The Campaign against Dong Zhuo was a punitive expedition initiated by a coalition of regional officials and warlords against the warlord Dong Zhuo in 190 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The members of the coalition claimed that Dong had the intention of usurping the throne by holding Emperor Xian hostage and by establishing a strong influence in the imperial court. They justified their campaign as to remove Dong from power. The campaign led to the evacuation of the capital Luoyang and the shifting of the imperial court to Chang'an. It was a prelude to the end of the Han dynasty and, subsequently, the Three Kingdoms period.
In the 14th-century historical novel 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 captured and executed by Sun Jian after a brief battle. Liu, Guan and Zhang did participate in the campaign although their actions are not further described,(《英雄記》云：...會靈帝崩，天下大亂，備亦起軍從討董卓。) Yingxiong Ji annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 32. with no mention that they dueled with Lü Bu, who, historically, was defeated by Sun Jian in battle.
Background
Following the death of Emperor Ling in 189, General-in-Chief He Jin summoned the frontier general 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 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 on 22 September 189.de Crespigny (1996), p.9 He Jin's associates led by Yuan Shao stormed the palace after the assassination and started massacring eunuchs. 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. The emperor lost the Imperial Seal during his escape. 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 Emperor Shao. Lü then defected to Dong's side.
In September 189, Dong Zhuo deposed Emperor Shao and installed the Prince of Chenliu on the throne. The prince became historically known as Emperor Xian. Dong appointed himself as Chancellor of State, an official post abolished almost 200 years before. Later that month, Dong had Empress Dowager He killed by poison. On 26 March 190, Dong also had Liu Bian (the former Emperor Shao) killed.
Since becoming Chancellor, 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 to further strengthen his grip over the apparatus of state. Yuan Shao fled from Luoyang after openly disagreeing with Dong Zhuo's decision to depose Emperor Shao. Dong Zhuo feared that Yuan Shao might rise in revolt against him as Yuan was also an influential figure in politics as well. Dong heeded his advisor's suggestions and proposed to the emperor to appoint Yuan as Grand Administrator of Bohai as an act of appeasement.
Course of events
Formation 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 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 Dong Commandery, Qiao Mao, forged letters of accusation against Dong Zhuo, denouncing him as a traitor with the intention of usurping the throne, calling for a punitive expedition against Dong. These letters were distributed all around the nation in the name of officials from the capital. Regional officials and warlords all around China received the letters and responded to the call to remove Dong Zhuo from power.
In February 190, the Guandong Coalition (關東聯軍, literally: 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:
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
The blockade had the effect of cutting supplies from the eastern part of the Han empire from the capital, which drastically reduced the government's tax revenue. In response, Dong Zhuo melted nine of the Twelve Metal Colossi and other treasures to gather bronze that he could use to mint more coinage.de Crespigny (1996), passage 1916U, note 47 These new coins flooded the market and caused rampant inflation throughout the empire.de Crespigny (2010), p. 55
Despite the impressive showing of force, most of the coalition's armies were hurriedly rallied family retainers and opportunists for loot with little battle experience. The leader of the coalition Yuan Shao himself had not seen action in much of the 180s since he had been in six years mourning for first his mother and then his adoptive father, during which he could not participate in military matters. This is contrasted with Dong Zhuo's battle-hardened frontiersmen, who had previously fought in the Liang Province Rebellion.de Crespigny (2010), p. 54
Razing of Luoyang Dong Zhuo was alarmed by the formation of the Guandong Coalition against him. He proposed that the capital of Luoyang be evacuated immediately and the imperial court be shifted to Chang'an in the west. All civilians were to evacuate Luoyang as well and move to Chang'an, with only Dong and his military 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 9 April 190, Dong's proposal was implemented. He ordered his soldiers to massacre and loot the rich households of Luoyang and drive Luoyang's civilian population towards Chang'an. Emperor Xian, nobles, aristocrats and officials followed the civilians and Dong's troops as they made their long journey towards Chang'an. Anyone who refused to obey orders to evacuate to Chang'an was killed 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. According to Chen Shou's Records of Three Kingdoms "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 (衛茲). Cao Cao's army was defeated by Dong's forces, led by Xu Rong, in the Battle of Xingyang, and Cao Cao himself was injured in battle. Cao Hong offered his steed to him and he followed Cao Cao on foot, and they managed to escape from the battlefield. Xu 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 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'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 had all the negotiators detained and killed except for Han Rong. Seeing peace was impossible, Dong Zhuo rapidly surrounded Wang Kuang's encampment in Heyang Ford (河陽津) north of Luoyang and dealt a defeat so severe that Wang Kuang abandoned the coalition and fled back to his home in Taishan Commandery (泰山郡).de Crespigny (2010), p.56
Sun Jian's advances In Luyang to the south, Sun Jian, who had joined Yuan Shu with 20,000 - 30,000 men, was given the rank General Who Quells Rebels (破虜將軍) and Governor of Yu Province by Yuan. Yuan made Sun 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 a close aide Zu Mao (祖茂), whom Xu Rong's soldiers chased while Sun 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; believed to be near present-day Wenquan, Ruzhou, Henan). This time, Dong Zhuo sent Hua Xiong, Hu Zhen, and Lü Bu with 5,000 men to attack Sun. However, Lü Bu, who was in charge of cavalry, was not in good terms with Hu Zhen and quarreled 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 and 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 then ceased providing supplies to Sun. Sun rode the hundred odd li from Yangren to Luyang in the night to see Yuan, whereupon he said to the latter, "I put myself in danger during battle, with a primary purpose to eliminate a traitor (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 believed slanderous talks and suspect me!" The words put Yuan to shame and he immediately ordered the food supply to be delivered.
Fearing Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo sent his subordinate Li Jue as an emissary to seek peace and cement an alliance. Li Jue also promised Sun Jian appointments in the government service for his sons. To this, Sun 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 I ally with you?"