Eastern Han Dynasty tomb fresco of chariots, horses, and men, Luoyang 2

The end of the Han dynasty was the period of Chinese history from 189 to 220 CE, roughly coinciding with the tumultuous reign of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

's last ruler,

Emperor Xian Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a so ...

. During this period, the country was thrown into turmoil by the

Yellow Turban Rebellion The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in 184 CE during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although the main rebelli ...

(184–205). Meanwhile, the Han Empire's institutions were destroyed by the warlord

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), 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 minist ...

and fractured into regional regimes ruled by various warlords, some of whom were nobles and officials of the Han imperial court. One of those warlords, Cao Cao, was gradually reunifying the empire, ostensibly under Emperor Xian's rule; the Emperor and his court were actually controlled by Cao Cao himself, who was opposed by other warlords. Cao Cao's efforts to completely reunite the land were rebuffed at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 / 209 when his armies were defeated by the allied forces of Sun Quan and

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the H ...

. The Han dynasty formally ended in 220 when Cao Cao's son and heir,

Cao Pi Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest ...

, pressured Emperor Xian into abdicating in his favour. Cao Pi became the emperor of a new state,

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Shu Han; and in 229, Sun Quan followed suit, declaring himself emperor of Eastern Wu. The period from the fall of the

in 220 to the partial reunification of China under the Jin dynasty in February 266 is known as the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

era in Chinese history.

Collapse of imperial authority (184–191)

Yellow Turban Rebellion and decentralisation (184–189)

Towards the end of the reign of

Emperor Ling of Han Emperor Ling of Han (156 – 13 May 189), personal name Liu Hong, was the 12th and last powerful emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty. Born the son of a lesser marquis who descended directly from Emperor Zhang (the third Eastern Han emperor), ...

(r. 168–189), many officials in the imperial court foresaw chaos in the political scene as soon as Emperor Ling died. One of those officials, Liu Yan, suggested to Emperor Ling in 188 that the root of the agrarian revolts during that time, including the most serious one, the

of 184, was that Inspectors (刺史) lacked substantial administrative powers. Emperor Ling, convinced by Liu Yan, changed the Inspectors' titles to "Governor" (牧) and granted them the authority to levy taxes and command armed forces within the borders. Liu Yan was commissioned as the Governor of

Yi Province Yizhou (益州), Yi Province or Yi Prefecture, was a '' zhou'' (province) of ancient China. Its capital city was Chengdu.de Crespigny, p. 256. During the Han dynasty, it included the commanderies Hanzhong, Ba, Guanghan, Shu, Wenshan, Jianwei, ...

(covering the

Sichuan Basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributa ...

), while several other important officials also became Governors, including Liu Yu, who was appointed Governor of

You Province You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture ('' zhou'') in northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient sources as one of the nine or twelve original provinces ...

(covering present-day northern

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

and Liaoning). The increased influence of these provincial governors formed the basis on which later warlords would control large regions of the Han empire.

Imperial power struggle (189)

Emperor Ling died in 189 and was succeeded by his 13-year-old son,

Liu Bian Liu Bian (176 – 6 March 190), also known as Emperor Shao of Han and the Prince of Hongnong, was the 13th emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He became emperor around the age of 13 upon the death of his father, Emperor Ling, and ru ...

(born to Empress He), who became known as Emperor Shao. Empress He, now empress dowager, became

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

to the young emperor, while her older brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, became the most powerful official in the imperial court. He Jin and

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred to ...

plotted to exterminate all the

Ten Attendants The Ten Attendants, also known as the Ten Eunuchs, were a group of influential eunuch-officials in the imperial court of Emperor Ling ( 168–189) in Eastern Han China. Although they are often referred to as a group of 10, there were actually 12 ...

, a group of influential

eunuchs A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

officials in the court, but Empress Dowager He disapproved of their plan. In a fateful move, He Jin summoned

, a warlord controlling the battle-tested Liang Province (涼州; covering present-day Gansu), to march on the capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

to pressure Empress Dowager He into eliminating the Ten Attendants. After the eunuchs discovered He Jin's plot, they lured him into the palace and murdered him (22 September 189). In response, Yuan Shao led the imperial guards on an indiscriminate massacre of the palace eunuchs. The surviving eunuchs kidnapped Emperor Shao and his younger brother, the eight-year-old Prince of Chenliu (raised by his grandmother Empress Dowager Dong), and fled north towards the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

, but were finally forced to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the river. Dong Zhuo arrived on the scene and found Emperor Shao and the Prince of Chenliu. The young emperor appeared nervous and fearful, while the prince remained calm and composed, and gave orders to Dong Zhuo to escort them back to the palace. Dong Zhuo used the opportunity to seize control of state power and bring his army into the capital. Not long later, Dong Zhuo deposed Emperor Shao and replaced him with the Prince of Chenliu, who became known as

. Dong Zhuo dominated the imperial court and named himself " Chancellor of State" (相國), a title not held by anyone since the Western Han dynasty statesman

Xiao He Xiao He (257 BC–193 BC) was a Chinese politician of the early Western Han dynasty. He served Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), the founder of the Han dynasty, during the insurrection against the Qin dynasty, and fought on Liu's side in the Chu–Han C ...

; Dong Zhuo also granted himself the privilege of attending court without needing to disarm himself or remove his shoes.

Resistance against Dong Zhuo (189–191)

In the spring of 190, several provincial officials and warlords formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, claiming that he was set on usurping the throne and had effectively kidnapped Emperor Xian.

