A major feature of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is that it tampered with a large number of historical facts under the banner of "honoring Liu and degrading Cao", packaging a group of people, and corrupting a group of people. The Dong Cheng, who was killed for the "Edict of the Belt", was packaged as a man loyal to Liu's court, and it was not necessarily so when he thought about it.
Dong Cheng was a restless character in the history of Emperor Xiandi of Han, in the early stages he helped Emperor Xiandi of Han flee to Luoyang, married his daughter to Emperor Xiandi of Han, and when he arrived at Cao Cao, he accepted the edict of Emperor Xiandi of Han to oppose Cao, and as a result, he was killed and did not stop. Strictly speaking, Dong Cheng was a foreign relative of the emperor, and in the Han Dynasty, eunuchs and foreign relatives were two major political scourges. Originally, the politics of the imperial court was a struggle between imperial power and power, and when the emperor's side was relatively weak, he came to pull eunuch forces and foreign forces to help him. As a result, in the end, when the hundred official forces led by Xiang Quan were suppressed, the eunuch forces and foreign forces were torn up endlessly for power and profit, and the national politics was corrupted in this way, and Dong Cheng did not play a good role in it.
From the depths of history, before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, imperial power and xiang power balanced each other. From Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the imperial power began to suppress Xiangquan, and the county-level Taishou and other officials originally appointed by the chancellor were appointed by the emperor through Shangshu, which destroyed the existing system of electing officials, and the imperial court used "small ministers" and "small materials" at the bottom. In addition to obeying the emperor and flattering the emperor, the rest of these people are collusion with the magnates and rich merchants, fishing and fleshing the people, "upholding the prestige of the emperor and harming the right things." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did not break this gradually alienated political situation by reusing cool officials and establishing a central supervision mechanism. Emperor Wu of Han killed Lady Hook Yi in his later years because he had a premonition that foreign relatives might interfere in politics in the future, but to no avail. In the final analysis, the overly strong imperial power weakened the normal order of official management, and the weak xiang power lost the coercive power of "omnipotent unity" at the central and local levels. In the absence of strong restraints, it was inevitable that the emperor would reuse the eunuchs and foreign relatives around him, causing chaos in the country's politics. Sure enough, the six emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, Zhao, Xuan, Yuan, Cheng, Lai, and Ping, were basically dictatorships of foreign relatives, and occasionally some eunuchs and courtiers held great power. Including Wang Mang, who usurped the throne, was also a foreign relative. The Han Dynasty formed a situation in which whoever controlled the court could control the political situation of the country.
From the end of the Western Han Dynasty to the entire Eastern Han Dynasty, the country was divided everywhere, and the Chimei Army Uprising at the end of the Western Han Dynasty and the Huangchao Uprising at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty became a great opportunity for powerful forces everywhere to take advantage of the opportunity to rise.
Well, let's start directly with Emperor Huan of Han, who left no heir to the Empire when the emperor ascended to heaven. His empress Dowager Dou Miao, following the advice of her father the great general Dou Wu, welcomed Emperor Zhang of Han's grandson Liu Hong the Marquis of Xieduting as emperor, the Emperor of Hanling. Later, Dou Wu's plot to kill the eunuch was revealed, and he was killed by the eunuch Cao Jie and others who falsely claimed to be the edict of the Han Ling Emperor, and Dou Miao was moved to Nangong Yuntai under house arrest, and his family was exiled to Bijing (in the territory of Ninh County, Han Dynasty, north of Ba Dong in present-day Quang Binh Province, Vietnam). Therefore, the Han Ling Emperor welcomed his biological mother Dong Shi into the palace and lived in the Yongle Palace. Dong shi was a native of Hejian (present-day Xianxian County, Hebei), and her nephew was Dong Cheng, of course, a native of Hejian as well. After the death of Empress Dowager Dou Miao, Dong Became Empress Dowager and began to interfere in imperial politics, selling officials for goods and disrupting imperial politics, and she raised another son of Emperor Ling, Liu Xie the Prince of Chenliu, who was called Marquis Dong. In the sixth year of Zhongping (189), Emperor Ling of Han died, and his son Liu Jie succeeded to the throne, and Liu Jie's mother, Empress He, became empress dowager, and Dong Shi became empress dowager. Empress Dowager Dong and Empress He began to fight for power.
