Cao Pi, courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son among all the children born to Cao Cao by his concubine, Lady Bian. According to some historical records, he was often in the presence of court officials in order to gain their support. He was mostly in charge of defence at the start of his career. After the defeat of Cao Cao's rival Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu, he took Yuan Xi's wife, Lady Zhen, as a concubine, but in 221 Lady Zhen died and Guo Nüwang became empress.
Zhang Liao, courtesy name Wenyuan, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He served briefly in the state of Cao Wei, founded by Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi, in the early Three Kingdoms period before his death. Formerly a subordinate of other warlords such as Ding Yuan, Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, Zhang Liao joined Cao Cao around 198 after Lü Bu's downfall at the Battle of Xiapi. Since then, he participated in many of Cao Cao's military campaigns, including those against Yuan Shao's heirs and the Wuhuan tribes from 201 to 207. He is best known for his pivotal role in the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford in 214–215, in which he successfully defended Hefei from the forces of the warlord Sun Quan.
Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande (玄德), was a Chinese warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of China.
Zhang He, courtesy name Junyi, was a military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He continued serving in the state of Cao Wei under its first two rulers, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, during the Three Kingdoms period until his death.
Lü Bu, courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed and murdered Ding Yuan and defected to Dong Zhuo, the warlord who controlled the Han central government in the early 190s. In 192, he turned against Dong Zhuo and killed him after being instigated by Wang Yun and Shisun Rui, but was later defeated and driven away by Dong Zhuo's followers.
Emperor Xian of Han, personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220.
Cao Rui, courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarried Cao Pi, the first ruler of Wei. Based on conflicting accounts of his age, Pei Songzhi calculated that, in order to be Cao Pi's son, Cao Rui could not have been 36 when he died as recorded, so the recorded age was in error; late-Qing scholars Lu Bi (卢弼) and Mao Guangsheng (冒广生) argued instead that Cao Rui was Yuan Xi's son.
Guo Jia, courtesy name Fengxiao, was an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Throughout his 11 years of service, Guo Jia aided Cao Cao greatly with his brilliance and foresight, and his strategies were instrumental to Cao Cao's triumphs over rival warlords such as Lü Bu and Yuan Shao. For example, four years before Cao Cao's decisive victory over Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu, Guo Jia already foresaw that Cao Cao would win when he pointed out ten advantages Cao Cao had over Yuan Shao.
Li Jue, courtesy name Zhiran, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord serving under the autocratic warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later succeeded Dong Zhuo as the leader of the Liang Province faction after Dong Zhuo was murdered in a coup d'état, and was able to take over the Han imperial capital Chang'an, keeping Emperor Xian as a hostage. Despite being adept in military affairs, he was inept at politics, quarrelling with his fellow generals and making the bad decision to let Emperor Xian escape, greatly decreasing his power and precipitating his downfall.
Jia Xu, courtesy name Wenhe, was an official of the state of Cao Wei during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career in the late Eastern Han dynasty as a minor official. In 189, when the warlord Dong Zhuo took control of the Han central government, he assigned Jia Xu to the unit led by Niu Fu, his son-in-law. In May 192, after Dong Zhuo was assassinated by Lü Bu, Jia Xu advised Li Jue, Guo Si and Dong Zhuo's loyalists to fight back and seize control of the imperial capital, Chang'an, from a new central government headed by Lü Bu and Wang Yun. After Li Jue and the others defeated Lü Bu and occupied Chang'an, Jia Xu served under the central government led by them. During this time, he ensured the safety of the figurehead Han emperor, Emperor Xian, who was being held hostage by Li Jue. He also attempted to prevent internal conflict between Li Jue and Guo Si, but with limited success. After Emperor Xian escaped from Chang'an, Jia Xu left Li Jue and briefly joined the general Duan Wei before becoming a strategist of the warlord Zhang Xiu. While serving under Zhang Xiu, he advised his lord on how to counter invasions by the warlord Cao Cao, who had received Emperor Xian in 196 and taken control of the central government. In 200, during the Battle of Guandu between Cao Cao and his rival Yuan Shao, Jia Xu urged Zhang Xiu to reject Yuan Shao's offer to form an alliance and instead surrender to Cao Cao. Zhang Xiu heeded his advice. Jia Xu then became one of Cao Cao's strategists.
