Three Kingdoms Historical Information & Discussion

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The Liu Clan of Xiangyang

Liu Biao [Jingsheng] (General Who Guards the South and Governor of Jing, Marquis of Chengwu)

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Born in Shanyang Commandery, Yan Province, in 142AD, Liu Biao was a decedent of Emperor Jing of Former Han through Liu Yu, Prince of Huaiyang. He interned under a civil servant as a young man and eventually became a bureaucrat himself under Emperor Huan. However, he got involved in factional politics on the side of the reformists and was one of whose career was destroyed in a purge by the eunuch faction. He returned home and lived something of a quiet life until the Yellow Turban Rebellion opened the door for him to redeem himself. He was put on the staff of General-in-Chief He Jin as Captain of the Center of the Northern Army, the primary liaison between the General-in-Chief and the colonels who ran the professional Han army. Eventually, He Jin was killed by the eunuchs, and Liu Biao was one of many former soldiers brought under the wing of Dong Zhuo, who apparently took a liking to him, because he made him Governor of Jing Province.

Jing Province was half held by the "loyal rebels" and half held by bandits. Liu Biao snuck his way into Xiangyang with his brother-in-law Cai Mao and set up shop. He managed to win the support of the administrators of north-central Jing and the local gentry, bought off Yuan Shu by ignoring his occupation of Nanyang commandery in the north, and killed off several bandit leaders from the south to solidify his hold on area. However, Dong Zhuo was assassinated, and the remaining warlords began fragmenting into factions. Liu Biao paid some lip service to the new imperial regime in Chang'an under Li Jue, but his more valuable alliance came with Yuan Shao, Governor of Ji. This caused a conflict with Yuan Shu, who sent his subordinate Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao. Liu Biao sent his own general, Huang Zu to face him, and while Huang Zu lost in the field, Sun Jian was killed in an ambush and the danger passed. Liu Biao then set about securing his borders, fighting a brief war with Liu Zhang of Yi Province, defeating Zhang Ji's attack on Nanyang and then giving it to his nephew Zhang Xiu to defend, pacifying the rebellious southern commanderies of Jing, and contesting the east with Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce.

Eventually his western and southern fronts settled, but his northern and eastern front did not. Zhang Xiu had joined Cao Cao and helped him crush Liu Biao's old ally, Yuan Shao, and Sun Ce's brother, Sun Quan, began launching major attacks on Huang Zu in Jiangxia. Around this time, Liu Biao took in Liu Bei, once again a wandering mercenary with a large following, and stationed him at Xinye, one of his last strongholds in Nanyang. He needed the men. Cao Cao was mopping up the Yuan family and sending his generals on probing strikes south, while Sun Quan was making great progress against Huang Zu. Just as Cao Cao began his southern offensive, Sun Quan succeeded in killing Huang Zu and taking Jiangxia. Liu Biao's eldest son, Liu Qi, requested to take Huang Zu's place to get away from Xiangyang as he was disfavored compared to his younger brother Liu Cong, who was connected by marriage to the Cai family. Liu Biao agreed, but took ill shortly after and died, in 208AD. With Liu Qi not around, Liu Cong inherited Jing Province and immediately surrendered to Cao Cao.

Huang Zhong [Hansheng] (General of the Rear, Secondary Marquis)

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From Nanyang Commandery, Jing Province, Huang Zhong first appears in history as Liu Biao's General of the Household, likely having joined him not long after his takeover of the province. Sometime before 199AD, he was sent to Changsha Commandery along with Liu Biao's nephew, Liu Pan, and the two of them came into conflict with the forces of Sun Ce, who had recently taken over the neighboring Yuzhang Commandery. Their attempts to dislodge his men were unsuccessful and they were pretty soundly defeated by Taishi Ci. In 208AD, Cao Cao took over Jing, and Liu Pan was replaced by Han Xuan as Grand Administrator of Changsha. Huang Zhong was made a Major General and merged into the new administration. However, Cao Cao was soon defeated at Chibi, and all the commanderies south of the Yangzhi were left to fend for themselves. Liu Bei arrived not long after, and while Sun Quan was busy fighting Cao Cao in the north, Liu Bei demanded the surrender of the southern Jing commanderies. At Huang Zhong's urging, Han Xuan surrendered, and Huang Zhong joined Liu Bei.

Huang Zhong joined Liu Bei to briefly serve under Liu Zhang in 214AD, and then assisted in the coup to overthrown Liu Zhang as Liu Bei's subordinate, evidently performing well enough to be promoted to General Who Attacks Rebels. In 217AD, Liu Bei launched an invasion to wrest Hanzhong Commandery from Cao Cao. However, the first attempt under Zhang Fei and Ma Chao was defeated and the front stalemated for some time. Liu Bei tried again at the end of 218AD, this time bringing Huang Zhong, Huang Quan, and Fa Zheng on a more direct strike towards the commandery capitol, Nanzheng. They encamped at Mount Dingjun in early 219AD, but the Wei army under Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He came to the neighboring Zouma Valley to contest them. Liu Bei launched a night attack on their camp with fire to press Zhang He in place, and placed his unengaged southern flank under Huang Zhong. When Xiahou Yuan split off some of his command to help Zhang He and put the rest of it to work fighting the blaze, Fa Zheng directed Huang Zhong to launch their attack. The depleted, distracted, and surprised southern wing the Wei army crumbled and Xiahou Yuan, his deputy, and his son were all killed. The other wing of the Wei army withdrew in good order across the river under Zhang He and no further fighting took place. Cao Cao eventually had them withdraw across the mountains and Hanzhong was secured. Huang Zhong was made General Who Conquers the West for his contributions.