Empress Dowager Dong's nephew Dong Chong (the son of Dong's brother Dong Pet) and Empress Dowager He's older brother He Jin (何進), fought for power, and the eunuchs relied on Dong Zhong as their internal support. Every time Dong Shi wanted to interfere in state affairs, Empress He stopped it. Empress Dowager Dong scolded angrily, "You are now arrogant and arrogant, relying on your brother He Jin!" If I ordered the Hussar General Dong Chong to cut off He Jin's head, I just raised my hand! When Empress He heard this, she told He Jin. He Jin then sent troops to surround Dong Chong's mansion, arrested Dong Chong, relieved him of his duties, Dong Chong committed suicide and died, and Empress Dowager Dong died of illness in fear and fear, perhaps by Empress He. This is a struggle between foreign relatives and foreign relatives.
We know the following matter, He Jin tried to learn from Dou Wu to destroy the eunuchs, but was opposed by Empress He, so He went in and out to summon Dong Zhuo of the Xuanxi Liang Army into the King of Jingqin. I won't need to go into detail later. There is a small episode in which after He Jin was killed, his son died early, his wife Yin was taken as a concubine by Sikong Cao Cao during the Jian'an years, and He Jin's grandson He Yan was adopted by Cao Cao as an adopted son. When He Yan was a teenager, he was famous for his talent show and liked the learning of Lao Zhuang. Cao Cao favored He Yan and let him treat him the same as his son. He Yan grinned and had no scruples, wearing clothes similar to Shizi's, and Cao Pi hated him so much that he didn't call him by name or word every time, and once called him "fake son". He Yan later married Cao Cao's daughter Princess Jinxiang, but she was very, and Cao Pi claimed that the empress dowager did not give him any official positions. He Yan practiced the skill of Qing Tan, opened up a momentary atmosphere, and advocated metaphysics with Xiahou Xuan and Wang Bi, becoming the founder of Wei and Jin metaphysics. Emperor Cao Rui of Wei gave him redundant official positions that were not to be reused. After Cao Fang became emperor, the general Cao Shuang and the eunuch Sima Yi jointly assisted in the government. Cao Shuang admired He Yan very much, and heeded He Yan's advice to ask Cao Fang to increase Sima Yi's false position and reduce his actual power. He Yan became an official, Shangshu and Shizhong (侍中), and had previously been given the title of Marquis of Li because of his status as a horse. He Yan relied on Cao Shuang's power to use things and skillfully plundered. At that time, the slander book said that "there were three dogs in the stage, two dogs were unstoppable, and one dog was silently gangrene." The three dogs refer to He Yan, Deng Biao and Ding Mi, and Mo is a small character of Cao Shuang, which means that the three dogs all want to bite people, and Ding Mi is the most vicious. In the first month of the first decade (249), when Sima Yi accompanied Cao Fang with Cao Shuang's brothers to visit the Wei Ming Emperor Gao Pingling, he launched a coup d'état, closed the city of Luoyang and occupied Cao Shuang and Cao Xi's military camps. Cao Shuang eventually surrendered to Sima Yi and surrendered power. According to the "Spring and Autumn of the Wei Dynasty", after the Gaopingling Rebellion, Sima Yi asked He Yan to participate in the trial of the case of Li Cao Shuang and others. He Yan thoroughly investigated Cao Shuang's henchmen and wanted to be spared. Sima Yi said: "There are eight ethnic groups involved. He Yan discharged seven surnames, including Ding and Deng. Sima Yi said, "It's not over yet." He Yan finally woke up and said, "Is it talking about me?" Sima Yi said, "Yes." So he took He Yan into custody. On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Sima Yi exterminated the three tribes together with He Yan and Cao Shuang for plotting rebellion. It is said that He Yan's son stayed. He Yan was very beautiful, greedy for money and lustful, and was probably the first celebrity in China to serve Five Stones Scatter (Cold Food Scatter). Princess Xianming of Jinxiang said to her mother, "He Yan is getting worse and worse every day, and he will definitely cause trouble. Instead, the mother smiled and said, "At least you don't need to be jealous!" When He Yan was killed, Sima Yi sent someone to arrest He Yan's five- or six-year-old son. He Yan's mother, Lady Yin, hid her grandson in the palace of her daughter-in-law's half-brother Cao Lin, and pleaded bitterly, sima Yi appreciated the foresight of Princess Jinxiang, and for Cao Lin's sake, spared He Yan's son. The example of He Yan is to say that no matter what kind of ups and downs and twists and turns those foreign relatives and families of the Han Dynasty suffered, as long as the conditions permitted, they would certainly make waves again and die later. The Nanyang He family was originally an ordinary family that operated the slaughtering industry, because Empress He entered the palace and became a family that arose at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, until Cao Wei was included in the scholar clan. These warriors, politically, have a system to guarantee their privileges, so they do not have much scruples about doing things, which is the deep reason why these people are killed in large numbers during social unrest.
