Wang Yun 王允

The biography of his nephew Wang Ling records that Wang Ling was a man of Qi County in Taiyuan Commandery, and that his paternal uncle Wang Yun became Minister over the Masses of the Han and killed Dong Zhuo. Records, Wei 28 §2

According to the Biography of Lü Bu, Lü Bu secretly resented Dong Zhuo because Dong Zhuo had once hurled a hand halberd at him over a slight displeasure, and he was uneasy lest his affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maidservants come to light. Before this, the Minister over the Masses Wang Yun had treated Lü Bu generously because he was a man from the same province and strong and robust. Later, when Lü Bu came to him and told him how he had nearly been killed by Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun, who was then secretly plotting with the Supervisor Shisun Rui to kill Dong Zhuo, told him of the plot and had him act as an inside accomplice. When Lü Bu said, 'What of our being father and son?', Wang Yun answered, 'Your surname is Lü; you are not his flesh and blood. Now you have no time even to worry about dying — what father and son are you talking of?', and Lü Bu at last agreed. Records, Wei 7 §4–5

In the 4th month of the 3rd year of Chuping (192), the Minister over the Masses Wang Yun, the Supervisor of the Imperial Secretariat Shisun Rui and Dong Zhuo's general Lü Bu together plotted to kill Dong Zhuo. When the Son of Heaven, just recovered from an illness, held a great assembly in the Weiyang Hall, Lü Bu had the Chief Commandant of Cavalry Li Su, a man of his own commandery, and others lead more than ten personal guards disguised in the uniforms of palace guards to hold the side gate, while he himself carried the imperial edict in his breast. When Dong Zhuo arrived, Li Su and the others struck at him, and Lü Bu, declaring 'There is an edict', killed Dong Zhuo and exterminated his three clans. The gentlemen and common people of Chang'an all congratulated one another, and those who had fawned on Dong Zhuo were all thrown into prison and died. Records, Wei 6 §11 · 16–17

Wang Yun made Lü Bu General Who Displays Martial Might, granted him the tally, gave him ceremonial status equal to the Three Excellencies, and advanced his enfeoffment to Marquis of Wen, and they held the government of the court together. After killing Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu feared and hated the men of Liang Province, and the men of Liang Province all resented it. Records, Wei 7 §6

Dong Zhuo's generals Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang Ji had been plundering Chenliu and Yingchuan on the orders of Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu. When they returned, Niu Fu was already dead and their men were about to scatter; with no letter of amnesty, and hearing that in Chang'an it was intended to kill every man of Liang Province, they did not know what to do. Then, following Jia Xu's plan, they led their men westward, and by the time they reached Chang'an they numbered more than 100,000. Joining forces with Dong Zhuo's former followers Fan Chou, Li Meng, Wang Fang and others, they besieged the city of Chang'an; the city fell after ten days, and Lü Bu was defeated and fled. Records, Wei 6 §19–20

Li Jue and the others let their troops loose to plunder and kill the old and young of Chang'an, put to death those who had killed Dong Zhuo, and exposed Wang Yun's corpse in the marketplace. The Annals of Emperor Wu recorded that Li Jue, Guo Si and others killed Wang Yun and attacked Lü Bu, and that Lü Bu went out east through the Wu Pass, and the Biography of Lü Bu recorded that Lü Bu too was defeated sixty days after Dong Zhuo's death. According to the Biography of Wang Ling, Li Jue and the others destroyed Wang Yun's entire family, but Wang Ling and his elder brother Wang Chen, who were young at the time, escaped over the city wall and fled to their home district. Records, Wei 6 §21Records, Wei 1 §21Records, Wei 7 §6Records, Wei 28 §2

In his assessments of the Biographies of Dong Zhuo, the Two Yuans and Liu Biao, which contain the Biography of Dong Zhuo, and of the Biographies of Lü Bu, Zhang Miao and Zang Hong, Chen Shou discussed Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu but made no separate mention of Wang Yun. Records, Wei 6 §96–97Records, Wei 7 §62