Liu Bei crowned himself King of Hanzhong not long after. Huang Zhong was promoted again, this time to General of the Rear and was enoffed as a Secondary Marquis. However, he died not long after of unrecorded causes in 220AD.

Liu Qi (Inspector of Jing)

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The eldest son of Liu Biao, Liu Qi was unfortunately not favored by family politics, as his younger brother, Liu Cong, had married the niece of Lady Cai, their father’s second wife. The powerful Cai family therefore backed Liu Cong as the heir despite Liu Qi’s seniority. Fearing for his position and his life, Liu Qi asked for advice from Zhuge Liang, who told him to leave his father’s capitol and build up his strength elsewhere. Therefore, upon the death of Huang Zu in 208AD, Liu Qi requested to take his place as the Administrator of Jiangxia. This didn’t achieve the results Liu Qi expected however. When his father became ill later that year, Liu Qi was barred from seeing him by his younger brother and the Cai family.

Liu Biao ultimately died and Liu Cong became heir with little resistance in Xiangyang. However, Liu Cong immediately surrendered to an advancing Cao Cao, which allowed Liu Qi to become a beacon for those in Jing who opposed surrender, including the famous Liu Bei. The two of them combined forces and went to Sun Quan to propose an alliance, which was ultimately successful in driving away Cao Cao at Chibi. Liu Qi was then selected as the new Inspector of Jing Province by Liu Bei and Sun Quan. The reconquest of most of central and southern Jing went smoothly, but Liu Qi fell ill in Jiangxia not long after and died in 209AD. Liu Bei succeeded him, though he took the post of governor, rather than inspector.

Liu Cong (Inspector of Qing and Army Adviser and Counselor Remonstrant, Marquis)

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The younger son of Liu Biao, he was favored by his father due to resembling him and by the influential family of his stepmother, Lady Cai, by marrying her niece. When Liu Biao grew ill, his in-laws in the Cai family ran interference to prevent his older son, Liu Qi, from seeing him and interfering with the succession. Upon his father's subsequent death in 208AD, Liu Cong became Governor of Jing without significant protest.

However, a month later, Cao Cao demanded that Jing Province surrender to him. Liu Cong's advisors (whom he inherited from his father) urged him to comply, and after some persuasion, he did. He specifically did not inform his brother or Liu Bei, who was stationed in Nanyang, preparing for battle. By the time either of them heard, he had already handed over his seal to Cao Cao at Xiangyang. He was made a Marquis and the inspector of Qing Province, eventually becoming an imperial counselor and presumably living the rest of his life in luxury in the capitol.

Huang Zu (Administrator of Jiangxia)

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From Jiangxia Commandery in Jing Province, Huang Zu first appears in history as the commandery administrator around the time that Liu Biao arrived in the province. Since the Han had restrictions on men serving in their home province, he likely took over sometime after the chaos weakened government control. Liu Biao struck a deal with him for funding and supplies in exchange for military support. Though Huang Zu was nominally his subordinate, Liu Biao had little control over Jiangxia, which Huang Zu ran like his own fief.

After the war between the Yuan brothers broke out in 191AD, Huang Zu was brought north to Fancheng to defend it from an attack by Sun Jian, Yuan Shu's subordinate. Huang Zu was pushed out of Fancheng, and was forced to take refuge in Xiangyang. However, despite continually losing to Sun Jian, a stroke of luck saw Sun Jian killed by a stray arrow during one of his pursuits of Huang Zu's routed forces and the conflict fizzed out.

The conflict was resumed sometime around 199AD, when Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce, had conquered most of the Jiangdong region to the east and had proceeded to turn his gaze west, towards Jing. Huang Zu initially tried to help one of Sun Ce's enemies, a Liu Xun, before Sun Ce could finish him off, but his reinforcement navy was destroyed and Sun Ce advanced on Huang Zu's territory at Xiakou. This time, Liu Biao sent him reinforcements, but Sun Ce defeated their combined army, capturing Huang Zu's family in the process.

Sun Ce was assassinated soon after, but his brother, Sun Quan, resumed the war with Huang Zu again in 203AD. A navy under Ling Cao was sent to Xiakou once again to do battle, and they succeeded in breaking through Huang Zu's navy. Huang Zu was put to flight and only saved by his subordinate, Gan Ning, who shot and killed Ling Cao during the pursuit. However, this proved to be Huang Zu's undoing. He didn't reward Gan Ning and attempted to subvert his men instead. Gan Ning then defected to Sun Quan and told him of Huang Zu's advanced age and lack of supplies. Sun Quan therefore sent another attack force (including Ling Cao's son Ling Tong) to Jiangxia city itself in 208AD. This time, when his lines collapsed, Huang Zu had no one to save him and was caught and killed by a Sun horseman in 208AD.

Cai Mao [Degui] (Changshui Colonel, Marquis of Hanyang)

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From Xiangyang, Nan Commandery, Jing Province, Cai Mao was the brother in law of Liu Biao through his second wife, Lady Cai. He was also the brother in law of one Huang Chengyan, whose daughter Huang Yueying married Zhuge Liang. He was evidently serving under the former brother in law during Dong Zhuo's coup and was likewise sent to Jing to help Liu Biao secure the province. He was made administrator of various commanderies within the province during their stay there and became Liu Biao's primary advisor after the latter was promoted to General who Guards the South.

