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The Riot in Chang’an was an event which took place shortly after the assassination of Dong Zhuo, the previous month. It was a result of Dong Zhuo's 董卓 former generals looking to protect themselves from negative repercussions for the actions by seizing power.
Background[]
The prime minister Dong Zhuo had just been assassinated Lü Bu 呂布 and Wang Yun 王允 in Chang'an but at this time Dong Zhuo's generals were still in the east. Though at the time of his death, Lü Bu had stated: "The order requires that Dong Zhuo be executed, and that is all. For the rest, there are no questions asked.", Dong Zhuo's entire clan was exterminated and his deceased relatives exhumed, burnt and their ashes scattered on the roads.
Additionally, Cai Yong 蔡邕, who had been favoured by Dong Zhuo for his talents, was suspected of harbouring resentment over the assassination of Dong Zhuo by Wang Yun. And so Wang Yun had him imprisoned, ignoring the pleas of numerous scholars and gentlemen who spoke on his behalf.
Wang Yun Ignores Advice[]
Lü Bu feared repercussion from Dong Zhuo's generals and so urged Wang Yun to kill all of Dong Zhuo's followers, but Wang Yun stated: "I cannot do that for they have done nothing wrong.", believing they had only been following court orders and thus duty bound to follow orders, right or wrong. Lü Bu then urged that the treasure stored in Mei Fortress be distributed among the Excellencies, senior officials, generals and colonels in order to buy their loyalty. But because Wang Yun thought Lü Bu to be only a brute, he took no notice of his advice.
Wang Yun had also spoken with Shisun Rui 士孫瑞 about releasing an edict pardoning Dong Zhuo's subordinates, but said: "The army followed their master, and that was all. If we say that they were wicked and rebellious, and then pardon them, I am afraid they will just become more uncertain. That is not the way to settle them.". So the edict was not approved.
Wang Yun then considered disbanding the armies of Liang Province, but was told: "Up until now the men from Liang province have dreaded the Yuan and feared the east of the passes. If you suddenly dismiss the troops and open the passes, the people will surely feel threatened. Give Huangfu Song 皇甫嵩 command as general at Shan. That will keep them peaceful and secure."
But Wang Yun replied: "The men east of the passes who have raised loyal troops are all our supporters. If we block the passes and maintain a garrison in Shan, though we might settle the people from Liang province, we would make the east of the passes suspicious. We cannot do that.". So Wang Yun ordered the disbandment of the Liang armies.
Wang Yun's arrogant behaviour after the death of Dong Zhuo, his dismissal of advisor's opinions and the treatment of Dong Zhuo's clan and Cai Yong, would eventually lead to his downfall and the seizure of Chang'an.
The Battle[]
At this time, the rumour in Liang Province that all the men their would be killed, as Dong Zhuo and many of his supporters were from the Liang Province, and so Dong Zhuo's former generals and colonels were all anxious. The officers had heard of the treatment of Cai Yong, the order to disband their forces and no sign of any pardon, and were thus fearful for their lives.
Lü Bu then sent Li Su 李肅 to Shan with imperial orders to kill Niu Fu 牛輔. But Niu Fu and his men resisted and attacked Li Su. Li Su fled to Hongnong, where Lü Bu had him arrested and executed for his failure. Niu Fu's camp was in panic after the incident and Niu Fu was killed by his own attendants.
Li Jue 李傕, Guo Si 郭汜 and Zhang Ji 張濟 finally returned to Shan, having raided Chenliu and Yingchuan prefectures in Yan and Yu Provinces, respectively, to find an attempt has been made to isolate them in the east and their commanding officer dead. Li Jue begged a pardon be issued by the court. But Wang Yun again refused.
With panic setting in, Li Jue and his associates planned to scatter and attempt to flee to their homes in Liang by indirect routes, but Jia Xu 賈詡 said: "If you leave your troops and travel alone, then the chief of a single village can arrest you. The best thing to do is move west together, attack Chang'an and avenge Lord Dong. If you are successful you can serve the royal house and set the empire to rights. If you fail, there will still be time to run away."
So they marched westwards with their force, several thousand men, to at best attack Chang'an or at worst flee back to Liang Province.
