After Zhou Yu’s death, relations between Liu Bei and Sun Quan deteriorated, but not to the point of outright war. Following Zhuge Liang's advice, Liu Bei invaded and conquered Xichuan, where the incompetent noble Liu Zhang ruled. He also took Hanzhong, which had been in Cao Cao’s control. Liu Bei proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong, while Cao Cao had himself promoted from Prime Minister to King of Wei; Sun Quan was known as the Duke of Wu. At this time, Liu Bei ruled a vast area of land from Jingzhou to Sichuan in the west. This would later serve as a strong foundation for the founding of the Kingdom of Shu-Han. Meanwhile, Sun Quan and Cao
Cao were also at war, with defeats and victories for both sides at the battles of Ruxu and Hefei.
The situation among the three major powers almost reached a stalemate after this, until Cao Cao died due to a brain tumor. The following year, Cao Cao’s son Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate, ending the Han Dynasty which had lasted for centuries. Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and renamed his dynasty Cao Wei. In response to this, Liu Bei declared himself Emperor of Shu-Han, to signify that he still carried on the bloodline of the Han royal family, but was based in Shu.
Death of Guan Yu
Sun Quan, tired of Liu Bei’s repeated refusals to hand over Jingzhou, made plans to retake it. He made peace with Cao Cao and was bestowed the title of Prince of Wu. Liu Bei left his sworn brother Guan Yu in charge of Jingzhou, and Guan led the Jingzhou troops to attack Cao Cao. Sun Quan took advantage of the situation and sent Lu Meng to seize Jingzhou. Lu Meng disguised his troops as merchants and finessed a quiet entry. As Guan was besieging Wei general Cao Ren, Lu Meng's forces attacked Guan from the rear , and routed his army with ease. In desperate retreat, his army scattered, Guan Yu was captured. Sun Quan had him beheaded after he refused to renounce his loyalty to Liu Bei. Liu Bei deeply grieved the death of Guan Yu and the loss of Jingzhou. He was already planning to avenge Guan Yu when he heard that his other sworn brother, Zhang Fei, had been murdered in his sleep by subordinates who then fled to Eastern Wu.
Liu Bei was determined to avenge both brothers. Disregarding advice from Zhuge Liang and others, Liu Bei led a formidable army of 750,000 to attack East Wu.
The Battle of Yiling
Sun Quan offered Liu Bei the return of the Jing province and of his sister (Liu's ex-wife Sun Ren). Liu Bei's advisers, including Zhuge Liang, urged him to accept these terms, but Liu persisted. After initial victories, a series of strategic mistakes due to the impetuosity of Liu Bei led to the cataclysmic defeat of Han troops in the Battle of Yiling. However, Lu Xun, the commander of Wu who spearheaded the war against Shu-Han, refrained from pursuing Liu Bei’s defeated troops. Famous generals from both Wu and Shu-Han forces perished. Lu Xun’s caution
was vindicated when Cao Pi launched an invasion against Wu, thinking that Wu forces would still be abroad. The invasion was crushed by strong Wu resistance, coupled with a plague outbreak.
An artist impression of Zhuge Liang holding his trademark feather fan.Meanwhile, in Baidicheng, sixty-two year old Liu Bei, ailing after three years of neglecting his health, died, leaving his young son Liu Shan in the care of Zhuge Liang. In a moving final conversation between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang to assume the imperial throne himself in place of Liu Shan, should Liu Shan prove to be inept. He refused to do so, and swore that he would remain faithful to the trust that Liu Bei had for him. This promise was to be a raison d'être for the rest of Zhuge Liang's life.
Zhuge Liang calmly fends off five armies
Cao Pi, following Sima Yi’s advice, induced several forces, including Sun Quan, turncoat Shu general Meng Da, Meng Huo of the Nanman, and the Qiang tribe, to attack Shu Han, in coordination with a Cao Wei army. Zhuge Liang successfully deployed the Shu Han troops and caused the five armies to retreat without shedding a single drop of blood. An envoy from Shu Han named Deng Zhi subsequently persuaded Sun Quan to renew its former alliance with Shu Han.
In one of his final strokes of brilliance, Zhuge Liang personally led the Shu troops to subdue the southern barbarian king Meng Huo of the Nanman tribe. The barbarian troops were no match for the Shu troops and Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times by using cunning strategies.
The first six times, Meng Huo complained that he had been captured by trickery, and had no
chance to fight a real battle with the Shu troops. Zhuge Liang agreed to let him go every time, allowing him to come back again for another battle. The seventh time, Zhuge Liang wanted to release Meng Huo once again but this time Meng Huo refused. Meng Huo was ashamed of rebelling against Shu-Han and was so deeply touched by Zhuge Liang’s benevolence that he swore allegiance to Shu-Han forever.
