Chapter 4: The Great Han Dynasty's Irreversible Decline

  In AD 184, Zhang Jue and his two brothers, who led a hasty uprising after being betrayed by traitors, swept through eight states of the Eastern Han Dynasty with millions of people, but due to various reasons, they died in just eight months and the uprising was declared a failure.

  However, the Han Dynasty, which had accumulated heavy losses, did not regain its vitality, but instead became more and more decadent and corrupt. Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, listened to the foolish advice of Liu Yan, the governor of Yi Province, and handed over power to the provincial governors, which also laid down a heavy pen for the great chaos that would engulf the world.

  Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, was dissolute and tyrannical, indulging in eunuchs and selling official positions, with a very poor reputation. However, he still had some political acumen, suppressing the local powerful clans without any major incidents, but he died nonetheless.

  Because the news was leaked, the eunuch group took the initiative to kill He Jin before Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan's army arrived in Luoyang; while Yuan Shao led his troops into the palace under the pretext of avenging He Jin, killing more than 2,000 eunuchs including the Ten Attendants! Although the struggle between the imperial relatives and the eunuchs that had troubled the Eastern Han for over a hundred years came to an end, it also allowed Dong Zhuo, who led his troops into the capital, to seize control of the government.

  Dong Zhuo initially behaved in a dignified manner when he first entered the capital, but later discovered that his own army was the strongest among all. His ambition grew more and more inflated, yet he had not been blinded by desire. Dong Zhuo, who had long commanded troops and fought battles, deeply understood that to conquer the officials and control the imperial court, one must first grasp a powerful military backing.

  When Dong Zhuo first arrived in Luoyang, his troops did not exceed 3,000 people. In order to create a strong military deterrent from the start, he ordered his troops to sneak out of Luoyang every four or five days at night and then return to Luoyang in large numbers the next morning, with war drums shaking the sky and banners fluttering. It seemed as if thousands of horses and soldiers were pouring in endlessly. All the people in Luoyang, including government officials, were intimidated by Dong Zhuo's mighty power and did not dare to misbehave in the slightest.

  Although the false image can temporarily deceive people, it will eventually be seen through. Dong Zhuo's move was naturally only a temporary expedient, and after making some slight adjustments, he began to take practical action to expand his forces and gather military power.

  He first used a plan to kill He Miao, the younger brother of General-in-Chief He Jin who controlled the Eight Banners Troops at that time, and took control of all the troops in the capital. Then he summoned tens of thousands of troops from Xiliang to swallow up the powerful Ding Yuan group in Bingzhou, and obtained the assistance of Lü Bu, the number one brave general under heaven;

  After a series of military adjustments, Dong Zhuo stabilized his position in the capital city of Luoyang and began to control the emperor to order the vassals! Dong Zhuo deposed Emperor Shao of Han Liu Bian and enthroned his favorite Emperor Xian of Han Liu Xie as emperor;

  After Dong Zhuo's ascension to Emperor Xian, he promoted himself to Taifu, one of the Three Dukes, and took charge of punishing those who were unfavorable to him. The court was filled with complaints, but no one dared to speak out. Ah, good sir! These people had become accustomed to their daily training, and if they didn't train for a day, they would feel restless all over, in modern words - they were addicted! After the training ended, everyone greeted Li Yu, then played with their own children or went home.

  "Sir! It's already winter, and it's been over a year, how come there's no movement at all?" Xǔ Zhūn finally couldn't help but ask with a belly full of doubts;

  "Zhong Kang! You only see the surface! Do you know who people hate the most now?" Li Yu asked, ignoring Xu Zhu's question and asking instead.

  "It should be Dong Zhuo!", Xu Chu said, scratching his head. The refugees outside were getting more and more numerous, and most of them scolded Dong Zhuo when they complained. Xu Chu had also heard about it.

  "Exactly! Dong Zhuo occupies Luoyang, deceives the young emperor, sleeps in the dragon bed, and does evil things. He holds the Son of Heaven hostage and orders the vassals! He has done what people want to do but dare not do! All the vassals are afraid, fearful, and jealous! The timing is not yet ripe! As soon as the timing is right, someone will shout loudly, and all the heroes in the world will rise up! At that time..."

  People who have read history are different, they speak with such arrogance and confidence; Xu Chu also nodded dazedly, since his martial arts were greatly improved, he has been in a daze all the time. Li Yu was also muttering to himself whether practicing martial arts had driven him crazy and made his brain disabled.

  While Li Yu was comforting the Xushi clan, his future lord Cao Cao was planning something else.