In the middle and late Jian'an period, Cao Cao's gaze began to shift from Jingzhou and Yangzhou to Guanzhong, Liangzhou and Hanzhong in the west, which was then entrenched by Han Sui, Ma Chao and Zhang Lu.

In the history of the Three Kingdoms, the Xiliang warlords originated very early, as early as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Xiliang had become a nest of porridge.

【The Rebellion of Beigong Yu and Li Wenhou】

In the first year of Zhongping (184), during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Xianling tribe of the Qiang tribe in Beidi County and the thieves in Han and Heguan united to rebel against the imperial court, and jointly supported the righteous leaders of Huangzhong, Hu Ren, Beigong Boyu and Li Wenhou, as generals, and killed the Qiang school captain Ling Zheng. Jincheng people Bian Yun (later renamed Bian Zhang) and Han Yue (later renamed Han Sui) were well-known in Xizhou, and the uprisers lured them to come and coerce them to preside over military and political affairs by force, and as hostages, they would not be returned. Later, Liangzhou Assassin Shi Zuochang sent Gai Xun to lead the army to garrison Ayang County, and the rebels saw that Ayang County could not be breached, so they turned to attack Jincheng County, killed Chen Yi, the Taishou of Jincheng County, coerced Bian Yun and Han Yue to join the gang, and elected Bian Yun as the leader. Kill Chen Yi, the Taishou of Jincheng, and attack the government of the burning prefecture (Note 1).

At that time, Zuo Chang was guarding and stealing tens of thousands of stones of military rations, and was dissuaded by Gai Xun after being discovered, Zuo Chang did not listen but was furious, so he asked Gai Xun and Xin Zeng and Kong Chang to lead the army to Ayang to resist the thieves, and wanted to blame him for Gai Xun's ineffective fighting. However, Gai Xun repeatedly made military exploits, and Zuo Chang had nothing to do. When Beigong Boyu attacked Jincheng, Gai Xun persuaded Zuo Chang to send troops to rescue, but Zuo Chang did not listen to his advice, resulting in the fall of Jincheng.

After Chen Yi's death, Bian Zhang and others marched and surrounded Zuochang in Ji County (typical self-inflicted). Zuo Chang summoned Gai Xun and others to the rescue. Xin Zeng and others hesitated and refused to send troops. Gai Xun was furious and said: "In the past, Zhuang Jia was a prisoner and delayed the military period and was executed by Sima Sui Tho, is it more noble to engage in today's work than the ancient prison army?" Xin Zeng and others were frightened, so they listened to his advice and sent troops to help.

After Gai Xun arrived in Ji County, he reprimanded Bian Yun and the others for betrayal, and Bian Yun and the others said: "If Zuo Tingshi had listened to your advice earlier and sent troops to deal with us, maybe we would have been able to reform our ways." Now the sin is too great to return. So, the encirclement of Ji County was lifted and left.

Later, the rebellious Qiang people besieged Xia Yu, the captain of the Qiang school, in the official livestock farm. Gai Xun and the state and county jointly sent troops to rescue Xia Yu. The reinforcements marched to the fox and were defeated by the Qiang. There were less than a hundred men left under Gai Xun's men, and he was wounded in three places, but he still sat still. He pointed to a wooden sign on the side of the road and said, "Just put my body here." ”

Dian Wu, the leader of the Qiang people who came here, held a weapon in his hand and forbade everyone to kill Gai Xun, and said: "Gai Changshi is a wise man, if you kill him, you will offend the heavens." Gai Xun looked up to the sky and scolded: "Damn rebel Qiang, what do you know, hurry up and kill me!" The Qiang people were all taken aback and looked at each other. Dian Wu dismounted and let Gai Xun ride, but Gai Xun refused to get on the horse, so he was captured by the Qiang people. The Qiang people admired his benevolence and bravery, and did not dare to harm him, so they sent him back to Hanyang. Later, Yang Yong, the assassin of Liangzhou, was on the table to protect Gai Xun and concurrently served as the Taishou of Hanyang.

Later, Bian Yun changed his name to Bian Zhang, and Han Yue changed his name to Han Sui, and the two officially broke with the past, and Bian Zhang and Han Sui's status in the rebels also began to surpass Beigong Yu and Li Wenhou, and the rebellion gradually expanded.