When Liu Biao grew ill, Cai Mao ran interference with his older son, Liu Qi, so that his younger son, Liu Cong, could succeed him. Cai Mao was connected to Liu Cong through marriage, possibly being his father in law, so he had a very obvious motivation. However, Cao Cao soon demanded the surrender of Jing Province. Being one of Cao Cao's old friends, Cai Mao helped persuade Liu Cong to capitulate and joined him in leaving for the capitol. He was made a Changshui Colonel and enoffed as a marquis, often being visited by Cao Cao himself, and presumably lived in comfort thereafter.

The Yuan Clan of Shouchun

Yuan Shu [Gonglu] (General of the Left and Governor of Yang, Marquis of Yangzhai)

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From the prestigious Yuan family of Runan Commandery, Yu Province, Yuan Shu was the son of Yuan Feng by a concubine. He was younger than his half-brother Yuan Shao, but since Yuan Shao was the son of a servant whom had been elevated to concubine after his conception, Yuan Shu was technically higher than him in the family hierarchy. This all changed when Yuan Shao was adopted by their father's childless older brother Yuan Cheng as his heir. Suddenly, Yuan Shao was poised to become the family head, despite his lower birth, and this would drive a wedge between the two men for their entire lives.

As a child of the Yuan clan, Shu quickly entered imperial service in high positions, once as the Intendant of Henan (the capitol region) and later as the General of the Gentlemen as Rapid as Tigers (the imperial guards). He, along with Yuan Shao, were part of the military faction of General-in-Chief He Jin during the eunuch coup, and would later take part in the massacre of the eunuchs after He Jin's assassination. When Dong Zhuo arrived, he offered Yuan Shu the position of General of the Rear, but Yuan Shu instead fled south to Nanyang. The Guangdong Coalition that was made to oppose Dong Zhuo chose Yuan Shao as its leader over Yuan Shu, but he did gain a capable subordinate in the general Sun Jian, who had come up from Changsha. Despite some initial friction, Sun Jian was ultimately loyal to his patron and Yuan Shu sponsored him as Inspector of Yu Province. Sun Jian was successful in defeating Dong Zhuo and driving him from Luoyang, but the capitol was left a ruin and Dong Zhuo escaped to Chang'an with the emperor, where the coalition was incapable of following him.

The Guangdong coalition collapsed shortly thereafter. Two smaller, opposing coalitions came out of it, one lead by each of the Yuan brothers. Yuan Shu was loosely allied with Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Liu Yu, and his own subordinate Sun Jian, while Yuan Shao allied himself with Liu Biao and his own subordinate Cao Cao, and took over Ji province, gaining the old subordinates of Han Fu. During the clashes between the two men's alliances, Sun Jian was killed in a stroke of bad luck but Yuan Shu was able to get parts of Yu and Yang provinces under his control. There he began fighting with Cao Cao over Yan Province by allying the Heishan bandits and the exiled Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu. However, he and his allies were defeated by Cao Cao and he was forced to abandon his holdings in Yan, Yu, and even Nanyang before finally settling in Shouchun, in northern Yang province.

Having lost against Cao Cao, Yuan Shu turned his gaze to Xu province in the northeast and to the lands of Jiangdong to the south of the Yangtze River. On the former front, he initially fought Liu Bei, but after Lu Bu seized the province, Yuan Shu first fought, then allied with him instead. On the latter front he had more success thanks to Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian who had joined him in Shouchun. Sun Ce conquered much of Jiangdong from the many regional warlords who had been resisting Yuan Shu. These successes gave Yuan Shu enough confidence to declare a new imperial dynasty, Zhong, with himself as emperor. He used an old prophesy which he was able to tie his name to, as well as his possession of the imperial seal in order to justify this. However, his position was nowhere near as sound as he believed. the other warlords in the area joined against him, including Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Lu Bu and Sun Ce turned against him, taking away Xu and all of Jiangdong, leaving him with only the parts of Yang that were north of the Yangtze and some of Runan. Many of his officers left him for Sun Ce or Lu Bu. In desperation, he killed the prince of Chen, Liu Chong, and annexed his lands, but all this did was provoke Cao Cao, who bordered Chen, to attack him. Yuan Shu abandoned Shouchun not long after and became an exile, dying of illness in 199AD.

The Gongsun Clan of Youbeiping

Gongsun Zan [Bogui] (General of the Front and Inspector of You, Marquis of Yi)

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From Liaoxi Commandery, You Province, Gongsun Zan was a well respected young man on the northeast frontier and a schoolmate of Liu Bei. Unlike his friend, Gongsun Zan was able to climb up the ladder of imperial service quite easily and gained a good fighting reputation serving in Liaodong against Wuhuan and Xianbei raiders before being transferred back to Zhou Commandery in You. During the Liang revolt, he was given command of a Wuhuan auxiliary force, but the inability of the imperial government to supply them led to a mutiny that Gongsun Zan had to put down. However, this was a prelude to a much larger rebellion under a former official named Zhang Chun, who had been passed over for said command. Zhang Chun's rebellion spread across the north, attracting bandits and nomads from all over the region. Command was first given to Gongsun Zan's superior, Liu Yu, Inspector of You, but after a mutiny of the vassal Xiongnu kingdom ended with the death of the Xiongnu Chanyu, Gongsun Zan took control over the army. Gongsun Zan was initially victorious, but his counteroffensive into Wuhuan territory ended in failure, and the rebellion was not put down until Liu Yu stepped in to end the situation diplomatically with the Wuhuan, who sent them Zhang Chun's head. Gongsun Zan still wanted to punish the Wuhuan, but Liu Yu overruled him.

