The Tyrant of Xiliang Who Threw the Court Into Chaos
A warlord of Xiliang who marched into the capital amid the chaos of He Jin summoning outside troops to purge the eunuchs — deposed the young emperor to install Emperor Xian, then held the emperor hostage, let his soldiers loot, and slaughtered court officials, throwing the Eastern Han court into upheaval and igniting the coalition of lords who rose against him. His misrule lasted barely two years before he died at the hand of his adopted son Lü Bu in Wang Yun’s chain-link scheme; his corpse was set alight as a "heaven-lantern" — a measure of the public fury against him.
The Grand General He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo’s army to the capital to purge the eunuchs, but was killed by the eunuchs first; Dong Zhuo seized the chaos to bring his Xiliang troops into control of Luoyang, deposed the young Emperor Liu Bian, installed the child Liu Xie (Emperor Xian), styled himself Chancellor of State, and monopolized the government. An operation meant to remove the eunuchs ended by inviting in a far more savage master.
Dong Zhuo’s cruelty roused the whole realm to fury, and Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Sun Jian and others formed an eastern coalition against him (the novel inflates it to "eighteen lords"; the historical participants were fewer). Forced to flee, Dong Zhuo dragged Emperor Xian west to Chang’an, and on leaving set fire to Luoyang, burning that centuries-old capital to scorched earth — the cruelest mark he left on history.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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