuo and the empress dowager Dong are distant relatives.Empress Dowager He's younger brother, He Miao, died in the hands of Dong Zhuo, and Dong Zhuo's power was like fire and water, and the Empress Dowager had the right to be regent in the Eastern Han Dynasty.One of the reasons why Dong Zhuo Fei Shaodi killed Queen Mother He was for self-protection.

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It’s really not finished, but it’s already late at night, and I have to work tomorrow, so it’s anticlimactic.The personal tendency of this paragraph is relatively serious, and it cannot be said to be objective, so don't count it in the text.

Everyone knows what Dong Zhuo did later. I will only talk about four points here:
First: Dong Zhuo’s total force in Luoyang was 5000. At that time, the Xiyuan Army and the Northern Army had a total of about 8 to [-]. The old ministries that came in all took refuge in Dong Zhuo, instead of the Yuan Clan of the fourth generation and the third lord?If Dong Zhuo was really as angry and resentful as described in the history books, these soldiers who had just joined Dong Zhuo followed him from Luoyang to Chang'an?These soldiers are all from the vicinity of Gyeonggi. If it is written in the history books, Dong Zhuo killed their families so much.And they are still following Dong Zhuo, are they sick?Moreover, the general Huang Pusong, the famous scholars Cai Yong, Xun Shuang, Chen Ji, Han Rong, and Shen Tufan continued to be loyal to Dong Zhuo until Dong Zhuo's death, and then rejected the recruitment of other princes.Who are these people?Especially Chen Ji, interested friends can go to Zizhi Tongjian, which has a lot of space to introduce him and his father who is recognized as a model scholar in the world.

Second: Dong Zhuo indulged his soldiers in burning, killing and looting.As we all know, Dong Zhuo used Lu Bu to kill Ding Yuan, but the relationship between Bingzhou soldiers and Liangzhou soldiers was very tense.The Liangzhou faction included Li Jue, Guo Si, Hu Zhen, Fan Si, Zhang Ji and others, while the Bingzhou faction mainly included Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Li Su, and Yang Feng.In addition, there is also a lonely famous Liaodong Xu Rong.The Bingzhou Army will not be completely reconciled to being annexed, but it is still in a suppressed position.The Liangzhou army regarded itself as the winner, and did not take the Bingzhou army seriously, even Lu Bu.Dong Zhuo sent Hu Zhen as his general and Lu Bu as his deputy to attack Sun Jian.Hu Zhen threatened to kill Lu Bu to clean up military discipline.I won't say much now, you can go to the book and find out who is the famous commander who led the army to take the heads of the people to pretend to be the heads of the rebels, and then look at this commander When did Dong Zhuojun join?Think again why Lu Bu wanted to kill Dong Zhuo later.

Third: Killing ministers, ransacking homes and looting property.One characteristic of the Eastern Han Dynasty was that the mighty landlords were very powerful.Liu Xiu relied on these powerful landlords to seize the world.Here is an example: Liu Xiu wanted to measure the land of the whole country, but he gave up because of the opposition of the local rich, which shows the strength of the local power.In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the central government declined and local forces strengthened, and the central government gradually lost its control over the localities.The officials of the Eastern Han Dynasty were selected from local celebrities, who represented local powerful forces, so the emperor was basically emptied by the bureaucrats.The emperor used eunuchs to maintain the central government's suppression of the bureaucratic group.The "Danggu Rebellion" at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was apparently a struggle between celebrities and eunuchs.In fact, it is a struggle between the central government and local tyrants.Dong Zhuo killed many ministers in Luoyang, but if you can trace the roots of these ministers carefully, you will find a problem. These ministers are either old officials of the Yuan clan, or the children of powerful landlords near Luoyang.Before Dong Zhuo entered the capital, he wanted to resolutely kill the eunuchs, but after entering the capital, like the eunuchs, he wanted to resolutely kill these people. Are there any problems with these people themselves?And what is the relationship between those princes who he personally appointed and then jointly conquered him, and the Yuan family clan and powerful landlords?
Fourth: Dong Zhuo is selfish by nature.Here is still due to time constraints, I only sent out a few original passages from the Zizhi Tongjian: "Dong Zhuo led all the princes to write a letter to pursue Chen Fan, Dou Wu and other party members, and they all restored their titles, and sent envoys to hang the temple. Promote and use his descendants." "Zhuo's dear, he is not in a prominent position, but he is just a general." "Henan Yin Zhujun is Zhuo Chen's military, Zhuo Zhejun said: "I am victorious in all battles, and I am determined in my heart. Don't speak in vain, and Dirty my knife! " Gai Xun said: "In the past, Wu Ding's wisdom was still seeking advice and advice, but those who are like Qing want to suppress people's mouths!" "Thank you Zhuo."

I have basically finished my defense to Dong Zhuo. After deciding to move the capital to Luoyang, this fat man from Liangzhou was afraid that Luoyang would become a base for the conquests of the feudal lords to move westward. , Burning Luoyang for two hundred miles; digging Wenling; destroying five baht coins and causing disasters to the world cannot be denied.

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"Dong Zhuo has been scolded countless times in the past thousand and 800 years. I don't think it is because of what he did, but mainly because he is a loser. Dong Zhuo was born in Liangzhou and grew up in Liangzhou, and he has not read much. Although Dong Zhuo is a Han Chinese, his character is more like a nomad and is incompatible with the culture of the Central Plains. But a "barbarian" like Dong Zhuo dared to "take the emperor to make the princes", those scholars certainly hated him, and history It was written by those scholars. The same deposed emperor, but Yin and Huo are respected by others. The number of cities and people killed by the iron hoof of Mongolia is definitely more than that destroyed and killed by the Liangzhou army. But very few I heard people scold Temujin. If Dong Zhuo wiped out the Kwantung Army and unified the Central Plains, then history will judge him completely differently. At that time, a large number of scholars will naturally praise him. And Dong Zhuo’s brutal behavior will not be ignored Never mind. It’s a pity that Dong Zhuo is just a martial artist. He is far worse than a scholar in terms of political struggle and intrigue, so he will be eliminated by Wang Yun and Lu Bu. For a loser, even if he has merit, he will be wiped out.” (This paragraph is an excerpt)
The winner is a prince, and the loser is a bandit.
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The article "Speaking of Dong Zhuo" was written specifically for Meng Zi's "Records of the Great Han Empire", so others should not repost it

[This post was last edited by Mustafa the Hun at 2006-8-4 02:54 AM]
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