Editing Three Kingdoms (section)

===Dong Zhuo in power===
In the same year, Emperor Ling died, and another struggle began between the court eunuchs for control of the imperial family. Court eunuch [[Jian Shuo]] planned to kill Regent Marshal [[He Jin]], a relative of the imperial family, and to replace the crown prince [[Liu Bian]] with his younger brother [[Emperor Xian of Han|Liu Xie]], the Prince of Chenliu (present-day [[Kaifeng]]), though his plan was unsuccessful. Liu Bian took the Han throne as Emperor Shao, and He Jin plotted with warlord [[Yuan Shao]] to assassinate the [[Ten Attendants]], a clique of twelve eunuchs led by [[Zhang Rang]] who controlled much of the imperial court. He Jin also ordered [[Dong Zhuo]], the frontier general in Liang Province, and [[Ding Yuan]], Inspector of Bing Province,{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The area between present-day [[Baoding]] and [[Taiyuan]]}} to bring troops to the capital to reinforce his position of authority. The eunuchs learned of He Jin's plot, and had him assassinated before Dong Zhuo reached the capital [[Luoyang]]. When Yuan Shao's troops reached Luoyang, they stormed the palace complex, killing the Ten Attendants and 2,000 of the eunuchs' supporters. Though this move effectively ended the century-long feud between the eunuchs and the imperial family, this event prompted the invitation of Dong Zhuo to the outskirts of Luoyang from the northwest boundary of China.

On the evening of 24 September 189, General Dong Zhuo observed that Luoyang was set ablaze—as a result of a power struggle between the eunuchs and civil service—and commanded his army forward to strike down the disorder. As the emperor had lost any remaining military or political power, Dong Zhuo seized the ''de facto'' control of the government located at Luoyang. On 28 September, Dong Zhuo deposed Liu Bian from the imperial Han throne in favour of Liu Xie. In the following weeks, rebellions broke out throughout all of China.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=1–2}}

In East China, in an attempt to restore the power of the Han, a [[Campaign against Dong Zhuo|large coalition against Dong Zhuo]] began to rise, with leaders such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Cao Cao. Many provincial officials were compelled to join or risk elimination. In 191, Sun Jian (Yuan Shu's subordinate) led an army against Dong Zhuo and drove him from Luoyang to Chang'an. In the following year, Dong Zhuo's former bodyguard [[Lü Bu]] assassinated Dong Zhuo. It is said that Dong Zhuo's body was thrown into the street with a lit wick in his navel, which supposedly burned with the same brilliance of the sun for a period of four days.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=1–3}}<ref>守尸吏暝以為大炷，置卓臍中以為灯，光明達旦，如是積日。 According to the Annal of Heroes, the light from his corpse could be compared to that of the sun!</ref>