Despite Gongsun Zan's inability to defeat the Wuhuan, he was still promoted, enoffed, and stationed at Youbeiping Commandery as thanks for crushing Zhang Chun. After the coups in the capitol, Gongsun Zan was made General who Exerts Military Might by Dong Zhuo, likely to buy his loyalty. It may have not actually worked, but Gongsun Zan never took part in coalition. Once the coalition began falling apart, Gongsun Zan attacked the Inspector of Ji Province, Han Fu, on request of Yuan Shao. After he defeated Han Fu however, Yuan Shao had Han Fu surrender to him instead, thus taking Ji Province while having Gongsun Zan do all the work. Gongsun Zan wasn't able to do anything about this at the time, but eventually, he allied himself with Yuan Shu, who was at odds with Yuan Shao. Following the death of his cousin, Gongsun Yue, against Yuan Shao's men while in Yuan Shu's service, Gongsun Zan invaded Ji personally while sending his subordinates (including Liu Bei) against Yuan Shao's subordinates in Qing and Yan provinces. All these ultimately ended in failure. Gongsun Zan was defeated at Jieqiao by Qu Yi and then again at Longcou by Yuan Shao himself, his men in Qing were defeated by Yuan Tan, and his men in Yan were defeated by Cao Cao. Peace was eventually settled between them, but Gongsun Zan had lost many men for little gain.

No longer fighting Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan took to fortifying himself in You, which included getting rid of Liu Yu. Gongsun Zan encamped outside of Liu Yu's base at Ji city, and when Liu Yu attempted to dislodge him, he counterattacked and ultimately captured Liu Yu. When a representative of the rump imperial government arrived to promote Gongsun Zan to General of the Front, Gongsun Zan used the fact that Yuan Shao had once attempted to convince Liu Yu to be crowned emperor to justify executing him and his family. Now firmly in control of the northeastern corner of the empire, Gongsun Zan ruled as a despot, which eventually caused a major rebellion to break out against him. Yuan Shao sent Liu Yu's son Liu He along with his own general Qu Yi (who had defeated Gongsun Zan at Jieqiao), to support the rebels. Gongsun Zan was crushed and fled to the fortress of Yi in northern Ji province.

Gongsun Zan cut himself off from the world within this fortress, indulging himself with his concubines and forbidding any male over seven from entering his tower. His generals abandoned him and Yuan Shao eventually arrived with a huge army to finish him off. His son, Gongsun Xu managed to make contact with the Heishan bandits to extract his father, but Yuan Shao intercepted their communication and led Gongsun Zan into an ambush when he tried to link up with his son. Gongsun Zan managed to survive this, but Yuan Shao used sapping to eventually bring down the fortress walls. Gongsun Zan killed his remaining family members and committed suicide in 199AD before Yuan Shao's men could storm his tower. Gongsun Xu was killed by the Xiongnu not long after.

Zhao Yun [Zilong] (General who Guards the East, Marquis of Yongchang)

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From Zhending County, Changshan Commandery, Ji Province, Zhao Yun first appears in history when he joined the warlord Gongsun Zan not long after Yuan Shao took over his home province. While in Gongsun Zan's service, he met and befriended Liu Bei, another one of Gongsun Zan's subordinates, and commanded cavalry for him while he was fighting Yuan Shao's men. According to the Zhao Yun Beizhuan, a somewhat unreliable source, he initially served Gongsun Zan due to believing him to be a better man than Yuan Shao, but eventually became disillusioned with him and left his service under the guise of attending his brother's funeral, and did not meet Liu Bei again until they were both sheltering in the city of Ye.

Zhao Yun joined Liu Bei on his flight south to Jing Province. He participated in the Battle of Bowang where Liu Bei defeated Xiahou Dun (according to the Zhao Yun Beizhuan), and famously rescued Liu Bei's son Liu Shan from being captured during the Battle of Changban for which he was made General of the Standard. Following Chibi, he presumably joined Liu Bei on his campaign through southern Jing and stayed there when Liu Bei was invited to Yi Province by Liu Zhang. When Liu Bei launched his insurrection against Liu Zhang, Zhao Yun was one of those called up from Jing to assist Liu Bei in conquering the provincial capitol of Chengdu for which he was promoted to General of the Flying Army. The Zhao Yun Beizhuan claims he fought in a battle at the Han River at the end of the second Hanzhong campaign, where he defeated a Wei army by use of the Empty Fort Strategem, but this likely did not happen. It further adds that when Liu Bei wanted to launch his punitive campaign against Wu to reconquer Jing Province, Zhao Yun advised against it and later had to reinforce Liu Bei at Baidicheng after Lu Xun crushed him at Xiaoting.

Nonetheless, he was promoted to General Who Conquers the South and enoffed as a marquis when Liu Shan took the throne of Shu. He was promoted again to General Who Guards the East soon after and stationed in Hanzhong. When Zhuge Liang launched his first Northern Expedition, Zhao Yun was sent along with Deng Zhi as a diversionary force through the Xie Valley to tie down Cao Zhen. However, Cao Zhen defeated their weak force handily at Jigu, and they had no impact on the campaign, leading to Zhao Yun's demotion to General Who Guards the Army. He died not long after in 229AD.