, Administrator of Bohai (around present-day

Cangzhou Cangzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, Cangzhou's built-up (''or metro'') area made of Yunhe, Xinhua districts and Cang County largely being conurbated had a populatio ...

), was nominated to be the leader of the coalition. The coalition's armies were stationed at

Henei Henei Commandery ( zh, 河內郡) was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan province, to the north of Yellow River. In ancient China, Henei ("Inside the Yellow River") referred to the land north of the low ...

(河內; in present-day

Jiaozuo Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to th ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

) and appeared to be ready to move on the capital

. However, the coalition was actually rather disorganized, and Yuan Shao did not have effective command over the entire alliance. Besides, the coalition members were also hesitant to directly confront Dong Zhuo and his strong Liang Province army. Still, Dong Zhuo was anxious and chose to move the capital to

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

in the west to avoid the coalition. About a month later, Dong Zhuo forced Emperor Xian and the imperial court to move to Chang'an, along with Luoyang's residents, and in the process, he ordered the former capital to be destroyed by fire. During the move, Dong Zhuo remained near Luoyang, ready to resist any coalition attacks on him. In 191, the coalition tried to further de-legitimize Dong Zhuo's position by offering to enthrone Liu Yu, who was eligible to be Emperor since he was a member of the royal clan. Liu Yu remained faithful to Emperor Xian and firmly declined to take the throne. As the coalition members continued to bicker over battle plans, a minor general under

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...

Sun Jian Sun Jian () () (155–191?), courtesy name Wentai, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a ...

, took a calculated risk and attacked Dong Zhuo directly near Luoyang. After scoring several victories over Dong Zhuo's forces, Sun Jian eventually forced Dong to retreat to Chang'an, and Luoyang came under the coalition's control. For the following months until the end of 191, the coalition ceased to take further action against Dong Zhuo and eventually disbanded, with its members returning to their respective bases. Soon, several officials started having thoughts of controlling and ruling over their own territories like kings. The most prominent warlords who emerged at that time included: * Yuan Shao, who seized control of Ji Province (covering present-day central and southern

and northern

) from Han Fu in 191 * Liu Yan, who controlled

Liu Biao Liu Biao () () (151 – September 208), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is best known for serving as the Governor of Jing Province (coveri ...

, who controlled Jing Province (covering present-day

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

and

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

) * Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao's half-brother (cousin in name), who controlled the area south of the

Huai River The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to ea ...

(covering present-day northern and central

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

) However, in addition to these greater warlords, in time the entire Han empire virtually fractured into small blocs, each controlled by a local warlord.

Dong Zhuo's death and continued warfare (192–196)

Dong Zhuo's death and aftermath (192)

After Dong Zhuo withdrew to Chang'an, he maintained an even tighter grip on the government and cruelly dealt with all dissent against him. Interior Minister Wang Yun and a few other officials, including Huang Wan (黃琬), Shisun Rui (士孫瑞), and Yang Zan (楊瓚), plotted to eliminate Dong Zhuo. They eventually persuaded Dong Zhuo's foster son,

Lü Bu Lü Bu () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betray ...

, to join them. Lü Bu bore a grudge against Dong Zhuo because the latter almost killed him once during a fit of anger, and also because he was afraid that his secret affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maids might be exposed. In May 192, the conspirators, led by Lü Bu and Wang Yun, assassinated Dong Zhuo and slaughtered his clan. After Dong Zhuo's death, it was believed that the chaos caused by Dong Zhuo's "reign of terror" would subside, and the central government would be restored to its original state. However, although Wang Yun was regarded as a capable minister, he gradually became arrogant and made several key mistakes that would cause his downfall. He failed to maintain good relations with Lü Bu, and strongly refused to grant amnesty to the surviving followers of Dong Zhuo and ordered them to be disbanded. This caused Dong Zhuo's men to fear that they might be massacred. Dong Zhuo's son-in-law,

Niu Fu Niu Fu () (died 192) was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Niu Fu had served under the warlord Dong Zhuo when the latter was still serving as a military genera ...

, took control of Dong's forces in Liang Province and resisted Wang Yun, but later died in a friendly fire incident. Niu Fu's subordinates, Li Jue,

Guo Si Guo Si () (died 197), also known as Guo Duo, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He assisted Dong Zhuo in his many campaigns and served as a su ...

and

Fan Chou Fan Chou (died 2 March 195According to Liu Xie's biography in ''Book of the Later Han'', Fan Chou was killed by Li Jue on the ''yihai'' day of the 2nd month of the 2nd year of the ''Xingping'' era. This corresponds to 2 Mar 195 on the Julian cal ...

, wanted to submit to the imperial court, but as they had previously resisted Wang Yun, Wang now rejected their request for amnesty. Li Jue, Guo Si and Fan Chou led their armies to attack Chang'an and took control of the government. Wang Yun was captured and executed along with his family, while Lü Bu was defeated and driven away.

Continued warfare (193–196)

After taking control over the imperial court in Chang'an, Li Jue, Guo Si and Fan Chou did as they pleased without showing any regard for the welfare of the state. Concurrently, provincial warlords all over China battled each other to expand their territories or further their personal interests. Some of those warlords were friendly with Li Jue's forces, while others remained hostile to them, even though all of them nominally acknowledged Emperor Xian as the sovereign ruler of China. In 193, armed conflict broke out between the northern warlords Liu Yu and

Gongsun Zan Gongsun Zan () (before 161 - April or May 199), courtesy name Bogui, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Little is known of Gongsun Zan's early life. He and Liu Bei stu ...

