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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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The assassination of Sun Ce, the “Little Conqueror” of Jiangdong, is often attributed to a simple act of vengeance: his killing of Xu Gong, the former Administrator of Wu Commandery, led to retaliation by Xu’s loyal retainers.
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Compared to Records of the Three Kingdoms, the vivid and dramatic episodes in Romance of the Three Kingdoms are often more story-driven, legendary, and may even carry a touch of myth.
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In the winter of 199 AD, Yuan Shao stood at the zenith of his power. Having annihilated Gongsun Zan at Yi County and crushed the Heishan bandits who came to his aid, Yuan Shao now controlled four northern provinces: Jizhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou. With this vast territory and immense manpower, he was poised…
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In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, amidst the chaos of a crumbling empire, heroes emerged one after another. Carrying the unfulfilled aspirations of his father, Sun Ce borrowed troops from under the command of Yuan Shu and embarked on a campaign to establish his own base in the Jiangdong region. And a ambitious Journey…
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The campaign against Dong Zhuo began with a grand alliance of warlords, united by a righteous cause: to rescue the Han emperor from a tyrant. Yet, the moment the coalition entered the ruined capital of Luoyang, that unity shattered. While Dong Zhuo’s atrocities horrified the realm, it was not his cruelty, but the discovery…
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In the chaotic power struggles of the late Eastern Han dynasty, few leaders demonstrated the strategic acumen of Cao Cao. When faced with a two-front war in 197 AD, following his victory at Shouchun, Cao Cao did not react with panic. Instead, he executed a sophisticated, multi-layered strategy that combined diplomacy, psychological manipulation, and…