Editing Three Kingdoms (section)

== Emergence of the Three Kingdoms ==
[[File:龟形铜砚滴 吴.jpg|thumb|Bronze turtle holding a cup, [[Eastern Wu]]]]
At the beginning of 220, Cao Cao died and was succeeded by his son Cao Pi. On 11 December, Emperor Xian abdicated and Cao Pi ascended the imperial throne by proclaiming his [[Mandate of Heaven|heavenly mandate]] as the Emperor of Wei. On 15 May 221, Liu Bei responded by proclaiming himself as the Emperor of Han. His state would become generally known as Shu Han. Sun Quan continued to recognise his ''de jure'' suzerainty to Wei and was enfeoffed as the King of Wu.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=12}}

At the end of 221, Shu invaded Wu in response for Guan Yu's killing and the loss of Jing Province by Wu. In the spring of 222, Liu Bei arrived at the scene to personally take command of the invasion. Sun Quan dispatched Lu Xun to command over the defence of Wu against the invasion by Shu. Against the advice of his subordinates, Lu Xun waited until Liu Bei was committed along the Yangtze below the Yangtze Gorges. Finally, in the sixth month of 222, [[Lu Xun (Three Kingdoms)|Lu Xun]] launched a [[Battle of Xiaoting|series of fire attacks]] against the flank of Liu Bei's extended position which caused disorder in the Shu army and Liu Bei's retreat to [[Baidicheng|Baidi]] (near present-day [[Fengjie]]) Afterwards in 222, Sun Quan renounced his suzerainty to Wei and declared the independence of Wu. In 223, Liu Bei perished at Baidi. Zhuge Liang now acted as a regent for the 17-year-old Liu Shan, and held control of the Shu government. Shu and Wu resumed their diplomatic relations by re-establishing peace and alliance in the winter of 223. On 23 June 229, Sun Quan proclaimed himself as the Emperor of Wu.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=12–13, 16, 20–22}}

Shu controlled the upper Han valley and the territory west of the Yangtze Gorges. The Qinling Mountains divided Shu and Wei. Wei held control over the Wei and Huai valley, where agricultural garrisons were established at Shouchun and Hefei to defend Huai. Military sorties by Wu against Hefei and Shouchun would consistently end in failure, thereby confirming Wei's hold over Huai. Wu controlled all of the Yangtze valley. The territory between the Huai and Yangtze was a desolate area, where a largely-static frontier between Wei and Wu had formed at the lower Han valley.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=13}}
[[File:Map of China During the Period of the Three Kingdoms.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Map of the Three Kingdoms]]

===Shu ===
{{main|Shu Han}}
{{See also|Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign|Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions}}
[[File:Battle of Yiling.png|thumb|left|Map showing Battle of Yiling between Shu Han and Wu kingdoms.]]
In 223, [[Liu Shan]] rose to the throne of [[Shu Han|Shu]] following his father's defeat and death. From 224 to 225, during his southward campaigns, Zhuge Liang conquered the southern territories up to [[Lake Dian]] in Yunnan.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=22}}

In 227, Zhuge Liang transferred his main Shu armies to [[Hanzhong]], and opened up the battle for the northwest with Wei. The next year, he ordered [[Zhao Yun]] to attack from Ji Gorge as a diversion while Zhuge himself led the main force to Mount Qi. The vanguard [[Ma Su]] suffered a tactical defeat at [[Battle of Jieting|Jieting]] and the Shu army was forced to withdraw. In the next six years Zhuge Liang attempted several more offensives, but supply problems limited the capacity for success. In 234, he led his last great northern offensive, reaching the [[Battle of Wuzhang Plains]] south of the [[Wei River]]. Due to the death of Zhuge Liang in 234, the Shu army was forced once again to withdraw, but were pursued by Wei. The Shu forces began to withdraw; [[Sima Yi]] deduced Zhuge Liang's demise and ordered an attack. Shu struck back almost immediately, causing Sima Yi to second guess and allow Shu to withdraw successfully.

