When the Yellow Turban rebels were defeated and peace was restored across the land, the ministers of Han returned to the capital and restored Emperor Shao to his throne. They all broke down in tears. They conducted a thorough search of the palace, but did not find the Heirloom Jade Seal of the Realm.
Let us now turn to former general Dong Zhuo - the marquis of Tai Village, and governor of Xiliang Province - who had played an important role in the defeat of the Yellow Turbans. He was in charge a large army of 200,000 men in Xizhou, but harboured feelings of disloyalty. Soon, he received decree summoning him to the capital to replace Yuan Wei as Minister of Works and bring virtue to the realm. Dong Zhuo was overjoyed. He called up the army and cavalry, and marched them nonstop. He placed his son-in-law, Commander of the Palace Guard Niu Fu, in charge of defending Shaanxi. He led the rest of the army toward Luoyang, accompanied by people such as Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou. Li Ru, Zhuo's son-in-law and advisor, said, "Even though our intention is to obey the decree, there are many vagaries within its text; why not send someone with a petition to the emperor which clearly states our intentions, so that we may accomplish great things."
Dong Zhuo stationed his troops outside the city. Everyday, he led his armored cavalry into the city, and ran amuck in the markets. The citizenry was uneasy. Zhuo brazenly entered and exited the palace. Captain of the rear army Bao Xin came to see Wang Yun, and told him that Dong Zhuo must have some ulterior motive, and that they should get rid of him. Yun replied, "The court has just been reestablished, we cannot do anything rash." Bao Xin then went to see Yuan Shao, and told him the same thing. Shao said, "Dong Zhuo has many loyal soldiers in the capital and we have none. We must flee Luo Yang, summon an army and return in force."
They fled Luo Yang and forged an imperial edict, then gathered everyone under their commands, both military and civilian alike. Yuan Shao led a total of 30,000 soldiers from Bohai to meet up with Cao Cao and form an alliance. Cao drafted an official call to arms, which was to be sent to all of the commanderies. Once Cao issued the official call to arms, the nobles from each of the garrisons all raised armies in response. They were:
Yuan Shu, governor of Nanyang Commandery, General of the Rear.
Han Fu, governor of Jizhou Province.
Kong Zhou, governor of Yuzhou Province.
Liu Dai, governor of Yanzhou Province.
Wang Kuang, governor of Henei Commandery.
Zhang Miao, governor of Chenliu Commandery.
Qiao Mao, governor of Dong Commandery.
Yuan Yi, governor of Shanyang Commandery.
Bao Xin, chief minister of the Kingdom of Jibei.
Kong Rong, governor of Beihai Commandery.
Zhang Chao, governor of Guangling Commandery.
Tao Qian, governor of Xuzhou Province.
Ma Teng, governor of Xiliang Commandery.
Gongsun Du, governor of Beiping Commandery.
Zhang Yang, governor of Shangdang Commandery.
Sun Jian, governor of Changsha Commandery, Marquis of Wucheng.
The assembled generals all agreed that Yuan Shao should lead their alliance.
When news of this uprising reached Dong Zhuo, he personally lead his own forces from Luo Yang. Among his advisors and generals were:
Guo Si
Li Jue
Fan Chou
Lu Bu
Li Ru
Li Su
Hua Xiong
Xu Rong
Zhang Liao
Dong Min
Niou Fu
Hu Zhen
Zhao Cen
The two forces converged on the mountainous pass of Hu Lao Gate, </div><div align='center'>where the fate of the empire would be decided...</div>
This post has been edited by Path-Shaper: 27 July 2011 - 09:47 PM