Li Jue

Lǐ Jué ( Chinese  李 傕 , Pinyin Lǐ Jué ; † 197 ) was a general of the late Han dynasty . He took over the reign of Emperor Xian after the violent death of his superior, the warlord Dong Zhuo .

With the help of officers Guo Si , Zhang Ji and Fan Chou , he took over the capital Chang'an and gained power over the imperial court. Like his predecessor, he suppressed the emperor and abused his power at court. He forced the emperor to give him the titles of "general of the charioteers and cavalry", "lord of Chiyang" and "commander of the capital districts" as well as the war ax of military authority.

After defeating Ma Teng and Han Sui's army in the west by starvation, Li Jue and Guo Si fell apart over a possible relationship between Guo Si and Li Jue's wife. Soon they were fighting in the city, killing thousands of soldiers and civilians. After a year of fighting, they finally made peace, and Li Jue was given the rank of ruling general.

After moving the capital back to the ruins of Luoyang , Cao Cao marched on a secret imperial decree against Li Jue and defeated him with heavy losses. Li Jue and Guo Si fled to the western mountains and lived as bandits until they later died at the hands of their own officers.