title: Propane

text: By comparison, compressed natural gas (CNG) cannot be liquefied by compression at normal temperatures, as these are well above its critical temperature. As a gas, very high pressure is required to store useful quantities. This poses the hazard that, in an accident, just as with any compressed gas cylinder (such as a CO cylinder used for a soda concession) a CNG cylinder may burst with great force, or leak rapidly enough to become a self-propelled missile. Therefore, CNG is much less efficient to store than propane, due to the large cylinder volume required. An alternative means of storing natural gas is as a cryogenic liquid in an insulated container as liquefied natural gas (LNG). This form of storage is at low pressure and is around 3.5 times as efficient as storing it as CNG.


title: Propane

text: Propane is much more commonly used to fuel vehicles than is natural gas, because that equipment costs less. Propane requires just of pressure to keep it liquid at .


title: Propane

text: Propane is a simple asphyxiant. Unlike natural gas, propane is denser than air. It may accumulate in low spaces and near the floor. When abused as an inhalant, it may cause hypoxia (lack of oxygen), pneumonia, cardiac failure or cardiac arrest. Propane has low toxicity since it is not readily absorbed and is not biologically active. Commonly stored under pressure at room temperature, propane and its mixtures will flash evaporate at atmospheric pressure and cool well below the freezing point of water. The cold gas, which appears white due to moisture condensing from the air, may cause frostbite.


title: Propane

text: Propane is denser than air. If a leak in a propane fuel system occurs, the vaporized gas will have a tendency to sink into any enclosed area and thus poses a risk of explosion and fire. The typical scenario is a leaking cylinder stored in a basement; the propane leak drifts across the floor to the pilot light on the furnace or water heater, and results in an explosion or fire. This property makes propane generally unsuitable as a fuel for boats. In 2007, a heavily investigated vapor-related explosion occurred in Ghent, West Virginia, U.S., killing four people and completely destroying the Little General convenience store on Flat Top Road, causing several injuries.


title: Propane

text: Another hazard associated with propane storage and transport is known as a BLEVE or boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. The Kingman Explosion involved a railroad tank car in Kingman, Arizona, U.S., in 1973 during a propane transfer. The fire and subsequent explosions resulted in twelve fatalities and numerous injuries.


title: Propane

text: , the retail cost of propane was approximately $2.37 per gallon, or roughly $25.95 per 1 million BTUs. This means that filling a 500-gallon propane tank, which is what households that use propane as their main source of energy usually require, costs $948 (80% of 500 gallons or 400 gallons), a 7.5% increase on the 2012–2013 winter season average US price. However, propane costs per gallon change significantly from one state to another: the Energy Information Administration (EIA) quotes a $2.995 per gallon average on the East Coast for October 2013, while the figure for the Midwest was $1.860 for the same period.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Romance of the Three Kingdoms () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ending with the reunification of the land in 280 by Western Jin. The novel is based primarily on the "Records of the Three Kingdoms" (), written by Chen Shou.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The story – part historical and part fictional – romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to replace the dwindling Han dynasty or restore it. While the novel follows hundreds of characters, the focus is mainly on the three power blocs that emerged from the remnants of the Han dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The novel deals with the plots, personal and military battles, intrigues, and struggles of these states to achieve dominance for almost 100 years.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature; it has a total of 800,000 words and nearly a thousand dramatic characters (mostly historical) in 120 chapters. The novel is among the most beloved works of literature in East Asia, and its literary influence in the region has been compared to that of the works of Shakespeare on English literature. It is arguably the most widely read historical novel in late imperial and modern China. Herbert Giles stated that among the Chinese themselves, this is regarded as the greatest of all their novels.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Stories about the heroes of the Three Kingdoms were the basis of entertainment dating back to the Sui and Tang dynasty (6th–10th centuries). By the Song dynasty (10th–13th centuries), there were several records of professional oral storytellers who specialized in the Three Kingdoms hero cycles. The earliest written work to combine these stories was a pinghua, "Sanguozhi Pinghua" (), published sometime between 1321 and 1323.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, a playwright who lived sometime between 1315 and 1400 (late Yuan to early Ming period) known for compiling historical plays in styles which were prevalent during the Yuan period. It was first printed in 1522 as "Sanguozhi Tongsu Yanyi" (三國志通俗演義/三国志通俗演义) in an edition which bore a preface dated 1494. The text may well have circulated before either date in handwritten manuscripts.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Regardless of when it was written or whether Luo was the writer, the author made use of several available historical records, primarily the "Records of the Three Kingdoms" compiled by Chen Shou. The "Records of the Three Kingdoms" covered events ranging from the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 to the unification of the Three Kingdoms under the Jin dynasty in 280. The novel also includes material from Tang dynasty poetic works, Yuan dynasty operas and his own personal interpretation of elements such as virtue and legitimacy. The author combined this historical knowledge with his own storytelling skills to create a rich tapestry of personalities.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Several versions of the expanded "Sanguozhi" are extant today. Luo Guanzhong's version in 24 volumes, known as the "Sanguozhi Tongsu Yanyi", is now held in the Shanghai Library in China, Tenri Central Library in Japan, and several other major libraries. Various 10-volume, 12-volume and 20-volume recensions of Luo's text, made between 1522 and 1690, are also held at libraries around the world. However, the standard text familiar to general readers is a recension by Mao Lun and his son Mao Zonggang.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: In the 1660s, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing dynasty, Mao Lun and Mao Zonggang significantly edited the text, fitting it into 120 chapters, and abbreviating the title to "Sanguozhi Yanyi". The text was reduced from 900,000 to 750,000 characters; significant editing was done for narrative flow; use of third-party poems was reduced and shifted from conventional verse to finer pieces; and most passages praising Cao Cao's advisers and generals were removed. Scholars have long debated whether the Maos' viewpoint was anti-Qing (identifying Southern Ming remnants with Shu-Han) or pro-Qing.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The famous opening lines of the novel, "The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been" (話說天下大勢．分久必合，合久必分 "Huàshuō tiānxià dàshì. Fēnjiǔbìhé, hé jiǔ bì fēn"), long understood to be Luo's introduction and cyclical philosophy, were actually added by the Maos in their substantially revised edition of 1679. None of the earlier editions contained this phrase. In addition, Mao also added Yang Shen's "The Immortals by the River" as the famous introductory poem (which began with "The gushing waters of the Yangzi River pour and disappear into the East") (滾滾長江東逝水) to the novel. The earlier editions, moreover, spend less time on the process of division, which they found painful, and far more time on the process of reunification and the struggles of the heroes who sacrificed for it.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: One of the greatest achievements of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is the extreme complexity of its stories and characters. The novel contains numerous subplots. The following consists of a summary of the central plot and some well-known highlights in the novel.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: During the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, treacherous eunuchs and villainous officials deceived the emperor and persecuted good officials. The government gradually became extremely corrupt on all levels, leading to widespread deterioration of the Han Empire. One of the eunuchs, Zhang Rang, was so influential that the Emperor even called him Daddy. During the reign of Emperor Ling, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out under the leadership of Zhang Jiao and his two brothers Bao and Liang.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhang Jiao was an unclassified grad who devoted himself to medicine. One day, he saw an old man in a cave who gave him three volumes of the "Book of Heaven". He studied it day and night and could summon winds and command the rain. Thus, when a terrible pestilence ran through the land, Zhang Jiao started handing out remedies. He then started having disciples and started a Yellow Turban Rebellion. They, large in number, swept through many cities and were attacking You Province. The prefect, Liu Yan, set up posters creating a volunteer army.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: In You Province, a man named Liu Bei saw a poster recruiting men who could join a volunteer army to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Liu Bei was of the Imperial Family, but his father died when he was young and he was very poor, living off selling straw sandals. He sighed, thinking that he could not do anything. When Liu Bei was young, he liked to make friends with the popular kids. Near his house was a giant tree, and a fortune teller once said that a boy who lives under that tree would become a great man.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: A man named Zhang Fei heard the sigh and questioned Liu Bei furiously why he had sighed. Zhang Fei had a giant beard and was very tall. Zhang Fei was the local butcher and lived his life selling beer and meat. Liu Bei and Zhang Fei expressed their thoughts about wanting to join. United by a common cause, they went to the bar to drink and met another like-minded soul in Guan Yu. Guan Yu was taller than Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei instantly knew that Guan Yu was no ordinary man. Thus, he invited Guan Yu over. Guan Yu told them he wanted to serve the Han, and he had ran away from his family after killing a family bully.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The three of them ate heartily and Zhang Fei suggested that they should go to the peach garden behind his house and become sworn brothers. The three of them then became sworn brothers. Due to their ages, Liu Bei became the eldest, Guan Yu the second and Zhang Fei the youngest. They all said, "We were not born on the same year of the same month of the same day but we pledge to die on the same year of the same month of the same day together. Whoever breaks the oath will die." Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu joined the army and got their weapons.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei defeated Zhang Jiao when he attacked his old master Lu Zhi. They saved Jing Province with a well planned ambush and the remnants were defeated by Cao Cao.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao was a very playful boy who constantly stirred trouble. His uncle hated him and reported him to his father, who punished Cao Cao severely. Cao Cao then thought of a trick to continue his schemes. One day, he fainted on the floor, and his uncle rushed to tell his father. When the two arrived, they only saw Cao Cao playing a zither. Cao Song, Cao Cao's father stopped trusting the uncle. Cao Cao then continued his naughty ways.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: At the same time, another general Sun Jian rose to fame. Sun Jian loved hunting. Once, he and his father pillaged a pirate ship and Sun Jian managed to kill one of the pirates.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao started attacking Zhang Liang at Chuyang, and Zhang Liang was killed. Liu Bei had used counter magic learned from a general and defeated Zhang Bao. Shortly after, Zhang Jiao died and the rebellion was stopped. However, many uprisings still staged.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The three brothers had good success in suppressing the rebellion and they also saved the high-ranking official Dong Zhuo who looked down on them for they were not of high nobility. Zhang Fei wanted to kill him, but was controlled by his brothers.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The Emperor then promoted Cao Cao and Sun Jian. Lu Zhi recommended Liu Bei, and Liu Bei was given a minor office. However, the Emperor's advisors, the Eunuchs, threatened to remove several minor offices. So, the Imperial Inspector wanted to ask Liu Bei for a bribe, but Liu Bei rejected. Liu Bei was then asked to give a banquet, and Liu Bei gave a plate of fresh fruits and vegetables. The Imperial Inspector was dissatisfied and removed Liu Bei from his position.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhang Fei was vexed and he tied the Imperial Inspector to a wall and attacked him. Guan Yu helped Liu Bei escape from prison and the two brothers stopped Zhang Fei from continuing to assault the Imperial Inspector.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: In 189, Emperor Ling fell ill and sent He Jin to prepare for the future. He Jin belonged to a minor family of butchers, but his sister became a major concubine and He Jin grew in popularity.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Upon Emperor Ling's death, He Jin installed the young Emperor Shao on the throne and took control of the central government. The Ten Eunuchs, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao surmised, were the cause of trouble In the country.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: He Jin was convinced by Yuan Shao and started to take action. First, he killed the Empress Dong to increase his popularity. During her funeral, He Jin feigned illness and did not attend. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao realised that He Jin was a man who could bring confusion to the empire.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: He Jin then decided to bring Dong Zhuo's 30000 strong army to attack. The eunuchs, knowing they would be destroyed, held the Emperor amd the Empress hostage. He Jin sent Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to guard the entrance of the Palace while he go in to kill the eunuchs. Zhang Rang, the head eunuch cornered him and called him a dirty traitor. He Jin, with no way to escape, was killed by the eunuchs.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shao waited for a while, and suspected that He Jin was dead, so he made the announcement. He Jin's officer set fire to the gate. Four eunuchs were discovered and hacked to death. Lu Zhi nearly killed the eunuch Duan Gui and saved the Empress. Wu Kuang killed He Jin's brother He Miao, for the latter had been bribed by the eunuchs to kill He Jin. Yuan Shao's soldiers killed the families of the eunuchs. In that slaughter, countless beardless men were wrongly killed. Cao Cao worked to extinguish the flames.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhang Rang had been pursued by Yuan Shao, and knowing no escape, he drowned himself in a river. The Emperor and Prince Chenliu hid among the tall grass near the river bank and were found by a kind farmer, who gave them refreshments. Min Gong killed Duan Gui and found the Emperor and Prince Chenliu, so the two left the farm. The two boys returned to Luoyang.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The missing emperor and the prince were found by soldiers of the warlord Dong Zhuo, who seized control of the imperial capital, Luoyang, under the pretext of protecting the emperor. When the missing emperor cowered in fear at Dong Zhuo, the prince ordered Dong Zhuo to kneel down and respect the emperor. Impressed by his bravery, Dong Zhuo later deposed Emperor Shao and replaced him with the Prince of Chenliu (Emperor Xian), who was merely a figurehead under his control. Dong Zhuo monopolized state power, persecuted his political opponents, and oppressed the common people for his gain. One of his opponents was Ding Yuan, who sent an army led by his godson Lü Bu to fight Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was able to win Lü Bu over by giving him a horse named the Red Hare that was known for its speed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Dong Zhuo replaced the Emperor, an officer named Wu Fu was dissatisfied and attempted to murder Dong Zhuo, but the latter was able to hold him off until Lü Bu came to control him. Wu Fu was executed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Senior Minister Wang Yun held a birthday party and invited many officials. Cao Cao was not invited but came on his own. Midway during the celebration, Wang Yun broke into tears and revealed that it was not his birthday, and he wanted to discuss how to kill Dong Zhuo without being discovered. He had cried out of sadness for the Emperor. Hearing this, Cao Cao laughed and asked for Wang Yun's seven star sword to cut Dong Zhuo's neck and hang it on the street. Wang Yun and the officials clapped and presented Cao Cao with the sword.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: At night, Cao Cao pretended that his horse was slow and tired and he needed to borrow a horse. Dong Zhuo sent Lü Bu to get Cao Cao a horse and Dong Zhuo slept in the meantime. Cao Cao tried to cut Dong Zhuo's neck and run, but his attempt went awry went Dong Zhuo woke up and saw Cao Cao holding a knife in his mirror. Cao Cao instantly bowed down and presented the knife to Dong Zhuo, and when Lü Bu came back, he escaped. Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu realized Cao Cao was their enemy and they made him a wanted person.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao tried to disguise himself but an intelligent official named Chen Gong found him. Cao Cao was ready for a fight, but Chen Gong merely wanted to be Cao Cao's friend.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: They resided in an old man's house. The old man went out to buy more wine during the night. Cao Cao mistakenly heard the sounds of a sword and was alarmed. He woke Chen Gong up and they both slew the entire family. When they escape from the house, they realised that the family was trying to kill a pig in their honor. Filled with grief, Chen Gong placed his sword down.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Just then, the old man arrived. Instinctively, Cao Cao killed the old man, panicking Chen Gong. When Cao Cao fell asleep in the forest, Chen Gong tried to kill Cao Cao. However, he realized that that would not look good on his record, so he left. Around this time, Cao Cao said his famous quote turned lie: “I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.”


