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Following the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Guandu (200 CE), Yuan Shao refused to accept his fate. In a final attempt to reclaim dominance, he rallied a massive force – some 200,000 to 300,000 troops – and marched once more against Cao Cao. Yet this campaign at Cangting, dramatized in Chapter 31 of…
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In Chapter 28 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as Liu Bei languishes under the watchful eye of Yuan Shao—his every move scrutinized after Guan Yu’s slaying of two of Yuan’s top generals—a quiet but brilliant escape unfolds. Orchestrated not by force, but by wit, this maneuver hinges on Jian Yong’s masterful use of…