The Kong Clan of Beihai

Kong Rong [Wenju] (Minister Steward and Palace Counselor)

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Born in 153AD in what was once the ancient state of Lu, somewhere in Yan Province, Kong Rong was said to be a 20th generation descendant of Kong Qiu, also known as Kong Fuzi or Confucius. As a ten year old, he won a debate with a scholar in the capitol and a few years later he gained fame among the anti-eunuch faction by sheltering a reformist during a purge. After entering the civil service, Kong Rong continued as an advocate for reform and was successful in getting numerous corrupt officials dismissed. However, his personality and lack of respect for authority gained him many enemies, including General in Chief He Jin and the Director of the Secretariat Zhao She. Despite this, his talents eventually got him military commission during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, eventually rising to become General of the Gentlemen of the Household (the imperial guards).

When Dong Zhuo overthrew the government, Kong Rong was one of his most vocal critics, despite having essentially no power. However, he survived on reputation alone, and was eventually made Chancellor of Beihai to get him out of the capitol. Unfortunately for him, whatever talent he had as a scholar proved counterproductive as an administrator. His government was often ineffectual and inconsistent, and he seemed to be more interested in running Beihai as a philosophical experiment than as an actual imperial commandery. His own inflated sense of self-worth gained him visits from many famous men, but few of them could get along with him, and many of the locals grew to resent his pretentious self-aggrandizement.

The chaos surrounding Qing province eventually forced him to enter warlord politics. Invasions from both Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, a secessionist state under Gongsun Du in Donglai, and a resurgent Yellow Turban problem prompted him to join under the banner of Tao Qian, Inspector of Xu, which also aligned him with Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu. Tao Qian had his own problems brewing with Cao Cao however, so he was unable to help Kong Rong when he was besieged by Yellow Turban remnants under Guan Hai in Duchang County. Taishi Ci, a somewhat famous local who owed Kong Rong a debt for helping his mother, went to get Liu Bei (a subordinate of Gongsun Zan at the time), who was camped nearby. Liu Bei attacked and dispersed the rebels, and Kong Rong later repaid him by supporting him as Tao Qian's successor after the latter's death. However, Taishi Ci did not stay in Beihai, and Kong Rong's alliance with Gongsun Zan turned against him when Yuan Shao sent his son Yuan Tan to secure Qing. Since Gongsun Zan's forces in the area had already been defeated and Liu Bei had recently been overthrown by Lu Bu, Kong Rong had no allies and was eventually defeated by Yuan Tan, seemingly with little difficulty.

Kong Rong fled to Xu city, the base of Cao Cao, who was always looking for more talent to join his burgeoning state. Kong Rong was made Court Architect and eventually Minister Steward, the minister in charge of taking care of the Emperor. Kong Rong certainly had the skills to serve in the imperial hierarchy, and he quickly made a name for himself as an excellent patron, but his troubles with authority began manifesting themselves. He frequently inserted himself into matters of law and protocol, and was particularly critical of Cao Cao himself, often acting mockingly or condescendingly towards him. The pinnacle of all of this was when Kong Rong told Cao Cao he should resign and retire after his victory at Mount Bailang in 207. One of Kong Rong's enemies took that opportunity to accuse him of a crime, and Cao Cao had him removed from office and sent home, warning him against future instigation. He was allowed to return as a Palace Counselor (an official advisor) the next year, but Kong Rong couldn't leave well enough alone, his rival accused him of treason, and he was executed along with his family in 208AD.

Taishi Ci [Xiyi] (General of the Household who Breaks Ranks, Commandant of Jianchang)

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Born in Huang County, Donglai Commandery, Qing Province, in 166AD Taishi Ci was originally a studious young man working in the local commandery office as a clerk. However, he achieved great fame when a dispute broke out between the commandery and provincial governments. Both sent memorandums to the capitol explaining their side of the story, and Taishi Ci was recruited as the messenger for the commandery office, with the understanding that he needed to arrive first to give their version more weight. With quick thinking and guile, he succeeded in not only delivering his report first, but also destroying the report of the provincial government before it could be submitted. This made him a local star, but also earned him the enmity of the provincial government, and he fled Qing for Liaodong. He returned later to visit his mother in Beihai, and during his time there saved the local government under Kong Rong from Yellow Turban rebels by sneaking through the lines and seeking out Liu Bei for help. He didn't stay however, and eventually found service under Liu Yao, the Inspector of Yang Province.

Liu Yao was at war with the forces of Yuan Shu, and was able to force him out of Danyang Commandery in 194AD. However, the next year, Yuan Shu sent Sun Ce back across the Yangtze to go reclaim the lost territory. Taishi Ci had been passed over for command and made a staff officer, but during one of his personal reconnaissance missions, he came across Sun Ce and his retainers on his own in a village. The two fought each other in one of the only recorded duels in the era, but neither was able to gain the upper hand and their subordinates separated them. This didn't change the situation however, and Sun Ce quickly crushed most of Liu Yao's forces in Danyang, except for a foothold in the west. Liu Yao fled south into Yuzhang and left Taishi Ci in charge of the situation in Danyang. Taishi Ci recruited men from the Shanyue tribes nearby and built up enough of a force to keep Sun Ce at bay for two years, though Sun Ce used this interval to go on a conquering spree further east.

