The fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a long process. If the battle between the eunuchs is the starting point of the fall of the country, then the Yellow Turban Rebellion is the turning point from the slow fall to the collapse of the building, and the Han Xian Emperor was proclaimed, which is the announcement of the existence of the Eastern Han Dynasty regime in name only. Even so, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was first held hostage by Dong Zhuo and Li Dao, and then controlled by Cao Cao, allowing him to "coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes", but the Eastern Han regime still existed in name for more than 30 years, and it was not until Cao Pi officially usurped the Han Dynasty as emperor that the Eastern Han Dynasty really ended.
What followed was the Three Kingdoms era, in which Wei, Shu, and Wu successively established the country, forming a situation of great succession. Judging from the background of the formation of the political situation, the establishment of the Three Kingdoms can be said to be the result of three wars.
Zhao Yun played by Andy Lau
The first was the Battle of Guandu, in which Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and unified the north with strategies such as raiding the enemy's granary; the second was the Battle of Chibi, in which the Wu-Shu coalition army repelled Cao Cao who was heading south with strategies such as burning serial ships, leaving a situation of confrontation between the north and the south; and the third was the Battle of Yanling, in which the Shu army was lured by Wu to stretch the battle line and was defeated, but the two countries failed to destroy each other, and as a result, each was in its own position. The three wars not only left behind the legendary plot of defeating the strong with the weak, but also the formation process of the situation of the three kingdoms.
In other words, the establishment of the Three Kingdoms is the result of the balance of power. Cao Cao in the north had the power of coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and later the Wei State was established, with Luoyang as the capital, showing his political orthodox status. In addition, the Wei State implemented Tuntian, implemented the nine-product Zhongzheng system, and had Xun Yu, Guo Jia and other advisers, maintaining the advantages in economic and military aspects.
Sun Quan in the southeast established a political alliance with the great clans of the south, and although this alliance weakened the central government, it brought relative social stability and became the longest regime in China among the three kingdoms. In addition, Wu had the convenience of trade, the benefits of fish and salt, and had advisers such as Zhou Yu and Lu Su, and guarded the Yangtze River, providing conditions to resist the north.
Liu Bei in the southwest, who claimed to be a descendant of the Han Dynasty clan, had a certain political appeal. In addition, the land of Bashu is not only the country of abundance, but also a military danger. Prime Minister Zhuge Liang is regarded as the soul of Shu, and has made considerable achievements in promoting political reform, military operations, and economic development, which is enough to make Shu entrenched.
However, the so-called Dingli in the Three Kingdoms era is really not a confrontation of equal forces, and Dingzu is not coarse and unanimous. The north has the Yellow River Valley, which has economic, military and cultural advantages. Taking the population as an example, the population of Wei is estimated to be more than 4.4 million, but the Wu state has only about 2.2 million, and the Shu state has only about 900,000. Population represents not only the labor force, but also the source of talent and soldiers.
In traditional political thinking, unity is the norm, and division is often understood as a special political phenomenon in which the central government is weak. The three countries have always attacked each other, and they all have put on a posture of wanting to unify the world. However, the north always had an absolute advantage, and with the recovery of all aspects of economy and society, it finally went south to unify China again, ending the situation of the three kingdoms.
In the process of reunification, we emphasize the unification of the North with the South, because from the perspective of the regime, the three countries are all losers. Shu was the first to fall and was annexed by Wei. However, the Wei regime was controlled by the Sima family for a long time, and later Sima Yan seized it and established the Western Jin Dynasty. The state of Wu was finally destroyed by the Western Jin Dynasty, and the situation of the Three Kingdoms that had lasted for about 60 years came to an end.
In terms of historical role, the Three Kingdoms era was a transitional period from the collapse of one great unified regime to the establishment of another. However, the war stories and legends left behind in the Three Kingdoms era have left a rich space for imagination for future generations.