Shu Kingdom (Shu Han) was founded by Liu Bei. Shu was located in the western part of the land, protected mostly by mountains to the north making it easy to defend and hard to attack. The Mang tribes populate its southern region and its eastern border is Jingzhou province. Its capital is Chengdu. Liu Bei became the Emperor of Shu Han at 221 AD. Amongst his advisers were Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Fa Zheng and Ma Liang. His brave generals were Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong etc. Shu Kingdom lasted for 42 years.

Cao Cao laid down the foundation for the Wei Kingdom. It was known for its northern riders due to large open plains and northern regions where were rich of horse breeding. At the northwestern edges were mostly deserts and populated by the Qiang tribes. Due to many warfares with the Wu Kingdom its southern border changed rapidly but mostly is located at the northern bank of Yangtze river. Its capital is Xuchang and later Luoyang. Cao Cao became Prince of Wei at 216 AD but never ascended the imperial throne. Emperor Xian was forced to abdicate in favor of Cao Pi, and he became Emperor of Wei at 220 AD. Amongst his advisers were Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and Sima Yi. His generals include Xiahou Dun, Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Zhang He etc. Wei Kingdom lasted for 45 years.

The foundation of the Wu Kingdom was laid down by Sun Ce. His younger brother Sun Quan expanded it and made it prosper. It was known for its natural barrier which is along the Yangtze river to the north where its border end. Wu defended well most of the time and is capable of contending for power with Wei and Shu. Its western border covers major part of Jingzhou, a highly contested land. Its capital is Jianye. Sun Quan declared himself Emperor of Wu at 229 AD. Amongst his advisers were Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Xun and Zhang Zhao. His famous generals were Gan Ning, Lu Meng, Taishi Ci, Huang Gai etc. Wu Kingdom lasted for 51 years.

During the Eastern Han period, the empire was divided into 13 districts or provinces (zhou), around 160 counties or large cities and thousand of towns. Shu had Yizhou and part of Jingzhou before the batle of Yiling. Wei had 9 provinces include Yuzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Qingzhou, Yongzhou Liangzhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou, and minor part of Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Wu had 3 provinces include Yangzhou, Jiaozhou and major part of Jingzhou. The political strength distribution according to historical records (ZZTJ) recorded at around 226 AD :