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Beloved by all!

I admit, not really, he has long been reviled for his role in bringing about the civil war and his cruel brutality. Just perhaps not quite as one-sided in the history texts as it can sometimes, culturally, come across.

He wasn't hated by everyone, after all, he had many friends in Liang, loyal soldiers, and allies like Ma Teng and Han Sui, his Registrar Tian Yi went to Dong Zhuo when he was killed (and was promptly killed by Lu Bu for that display of loyalty). Huangfu Song's son Jianshou was a friend despite the tensions between Song and Dong Zhuo. I don't recall his being cursed by the Heavens whereas Wang Can recounts a few omens including a Daoist priest trying to warn him. The novel plays on these omens while also trying to show heaven's displeasure to the tyrant which leads to a not entirely consistent message.

Now history written by the victors is... an unhelpful or at best, an oversimplification that can be misleading. It is useful in introducing "be aware of bias" and sometimes indeed, a history work is written by the victor but it ignores that plenty of history is by people who lost. The victor trying to sell a message is something to keep an eye out for but history often has plenty of other narratives and biases in it.

To use the primary source of the three kingdoms, Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms. It was based on the record departments and (except for Shu-Han) the history projects of the state. Compiled and edited by a man who had served Shu-Han before its conquest and then served Jin. That the Sima's won mattered and it did have an impact on the main text on things like coverage of Cao Shuang's regime or the terms he used but there was also Chen Shou's Yi bias, what the historians of each kingdom (as well as Chen Shou) saw as important and didn't, what resources had been put in, the cultural wars.

Then we get the annotations of Pei Songzhi from the Liu Song dynasty: Drawing upon the works of historians like Yu Huan and Liu Ai (who knew Dong Zhuo), propaganda like Chen Lin's attack for Yuan Shao against Cao Cao or the Cao Man zhuan, memorials and writings from figures like Zhang Zhao, Cao Mao, later commentaries and tales from figures like Sun Sheng and Xi Zuochi. Each with their own biases and reasons, many of the writers of the era itself did not see the end of the civil war end let alone being a victor. Then there are later works like Fan Ye's History of the Later Han or Sima Guang's "Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance" and modern works of history, not all can be described as victors writing the history and thus doing down Dong Zhuo due to that concept.

The historical records are hostile to Dong Zhuo. Not surprising given the seizure of power via military control, deposing (and then killing) an Emperor and Dowager, burning the capital with the destruction of so much art and history, his role in the land falling into nearly a century of brutal civil war. Plus his notorious acts of brutality, for example: claiming the people of Yangcheng were rebels, attacking during a local ceremony. Then slaughtering the males, seizing the property and giving the females to the soldiers. There are some questionable tales in the records, particularly when powerful families wished to distance themselves from the tyrant. Most famously perhaps Wu's claim that Sun Jian tried to persuade Zhang Wen to execute Dong Zhuo during the Liang wars, a claim which seems questionable under the circumstances (as Rafe De Crespigny sets out in Generals of the South). Wu not helping themselves by also claiming that Sun Jian won the war despite being removed partway through.

However, despite the hostility, there is credit or at least acknowledgement of things Dong Zhuo did well in the texts. While Pei Songzhi dismissed Chen Shou's appraisal as too extreme while Rafe De Crespigny in works like Fire Over Luoyang flags up where Dong Zhuo's reputation may have influenced the way tales were told. So the histories, old and new, are more nuanced than perhaps is thought.

It is the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms that provides just a wicked figure. Whose sole ability seems to be "having Li Ru tell him what to do" and having Lu Bu provide the military muscle, the novel acknowledging Dong Zhuo as strong is rather undercut by his constant running away or getting flattened in a collision by Li Ru. Pop culture like games can borrow from the novel ineptitude and sometimes borrow from his historical abilities as a general.

So What Did Dong Zhuo Get Right

Wang Can, who was in the capital at the time as a young student of Cai Yong, does record that upon his death in the heat of summer, his fat body being exposed in the marketplace began to run with the fat. So those guarding the corpse put a wick in his naval and it stayed lit for several days and nights. So a useful if a rather gruesome lamp.

