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A historical text compiled by Chen Shou (233–297 CE) during the Western Jin dynasty. It is a biographical state-by-state history chronicling the Three Kingdoms period – Wei, Shu, and Wu – and comprises 65 scrolls: Book of Wei (30 scrolls),Book of Shu (15 scrolls), and Book of Wu (20 scrolls).
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In 208, when Cao Cao launched his southern campaign against Jingzhou, his army swept through Xinye with overwhelming momentum. Behind him marched hundreds of thousands of northern troops; at the vanguard were elite generals like Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun.
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In the turbulent final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, Liu Qi, eldest son of Jingzhou governor Liu Biao, found himself trapped in a deadly succession struggle orchestrated by his stepmother’s powerful clan.
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The Battle of Cangting (201 CE) was indeed a real military engagement between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao following the pivotal Battle of Guandu. However, while historical sources confirm its occurrence, they offer only sparse details – far removed from the dramatic, large-scale confrontation vividly depicted in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
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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.