. Liu Yu strongly opposed warfare while Gongsun Zan continuously waged war against

. Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan made accusations against each other in their respective memorials to Emperor Xian. Eventually, Liu Yu was unable to tolerate Gongsun Zan and attacked the latter, but was defeated and killed. In 195, turmoil ensued in Chang'an when Li Jue and Guo Si killed Fan Chou together, and later turned against each other. Li Jue held Emperor Xian hostage while Guo Si kidnapped the imperial officials, and both sides engaged in battle. Later that year, Li Jue and Guo Si made peace and agreed to allow Emperor Xian to return to the old capital,

, but later regretted their decision and pursued him. While Li Jue and Guo Si were never able to capture Emperor Xian again, the imperial court was rendered poor and unable to fend for itself. As Luoyang had been previously devastated by fire during Dong Zhuo's time, the city lacked the essentials of life and many officials starved to death or resorted to

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

. Around this time,

Ju Shou Ju Shou (died 200) was an adviser serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Ju Shou was from Guangping County (), Julu Commandery (), which is in present-day Quzhou County, Hebei. He was allegedly a ...

suggested to Yuan Shao to welcome Emperor Xian to his province so that he could take effective control of the government. However,

Guo Tu Guo Tu (died 205), courtesy name Gongze, was an official and adviser serving under the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Guo Tu was from Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡), which is around presen ...

and

Chunyu Qiong Chunyu Qiong (died 200), courtesy name Zhongjian, was a military officer serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He played a significant part in the Battle of Guandu in 200. Life Little is known about C ...

opposed Ju Shou's view, claiming that if Yuan Shao brought Emperor Xian to his territory, he would need to yield to the emperor on key decisions and follow proper court protocol. Yuan Shao remained hesitant and did not conclude whether to receive the emperor or not.

Gradual reunification under Cao Cao (196–207)

Cao Cao's use of Emperor Xian as titular authority

While Yuan Shao was still indecisive on whether to welcome Emperor Xian or not, Cao Cao took advantage of the situation to bring the emperor to his territory. At that time, Cao Cao was still a relatively minor warlord, with only Yan Province (兗州; covering present-day western

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

and eastern

) under his control. In 196, Cao Cao led his army towards Luoyang. He encountered Dong Cheng and

Yang Feng Yang Feng (died 197) was a military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Life Yang Feng was a leader of the White Wave Bandits. Later, he became a subordinate of Li Jue. In 192, Li Jue, Guo Si and other former follo ...

(who were shielding Emperor Xian from Li Jue and Guo Si), convinced them of his loyalty, and was allowed to meet the emperor. In name, Cao Cao was sharing power with the other officials and nobles, but actually, he was in control, but yet he ensured that the officials and nobles were treated with due respect, hence he faced minimal opposition in the imperial court. Later, Cao Cao escorted the emperor back to his base in Xu (許; present-day

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province of China, province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the s ...

, Henan), establishing the new capital there. From then on, although Cao Cao was a subject of Emperor Xian in name, he actually wielded state power and controlled the imperial court. Despite so, Cao Cao never showed disrespect to Emperor Xian, and instead, honoured the emperor according to formal imperial protocol. Cao Cao also issued imperial edicts in Emperor Xian's name to other warlords, ordering them to submit to imperial authority when in fact they were actually submitting to him. When Cao Cao sent Yuan Shao an edict in the emperor's name, only then did Yuan realize that he had lost an opportunity to make use of the emperor to control other warlords.

Cao Cao's rise to power (196–199)

Even after moving to the new capital at Xu, the central government still lacked funds and food supplies. As suggested by Zao Zhi (棗祇), Cao Cao implemented a new ''

tuntian Tuntian (屯田) or Tunken (屯墾) is a type of frontier "military-agricultural colonies" over the history of China. Troops were sent to harsh landscapes at the Chinese frontier to turn uncultivated land into self-sustained, agrarian settler ...

'' policy to promote agricultural production, in which soldiers were sent to grow crops, and the harvest would be shared between the military and civilian population. The policy yielded commendable results as the area around Xu developed into highly productive farmland and the problem of shortage of food was resolved. At this time, the most prominent warlords in China were: * Yuan Shao, who controlled Ji,

Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

and Qing provinces (covering most of present-day

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

and

). Some of the territories were governed by Yuan Shao's three sons (

Yuan Tan Yuan Tan (died 205), courtesy name Xiansi, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who was the eldest son of Yuan Shao, a warlord who occupied much of northern China during the late Eastern Han dynasty. After Yuan Shao's death, Y ...

Yuan Xi Yuan Xi (died December 20711th month of the 12th year of the ''Jian'an'' era, per Emperor Xian's biography in ''Book of the Later Han''. The month corresponds to 7 Dec 207 to 5 Jan 208 in the Julian calendar.), courtesy name Xianyi or Xianyong ...

and

Yuan Shang Yuan Shang (died December 207), courtesy name Xianfu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the third son and successor of the warlord Yuan Shao. In the 14th-centu ...

) and nephew (

Gao Gan Gao Gan () (died 206), courtesy name Yuancai, was a minor warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was a maternal nephew and subordinate of the warlord Yuan Shao. Life Gao Gan was from an influential family in Yu Count ...

). *

, who controlled most of present-day

and parts of

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

, who controlled

, including present-day

and western Liaoning *

, who controlled Jing Province (covering present-day

and

) * Liu Zhang, who controlled

(covering the

) *

, who seized control of

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ...

