Li Jue, courtesy name Zhiran, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord serving under the autocratic warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later succeeded Dong Zhuo as the leader of the Liang Province faction after Dong Zhuo was murdered in a coup d'état, and was able to take over the Han imperial capital Chang'an, keeping Emperor Xian as a hostage. Despite being adept in military affairs, he was inept at politics, quarrelling with his fellow generals and making the bad decision to let Emperor Xian escape, greatly decreasing his power and precipitating his downfall.

Dong Zhuo, courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minister of the imperial government. Originally from Liang Province, Dong Zhuo seized control of the imperial capital Luoyang in 189 when it entered a state of turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling of Han and a massacre of the eunuch faction by the court officials led by General-in-Chief He Jin.