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao escaped from Luoyang, returned to his hometown, and sent out a fake imperial edict to various regional officials and warlords, calling them to rise against Dong Zhuo. Under Yuan Shao's leadership, 18 warlords formed a coalition army and launched a punitive campaign against Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao also gained the generals Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Li Dian and Yue Jin. One of the warlords, Gongsun Zan, passed by Liu Bei and learnt about his brothers. Gongsun Zan invited Liu Bei to help attack Dong Zhuo while Zhang Fei whined about how he should have killed Dong Zhuo last time.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Thus, the battle of Sishui Pass begins. Sun Jian started on the offensive, but was lured into an ambush and barely escaped, having to lose his cloak to make a diversion. Yuan Shu refused to send supplies to Sun Jian's camp as he feared that Sun Jian would become too powerful. Hence, Sun Jian had to retreat.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Dong Zhuo then sent Hua Xiong to strike Sun Jian as he was retreating. Yu She, belonging to Yuan Shu's train, volunteered to fight. However, he fell in the third bout. Pan Feng was the next to die. Yuan Shao moaned that he should have brought his major generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou with him.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When he asked for volunteers to fight Hua Xiong, Guan Yu was the first to step forward. Yuan Shao was offended that a low class officer could think that he is better than all the generals sent earlier, but Cao Cao convinced Yuan Shao to let Guan Yu have a shot. Cao Cao wanted to give him a glass of wine before the fight, but Guan Yu refused. Instead, he told Cao Cao he would kill Hua Xiong and be rewarded with the wine. When Guan Yu killed Hua Xiong, the wine was still warm. Guan Yu had impressed everybody. Dong Zhuo was upset over this failure. He then sent Li Jue and Guo Si to massacre the whole Yuan family. Sishui Pass had been lost so Dong Zhuo went to Hulao Pass.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Hulao Pass was 50 li from Luoyang and Dong Zhuo bade Lü Bu make a strong stockade outside the pass, while Dong Zhuo and the main force will occupy the pass. News quickly came to Yuan Shao. Cao Cao suggested they oppose Dong Zhuo as Dong Zhuo occupying the path would split the army in two.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Wang Kuang then sent Fang to attack Lü Bu. With his mighty halberd, he struck Fang down within five bouts. Indeed, he was the man among men, as his steed was the horse among horses. Lü Bu dashed forward and cut Wang Kuang's army down. He was quite irresistible.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Lü Bu then challenged the coalition for a fight. With no response, they attacked. Mu Shun, a leader, rode out, bit was tossed aside by Lü Bu and fell in the first bout. This frightened others. Wu Anguo rode out with an iron mace, but his wrist was cut off by the tenth bout and he fled. Cao Cao remarked, "No one can stand a chance against Lü Bu, we must callup all the lords. If only Lü Bu died, Dong Zhuo would easily fall."