(covering present-day northern

) from its previous governor

There were still many other minor warlords, and Cao Cao particularly sought to get them to submit to him. In 197, Zhang Xiu surrendered Wancheng to Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao later had an affair with Zhang Xiu's widowed aunt, angering Zhang. Zhang, who learned of Cao Cao's planned assassination on his life, rebelled and launched a surprise attack on Cao Cao at Wancheng. In this battle, Cao Cao's eldest son

Cao Ang Cao Ang () ( 177 – February or March 197), courtesy name Zixiu, was the eldest son of Cao Cao, a warlord who rose to power towards the end of the Han dynasty and laid the foundation of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China ...

, nephew Cao Anmin, and bodyguard

Dian Wei Dian Wei (; died February or March 197) was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Famed for his enormous strength, Dian Wei excelled at wielding a pair of '' ji''s (a halberd-like weapon), ...

were killed, and Cao Cao himself narrowly escaped from death. On the advice of

Jia Xu Jia Xu (147 – 11 August 223), courtesy name Wenhe, was an official of the state of Cao Wei during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty as a minor official. In 189, when the warlord Don ...

, Zhang Xiu eventually surrendered to Cao Cao in the winter of 199–200. In addition, in 197, Cao Cao was able to persuade

Ma Teng Ma Teng () (died June or July 212), courtesy name Shoucheng, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He controlled Liang Province (涼州; covering parts of present-day Shaanxi and Gansu ...

and

Han Sui Han Sui () (140s - June or July 215According to Cao Cao's biography in ''Sanguozhi'', Han Sui was killed in the 5th month of the 20th year of the ''Jian'an'' era of Liu Xie's reign. This corresponds to 15 June to 13 July 215 on the Julian calend ...

, who controlled Yong and Liang provinces (covering most of present-day

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

and Gansu), to submit to him. That year, Yuan Shu declared himself " Son of Heaven" in Shouchun (壽春; present-day

Shou County Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Huainan. Its p ...

, Anhui), an act perceived as treason against the Han dynasty government, prompting other warlords to use that as an excuse to attack him (see

Campaign against Yuan Shu The campaign against Yuan Shu was a punitive expedition that took place between 197 and 199 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The campaign was initiated by the Han government against warlord Yuan Shu after Yuan declared himself emperor of the ...

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175–200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang w ...

, son of

, who had conquered several territories in Jiangdong between 194 and 199, ended his alliance with Yuan Shu and became an independent warlord. Lü Bu, who was also previously Yuan Shu's ally, broke ties with Yuan and dealt him a major defeat near Shouchun. Cao Cao also attacked Yuan Shu and defeated him. Yuan Shu attempted to flee north to join Yuan Shao but his way was blocked and he would die of illness on his return to Shouchun in 199. In 198, Yuan Shao tried to persuade Cao Cao to move the capital to Juancheng (鄄城; in present-day

Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...

, Shandong), which was nearer to his own territory, in an attempt to wrestle Emperor Xian away from Cao, but Cao refused. Later that year, Cao Cao joined forces with Liu Bei to attack Lü Bu, defeating him at the

Battle of Xiapi The Battle of Xiapi was fought between the forces of Lü Bu against the allied armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei from the winter of 198 to 7 February 199 towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. The battle concluded with victory for C ...

. Lü Bu was captured and executed on Cao Cao's order, and Xu Province came under Cao's control. In 199, Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao at the

Battle of Yijing The Battle of Yijing was a military conflict which took place in northern China from 198 to 199 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between Gongsun Zan, a warlord known as the "White Horse General", and Yuan Shao, a scion of the este ...

and he committed suicide by setting himself on fire. Gongsun Zan's territories, which extended to the northern boundaries of the Han dynasty's empire, were completely annexed by Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao then turned his attention south towards Cao Cao, who was an emerging power in central China. Yuan allied with Liu Biao and was intent on attacking Cao Cao.

Guandu campaign (200–201)

Cao Cao's conquest of northern China 200–207

Against the advice of

and

Tian Feng Tian Feng (died November 200), courtesy name Yuanhao, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life There are two accounts of Tian Feng's origins: One said that he was from Julu Commande ...

, who reasoned that their troops were exhausted after the battles against Gongsun Zan and needed rest, Yuan Shao prepared for a campaign against Cao Cao, confident that his much larger army could easily crush Cao Cao's. While Cao Cao readied himself for battle, he discovered that Dong Cheng, Liu Bei and a few other officials were conspiring against him. In early 200, Liu Bei used an opportunity to break away from Cao Cao and seize control of

, after killing Cao Cao's appointed governor of the province,

Che Zhou Che, Ché, Chè or CHE may refer to: People * Ché Ahn, (born 1956), American Christian pastor * Che Guevara (1928–1967), Argentine Marxist revolutionary * Che (surname) (车), Chinese surname * Che Lovelace (born 1969), Trinidadian artist Ar ...

(車冑). On the other hand, Dong Cheng and the others were making plans to assassinate Cao Cao. However, the plot was exposed and all the conspirators in the capital were massacred along with their families. Cao Cao then took a risk by attacking Liu Bei in Xu Province, leaving his flank open to attacks from Yuan Shao. However, Cao Cao made the right choice because Yuan Shao did not heed Tian Feng's urging to seize the chance to attack him. Liu Bei was defeated and he fled north to join Yuan Shao. Liu Bei's general

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

surrendered to Cao Cao and temporarily served under Cao. Only after Liu Bei's defeat did Yuan Shao start implementing his plan to attack Cao Cao, but this time Tian Feng opposed his decision, saying that their opportunity had passed. Yuan Shao became annoyed with Tian Feng and had Tian imprisoned, after which he led his army south to attack Cao Cao. At the

Battle of Boma The Battle of Boma or Battle of Baima was the first of a series of battles that led to the decisive Battle of Guandu between the warlords Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in northern China in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Although Cao Cao won the ...

