In the late Eastern Han Dynasty(25 A.D. to 220 A.D.), the imperial government was very corrupt,and the people lived a miserable life.As a result,there were peasant uprings,and the empire began to crumble.The warlord Ts'ao Ts'ao was able to take advantage of this instability and increase his power.He defeated other warlords,such as Lu Pu,Yuan Shao,etc.,and unified north China under his rule.