董宪 / Dong Xian (Eastern Han)

Overview

Dong Xian / 董宪 is the Eastern Han rebel commander in Hanji 690, distinct from 董贤, Emperor Ai’s favorite. In this source, Dong Xian responds after his general Ben Xiu offers Lanling to the Han side. He surrounds Lanling, lures 盖延 through feigned retreat, and later captures the city and kills Ben Xiu.

Current Profile

The source gives Dong Xian a compact military role. He is not introduced through a full biography; he appears as the active opponent in the Lanling-Tan field while Liu Xiu’s commanders are deciding how to respond to Ben Xiu’s defection.

Dong Xian’s strength in this episode is tactical patience. He pretends to retreat, lets Gai Yan break through into Lanling, and then surrounds the city with the larger force. The result validates Liu Xiu’s earlier indirect-relief advice: once Gai Yan has accepted Dong Xian’s tempo, the later attack on Tan comes too late to save Lanling.

Key Characteristics

• Eastern Han rebel opponent in the Lanling branch, distinct from 董贤.
• Commander whose subordinate Ben Xiu defects by offering Lanling to Han.
• Besieger who forces the Han side to choose between direct rescue and attacking Tan.
• Feigned-retreat actor who draws Gai Yan into a vulnerable position.
• Victor at Lanling who captures the city and kills Ben Xiu.

Evidence

• Lanling trigger: Hanji 690 says Dong Xian’s general Ben Xiu offers Lanling in surrender.
• Siege response: Hanji 690 says Dong Xian leads troops from Tan and surrounds Lanling.
• Feigned retreat: Hanji 690 says Dong Xian pretends to lose, allowing Gai Yan to enter the city before surrounding him the next day.
• Final outcome: Hanji 690 says Dong Xian captures Lanling and kills Ben Xiu.

Qualifications

This page is source-bounded and does not reconstruct Dong Xian’s full rebellion, territory, or later defeat. Ben Xiu, Tan, Lanling, and exact force sizes remain source-scoped. The current page’s purpose is identity disambiguation and the Lanling tactical branch.

What Changed

• Created a disambiguated page for 董宪 / Dong Xian to avoid collision with 董贤.
• Defined his current role through the Lanling siege and feigned-retreat episode.

Relationships

• 盖延 - opposing Han commander whom Dong Xian lures and defeats at Lanling.
• 光武帝刘秀 - opposing ruler whose indirect-relief advice Dong Xian’s later success validates.
• 围魏救赵 - strategy pattern made visible by the choice between rescuing Lanling and attacking Tan.
• 声东击西与诱敌 - related because Dong Xian uses feigned retreat to shape Gai Yan’s movement.
• 李宪 - parallel Jianwu 4 rebel target in the source’s later Shouchun/Lujiang branch.