By 189 CE the Han Dynasty was falling into ruin. A series of events involving rebellions, court intrigue, and natural disasters saw to the weakening of central power. The Emperors were puppets to the eunuchs and court officials. In this year Emperor Ling fell ill and died leaving two young sons, Liu Xie and Liu Bian. Both fathered by Emperor Ling but to two different mothers, Empress Dong and Empress He respectively.

However before the Emperor’s death in 189 the land was well into turmoil. Epidemics spread through the land leaving death behind. Brigands and charlatans took advantage of the Middle Kingdom’s obvious state of weakness by inciting rebellions. The Black Mountain Bandits, Five Pecks of Rive Rebels in Hanzhong, and the Yellow Turbans were the most prominent. Zhang Jue, a Daoist healer raised a massive army and plotted to seize the throne. He used faith healing techniques and corrupted Daoist text to recruit from the peasant ranks. With his tome, the “Way of Peace” and his two brothers, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, he gathered more then 35,000 followers. However before the day of the planned rebellion arrived one of his agents, Ma Yuanyi was arrested for bribing Eunuchs at court. The rebellion was forced to take place earlier then planned, but the Imperial Corps was still unprepared to deal with the uprising.

Warlords defending the borders from barbarians were called back to the provinces. Dong Zhuo (style Zhongying) was one of the most famous of these men. He and others such as Cao Cao (style Mengde) and Huangfu Song lead the Imperial forces. But already military power was collecting with a few powerful warlords instead of with the Capital. Individual governors, such as Liu Yen, sought volunteers as well. Liu Bei (style Xuande), from a distant branch of the Imperial family, saw the rising turmoil and joined the fight against the rebels. Before he left he recruited two others, Zhang Fei (style Yide) a pig butcher and Guan Yu (style Changsheng) a fugitive. They formed a brotherhood amongst themselves at what is now remembered as the Peach Tree Oath.

The tide of battled flucatuated between the Yellow Turbans and the Imperial forces. Eventually the warlords were able to defeat the Yellow Turbans, killing the Zhang brothers and scattering the Yellow Turbans. Dong Zhuo returned to the borders and Cao Cao received a higher position in the Court, but Liu bei received no significant recognition. This would all change when the death of Emperor Ling took place in 189 CE.

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