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When all the lords came, Lü Bu challenged again. He was met by Gongsun Zan who drew out his spear. After very few bouts Gongsun Zan was worsted and turned to flee. Lü Bu on his Red Hare was launching the killing blow when Zhang Fei came, roaring, "Stay, O thrice named slave!" Zhang Fei had enraged Lü Bu so Lü Bu gave up chasing and turned to face Zhang Fei.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Lü Bu and Zhang Fei fought toe to toe for 50 bouts, with no one gaining a significant edge over the other. Thus, Guan Yu and Liu Bei joined the battle and Lü Bu. The continuous movement of the Three brothers caused Lü Bu to be dizzy, and he struggled to duel with them. Overcome by fatigue, he fled. The whole army cheered and dashed forward to pursue. The three brothers maintained the pursuit and Zhang Fei saw Dong Zhuo. However, stones and arrows fell and Zhang Fei retreated. Dong Zhuo eventually fled back to Luoyang. Sun Jian advanced forward and took Hulao Pass.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Dong Zhuo felt threatened after losing the battles of Sishui Pass and Hulao Pass, so he evacuated Luoyang and moved the imperial capital to Chang'an. He forced Luoyang's residents to move together with him and had the city set aflame.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Sun Jian pursued and defeated Lü Bu. His soldiers extinguished the flames that enveloped Luoyang. He found the grand treasure, the Imperial Seal of the Realm, in a well. This treasure allowed him to become the emperor at any time. Sun Jian decided to keep it and wait for an opportunity to use it.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Meanwhile, Cao Cao tried to kill Lü Bu who was on the run, but Lü Bu caught him in an ambush and his loyal general Xiahou Dun saved him from Lü Bu. The two duelled and Cao Cao fled, but some hidden archers attacked. This time, Cao Cao was saved by his cousins Cao Ren and Cao Hong.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shao heard the news and became envious of Sun Jian. He tricked Liu Biao into thinking Sun Jian wanted to usurp the throne and the two clashed, Sun Jian eventually winning. Enraged, Sun Jian attacked Liu Biao, and the general under Liu Biao Huang Zu was sent to fight. Sun Jian's veteran general Huang Gai defeated him and took him prisoner. Liu Biao was getting desperate. His general Lü Gong came up with a plan. At night, Sun Jian taunted the enemy so Lü Gong came out and dueled Sun Jian. Lü Gong was worsted and ran into a narrow valley with Sun Jian in pursuit. Just then, many boulders and arrows fell from the top of the valley, crushing Sun Jian to death. Veteran general Cheng Pu who was behind Sun Jian was devastated. Enraged, he killed Lü Gong, but could not find Sun Jian's body. Then he found out that Sun Jian's body had been taken by the enemy. He brought the news to Sun Jian's son Sun Ce. Sun Ce wept for a long time as he wanted to give his father a funeral. Eventually, the prisoner Huang Zu was given back to Liu Biao in exchange for the body. Sun Ce took refuge in Yuan Shu's territory to slowly gain power.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: At the same time, Yuan Shao wanting to expand his territory, attacked Han Fu and Gongsun Zan. Decisively, he destroyed Han Fu and Han Fu fled to Cao Cao. Gongsun Zan was trapped in a middle of many rocky hills, and Yuan Shao's soldiers were about to kill him, but a brave warrior in white rode up to him, destroyed the army, and saved Gongsun Zan. He told Gongsun Zan that his name was Zhao Yun he wanted to defect to him as Yuan Shao was very cruel. The next battle, Gongsun Zan's army fell into disarray due to archers that stopped their wing-like formation, but Zhao Yun arrived and gave Gongsun Zan a victory. However, the next battle was a failure and Gongsun Zan fled with Zhao Yun and Yuan Shao burnt all the nearby cities.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Gongsun Zan was joined by Liu Bei, who became friends with Zhao Yun. Later, Zhao Yun wanted to defect from Gongsun Zan to Liu Bei as he said Gongsun Zan was just as tyrannical as Yuan Shao. Gongsun Zan was eventually pushed back to the north. Dong Zhuo sent a messenger to stop the fighting between the two.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The coalition eventually broke up due to poor leadership and conflicting interests among its members.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Meanwhile, in Changan, the minister Wang Yun had devised a plan to kill Dong Zhuo. His adopted daughter, Diao Chan, was known for her beauty and was among the Four Beauties of China. He knew that both Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu liked pretty women. So, Wang Yun invited Lü Bu to his house and Diao Chan successfully seduced him. Wang Yun then allowed Lü Bu to marry Diao Chan. When Lü Bu was away, Wang Yun invited Dong Zhuo and Diao Chan also seduced him. Dong Zhuo took Diao Chan as his own and Wang Yun did not interfere, so he smiled and rode away.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Lü Bu came back, he was enraged. Wang Yun told Lü Bu that Dong Zhuo had taken Diao Chan and was going to send her to him, so Lü Bu rushed to Dong Zhuo's palace. He found Diao Chan at a lotus pool, staring at a mirror while sobbing quietly. Lü Bu wrapped his arms around her and comforted her, while she expressed her misery at having to be Dong Zhuo's wife. Just when Lü Bu was going to take her with him out of the palace, Dong Zhuo came back and ordered Lü Bu to get out and not come back ever again. Lü Bu fled with no choice. He was vexed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Wang Yun pretended to bawl to stir Lü Bu into thinking that he needed to kill Dong Zhuo to retrieve Diao Chan. Wang Yun then made up a story where Dong Zhuo would ride on his carriage to become the Han Emperor. This was merely a ruse, as the soldiers immediately raised their weapons at Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo scoffed at them and ordered Lü Bu to kill the soldiers. He promised Lü Bu that he would be rewarded with gold coins. Howbeit, Lü Bu thrust his spear through Dong Zhuo's chest, ending his rule of tyranny. Dong Zhuo's relatives would all be executed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Dong Zhuo's subordinates, Li Jue and Guo Si surrounded the capital. They made a deal: if Wang Yun surrendered nicely, they would not lose any lives. However, if they refused, the city will be invaded. Wang Yun stood on the watchtower. Unwilling to make a decision, he jumped off and committed suicide. Lü Bu tried to fight back, but fell into an ambush and was chased out of Changan. Li Jue and Guo Si thus had the Emperor at their side.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: As soon as Li Jue and Guo Si took the Emperor in their hands, a lot of attackers came. First was Ma Teng from Liang Province. His ferocious son Ma Chao decimated Li Jue in battle so Guo Si came up with a plan. He used attrition to wear out Ma Teng's army, and 4 months later, out of supplies, they retreated.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: A Yellow Turban rebellion was then staged, so Guo Si issued an Imperial Order to send Cao Cao to fight. Cao Cao collected 30000 Yellow Turban Rebels and turned them into his soldiers. He then defeated Zhang Miao, Han Fu, Kong Zhou and Liu Dai to gain some territory. He gained many talented advisors like Cheng Yu, Guo Jia and Man Chong, as well as powerful generals like Yu Jin, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: In the meantime, a civil war has broken out in the Han Empire as warlords fought for territories and power. Cao Cao and Yuan Shu dominated the Central Plains, Tao Qian went to claim a small piece of land in the east, Zhang Xiu was trapped in a small corner and Han Sui and Ma Teng shared their territories with the Qiang's in northern China. Below the Yangtze River, Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang claimed the southwest, Liu Biao took the south and many mountain tribes took the east, with Wang Lang and a few others. Lü Bu had fled to Yuan Shao for a while but Yuan Shao was so annoyed by him that he kicked Lü Bu out.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: During those times of upheaval, Li Jue and Guo Si had always worked together, and the Emperor thought they were an unstoppable pair. However, due to a spy, miscommunication spread between them, and Guo Si's wife was convinced that Guo Si liked Li Jue's wife more, so she poisoned wine that came from Li Jue to make Guo Si attack Li Jue, resulting in a civil war. Eventually, Zhang Zhi was able to make them become allies once again, and they were joined by the traitor Li Yue. Still, from the Emperor's side, there was a powerful general named Xu Huang who could single-handedly stop many armies.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The Imperial Army, with the help of Dong Cheng, the Imperial Uncle, returned to Luoyang and started building a small palace. A huge famine struck, and the possibility of Li Jue and Guo Si coming back remained at large, scaring the common people. Yang Biao enlisted the help of Cao Cao, whose general, Xiahou Dun, was able to defeat Li Jue and Guo Si, and from the rebels' side Jia Xu deserted and went to the local village. Cao Cao sent Man Chong to convince Xu Huang to desert to him, then attacked and defeated Yang Feng, who fled to Yuan Shu.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao saved Emperor Xian from the remnants of Dong Zhuo's forces, established the new imperial capital in Xu, and became the new head of the central government. He was distraught when he received news that his father, Cao Song was murdered by the governor of Xu Province, Tao Qian. Immediately, Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian. Tao Qian quickly asked for help, and Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan and Kong Rong all arrived. However, the latter had to deal with an uprising of Yellow Turban Rebels and left with Liu Bei to deal with the issue. The great warrior Taishi Ci arrived for his mother had been treated nicely for Kong Rong and she wanted to show gratitude. Taishi Ci, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei defeated the Yellow Turban uprising and Liu Bei brought his brothers back to help Tao Qian.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao pillaged and burnt down all the cities in his way to show his wrath. He had to stop his invasion of Xu when he was attacked by Lü Bu. Lü Bu had taken the whole of Yan Province from Cao Ren in a surprise attack. Cao Cao then went back and attacked Lü Bu. Chen Gong, Lü Bu's newest advisor, gave Lü Bu a strategy. Cao Cao and his forces rushed onto an empty camp, which was set on fire. Lü Bu then came in and started killing left and right. Cao Cao came across Lü Bu, but the latter did not recognise him and Cao Cao tricked Lü Bu into turning around, and escaped by luck. Later, he caught Lü Bu in his own ambush, and reconsidered Yan Province. Lü Bu fled.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: For Guo Si, he was killed by his own subordinate while being constantly checked by Cao Cao. Li Jue died for the same reason a year later.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Meanwhile, the ambush set by Liu Biao on Yuan Shao's orders violently concluded Sun Jian's life. His eldest son, Sun Ce, delivered the Imperial Seal as a tribute to the rising pretender, Yuan Shu, in exchange for troops and horses. Sun Ce enlisted the help of Taishi Ci who defected from his lord, defeated the Southern Tribesmen and secured himself a state in the rich riverlands of Jiangdong (Wu), on which the state of Eastern Wu was founded later. His dream was to conquer Jing Province, which was where his father had died.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Tragically, Sun Ce also died at the pinnacle of his career from illness under stress of his terrifying encounter with the ghost of Yu Ji, a venerable magician whom he had falsely accused of heresy and executed in jealousy. Fortunately, Sun Quan, his younger brother and successor, proved to be a capable and charismatic ruler. With assistance from Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao and others, Sun Quan found hidden talents such as Lu Su to serve him, built up his military forces and maintained stability in Jiangdong.