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.
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.