In 198AD, Sun Ce returned with a vengeance, first attacking the Shanyue and forcing them to surrender to him, and then surrounding and capturing Taishi Ci at Jing County. Sun Ce asked him what he would have done if he had won their duel and Taishi Ci replied that he didn't know. Sun Ce reportedly laughed and cut his bonds, recruiting him as a general on the spot. Following Liu Yao's death soon after, Taishi Ci was put in charge of scoping out the situation in Yuzhang. The intelligence he returned with allowed Sun Ce to completely subjugate the majority of the region in a year, thus putting the vast majority of the settled regions of Yang province, under his control. Taishi Ci was then sent to deal with attacks from Jing Province led by Liu Pan and Huang Zhong. From his base in Jiancheng, Taishi Ci demolished them and the region was pacified without much fuss. After Sun Ce's assassination, Sun Quan took control of their state and put Taishi Ci in charge of all lands in the south (presumably south of the other front at Jiangxia) due to his success against Liu Pan. He died in 204AD and was greatly mourned by Sun Quan.

The Heishan Bandits

Zhang Yan (General Who Brings Peace to the North, Marquis of Anguo)

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From Zhending County, Changshan Commandery, Ji Province, he was originally Chu Yan, a young man known for his swiftness. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184AD, he created his own bandit army out of local youths that was said to number over ten thousand men and plundered much of the area around his home county. He then joined an even greater bandit army under a certain Zhang Niujiao from Boling Commandery, to whom he deferred to as his "general." During a raid on Yingtao County, Zhang Niujiao was hit by an arrow and passed command of their army to Chu Yan before he died. Chu Yan changed his name to Zhang Yan in honor of his deceased commander.

Zhang Yan united the bandit armies of northwestern Ji, eastern Bing, and Henei in the capitol region into a vast horde, with many smaller bandit chiefs deferring to him as leader. They were called the "Black Mountain" or Heishan Bandits. His force was so strong that Emperor Ling of Han could not dislodge him and instead had to parlay, appointing him both the military governor of the unofficial province of Heishan and the Cadet-General Who Pacifies Internal Disasters. When Dong Zhuo seized power in 189AD, this arrangement presumably came under threat, so Zhang Yan initially joined the coalition against him, though he isn't recorded as taking part in any of the battles in that campaign. However, once Dong Zhuo fled Luoyang in 191AD, the threat was gone, and Zhang Yan decided to contest control of the empire as a warlord. He sent men to Yan Province to take on Cao Cao, and allied with the horde of Yellow Turbans spilling out of Qing Province into Ji, while he himself continued to hold northeastern Ji. His attack on Yan was defeated by Cao Cao, despite help from Yuan Shu, and Gongsun Zan ended up crushing the Yellow Turbans who eventually surrendered to Cao Cao as well. However, war soon erupted between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, which allowed Zhang Yan to jump in on Gongsun Zan's side.

The war for Ji Province went back and forth for some time, but after Gongsun Zan's initial campaign into Ji was stopped at Jieqiao, Yuan Shao launched a counteroffensive against him which opened the door for Zhang Yan to attack and sack his capitol of Ye. However, one of Zhang Yan's men betrayed him during the siege and shut the gates on the rest of the army long enough to evacuate some of the civilians, including Yuan Shao's family, thereby depriving Zhang Yan of valuable hostages. Yuan Shao returned and reconquered his capitol, just in time for peace to be brokered between him and Gongsun Zan, which allowed Yuan Shao to focus his military on driving the Heishan Bandits out of Ji. He launched a major offensive on Changshan itself, enlisting the aid of the then-wanderer Lu Bu to help. In response to the attack on his home, Zhang Yan called upon the Chuge Xiongnu under the exiled Chanyu Yufuluo to assist him. The ten day battle ended in a tactical stalemate, but Yuan Shao's men could not take the field, so Zhang Yan was able to claim strategic victory by holding Changshan.

Yuan Shao turned his efforts back on Gongsun Zan, surrounding him at the fortress of Yi, causing Gongsun Zan's son Gongsun Xu to come to Zhang Yan for aid. They formed a plan to break through the siege, but the plans were intercepted and Gongsun Zan was led into a trap which he barely survived. Yuan Shao eventually conquered Yi, Gongsun Zan committed suicide, and Zhang Yan was forced to return to Changshan. His Xiongnu allies killed Gongsun Xu at some point, but he didn't seem to care. In 200AD, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao went to war, but during this and the subsequent campaigns across Ji, Zhang Yan remained cooped up in Changshan and the surrounding commanderies, content to ride out the storm and not risk open battle again. When Cao Cao conquered Ye in 204AD, Zhang Yan surrendered to him without a fight. He was made General Who Brings Peace to the North and enoffed as Marquis of Anguo, but is never mentioned again in the histories, so it seems he was kept on his fief and forcibly retired into luxury.

Yu Du

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Also known as Poison Yu, he was one of many bandit chiefs to come under Zhang Yan when he took command of the Heishan Bandits. He was sent by Zhang Yan, along with Bo Rao and Sui Gu, to attack Dong Commandery and establish a foothold in Yan Province not long after the coalition began to fall apart. The succeeded in plundering large swathes of Dong Commandery and established themselves to the point where the commandery administrator Wang Gong could not do anything about them. However, Cao Cao, who had need of a base, sensed an opportunity and led his men against them, killing Bo Rao and reestablishing control over Dong, which he quickly became administrator of in place of the ineffectual Wang Gong.

