English Version
In the early chapters of the Three Kingdoms story, Dong Zhuo is the warlord who takes control of the imperial court so completely that other powerful lords form a coalition to bring him down.
In the larger timeline of the Three Kingdoms era, this is still an early episode. But when viewed through the lens of historical records, Dong Zhuo may have seemed almost impossible to defeat. He was originally from Bing Province, later built his strength in Liang Province, the same broader region associated with figures such as Ma Chao, and eventually advanced into the political center of the Han dynasty.
Once he had the emperor in his grasp, Dong Zhuo began ruling with such cruelty that he seemed like a changed man. Yet one theory suggests that his move into the capital was also a dangerous gamble.
From frontier commander to court tyrant
In his younger days, Dong Zhuo was known as a man with influence in the northern frontier regions. He is said to have been active in conflicts involving non-Han peoples and other border troubles.
Historical accounts in Records of the Three Kingdoms state that when Han Sui, who would later rise against Cao Cao alongside Ma Chao, first rebelled, Dong Zhuo fought as part of the Han court’s army under commanders such as Huangfu Song, a major general during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
In other words, before becoming infamous, Dong Zhuo was one of the officials serving the Han. After being dismissed following a defeat during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he made his return by helping suppress the rebellions of Han Sui and others in Liang Province.
Afterward, although he received official rank, he repeatedly found excuses to ignore imperial orders telling him to return to Liang Province. Instead, he seems to have watched the political situation carefully, waiting for his chance.
Liang Province was a region where men such as Ma Teng and Han Sui held great power. Dong Zhuo may also have seen the continuing unrest after the Yellow Turban Rebellion as an opportunity.
His ambitions found their moment after the death of Emperor Ling.
The chaos after Emperor Ling
Powerful figures such as Yuan Shao and He Jin planned to wipe out the palace eunuchs known as the Ten Attendants. Dong Zhuo marched with He Jin, but He Jin was killed by the eunuchs first.
Yuan Shao and his allies then slaughtered the Ten Attendants. In the confusion, the two imperial princes who were candidates for the throne were driven out of the capital and fled.
The first person to find those princes was Dong Zhuo.
Later, he would place one of them on the throne as the new emperor and begin his brutal rule. But at that moment, Dong Zhuo is said to have had only about 3,000 soldiers under his direct command.
The common story is that Dong Zhuo soon absorbed the forces of Ding Yuan, the first adoptive father of Lü Bu, by persuading Lü Bu to betray him. But before that, there is a slightly unusual anecdote about Dong Zhuo’s strategy.
The army that looked far larger than it was
At the time, Dong Zhuo was not the only man who wanted to control, or claim to protect, the new emperor. With the Ten Attendants gone, men such as Yuan Shao were naturally looking toward the next seat of power.
Luck favored Dong Zhuo, and he succeeded in protecting the imperial princes. Even so, 3,000 soldiers were not enough to make his position secure. In such a chaotic political climate, even after seizing real authority, he could be branded an enemy of the court at any time.
According to one theory, before taking over Ding Yuan’s troops, Dong Zhuo carried out a bold deception.
He allegedly had his 3,000 soldiers repeatedly march in and out of the capital, making it appear to the surrounding lords that his army was much larger than it really was. By displaying his troops over and over, he created the impression that Dong Zhuo possessed serious military strength.
It is said that he would have the soldiers enter the capital during the day, then camp outside at night, repeating the process until others began to think it would be dangerous to oppose him carelessly.
While continuing this bluff, Dong Zhuo enthroned the younger imperial prince. He then succeeded in bringing Lü Bu, formerly under Ding Yuan, over to his side. By absorbing Ding Yuan’s forces, the illusion became reality.
For Dong Zhuo, this may have been an enormous gamble. If the surrounding powers had learned that his actual army numbered only around 3,000, they might have attacked him all at once.
Dong Zhuo won that gamble. He even made Lü Bu, a warrior later called one of the strongest of the age, his adopted son. But in the end, Dong Zhuo’s life was brought to a close by the betrayal of Wang Yun and Lü Bu.
Was Dong Zhuo also a clever commander?
In conclusion, it is possible to see Dong Zhuo not only as a tyrant, but also as a calculating warlord who watched the state of the realm and seized the court at exactly the right moment.
In modern games and popular media, Dong Zhuo is often portrayed as ugly and grotesque. But he was a man of Liang Province, a region known for skilled cavalry, and he repeatedly fought and won against groups such as the Qiang. As a military figure, he was likely not someone to underestimate.
The fact that most of the lords in the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition were unable to act decisively may have been because Dong Zhuo’s earlier achievements were widely known.
Still, Chen Shou, the historian who compiled Records of the Three Kingdoms, judged him harshly. He wrote that Dong Zhuo was twisted in heart, cruel, and brutally inhumane, and that among people preserved in the records, there may have been no one quite like him.