Meng Da, courtesy name Zidu, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served the warlords Liu Zhang and Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty before defecting to Wei. In Wei, he served under the first two rulers, Cao Pi and Cao Rui. Around late 227, he started a rebellion in Wei and aimed to rejoin the Shu-Han but the revolt was swiftly suppressed by the Wei general Sima Yi. Meng Da was captured and executed for treason.
Xiahou Mao, courtesy name Zilin, was a military general and marquis of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Xiahou Dun, a general who served under the warlord Cao Cao, while Xiahou Mao was a close friend of the founding Emperor Cao Pi. Xiahou Mao married Princess Qinghe, one of Cao Cao's daughters, though the marriage would be an unhappy one and he once faced accusation of treason from his own family.
Cheng Yu, originally named Cheng Li, courtesy name Zhongde, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was an adviser to Cao Cao, the warlord who became the de facto head of the Han central government during that period. He died in December 220 – soon after Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian and established the state of Cao Wei, an event marking the start of the Three Kingdoms period in China. Cheng Yu was described as a tall man with a beautiful long beard. He was from Dong'e County in present-day Shandong. He is often remembered for a possibly fictional event, where he uses sadistic and unusual tactics to cope with a shortage of grain. Instead of sending hostages to Cao Cao's rival, Yuan Shao, in exchange for food supplies, he advised Cao Cao to feed his army with human flesh. He was also noted for his expertise in military tactics, which helped Cao Cao defeat Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu in 200 and consolidate control over northern China. It is widely agreed that his numerous contributions laid the foundation of the Cao Wei state; it is theorized that the reason he was not made one of the Three Ducal Ministers when Cao Pi became emperor in late 220 was only because of his aforementioned strategy to cope with the food shortage in Yan Province. After Cheng Yu's death, Cao Pi honoured him with the posthumous title "Marquis Su", meaning "solemn marquis".
Dong Zhao, courtesy name Gongren, was an official of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlords Yuan Shao, Zhang Yang and Cao Cao consecutively during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
Xu Jing, courtesy name Wenxiu, was a Chinese politician of the state of Shu Han in the early Three Kingdoms period of China. After Liu Zhang announced his submission to Liu Bei, Xu Jing swore his allegiance to Liu Bei. Like his cousin Xu Shao, Xu Jing was famous for being a good character evaluator. However, the cousins could not get along with each other. Before falling out with each other, they would give comments on certain persons or topics on the first day of every month.
Wang Zhong was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He previously served under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty.
Tian Yu, courtesy name Guorang, was a military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
The Battle of Xiapi was fought between the forces of Lü Bu against the allied armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei from the winter of 198 to 7 February 199 towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. The battle concluded with victory for Cao Cao and Liu Bei, with Lü Bu being subsequently executed.
Liu Ye, courtesy name Ziyang, was an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he served as an official in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, serving under Cao Pi and Cao Rui. He was a member of the House of Liu, the imperial clan of the Han dynasty, and a direct descendant of Emperor Guangwu, via Guangwu's seventh son Liu Yan. He had two sons: Liu Yu (劉寓) and Liu Tao (劉陶).
The Advisors Alliance is a 2017 Chinese two-part television series based on the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. The series starred Wu Xiubo as the main character, with Liu Tao, Li Chen, Janine Chang, Tang Yixin, Yu Hewei and Wang Luoyong playing supporting roles. The first part of the series started airing on Jiangsu TV and Anhui TV on 22 June 2017. The second part started airing on Youku on 8 December 2017.
