Each of the three competing regimes—Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu—have the purpose of reunifying the empire of the fallen Han Dynasty.

Beginning in 228, Zhuge Liang launches the first of Shu Han’s five Northern Expeditions against Wei.

The strategic thinking behind these ventures can be traced back as early as 207, when the tweny-seven-year-old Zhuge Liang outlined his Longzhong Plan to his lord Liu Bei.

In it, he explained in very general terms the need to gain a viable geographical base, and then went on to detail a two-pronged strike north for mastery of the north.

One advance would be from Yi Province in the west (covering the Sichuan Basin), north through the Qin Mountains, debouching into the Wei River valley and achieving a strategic position at the great metropolis Chang'an from which to dominate the great bend of the Yellow River.

The second advance would be from Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) north toward the political center of Luoyang.

After Liu Bei established himself in Yi Province in 215, the essential prerequisites of the plan had been completed.

The geopolitical arrangement envisaged by Zhuge Liang proved, however, to be a militarily unstable one.

The alliance with the state of Wu in the east had broken down over the issue of the occupation of Jing Province.

By 223, the province had been lost and Liu Bei, as well as some of his top generals, were dead.

Even after Zhuge Liang reestablished friendly relations with Wu, his original plan has been markedly altered since only the left prong could be executed.

In Zhuge Liang's much quoted memorial Chu Shi Biao of 227, submitted to Liu Shan before his departure for the north, the prime minister explains in highly ideological terms the reasoning for the expedition against Wei: "We should lead the three armies to secure the Central Plain in the north.

Contributing my utmost, we shall exterminate the wicked, restore the house of Han and return to the old capital.

Such is this subject's duty in repaying the Former Emperor and affirming allegiance to Your Majesty."

The Chu Shi Biao, which also advised Liu Shan on governing the kingdom, can be roughly divided into four different sections.

Zhuge Liang first addressed the dangerous situation of Shu Han, still the weakest out of the Three Kingdoms.

In the second, he gave three main pieces of advice: transparency and willingness to accept criticism, fair judgment, and the avoidance of petty and corrupt officials.

In the third section, Zhuge Liang illustrated his own history and in the fourth addressed the roles of Liu Shan.

All except one of the five expeditions will be military failures (albeit not military disasters) in that Zhuge Liang's forces run out of food before they are able to inflict significant damage on Wei and therefore are forced to withdraw.

Julia has also alienated the army by her extreme parsimony, and neither she nor her son are strong enough to impose military discipline.

Mutinies become frequent in all parts of the Empire; in Rome, the Praetorian Guard becomes infuriated by the actions of the praetorian praefect Ulpian, whose curtailment of the privileges granted to the Praetorian Guard by Elagabalus has provoked their enmity, and he has narrowly escaped their vengeance; ultimately he is murdered in the palace at the feet of the Emperor, in the course of a three-day riot between the soldiers and the mob.

Another mutiny forces the retirement of Cassius Dio from his command.

Fresh mutinies perpetually break out in the provinces of the Empire—in Illyricum, in Mauretania, in Armenia, in Mesopotamia and in Germania—as his officers are murdered and the emperor’s authority is disregarded.

Sun Quan declares himself emperor in 229, an act that almost damages the alliance with Shu, as many Shu officials see this as a sign of betrayal of the Han Dynasty—to which Shu claims to be the legitimate successor.

However, Zhuge Liang opposes ending the alliance and in fact confirms it with a formal treaty later this year, in which the two states pledge to support each other and divide Wei equally if they can conquer it.

Later this year, he moves his capital from Wuchang (in present-day Ezhou, Hubei) to …

…Jianye, leaving his crown prince Sun Deng, assisted by Lu Xun, in charge of the western empire.

Kushan emperor Vasudeva I is recorded in the Chinese historical chronicle Sanguozhi to have sent tribute to the Chinese emperor Cao Rui of the Wei in 229 CE (third year of Taihe): "The king of the Da Yuezhi, Bodiao (Vāsudeva), sent his envoy to present tribute and His Majesty granted him a title of "King of the Da Yuezhi Intimate with Wei.” He is the last Kushan ruler to be mentioned in Chinese sources.

His rule corresponds to the retreat of Chinese power from Central Asia, and it is thought that Vasudeva may have filled the power vacuum in this area.

The great expansion of the Dharmaguptaka Buddhist group in Central Asia during this period has also been related to this event.

Excessive luxury and extravagance at the imperial court have been diminished under Alexander.

Upon his accession, he had reduced the silver purity of the denarius from 46.5% to 43%—the actual silver weight dropping from 1.41 grams to 1.30 grams; however, he revalues the denarius in 229, increasing the silver purity and weight to 45% and 1.46 grams respectively.

The first sign of the deterioration of Sun Quan's reign occurs in 230, when he sends his generals Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi with a navy of ten thousand into the East China Sea to seek the legendary islands of Yizhou and Danzhou to seek to conquer them, despite the strenuous opposition of Lu Xun and Quan Cong.

Ardashir has conquered the provinces of Margiana and …

…Chorasmia (Khwarezm) in the region of modern Turmenistan.

The “King of Turan” supposedly acknowledges Ardashir’s suzerainty.