Perhaps it was Dong Zhuo’s actions after becoming chancellor that left his name so deeply stained in later history.
Japanese Language
三国志の物語で序盤から朝廷を我が者にし、他の有力諸侯が連合軍になってまで倒そうとしたのが 董卓 でした。三国志を辿って時代として見ると、まだまだ序盤のお話ですが、史実に照らすと “誰も勝てない存在” であったようです。董卓はもともと并州の人間でしたが、後に涼州（馬超などと同じ地方）で力を蓄えた後に中央に進出し、帝を手の中に入れたことによって人が変わったように暴政を始めます。しかし、この中央への進出は董卓にとっても1つの賭けであったことを示すような説もあるのです。
暴君となった董卓。画像引用元： 董卓 。董卓は若い頃はいわゆる北方に顔の効く人物であり、異民族相手の揉め事などで活躍をしていたとされます。後に馬超と共に反曹操軍として決起をする韓遂などが、当時最初の反乱を起こした際には黄巾の乱で大将軍を務めた皇甫嵩（こうほすう）などに従って漢の朝廷軍として戦っていたことも史書の三国志には記されています。いわば朝臣の1人として活躍をしていた董卓は黄巾の乱で敗戦したことをキッカケに免職されるも、涼州での韓遂達の反乱を鎮圧したことによって返り咲きます。
この反乱の後、官位を授かるものの、涼州へ引き返すようにという勅命をことあるごとに理由を付けて無視し、時勢を伺っていたとされています。涼州は馬騰や韓遂などが大きく勢力を持っていた場所であったことと、黄巾の乱など相次ぐ不平不満をチャンスと見ていたのでしょうか。董卓の野心と狙いが的中するのは、霊帝の死後です。。袁紹や何進といった有力諸侯が十常侍の宦官を皆殺しにする計画を立てると、何進に付き添って出兵します。何進は十常侍に返り討ちにされたことから、袁紹達が十常侍を全て殺すと、次期皇帝候補の2人の太子は都を追われて逃亡。
この太子を一番最初に見つけたのが董卓であり、後に太子を新しく皇帝に擁立して暴政を敷くことになるのです。しかし、この時、董卓の手勢はたった3000の兵士だけだったと言われています。。ここで一般的には有力な兵力を持っていた丁原（呂布の最初の義父）から呂布を裏切らせて兵力を取り入れたと言われていますが、この時に少し変わったエピソードがあります。3000人の兵士を数十倍に見せた董卓。。当時、新しい皇帝を欲しがった（庇護したかった）のは何も董卓だけではありません。
十常侍という権力が無くなったことにより、袁紹なども当然次の地位を狙っていました。運は董卓に味方し、太子を保護することに成功しますが、手勢の3000では兵力的な不安が残ります。実権を握っても乱れた情勢の中では、いつ朝敵扱いされるか分かりません。。そこで董卓は丁原の兵力を自分の物にする前にとある作戦を決行したと言われています。その作戦とは大胆にも手勢の兵力であった3000を何度も都に往復させて、周辺の諸侯に「 董卓には兵力がある 」という演出をして権力を誇示したという説があります。
明るいうちに兵士を都に入場させ、夜になると外に駐屯させることを繰り返して 「迂闊に董卓には刃向かえない」 という環境を作り上げたと言われています。この作戦を繰り返している間に、太子であった弟を即位させると、丁原の配下であった呂布を率入れることに成功し丁原の配下を取り入れた事によって虚構を事実に変えたという逸話もあるのです。これは、董卓にとっても大きな賭けであったとも言われています。もしも自軍の兵力がたったの3000しかないことが周辺に知られてしまえば、一気に攻め込まれかねない状況だったからです 。
この賭けに勝った董卓は、当代最強とまで呼ばれた呂布を義理の息子にすることにも成功しましたが、最後には王允と呂布の裏切りによってその生涯を閉じることになります。董卓は知恵も回る武将だった？。結論から言えば、個人的には天下の情勢を伺い、機に乗じて朝廷を牛耳った董卓は知恵のある武将であったとも考えられます。事実、董卓自身も最近のゲームなどの影響で醜い姿にされることも多いですが、騎馬の得意な涼州の人物であったことや羌族などと何度も戦い勝利しているところを見ると、武将としての力も侮れない存在だったのでしょう。
その証拠に反董卓連合軍が組まれたにも関わらず、ほとんどの諸侯が動けなかったのは、董卓自身の過去の活躍が知られていたからではないでしょうか。しかし、三国志を記した陳寿には。「董卓は心拗（ねじ）け残忍で、暴虐非道であった。記録に遺されている限り、恐らく是程の人間はいないであろう」 。引用元： 董卓 。といったように、三国志の中の人物でも非常に酷評されています。おそらくは丞相になった後の行動が、後世に悪名を残すほど壮絶な人物であったのでしょう
