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Between 160 and 290 A.D., Imperial China went through a great upheaval. The Han dynasty was crumbling, conspiracies and rebellions were plaguing the land, and men of ambition were making their place in history. This was the period of the Three Kingdoms, when three of China's pre-Imperial kingdoms would reappear for a brief moment and move China from an old dynasty to a new. The tales of this interesting period would serve as a foundation for Chinese culture, and the heroes (and villains) would live forever in the souls of the Chinese.
The story begins with the Yellow Scarves Rebellion. Half a million men, tired of an inefficient government and an apathetic court gather under the fundamentalist Zhang Jue to overthrow the government and the Emperor. As the various lords and generals move to fight this menace, three strangers with no rank or position, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei make an oath together under a peach tree to save the Han Dynasty or die together trying. A young magistrate named Cao Cao is made a general and his place in history is sealed. Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Sun Jian, and others are given rank through this conflict, but this is only the beginning.
After Zhang Jue and his rebels are defeated, evil men take advantage of the chaos created. The Imperial Guardian is assassinated by the eunuchs and Yuan Shao and Cao Cao purge them from the government in retaliation. Dong Zhuo then declares himself Prime Minister and makes Lu Bu, the greatest warrior in China his right-hand man. Cao Cao approaches the various lords to create a confederacy to fight Dong Zhuo, and Yuan Shao is appointed commander-in-chief of the alliance. The confederacy manages to drive Dong Zhuo from the capital Loyang to the western capital Changan, but then the alliance crumbles through backbiting and recriminations. The future looks bleak.
Lu Bu falls in love with a girl, but Dong Zhuo takes her for himself. Full of rage, Lu Bu kills Dong Zhuo but then is driven away by Dong Zhuo's generals. Cao Cao then rescues the Emperor and in gratitude Cao Cao is named Prime Minister. He immediately sets out to stabilize the land. Sun Jian dies and his son Sun Ce takes his place. He gives the Hereditary Seal to Yuan Shu, and immediately Yuan Shu declares himself Emperor. Lu Bu finally seeks refuge with Liu Bei, who is now an Imperial Protector of a province. They work together to repulse Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, but then he betrays Liu Bei and seizes his land. Liu Bei then makes an alliance with Cao Cao and they destroy Lu Bu.
Cao Cao becomes more powerful, and the Emperor decides to organize a conspiracy to dislodge him. Liu Bei, being a distant relative of the Emperor enters the conspiracy. However, the scheme is discovered and the conspirators in the capital are all executed. Yuan Shao, the powerful ruler of the North Lands realizes that Cao Cao, his one-time ally is out for power and they declare war on each other. Liu Bei escapes destruction but his lands are seized. Yuan Shao is then defeated and destroyed, and Cao Cao claims the Hereditary Seal.
In Jing Zhou, Liu Bei meets the local wise men, and after three tries he enlists Zhuge Liang, the greatest military genius of the era. They make an alliance with Sun Qan, the new ruler of the South Land (Wu) to repulse Cao Cao, who has now united the North Land and the Middle Land to create the kingdom of Wei. Liu Bei then enters the land of Shu and creates the kingdom of Shu. The three kingdoms are now in existence.
Cao Cao dies, and his son Cao Pi deposes the Han emperor and sets himself in his place. Liu Bei realizes that his dynasty has collapsed, so he declares himself Emperor to rival Wei. Sun Qan demands the Jing Zhou province, and when Liu Bei refuses the kingdom of Wu seizes the province. Liu Bei dies shortly afterwards, and he makes Zhuge Liang the Regent Marshal of Shu. Zhuge Liang attempts to invade Wei, but Sima Yi of Wei brilliantly repulses him every time. Sima Yi rises from being a mere secretary to Regent Marshal of Wei. Zhuge Liang dies and his protege Jiang Wei continues the fight, but he is not able to match Sima Yi. Dishonest eunuchs come to power in the courts of Wu and Shu, and thus history repeats itself.
The story ends when the Sima Yi's sons organize a coup and remove the Wei dynasty. They eventually defeat Shu and then Wu, and the Empire is restored. Thus the three kingdoms Shu, Wei, and Wu fall to the poweful Jin dynasty, and the land is united once again.
Click on the following to the the heroes of each kingdom:
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