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei and his oath brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei swore allegiance to the Han Empire in the Oath of the Peach Garden and pledged to do their best for the people. However, their ambitions were not realized as they did not receive due recognition for helping to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion and participating in the campaign against Dong Zhuo. Liu Bei had been serving under Tao Qian, and when Cao Cao was attacking to taoe revenge over his father's death, Liu Bei sent a letter to ask Cao Cao for peace. Cao Cao was furious but had to abandon the mission when Lü Bu started attacking. Everyone thought that Liu Bei was the one who stopped Cao Cao's attack. Hence, Liu Bei was the one to succeed Tao Qian after he died. He gained Lü Bu after Lü Bu was defeated by Cao Cao.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao, however, was a pain in the neck. He forced the Emperor to issue imperial order, forcing Liu Bei to attack Yuan Shu, which he did so reluctantly. The battle was a stalemate for the most part. Cao Cao then sent a letter to Liu Bei, telling him to kill Lü Bu, but the message was intercepted by Chen Gong. When Lü Bu questioned Liu Bei, Zhang Fei immediately burst out and was going to kill Lü Bu right then, but Liu Bei stopped Zhang Fei and denied wanting to kill Lü Bu.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Liu Bei went to attack Yuan Shu, he left Zhang Fei behind to guard Xu Province. Zhang Fei drank heavily and became intoxicated, and forgot about his duties. Lü Bu took this chance to lure Zhang Fei out of the city and take Xu Province. Liu Bei then surrendered to Lü Bu. Yuan Shu wanted to finish off Lü Bu, so he gave Lü Bu lots of jewellery to tell him to force Liu Bei to go to war, knowing Liu Bei would lose. Lü Bu accepted the treasure and forced Liu Bei to go to war. However, a few days later, Lü Bu wanted to spoil Yuan Shu's mood. He made a deal with Yuan Shu，saying that if he hit his spear with an arrow from a 150 steps away, Yuan Shu would stop the war. Yuan Shu, believing that the feat was unobtainable, agreed. Lü Bu was able to hit his spear, and Yuan Shu was forced to stop.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao had an affair with Zhang Xiu's wife, prompting Zhang Xiu to attack Cao Cao. Zhang Xiu's advisor, Jia Xu, planned an ambush. Cao Cao and his men, still sleeping, were caught in a fire trap and Cao Cao only escaped when Dian Wei, having had his battle axe stolen, used his bare hands to guard Cao Cao while he escaped. Even with several arrows pierced theough his skin, Dian Wei proved to be a resilient fighter and added to Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu's frustration and their capture of Cao Cao had to be stalled. Zhang Xiu cut down the weakened Dian Wei and chased Cao Cao down. An archer shot Cao Cao's horse down, so his son, Cao Ang, lent Cao Cao his horse to escape. Cao Ang was killed while Zhang Xiu pursued. Eventually, the reinforcements arrived and Zhang Xiu fled. Cao Cao deeply mourned Dian Wei's death.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhang Fei did not like Lü Bu. Hence, when Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei to buy more horses, he was astounded when Zhang Fei came back in no time. Suddenly, Lü Bu was chasing them from behind! Zhang Fei had stolen his horses and he had flown into a rage no one could stop. Trapped between two sides, Liu Bei defected to Cao Cao.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: On the road, Liu Bei met a famous hunter who served him. He wanted to catch Liu Bei a wolf for dinner, but could not find anything till dusk. The hunter then killed his wife and disguised her arm in soup and gave it to Liu Bei who knew nothing about the wife's death to eat. When Liu Bei woke up the next morning to see the wife dead on the kitchen table, he realised what happened, thanked the hunter, and left as fast as he could. When he arrived at Cao Cao's palace, he recounted the scary incident. Cao Cao was greatly pleased and rewarded the hunter handsomely.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Suddenly, Yuan Shu, with the Imperial Seal, declared himself Emperor of the Zhong Dynasty. Instantly, Cao Cao, Lü Bu and even Sun Ce attacked him, leaving him with almost no territory afterwards.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao planned an ambush and moved his army in suspicious directions. Eventually, Chen Gong and Lü Bu's armies came across each other and attacked, only after a while did they realise that they were attacking each other. By the time it was too late, for Cao Cao's army swept upon them and they were utterly crushed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao then diverted the rivers near Lü Bu's territory, flooding it. Cao Cao then started attacking and Lü Bu put up a strong defence.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun to lead reinforcements to help Liu Bei, who was under attack by Lü Bu at Xiaopei. When Xiahou Dun arrived, he encountered Lü Bu's army led by Gao Shun, and he engaged Gao in a one-on-one fight. Both of them duelled for about 40 rounds. Gao Shun could not hold on any longer so he retreated, with Xiahou Dun in pursuit. Lü Bu's subordinate Cao Xing spotted Xiahou Dun on the battlefield, and he fired an arrow which hit Xiahou in his left eye. Xiahou Dun cried out and pulled out the arrow together with his eyeball. He exclaimed, "This is the essence of my father and the blood of my mother, I cannot waste it!" He then swallowed his eyeball and charged towards Cao Xing. Cao Xing was caught off guard and was killed by Xiahou Dun, who speared him in the face. The soldiers from both sides were shocked by the scene before them.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Because of the flooding, people had miserable lives. Lü Bu gave in to wine at his wife's advice, greatly upsetting Chen Gong, who urged him to do something. After a few days, Lü Bu realised the wine had gotten the better of his health, and he banned wine from the whole Province. Anyone caught would be flogged.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: The lives of the people in Lü Bu's territory were extremely miserable, and Lü Bu did not treat his subordinates well, often flogging them. Hence, they tied Lü Bu up in his sleep and his own men surrendered him, Chen Gong, and Zhang Liao to Cao Cao. Chen Gong, wrapped in bounds, scolded Cao Cao for being a traitor, even worse tha. LÜ Bu, who he commented was a fool. Chen Gong accepted his execution with dignity, forcing a reluctant executor to chop his head off as Cao Cao wept bitterly. Chen Gong even stretched his neck for the blow.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Lü Bu groveled and pleaded with Cao Cao to let him live. Cao Cao was keen not to execute him. However, Liu Bei, sick and tired of Lü Bu, reminded Cao Cao of how Dong Zhuo had been betrayed by Lü Bu. Lü Bu was then executed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei then followed Cao Cao back to the imperial capital, Xu, where Emperor Xian honored him as his "Imperial Uncle". During a hunting round, the Emperor struggled tl shoot down a deer. Cao Cao took the Emperor's golden bow and arrows and shot the deer down. The spectators, thinking the Emperor had shot the deer down, shouted, "Long live the Emperor!" Emperor Xian was disgusted when Cao Cao laughed. Guan Yu was so offended that he wanted to kill Cao Cao but Liu Bei stopped him, saying the three would be executed for killing him.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Emperor Xian wrote a secret decree in blood to his father-in-law, Dong Cheng, and ordered him to get rid of Cao. Dong Cheng secretly contacted Liu Bei and others and they planned to assassinate Cao Cao.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei was afraid that Cao Cao would find out about his plot. Hence, he spent his time learning how to plant seeds. Cao Cao grew suspicious and his officials told him that Liu Bei's kindness would end up allowing him to get very popular and dangerous. Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to a banquet and told him a very famous story where his soldiers were thirsty in a desert. He found some trees and told his soldiers to run to the forest to get the sweet berries to eat. His soldiers raced to the forest and Cao Cao's troops moved significantly faster.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao then changed the topic and asked Liu Bei who he thought were the heroes of China. Liu Bei thought that Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and Sun Ce were heroes. Cao Cao disagreed, claiming that Yuan Shu was a weak pretender, Yuan Shao was indecisive and a coward and Sun Ce was just following his father's legacy. Liu Bei guessed Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, Ma Teng, Han Sui, Zhang Lu and Zhang Xiu, but Cao Cao deemed them worthless. He said that heroes had great ambitions.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao then announced that he and Liu Bei were the only heroes of China. Liu Bei was alarmed and his chopsticks dropped to the floor. Just then, lightning struck and Liu Bei took his own time to recover. Cao Cao asked Liu Bei how a hero can be scared of lightning, and Liu Bei said that if sages could consider lightning powerful, there is no wrong to be scared. Cao Cao's suspicions of Liu Bei vanished. Liu Bei then took the opportunity to get out of Cao Cao's territory by pretending to go to war with Yuan Shu, who had been totally crushed after starting his own dynasty.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shu perished, unable to swallow the coarse food his soldiers ate. His last request was for honey water, but his soldiers only had blood. He was received by Che Zhou, the newly appointed officer. Che Zhou tried to assassinate Liu Bei so Guan Yu slew him. This enraged Cao Cao, who sent Wang Zhong and Liu Dai to attack. Wang Zhong sent up the banners of Cao Cao to trick Liu Bei into thinking Cao Cao had come. Liu Bei avoided the ruse and Zhang Fei caught the hapless warrior. But in prison, he was treated nicely, and when Guan Yu captured Liu Dai sooner, they were released and told to inform Cao Cao that Liu Bei only killed Che Zhou because he was nearly killed first.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Meanwhile, the advisor Kong Rong suggested Mi Heng to Cao Cao, who wanted to settle peace with Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu. Unexpectedly, Mi Heng acted arrogantly and rebuked Cao Cao and all his advisors, giving insults like saying advisor Xun Yu would make a good tomb guardian, Zhang Liao was the best drum enthusiast, Xu Huang should be sent to kill cattle and pigs, and so on, insulting Cao Cao, who banished him. Cao Cao sent him to Liu Biao, who was also treated poorly. Liu Biao, displeased with Cao Cao because of Mi Heng, made peace with Yuan Shao instead, and planned a joint attack with Ma Teng to attack the capital.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Meanwhile, the plans to kill Cao Cao were underway as Dong Cheng worked hard day and night. One day, his physician came and saw that Dong Cheng was stressed. Dong Cheng explained, and the physician, Ji Ping, bit his finger and pledged to kill Cao Cao. One of Dong Cheng's officers flirted with his handmaid, annoying Dong Cheng, who flogged him multiple times. This made the officer furious and reported Dong Cheng and Ji Ping. Cao Cao then feigned a headache, and Ji Ping fell for it. He came to Cao Cao's room, where Cao Cao refused the poisoned medication, until Ji Ping realised the plot had been discovered and he forcefully tried to pour the poison into Cao Cao's eye. Cao Cao's loud screams alerted Xu Chu, who barged in and slew the doctor. Cao Cao had Dong Cheng and the others arrested and executed along with their families. Only Ma Teng and Liu Bei escaped, the former fleeing back to his own province.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao was still unhappy, so he executed the two and sent an army to attack. Liu Bei called for Yuan Shao's help, but the latter was tending to his sick son. Yuan Shao spread rumours to the capital that Cao Cao was a bad and tyrannical person. Back at the capital, the two advisors Xun Yu and Guo Jia were able to clear the rumors. Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei at Xu, and Liu Bei and Zhang Fei disappeared in the chaos. Guan Yu was reminded that Liu Bei's two wives were still in the capital, so he remained at the top of a hill, surrounded by an army led by Zhang Liao.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao, he had abandoned his wives. Guan Yu stayed back to take care of them and he was surrounded on a hill. Zhang Liao approached him and asked him to surrender. Guan Yu refused and asked death. At this, Zhang Liao sniggered and accused Guan Yu of breaking the oath of the peach garden, the trust between brothers by leaving Liu Bei's wives alone, and his own reputation if he died. Guan Yu then proposed 3 conditions.