Dong Cheng should not have much to do with Dong Chong, and there is no record that Dong Chong promoted him, so He Jin did not kill him. Dong Cheng's origins were based on Dong Zhuo's entry into Beijing. Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu (牛助), a native of Wuwei Commandery (武威郡), was a former general of Zhonglang. Dong Zhuo's Liangzhou Army was under Dong Zhuo with several lieutenant generals, such as Niu Fu, Dong Yue, Duan Sheng, Hu Yi, Xu Rong, etc.; the Lieutenant Generals were subordinate to lieutenants, such as Li Dai, Guo Feng, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, and so on. Li Dai, Guo Feng, and Zhang Ji were all lieutenants under Zhonglang's general Niu Fu. Dong Zhuo was defeated by Sun Jian and retreated to Chang'an in Guanzhong, placing most of the Liangzhou Army on the outskirts of Chang'an, Niufu Tun'anYi, Duan Shengtun Huayin, and Dong Yue tun Shuichi to guard against the Kwantung Qunxiong. Dong Cheng joined the Western Liang Army and became Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fufu.
Due to the lack of information records, we don't know how Dong Cheng followed Niu Fu, try to guess. Whether it is Dong Cheng or Empress Dowager Dong, their family should not be related to Dong Zhuo. The Dong Zhuo family can push up to Dong Zhongshu, and the Dong Cheng family will not find any famous ancestors. But Dong Cheng's title is interesting in Chinese folklore. Dong Cheng later married his daughter to Emperor Xian of Han as a noble concubine, but Emperor Xian of Han called him an uncle, not a father-in-law, and Dong Cheng was therefore also called Uncle Dong Guo. It turned out that "uncle" was the standard title of that era. "Erya Shiqin": "The father of the wife is the maternal uncle, and the mother of the wife is the maternal aunt". The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Shu Zhi, and the Biography of the Ancestor mentions that "Emperor Xian's uncle rode the general Dong Cheng", and Pei Note "(Dong Cheng) was the emperor of the Xiandi As the Zhangren, and Gaigu did not have the name of the Zhangren, so he was called the Uncle." "At that time, the father-in-law only referred to the old man. By the time of the Song Dynasty, Uncle Cao Guo was the real uncle!
Because Dong Zhuo had a good first impression of Liu Xie, and knew that Liu Xie's nickname "Dong Hou" was raised by Empress Dong, I am afraid that he had superstitious ideas in his heart, thinking that this was a good omen, which made him think that Empress Dong's family was the same as him. Dong Cheng, who has always been frustrated and no one cares about no one asks, as a foreign relative, should be accompanied by the imperial family. I guess Dong Cheng seized this opportunity to join the hot Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was also very worthy of him, leaving him in his son-in-law Niu Auxiliary's army. It is precisely because the Dong Cheng family is different from the Dong Zhuo family, when Dong Zhuo was killed and the whole family was slaughtered, it did not affect Dong Cheng. Niu Fu's ending was very bad, and he was killed by his subordinate Hu Chi'er to give Lü Bu a contribution. Dong Cheng became one of the few foreign relatives who controlled a part of the military strength, although this foreign relative was nothing in front of Haojie everywhere.
