<P> General - in - Chief He Jin (d . 189 AD), half - brother to Empress He (d . 189 AD), plotted with Yuan Shao (d . 202 AD) to overthrow the eunuchs by having several generals march to the outskirts of the capital . There, in a written petition to Empress He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution . After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented . When the eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao (何 苗) rescind the order . The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on September 22, 189 AD . Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu (d . 199 AD) besieged the Southern Palace . On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs were killed . Zhang Rang had previously fled with Emperor Shao (r . 189 AD) and his brother Liu Xie--the future Emperor Xian of Han (r . 189--220 AD). While being pursued by the Yuan brothers, Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River . </P> <P> General Dong Zhuo (d . 192 AD) found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside . He escorted them safely back to the capital and was made Minister of Works, taking control of Luoyang and forcing Yuan Shao to flee . After Dong Zhuo demoted Emperor Shao and promoted his brother Liu Xie as Emperor Xian, Yuan Shao led a coalition of former officials and officers against Dong, who burned Luoyang to the ground and resettled the court at Chang'an in May 191 AD . Dong Zhuo later poisoned Emperor Shao . </P> <P> Dong was killed by his adopted son Lü Bu (d . 198 AD) in a plot hatched by Wang Yun (d . 192 AD). Emperor Xian fled from Chang'an in 195 AD to the ruins of Luoyang . Xian was persuaded by Cao Cao (155--220 AD), then Governor of Yan Province in modern western Shandong and eastern Henan, to move the capital to Xuchang in 196 AD . </P> <P> Yuan Shao challenged Cao Cao for control over the emperor . Yuan's power was greatly diminished after Cao defeated him at the Battle of Guandu in 200 AD . After Yuan died, Cao killed Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan (173--205 AD), who had fought with his brothers over the family inheritance . His brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were killed in 207 AD by Gongsun Kang (d . 221 AD), who sent their heads to Cao Cao . </P>

In the time between the end of the han dynasty and the start of the tang dynasty buddhism