In Luo Guanzhong's historical masterpiece "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he successfully portrayed a vivid and profound image of a traitor and a powerful minister, that is, Dong Zhuo. Although some people may think that this image contains a certain element of artistic processing, it is undeniable that Dong Zhuo is also one of the notorious traitors in history.
In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Xun Yu once pointed out sharply: "Dong Zhuo is tyrannical and excessive, and he will end in chaos, and he is incompetent." Especially after he entered Beijing, as his power continued to expand, Dong Zhuo became more and more self-reliant and implemented arbitrary tyranny.
He had no mercy for the officials of the court, the common people, and even the members of the royal family, and killed innocents indiscriminately at every turn, and his cruelty was outrageous. There is also a view that the death of Empress Dowager He is also directly related to her cruel acts.
So, after Dong Zhuo entered Beijing, what kind of atrocities did he commit against Empress Dowager He? How brutal is Dong Zhuo?
Re-established the emperor and poisoned the Empress Dowager He
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty died, the country's political situation was turbulent and the social atmosphere was corrupt. Before his death, Emperor Ling of Han was well aware of the severity of the national situation, and specially told his ministers, asking them to elect the prince Liu Xie to succeed him, in order to stabilize the country's political situation and save the peril.
At that time, the internal and external forces of the imperial court were separated, and the powerful minister Dong Zhuo had not yet entered Beijing, and the government was mainly controlled by the eunuch Jian Shuo. In order to fulfill the last wish of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, he plotted to kill the powerful minister He Jin and exclude dissidents, but he did not expect He Jin to be prepared, which led to the final revelation of the plan.
After Jian Shuo's plan failed, Emperor Ling of Han's empress He was honored as the empress dowager and handled government affairs on her behalf. Empress Dowager He's seventeen-year-old son Liu Wei was able to succeed to the throne and become the new emperor, but it was Empress Dowager He and her brother He Jin who really controlled the government.
The great general He Jin was well aware of the danger of the eunuch dictatorship to the country, so he decided to take decisive measures to eliminate the eunuchs first. However, when he told his sister, the Empress Dowager at the time, about this plan, he was explicitly opposed by her.
She believes that eunuchs in charge of the forbidden province is a tradition since ancient times, part of the Han story, and cannot be easily abolished. In her view, this system has its own rationality and cannot be easily changed. At this point, the contradictions between the brother and sister became deeper and deeper, and the struggle for power began.
In the process of the power struggle between the two men, Dong Zhuo was called up to lead a large army into Luoyang, and his arrival made the atmosphere in the court extremely tense. Backed by his strong military strength, Dong Zhuo bullied and tyrannized the imperial court, making the majesty of the imperial court disappear. He gradually grasped the power of the court, and pointed out the big and small affairs of the court and China, and no one was invincible.
At this time, Dong Zhuo unexpectedly learned that Liu Xie's mother was the Empress Dowager Dong, and he thought that he was of the same clan as the Empress Dowager Dong, so he was overjoyed in his heart, and had the idea of deposing Liu Wei and supporting Liu Xie. He felt that he had the same blood as Liu Xie, and it was necessary to protect Liu Xie, and he also believed that he had the ability to control Liu Xie and further control the power of the imperial court.
He even directly used violent means to coerce Empress Dowager He, forcing her to immediately order the deposition of Liu Wei and the demotion of him to the title of King Hongnong. Subsequently, Dong Zhuo supported Liu Xie as the emperor, that is, the later Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
Under the persecution of Dong Zhuo, Liu Wei reluctantly left the throne, was led down to the palace, and went north to claim the courtier. When Empress Dowager He saw that her son had lost the throne, she was overwhelmed with grief and wept bitterly. Although the ministers of the court and the central government were in pain, in the face of Dong Zhuo's strength, none of them dared to speak out.
Dong Zhuo's ambitions didn't stop there. He also accused her of violating his daughter-in-law's etiquette of serving her mother-in-law on the grounds that He persecuted Empress Dowager Dong. Under the persecution of Dong Zhuo, Empress Dowager He was moved to Yong'an Palace and lived a captive-like life.
