Editing Three Kingdoms (section)

=== Collapse of central power ===
{{see also|Mufu}}
In 192, there was some talk among the coalition of appointing [[Liu Yu (warlord)|Liu Yu]], an imperial relative, as emperor, and gradually its members began to fall out. Most of the warlords in the coalition, with a few exceptions, sought the increase of personal military power in the time of instability instead of seriously wishing to restore the Han dynasty's authority. The Han empire was divided between a number of regional warlords. As a result of the complete collapse of the central government and eastern alliance, the [[North China Plain]] fell into warfare and anarchy with many contenders vying for success or survival. [[Emperor Xian]] fell into the hands of various warlords in Chang'an.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=2}}

Dong Zhuo, confident in his success, was slain by his follower [[Lü Bu]], who plotted with minister [[Wang Yun (Han dynasty)|Wang Yun]]. Lü Bu, in turn, was [[Battle of Chang'an|attacked by Dong Zhuo's former officers]]: [[Li Jue (Han dynasty)|Li Jue]], [[Guo Si]], [[Zhang Ji (Han dynasty)|Zhang Ji]] and [[Fan Chou]]. Wang Yun and his whole family were executed. Lü Bu fled to [[Zhang Yang (warlord)|Zhang Yang]], a northern warlord, and remained with him for a time before briefly joining Yuan Shao, but it was clear that Lü Bu was far too independent to serve another. Yuan Shao operated from [[Ye (Hebei)|Ye]] city in [[Ji Province]], extending his power north of the Yellow River. Han Fu had formerly been the Governor of Ji Province, but he came under the control of Yuan Shao and was replaced by him.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=2–3}}

Between the Yellow and Huai rivers, a conflict had erupted between Yuan Shu, [[Cao Cao]], [[Tao Qian (Han dynasty)|Tao Qian]] (Governor of [[Xu Province]]) and Lü Bu. Cao Cao forced the Yellow Turbans to surrender in 192, drove Yuan Shu to the south of the Huai River in 193, inflicted devastation upon Tao Qian in 194, received the surrender of Liu Bei (then a commander under Tao Qian) in 196, and captured and executed Lü Bu in 198. Cao was now in complete control of the southern part of the North China Plain.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=2–4}}

In the northeast, [[Gongsun Du]] held control of the [[Liaodong Peninsula]] and its environs, where he had established a state. He was succeeded by his son [[Gongsun Kang]] in 204. In the north across the frontier, the [[Xiongnu|Southern Xiongnu]] vassal state had also collapsed, leading to the dispersion of their tribes and the rise of the [[Xiuchuge]], while the [[Xianbei]] people of the steppe began migrating southward into China. Another Han vassal, the [[Wuhuan]], were also growing in power in the northeast. [[Goguryeo]] was invaded by warlord [[Gongsun Kang]] in 204, resulting in the [[Daifang Commandery]]. In 209, Kang invaded Goguryeo again, took the capital of Goguryeo and forced them to submit. Goguryeo was forced to move its capital further east.{{sfn|de Crespigny|2007|p=988}} In Liang Province (present-day Gansu), [[Liang Province Rebellion|rebellion had erupted in 184]]. In the west, Liu Yan had been Governor of [[Yi Province]] since his appointment in 188. He was succeeded by his son Liu Zhang in 194. Directly north of Liu Zhang's territory, Zhang Lu, leader of the [[Five Pecks of Rice]], led the theocratic government at Hanzhong commandery on the upper Han River. Liu Biao held control over his province as the Governor of Jing Province. Sun Quan held control over the lower Yangtze.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=6–8}}

====Xu and Yan provinces====
In 194, Cao Cao went to war with [[Tao Qian (Han dynasty)|Tao Qian]] of Xu Province, because Tao's subordinate Zhang Kai had murdered Cao Cao's father [[Cao Song]]. Tao Qian received the support of [[Liu Bei]] and Gongsun Zan, but even then it seemed as if Cao Cao's superior forces would overrun Xu Province entirely. Cao Cao received word that [[Lü Bu]] had seized Yan Province in his absence, and accordingly he retreated, putting a halt to hostilities with Tao Qian for the time being. Tao Qian died in the same year, leaving his province to Liu Bei. A year later, in 195, Cao Cao managed to drive Lü Bu out of Yan Province. Lü Bu fled to Xu Province and was received by Liu Bei, and an uneasy alliance began between the two.