When Niu Fu's subordinates Li Dai and Guo Feng invaded Chang'an, Dong Cheng would never be liquidated. But because of Dong Cheng's foreign relations, he was still close to the Liu royal family in his heart, and it was generally good to say that Dong Cheng's loyalty to the Han Dynasty was also roughly good, and perhaps Dong Cheng used his convenience to protect Liu Xie, the emperor of Han.
Zhang Ji said that Li Dai would let Emperor Xian of Han return to Luoyang
When Dong Cheng really played an important role, he was to escort the Han Xian Emperor to the east. In July of the second year of Xingping (195), emperor Xiandi of Han's car was finally allowed to drive out of Chang'an by Li Dai, and Dong, who had been serving as a cattle auxiliary, returned to the east with Guo Feng, Yang Feng, and Yang Ding, along with Emperor Xiandi of Han' car. At this time, Dong Cheng should have had some real power, because by October, Guo Feng suddenly repented and wanted to kidnap Emperor Xian to Yu County, Dong Cheng, Yang Feng, and Yang Ding ignored it, Guo Feng took advantage of the night to burn down the xueshe to threaten Emperor Xian, Yang Feng and Yang Ding led an army to defeat Guo Feng, Guo Feng was afraid that there would be a change, and he abandoned his army and fled. However, there is no record of Dong Cheng's attack, he may be the personal guard of Emperor Xiandi of Han.
When Liu Xieche drove into Huayin, Hongnong County, Duan Sheng, who was loyal to the imperial family, welcomed Emperor Xian to live in his military camp with solemn etiquette, but Dong Cheng and Yang Ding both instigated Emperor Xian of Han: "Guo Fengjin led seven hundred cavalry into the simmering camp. Liu Xiexin thought it was true, so he slept in Daonan. What this means is that Dong Cheng is not simply a white man in the house, he is deeply involved in various contradictions between the generals. Dong Cheng dared to provoke an officer of the rank of general of Zhonglang, perhaps because he was afraid that Duan Sheng would take the opportunity to detain Emperor Xian of Han and become a general of Zhongxing who guarded Emperor Xian of Han, and he would have no use for himself. It cannot be said that Dong Cheng must be a villain mentality, judging from the fact that Duan Simmer later killed and destroyed the three tribes of Li Dai, Duan Simmer was definitely a cruel person.
In the Battle of Dongjian in Hongnong County, Dong Cheng and Yang Feng were defeated, and Emperor Xian of Han could only sleep in the fields of Caoyang, and eating three meals a day became an impossible luxury. Yang Feng and Dong Cheng then pretended to ask Li Dai and others for peace, and secretly sent emissaries to Hedong County to recruit the White Polish generals Li Le, Han Xian, Hu Cai, and the Right Xian King of the Southern Xiongnu to go to Beibei, got thousands of cavalry, broke Li Dai and other troops, beheaded thousands of ranks, and the emperor's car was able to continue to advance eastward. Dong Cheng and Li Le protected the car around the driver, and Yang Feng, Hu Cai, Han Xian and Went to Beiduan served as defenders.
Guoqi Dong Cheng rescued the driver
In December, Li Dai defeated Yang Feng and Han Xian, the hundred officials were once again killed, Emperor Xian's car reached Shaanxi County with difficulty, everyone had the intention of leaving, Yang Feng and Dong undertook the long night and dreamed, and escorted Emperor Xian to cross the Yellow River at night. When passing through Dayang County, Ha Dong County, Hanoi County Taishou Zhang Yang joined the ranks of the escort car driver. Later, he asked Li Dai and Guo Feng for peace, and the situation was eased. Zhang Yang (張杨), courtesy name Zhishu (稚叔), was a native of Yunzhong (云中, in present-day southwest of Yuanping County, Shanxi), and divided Hanoi. Zhang Yang initially returned to Hezhou on the orders of the general He Jin to recruit troops, and has remained in Shangdang to attack the mountain thieves ever since. In the third year of Chuping (192), Cao Cao sent Wang Bi from Yanzhou to Chang'an to meet Emperor Xian of Han, but when passing through Hanoi, he was stopped by Zhang Yang, and Dong Zhao told Zhang Yang, "Although Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are allies, depending on the situation, it is impossible to unite for a long time. Although Cao Cao was weak at the moment, he was worthy of being a hero and should find an opportunity to befriend him. Moreover, now that the opportunity is in front of us, we should use it to help Cao Cao connect with the imperial court and recommend him. If things go well, Cao Cao will not forget your benefits. Zhang Yang immediately complied after hearing this. Cao Cao was indeed very grateful to Zhang Yang, and specially sent Zhang Yang a dog horse golden veil, and Zhang Yang also sent emissaries to meet Cao Cao. Zhang Yang brought troops to Anyi this time to guard Emperor Xian of Han, at that time the hundred officials were hungry, Zhang Yang sent thousands of people to carry rice to provide food, was worshiped as a general of An Guo, fake festivals, opened the palace, and was made the Marquis of Jinyang. Zhang Yang wanted to directly welcome Emperor Xian of Han back to Luoyang, but the generals who had many ideas refused to comply, so Zhang Yang returned to Yewang (野王, in modern Qinyang, Henan).