===Wu===
{{main|Eastern Wu}}
[[File:Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign.png|thumb|Zhuge Liang's Southern Campaign]]
Sun Quan turned to the aborigines of the southeast, whom the Chinese collectively called the [[Baiyue|Shanyue]]. A collection of successes against the rebellious tribesmen culminated in the victory of 224. In that year, [[Zhuge Ke]] ended a three-year siege of Danyang with the surrender of 100,000 Shanyue. Of these, 40,000 were drafted as auxiliaries into the Wu army. Meanwhile, Shu was also experiencing troubles with the indigenous tribes of their south. The southwestern [[Nanman]] peoples rose in revolt against Shu authority, captured and looted cities in Yi Province. Zhuge Liang, recognising the importance of stability in the south, ordered the advance of the Shu armies in three columns against the Nanman. He fought a number of engagements against the chieftain [[Meng Huo]], at the end of which Meng Huo submitted. A tribesman was allowed to reside at the Shu capital [[Chengdu]] as an official and the Nanman formed their own battalions within the Shu army.

[[File:Zhuge Liang 1st and 2nd Northern Expeditions.png|thumb|left|Zhuge Liang's first and second northern expeditions against Cao Wei]]
[[File:Zhuge Liang 3rd Northern Expedition.png|thumb|left|Zhuge Liang's third northern expedition against Cao Wei]]
[[File:Zhuge Liang 4th and 5th Northern Expeditions.png|thumb|left|Zhuge Liang's fourth and fifth northern expeditions against Cao Wei]]

In the times of [[Zhuge Liang]]'s northern offensives, the state of Wu had always been on the defensive against invasions from the north. The area around [[Hefei]] was the scene of many bitter battles and under constant pressure from Wei after the Battle of Red Cliffs. Warfare had grown so intense that many of the residents chose to migrate and resettle south of the Yangtze. After Zhuge Liang's death, attacks on the southern [[Huai River]] region intensified but nonetheless, Wei could not break through the line of the river defences erected by Wu, which included the Ruxu fortress.

Sun Quan's long reign is regarded as a time of plenty for his southern state. Migrations from the north and the settlement of the Shanyue increased manpower for agriculture, especially along the lower reaches of the Yangtze and in [[Kuaiji Commandery]] along the southern shore of [[Hangzhou Bay]]. River transport blossomed, with the construction of the Zhedong and Jiangnan canals. Trade with Shu flourished, with a huge influx of Shu cotton and the development of [[celadon]] and metal industries. Sea journeys were made to Liaodong and the island of [[Yizhou (island)|Yizhou]] (probably modern [[Ryukyus]] or [[Taiwan]]). In the south, Wu merchants reached Linyi (southern [[Vietnam]]) and [[Funan Kingdom]]. As the economy prospered, so too did the arts and culture. In the Yangtze delta, the first Buddhist influences reached the south from Luoyang.

The Eastern Wu era was a formative period in [[Vietnamese history]]. A [[Jiaozhou (region)|Jiaozhou]] (modern Vietnam and [[Guangzhou]]) prefect, [[Shi Xie]], ruled Vietnam as an autonomous warlord for forty years and was posthumously deified by later Vietnamese emperors.<ref>Taylor, Keith Weller (1 April 1991). [https://books.google.com/books?id=rCl_02LnNVIC&pg=PA70 "The Birth of Vietnam"]. University of California Press – via Google Books.</ref> [[Shi Xie]] pledged loyalty to Eastern Wu. Originally satisfied with Eastern Wu's rule, the [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] opposed [[Shi Hui (Three Kingdoms)|Shi Hui]]'s rebellion against Eastern Wu and attacked him for it. However, when the Wu general [[Lü Dai]] betrayed Shi Hui and executed the entire Shi family, the Vietnamese became greatly upset. In 248, the people of [[Jiaozhi]] and [[Jiuzhen]] commanderies rebelled. Eastern Wu sent [[Lu Yin (Three Kingdoms)|Lu Yin]] to deal with the rebels. He managed to pacify the rebels with a combination of threats and persuasion. However the rebels regrouped under the leadership of [[Lady Triệu]] in Jiuzhen and renewed the rebellion with a march on Jiaozhi. After several months of warfare she was defeated and committed suicide.{{sfn|Taylor|1983|p=70}}

