Chapter 18 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms unfolds at a critical juncture in the power struggle among the warlords of the late Eastern Han dynasty. As Cao Cao consolidates his authority in central China, he faces mounting threats from multiple fronts—Zhang Xiu’s rebellion in the south, Yuan Shao’s looming invasion from the north,…
In previous articles, we discussed why Yuan Shu launched an attack on Xuzhou and how he managed to turn Lü Bu against his ally, Liu Bei. Yuan Shu won this war, but after exhausting his efforts and paying a heavy price, he gained nothing. Liu Bei lost—utterly and completely. The only beneficiary was Lü…