, Yuan Shao's general

Yan Liang Yan Liang () (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was slain by Guan Yu at the Battle of Boma. Life Little is known about Yan Liang's life. The only historic ...

was slain by Guan Yu while another of Yuan's generals,

Wen Chou Wen Chou () (died 200) was a military general serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. His force was defeated by that of rival warlord Cao Cao in the Battle of Yan Ford and he was killed in the midst of ...

, was killed in action against Cao Cao's forces. The morale of Yuan Shao's army was greatly affected by the loss of the two generals. By late 200, the armies of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao finally clashed at Guandu (官渡; in present-day Zhengzhou,

), south of the

. Yuan Shao had two advantages over Cao Cao - numerical superiority and a greater amount of supplies, but Cao Cao's troops were better trained than his. After some minor skirmishes, both sides became locked in a stalemate, until Cao Cao personally led a small detachment on a surprise attack on Yuan Shao's supply depot at Wuchao, which was defended by

. Instead of sending reinforcements to Wuchao, Yuan Shao sent

Zhang He Zhang He () (died July or August 231), courtesy name Junyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers, Cao Pi and ...

and Gao Lan (高覽) to attack Cao Cao's camp but was unsuccessful. The fall of Wuchao dealt a major blow to the morale of Yuan Shao's army, which was subsequently routed by Cao Cao's forces. Yuan Shao fled north of the Yellow River while most of his troops were either killed or surrendered to Cao Cao. From that point on, although Yuan Shao continued to remain as a major power player, he could no longer challenge Cao Cao's growing supremacy. The latter destroyed the defeated the remaining Yuan troops south of the Yellow River in the Battle of Cangting (201), concluding the Guandu campaign.

Fall of the Yuan power bloc (202–207)

Dahuting Tomb mural, cavalry and chariots, Eastern Han

After Yuan Shao died of illness in 202, a succession struggle developed between his oldest son

and third son

. Several years before Yuan Shao's death, based on the traditional order of succession, Yuan Tan should have been designated as the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

, but as Yuan Shao's wife Lady Liu favoured Yuan Shang, Yuan Shao had Yuan Tan posthumously adopted by the latter's uncle, Yuan Cheng (袁成). Yuan Shao then divided his territories between his sons and nephew

, ostensibly so that he could determine their abilities. His base of Ji Province was given to Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan controlled Qing Province,

governed You Province, and Gao Gan ruled Bing Province. On his deathbed, Yuan Shao did not leave any explicit instruction as to who should succeed him. Of Yuan Shao's followers,

Pang Ji Pang Ji (died 202), courtesy name Yuantu, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Pang Ji was criticised by Cao Cao's advisor Xun Yu as "brave but heedless of other's opinions ...

and

Shen Pei Shen Pei (died 204), courtesy name Zhengnan, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Yuan Shao during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Xun Yu, an official serving under Yuan Shao's rival Cao Cao, once said that Shen ...

supported Yuan Shang, while

Xin Ping Xin Ping ( 190s–204), courtesy name Zhongzhi, was a Chinese official who served under the warlords Han Fu (warlord), Han Fu, Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan during the late Eastern Han dynasty. Life Xin Ping was from Yangzhai County (陽翟縣), Ying ...

and

favoured Yuan Tan. After Yuan Shao's death, most of his subordinates initially wanted Yuan Tan to be their new lord since he was the oldest son. However, Shen Pei and Peng Ji forged a will, naming Yuan Shang as the successor. Yuan Tan was furious and mobilized his forces under the pretext of attacking Cao Cao, drawing Cao's attention, and Cao preemptively retaliated. Yuan Shang came to his oldest brother's aid, and they fought inconclusively against Cao Cao in the

Battle of Liyang The Battle of Liyang, fought between October 202 and June 203 in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, was an invasion attempt by the warlord Cao Cao against the brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, the sons of Cao's rival Yuan Shao. The battle in Octob ...

. In 203, Cao Cao scored a major victory over the Yuans, who retreated to Ji Province's capital, Ye (鄴). Cao Cao then planned to besiege Ye, but later withdrew his forces after heeding

Guo Jia Guo Jia () (170–207), courtesy name Fengxiao, was an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Throughout his 11 years of service, Guo Jia aided Cao Cao greatly with his brilliance and foresight, and his str ...

's advice. Guo Jia reasoned that if Cao Cao pressured the Yuans, they might unite against a common enemy; however, if Cao Cao retreated, the disgruntled Yuan brothers would start fighting among themselves. Guo Jia's prediction came true later when Yuan Tan, still bearing a grudge against Yuan Shang for receiving a larger inheritance, attacked Yuan Shang, but his forces in Qing Province defected to Yuan Shang. Yuan Tan fled to Pingyuan (in present-day

Dezhou Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei t ...

) and was besieged by Yuan Shang there. Yuan Tan sought help from Cao Cao, and Cao advanced north to attack Ye, forcing Yuan Shang to lift the siege on Pingyuan. In early 204, Yuan Shang incorrectly believed that Cao Cao had withdrawn, so he attacked his brother again at Pingyuan. Cao Cao attacked Ye once more and Yuan Shang headed back to defend his base but was defeated by Cao Cao. Yuan Shang then fled north to

Zhongshan Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 i ...

