End of the Han dynasty
One of those officials, Liu Yan, suggested to Emperor Ling in 188 that the root of the agrarian revolts during that time, including the most serious one, the Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184, was that Inspectors (刺史) lacked substantial administrative powers.
Emperor Ling, convinced by Liu Yan, changed the Inspectors' titles to "Governor" (牧) and granted them the authority to levy taxes and command armed forces within the borders.
He Jin and Yuan Shao plotted to exterminate all the Ten Attendants, a group of influential eunuchs officials in the court, but Empress Dowager He disapproved of their plan.
In a fateful move, He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, a warlord controlling the battle-tested Liang Province (涼州; covering present-day Gansu), to march on the capital Luoyang to pressure Empress Dowager He into eliminating the Ten Attendants.
The young emperor appeared nervous and fearful, while the prince remained calm and composed, and gave orders to Dong Zhuo to escort them back to the palace.
In the spring of 190, several provincial officials and warlords formed a coalition against Dong Zhuo, claiming that he was set on usurping the throne and had effectively kidnapped Emperor Xian.
The coalition's armies were stationed at Henei (河內; in present-day Jiaozuo, Henan) and appeared to be ready to move on the capital Luoyang.
About a month later, Dong Zhuo forced Emperor Xian and the imperial court to move to Chang'an, along with Luoyang's residents, and in the process, he ordered the former capital to be destroyed by fire.
In 191, the coalition tried to further de-legitimize Dong Zhuo's position by offering to enthrone Liu Yu, who was eligible to be Emperor since he was a member of the royal clan.
As the coalition members continued to bicker over battle plans, a minor general under Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, took a calculated risk and attacked Dong Zhuo directly near Luoyang.
For the following months until the end of 191, the coalition ceased to take further action against Dong Zhuo and eventually disbanded, with its members returning to their respective bases.
Interior Minister Wang Yun and a few other officials, including Huang Wan (黃琬), Shisun Rui (士孫瑞), and Yang Zan (楊瓚), plotted to eliminate Dong Zhuo.
He failed to maintain good relations with Lü Bu, and strongly refused to grant amnesty to the surviving followers of Dong Zhuo and ordered them to be disbanded.
After taking control over the imperial court in Chang'an, Li Jue, Guo Si and Fan Chou did as they pleased without showing any regard for the welfare of the state.
Some of those warlords were friendly with Li Jue's forces, while others remained hostile to them, even though all of them nominally acknowledged Emperor Xian as the sovereign ruler of China.
Li Jue held Emperor Xian hostage while Guo Si kidnapped the imperial officials, and both sides engaged in battle.
Later that year, Li Jue and Guo Si made peace and agreed to allow Emperor Xian to return to the old capital, Luoyang, but later regretted their decision and pursued him.
While Li Jue and Guo Si were never able to capture Emperor Xian again, the imperial court was rendered poor and unable to fend for itself.
As Luoyang had been previously devastated by fire during Dong Zhuo's time, the city lacked the essentials of life and many officials starved to death or resorted to cannibalism.
Around this time, Yuan Shao's advisor Ju Shou suggested that he welcome Emperor Xian to his province so that he could take effective control of the government.
The policy yielded commendable results as the area around Xu developed into highly productive farmland and the problem of shortage of food was resolved.
Gongsun Zan's territories, which extended to the northern boundaries of the Han dynasty's empire, were completely annexed by Yuan Shao.
The latter destroyed and defeated the remaining Yuan troops south of the Yellow River in the Battle of Cangting (201), concluding the Guandu campaign.
During his reunification of northern China, Cao Cao did not conduct any major campaigns south while awaiting an opportunity to act against the remaining three most prominent warlords: Sun Quan, who had succeeded his older brother Sun Ce after the latter died in 200; Liu Biao, governor of Jing Province; and Liu Zhang, governor of Yi Province.
On the other hand, Liu Bei used the opportunity to attack the four commanderies of Wuling, Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang in southern Jing Province and bring them under his control.
However, Sun Quan rejected Zhou Yu's idea as he believed that Liu Bei's forces would rebel against him even if the plan succeeded.
Even though Sun Quan did not expand his borders west, he managed to persuade several local leaders in present-day Guangdong, Guangxi and northern Vietnam to submit to him, and these territories became part of his domain.
Sun Quan then agreed to "lend" northern Jing Province to Liu Bei as well when the latter complained that the south lacked resources to sustain its military.
However, after negotiations between Guan Yu and Lu Su, Liu Bei agreed to give up the three commanderies of Changsha, Jiangxia and Guiyang to Sun Quan, renewing their alliance and dividing Jing Province between them along the Xiang River.
Guan Yu was isolated and besieged by Sun Quan's forces in Maicheng, and he attempted to break out but fell into an ambush and was captured.