Military

More seriously, Dong Zhuo was a skilled general, noted for his strength, bravery and a bow on each side of his saddle and able to use both with equal skill. As a youth he had gained a reputation as he had travelled among the Qiang, made friendships with their leaders and even feasted them with his own oxen, a generosity he showed later as he shared rewards from the court with his troops. Wang Can credits him with fighting over a hundred battles against the Qiang and Hu peoples. We don't have all those battles but we do have him defeating the Hu for Cheng Jiu or in 167 as a major, he and Yin Duan killed or captured ten thousand Xianlian Qiang, he may have taken part in the 175 attempt to restore the kingdom of Jumi.

Having moved to a more administrative career, he would see action against the Yellow Turbans in Ji. Dong Zhuo was sent as a replacement for the arrested Lu Zhi in the summer but struggled to make headway and was replaced by Huangfu Song, after his successes in Yingchuan and Runan, in the autumn. Soon the Liang rebellion would start and the Han would struggle there, gradually losing control in the north-west. Dong Zhuo first served under Huangfu Song and after his quick dismissal, under the Excellency Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen had a large army under his command but Dong Zhuo's later comments to Liu Ai, defending Sun Jian's record in that campaign, suggests the Han's finical troubles had led to an army lacking equipment and the troops were poorly trained.

In 185, after a long stalemate, the Liang armies were disconcerted by a falling star while Dong Zhuo, combining with Bian Hong, launched an attack at Meiyang and drove the Liang rebels back. Zhang Wen ordered a pursuit with Dong Zhuo sent against the Qiang and Zhou Shen sent against the rebel commander Bian Zhang in Yuzhong, both armies with 30,000 men. Dong Zhuo talked to Han historian Liu Ai about the campaign, Dong Zhuo had suggested they coordinate to prevent being isolated and surrounded as two separate forces at a time of the rebels choosing, Zhou Shen should take the lead while Dong Zhuo would act in reserve to prevent the enemy being able to commit themselves. Zhou Shen refused.

The two armies were isolated and surrounded, Zhou Shen's supplies were cut off and had to abandon his supply train to beat a hasty retreat, his army taking casualties. Dong Zhuo was completely cut off but his use of Liu Jing as a reserve helped prevent a full attack on his forces. However that didn't prevent a problem with no supply lines and with supplies running out, he came up with a scheme to get out. He built a dam as if to fish for food to feed his army. Instead of fishing, Dong Zhuo quickly got his army across the river. When the Qiang realized what had happened, they discovered he had broken the dam and the waters were too high for them to pursue. Dong Zhuo's army was the only one to return from that campaign intact, Dong Zhuo was rewarded and there was a debate at court about abandoning Liang.

The rebels lost leaders while Chang'an was safe but the Han position continued to deteriorate locally and in 188, Dong Zhuo was called on again, this time under Huangfu Song as the new leader Wang Guo threatened Chencang. Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo are said to have disagreed on strategy, first on if to go to Chencang's aid or wait for Wang Guo to exhaust his forces and then on if to pursue. Huangfu Song's method of pursuit follows Dong Zhuo's proposed strategy of 185 and inflicted heavy casualties on the retreating forces.

Dong Zhuo is said to have been humiliated and angry while there do seem to have been tensions between them in the years ahead but there is also the aspect of the famed Han loyalist and hero Huangfu Song vs the future traitor about the stories. Dong Zhuo was promoted for his efforts in the campaign though some of it seems to have been an attempt to remove Dong Zhuo from his companions by sending him to the dangerous Bing or moving him to the capital, both times Dong Zhuo used his troop's loyalty to refuse.

As head of the government, Dong Zhuo faced a coalition of warlords (one of the rare campaigns where the novel completely rewrites the campaign) with forces to the north, south and east of his position. Wang Kuang acted on Yuan Shao's behalf as the military man on the ground, advancing from Henei to the Yellow River. Dong Zhuo would outmanoeuvre the far less experienced Wang Kuang, pinning attention at Meng Crossing while sending troops upstream at Xiangping Crossing, Wang Kuang's troops were taken by surprise by the attack to their rear and nearly annihilated. Wang Kuang would withdraw back to his base at Taishan to try and rebuild but was assassinated. Dong Zhuo would be undone (at least in the military sense) by the blockade starving his regime of taxes and supplies while Sun Jian (whom Dong Zhuo admired and tried to sway over to his side) would fight to the capital, defeating Dong Zhuo amidst the imperial tombs of the capital.