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Three Kingdoms-Romance of The Three Kingdoms XII

Image representing the kingdoms in Sangokushi 12. From left to right: Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan.

The Three Kingdoms era refers to a historical period in China that lasted from 220~280 AD. It ended the Han Dynasty and separated the land into civil conflict. Out of the warring regional lords, three of them eventually gained enough power to claim themselves as the emperors of the land.

  • The kingdom of Shu Han, led by the Liu family (Liu Bei's branch)
  • The kingdom of Cao Wei, led by the Cao family
  • The kingdom of Eastern Wu, led by the Sun family

Technically, neither of them ruled any sort of kingdom since their lands were actually individual empires. However, the term "kingdoms" has been popularized in several translations. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the concept was devised by Zhuge Liang on Liu Bei's third visit but this is not the case in history. Historical records suggest that Zhou Yu and Lu Su devised the concept of two kingdoms.

Koei has the following IPs and franchises use this era as their main setting:

History[]

Beginning[]

The Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 led to the weakened Han empire, which was suppressed by He Jin's army. Despite the rebellion's dissolution, the Han faced natural disasters and court tragedies. Emperor Ling's death left a dispute between his heirs, Liu Bian and Liu Xian. Yuan Shao planned to remove the eunuchs, but was assassinated. Dong Zhuo, a capable military leader, manipulated succession and placed Liu Xie as Emperor Xian. The coalition argued on replacing Liu Yu as emperor. Dong Zhuo's brutality led to revolts and mutinies against him.

Under the Han, Cao Cao continued his conquest of Tao Qian, supported by Liu Bei and Gangsun Zan. Lu Bu attacked Tao Qian's base and forced him to retreat. Tao Qian died, and his province was ruled by Liu Bei. In 195, Lu Bu was defeated and fled to Liu Bei. Sun Ce succeeded his father and served under Yuan Shu, who declared himself emperor in 197. Lu Bu betrayed him and was executed.

Rise to Power[]

In 200, the emperor ordered Cao Cao to assassinate him, but Cao Cao discovered the plot and executed the conspirators. Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao, who amassed a large army along the Yellow River. Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao by setting fire to his supplies, crippling the northern army. In 202, Cao Cao expanded north of the Yellow River, capturing Ye and occupying provinces like Ji, Bing, Qing, and You. In 208, Cao Cao marched south to unify the empire, capturing a fleet at Nanjun. Sun Quan, aided by Lu Su, Zhuge Liang, and Cheng Pu, allied with Sun Ce's navy and 50,000-strong forces at the Battle of Chi Bi. The allied victory ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and provided security for future conquests.

After his return to the north, Cao Cao contented himself with absorbing the northwestern regions in 211 and consolidating his power. He progressively increased his titles and power, eventually becoming the King of Wei in 217, a title bestowed upon him by the puppet Han emperor that he controlled.

Liu Bei, having defeated the weak Jing warlords Han Xuan, Jin Xuan, Zhao Fan, and Liu Du, entered the western Yi province and later in 214 displaced Liu Zhang as ruler, leaving his commander Guan Yu in charge of Jing province. Sun Quan, who had in the intervening years being engaged with defenses against Cao Cao in the southeast at Hefei, now turned his attention to Jing province and the Middle Yangzi. Tensions between the allies were increasingly visible. In 219, after Liu Bei successfully seized Hanzhong from Cao Cao and as Guan Yu was engaged in the siege of Fan Castle, Sun Quan's commander-in-chief Lu Meng secretly seized Jing province, and his forces captured and slew Guan Yu.

Three Emperors[]

In 220, Emperor Xian abdicated his throne to Cao Pi, leading to the fall of the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei attempted to restore the Han dynasty, but was defeated by Sun Quan's commander. Sun Quan renounced his recognition of Cao Pi's regime and declared himself emperor at Wuchang in 229. Wei presided in the north, Wu in the southeast, and Shu in the southwest. Shu and Wu focused on suppressing rebellions in the south, but Zhuge Liang led a northern campaign against Wei in 227. Despite his attempts, he ultimately passed away, allowing Shu's safe escape.

During Shu's northern campaigns, Wu was constantly attacked by Wei at Hefei. Thanks to the natural defenses and the Yue troops, however, Wu's defenses were solid. Their well defended lands helped the technology and arts in the south to flourish.

Decline[]

The-3-Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms in 262, on the eve of the conquest of Shu.

Fall of Shu[]

Shu weakened after the defeat of Zhuge Liang at Wuzhang Plains. After some few decades, the eventual replacement, Jiang Wei, then continued the expeditions would attempt attacks on Wei several more times. Shu's supplies were rapidly strained by these attempts. Jiang Wei also saw himself become increasingly isolated, with the minister Huang Hao encouraging Liu Shan to indulge in frivolous pursuits. Taking advantage, the de facto ruler of Wei, Sima Zhao, sent Zhong Hui and Deng Ai to invade Shu's capital. Zhong Hui held off Jiang Wei, while Deng Ai sneaked around to besiege the capital of Chengdu, then receiving the surrender of Liu Shan in 264. After the surrender, Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui rebelled but they and Deng Ai were killed. Liu Shan lived on, even into the time of Jin, until a natural death in 271.

Fall of Wei[]

After Wuzhang, Sima Yi seized power and became regent permanently putting the Sima family in Wei's government. After Sima Yi, and Sima Shi, Sima Yi's eldest son, passed away Sima Zhao took position as regent. Cao Mao, the Wei emperor during that time, attempted a coup against Sima Zhao in 260 in order to regain the Cao family's power. However, this coup failed, with Cao Mao being killed. Cao Huan was then enthroned as a puppet emperor through which Sima Zhao acted. During Sima Zhao's reign, Wei ended Shu. In 264, Sima Zhao obtained the title of 'King of Jin,' but passed away in 265 before he could become an emperor. His son, Sima Yan took over his role. Also in 265, Cao Huan stepped down and Sima Yan became emperor. Sima Yan replaced the Wei Dynasty with the Jin dynasty.

Fall of Wu[]

After Sun Quan's defeat at Hefei Castle, Wu's decline accelerated. Sun Quan's sons, Sun Liang and Sun Hao, fought for emperorship, leading to corruption and tyranny. Sima Yan invaded Wu in 279, and Sun Hao surrendered in 280, ending the Three Kingdoms era.

Gallery[]

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