At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, because of the mediocrity of the two emperors of Huan Ling, the people were not able to make a living, the Han Dynasty was crumbling, and the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion accelerated the process. Later, Dong Zhuo's entry into Beijing directly swept away the majesty of the imperial court, and the Han Dynasty was already in name only at that time.
And Dong Zhuo was originally a warlord of Xiliang, it stands to reason that if he led troops into Beijing, it would be tantamount to rebellion, but at that time, Dong Zhuo's entry into Beijing was not only reasonable and legal, but also unimpeded. And what made Dong Zhuo act like this was the general He Jin at that time. In order to eradicate the eunuchs of the cholera court, he invited Dong Zhuo, Ding Yuan and others to Beijing, but he never thought that he was luring wolves into the house.
And at this time, I can't help but have a question: As a general of the current dynasty, He Jin, obviously has soldiers in his hands, why did he invite Dong Zhuo and others to enter Beijing?Isn't the strength at his hands enough to destroy the Ten Constant Servants?
According to records, during the lifetime of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, he planned to abolish Chang Liyu, so the eight lieutenants of the West Garden came to divide He Jin's military power, and the most important army was handed over to the command of the eunuch Jian Shuo. At this time, the military strength in He Jin's hands was indeed insufficient.
In the sixth year of Zhongping, Emperor Ling of Han died. Jian Shuo wanted to fulfill the last wish of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty and support his youngest son Liu Xie as the emperor, so he had to design to get rid of the emperor's eldest son Liu Bian's biggest backer, He Jin. And He Jin, with the help of Yuan Shao and others, not only allowed the emperor's eldest son Liu Ban to ascend the throne as the emperor, but also got rid of Jian Shuo and took control of the Xiyuan Army. In Luoyang at this time, He Jin had absolute military power.
The rest of the Ten Standing Servants were afraid of He Jin, so they took refuge in the Empress Dowager He, and under the protection of the Empress Dowager He, He Jin was not easy to do to them. But these people will be a scourge sooner or later, and He Jin had no choice but to seek help from Yuan Shao and others. And it was at this time that Yuan Shao gave a plan to bury the Han Dynasty:Foreign soldiers are invited to enter Beijing
Hearing of this plan, Cao Cao, Chen Lin and others advised He Jin not to do this, but in order to eradicate the eunuchs, He Jin finally followed Yuan Shao's advice and summoned foreign troops to Beijing.
In fact, Cao Cao and others knew very well that those eunuchs could be completely eradicated with the forbidden army, so why would He Jin listen to Yuan Shao's advice?
I think there are three reasons for this:
First, although Luoyang's army was nominally in the hands of He Jin, there were not many people he could really control and trust, and he was worried that these people would defect
Second, because the Ten Standing Servants were under the protection of the Empress Dowager He, they wanted to get rid of the eunuchs and could not get around the Empress Dowager He, so He Jin was unwilling to put the reputation of persecuting the Empress Dowager on himself;
Third, those foreign soldiers had no foundation in Luoyang, and He Jin thought that it would be easy to let them come and get rid of the eunuchs, and then send them away in the name of the general.
It's just that what He Jin didn't expect was that his plan was not rigorous, so that the eunuchs heard the rumors, so that they could strike first. He Jin finally died at the hands of the eunuchs, and the eunuchs also died at the hands of Yuan Shao and others, and Luoyang fell directly into chaos. It is precisely because of this that Dong Zhuo took advantage of the situation to take advantage of the fisherman's profits and be able to take charge of the imperial court.