Read between the lines of Records of the Three Kingdoms and Book of the Later Han, and you’ll find countless details left unexplored behind the accepted stories of the Three Kingdoms. Think Liu Bei’s “three visits to the thatched cottage” show how eager he was to recruit talent? In fact, Weilue records that Zhuge Liang went to meet Liu Bei on his own initiative. It was Romance of the Three Kingdoms that later changed the story into three visits.
The legendary tale of Guan Yu “beheading Hua Xiong over warm wine” is nowhere in Records of the Three Kingdoms. In reality, Hua Xiong was killed by Sun Jian at the Battle of Yangren. Luo Guanzhong credited Guan Yu with the deed simply to emphasize Shu Han’s image of “righteousness incarnate.” The story of Zhao Yun fighting his way in and out of Cao Cao’s army seven times at Changban is also embellished. The Biography of Zhao Yun records only twelve characters: “He carried the young child and protected Lady Gan; both were saved.” There was no encirclement by a million Cao troops, nor any order from Cao Cao to “hold your fire,” yet it became one of the most famous scenes in later Three Kingdoms lore.
Zhuge Liang’s “Empty Fort Strategy” never happened either, not according to Records of the Three Kingdoms. At the time, Sima Yi was leading his army against Sun Quan in Jingzhou and was nowhere near Xicheng. The one who actually used an empty fort stratagem was Cao Cao. In his early years, while fighting Lü Bu at Puyang, he used an empty camp to deceive him. And as for Zhuge Liang “capturing Meng Huo seven times,” the
point wasn’t “mercy.” Zhuge Liang captured and released Meng Huo repeatedly to win over local forces and stabilize the rear, so he could focus on his northern campaigns.
Even Cao Cao’s “using the emperor to command the warlords” did not begin as an expression of boundless ambition. Early on, he protected Emperor Xian as he returned east, hoping to become “a capable minister in an age of peace.” It was only after the Belt Decree incident that he broke completely with the Han dynasty. The Three Kingdoms was never a black-and-white gallery of heroes. Open this book and let it show you the people and stories obscured by legend.