(in present-day Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Ye fell to Cao Cao. Gao Gan also surrendered Bing Province to Cao Cao. During Cao Cao's siege on Ye, Yuan Tan did not help attack Ye but sought to take Yuan Shang's territories, defeating Yuan Shang in Zhongshan. Yuan Shang fled further north to join Yuan Xi in You Province. Cao Cao now accused Yuan Tan of breaching the trust in the alliance so he turned east to attack him, capturing Yuan Tan's last stronghold at Nanpi (南皮; in present-day

, Hebei) and killing Yuan. Meanwhile, in You Province, Yuan Xi's subordinate Jiao Chu (焦觸) revolted and surrendered to Cao Cao, forcing Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to flee further north to join the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

tribes under chief

Tadun Tadun (died 207) was a leader of the Wuhuan tribes during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an ally of the warlord Yuan Shao and Yuan Shao's son and successor Yuan Shang. Life Tadun was a younger relative of the Wuhuan chieftain Q ...

. Around this time, Gao Gan also rebelled against Cao Cao but was defeated by 206 and killed while attempting to flee south to join

. In 207, Cao Cao's army headed north to attack the Wuhuan, defeating them at the

Battle of White Wolf Mountain The Battle of White Wolf Mountain was a battle fought in 207 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle took place in northern China, beyond the frontiers of the ruling Eastern Han dynasty. It was fought between the warlord Cao Cao ...

. Tadun was killed in battle while Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang sought refuge under

Gongsun Kang Gongsun Kang () ( 200s to 210s) was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He became a vassal of the state of Cao Wei in the early Three Kingdoms periodMore specifically, as mentioned b ...

, a warlord who controlled most of present-day Liaoning. Gongsun Kang feared that the Yuans might turn against him and seize his territory, so he had them executed and sent their heads to Cao Cao. By this time, the Yuan clan had been eliminated and much of northern China had been reunified under Cao Cao's control.

Developments in southern China (194–208)

During his reunification of northern China, Cao Cao did not conduct any major campaigns south while awaiting an opportunity to act against the remaining three most prominent warlords: Sun Quan, who had succeeded his older brother

after the latter died in 200;

, governor of Jing Province; and Liu Zhang, governor of

. During that time, Sun Quan was developing his territories in Jiangdong, and strengthening his military forces. In 208, Sun Quan defeated and killed Liu Biao's vassal Huang Zu at the

Battle of Jiangxia The Battle of Jiangxia was a battle fought between the warlords Sun Quan and Liu Biao in 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. The battle was the last part of a series of military engagements between Sun Quan and Liu Biao's general Huang Zu in J ...

, seizing most of Huang's territory at Jiangxia (江夏; present-day

Xinzhou District, Wuhan Xinzhou () is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China, covering part of the city's northeastern suburbs and situated on the northern (left) bank of the Yangtze River. It is also the ea ...

). While Cao Cao was attacking the Yuan clan in northern China,

fled south to join Liu Biao and became a vassal under the latter, who stationed him at the northern border in

Xinye County Xinye () is one of the counties of Nanyang that lies in the southwest of Henan province, China. To the south lies the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang in Hubei province, to the east is Tanghe County and to the west is the county-level city ...

to keep Cao Cao at bay. An initial Cao attack on Liu Bei was repelled during the

Battle of Bowang The Battle of Bowang, also known as the Battle of Bowang Slope, was a battle fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei in 202 in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Background Liu Bei originally sought refuge under the northern warlord Yuan ...

(202).

Red Cliffs campaign (208–209)

Cao Cao's invasion of Jing Province (208)

In 208, Cao Cao launched a southern campaign to conquer

's Jing Province. Liu Biao was ill and dying when a succession struggle broke out between his sons Liu Qi and Liu Cong. After Huang Zu's defeat, Liu Qi was appointed by Liu Biao as Administrator of Jiangxia, which was previously governed by Huang. Liu Cong, who was favoured by Liu Biao's second wife Lady Cai (because he married her niece), remained in Jing Province's capital,

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

. Liu Cong became the new Governor of Jing Province after his father's death. Fearing that he might be caught in a war on two fronts (Cao Cao in the north and Liu Qi in the southeast), Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, and most of Jing Province came under Cao Cao's control. Liu Bei was unwilling to submit to Cao Cao and fled south. Along the way, one of Cao Cao's light cavalry units caught up with Liu Bei's retreating forces (which included civilians) and defeated them at the

Battle of Changban The Battle of Changban was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Liu Bei in October 208 in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle took place at Changban (長坂; south of present-day Duodao District, Jingmen, Hubei). Background ...

. Liu Bei escaped with his life and fled to Dangyang (當陽; in present-day

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

, Hubei). In Jiangdong, Sun Quan felt threatened by Cao Cao's approaching army and sent

Lu Su Lu Su (172–217), courtesy name Zijing, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty. In the year 200, when Sun Quan had just taken over the reins of power, his adviser Z ...

to discuss forming an alliance with Liu Bei and Liu Qi against Cao Cao. Cao Cao wrote Sun Quan a letter, intended to intimidate the latter into submitting. Cao Cao's army was estimated to be 220,000 men strong, although Cao himself claimed that he had 800,000 troops. Sun Quan had 30,000 men, while Liu Bei and Liu Qi's combined forces totalled about 10,000. Many of Sun Quan's followers, including Zhang Zhao, strongly advocated surrender because of Cao Cao's overwhelming forces. However, Sun Quan refused as he agreed with

Zhou Yu Zhou Yu (, ) (175–210), courtesy name Gongjin (), was a Chinese military general and strategist serving under the warlord Sun Ce in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After Sun Ce died in the year 200, he continued serving under Sun Quan, ...

and Lu Su's view that Cao Cao might not let him off even if he submitted. By late 208, with help from Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is ...