During the escort of Emperor Xian, Han Xian and Yang Feng, Dong Cheng, and Zhang Yang were at odds over their opinions. In February of the first year of Jian'an (196), Han Xian led an army to attack Dong Cheng, and Dong Cheng left to return to Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang ordered Dong Chengxian to repair the Luoyang Palace. In July, Emperor Xian of Han finally entered Luoyang and lived in Yang Andian. Yang Feng and Zhang Yang went out to guard Luoyang, while Han Xian and Dong Cheng stayed in Beijing to guard the imperial palace, and Dong Cheng was promoted to general of Wei for his merits. Why is it called Yang An Dian? Originally, Zhang Yang thought that the escort was his own credit, so he named the palace after "Yang". Later Zhang Yang said to the generals: "The Son of Heaven should be with the people of the world, and now that the Son of Heaven has the assistance of all the ministers and ministers, I can defend the Great Han Dynasty outside, how can I stay in Kyoto?" So Zhang Yang returned to the Wild King, and immediately worshiped him as the Grand Sima and the False Festival. In August, Han Xian was worshipped by Emperor Xian of Han as a general and a lieutenant colonel, and was allowed to fake the festival.
Han Xian was proud of his achievements in Luoyang, doing whatever he wanted, disrupting the government and manipulating the country, and Dong Cheng was very worried, and after consideration, decided to take another side after the last time he defected to Dong Zhuo, this time he bet on Cao Cao. Dong Cheng, in the name of Emperor Xian of Han, secretly summoned Cao Cao of Yanzhou to the palace. Cao Cao happily seized this opportunity and personally led his troops into the court to pay tribute, taking the opportunity to repay the sins of Han Xian and Zhang Yang. Frightened, Han Xian rode alone to Yang Feng in Liang County, but Emperor Xian, remembering the merits of Han Xian and Zhang Yang's guards, did not pursue their faults, asked everyone not to mention this matter again, and named Dong Cheng and more than a dozen other people as marquises. In September, Emperor Xian of Han moved to Xu County under the escort of Cao Cao, and Dong Cheng went with the Hundred Officials.
Later, Han Xian and Yang Feng plundered Liu Bei's military resources in Xuzhou and Yangzhou, but Unexpectedly, Yang Feng was booby-trapped by Liu Bei, and Han Xian was terrified and wanted to flee to Xiangzhou, and on the way was killed by Zhang Xuan, the commander of Zhuqiu County (Huangkou Town, Huangkou Town, Xiao county, Anhui), the commander of Tun Shuai. In the third year of Jian'an (198), Cao Cao besieged Lü Bu in Xia Pi, and Zhang Yang wanted to go to the rescue and led his army to Dongshi, where he and Lü Bu became entangled. Zhang Yang's subordinate Yang Ugly assassinated Zhang Yang and wanted to defect to Cao Cao, And Xiao Gu killed Yang Ugly to vote for Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao killed Xiao Gu again and annexed Hanoi, thus discording yuan Shao.
