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 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 6

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 6:

Burning The Capital, Dong Zhuo Commits An Atrocity;

Hiding The Imperial Hereditary Seal, Sun Jian Breaks Faith.

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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

In this day and age, we tend to use the word "terrorism" a bit loosely. But Dong Zhuo was a man who knew exactly what real terrorism was, and how absolute power could get a man exactly what he wanted.

The death toll inflicted during the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941 by the Japanese Air Force numbered somewhere around 2350. The attacks of September 11, 2001 produced around 1500 confirmed victims. The removal of the Han capitol (and capital) from Luoyang to Chang'an by Dong Zhuo dwarfs those figures.

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 5

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 5:

Cao Cao Appeals To The Powerful Lords;

The Three Brothers Fight Against Lu Bu.

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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Ah...the much vaunted Chapter 5, or, as I call it, "The Coalition Against Dong Zhuo". If you've played the video games based on this novel, chances are, you might recognize this part of the story quite well. In the earlier entries of the series, this part of the plotline usually opens up the first scenario. In the later installments, it's usually like 2nd or 3rd scenario.

But I digress again. You really shouldn't let me do that, you know. ;)

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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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