(who represented Liu Bei in the diplomatic exchange), an alliance was formed between Sun Quan and Liu Bei against Cao Cao.

Battle of Red Cliffs (208)

Sun Quan put Zhou Yu in command of his 30,000 troops, largely stationed on naval vessels. Zhou Yu set up a defensive position in conjunction with Liu Bei, whose army garrisoned on land. Around this time, a spreading plague significantly weakened Cao Cao's forces. Zhou Yu's subordinate

Huang Gai Huang Gai () ( 180s–210s), courtesy name Gongfu, was a military general who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He previously served under Sun Quan's predecessors – Sun Jian (Sun Quan's father) and ...

pretended to defect to Cao Cao's side and was accepted by the latter. Huang Gai brought a small group of men with him and sailed towards Cao Cao's base on boats. As the boats approached Cao Cao's fleet, Huang Gai ordered his men to set the boats on fire, and the burning boats crashed into Cao Cao's larger ships. The fire spread out of control and destroyed Cao Cao's entire naval fleet. Cao Cao's land forces at Wulin (烏林; in present-day

Honghu Honghu () is a county-level city in the municipal region of Jingzhou, in the south of Hubei province. The city lies on the northwest (left) bank of the Yangtze River, across from Hunan Province and Xianning, Hubei. It is named after the adjacent ...

) were also attacked and driven back by Sun Quan and Liu Bei's armies. Cao Cao suffered a drastic defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs and was forced to retreat north back to Jiangling (江陵, located in present-day Jingjiang 荆江, not to be confused with present-day

Jiangling County Jiangling () is a county in southern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou City. History The county name derived from the old name of Jingzhou. Liang dynasty Prince Xiao Yi 蕭繹 ( ...

, Hubei).

Emergence of the Three Kingdoms (209–220)

Eastern Han Dynasty tomb fresco of chariots, horses, and men, Luoyang 3

Sun–Liu conquest of Jing Province (209–210)

Immediately after the Battle of Red Cliffs, Sun Quan's forces under

's command pressed on another attack on Cao Cao, leading to the Battle of Jiangling. On the other hand, Liu Bei used the opportunity to attack the four commanderies of Wuling, Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang in southern Jing Province and bring them under his control. By early 209, Cao Cao had lost most of Jing Province to the allies. As Liu Bei had become relatively more powerful after his conquests of the four commanderies, Sun Quan became apprehensive of him and decided to strengthen their alliance by arranging for a marriage between his younger sister,

Lady Sun Lady Sun (180s - 211), also known as Sun Ren in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' and Sun Shangxiang in Chinese opera and contemporary culture, was a Chinese noblewoman who lived during the late Eastern Han dyna ...

, and Liu Bei. Zhou Yu was suspicious of Liu Bei's intentions and suggested to Sun Quan to capture Liu Bei, put him under house arrest, and then take control over Liu's forces. However, Sun Quan rejected Zhou Yu's idea as he believed that Liu Bei's forces would rebel against him even if the plan succeeded. Sun Quan did agree with Zhou Yu's suggestion to consider attacking the warlords Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu, who controlled parts of western China, including present-day southern

and the

. The plan was not set into motion and eventually aborted when Zhou Yu died in 210. Even though Sun Quan did not expand his borders west, he managed to persuade several local leaders in present-day

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

and northern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

to submit to him, and these territories became part of his domain. Sun Quan then agreed to "lend" northern Jing Province to Liu Bei as well when the latter complained that the south lacked resources to sustain its military.

Cao Cao's northwestern campaign (211)

Cao Cao, after resting his forces for several years in light of his defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs, made a major advance again in 211, this time to ostensibly attack Zhang Lu of

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...

. Warlords

and

Ma Chao Ma Chao () (176–222), courtesy name Mengqi, was a Chinese military general and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. A descendant of the general Ma Yuan, Ma Chao was the eldest son of Ma ...

, who controlled Liang and Yong provinces, suspected that Cao Cao had designs on them and launched attacks in retaliation. A coalition of forces from west of

Hangu Pass Hangu Pass or Hanguguan is a pass separating the upper Yellow River and Wei valleys—the cradle of Chinese civilization and seat of its longtime capital Xi'an—from the fertile North China Plain. It lies on the south bank of the Yellow River ...

, led by Ma Chao and Han Sui, was defeated by Cao Cao at the Battle of Tong Pass in 211, and their territories were annexed by Cao over the next few years.

Liu Bei's takeover of Yi Province (212–214)

Liu Zhang of

became worried of possible attacks from Zhang Lu and Cao Cao, so he sent

Fa Zheng Fa Zheng (176–220), courtesy name Xiaozhi, was a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Born in a family of high social status and of noble descent, Fa Zheng travelled to Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan ...

to invite Liu Bei into his domain to help him defend against Zhang Lu and Cao Cao. Fa Zheng was unimpressed with Liu Zhang's governorship and wanted Liu Bei to replace his lord, so he urged Liu Bei to use the opportunity to take control of Yi Province. Liu Bei heeded Fa Zheng's suggestion and led his army into Yi Province, where he received a warm welcome from Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang sent Liu Bei to the station at Jiameng Pass in northern Yi Province to resist Zhang Lu. In 212, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang turned hostile towards each other and waged war.

led a detachment of Liu Bei's forces left in Jing Province to join his lord in attacking Liu Zhang.