On the third day of September of the same year, Dong Zhuo instructed others to kill He with poisoned wine. This move shocked the government and the opposition, and also made people even more indignant at Dong Zhuo's brutal acts. However, Dong Zhuo did not restrain his behavior because of this, but controlled the government more unscrupulously.
In order to demonstrate his authority, Dong Zhuo ordered Emperor Han Xian to pay tribute to the He clan in Fengchang Pavilion. All the ministers and officials had to wear white clothes for three consecutive days, but this practice did not conform to the etiquette of the queen mother's funeral. Dong Zhuo's move is undoubtedly challenging the rules and traditions of the imperial court, and people can see his desire for power and contempt for the imperial court.
His ambition and brutality made people worry about the future of the imperial court. However, Dong Zhuo's tyranny didn't stop there.
Treat human life as a mustard
After the death of Empress Dowager He, Dong Zhuo's power became more and more prominent, and even the Ninety-Five Emperor was helpless against him. After being worshiped as a captain, Dong Zhuo relied on his strong military strength to establish an unshakable prestige in the imperial court.
So he connived at his subordinates to act recklessly in the city of Luoyang, plundering rich households, looting property, and even sparing women, committing adultery. Under the protection of Dong Zhuozhi, these soldiers are like hungry wolves entering a flock of sheep, and they unscrupulously trample on the peace and order of the ancient capital, which is really disrespectful.
Dong Zhuo's behavior not only aggravated social turmoil and unrest, but also aroused strong dissatisfaction among the broad masses of the people. It's not that no one thought of resisting, but his character is too cruel, and he likes to use criminal law to establish his majesty, and countless people have been innocently framed by him and sentenced to death.
One day, the Imperial Emperor Shi Disturbing Dragon Sect was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to meet Dong Zhuo. However, during this meeting, he made a fatal mistake - forgetting to disarm the saber. This is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for Dong Zhuo to show his majesty. He just took advantage of the topic and ordered the Dragon Disturbance Sect to be directly beaten to death.
He later instructed someone to kill Empress Dowager He's mother, Wuyangjun, to further consolidate his position. Even when he learned that He Miao's body was buried in the grave, he even ordered the body to be dug up from the grave and dismembered, and then thrown in the garden. This kind of inhumane behavior has made the people of the government and the opposition panic, for fear of becoming the next victim.
At the same time, Zhou Hui, the son of Zhou Zhong, the great Si Nong, heard about the changes in Luoyang and was worried, so he decided to go to Luoyang to understand the situation. However, what he didn't expect was that Dong Zhuo had a great dislike for him and actually sent troops to rob him. Zhou Hui's encounter once again proved Dong Zhuo's cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness.
created an unjust case and lost his life in Chang'an
When Chang'an was in power, Dong Zhuo wantonly destroyed the original market currency, the five-baht coin, in order to raise funds, and wantonly looted the copper people and other copper products in Luoyang and Chang'an. These copper products, which originally carried profound cultural and historical connotations, were only used as raw materials for coinage in Dong Zhuo's eyes.
He used these bronze objects to strike a batch of small coins, which were poorly made, lacked the necessary outlines and textual markings, and were completely inconsistent with the basic properties of money. When these currencies enter the market, they quickly cause market chaos. People refuse to use such insecure small money because they are unwilling to accept it, resulting in market exchanges being blocked, prices soaring, and people's livelihoods withering.
At the same time, Dong Zhuo also ordered Liu Huan, the lieutenant of Sili, to wantonly arrest the so-called "unfilial, disloyal, incorruptible and disobedient" people, severely execute them, and confiscate all their property. Such brutal methods have led to the frequent occurrence of a large number of unjust cases, and innocent people have been unjustly wronged, seriously undermining the justice and fair order of society.
It was precisely because of his brutal ruling behavior that he was completely reduced to a street rat that everyone shouted at, and soon after he was killed by Situ Wang Yun and Zhonglang Lu Bu in Chang'an.
epilogue
Under Dong Zhuo's rule, society was in turmoil, and the people lived in dire straits. His cruelty and tyranny caused the originally prosperous Eastern Han Dynasty to quickly decline. However, evil cannot last long after all, and Dong Zhuo's demise is only a matter of time.
The wheel of history will continue to move forward, and people will always remember this tragic history, and use it as a lesson to warn against similar tragedies happening again.