There is a famous couplet in front of the Yue Fei Temple in west lake: "Good and evil have been the same as ice charcoal since ancient times, and the reputation is judged to be false and true" in the present day", which means that justice and evil have been as clearly defined as ice cubes and charcoal since ancient times, and it is difficult to confuse. But in real history, the situation is much more complicated. Gentlemen and villains, heroes and traitors, are often not like the characters on the stage of the drama, just look at the face can distinguish good people and bad people, but like the fog to see flowers, you must be clear-eyed to distinguish.
Take the classical masterpiece "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", for example, there have been such phenomena in it. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", whether ideological or artistic, has reached a very high standard, and the basic plot structure is generally in line with the facts, which is rare and valuable as a historical novel, much more rigorous and clever than the phenomenon of "joking about history" that is popular today. However, the author Luo Guanzhong is a novelist rather than a historian after all, and there is still an inevitable deviation in the portrayal of individual historical figures.
In 192 AD, the Western Liang warlord Dong Zhuo, with his strong military strength, entered the capital and opened the curtain of the "Dong Zhuo Rebellion". The arrogant and fierce Dong Zhuo arbitrarily deposed Tianzi, killed ministers, and connived at the army to burn and plunder, causing anger and resentment in the sky, and eventually became the target of public criticism, and was jointly attacked by various princes and committed suicide.
After Dong Zhuo's death, his troops and subordinate generals were also torn apart and went their separate ways. Dong Cheng, a general under Dong Zhuo, appeared in the context of this era. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Cheng is portrayed as a loyal and loyal minister with a heart of blood and blood, swearing allegiance to Emperor Xian of Han to the death, and engaging in a tit-for-tat struggle against Cao Cao's rebellious behavior, which was almost blown into a flower. In fact, he was the most hidden traitor of the Three Kingdoms.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Cheng, as a confidant of Emperor Xiandi of Han, took a great risk to carry Emperor Xiandi's clothes and edicts out of the palace, and regardless of his personal safety, organized anti-Cao forces in tandem, mobilized Liu Bei, Wang Zifu and others, and prepared to launch a secret operation against Cao Cao to eliminate the traitors and revive the Han Room, and was finally discovered and executed by Cao Cao, and is still regarded as a hero.
In real history, Dong Cheng's image is not like this. Dong Cheng is a very "discerning" character, very good at observing words and observing colors, speculating and drilling camps. When Dong Zhuo was prosperous, Dong Cheng had a close relationship with Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu and was one of the backbone of Dong Zhuo's group. After Dong Zhuo's death, Dong Cheng immediately changed his ways and became a "fan" of Emperor Xiandi of Han, ready to win a great fortune by borrowing the banner of Emperor Xiandi of Han.
Among the warlords of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Cheng was the first to see that "holding the Son of Heaven to order the princes" was a good move, so he also tended to follow Emperor Xian of Han and wanted to use Emperor Xian of Han as a pawn in his hand. Dong Cheng successively united with the warlords Zhang Yang, Han Xian and others, supported the army and respected themselves, and tried to form an armed gang to advance the world, but his ability was really mediocre, he lacked the talent of a commander, and he never cultivated a strong personal armed force.
Dong Cheng only wanted to use the Han Xiandi from beginning to end, and deep down in his heart there was no loyalty to the Han Xiandi at all. The Book of Later Han records that in the second year of Xingping, Emperor Xiandi of Han fled from Chang'an to Luoyang, and the way was chaotic and embarrassing. Dong Cheng saw Empress Fu's attendants holding a few horses of fine silk, became greedy, ordered his subordinates to rob them with swords, and killed Empress Fu's attendants on the spot, and the blood splashed on Empress Fu's clothes, and the fierce attitude was shocking.
The so-called "belt edict" incident is also very catty. The records of the Book of Later Han and the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms confirm that it is doubtful whether Emperor Xiandi of Han actually handed over the edict to Dong Cheng. The truth of the matter is that Dong Cheng, in order to compete with Cao Cao for control of Emperor Xian of Han, falsely preached the holy will, commanded the world, and pulled up a big banner as a tiger skin. In fact, Cao Cao's strength was already invincible at that time, and Emperor Xiandi of Han was completely controlled by Cao Cao, and Dong Cheng's move was simply a joke on the life of Emperor Xiandi of Han.
Liu Bei, who was bent on reviving the Han Dynasty, saw the "Yidai Edict", but refused to participate, precisely because he realized that the "Yidai Edict" was forged by Dong Cheng, which not only could not save The Han Xiandi, but was likely to cause unexpected disasters to the Han Xiandi, so Liu Bei refused to swim in this muddy water. Throughout Dong Cheng's life, he did not bring any substantial help to Emperor Xian of Han, but several times he put Emperor Xian of Han in a desperate situation, and if he was allowed to succeed, it was just another Cao Cao. Unfortunately, Luo Guanzhong failed to recognize the true face of this person and regarded him as a loyal subject.
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of the Later Han Dynasty