remained behind to defend Jing Province. In 215, Liu Bei had defeated much of Liu Zhang's forces and besieged him in his capital of

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

. Liu Zhang surrendered and yielded Yi Province to Liu Bei. The province became Liu Bei's new base, and he used the mountainous surroundings as natural defences against Cao Cao in the north. In the same year Liu Bei took over Yi Province, diplomatic relations between him and Sun Quan deteriorated when he refused to return Jing Province, which he "borrowed" from Sun Quan five years ago. Sun Quan launched an initial attack on Guan Yu and much of eastern Jing Province quickly submitted. However, after negotiations between Guan Yu and

, Liu Bei agreed to give up the three commanderies of Changsha, Jiangxia and Guiyang to Sun Quan, renewing their alliance and dividing Jing Province between them along the

Xiang River The Xiang River is the chief river of the Dongting Lake, Lake Dongting Drainage basin, drainage system of the middle Yangtze, the largest river in Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the 2nd largest tributary (after Min River (Sichuan), Min River ...

Yangping and Hanzhong Campaign (215–219)

In 215, Cao Cao attacked Zhang Lu and defeated him at the

Battle of Yangping The Battle of Yangping, also known as the Battle of Yangping Pass, was fought between the warlords Cao Cao and Zhang Lu from roughly April 215 to January 216 during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The battle concluded with a victory fo ...

. Zhang Lu surrendered and his domain in

came under Cao Cao's control (January 216). Against the advice of his followers to move south and attack Liu Bei in

, Cao Cao withdrew his armies and left

Xiahou Yuan Xiahou Yuan () (died 219), courtesy name Miaocai, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known for his exploits in western China (in parts of present-day G ...

in command of a small force to defend Hanzhong. The following year, Cao Cao pressured Emperor Xian into granting him a title of nobility, "

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Wei". Over the next few years, Cao Cao's style of living became more like the emperor's, and he also received greater honours. In 217, Liu Bei started a

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

to seize Hanzhong from Cao Cao. After Xiahou Yuan was defeated and killed at the

Battle of Mount Dingjun The Battle of Mount Dingjun was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms stretch of Chinese history. Liu Bei's victory in the battle marked a major milestone in his Hanzhong Campaign and ...

in 219, Cao Cao became alarmed and quickly arrived with reinforcements to resist Liu Bei. Both sides became locked in a stalemate, except for a clash at the

Battle of Han River The Battle of Han River was fought between the warlords Liu Bei and Cao Cao in 219 during the prelude to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle was the last major engagement in the Hanzhong Campaign, in which Liu Bei emerged ...

, before Cao Cao eventually decided to withdraw his forces, giving up Hanzhong to Liu Bei. Liu Bei subsequently declared himself "King of Hanzhong" after his victory.

Breaking of the Sun–Liu alliance (219–220)

Around the time when Liu Bei was attacking Hanzhong,

also advanced north from Jing Province to attack Cao Cao's city of Fancheng (樊城; present-day

Fancheng District Fancheng is a District (PRC), district of the city of Xiangyang, Hubei, People's Republic of China. History Fancheng, or Fan City, was an ancient city in Hubei, situated on the northern side of the Han River (Hanshui), Han River, opposite Xia ...

), which was defended by

Cao Ren Cao Ren () (168 – 6 May 223), courtesy name Zixiao, was a military general serving during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China under the warlord Cao Cao, who was also his older second cousin. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei � ...

. While Cao Ren managed to hold on to his position firmly, Guan Yu besieged the city, and the situation was serious enough that Cao Cao even considered moving the capital away from Xu. At the same time, Sun Quan became increasingly resentful of Guan Yu because the latter had previously shown hostility towards him in three incidents: Guan Yu drove away from the official's Sun Quan sent to the three commanderies that Liu Bei had promised to give up to Sun; Guan Yu forcefully seized food supplies from one of Sun Quan's bases for use in his Fancheng campaign; Guan Yu ridiculed Sun Quan when the latter proposed a marriage between his son and Guan's daughter. When Guan Yu was away attacking Fancheng, Sun Quan sent his general Lü Meng to launch an assault on Jing Province from the east, swiftly conquering the province within weeks. The morale of Guan Yu's forces fell sharply and his soldiers gradually deserted him until he was left with only about 300 men. Guan Yu was isolated and besieged by Sun Quan's forces in Maicheng, and he attempted to break out but fell into an ambush and was captured. Guan Yu refused to surrender and was eventually executed on Sun Quan's order. This marked the end of the alliance between Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Sun Quan nominally submitted to Cao Cao and was granted the title of "Marquis of Wu". Sun Quan also urged Cao Cao to take the emperor's throne but Cao declined.

Emperor Xian's abdication (220)

Cao Cao died in March 220 and his son

inherited the title of "King of Wei" without waiting for formal authorization from Emperor Xian. In the winter of 220, Emperor Xian sent the Imperial Seal to Cao Pi and issued an edict announcing that he was abdicating in favour of Cao Pi. Cao Pi formally declined to accept the throne thrice but obliged eventually. The Han dynasty officially ended at that point and Cao Pi established the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

. The dethroned Emperor Xian was granted the title of "Duke of Shanyang". In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in

and established the state of Shu Han. Sun Quan continued to remain as a nominal subject of Cao Pi until 222, when he declared himself king of a separate state, Wu (better known as Eastern Wu in history). In 229, Sun Quan formally became emperor of Wu.

References

* * ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vols. 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69. * '' Book of Later Han'', vol. 9. {{Han dynasty topics . 180s 190s 200s 210s 220s Dissolutions of empires