【Peaceful Discussion】

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Han Dynasty weakened and struggled with the rebellion in Liangzhou, so some people thought that Liangzhou should be abandoned.

At that time, there were people in the Liangzhou area who continued to rebel, and the government continued to levy taxes in order to raise military expenses for requisition. Situ Cuilie thought that Liangzhou should be abandoned. Emperor Ling issued an edict to let the ministers and officials discuss this matter, and Fu Xie, the speaker of the Lang, said with a stern face: "If you kill Situ, the world can be stable!" ”

Shangshu impeached Fu Xie for publicly insulting the minister in the palace. Emperor Ling ordered Fu Xie to state his reasons, and Fu Xie replied: "In the past, because the Xiongnu were guilty of offending China, Fan Xu asked to send troops to recruit because of his loyalty and indignation, and he did not lose the courtesy of his ministers, and Ji Bu also said: 'Fan Xu should be executed. Today, Liangzhou is the world's main transportation artery, and has the important task of guarding the western gateway of the country. When Gaozu had just pacified the world, he asked Li Shang to occupy Longyou; Emperor Wu opened up the territory and set up four counties of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang, and public opinion at that time believed that this was to cut off the right arm of the Xiongnu. Now, the misgovernance of local officials has led to a rebellion in the whole state, and Cui Yeol, as the prime minister, does not consider the strategy of how to quell the rebellion for the country, but wants to abandon this vast territory, I feel embarrassed! If the Hu people were able to live in this place, with strong soldiers and strong armor, and to cause chaos on the basis of them, this would be the greatest worry in the world, and it would even endanger the stability of the regime. If Cui Lie doesn't understand this, it means that he is extremely stupid; If he knows how to make this suggestion knowingly, he is disloyal. Emperor Ling agreed and listened to Fu Xie's advice.

After that, in order to quell the rebellion in Liangzhou, there were many wars in the years until Dong Zhuo entered Beijing.

【Causes of the Rebellion】

Liangzhou is located in the westernmost part of the Han Dynasty, it was established in the Western Han Dynasty, in the Eastern Han Dynasty the territory is vast, including Longxi, Tianshui, Anding, Beidi, Jiuquan, Zhangye, Dunhuang, Wuwei, Jincheng, Xihai and other more than ten counties, and the Western Regions are connected, in addition to the Han nationality, there are many Qiang people living here, belonging to the frontier of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liangzhou itself was a place of frequent rebellions, because of the poor local environment, coupled with foreign invasions, and the contradictions between the Han and Qiang peoples, the foundation of its rule was not solid. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the national strength of the Han Dynasty began to weaken, the power of eunuchs rose, and began to disrupt the government, Emperor Heng of Han and Emperor Ling of Han were dizzy and incompetent, and the court began to become empty.

At that time, Zuochang, the assassin of Liangzhou, was even more incompetent and greedy, he rejected Zhongliang, sat back and watched the loss of Jincheng, and failed to extinguish the rebellion in the first place. Just like Han Sui and others said, if Zuo Chang had sent troops to save Jincheng earlier, the rebellion set off by Beigong Yu and Li Wenhou He might not have been able to achieve any climate, and Han Sui and Bian Zhang would not have been helpless to be thieves.

The fall of Jincheng marked the loss of a county in Liangzhou, and the rebellion went directly to the stage, which can be said to be caused by Zuochang's incompetence, if it weren't for Gai Xun's overall situation later, he saved Zuochang who was surrounded in Ji County, then it may not be the loss of a Jincheng County, but the entire fall of Liangzhou.

The time of the Liangzhou Rebellion happened to be at the end of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and at this time, the imperial court was still concentrating on eliminating the Taiping Dao and the Yellow Turban Army, and was unable to crusade against the Liangzhou Rebellion, which also gave them enough time to develop.

The fundamental reason for the Liangzhou Rebellion was the collapse of the rule in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, but the rebels could develop so fast, and Zuo Chang, the assassin of Liangzhou at that time, had to bear direct responsibility, and later Yang Yong replaced him as the assassin of Liangzhou, and Zuo Chang was no longer recorded.

Note 1: It is recorded that Song Yang also set off a rebellion at the same time, converging with Bian Zhang and others.