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Guan Yu had 3 conditions for surrendering. Firstly, he would only submit to the emperor and not Cao Cao. Secondly, he would get to decide the safety arrangements of Liu Bei's wives. Lastly, if he heard news of Liu Bei, he would be allowed to leave.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhang Liao hastened to report to Cao Cao. Cao Cao eventually agreed, thinking that he could win Guan Yu over with immense kindness. He gave Guan Yu a nice home, pretty girls to look after him and lavish banquets, but Guan Yu refused to surrender to Cao Cao. Cao Cao gave up persuading Guan Yu after realising that Guan Yu was a true man who never betrays his principles. Once, Cao Cao noticed Guan Yu's cloak was old, so he bade his servants make a new one. When Cao Cao presented the cloak to Guan Yu, Guan Yu thanked him profusely, but wore the new cloak under the old and worn-out cloak. Cao Cao asked why, and Guan Yu replied that the old cloak was a gift from Liu Bei, and he would put nobody above his brother. Cao Cao was amazed by this, but grew disappointed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shao sent his 2 generals to attack Cao Cao. They were the famed Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Cao Cao deployed Guan Yu to attack Yan Liang while Zhang Liao and Xu Huang attack Wen Chou. Guan Yu was given the Red Hare by Cao Cao. Guan Yu was happy about it as he could ride to his brother quicker. Using the speed if the Red Hare and his skill at fighting, Guan Yu killed Yan Liang in no time. When Zhang Liao and Xu Huang both struggled against Wen Chou, Guan Yu rode on his Red Hare to them and cut down Wen Chou in a flash. Yuan Shao wanted to execute Liu Bei but due to Yuan Shao's indecisiveness, he spared Liu Bei. His incessant indecisiveness would cost him in his next battle.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Guan Yu received news of Liu Bei's whereabouts and rushed to Yuan Shao's territory. Cao Cao have him a warm towel to express his gratitude. Cao Cao's own generals looked down on him for letting Guan Yu go so easily. Thus, Guan Yu faced resistance while going to meet Liu Bei. When Guan Yu had left, he realised the carriage with the two wives were missing. He searched and found a general named Liao Hua with the two wives. Guan Yu was going to kill Liao Hua when the two wives stopped him. Then, Liao Hua explained that he had saved the wives from some bandits and the wives nodded their hands. Guan Yu felt grateful and recruited Liao Hua.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: On the first gate, he met Kong Xiu. Kong Xiu was rude and told him to get off or else just leave the wives here and get consent from Cao Cao. This enraged Guan Yu, so he cut Kong Xiu down in a flash. On the second gate, he met Meng Tan and Han Fu. Meng Tan was sliced in two while Han Fu circled behind and prepared to shoot an arrow. The arrow hits, but Guan Yu does not care and kills Han Fu by slicing him in half.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Guan Yu was about to reach the third gate. News spread to the guard Bian Xi. Bian Xi was a warrior who used nunchucks. Knowing that three major generals had already fallen to Guan Yu, he knew that he needed to use trickery if he wanted revenge. Hence, he welcomed Guan Yu and gave him some food to eat, while he ordered some troops to kill Guan Yu when he get out of the building. While Guan Yu was alone, a monk came to him and explained Bian Xi's trick. Guan Yu was furious and dueled Bian Xi, killing him.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: At the fourth gate, he met Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi treated him nicely, and knowing Guan Yu was tired, let him and the wives rest in the city. However, Wang Zhi had planned to burn the city down during the night. His subordinate Hu Ban knew that. Hu Ban was curious to see how the respected Guan Yu looked like, so he crept around, and Guan Yu saw him. Hu Ban then revealed Wang Zhi's ambush, and Guan Yu came with his wives and escaped, while a fire blazed in the city they had escaped. Wang Zhi came riding after them to kill Guan Yu, but was killed by Guan Yu. At the fifth gate, he killed Qin Qi, and then Xiahou Dun came and challenged him to a fight. They were equally matched, and suddenly Zhang Liao came giving Guan Yu consent to cross over. When Guan Yu reached the border of Yuan Shao's territory, Sun Qian, Liu Bei's follower and court member, informed Guan Yu that Liu Bei had gone to Runan. Guan Yu then went to Runan and found an eager follower in Zhou Cang. Then, he received news that Liu Bei was back in Yuan Shao's territory.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: He found a farmer's son and took a liking for him. The farmer let him take the son. Guan Yu named the son Guan Ping. He found Zhang Fei, but Zhang Fei thought that Guan Yu had betrayed him as Cao Cao's general Cai Yang was following him. Guan Yu cut the general down and forgave his brother for the misunderstanding. The two brothers met up with Liu Bei at Runan and made it their temporary base. Finally, the three brothers met and had a happy reunion. Just then, Zhou Cang and Liao Hua came back very injured, having arrived from an invading army camp. When Liu Bei checked it out, he was surprised to see Zhao Yun there. Zhao Yun immediately stopped attacking and revealed that after Gongsun Zan's death, he had been searching for Liu Bei.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: This famous Chinese story shows the bravery and resilience of Guan Yu and has been adapted into many films and shows.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Now that Yan Liang and Wen Chou had dies, a war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao seemed inevitable. Yuan Shao's force was predictably larger than Cao Cao's force, and Cao Cao was anxious. Seeing this, Guo Jia advised Cao Cao not to be anxious. Then, using evidence, proved that Cao Cao beat Yuan Shao in many important values such as principle, righteousness, management, tolerance, strategy, virtue, benevolence, military skill, culture and wisdom. Cao Cao felt relieved at once and started mobilising his troops.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shao asked for help from Liu Biao and Sun Ce in the battle. Liu Biao rejected, but Sun Ce agreed, unhappy that Cao Cao bad denied his request to be promoted. However, he was harassed by a Taoist magician and died of stress. His younger brother Sun Quan replaced him and did not send support to Yuan Shao.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: After settling the nearby provinces, including a rebellion led by former Yellow Turbans, and internal affairs with the court, Cao Cao turned his attention north to Yuan Shao, who himself had eliminated his northern rival Gongsun Zan that same year. Yuan Shao, himself of higher nobility than Cao Cao, amassed a large army of 700,000 and camped along the northern bank of the Yellow River.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: In the summer of 200, after months of preparations, the armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao clashed at the Battle of Guandu (near present-day Kaifeng). Cao Cao's army was outnumbered 10 to 1 by Yuan Shao. Cao Cao also was running out of supplies. The battle began with Cao Cao charging head-on. His army was annihilated by hidden archers. For a few weeks, both sides engaged in trench warfare, with Yuan Shao gaining the upper hand slowly. In desperation, the scholar Liu Hua proposed to Cao Cao his strategy-an improvised trebuchet. The plan worked, and Yuan Shao was driven back. Cao Cao then camped at Guandu. However, Cao Cao's food was running extremely low, and he barely had enough to supply for 3 months.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Yuan Shao's messenger told him about Cao Cao's situation. Surprisingly, Yuan Shao thought that it was a trick and refused to do anything. Had he sent his army to Cao Cao's base, he would have won the battle. Angered by this, many of Yuan Shao's generals such as Zhang He left for Cao Cao. Cao Cao's old friend, Xu You, also left for Cao Cao. When Cao Cao heard about this, he was so excited he forgot to put on his shoes. Cao Cao's old friend advised Cao Cao to burn Yuan Shao's supply depot and take as much as he could. With no food, Yuan Shao's army could not advance. The panicking Yuan Shao then sent 2 forces to Cao Cao's base and his burnt supply depot. Cao Cao ambushed the group heading to his supply depot and sent a false letter to Yuan Shao, making the latter think that Cao Cao had been defeated at the supply depot. Then, while his army clashed with Yuan Shao-s army, Cao Cao led a pincer attack to defeat Yuan Shao's army. Cao Cao then spread false rumours that he had surrounded Yuan Shao's base, so Yuan Shao panicked and defended his camp evenly. Cao Cao then broke through the thin line of defence and sent Yuan Shao running.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: After being defeated, Yuan Shao eventually fell ill and died in 202. Cao Cao took advantage of Yuan Shao's death, which resulted in division among his sons, and advanced to the north. In 204, after the Battle of Ye, Cao Cao captured the city of Ye. Xu You was killed by Cao Cao's bodyguard Xu Chu for behaving arrogantly. Xu Chu was scolded and Xu You was given a lavish burial.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: By the end of 207, after a victorious campaign beyond the frontier against the Wuhuan culminating in the Battle of White Wolf Mountain, Cao Cao achieved complete dominance of the North China Plain. He now controlled China's heartland, including Yuan Shao's former territory, and half of the Chinese population.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao defeated Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, who both fled to Gongsun Du. Cao Cao wanted to send troops to attack Gongsun Du, but the great strategist Guo Jia, rejected, thinking Gongsun Du did not want to be enemies with Cao Cao. True enough, Cao Cao received a letter from Gongsun Du containing the heads of the two Yuan's. Cao Cao then conquered the territories of the two Yuan's. Sadly, Guo Jia fell ill and died. Cao Cao was extremely sad that such a talent like Guo Jia would die so early in his career.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Since 200, Liu Biao put Liu Bei in charge of Xinye, where he was treated very well. Liu Bei had encouraged Liu Biao to attack Cao Cao while he was on the Northern campaign, but Liu Biao refused. Now, Liu Biao could only regret as Cao Cao got even stronger. Liu Bei lamented that he was old and fat after not being in war for so long and not fufilling his duty.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Biao favoured his younger son Liu Qi, but the rightful heir to the throne was his other son Liu Cong. Liu Biao intended to announce that Liu Qi be the heir, but Liu Bei advised him not to as it would cause chaos, and rather gradually lower Liu Cong's power until they were weak enough for Liu Qi to be the new ruler.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: However, a woman had heard all of that from behind a wall. It was Liu Biao's first wife, the mother of Liu Cong, and she was furious. Hence, she sent her brother Cai Mao to make an ambush. Zhao Yun was lured away from Liu Bei, but the ambush was leaked and Liu Bei was sent packing. His horse, Dilu, was able to jump over the Tan Stream and save his master. Zhao Yun came back and slew Cai Mao's subordinates and Cai Mao ran for his life. But by then, Liu Bei had wandered off. He came across a wise man named Water Mirror who told him that he would need to fulfill a prophecy and to do it, he would need better men. Liu Bei, offended, replied that he already had Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Guan Ping, Liu Feng, Zhou Cang, Liao Hua as generals and Mi Zhu and Sun Qian as court members. Water Mirror suggested him to find the "Sleeping Dragon" or the "Fledging Phoenix" as Liu Bei lacked a good advisor.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei, returning from the Water Mirror's house, found an intelligent strategist Xu Shu who was singing in the market, who preferred to be called Tan Fu as Xu Shu was his secret identity. He helped defeat Cao Cao numerous times and defeated general Cao Ren by letting Zhao Yun break throufh his 8 Gate Formation. Guan Yu then chased Cao Ren back to his base.