The Tianshi school was officially recognized by ruler Cao Cao in 215, legitimizing Cao Cao's rise to power in return.

* Empress Dowager Bian, Cao Cao's wife ( b. 159 )

After Cao Cao's death in AD 220, his son Cao Pi became emperor of Wei.

In 194, Cao Cao went to war with Tao Qian of Xu Province, because Tao's subordinate Zhang Kai had murdered Cao Cao's father Cao Song.

Tao Qian received the support of Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, but even then it seemed as if Cao Cao's superior forces would overrun Xu Province entirely.

Lü Bu's men deserted him, Yuan Shu's forces never arrived as reinforcements, and he was bound by his own subordinates Song Xian and Wei Xu and executed on Cao Cao's order.

After Cao's defeat at the naval Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 CE, China was divided into three spheres of influence, with Cao Cao dominating the north, Sun Quan ( 182 – 252 CE ) dominating the south, and Liu Bei ( 161 – 223 CE ) dominating the west.

Zhang Hong, whom Sun Ce had earlier sent as a liaison to the warlord Cao Cao, also returned from Cao's domain to assist Sun Quan.

Sun Quan was well aware of Cao Cao's intentions, and he quickly entered into an alliance with Liu Bei and Liu Qi to prepare for an attack by Cao.

Cao Cao wrote Sun Quan with a letter intending to intimidate, and in face of Cao's overwhelming force ( estimated to be about 220, 000 men, although Cao claimed 800, 000, against Sun's 30, 000 and the Lius ' combined force of 10, 000 ), many of Sun's subordinates, including Zhang Zhao, advocated surrender.

About this time, there was a plague developing in Cao Cao's forces which significantly weakened it.

Zhou Yu then sent ships under Huang Gai's command to pretend to surrender and, as Huang's ships approached Cao Cao's fleet, they were set aflame to assault Cao's fleet, and Cao's fleet was largely destroyed by fire.

Cao Cao, whose zone of control was the precursor to the state of Cao Wei, had raised an army in the winter of 189.

Yuan Shao, himself of higher nobility than Cao Cao, amassed a large army and camped along the northern bank of the Yellow River.

Overcoming Yuan Shao's superior numbers, Cao Cao decisively defeated him by setting fire to his supplies, and in doing so crippled the northern army.

* Cao Cao marches south with his army and captures the enemy fleet at Jiangling.

In winter of that year, the northern warlord Cao Cao led an army of some 830, 000 to conquer south to complete the reunification of China.

This tricked the Wei general Cao Xiu, who led a large army south to support Zhou Fang.

After Liu Bei's death, as advised by Sima Yi, Cao Pi induces several forces, including Sun Quan, turncoat Shu general Meng Da, Meng Huo of the Nanman and the Qiang tribes, to attack Shu Han, in coordination with a Cao Wei army.

After pacifying the south, Zhuge Liang leads the Shu Han army on five military expeditions to attack Cao Wei in order to restore the Han Dynasty.

In 199, Liu Bei attacked Xu Province with an army after gaining independence from the warlord Cao Cao.

In 200, Yuan Shao mustered an army of about 100, 000 and started a campaign against Cao Cao, which subsequently culminated in the Battle of Guandu.

In Chapter 25, Cao Cao attacked Liu Bei's territory of Xu Province and defeated Liu's army.

Cao Cao and his men encountered Guan Yu and his army.

He holds off Cao Cao's army together with Zhang Fei while Zhao Zilong searches for the infant Liu Shan.

In 190, Xiahou Dun joined Cao Cao as the latter was raising an army to join the coalition against Dong Zhuo.

As a result, the allied force pursued Cao Cao's forces to Jiangling.

It was under his leadership that Cao Cao's forces fell to an ambush at the Battle of Bowang, costing thousands of men their lives when he pursued Liu Bei's forces into a nearby gulley.

Ma Chao escaped west after his defeat and was pursued by Cao Cao to Anding.

Cao Cao's forces pursued them and defeated the Wuhuan tribe, the Yuan brothers ' ally, in the Battle of White Wolf Mountain.

Cao Cao's troops pursued Zhao Yun all the way to Changban Bridge, where they encountered Zhang Fei standing guard alone on the bridge.

Zhang Xiu then pursued Cao Cao as the latter retreated north.

Xiahou pursued Gao and encountered Cao Xing, who was lying in ambush.

* 265 – Sima Yan, the successor to his father Sima Zhao as the Cao Wei regent, forces Cao Huan to abdicated the throne and establishes the Jin Dynasty.

* Cao Mao, ruler of the Chinese Kingdom of Wei ( killed in an abortive coup d ' état against Sima Zhao ) ( b. 241 )

* Jiang Wei tries to restore the Kingdom of Shu by persuading Zhong Hui to declare a rebellion against Sima Zhao, ruler of Cao Wei.

The influence of the Caos weakens after the death of Cao Rui and the state power of Cao Wei eventually falls into the hands of the Sima clan, headed by Sima Yi's sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao.

However, some Han Chinese bannermen like Zhao Erfeng, Zhao Erxun and Cao Xueqin did not use Manchu names.

Zhao Yun rejoined Liu Bei in 200, when Liu was defeated by Cao Cao and was seeking shelter under Yuan Shao.

In 208, Zhao Yun distinguished himself at the Battle of Changban against Cao Cao's forces.

At the same time, Zhao Yun disappeared to the north, incurring suspicion that he had surrendered to Cao Cao.

Zhao Yun sent his soldiers to follow Huang Zhong to attack Cao Cao's army and seize the supplies.

Zhao Yun attacked the frontline of Cao Cao's army, surprising the enemy and causing them to momentarily disperse.

However, Cao Cao's troops soon regrouped and surrounded Zhao Yun, so Zhao fought his way towards his own camp.

Instead, Zhao Yun was sent as a decoy against the main Wei force in Ji Valley, led by Cao Zhen.

With Cao Zhen's men mostly tied up by Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang's army marched without much opposition at first.

In 257, when Cao Wei was dealing with the rebellion of Zhuge Dan ( who had anticipated an usurpation by Sima Shi's brother and successor Sima Zhao and wanted to resist it ), Jiang Wei again attacked, this time advancing all the way to Mangshui ( 芒水 ; in present-day Xi ' an, Shaanxi ), but could not induce Wei's forces, commanded by Deng Ai and Sima Wang, to engage him in battle.