subordinates Wu Kuang () and Zhang Zhang (), along with Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others, led their troops to storm the palace and kill the eunuchs in revenge. They indiscriminately slaughtered anyone who looked like a eunuch; some young men who had no facial hair, in desperation, dropped their pants in front of the soldiers to prove that they were not eunuchs. During the attack, the eunuchs took Empress Dowager He, Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu (Liu Xie) hostage and tried to flee from the palace. Lu Zhi intercepted the eunuch Duan Gui () and saved the empress dowager from him. He Miao, who was sympathetic towards the eunuchs, was killed by Wu Kuang and Dong Zhuo's younger brother Dong Min (). Over 2,000 people died in the attack. Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu, who were taken out of the palace by the eunuchs during the chaos, were eventually found near the riverbank and saved by Lu Zhi and Min Gong (), who brought them back safely. Death The warlord Dong Zhuo ultimately led his forces into Luoyang, the imperial capital, and took advantage of the power vacuum to seize control of the Han central government. In 28 September 189, he deposed Emperor Shao (who was demoted to "Prince of Hongnong") and replaced him with Liu Xie (the Prince of Chenliu), who is historically known as Emperor Xian. A tearful Empress Dowager He watched as her son was forcefully pulled away from his throne, while the officials watched and did not dare to say anything for fear of antagonising Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo subsequently relocated Empress Dowager He to Yong'an Palace () and had her poisoned to death there. He also killed the empress dowager's mother, the Lady of Wuyang (). Dong Zhuo then forced Emperor Xian to attend the empress dowager's funeral on 29 October 189 at Fengchang Village (), a district of Luoyang. The officials who attended the funeral were dressed in plain colours but not proper mourning attire; the entire ceremony did not befit her status as an empress dowager. She was buried in the Wenzhao Mausoleum () with Emperor Ling as an empress instead of empress dowager, and posthumously honoured as "Empress Lingsi" (). See also Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms Notes References Fan, Ye (5th century). Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu). Han dynasty empresses Imperials during the