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao was able to find out Xu Shu's personal information and tricked him into thinking that he held his mother hostage. Before Xu Shu left Liu Bei, he advised Liu to visit the tactician Zhuge Liang at his residence at Longzhong. Sadly, for Xu Shu, his mother committed suicide learning that he would willingly betray the benevolent Liu Bei for the tyrannical Cao Cao. As for the gifts that Cao Cao gave, Xu Shu accepted none.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: On the first time, Zhuge Liang was not at home. On the second time, Zhuge Liang's younger brother was at home, as well as his younger sister. Zhang Fei quarelled with the young girl about why Zhuge Liang, knowing that Liu Bei wanted to visit, still went out. The brother informed Liu Bei that they had narrowly missed Zhuge Liang.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: On the third time, it was Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's brotherhood anniversary, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not want to visit but to celebrate. Liu Bei decided to go on his own. Learning that, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei immediately chased him, not wanting him to be in danger. When they arrived at Zhuge Liang's residence, the brother informed them that Zhuge Liang was asleep. Thus, the three men stood outside for hours before Zhuge Liang awoke.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhuge Liang was impressed by Liu Bei's kindness as he was treated well by Liu Bei so he decided to work for him. Zhuge Liang came up with the strategy to conquer China.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Firstly, Liu Bei had to conquer Jing Province, Liu Biao's territory. This was because two rivers passed through there and supplies could easily be passed throughout the Province. Next, he had to conquer Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu to the west. Those areas had fertile soil and a mountainous terrain for defence. Finally, they had to ally with Sun Quan in Jiang Dong and crush Cao Cao. Then, he would be able to take over most of China and then finish off Cao Cao and Sun Quan.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Following his unification of central and northern China under his control, Cao Cao, having been appointed Imperial Chancellor by Emperor Xian, led his forces on a southern campaign to eliminate Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not trust Zhuge Liang as a strategist. However, Zhuge Liang's time to shine came quickly when Xiahou Dun led a colossal army at Boma to attack with the intention of killing Liu Bei.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhuge Liang assigned Zhao Yun to attack Xiahou Dun and lure Xiahou Dun into the forest. In the forest, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would sit on threat and right sides to attack when Xiahou Dun enters the forest. Guan Ping and Liu Bei's adopted son Liu Feng would set fire to the forest while Liu Bei himself would lead the backup army to prevent Xiahou Dun from escaping.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Zhao Yun retreated from a rather passive duel with Xiahou Dun, his subordinates Yu Jin and Li Dian suggested not to pursue as they suspected an ambush. Xiahou Dun pursued on into the forest where he fought Liu Bei and easily drove him back. He remarked to Li Dian, "Is this the ambush you were talking about?" Suddenly, the forest became set on fire and Zhang Fei charged from the side. Zhang Fei slaughtered many of Xiahou Dun's men as Xiahou Dun barely escaped alive with Guan Yu chasing him out of the forest. Xiahou Dun was saved by a small backup force that stalled enough time for him, Yu Jin and Li Dian to retreat. After the battle, Yu Jin and Li Dian were promoted for being able to recognise the ambush.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Later, Cao Cao sent two armies led by Cao Ren and Xu Chu to attack Xinye. Zhuge Liang gave Guan Yu a cloth bag and told him to go to the river. Then, he told Guan Yu to open the bag when the enemy arrived and read the message. Then, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang kept on the lookout and saw the enemy coming, racing towards Xinye, swinging their swords ready to kill. They saw Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang drinking wine on a hill, and immediately raced up. However, they were blocked by rolling logs that fell. Cao Ren and Xu Chu resorted to camping for the night. When the Cao army was sleeping soundly, Zhao Yun and a few archers shot flaming arrows at the camps, burning them and Zhao Yun rushed into the chaos, killing left and right. At the same time, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were assisting in evacuating the city. When Liu Bei had ensured all the citizens had evacuated, Zhao Yun and those archers burned Xinye down. When the Cao backup army arrived, they were shocked to see what had happened.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao then sent an even bigger army to reinforce the first army. Liu Cong, the son of the recently passed Liu Biao, had surrendered to Cao Cao, making Liu Bei furious. Zhuge Liang sent Liu Feng and Mi Fang to confuse the enemy at Bowang and catch up. Liu Bei, along with Zhuge Liang, Mi Zhu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun and the whole population of Xinye marched away to Fancheng with Sun Qian. Zhang Fei met with Xu Chu and defeated him in a duel. Guan Yu was made to prepare boats.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Liu Bei was on the river, Cai Mao and his soldiers started shooting. They were stopped by Wei Yan, who frightened the people and made the whole situation worse as a conflict seemed to brew. Wei Yan got lost and had no choice but to go to Han Xuan, a minor warlord. Cai Mao met up with Cao Cao and surrendered. Liu Cong was executed by Cao Cao later. Cao Cao attempted to kill Zhuge Liang's family, but they too had left.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Just then, Mi Fang rushed over to Liu Bei, shouting "Zhao Yun went to Cao Cao!" Liu Bei refused to believe it. Zhang Fei rushed off to Changban bridge to defend it, thinking Zhao Yun was a traitor. Zhang Fei had only 50 soldiers with him guarding the bridge, but he ordered them to use wooden logs to create stomping noises to try and scare Cao Cao's army into thinking there was an ambush.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhao Yun had been fighting with Cao soldiers. First, he saved a carraige guard, who told him that the two wives had been stolen along with the carraige, the horses and the infant A Dou. Zhao Yun was rushing around when he saw Lady Gan. He asked Lady Gan if she had seen Lady Mi and Liu Bei's infant son Liu Shan, and she shrugged. Zhao Yun then saw some soldiers holding Mi Zhu hostage, and Zhao Yun saved him, killing Cao Cao's general. Zhao Yun, with Lady Gan and Mi Zhu, went to Changban Bridge and saw Zhang Fei. He talked with Zhang Fei and convinced him he had not betrayed. Then, he rushed back into the chaos.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhao Yun killed the captain Xiahou En, the swordbearer of Cao Cao. Zhao Yun picked up the sword. He eventually found Lady Mi next to a well, clutching her son. Zhao Yun wanted to pick both of them up, but Lady Mi said that she was heavily injured and would only slow the group down, so she jumped into the well. Zhao Yun felt regretful, and with the infant in one arm, dashed back to Changban bridge. The veteran general Zhang He caught Zhao Yun in an ambush, causing him to fall in a hole. Zhang He laughed at Zhao Yun. Suddenly, Zhao Yun jumped out of the hole and swiped at Zhang He, who dodged in the nick of time. Zhang He then fled. Zhao Yun continued this onslaught. He met with Cao Hong, who fled without trying. He then met up with Zhong Jin and Zhong Shen, who were sliced in half. Zhao Yun was chased, and was too exhausted to fight. Fortunately, he reached Changban bridge, and Zhang Fei rescued him.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Wen Ping who was chasing Zhao Yun, saw Zhang Fei, so he stopped on the other end of the bridge. The messengers arrived and Cao Cao came to see the scene for himself. Zhang Fei held off Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, Cao Ren, Zhang He, and Cao Cao's army at the same time with a deafening roar. Nobody was willing to fight Zhang Fei in a one-on-one battle and Cao Cao suspected trickery. One of Cao Cao's staff was so frightened he dropped of his horse. Many soldiers dropped their weapons too. Cao Cao was so scared that he ran away, but was rescued by Zhang Liao. While the army was disorganised, Zhang Fei broke the bridge and fled.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Zhao Yun came back, Liu Bei tossed Liu Shan onto the floor and scolded him for nearly costing Zhao Yun's life. Zhao Yun was appalled.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: All of Sun Quan's officials want Sun Quan to surrender to Cao Cao except for Lu Su. Lu Su was not sure if he could convince Sun Quan not to surrender. Thus, he brought with him the mastermind Zhuge Liang.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhuge Liang first discussed with Zhang Zhao who really wanted to surrender. He scoffed at Zhuge Liang, saying that he was so weak he could not even maintain Liu Bei's territory. Zhuge Liang said, "If you send a sick man to fight, he would surely lose. Liu Bei does not even have military supplies and you expect him to defeat Cao Cao's grand army twice. How ridiculous!" Zhang Zhao, humiliated, kept quiet.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Lu Su then brought Zhuge Liang to Sun Quan. Sun Quan did want to surrender, but at the same time didn't. To persuade him, Zhuge Liang exaggerated the size of Cao Cao's army to twice its size, causing both Sun Quan and Lu Su to turn pale in fear. Then, he added that Liu Bei knew so yet he never gave up and surrendered. Sun Quan, with access to the sea and fertile soil, should not surrender.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: In the end, Sun Quan smashed his table hard, causing a piece of the corner to fly off. He said that whoever disagreed would end up like the table. He placed Zhou Yu in command of his army in preparation for war with Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang remained temporarily in Wu territory to assist Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu felt that Zhuge Liang would become a threat to Sun Quan in the future and attempted to kill him on a few occasions but ultimately failed due to Zhuge Liang's superior intuition, and ended up having no choice but to cooperate with Zhuge Liang.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Thus, the plan to win the Battle of Red Cliffs was made by Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu had tricked Cao Cao's messenger, Jiang Gan, into thinking that Cao Cao's naval trainer Cai Mao was planning a rebellion. Cao Cao executed him before he realized the trap.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhuge Liang showed his intelligence when he was able to collect 100 000 arrows in 3 days using straw people. For the first three days, Lu Su noticed Zhuge Liang had not even started manufacturing arrows. When he questioned Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Liang ignored the question and asked him for 20 boats filled with straw people. Lu Su was confused but did so anyway.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: With Lu Su's help, Zhuge Liang was able to fill boats with straw people. On a foggy morning, Zhuge Liang and Lu Su went onto the boats and chatted while drinking wine. They approached Cao Cao's camp and Cao Cao could not identify whether it was a trap, so he ordered his somdiers to shoot arrows at their boats. The arrows got stuck onto the straw people. Cao Cao could not see them due to the fog.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When the fog was over, soldiers rushed from behind the straw people and shouted, "多謝丞相！” which meant thank you to Cao Cao. Eventually, more than 100000 arrows were stuck onto the boats, and Zhou Yu was furious that Zhuge Liang had defied the odds.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhou Yu and the aging general Huang Gai did a public act. Huang Gai pretended to support Cao Cao and was thus hit with a birch cane fifty times until blood leaked out. Huang Gai then sent his trusted friend Kan Ze to convince Cao Cao. When Kan Ze met Cao Cao, Cao Cao originally saw through the trick and put Kan Ze to death. Kan Ze then laughed and mocked Cao Cao, and Cao Cao questioned Kan Ze why the date was not written. Kan Ze then said that Huang Gai was waiting for an opportunity to escape. Cao Cao then trusted Kan Ze and gave him some gifts and some for Huang Gai.