The first time: Wei, Shu and Wu.
Unlike what most people know, most of the familiar history of the Three Kingdoms does not belong to the Three Kingdoms period, but belongs to the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Including Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and even Cao Cao, are not real "Three Kingdoms" figures. The real formation of the Three Kingdoms began in AD 220, when Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate and established the State of Wei.
When the Wei State established by Cao Cao was officially upgraded to Wei State in the hands of Cao Pi, the Eastern Han Dynasty perished, announcing the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era. In the second year, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu, with the title of Han, which was known in history. In 229, the rise of the sun and the establishment of the Wu Dong officially announced the formation of the Three Kingdoms era. In 263, Wei destroyed Shu, in 265, Jin destroyed Wei, and in 280, Jin destroyed Wu. The three countries are unified, and Sima unifies the world.
The second time: Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Nanliang
The second tripartite confrontation briefly appeared at the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The Northern Wei Dynasty, which unified the northern Xianbei regime, collapsed in the Six Towns Rebellion. The warlord Er Zhurong, who rose in the war, created the change of the river and Yin, slaughtered more than 2,000 emperors, queens and officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and caused the great division of the ruling group in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Then Erzhurong himself died in a palace coup.
After Er Zhurong's death, the rest of him went through a scuffle, and finally two powerful ministers appeared: Gao Huan and Yu Wentai. Gao Huan occupied Hebei and Henan, and Yu Wentai occupied Guanzhong and Bashu. The two confronted each other and supported a Northern Wei imperial clan emperor as a puppet. The two Wei Dynasties split and competed for the power in northern China.
The south is the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties. When there was chaos in the north, Liang Wudi Xiaoyan sent Chen Qingzhi to lead 7,000 white-robed troops to the northern expedition, creating the myth that "famous teachers and generals should not be imprisoned, and hordes should be free from white robes". Only in the end, Chen Qingzhi was defeated by Er Zhurong, and the northern country captured by Nanliang fell into the hands of the northern dynasties again.
The third time: Northern Zhou Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty and Southern Chen Dynasty
The third tripartite confrontation is actually a continuation of the second. After the death of Gao Huan, the founding emperor of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Gao Yang, his successor, abolished the puppet emperor and established the Northern Qi Dynasty. After the establishment of the Northern Qi Dynasty, Yu Wentai, the founder of the Western Wei Dynasty, also died. His successor, Yuwen Hu, also abolished the puppet emperor of the Western Wei Dynasty, helped Yu Wentai's son ascend to the throne and established the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
Both northern countries changed dynasties, and the ministers' families became new royal families. And the Liang dynasty in the south also declined. After Gao Huan's death, his general Hou Jing refused to accept Gao Cheng, the son of Gao Huan, and rebelled. After being defeated by Murong Shaozong, he fled to Nanliang. After arriving in Nanliang, Hou Jing broke the rules and continued to rebel. After the post-Jin Rebellion, Nanliang fell, Chen Baxian rose in the process of pacifying the post-Jin Rebellion, and after Wang Sengbian was destroyed, he proclaimed himself emperor and established Chen Nan.
The result of this tripartite confrontation is very similar to that of Wei Shuwu. After one country destroyed another, the country was usurped by the powerful ministers, and finally the powerful families ruled the country. This time, the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi and unified the North. Then the Northern Zhou Dynasty was usurped by the powerful minister Emperor Wendi, who established the Sui Dynasty. Sui destroyed Chen Nan and unified the world.