The rebellion was quickly put down with the collective effort of the various marquises under the leadership of He Jin, who was the brother-in-law of the emperor and served as the chief general to the central government. However, He Jin was soon tricked into the palace and murdered by the eunuchs. A fight then broke out within the palace between the eunuchs and angry marquises, resulting in the victory of the latter.
Among the nobles who came to the rescue of the emperor was Dong Zhuo, who was a governor of Western Liang (??). Dong took the opportunity to move into the palace under the pretense to protect the emperor. He then deposed Emperor Ling and placed in the throne Emperor Xian, whom he held in his power.
Dong Zhuo's tyrannical behavior soon aroused wrath of the marquises, who united their forces behind Yuan Shao and drove Dong from Luoyang to Chang'an. Dong was eventually killed by his own foster son Lü Bu, mightiest warrior of his time, over Diao Chan, a beautiful woman they both coveted. This scheme was orchestrated by Wang Yun, and although Dong's chief advisor Li Ru saw through the ruse, Dong did not heed his warnings.
In the mean time, however, the nobles were having internal disagreements of their own. Sun Jian, father to Sun Ce and Sun Quan, found the imperial stamp in the bottom of a well in the burnt down city of Luo Yang. Without a strong central government, the marquises returned to their own territories and soon began fighting among themselves. Many talented leaders who were formally without title or troops, such as Cao Cao and Liu Bei, were also building up their own forces.
Meanwhile, Liu Bei established his base in Xinye (??). There he acquired his chief advisor Zhuge Liang (or Kongming) after three visits to the latter's home. During the first two visits, Zhuge refused to see his visitors, pretending to be out. Only on the last visit was Zhuge moved by the sincerity and perseverance of Liu and agreed to join his side.
After quelling Yuan Shang's and Yuan Tan forces, who were fighting one another for the right to be the heir of the Yuan clan , Cao Cao soon turned his attention south. He personally led troops to invade Xinye. The people of Xinye loved and respected Liu, for he governed the city well. In face of the imminent invasion, the entire city decided to follow Liu on foot further south into Jingzhou to seek protection from Liu Biao, who was a distant cousin of Liu Bei.
Unfortunately, Liu Biao then passed away, leaving Jingzhou split between his two sons. Leading the people of Xinye to Xiangyang, where the younger son of Liu Biao ruled, Liu Bei was denied entry to the city. He had no choice but to carry on south towards Jiangxia (??), where Liu Qi ruled. By the time the exodus was complete, many civilians had been chased and killed by Cao's men. But in Jiangxia, Liu Bei was finally able to establish a foothold against the onslaught of Cao Cao.
Away in the southeast, Sun Quan was newly placed in command after the untimely death of his elder brother Sun Ce. Both Cao Cao and Liu Bei intended to ally with Sun. However, Zhuge Liang personally journeyed to Chaisang (??) and, after many attempts on his life by Wu advisor Zhou Yu, he persuaded Sun to cooperate with Liu. This collusion eventually led to Cao's heaviest defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs more commonly known as Chi Bi.
The situation among the three major powers almost reached a stalemate after this, until Cao Cao died in AD 220 (probably of a brain tumor). In the next year, Cao Cao's second son Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and formally established the kingdom of Wei. In response to this, Liu Bei declared himself Lord of the kingdom of Shu Han (to signify that he still carried on the bloodline of the Han royal family but was based in Shu).
At this time, Sun Quan's leaning swayed to Wei again. He accepted Cao Pi's acknowledgement of his status as the Lord of the kingdom of Wu. This allowed Sun to concentrate his forces against Liu Bei, who had launched a war against Wu over the slaying of Guan Yu by Sun.
A series of strategic mistakes due to the impetuosity of Liu Bei led to the defeat of Shu troops. However, Lu Xun (??), the military advisor of Wu who spearheaded the war against Shu, refrained from pursuing deep into the west. True to Lu's cautionary move, 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.