The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 9

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 9:

Lu Bu Kills Dong Zhuo For Wang Yun;

Li Jue Attacks The Capital On Jia Xu's Advice.

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WARNING:........you know what? Screw it. No disclaimer this time...

Chapter 9 is a very, very important chapter. The reader has most likely, just like the rest of late-Han China, been waiting quite some time to see the big fat tyrant Dong Zhuo get his comeuppance. Well, my friends, the time has finally come. Things are coming to a head between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, his adopted Son and rival for the heart of the lovely maiden Diao Chan, whom you might remember was engaged to both of them in the previous chapter by her Guardian, the Minister of the Interior, Wang Yun.

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 8

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 8:

Wang Yun Prepares The Chaining Scheme;

Dong Zhuo Rages At Phoenix Pavilion.

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WARNING: THESE SPOILERS WERE WRITTEN BY A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE!

Ahhhhhh, Chapter 8. Guess what that means? It means Dong Zhuo has ruled the Empire with an iron fist for 6 chapters now. Military might has proven useless against this man, because he has plenty of troops, the Emperor under his thumb, and the mightiest warrior in the land calling him "Dad".

And now, it is beginning to occur to the enemies of Dong Zhuo that there can be no hope as long as Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu are so closely bound together. And what does it take to topple a man whom thousands upon thousands of soldiers, and some of the mightiest heroes of the land, couldn't destroy? The answer is: A woman.

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 7

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 7:

Yuan Shao Fights Gongsun Zan At The River Pan;

Sun Jian Attacks Liu Biao Across The Great River.

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WARNING: BLAH BLAH BLAH 'SPOILERS' YADDA YADDA!

All right, Warlords of the Han! There aren't really any rules to this contest, so gather up your generals and your soldiers and go to your corners. When the bell rings, it's time to fight with everything you've got! First matchup: Yuan Shao vs. Gongsun Zan! Ding ding!

In all seriousness, Chapter 7 is an important chapter because it really sets the tone for things to come. The Feudal Lords are no longer interested in expending their resources in attempting to free the rightful Son of Heaven from the clutches of Dong Zhuo. Not when they're all ready to devour each other instead.

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 4

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 4:

Deposition of the Emperor: The Prince of Chenliu Gets the Throne;

Schemes Against Dong Zhuo: Cao Cao Presents a Sword.

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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Thus we come to Chapter 4, and this is a good one. In this chapter, the character of Dong Zhuo and his underlings is firmly established. The chapter picks up, naturally, where the last one left off: in the middle of an armed dispute between Hero and Villain. Yuan Shao, at this point in the story still a loyal servant of the Han, is outraged by Dong Zhuo's plan to depose the present Emperor, Liu Bian, in favor of the Emperor's younger half-brother, Liu Xian, Prince of Chenliu.

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 3

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 3:

In Wenming Garden, Dong Zhuo Denounces Ding Yuan;

With Red Hare, Li Su Bribes Lu Bu.

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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

In this, the third installment of the Three Kingdoms saga, the true twilight of the once-mighty Han Dynasty begins. In the past four hundred years, the Han has conquered perhaps the greatest Chinese land empire in antiquity, an empire stretching from Manchuria in the north, to the Gobi Desert in the northwest, all the way down to northern Vietnam in the south. Great generals and even greater scholars made the Han a Dynasty whose influence would last centuries upon centuries beyond its own considerably long lifespan. In comparison to the great empire of the West, Rome: The Han lasted 400 years, the Western Roman Empire lasted about 476 years or so, before being finally overrun by "barbarian" tribes. However, while the last TRUE enclave of "Roman" civilization, Byzantium, fell in 1453, (and it is debatable that Byzantium was even a "Roman" Empire after the end of the reign of Justinian in the 700's, since it had indeed become very much a Greek empire), I have it on very good authority that many of the people of China even today still refer to themselves as "The People of Han", some 1800 years after the fall of the Han.

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 1

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 1:

Three Heroes Swear Brotherhood In The Peach Garden;

One Victory Shatters The Rebels On the Battleground.

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In this, the first chapter of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the story opens in the final years of the Han Dynasty, the greatest dynasty in the history of the Middle Kingdom. For four hundred years, the Han have ruled in China, and the impact of the Han socio-political system would come to have long-ranging effects on the history and development of east Asia in general throughout successive centuries.

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