Yan Baihu was a bandit leader active in the Wu region during the late Han Dynasty.

"Baihu" was not Yan's real name, but a nickname given to him due to his physical prowess or skin color; thus his name should be translated to "White Tiger Yan". According to Chen Shou's Records of Three Kingdoms, Yan held gigantic influence among the Shanyue tribes and even Han officials in the Wu area. When Liu Yao was appointed as Governor of Yang Province, Yan was approached and bribed by Liu to support him against the warlord Yuan Shu, who had a large army in the Huai River valley.

After Liu Yao was defeated by Yuan Shu's ally and subordinate, Sun Ce, Yan successfully re-established or even increased his private army to tens of thousand, composed of elite Shanyue people and bandits, to prepare a final showdown with Sun Ce. Besides being the head of a loose confederation of bandits and local officials, Yan formed an alliance with a warlord, Wang Lang, who had plenty of food supplies that can afford the alliance's soldiers.

Sun Jian (ca. 155 – 191) was a military general and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He allied himself with Yuan Shu in 190 when warlords from eastern China formed a coalition to oust Dong Zhuo, a tyrannical warlord who held the puppet Emperor Xian in his power. Although he controlled neither many troops nor much land, Sun Jian's personal bravery and resourcefulness were feared by Dong Zhuo, who placed him among Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Liu Biao as the most influential men at that time. After the coalition disbanded in the next year, China fell into massive civil war. In 191, Sun Jian was killed in battle during an offensive campaign against Liu Biao.

Sun Jian was also the father of Sun Quan, one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms era who eventually established the Eastern Wu state and declared himself its first emperor in 229, whereupon Sun Jian was given the posthumous title of Emperor Wulie (武烈皇帝).

Born in the Fuchun Prefecture of the Wu Commandery (吳郡富春, present day Fuyang, Zhejiang), Sun Jian was said to be a descendant of the renowned military strategist Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War. He was a civil officer in his prefecture during his youth. When he was sixteen, Sun Jian travelled with his father to Qiantang (錢唐, present day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), where they came upon a band of pirates dividing up their spoils on land. Sūn Jiān jumped on shore with a sabre in hand and pointed in different directions as if commanding a detachment of soldiers to surround the pirates. Seeing this, the pirates were deceived and fled. Sun Jian pursued, and only after taking the head of every pirate did he return (or just the leader's according to some accounts). His name henceforth spread.

Pang Tong (179–214) was an advisor to Liu Bei during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was nicknamed "Young Phoenix" (鳯雛; Fèngchú) by his uncle Pang Degong due to his ugly appearance but great capabilities and talent (just like how the baby phoenix is very ugly, but grows to be a beautiful and legendary creature). Pang Tong rose to fame after he met Sima Hui, a reclusive scholar who named him as one of the great talents in southern Jing Province after spending a whole day chatting with him.

Pang Tong was a native of Xiangyang. He appeared plain and dumb-witted in his youth and his talent was not recognized by anyone. When Pang Tong came to of age, he visited Sima Hui, who was famous for spotting and recommending men of talent. Sima Hui and Pang Tong sat below a mulberry tree and had a long discussion until late at night. Sima Hui felt that Pang Tong was an extraordinary person and remarked that Pang was "the crown of scholars in the southern province". Since then, Pang Tong gradually gained more recognition among the scholar-gentry.

Dong Zhuo (died May 22, 192) was a politician and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He seized control of the capital city Luoyang in 189 when it was in a state of turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling and a clash between the eunuch faction and some court officials led by General-In-Chief He Jin. Dong Zhuo subsequently deposed Emperor Shao and instated Emperor Xian.

Dong Zhuo rose to power in the Imperial Court and ruled the nation with tyranny and cruelty for a brief period of time. The following year, a coalition of regional officials and warlords launched a punitive campaign against Dong, forcing him to move the capital city to Chang'an. Dong Zhuo was assassinated in 192 by his foster son Lü Bu as part of a plot orchestrated by Interior Minister Wang Yun.

Dong Zhuo was born in Lintao, Longxi Commandery (present-day Min County, Gansu) and was said to be a chivalrous youth who was excellent in horseback archery in his early days. He travelled around the Qiang region and befriended many men of gallantry. When he grew up, he returned and started farming in the countryside, where he incidentally excavated a blade, which had obscure inscription fading from it which said "slash the kings like logging." When he took the sabre to the famed scholar Cai Yong for appraisal, the latter asserted to him that it was the blade of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, Xiang Yu. As a physically adept man with a good background, Dong became an imperial guard, and joined Zhang Huan's campaign against Qiang rebels in Bing Province as a Major. He was rewarded with 9,000 rolls of fine silk for his performance, all of which he distributed to his colleagues and subordinates.

Zhou Yu (175–210) was a military general and strategist who served his close friend, the warlord Sun Ce, during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. After the death of Sun Ce, another prominent warlord, Cao Cao, led a massive force southward with the intention to conquer the Jiangdong region, Zhou Yu was assigned by Sun Ce's brother and successor, Sun Quan, to be the naval commander for the defensive forces and he defeated Cao Cao's forces at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs in 208. The subsequent Battle of Jiangling, which had Lieutenant General (偏將軍) Zhou Yu serving as the commander-in-chief of Sun Quan's forces, solidified the survivability of the future Eastern Wu regime. Thus, Zhou Yu was praised by Sun Quan to be the sole person who enabled him to become an emperor years after Zhou's death.

Zhou Yu was born in Lujiang Commandery in an influential family with many members who served in high ranking positions in the government. Zhou Jing (an elder cousin of Zhou Yu's father) and Zhou Jing's son Zhou Zhong both took the post of Grand Commandant in the Han imperial court. Zhou Yu's father, Zhou Yi, was the Chief of Luoyang, the capital. When the coalition against Dong Zhuo was formed, Zhou Yi led his family to migrate to Lujiang. There, Sun Jian's son Sun Ce and Zhou Yu studied together and became lifelong friends. Zhou Yu's uncle later became the governor of Danyang under the warlord Yuan Shu , Zhou went visit his uncle and stayed there, while his best friend, Sun Ce, was planning to establish independence over the soil of Jiangdong.