===Wei===
{{main|Cao Wei}}
In 226, Cao Pi died at the age of 40, and was succeeded by his eldest son Cao Rui (aged 22) Minister Chen Qun, General Cao Zhen, General Cao Xiu, and General Sima Yi{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Earlier, in 217, Sima Yi had become a member of the heir apparent Cao Pi's entourage. He steadily rose in position during Cao Pi's reign. (Crespigny 1991,31)}} were appointed as regents, even though Cao Rui was able to manage the government in practice. Eventually the former three died, leaving only Sima Yi as the senior minister and military commander. In 226, Sima Yi successfully defended Xiangyang against an offensive from Wu; this battle was the first time he had command in the field. In 227, Sima Yi was appointed to a post at Chang'an where he managed the military affairs along the Han River.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=31–32}}

On the northern frontiers, the remnants of the [[Xiongnu|Southern Xiongnu]] had been reorganized into the Five Divisions in modern-day [[Shanxi]] by Cao Cao in 216 and continued to serve as auxiliaries for the Wei. The [[Xianbei]] of the steppe were also migrating in large groups into the Chinese interior. Particularly in the northeast, where the [[Wuhuan]] was defeated by Cao Cao, the Xianbei tribes offered their submissions and became vassals to the Chinese court. The power vacuum left behind by the Wuhuan was filled by the Xianbei, and the Wuhuan gradually assimilated with the Xianbei and [[Han Chinese]]. One Xianbei chieftain, [[Kebineng]], was among the earliest to submit, but by 224, his forces had grown considerably and began to harass Wei's borders before he was assassinated in 235.{{Sfn|de Crespigny|1984}}

In 238, Sima Yi was dispatched to command a [[Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign|military campaign against Gongsun Yuan]] of the self-proclaimed the [[Yan Kingdom (Three Kingdoms)|Yan Kingdom]] in Liaodong, resulting in Sima Yi's capture of his capital Xiangping and massacre of his government. Between 244 and 245, General [[Guanqiu Jian]] was dispatched to [[Goguryeo–Wei War|invade Goguryeo]] and severely devastated that state. The northeastern frontier of Wei was now secured from any possible threats.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=32}} The invasions, a retaliation against a Goguryeo raid in 242, destroyed the Goguryeo capital of [[Hwando]], sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributary relationships between Goguryeo and the other tribes of Korea that formed much of Goguryeo's economy. Although the king evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts.<ref name="byington93">Byington, Mark E. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111005153543/http://english.historyfoundation.or.kr/Data/Jnah/J4_1_S4.pdf "Control or Conquer? Koguryŏ's Relations with States and Peoples in Manchuria"], ''Journal of Northeast Asian History'' volume 4, number 1 (June 2007):93.</ref>

[[File:Portrait full-length Cao Zhi.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Cao Zhi]] as depicted in ''Goddess of Luo River'' (detail) by [[Gu Kaizhi]]]]

In 238, Cao Rui perished at age 35. He was succeeded by his adopted son Cao Fang (aged 7), who was a close member of the imperial family. Cao Rui had appointed Cao Shuang and Sima Yi to be Cao Fang's regents, even though he had contemplated to establish a regency council dominated by imperial family members. Cao Shuang held the principal control over the court. Meanwhile, Sima Yi was received the honorific title of Grand Tutor, but had virtually no influence at the court.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=32}}