How Cao Cao and Sun Jian Rose Against Dong Zhuo

In the previous episode, the eastern lords raised armies against Dong Zhuo, but soon fell into hesitation and infighting.

The banner had been raised. Very few men dared push directly against Dong Zhuo's army.

The Huaxiong Story Behind the Legend

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hua Xiong kills several coalition officers before Guan Yu rides out and cuts him down before a cup of wine cools.

The scene is unforgettable. But in the historical record, Hua Xiong's death belongs to Sun Jian's army.

Before that, the coalition faced a political problem. One reason the lords opposed Dong Zhuo was that he had deposed Liu Bian and enthroned Emperor Xian. Then Dong Zhuo had Liu Bian poisoned.

If the coalition accepted Emperor Xian, it seemed to accept Dong Zhuo's court. If it rejected him, it needed another source of legitimacy.

The commanders swore alliance, but no one truly bound the armies into one command. Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Han Fu, Wang Kuang, and others stayed inside their own calculations.

Yuan Shao Wanted to Enthrone Liu Yu

In 191 CE, Yuan Shao and Han Fu considered setting up Liu Yu, Governor of You Province, as emperor.

Liu Yu was an imperial clansman with high reputation. Emperor Xian was young, far away in Chang'an, and controlled by Dong Zhuo. To Yuan Shao's camp, a new emperor might give the coalition cleaner legitimacy.

Cao Cao opposed the idea.

He argued that the coalition had gained support because it claimed to uphold righteousness and punish a wicked minister. Emperor Xian had committed no fault like the deposed King of Changyi. If the lords enthroned another ruler, Cao Cao said he would continue honoring the emperor in Chang'an.

Yuan Shu also refused, but for different reasons. He wanted the world to remain leaderless enough for his own ambition. Liu Yu himself rejected the offer fiercely and even threatened to flee to the Xiongnu if pressured further.

The plan died.

Sun Jian Advanced From Luyang

While others argued about legitimacy, Sun Jian truly marched.

After killing Wang Rui and Zhang Zi, he gained supplies and passage. He met Yuan Shu at Luyang, and Yuan Shu recommended him as General Who Smashes Caitiffs and Inspector of Yu Province.

Such titles were supposedly granted through the court, but the court was under Dong Zhuo. In practice, warlords were now granting offices to each other.

Sun Jian prepared to advance. When Dong Zhuo sent Hu Zhen's cavalry, Sun Jian was drinking outside the east gate. He did not panic. He ordered his troops to form calmly and enter the city in order. Hu Zhen saw the discipline and withdrew.

Sun Jian understood morale. A rushed commander could frighten his own army more than the enemy.

Defeat at Liangdong and Zu Mao's Rescue

In 191 CE, Sun Jian advanced toward Liangdong.

Xu Rong suddenly surrounded him. Sun Jian's men, many newly recruited, broke apart. Sun Jian escaped with only a few horsemen.

His red headscarf made him easy to identify. In the crisis, he gave it to his trusted follower Zu Mao. Zu Mao wore it to draw the pursuers away.

Dong Zhuo's cavalry chased the red scarf, not the man. Zu Mao eventually dismounted, placed the scarf on a burned pillar near a tomb, and hid in the grass. The pursuers surrounded the pillar before realizing they had been deceived.

Sun Jian survived, gathered scattered men, and moved to Yangren.

Sun Jian Defeated Hu Zhen and Hua Xiong

Dong Zhuo sent Hu Zhen as commander and Lü Bu as cavalry commandant with five thousand men.

Hu Zhen boasted that he needed to cut down a high-ranking enemy before the army would become orderly. His officers disliked his arrogance. Dong Zhuo's original plan was to rest and attack at dawn, but Lü Bu and others disrupted it, urging a night move by claiming Sun Jian's men had fled.

The army reached Yangren tired, hungry, and thirsty. Sun Jian's defenses were ready. Then rumors spread that Sun Jian was launching a night attack. Dong Zhuo's troops panicked, abandoned equipment, and fled.

Sun Jian pursued. Hu Zhen's force collapsed, and Hua Xiong was killed.

Historically, that is where Hua Xiong falls: in Sun Jian's victory at Yangren.

Yuan Shu Cut Off Supplies

Sun Jian's success made some people fear him.

Someone warned Yuan Shu that if Sun Jian took Luoyang and grew strong, he would become hard to control. Yuan Shu, already suspicious, cut off Sun Jian's grain.

Sun Jian rode more than a hundred li overnight to Luyang. Pacing inside Yuan Shu's tent, he explained that he had no private feud with Dong Zhuo. He fought above for the state and below to avenge the Yuan family. Why suspect the man fighting at the front?

Yuan Shu was ashamed and restored supplies.

Dong Zhuo tried another path. He offered marriage ties and official posts for Sun Jian's sons and relatives. Sun Jian refused, saying Dong Zhuo defied Heaven and law and deserved destruction, not alliance.

Sun Jian pressed on, defeated Dong Zhuo near Luoyang, drove Lü Bu back, swept the ancestral temples, and found the imperial seal lost during the earlier palace flight.

The Coalition Wasted Its Best Chance

Dong Zhuo admitted that most eastern forces were not frightening, but Sun Jian knew how to use men and had to be feared.

Then Dong Zhuo withdrew to Chang'an.

This should have been the coalition's chance. Dong Zhuo had just moved the capital, his order was not fully settled, and pressure from united forces might have mattered.

Instead, the coalition turned inward.

Yuan Shao took Ji Province from Han Fu through pressure and manipulation. Bao Xin warned Cao Cao that Yuan Shao, using the alliance for private gain, might become another Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao soon moved into Dong Commandery against Yellow Turban remnants, and Yuan Shao recommended him as its administrator.

The anti-Dong Zhuo alliance had not saved the Han. It had introduced the next stage: commanders using righteous slogans to build their own bases.

Dong Zhuo was still in Chang'an, but his end was approaching from inside his own circle. The next episode turns to Lü Bu, Diaochan, and Wang Yun's plot.