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And I respond by saying "yes Zhou Yu you were the foxehiest of all the military leaders in ancient China I will spread your truth. please don't hate me for making so much shameless yaoi of you and Sun Ce."

By Yu Ninjie - CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87881

While Zhuge Liang lived, the office of chancellor controlled much of the politics of Shu, but after his death in 234, three chancellors had the office by 258, after which, political power became increasingly concentrated in the eunuch faction, leading to increased corruption. Shu also failed to have any major achievements after Zhuge Liang's death. When Wei launched a three-pronged offensive, Shu was forced to retreat, giving up 'territory formerly considered impassable' as they did. Liu Shan, the second Shu emperor, surrendered to Wei only 43 years after it was founded, and Liu Shan was made the 'Duke of Safety and Happiness', which was a 'trivial position with no actual power' by the Wei Emperor.

The Wei weren't free from court intrigue, however. Beginning in the late 230s, the tensions between the Cao and Sima clan began to show. Sima Yi, who served as general, regent, and Grand Tutor, felt threatened when Cao Shuang, who was also a general and regent, placed his supporters in key posts. The Sima clan had a lot of property and their position was further boosted by Sima Yi's military victories because he was 'an extremely capable strategist and politician'. He eventually beat Cao Shuang by putsch, a type of coup carried out by a minority group, which forced Cao Shuang's faction out of their positions of authority. Many groups, including the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of scholars, writers, and musicians, protested against Sima's rising power. In 260, Cao Mao was 'killed in a failed coup against Sima Zhao' and Cao Huan, the fifth Wei emperor, took the throne. Not long after, Sima Zhao died and Sima Yan became the Duke of Jin. Sima Yan was not content with his title and sought to become emperor himself. In 266, Cao Huan decided to abdicate, establishing the Jin dynasty with Sima Yan becoming Emperor Wu of Jin, 40 years after the Wei dynasty began.

Sun Liang's ascension to the throne of Wu in 252 was the beginning of a steady decline for the state. Because Sima Zhao and his grandson Sima Shi were able to suppress rebellions in the southern Huai River, the state of Wu lacked opportunities to expand their influence beyond their borders. Sun Hao, who took the throne in 264, was the fourth emperor of Wu and would be known as Emperor Mo. He'd been a 'promising young man, but upon ascension he became a tyrant, killing or exiling all who dared oppose him in court'. In 269, a Jin general began preparations to invade Wu by building a fleet of ships and training the marines that would man them. Four years after this, Lu Kang, a Wu general, died, leaving no competent successors to take his place. In 279, Sima Yan directed five simultaneous attacks along the Yangtze River while the fleet based in Sichan sailed toward the Jing Province. Wu was unable to meet the strain caused by this attack and Jianye fell in 280 and Sun Hao surrendered.

During the nearly 125 years of the Three Kingdoms period, the population of China drastically decreased from about 56,486,856 people in 156 to 16,163,863 people as the Jin dynasty reunited China in 280, or only about 35.3% of the 156 number. The battles for land between the three and with their non-Chinese neighbors accounts for some of this, with some groups using 'scorched earth' tactics, but so do the famines of the Central Plains that caused and followed the Yellow turban Rebellion. There were also likely outbreaks of diseases as government broke down, as well as people leaving China to account for some of the decrease in population.

By Francis Lister Hawks Pott - Pott's Sketch of Chinese History, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=105271135

With the abdication of Emperor Xian on 11 December 220, the Han dynasty ended. He proclaimed that Cao Pi Emperor Wen of Wei had received the Mandate of Heaven. He would rule over the northern part of China. Not everyone accepted this, however. Liu Bei declared himself to be emperor, attempting to continuing the Han dynasty, on 15 May 221, beginning the state that would become known as the Shu, or junior, Han, which is often just referred to as Shu. He would be known as Emperor Zhaolie and would rule over the southwestern part of China. Initially, Sun Quan remained loyal to Wei and was granted the title King of Wu, ruling over the southeastern part of China, but would eventually be remembered as Emperor Da of Wu, though he wouldn't declare himself to be emperor until 229.

In late 221, Shu invaded Wu, retaliating for the loss of Jing Province and Guan Yu's death. In spring of 222, Liu Bei came to command the invasion force. Sun Quan had his general Lu Xun command the defense of Wu. While Lu Xun's subordinates advised against it, he allowed Liu Bei's forces to become committed below the Yangtze Gorges before he began to use fire attacks against Liu Bei's flank to cause disorder and forced Liu Bei to retreat. It was after this that Sun Quan declared himself independent of Wei with the largely desolate area between the Huai and Yangtze rivers forming a largely static barrier between the two. The year 223 saw Liu Bei's death, resulting in his 17 year old son, Liu Shan, and his regent Zhuge Liang controlling the Shu government and the return of diplomatic relationship between Shu and Wu.

Sun Quan focused on the 'aborigines of the southeast, whom the Chinese collectively called the Shanyue' in 224 and was able to bring about 40,000 of them into his army auxiliaries. He would go on to rule over Wu for over 40 years as both king and emperor, a time that was seen as a 'time of plenty' with the Shanyue bolstering agriculture worker numbers, which also resulted in a flourishing of transportation, construction, and trade.