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhou Yu sent the fledgling phoenix, Pang Tong, to trick Cao Cao that since his fleet was mainly composed of northern soldiers, he should chain his ships from stem to stem. Cao Cao fell for the trick. Originally, Cheng Yu and Xun Yu suspected fire could be used to burn the ships connected by chains, but Cao Cao said that the winter winds are always northern and there should be no fear.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao and his massive fleet had a feast and Cao Cao composed a beautiful song. The northern winds blew strongly, and one of the flags of Zhou Yu fell down and slapped him in the cheek, causing Zhou Yu to fall into a swoon. Zhou Yu fell ill and Zhuge Liang surmised it was due to stress. The one element that they could not control was missing- a south-eastern wind. Zhuge Liang assured Zhou Yu that he could summon the south-eastern wind. Zhou Yu chuckled, thinking that Zhuge Liang had humiliated himself.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhou Yu beautified a temple and fortified it. Then, he removed the ceiling and invited the public to surround the temple. Zhuge Liang brandished two swords and danced in the center of the temple where Zhou Yu had invited him to summon the south-eastern wind. To Zhou Yu's surprise, the south-eastern wind did come at night, enraging Zhou Yu. Zhuge Liang escaped Zhou Yu's ambush and retreated safely to Zhao Yun's ship. He then sent Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei to guard the forest which Cao Cao would likely retreat to. Originally, he did not want to send Guan Yu as Guan Yu owed Cao Cao a favor when Guan Yu was allowed to have lavish banquets every day while Liu Bei was at Yuan Shao's base. Guan Yu insisted, so Zhuge Liang let him go.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: In the morning, Huang Gai sent a letter to Cao Cao that Zhou Yu fell ill and was not on the lookout, so he could defect. Huang Gai sent his ships to Cao Cao's base, feigning surrender. When Huang Gai's ships were surprisingly fast, Cao Cao became suspicious. Cheng Yu pointed out that the boats were floating, which means they were carrying fuel, and suddenly he felt the strong eastern breeze and warned Cao Cao, who sent Wen Ping to halt them. Huang Gai did not listen and crashed into Wen Ping's boat. Then, the boats, filled with reed and dry wood, were lit on fire and rammed straight into Cao Cao's fleet. Chained from stem to stem and backed by the South-easterly wind, the fire spread fast. The ships and the main camp burned, and the Cliffs were painted red by the blood of Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao, in his neatly dressed outfit, was easily recognizable, and Huang Gai shouted for him to stop and leapt onto his boat.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Huang Gai dueled with Cao Cao on a boat, but was shot by Zhang Liao and dropped into the water. Zhang Liao rescued Cao Cao and the two sailed to the forest to meet Xu Huang, Xu Chu, and the reinforcements. Huang Gai was saved by his soldiers.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhuge Liang knew that Cao Cao would escape into the forest, so he made Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei at different parts of the forest to ambush Cao Cao. Guan Yu also wanted to join, but Zhuge Liang disagreed saying that Guan Yu would spare Cao Cao because of the kindness he was treated. Guan Yu eventually had to sign it, and failure to meant death.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao and the loyal Zhang Liao came into the forest. Instantly, Lü Meng, Sun Quan's general, who was there by sheer luck, attacked Cao Cao, but Cao Cao was joined by Zhang He who attacked. LÜ Meng was unable to pursue Cao Cao, so he sent the signal to Gan Ning who was nearby. Gan Ning attacked, but this time Wen Ping and Xu Huang joined Cao Cao and the latter fought Gan Ning and bought enough time for Cao Cao to retreat. Lu Xun, another general, also saw Lü Meng's signal and rushed to attack. However, Cao Cao got a lucky escape.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao was able to escape into the forest, where he took a rest. Suddenly, he burst out laughing, saying that Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu were too overconfident and that if he were them, he would place an ambush there.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Suddenly, Zhao Yun jumped out of hiding and dueled with Xu Huang. Cao Cao was alarmed and fled with Zhang Liao. The laughter happened again in an empty village, and this time Zhang Fei came out. Zhang Fei dueled with Zhang Liao and Cao Cao fled on his own.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao was left with two paths, a narrow path that was a shortcut to his territory or a longer path that was wider. When Cao Cao saw that the shorter path was smoking, he thought that Zhuge Liang had placed an ambush on the wider path, saying that Zhuge Liang would try to dissuade him from taking the short path by placing smoke there.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: He took the shorter path but was ambushed by Guan Yu. He kneeled down and pleaded with Guan Yu and reminded him of the times he was treated nicely. Guan Yu, seeing the mighty Cao Cao and Zhang Liao was worn out and all the soldiers half dead, felt pity and tears sprung to his eyes. Guan Yu ordered that the formation be broken and Cao Cao passed through.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Later, Cao Cao was met by Cao Ren and they returned to the capital. When Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei returned to camp, they all had soldier items with them. However, Guan Yu did not, making Zhuge Liang suspicious. Guan Yu admitted, and Zhuge Liang was going to execute him, but Liu Bei and Zhang Fei dropped to the floor and pleaded mercy. Zhuge Liang eventually dropped the topic.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Sun Quan and Liu Bei started vying for control of southern Jing Province after their victory. Zhuge Liang, knowing that Zhou Yu would likely fail, asked him to capture Jing Province first. Cao Ren shot Zhou Yu in the chest with a poison arrow that acts when Zhou Yu is enraged. Sun Quan then sent his general Taishi Ci to attack He Fei, but Taishi Ci's ambush backfired against him and he was killed by Zhang Liao. After failing, Zhou Yu received news that Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun had already conquered the rest of Jing Province. He fainted due to the poison arrow.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhuge Liang sent Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei to attack the remaining cities in Jing Province and the two did so with merit. Along the way, Zhao Yun met someone simillar to him in Zhao Fang and they became brothers, but Zhao Yun was upset by Zhao Fang when the latter proposed him a wife as Zhao Yun said that it would be disrupting the family tree. Zhao Fang then tried to murder Zhao Yun but failed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Guan Yu, wanting a challenge, attacked Han Xuan, who used his aged general and best warrior Huang Zhong to attack Guan Yu. However, when Guan Yu spared Huang Zhong when he fell off his horse, Huang Zhong refused to kill Guan Yu and in the next fight, intentionally missed his shots. Seeing this, Han Xuan wanted to execute Huang Zhong, but was saved by Wei Yan. The two defected to Liu Bei. Liu Bei was delighted to accept Huang Zhong and Wei Yan, but Zhuge Liang did not like Wei Yan who was narrow minded and rebellious.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Sun Quan sent Lu Su to talk with Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei about returning Jing Province. Previously, Zhuge Liang said that he would return it after Liu Qi died, but he did not, so Lu Su reminded him. However, Zhuge Liang, a fluent speaker, was able to convince Lu Su that he would give it back after Liu Bei had conquered Liu Zhang's lands. Zhou Yu told Lu Su that he was tricked, but he had a scheme that he had discussed with Sun Quan. Liu Bei's wife Lady Gan had died, and Liu Bei was in distress every day. Thus, Sun Quan offered his sister Lady Sun as a wife. Zhuge Liang knew it was Zhou Yu's scheme, but told Liu Bei to accept, even though the latter was way older than Lady Sun. Then, he gave Zhao Yun three bags and told him to open them in three different situations.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei made his way into Wu and Zhao Yun opened the first bag. He ordered all the soldiers to spread the word that Liu Bei was going to marry Lady Sun. Liu Bei met with Lord Qiao and the latter was impressed with Liu Bei's conduct and went to Sun Quan's mother to spread the news. Sun Quan's mother was horrified to learn it and summoned Sun Quan. Sun Quan revealed the plot, making Sun Quan's mother furious, and she said a lot of bad things about Zhou Yu right in front of Sun Quan. Eventually, she met up with Liu Bei in a temple, and Liu Bei treated her well, making Sun Quan's mother believe that Lady Sun had the perfect husband. Suddenly, Zhao Yun burst in saying that he met some soldiers who were in a plot to kill Liu Bei. Sun Quan's mother glared at Sun Quan who pointed at one of his generals. Sun Quan's mother was going to execute him but Liu Bei intervened.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei was sent to Lady Sun's room where he was shocked to see handmaids wielding swords. Liu Bei was afraid of getting killed when Lady Sun showed her face and told the handmaids to go away. Liu Bei and Lady Sun became a happy couple for the next few days enjoying banquet after banquet. Zhao Yun then opened the second bag, and he told Liu Bei that Cao Cao was attacking. Liu Bei consulted Lady Sun, and they decided to leave for Jing Province together. Sun Quan was furious, and he sent Zhou Tai to attack. Zhou Yu also heard the news and sent Xu Sheng and Ding Feng. Xu Sheng and Ding Feng blocked Liu Bei, and Zhao Yun opened the third bag. Zhao Yun and Liu Bei talked, and Lady Sun was invited to talk with the two generals. She harshly rebuked them, and the two generals were regretful and let Liu Bei and Lady Sun go. They reached a river, where Zhou Yu's massive fleet chased them, but the newlywed couple was saved by Zhuge Liang's own fleet. Zhou Yu was defeated by Zhuge Liang and his wound burst open in anger.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: At the same time, Cao Cao's generals were showing off their prowess at a stadium while Cao Cao watched with glee. Cao Hong and Wen Ping shot a bullseye to get the Red cloak. Zhang He thought of that feat as unimpressive and was able to hit the bullseye backward. Xiahou Yuan scoffed and arched his back backwards and shot the bullseye. But even that was not enough, for Xu Huang shot the thread connecting the cloak to the branch and took the cloak for his own. Even more surprisingly, Xu Chu rode and plucked Xu Huang off the ground and took the cloak as his own. All the generals started tussling from the cloak until it became torn in pieces. Cao Cao laughed and rewarded each general with pieces of rare silk, while the officials composed poems crediting Cao Cao's services to the Han.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Just then, he received news that Liu Bei had conquered Jing Province and was frightened. Advisor Cheng Yu could not understand why, and Cao Cao explained that Liu Bei conquering Jing Province was like a dragon taking flight. Cao Cao then thought of a plan to sow discord between Liu Bei and Sun Quan by appointing Zhou Yu as the leader of Nanchun, the area in Jing Province Zhou Yu previously failed to take. Zhou Yu accepted, and sent Lu Su to take Jing Province as he was the leader of it now.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Lu Su then entered and asked Liu Bei to return Jing again. However, Liu Bei broke into tears and Zhuge Liang explained that Liu Bei was of the same family as Liu Zhang, and he did not want to attack. Lu Su was so filled with emotion that he nodded and left. He told the news to Zhou Yu, who was enraged. Zhou Yu met up with Zhuge Liang and asked if he could enter Liu Bei's territory with the excuse of wanting to help them invade Liu Zhang. Liu Bei declined, and the poison arrow acted again. On board his massive fleet, he wrote a letter to Sun Quan appointing Lu Su as his successor. His famous last words, "既生瑜何生亮“ translates to "If Zhou Yu has come down to earth why must Zhuge Liang come too?".