Yu Du attempted to reverse the situation the next year by besieging the commandery capitol of Dongwuyang County while Cao Cao was away on the other side of the Yellow River. However, Cao Cao just marched towards the Heishan camp in Henei instead, and Yu Du was forced to retreat to prevent himself from being cut off. Cao Cao continued by attacking Sui Gu and their ally Yufuluo of the Xiongnu at Neihuang and crushing them as well. At this point, Zhang Yan was getting embroiled in the war against Yuan Shao, and the Dong Commandery invasion was going nowhere, so he recalled Yu Du to attack the city of Ye, Yuan Shao's capitol. This went a lot better since Yuan Shao was away fighting Gongsun Zan and a mutiny in Wei Commandery added to their number, so Yu Du succeeded in taking and sacking the city. However, Yuan Shao returned, retook the city, and chased Yu Du all the way to Chaoge County in Henei, where he besieged him for five days before killing him in 193AD.

Li Damu

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Also known as Big-Eyes Li, he was one of many bandit chiefs to come under Zhang Yan when he took command of the Heishan Bandits. Not much is known about him except for that he was one of those killed by Yuan Shao when he attacked north into the mountains after killing Yu Du at Chaoge.

The Zheng Bandits

Zheng Jiang

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Mentioned only in passing in the biography of Zhuo Xuan, who was an official and something of a soothsayer in the Wei court, the women bandits Zheng and Jiang were executed in Dongping sometime after a local official, Liu Zhen, had a dream about a snake growing four legs and burrowing into a gate. Zhuo Xuan foretold their deaths based on the fact that the snake was the auspicious sign of a woman, yet legs are not something a snake should have, therefore the women who were being bandits and upsetting the order of things would be killed.

The Empire of Later Han

Liu Xie [Bohe] (Emperor Xian of Han (abdicated), Duke of Shanyang)

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Born in the imperial capitol of Luoyang in 181AD, Liu Xie was the son of Emperor Ling of Han and one of his consorts, the Beauty Wang. Almost immediately after his birth, his mother was poisoned on orders of Empress He. Emperor Ling wanted to get depose the Empress because of this, but the eunuchs, who were allied with her, managed to persuade him not to do so. Liu Xie was then raised by his grandmother, the Empress Dowager Dong. He was favored by his father over his half-brother and son of the Empress, Liu Bian, but political strife prevented the naming of a crown prince. When Emperor Ling died in 189AD, one of his friends, the chief eunuch Jian Shuo, attempted to install Liu Xie as the next emperor, but wast preempted by the brother of Empress He, General-in-Chief He Jin, who coronated his nephew Liu Bian as the new Emperor Shao of Han. This was essentially the first coup that set off the chain of events that sundered the empire. He Jin plotted to depose the eunuchs, who assassinated him to keep their power, causing He Jin's aides Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu to begin a massacre of eunuchs in the capitol, which allowed Dong Zhuo to use his army take power in the guise of restoring order.

Dong Zhuo forced Emperor Shao to abdicate and coronated Liu Xie as Emperor Xian of Han in 189AD. He then had both Liu Bian (now just Prince of Hongnong) and his mother Empress He poisoned, thus making the new Emperor Xian the only claimant of the main imperial line. Dong Zhuo's tyranny and blatant usurpation of power caused the formation of the Guangdong Coalition to oppose him, mostly made up of gentry and administrators from the North China Plain. Emperor Xian, just eight years old at the time, had little role in any of this other than being a puppet for Dong Zhuo's power. After Dong Zhuo forced the imperial court and the entire population of Luoyang to relocate to the western capitol of Chang'an, a plot hatched by the loyalist minister Wang Yun succeeded in getting Dong Zhuo's adopted son Lu Bu to assassinate him in 192AD. However, Wang Yun was soon killed by Dong Zhuo's colonels and Lu Bu was forced to flee. Emperor Xian fell into the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si, who ruled in Dong Zhuo's place for a time, but soon began fighting for control, somewhat egged on by ministers trying to loosen their grip on the emperor.

In 195AD, a few of the commanders (namely Yang Feng, Dong Cheng, Zhang Ji, and Jia Xu) managed to force Li Jue and Guo Si to a true, with one of the stipulations being that the Emperor be allowed to relocate back to Luoyang. After the journey began however, both Li Jue and Guo Si attempted to force the emperor back to one of their bases, but the soldiers accompanying him managed to keep him safe, despite the betrayal of Zhang Ji and many brutal battles. Making allies of the warlord Duan Wei, the Bobo Bandits, and the Xiongnu Worthy King of the West, they were able to reach the Huang River and cross under cover of darkness. Of the many who started out on the journey, only Emperor Xian, the empress, and a few dozen high ranking officials such as Dong Cheng and Yang Biao, were able to reach Henei Commandery, where they came under the protection of the administrator Zhang Yang. They eventually returned to Luoyang, but the capitol had been so thoroughly razed that it could not sustain them and officials began starving to death. In the midst of this, Cao Cao, then only governor of Yan Province, convinced Dong Cheng and Yang Feng of his sincerity and brought the emperor to his capitol of Xu city.

Emperor Xian became both a ward and a prisoner of Cao Cao. He was kept safe and comfortable in Xu, but was heavily monitored, and Cao Cao had him give imperial endorsement to edicts he had drafted. In 199AD, Dong Cheng claimed to have received a secret edict from the Emperor written on a girdle which called for Cao Cao's execution. He recruited a number of people to help with this, most notably Liu Bei (the subordinate of Cao Cao and Inspector of Yu Province), but Cao Cao found out about it and had him and most of the conspirators executed, though Liu Bei escaped as he was not in Xu at the time. The Emperor escaped any judgement for this as he never officially endorsed the claim nor confirmed if the edict came from him. However, one of his consorts was Dong Cheng's daughter, and she was executed despite being pregnant at the time. This caused his wife, Empress Fu, to write a letter to her father, the official Fu Wan, asking him to start another assassination attempt, but he refused. This was not discovered until 214AD, but in response, she was executed as well along with her two sons and over a hundred of her clansmen, with Emperor Xian refusing to intercede out of fear. All this caused Cao Cao to make his daughter, Cao Jie, the new empress, and aside from a minor incident in 218AD, there were no more attempts as a pro-Han coup in the capitol.

