[7] On 25 September 189, the general Dong Zhuo seized control of the capital Luoyang and deposed Emperor Shao.
[14] Allying with the fierce warlord Lü Bu on the advice of Chen Gong,[15] Zhang Miao led a revolt, with most of the province falling.
[21][22] Zao Zhi was noted to have led the officials and garrisoned the walls effectively, allowing the arriving Cheng Yu to take over command and oversee the defence.
[38][39] But Zao Zhi and co were proposing a more systematic use of the system with a reach to far lower down the population than had been implemented in past agricultural colonies,[40] a reform described by historian Victor Cunrui Xiong as of far-reaching significance.
Zao Zhi would argue for tax of produce from the land, with share-cropping part of his plans, as able to benefit when things went well while required to give grants of exemption in hard times for farmers.
Others, with Hou Sheng (侯聲) the named lead figure, argued for a fixed tax for the leasing of oxen as kinder to tenants.