Prepare to summon Cao Cao into Luoyang
Dong Cheng entered Xu Capital, and Cao Cao, at least superficially, gave him respect. In the fourth year of Jian'an (199), Dong Cheng was promoted to the rank of che general and was able to open the palace. In ancient times, only high-ranking officials such as the Three Dukes, the Great Generals, and the Generals could establish government offices and choose their own attachés or staff. The Che Riding General, according to the Han system, the Golden Seal Purple Silk, is second only to the General of the Great General and the Hun Horse General, and above the Wei General and the front, rear, left and right generals, he is the commander of the Chariot Troops. During the Han Dynasty, the che cavalry general was mainly in charge of conquest and betrayal, and when there was a war, he worshiped the official to go out on the expedition, and after the completion of the incident, he was dismissed, and at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it began to become a permanent general name. I think that with Cao Cao's character, he admitted in his heart that Dong Chengcheng had invited him to Luoyang to be king of Qin, and probably always wanted to take him in as his own. Of course, Cao Cao would not give Dong Cheng the opportunity to truly grasp military power, after all, he could not make the imperial family bigger. In this year, Cao Cao sent Shi Zhuo and Cao Ren to break through Zhang Yang's old forces, take Hanoi County, expand his sphere of influence north of the Yellow River, and begin to prepare for war with Yuan Shao, he did not think that Dong Cheng would rebel under his eyes. But Cao Cao was destined to be suspicious, and must have had a certain amount of surveillance over the ministers and military generals, and Dong Chengyi's edict was certainly not because of the Taiyi Jiping, because there was no Ji Ping in history, nor was there a person like Qin Qingtong, Dong Cheng's household slave. Cao Cao found that Dong Cheng's plot against him must have had another channel.
There is a question, when did Dong Cheng marry his daughter to Liu Xie, the Emperor of Han, as a noble concubine? "Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Empress Ji, Tenth Lower", "Dong Chengnu is a nobleman, and he asks the nobleman to kill her." The emperor thinks that the nobles have a pregnancy, tired for please, can not get. Hou (Empress Fushou) was afraid of herself, but wrote with her father (Fu shou), saying that Cao Cao was cruel and forced, and ordered Mituzhi. "It's not clear. In the second year of Xingping (195), Fu shou, who was a noble concubine, was made empress by The Han Emperor Liu Xie, and his father Fu Guan was appointed as the governor of Jingo. Soon, Emperor Xian of Han returned to the east, Li Dai and Guo Feng pursued and defeated Emperor Xian of Han in Caoyang, and Emperor Xian of Han smuggled the Yellow River to Shanxi at night, and the concubines of the Six Palaces all walked out of the camp to follow. Empress Fu was holding several horses of fine silk, and Dong Cheng ordered Sun Hui to threaten to take them with a fast knife, killing the left and right attendants, and blood splashed on Empress Fu's clothes. When they arrived at Anyi, Emperor Xiandi of Han wore rotten clothes and used jujube chestnuts as food. This is very strange, why would Dong Cheng threaten Empress Fu? There is a possibility that the same as the concubine of the emperor, Fu Shouli as the empress, his daughter did not stand, and his heart was angry. But who is Dong Cheng going to give when he snatches the fine silk? It should be that he was afraid of delaying the crossing of the Yellow River and throwing it away, obviously not to the emperor, which shows that Dong Cheng is not too protective of the emperor. However, dong gui was pregnant when Dong Cheng was killed in the fifth year of Jian'an (200 years), and it seems that it was not too long to enter the palace. Of course, there is also a possibility that Dong Guiren has been in the palace for a long time and has not been favored, and at this time he was favored by Emperor Xian of Han because of his father?
Why? Did Emperor Xian of Han ask Dong Cheng for an edict, or did Dong Cheng, because of his ambition to open the palace, assassinate Cao Cao under emperor Xiandi of Han and stimulate Emperor Xiandi's ambition to truly conquer the world? I suspect that the matter of the garment is not so simple, and we will explore it in another chapter.
Taking He Yan as an example, I thought that a foreign relative like Dong Cheng, who was not an elder when Cao Cao fought in Jiangshan, just because he had made a meritorious contribution to the Leading The Way Party, he thought that he had a great merit, and perhaps he felt too little in return for Cao Cao, so he had new ambitions. Foreign relatives generally blindly exaggerate their influence and are doomed to suffer great losses in front of the powerful ministers, without exception.
This is Title XII.