Afterwards, Lü Bu betrayed Liu Bei and seized Xu Province, forming an alliance with Yuan Shu's remnant forces. Liu Bei, together with his followers [[Guan Yu]] and [[Zhang Fei]], fled to Cao Cao, who accepted him. Soon, preparations were made for an attack on Lü Bu, and the combined forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei invaded Xu Province. Lü Bu's men deserted him, Yuan Shu's forces never arrived as reinforcements, and he was bound by his own subordinates and executed on Cao Cao's order.

====Huai River====
{{Main|Campaign against Yuan Shu}}
Yuan Shu, after being driven south in 193, established himself at his new capital Shouchun (present-day Anhui). He attempted to regain lost territory north of the Huai River. In 197, Yuan Shu declared himself emperor of his own dynasty. The move was a strategic blunder, as it drew the ire of many warlords across the land, including Yuan Shu's own subordinates who almost all abandoned him. Abandoned by almost all his allies and followers, he perished in 199.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=3–4}}

====Emperor Xian's fate====
In August 195, Emperor Xian fled the tyranny of Li Jue at Chang'an and made a year long hazardous journey east in search of supporters. In 196, Emperor Xian came under the protection and control of Cao Cao after he had succeeded in fleeing from the warlords of Chang'an. Establishing the imperial court at [[Xuchang]] in Henan, Cao Cao—who now held the ''de facto'' control—rigorously followed the formalities of the court and justified his actions as a loyal minister of the Han. By then, most of the smaller contenders for power had either been absorbed by larger ones or destroyed. This was an extremely important move for Cao Cao following the suggestion from his primary adviser, [[Xun Yu]], commenting that by supporting the authentic emperor, Cao Cao would have the formal legal authority to control the other warlords and force them to comply in order to restore the Han dynasty.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=4}}

====North China Plain====
Cao Cao, whose zone of control was the precursor to the state of Cao Wei, had raised an army in 189. In several strategic movements and battles, he controlled Yan Province and defeated several factions of the Yellow Turban rebels. This earned him the aid of other local militaries controlled by [[Zhang Miao (politician)|Zhang Miao]] and [[Chen Gong]], who joined his cause to create his first sizeable army. He continued the effort and absorbed approximately 300,000 Yellow Turban rebels into his army as well as a number of clan-based military groups from the eastern part of Qing Province. Since 192, he developed military agricultural colonies (''[[tuntian]]'') to support his army. Although the system imposed a heavy tax on hired civilian farmers (40% to 60% of agricultural production), the farmers were more than pleased to be able to work with relative stability and professional military protection in a time of chaos. This was later said to be his second important policy for success.

In 200, [[Dong Cheng (Han dynasty)|Dong Cheng]], an imperial relative, received a secret edict from Emperor Xian to assassinate Cao Cao. He collaborated with Liu Bei on this effort, but Cao Cao soon found out about the plot and had Dong Cheng and his conspirators executed, with only Liu Bei surviving and fleeing to join Yuan Shao in the north. After settling the nearby provinces, including a rebellion led by former Yellow Turbans, and internal affairs with the court, Cao Cao turned his attention north to Yuan Shao, who himself had eliminated his northern rival Gongsun Zan that same year. Yuan Shao, himself of higher nobility than Cao Cao, amassed a large army and camped along the northern bank of the Yellow River. In the summer of 200, after months of preparations, the armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao clashed at the [[Battle of Guandu]] (near present-day Kaifeng). Cao Cao's army was heavily outnumbered by Yuan Shao. Due to a raid in Yuan's supply train, Yuan's army fell into disorder as they fled back north.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=4}}

Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shao's death in 202, which resulted in division among his sons, and advanced to the north. In 204, after the [[Battle of Ye]], Cao Cao captured the city of [[Ye, China|Ye]]. By the end of 207, after a victorious campaign beyond the frontier against the [[Wuhuan]] culminating in the [[Battle of White Wolf Mountain]], Cao Cao achieved complete dominance of the [[North China Plain]]. He now controlled China's heartland, including Yuan Shao's former territory, and half of the Chinese population.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=4, 6}}

