Wei

Although he wasn’t the official first emperor of the Wei, the warlord Cao Cao is generally accepted as the founder of the Wei Kingdom. He gained a name for himself during the Yellow Turban rebellion in 184 CE and fought against Dong Zhuo in 190 CE alongside figures like Liu Bei, Yuan Shao, and Sun Jian. After Dong Zhuo’s death, Cao Cao’s cutthroat ambition became more evident to his old allies: he launched a vicious attack against Tao Qian and the Xu Province under the pretext of Tao Qian’s alleged involvement in the death of Cao Cao’s father. This campaign resulted in the death of thousands of civilians. In 196 CE, he seized the puppet emperor and named himself the Prime Minister of the Han, effectively taking control of the Han empire.

After subjugating various other warlords, Cao Cao then began expanding his territory north against his former ally Yuan Shao. He defeated him at the battle of Guan Du on the banks of the Yellow River. After Yuan Shao’s defeat, his squabbling sons were unable to unite against Cao Cao’s threat: Cao Cao was able to seize all of the northern territories controlled by the Yuan family in roughly seven years, unifying Northern China. Cao Cao’s conquest of the north gave him access to a powerful cavalry: one of his most famous units was his prized Tiger Cavalry, a heavy cavalry unit that served as his personal guard. His subjugation of the northern tribes also allowed him to absorb soldiers from the armies he conquered, like raiders from the Xianbei tribe, whom he conquered at the battle at White Wolf Mountain in 207 CE.

With his bolstered army, Cao Cao then turned south and clashed against Liu Bei and Sun Quan at Chi Bi (The Battle of Red Cliffs) in 208 CE, where he was defeated due to his weaker navy and an illness in his camp. He never managed to conquer anything south of the Yangtze river, but he was named King of Wei by Emperor Xian in 216 CE.

Cao Cao was not only famous for his military prowess: he was also a skilled poet and built the famous Bronze Bird Terrace in 210 CE in the city of Ye. The terrace was used as a space to recite poetry and to honor Cao Cao’s accomplishments. His sons and successors continued the tradition of high poetic prowess.

After Cao Cao’s death in 220 CE, the Wei Empire was officially founded by Cao Cao’s son and successor Cao Pi after Emperor Xian ‘ceded’ the throne to him. Cao Pi only reigned as emperor for six years before his death in 226 CE — he was succeeded by his son Cao Rui, who ruled until 239 CE. His adopted son Cao Fang was named successor; however, he was only seven years old, so he was appointed two regents: Cao Shuang and Sima Yi. Sima Yi had long worked under the Cao family and he was popular with the army and military alike. In 249 CE, he seized Cao Fang and murdered Cao Shuang. This action effectively ended the Wei dynasty: there were a series of puppet emperors controlled by Sima Yi and his descendants until 266 CE, when Sima Yan, the grandson of Sima Yi, forced Cao Huan to abdicate the throne. Sima Yan then established the Jin Dynasty, which lasted until 420 CE.