latter had previously shown hostility towards him in three incidents: Guan Yu drove away from the official's Sun Quan sent to the three commanderies that Liu Bei had promised to give up to Sun; Guan Yu forcefully seized food supplies from one of Sun Quan's bases for use in his Fancheng campaign; Guan Yu ridiculed Sun Quan when the latter proposed a marriage between his son and Guan's daughter. When Guan Yu was away attacking Fancheng, Sun Quan sent his general Lü Meng to launch an assault on Jing Province from the east, swiftly conquering the province within weeks. The morale of Guan Yu's forces fell sharply and his soldiers gradually deserted him until he was left with only about 300 men. Guan Yu was isolated and besieged by Sun Quan's forces in Maicheng, and he attempted to break out but fell into an ambush and was captured. Guan Yu refused to surrender and was eventually executed on Sun Quan's order. This marked the end of the alliance between Sun Quan and Liu Bei. Sun Quan nominally submitted to Cao Cao and was granted the title of "Marquis of Wu". Sun Quan also urged Cao Cao to take the emperor's throne but Cao declined. Emperor Xian's abdication (220) Cao Cao died in March 220 and his son Cao Pi inherited the title of "King of Wei" without waiting for formal authorization from Emperor Xian. In the winter of 220, Emperor Xian sent the Imperial Seal to Cao Pi and issued an edict announcing that he was abdicating in favour of Cao Pi. Cao Pi formally declined to accept the throne thrice but obliged eventually. The Han dynasty officially ended at that point and Cao Pi established the state of Cao Wei in its place, moving the capital from Xu back to Luoyang. The dethroned Emperor Xian was granted the title of "Duke of Shanyang". In 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in Chengdu and established the state of Shu Han. Sun Quan continued to remain as a nominal subject of Cao Pi until 222, when he declared himself king of a separate state, Wu (better known as Eastern Wu in history). In 229, Sun Quan formally became emperor of Wu. References Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69. Book of Later Han, vol. 9. . 180s 190s 200s 210s 220s Dissolutions of empires