Cao Cao died in 220AD, and his son, Cao Pi, succeeded him as King of Wei. Using the current state of affairs as justification, Cao Pi had Emperor Xian abdicate the throne, thus ending the Han Dynasty. Liu Xie became the Duke of Shanyang, and Cao Pi declared the new Wei Dynasty. Liu Xie retired to his fief and lived out the rest of his days peacefully, dying in 234AD. Despite neither being an emperor or even a prince anymore, he was buried with the full ceremony of a Han Emperor of old and Cao Rui, the son of Cao Pi and then Emperor Ming of Wei, was one of his mourners.

Huangfu Song [Yizhen] (Grand Commandant, Marquis of Huaili)

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From Chaona County, Anding Commandery, Liang Province, Huangfu Song was from a family of generals and administrators, with his uncle holding the post of General Who Crosses the Liao. He received a recommendation for imperial service as an Abundant Talent, a special honor given to only one man in a province per year, but stayed out of the higher echelons of government despite receiving invitations to join powerful factions. Emperor Ling took a liking to him though, and he became a consultant in addition to holding several regional posts. The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184AD, and Huangfu Song was summoned to the palace to give advise to the emperor. His suggestions to lift the ban on factionalism to entice back disaffected former officials and to fund a military buildup using the imperial treasury were adopted and he was made General of the Household on the Left, enoffed as Marquis of Duxiang, and given imperial authority to act as he saw fit without prior approval. Together with his counterpart, Zhu Jun, the General of the Household on the Right, he went to work pacifying the nation.

They attacked the Yellow Turban commander Bo Cai in Yingchuan Commandery in Yu Province. Zhu Jun was initially defeated, which allowed Bo Cai to put Huangfu Song to siege in Changshe. However, he organized a counterattack at night predicated with fire to reverse the situation, and the return of Zhu Jun, accompanied by a certain Cavalry Commandant named Cao Cao, allowed them to completely destroy Bo Cai's army and pacify Yu Province. Huangfu Song then took his army north, clearing the rebels under Bu Yi in Dong Commandery, before heading into Ji Province to relieve Lu Zhi and Dong Zhuo, who had both been unable to defeat the Yellow Turbans in Julu Commandery. By this time, Zhang Jue, the leader of the Turbans, had taken ill and died, leaving command to his brother, Zhang Liang. Huangfu Song attacked them at Guangzong but could not overcome their numbers and high morale. He then switched tactics, withdrawing his men to the fortified camps to rest, before mustering them during the night for an attack at dawn, which routed the enemy completely. Zhang Liang was killed and beheaded, and they even dug up Zhang Jue's corpse and cut off its head to seal victory. To end the rebellion, he then fell upon Zhang Jue's final brother, Zhang Bao, at Xiaquyang, killing him and slaughtering the rebels. For all this, he was promoted to General of the Chariots and Cavalry on the Left, made Imperial Protector of Ji Province, and had his fief increased to Marquis of Huaili.

He convinced the Emperor to exempt Ji Province from taxes for a year to let the province recover, which, combined with his disciplined and generous conduct and incredible military record, made him incredibly popular among the people. However, he was warned that he was becoming a threat to the factions in the capitol, and encouraged to usurp the empire before it was subsumed by the growing chaos, but he refused, citing his duty to the state. The warnings were true though, and in 185AD, he was called to lead an army against a massive uprising of mutinous auxiliaries and disaffected officials in Liang Province. Before he could do anything, two eunuchs who resented him reported to the emperor that he was wasting supplies doing nothing, which caused him to be recalled, stripped of his generalship and had his fief reduced back down to Marquis of Duxiang. However, the situation in Liang grew far worse, and in 188AD, the rebels were besieging Chencang, the gateway to the western capitol of Chang'an. Huangfu Song was reinstated as General of the Household on the Left and sent with the General of the Front, Dong Zhuo, to relieve the city. The two of them disagreed on strategy, but Huangfu Song overruled Dong Zhuo and was successful in defeating the rebels, though this caused Dong Zhuo to harbor a grudge against him.

This grudge got worse when Dong Zhuo became Governor of Bing Province and was called upon to step down from his army, only to refuse. Huangfu Song penned a memorial to the capitol informing them of this, which caused an official rebuke from the Emperor. However, Emperor Ling died soon after and the resulting chaos catapulted Dong Zhuo into power. He used his authority to appoint Huangfu Song as Commandant of the Capitol Gates, with the intention of having him arrested and executed once he arrived in Luoyang to take up the post. Huangfu Song was warned about this, but insisted that he had to obey imperial orders and took the post, only to be immediately held for interrogation soon after. He was saved by a relative who publicly berated Dong Zhuo at a banquet over having him arrested without cause, but he was forced to accept Dong Zhuo's authority completely, though this act of submission finally got Dong Zhuo to drop his grudge.

After Dong Zhuo's death, Huangfu Song was promoted several times under the regime of the colonels in Chang'an, even rising to the heights of Grand Commandant, with his old command of General of the Chariots and Cavalry also reinstated. However, he didn't appear to take part in any of the politics of the rump regime and died of illness in 195AD.