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Zhuge Liang’s defense of the “Gentleman Confucian” [Three Kingdoms]
In Chapter 43 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as Zhuge Liang arrives in Chaisang to persuade Sun Quan to form an alliance against Cao Cao, he is confronted not by soldiers, but by scholars.
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The formation of the Sun-Liu Alliance [Three Kingdoms]
In the autumn of 208 CE, following his swift conquest of Jing Province after Liu Cong’s surrender, Cao Cao sent a letter to Sun Quan – a message that read less like diplomacy and more like a declaration of intent.
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Chapter 43. Zhuge Liang’s Diplomatic Triumph in the Court of Eastern Wu [Three Kingdoms]
Chapter 43 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms – titled “Zhuge Liang Debates the Scholars of Wu; Lu Su Urges Sun Quan to Resist Cao Cao” – marks a pivotal moment in the epic: not on the battlefield, but in the halls of diplomacy.
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Cao Cao’s release of Han Song [Three Kingdoms]
In Chapter 42 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, following Liu Cong’s swift and bloodless surrender of Jing Province to Cao Cao, an unexpected act of clemency unfolds: Cao Cao orders the immediate release of a prisoner in Xiangyang city and promptly promotes him to office. That man is Han Song.
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The noble sacrifice of Lady Mi: History vs Fiction [Three Kingdoms]
Lady Mi, sister of the wealthy merchants Mi Zhu and Mi Fang from Donghai (modern-day Lianyungang), entered Liu Bei’s life in 196 CE under extraordinary circumstances.
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The fictional martyr of loyalty: Li Gui [Three Kingdoms]
In Chapter 40 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Li Gui appears as a minor yet morally significant figure – a retainer in Liu Cong’s court following the death of Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province. When Cai Mao and his faction conspire to install the younger son Liu Cong as successor by forging…