The Shu were also focusing on their southern borderlands, dealing with the Nanman peoples, who were revolting against their authority and were looting in Yi Province. The Shu were able to forge a diplomatic relationship after defeating the chieftain Meng Huo. The border between Wei and Shu, especially around Hefei, was 'the scene of many bitter battles and under constant preassure 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'. Regardless of how much they tried, the Wei couldn't break through the Wu's river defenses.

By Esiymbro - Own work using:Li Xiaojie (1999). Donghan Zhengqu Dili [Administrative Geography of the Eastern Han Dynasty] CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92070972

After Dong Zhuo's death, some considered making Liu Yu emperor because he was part of the imperial family, though this began to wane as the coalition members turned their attention to enlarging their own armies rather than trying to restore the Han dynasty as things became more unstable. This resulted in the central government collapsing and Emperor Xian being captured by various warlords as they captured Chang'an. Lü Bu was attacked by Don Zhuo's officers and his co-conspirator and his entire family was executed but Lü Bu managed to escape to join with Yuan Shao who was in Ji Province and pushed north of the Yellow River, taking control from the previous Governor.

Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Lü Bu, and Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province, fought over control of the land between the Yellow and Huai Rivers. Cao Cao was able to end the Yellow Turban uprising and then drove Yuan Shu south of Huai, devastated Tao Qian because Tao Qian's subordinate had killed his father, and had Liu Bei, Tao Qian's general, surrender to him. In 196, he gained control over Emperor Xian, acting as a loyal minister and used this position to give him the 'formal legal authority to control the other warlords and force them to comply in order to restore the Han dynasty. He executed Lü Bu and ended up controlling southern China by 198.

Yuan Shu established a capital at Shouchun, modern day Anhui, after he was driven south by Cao Cao, though he attempted to push back north to regain the territory he'd lost. He declared himself Emperor in 197, though this drew the ire of many warlords and caused many of his subordinates to abandon him. He died in 199.

In 200, Cao Cao was fighting Yuan Shao's forces around Guandu while a detachment of Cao Cao's army forced Liu Bei to flee to Jing Province, where he sought refuge and was able to maintain those followers who went with him and gained more followers through Liu Biao, the Governor of Jiang Province. In 2088, when Liu Biao died, he opposed the political machinations that put Liu Biao's youngest child, Liu Cong, in the position of governor. Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, allowing Cao Cao to take control of the province. Liu Biao's oldest son, Liu Qi, joined with Liu Bei and they established a line of defense at the Yangtze River to fight against Cao Cao's take over of the province. They would eventually be forced to retreat, seeking support from Sun Quan who had power over the lower Yangtze River, though they were able to keep control over most of Jing's fleet of ships. Cao Cao took control over the port at Jiangling and worked his way eastward, demanding that Sun Quan surrender to him. At Red Cliffs, or Chibi, Cao Cao was defeated and forced to retreat back north by the alliance.

Zhou Yu, who served under Sun Quan, gained control over Jiangling in 209 and Liu Bei captured the Xiang River basin, taking control over the Southern part of Jing Province, though Sun Quan had to cede his control over Jiangling to Liu Bei after Zhou Yu's death in 210 because he lacked the ability to establish authority. In 211, Liu Bei received an invitation from Liu Zhang to aid Yi Province against a northern threat. There were factions in Liu Zhang's court that wanted Liu Bei to be in control of Yi Province, which caused conflict between the two leaders so that within a year, Liu Bei turned against Liu Zhang . By 214, Liu Zhang surrendered Yi Province to Liu Bei.

During this time, in 211, Cao Cao defeated the warlords who had control over the Wei valley, allowing him to capture Chang'an. In 215, he captured Hanzhong, which threatened Liu Bei's territory to the south. Sun Quan was fighting Cao Cao's forces over the middle Yangtze, but they were at a stalemate. Sun Quan resented Liu Bei, however, since he was the weaker ally and had so much more territory and he demanded to have more of the Xiang River basin. They were able to reach an understanding later in the year where the Xiang River would be the border between them.

By Yu Ninjie, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1389351

After infighting between officials, eunuchs, and regents with weak central authority followed by several rebellions, including the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which gained several hundred thousand followers from all over China. Even though they were defeated, the situation throughout the empire remained turbulent. Many of those who were part of the rebellion became bandits after being dispersed after their defeat, which led to Emperor Ling making Liu Yan an administrator in direct control of a regional military, which made the provinces fully administrative units leading to intra-governmental chaos and making it easier for the leaders of these provinces to cut ties with the central government.

After Emperor Ling's death, the power struggle within the capital reached a state where the frontier army of Liang Province lead by Dong Zhuo was brought in to reinforce the position of He Jin, who was the regent Marshal for Emperor Shao. He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs he was trying to overthrow when they learned of his plan. The eunuchs would have a power struggled that resulted in Louyang burning and allowed Dong Zhuo to seize de facto control over the government. He changed the emperor, deposing Emperor Shao in favor of Emperor Xian, which sparked more rebellions throughout China.