Wang Yun called up Hu Zhen and Yang Ding 禓定, both respected men from Liang province, and asked them to remonstrate with Li Jue. But the two men simply collected their forces and returned home [to Liang].
Li Jue recruited as he marched and had more than 100,000 men by the time he reached Chang'an. He joined up with Fan Chou and Li Meng 李蒙, also former subordinates of Dong Zhuo and besieged the city. The siege was maintained for a little over a week until some of the men under Lü Bu mutinied and gave entry to Li Jue's forces on 28th June.
Lü Bu attempted to fight them within the city but he was hopelessly outnumbered and was forced to flee with a few hundred cavaliers and the head of Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu urged Wang Yun to flee with him, but Wang Yun wanted to remain by the Emperor's side so declined.
Wang Yun attempted to take the Emperor through the Xuanping Gate in the northeast of Chang'an, but they were surrounded by Li Jue. The rebels kowtowed before the, who said: "Gentlemen, you have set soldiers loose everywhere, what do you want?"
Li Jue replied: "Dong Zhuo was loyal to Your Majesty but Lü Bu killed him without good cause. We are avenging Dong Zhuo; we would not dare make rebellion. We beg to finish this business, then go to the Commandant of Justice for punishment."
Wang Yun was left with little option but to surrender himself to Li Jue.
Li Jue and his cabal had killed over 10,000 officials and commoners, including: the Grand Coachman Lu Kui, the Grand Herald Zhou Huan, the Colonel of the City Gates Cui Lie, the Colonel of the Elite Cavalry Wang Qi and the Colonel Director of Retainers Huang Wan.
Earlier, Wang Yun had appointed two men from his prefecture, Song Yi and Wang Hong, in charge of Zuopingyi and Youfufeng, the prefectures on either side of the Chang'an. Li Jue wished to kill Wang Yun to solidify his position, but was afraid the flanking prefectures would rise in rebellion if he did so.
Li Jue sent an imperial edict inviting Song Yi and Wang Hong to the capital. Wang Hong knew if he heeded the edict it would likely result in his death, so he sent a message to Song Yi saying:""It is only because you and I are still at large that Guo Si and Li Jue have not yet killed Lord Wang. If we answer the summons today, they will destroy us and our families tomorrow. What shall we do?"
To which Song Yi replied: "It is difficult to judge good fortune and ill, but the first principle must be to obey an imperial command."
So Wang Hong then said: "East of the passes, the loyal armies are bubbling like a cauldron. They sought to destroy Dong Zhuo, and now he is dead it should be easy to deal with his followers. If we bring an army to attack Li Jue and his fellows, and ally ourselves with the east of the mountains, we can turn ill fortune into good."
But Song Yi was still not swayed by his argument and Wang Hong did not feel as though he could act alone. Thus they both obeyed the summons and were predictably arrested and then executed along with Wang Yun and his family on 4 July 192 AD
Aftermath[]
On 29th of June, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and the others were made Generals of varying degrees. Li Jue also wanted to ennoble his advisor, Jia Xu, as a marquis. But Jia Xu said: "My proposal was just a plan to save our skins. What have I done to deserve a reward?" And refused it. They then wanted to make him Supervisor of the Masters of Writing. But Jia Xu said: "Supervisor of the Masters of Writing is a senior appointment. The whole empire looks to it. My name has not been well-known before, and people will not respect it." And he only accepted the position of Master of Writing, thus distancing himself in his involvement in the coup.
In a similar manner, when Dong Zhuo was killed, Wang Yun took full credit (or responsibility) for the act and so when Li Jue rebelled he was killed. Shisun Rui refused all reward and declined enfeoffment as marquis and so was spared reprisal.
By October, Li Jue and his cabal had control of the court and each member was enfeoffed as a marquis. Li Jue was elevated to General of Chariots and Cavalry, Guo Si to General of the Rear, Fan Chou to General of the Right and Zhang Ji to General of the Agile Cavalry.
Notes[]
Fact vs. Fiction[]
References[]
Sources[]
- de Crespigny, Rafe. To Establish Peace. Vol. 1. Canberra: Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1996. 2 vols.