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.
Cao Cao entered the city and, after calming the populace, freed Han Song and put him in charge of protocols. Other officials were given fiefs and handsome gifts.
— Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 42
This moment may seem sudden to readers encountering it for the first time – but Luo Guanzhong carefully plants its roots much earlier. To understand why Cao Cao honors Han Song so conspicuously, one must return to Chapter 23, where Han Song first appears as a trusted advisor to Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province.
At that time, sensing Cao Cao’s rising dominance after his victory over Yuan Shao at Guandu, Han Song urged Liu Biao to formally submit to the central court in Xuchang – then effectively controlled by Cao Cao. He even recommended that Liu Biao send one of his sons as a hostage-official to the capital, a customary gesture of loyalty in the Han political system. Enraged by what he perceived as betrayal, Liu Biao imprisoned Han Song, accusing him of disloyalty.
Thus, when Cao Cao enters Xiangyang in triumph in 208 CE, freeing Han Song is not merely an act of personal gratitude – it is a calculated political statement.
Historical Context
The core of this narrative aligns with historical records. According to Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) and Pei Songzhi’s annotations, Han Song was indeed a prominent scholar-official in Jing Province who advocated submission to Cao Cao. Liu Biao, torn between neutrality and alliance, grew suspicious of Han Song’s pro-Cao stance and placed him under house arrest – not in a dungeon, as the novel dramatizes, but effectively silencing him.
After Liu Cong’s surrender, Cao Cao did reinstate Han Song, appointing him as a Palace Attendant (Shizhong) and later promoting him to high advisory roles. This reflects Cao Cao’s broader strategy: reward those who foresaw his rise and supported unification under his authority, even if they were once branded traitors by their former lords.
Cao Cao’s dual motives: Stability and Symbolism
Cao Cao’s decision to release and elevate Han Song served two interlocking purposes:
Consolidating control over Jingzhou
Jing Province was wealthy, populous, and strategically vital. Its elite – landed gentry, scholars, and local officials – held significant influence. By honoring Han Song, a respected native intellectual who had long recognized Cao Cao’s legitimacy, Cao Cao signaled that cooperation would be rewarded. This helped pacify potential resistance and encouraged other Liu Biao loyalists to accept the new regime.
Projecting an image of meritocratic benevolence
Cao Cao famously promoted the principle of “selecting talent regardless of moral reputation”. Elevating Han Song – a man imprisoned for “disloyalty” to his former master but “foresight” toward the future – demonstrated that Cao Cao valued pragmatism and vision over blind feudal allegiance. It reinforced his self-presentation not as a usurper, but as the restorer of order and patron of true ability.
A pattern of strategic clemency: Han Song and Guan Yu
Han Song’s case mirrors another famous instance of Cao Cao’s calculated mercy: his treatment of Guan Yu. After capturing Guan Yu at Xiapi in 200 CE, Cao Cao lavished him with honors, titles, and gifts – despite knowing Guan Yu’s heart belonged to Liu Bei. When Guan Yu eventually left, Cao Cao forbade pursuit, declaring,
“Each serves his own lord.”
Like Han Song, Guan Yu represented a moral and symbolic asset. By treating him with respect, Cao Cao projected himself as a magnanimous leader who honored loyalty – even when it was directed against him. In both cases, Cao Cao turned potential liabilities into propaganda victories, using clemency to undermine enemy morale and attract talent.
Mercy as a weapon of statecraft
The release of Han Song is far more than a footnote in the fall of Jing Province – it is a masterstroke of political theater. Through this single act, Cao Cao simultaneously rewarded foresight, reassured local elites, broadcast his meritocratic ideals, and contrasted his “enlightened rule” with Liu Biao’s rigid suspicion. In the world of the Three Kingdoms, where power often spoke through violence, Cao Cao understood that sometimes the most potent weapon was not the sword, but the pardon.
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