The battle of wits between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi At this time, Cao Pi also died of illness and was
succeeded by Cao Rui. Ma Chao died of illness as well, age 48. In Jiangdong, Sun Quan declared himself
Emperor of East Wu. Zhuge Liang then turned his eyes northwards, and planned to attack Wei to restore the Han Dynasty as he had promised Liu Bei at the latter’s deathbed. However, his days were numbered and Shu
was far too weak to overcome the material superiority of Wei. His last significant victory against Wei was
probably the defection of Jiang Wei, a young general whose brilliance paralleled his own.
Zhuge Liang had all along had a chronic illness, which was compounded when he refused to rest even into the early hours of the morning, so that he would be able to complete his analysis of the battlegrounds or to formulate his next plan. He finally died of sickness at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, while leading a stalemated battle against the Wei commander, Sima Yi, with his far superior force. As a final ploy, he set up a statue of himself to scare off Sima Yi in order to buy time for the Shu army to retreat.
The Sima family controls Wei
The long years of battle between Wei and Shu saw many changes in the ruling Cao family in Wei. The Cao family gradually grew weak after the death of Cao Rui and Sima Yi slowly plotted to usurp the throne. Sima Yi removed Cao Shuang, a powerful noble of Wei from power with a cunning strategy and since then the power of Wei had been in the hands of Sima Yi. After Sima Yi’s death, his sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao continued wielding the power of Wei in their hands. Sima Zhao had Cao Fang removed from the throne and replaced Cao
Fang with Cao Mao. Later, Cao Mao tried to assassinate Sima Zhao, who had the intention of usurping the throne, but was killed by Sima Zhao’s subordinate. Sima Zhao pretended to grieve and mourn Cao Mao’s death and even later had his subordinate, whom he ordered to kill Cao Mao, executed for committing regicide.
End of the Three Kingdoms
Jiang Wei, who succeeded Zhuge Liang’s brilliance, carried on Zhuge Liang’s campaign against Wei for a bitter three decades. However, Liu Bei’s son Liu Shan did
not heed Jiang Wei’s advice and listened to the evil eunuch Huang Hao instead. In order to escape from the rival officials in the court, Jiang Wei decided to resigned from his military title for the time being and went off to a fertile land of Tazhong. The Wei general Deng Ai, who was at war with Jiang Wei, took the chance to attack Shu-Han. Deng Ai and his troops arrived in front of Chengdu, the capital city of Shu-Han, by taking a shortcut. Liu Shan surrendered without a battle and ended the Kingdom of Shu-Han. Jiang Wei planned to rebuild Shu-Han by uniting forces with a Wei general, Zhong Hui, who was at odds with Deng Ai. However, he was not able to see it to the end when his heartache grew intolerable in the midst of the final battle. Seeing the rebellion has failed, he then killed himself with a sword, marking the last stand of Shu.
In Eastern Wu, there was internal conflict among the nobles ever since the death of Sun Quan.
Zhuge Ke tried to usurp the throne of Eastern Wu but was assassinated by Sun Lin. Later, Sun Lin himself also lusted for power and had the emperor of Eastern Wu Sun Liang deposed and replaced with Sun Xiu. Sun Xiu sought help from the old veteran general Ding Feng and had Sun Lin assassinated, and the power of Eastern Wu went back into the hands of the emperor. This did not last for long.
In Wei, Sima Yan, son of Sima Zhao, finally forced the last Wei emperor Cao Huan to abdicate in the same manner as Cao Pi had forced Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate. Sima Yan established the Jin Dynasty in AD 265, declaring himself the first emperor of the new dynasty. The Kingdom of Wei came to an end.
Sima Yan ordered the Jin troops to attack Eastern Wu from the former land of Shu-Han and succeeded in conquering Eastern Wu after a long period of struggle when the last tyrannical emperor of Eastern Wu, Sun Hao surrendered. Thus the Three Kingdoms period concluded after almost a century of civil strife.
Movie Synopsis
In an age of turmoil, heroes will rise. . . It is the end of the 2nd Century and China is in a state of turmoil. The land is divided by warlords and the country is facing famine, droughts, and invasion from bordering tribes. On top of the problems the country is facing, Zhang Jiao and his brothers begin to rebel against the Han, while advocating the arrival of a new era, the era of the "Yellow Dragon," implying that if people followed him, they would lead prosperous lives. Thousands of desperate villagers flocked to follow Zhang Jiao as they raided government offices and plundered towns and villages alike in protest of heavy taxation, wearing only a
"yellow turban" on their heads. As their strengths and numbers grew, the "Yellow Turbans" overthrew some of the Imperial Court's best generals and strongest forces. Concerned for their capital in Luo Yang and for the Han empire, the Imperial Court immediately constructed an "alliance" by requesting volunteers across the country to settle the rebellion. Three distinct generals were recruited - Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian. Together with their own officers, the Yellow Turban rebellion was quickly laid to rest and each of the men involved immediately gained popularity and