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhuge Liang, accompanied by Zhao Yun, came and delivered a speech at Zhou Yu's funeral, questioning why Zhou Yu had to be so envious and that he should not have died at such a young age. After the speech, he burst into tears and the crowd followed suit.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: After Zhou Yu died, Lu Su became head advisor and recommended the fledgling phoenix Pang Tong to Sun Quan. However, during the interview, Pang Tong spoke rudely and disrespectfully of the late commander, enraging Sun Quan such that he remained unemployed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Lu Su questioned Sun Quan why he rejected the man who came up with the chain scheme at Chibi, so Sun Quan resorted to sophistry to reply. Knowing that Pang Tong had no hope in Wu, Lu Su recommended him to Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang met up with Lu Su, and the two wrote edicts stating Pang Tong's great talents. Pang Tong dressed up poorly in his interview with Liu Bei, so he was assigned a minor office. Pang Tong spent a hundred days doing nothing, only loitering and drinking heavily, upsetting Liu Bei.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Liu Bei was suspicious of Pang Tong and sent Zhang Fei and Sun Qian to check on Pang Tong. Zhang Fei intended to execute Pang Tong, but Sun Qian checked him and let Pang Tong speak for himself. Zhang Fei admonished Pang Tong for drinking wine all day and not contributing to society. He then scolded Pang Tong, saying he only knew about drinks. Pang Tong chuckled and told Zhang Fei that he could do those three months worth of investigation in one day. Zhang Fei did not believe and rented a building for Pang Tong to solve a huge stack of books regarding crimes that had happened. Pang Tong took his time and cleared the books by half day.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Zhang Fei was impressed and reported Pang Tong's knowledge to Liu Bei. Liu Bei was impressed and immediately invited Pang Tong over for a banquet. Zhuge Liang then revealed his plan to Liu Bei and Pang Tong was promoted as soon as he arrived. Later, Zhuge Liang asked Pang Tong why he did not show his and Lu Su's edicts to Liu Bei. Pang Tong said that he did not want Liu Bei to rely on others opinion about him, but rather see his talents for himself. Zhuge Liang then made Pang Tong his assistant and the two started discussing where to go from here.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao wanted to execute Ma Teng for participating in Dong Cheng's campaign against him. Thus, advisor Xun Yu luring Ma Teng into the capital province and execute him. Ma Teng was dubious and thus he brought along his cousins Ma Xiu, Ma Dai and Ma Tie. At the capital, Ma Teng's plot was accidentally slipped by his friend Huang Kui, and Cao Cao immediately sent Cao Hong, Xu Huang and Xu Chu to attack. In the chaos, Ma Tie was killed by an arrow while Ma Xiu was made prisoner. Ma Teng was captured along with the blundering Huang Kui. The latter had his whole family captured. Ma Dai escaped by luck. The prisoners were all executed.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Ma Teng's best friend, Han Sui and Ma Teng's son, Ma Chao, wanted to kill Cao Cao. They received support from Liu Bei and Lu Su, the former sending a letter encouraging attack to avenge Ma Teng. Thus, they advanced all the way to Changan and surrounded it.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: However, the walls stood firm and they could not get past the moat. General Pang De suggested feigning a retreat, which Ma Chao did. The defender, Zhong You then opened the gates. Five days later, Ma Chao launched a surprise attack and Pang De slew Zhong You's brother Zhong Jin. Ma Chao set fire to Changan and Zhong You fled to Tong pass.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao, learning of this failure, immediately sent Cao Hong and Xu Huang to hold the pass. Cao Ren advised against it, stating that Cao Hong was rash and that they could not hold the pass if he is drawn out to fight. Cao Cao trusted Cao Hong and turned a deaf ear to Cao Ren's advice. After 10 days of abuse from the defenders, Cao Hong could not take it anymore. Xu Huang had been controlling him for the past few days, but now he was checking the supplies, so Cao Hong took the opportunity to attack. Just then, Ma Dai blocked the retreat as Ma Chao and Pang De attacked Cao Hong on two sides. Cao Hong could not resist the assault and gave up Tong pass to retreat. Pang De went in pursuit, but was halted by Cao Ren. Cao Cao wanted to executed Cao Hong, but his colleagues pleaded and Cao Cao finally relented.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao himself went to try and recover Tong pass. He was inpressed by Ma Chao's stature. Cao Cao sent Yu Jin to challenge Ma Chao, but he was defeated. Zhang He was defeated too. Li Tong was killed in the first bout. Then, the army of Ma Chao swept upon Cao Cao as Ma Chao went in pursuit of Cao Cao. Ma Chao shouted, "The man in red is Cao Cao!" Cao Cao threw off his Red cloak. "The long bearded man is Cao Cao!" Cao Cao trimmed his beard. "The short bearded man is Cao Cao!" Cao Cao hastily wore a mask. Ma Chao struck Cao Cao but missed and hit a tree. Ma Chao came again, but Cao Hong ran up and fought valiantly, protecting Cao Cao. When Cao Hong was about to die, Xiahou Yuan came to the rescue.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Cao Cao was safe, the army of Ma Chao hurled abuse. Cao Cao sent Xu Huang to set up an ambush, but Ma Chao predicted it and won another battle. Cao Cao and his bodyguard Xu Chu reached a river, and Xu Chu found a boat. As the archers of Ma Chao fired, Xu Chu held one shield to protect Cao Cao and used his other hand to row as quickly as he could. Cao Cao was so scared he gripped Xu Chu's leg and hid behind him for protection. Xu Chu had worn his double army that day, so he was fortunate not to have been fatally injured. All the other boatman had been killed, and Xu Chu was heavily wounded. Fortunately, they landed safely, and Ma Chao was impressed by Xu Chu's bravery amd strength.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Ma Chao then decided to do a night raid on Cao Cao's supply depot. Cao Cao suspected it and placed an ambush, but Ma Chao's force was able to stop the soldiers lying in ambush, and the camps were all burnt to the ground. Cao Cao then quickly shifted the remaining supplies to act as a barrier, but Ma Chao countered it by ordering all his soldiers to burn the barrier down. Cao Cao's army suffered heavily. To protect themselves from Ma Chao, advisor Xun Yu suggested building temporary walls of soil. However, the soil in the area was sandy and always fell down, so Cao Cao was in a dilemma. Just then, an old man suggested a plan to build some walls. It was Nearing winter, so Cao Cao poured water in the soil. The water froze into ice, so the walls became mixture of soil and ice.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: When Cao Cao went to check the walls, he only went out with Xu Chu. Ma Chao suddenly came and blocked the road. Xu Chu and Ma Chao then came to an agreement that they would fight the next day. The next day, Ma Chao and Xu Chu fought. Cao Cao remarked that Ma Chao was as good as Lü Bu. The two fought for a good hundred bouts, and Xu Chu seemed to be worsted.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Xu Chu was hit by Ma Chao and he paced backwards, changing his weapon and stripping off his armour. Then, the fight continued, and it became so vigorous that the two battlers broke each other's weapons and they engaged in hand combat. Cao Cao was afraid for Xu Chu and sent Xiahou Yuan and Cao Hong to assist Xu Chu. Han Sui sent Ma Dai and Pang De to help Ma Chao. Then, the army of Han Sui fell upon Cao Cao, and Xu Chu and the warriors were called back to retreat. Cao Cao suffered yet another failure.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Another day, Cao Cao saw Ma Chao throw his helmet to the ground in rage and say that if Cao Cao was still alive he would die a tragic end. This enraged Xiahou Yuan and he attacked Ma Chao. Cao Cao was afraid for Xiahou Yuan and came up to check. When Ma Chao saw Cao Cao, he cast aside Xiahou Yuan and chased Cao Cao. The army of Cao Cao suffered yet another failure and Cao Cao escaped barely. Ma Chao heard rumours that Xu Huang was going to attack his rear so he retreated. His rear was attacked by surprise and he suffered greatly. Back at camp, he struggled to know what to do. Han Sui suggested ceding the conquered territory for peace, and Ma Chao agreed. Cao Cao was informed of thr deal, and he replied that he would answer tomorrow. Advisor Jia Xu suggested agreeing, and he thought of a plan to sow discord between Ma Chao and Han Sui.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao then lured Han Sui and Ma Chao over to his territory. Cao Cao announced that he wanted to talk with Han Sui, so the two rode over to each other. Cao Cao reminded Han Sui of the times when they were young and good friends. Then, Cao Cao left, leaving Han Sui confused. Ma Chao asked what happened, and Han Sui told what had happened. Ma Chao was confused and suspicious.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Cao Cao, at Jia Xu's advice, wrote a letter to Han Sui, intentionally cancelling many words. When Ma Chao knew Han Sui received a letter, he came to check, and saw the cancellations. He asked Han Sui why there were so many cancellations, and Han Sui denied knowing. Ma Chao thought he had purposely changed what Cao Cao wrote to keep himself at ease, so he grew more suspicious.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Ma Chao told his suspicions with Han Sui, who blamed Cao Cao for writing so many errors. Ma Chao furiously replied that Cao Cao was a careful man and would not make so many mistakes, and that Han Sui was trying to hide the truth from him. Han Sui said that tomorrow, if Ma Chao still did not believe, he would lure Cao Cao out and let Ma Chao kill Cao Cao. The next day, Han Sui asked for Cao Cao, but received Cao Hong, who said not to forget what Cao Cao told him to do. Ma Chao was enraged and was going to kill Han Sui right then, but his own soldiers checked him. Han Sui said he would not rebel, but Ma Chao still did not believe and went away resentfully.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Han Sui then decided to consult his generals, and they all agreed to surrender to Cao Cao, lest Ma Chao kill them. Han Sui wrote a letter about surrendering and sent Yang Qiu to give the letter to Cao Cao. Yang Qiu came back and Han Sui started planning. They decided to invite Ma Chao to a banquet and kill him there. Just then, the eavesdropping Ma Chao rushed in and tried to kill Han Sui. Han Sui's five great generals attacked Ma Chao at once, allowing Han Sui to run.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Ma Chao cut down Ma Ruan and Liang Xing while the other three fled. When Ma Chao tried to find Han Sui, Ma Dai and Pang De came to say that Han Sui had already surrendered to Cao Cao. The three fought the whole of Han Sui's army, and just then, Cao Cao's army swept upon them. The three fled for their lives. By twilight, they were still pursued. Just then, Li Kan, Cao Cao's general, attacked Ma Chao and fell back quickly. Ma Chao pursued Li Kan, when Yu Jin arrived and shot Ma Chao. Ma Chao endured and killed Li Kan. Ma Chao then caught up with Ma Dai and Pang De. Then, Ma Chao's horse was shot and Ma Chao fell to the ground.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Just when he was about to be trampled upon, Ma Dai and Pang De blocked the attackers and the three fought their way out. Cao Cao drove his men by placing a high bounty on Ma Chao's head. Finally, all of Cao Cao's soldiers were exhausted and Cao Cao gave up on the pursuit.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Relations between Liu Bei and Sun Quan deteriorated after Zhou Yu's death, but not to the point of war. After Zhou Yu died, Liu Bei had all of Liu Zhang's trust. Liu Zhang was the ruler of Yi Province and was a coward. He was afraid of Cao Cao, so his advisor Zhang Song advised him to give presents to Cao Cao. Cao Cao did not like the ugly Zhang Song. When Cao Cao boasted that he had settled all of China, Zhang Song immediately replied that Liu Bei and Sun Quan were still strong enemies at large and could take down Cao Cao when combined. Cao Cao was angered, and sent him out of the building. Zhang Song met up with a scholar Yang Xiu, and Zhang Song impressed Yang Xiu by being able to memorise Cao Cao's book on army tactics after one read. Then, Zhang Song said that this wasn't Cao Cao's book, and that children in Shu all learnt to memorise these books. Yang Xiu then reported back to Cao Cao and told him of Zhang Song's brilliance. Furious, Cao Cao threw his book into a flaming pot.


title: Romance of the Three Kingdoms

text: Then, the next morning, Zhang Song was invited to a public speech. He humiliated Cao Cao again and Cao Cao's soldiers beat him up on Cao Cao's orders. Cao Cao then forced him out of the capital. On the way, Zhang Song went into Liu Bei's territory. He was treated so well by Liu Bei that he gave Liu Bei a very detailed map of Yi Province and advised him to take over Yi Province. Liu Bei agreed. When Liu Zhang found out, he executed Zhang Song. The fledging phoenix, Pang Tong was able to sneakily get into Yi Province and claim a large portion of it by befriending Liu Zhang's scholars Fa Zheng. Liu Bei then started attacking Zhang Lu, who threatened to attack Liu Zhang. Sun Quan then sent a letter to Liu Zhang, saying that Liu Bei was bound to betray him. Liu Zhang then cut off Liu Bei's supplies and turned to attacking him. Attacked by two fronts, Liu Bei struggled and eventually broke through.