====South of the Yangtze====
In 193, Huang Zu led the forces of Liu Biao in a campaign against Sun Jian (Yuan Shu's subordinate general) and killed him. In 194, Sun Ce (aged 18) came into the military service under Yuan Shu. He was given the command of some troops who formerly had been commanded by his late father Sun Jian. In the south, he defeated the warlords of [[Yang Province]], including [[Liu Yao (warlord)|Liu Yao]], [[Wang Lang (Cao Wei)|Wang Lang]], and [[Yan Baihu]].{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=7–8}}

In 198, Sun Ce (aged 23) declared his independence from Yuan Shu who recently had declared himself emperor. He held control over Danyang, Wu, and [[Kuaiji Commandery|Kuaiji]] commanderies (from present-day [[Nanjing]] to the [[Hangzhou Bay]], and some outposts at the [[Fujian]] coast), while expanding westward in a series of campaigns. By 200, he had conquered Yuzhang commandery (at present-day [[Lake Poyang]] in [[Jiangxi]]) and Lujiang north of the Yangtze. In 200, Sun Ce was ambushed and assassinated by the former retainers of a defeated rival from Wu.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=7–8}} At 18, [[Sun Quan]] succeeded him and quickly established his authority. By 203, he was expanding westward. In 208, Sun Quan defeated Huang Zu (Liu Biao's subordinate commander) around present-day Wuhan. He now held control over the territories south of the Yangtze (below Wuhan, Poyang region, and Hangzhou Bay). His navy established local superiority over the Yangtze. Nevertheless, he would soon come under the threat of Cao Cao's larger armies.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=8}}

====Jing Province====
During Dong Zhuo's reign over the Han government, [[Liu Biao]] had been appointed as the governor of Jing Province. His territory was located around his capital Xiangyang and the territory to the south around the Han and Yangtze River. Beyond his eastern border was the territory of Sun Quan.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=8}}

In 200, during the time of the campaign around Guandu between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, Liu Bei's forces had been defeated by a detachment of Cao Cao's army, forcing Liu Bei to flee and seek refuge with Liu Biao in [[Jing Province]]. In this exile, Liu Bei maintained his followers who had accompanied him and made new connections within Liu Biao's entourage. It was during this time that Liu Bei also met Zhuge Liang.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|p=21}}

In the autumn of 208, Liu Biao died and was succeeded by his youngest son [[Liu Cong (Han dynasty)|Liu Cong]] over the eldest son [[Liu Qi (Liu Biao's son)|Liu Qi]] through political manoeuvring. Liu Bei had become the head of the opposition to a surrender when Cao Cao's army marched southward to Jing. After the advice of his supporters, Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao Cao took control of the province and began appointing scholars and officials from Liu Biao's court to the local government. Meanwhile, Liu Qi had joined Liu Bei to establish a line of defence at the Yangtze River against the surrender to Cao Cao, but they suffered defeat at the hands of Cao Cao. In the aftermath, they retreated and sought support from Sun Quan. Guan Yu (Liu Bei's subordinate lieutenant) had managed to retrieve most of Jing Province's fleet from the Han River. Cao Cao occupied the naval base at Jiangling on the Yangtze River. He would now begin proceeding eastwards towards Sun Quan with his armies and new fleet, while sending messengers to demand Sun Quan's surrender.{{sfn|de Crespigny|1991|pp=8–9, 21}}

==== Battle of Red Cliffs ====
{{main|Battle of Red Cliffs}}
In 208, Cao Cao marched south with his army hoping to quickly unify the empire. Liu Cong surrendered Jing Province, and Cao Cao was able to capture a sizeable fleet at Jiangling. [[Sun Quan]] continued to resist; his advisor [[Lu Su]] secured an alliance with [[Liu Bei]], himself a recent refugee from the north, and [[Zhou Yu]] was placed in command of Sun Quan's navy, along with a veteran general who served the Sun family, [[Cheng Pu]]. Liu Biao's second son, [[Liu Qi (Liu Biao's son)|Liu Qi]], joined the alliance with his troops, and the combined armies of 50,000 met Cao Cao's fleet and 200,000-man force at [[Battle of Red Cliffs|Red Cliffs]] that winter. After an initial skirmish, an attack was set in motion beginning with a plan to set fire to Cao Cao's immobilised fleet through the feigned surrender of Sun Quan's general [[Huang Gai]]. Cao Cao was defeated decisively and forced to retreat in disarray back to the north. The allied victory at Red Cliffs ensured the survival of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, and provided the basis for the states of Shu and Wu.