When Cao Cao received the secret edict concealed in the sash of the imperial robe, he convened his chief advisers and proposed deposing Emperor Xian in favor of a more capable ruler. Cheng Yu cautioned him: “Your Excellency’s power and prestige derive from upholding the Han dynasty’s name. The realm is not yet pacified—if you rush to depose and enthrone monarchs now, you will surely provoke armed resistance.” Chastened, Cao Cao dropped the matter. Instead, he arrested Dong Cheng and four co-conspirators—seizing entire households, great and small—and executed them at the city gates. In all, over seven hundred lives were lost. As the citizens wept, a later poet lamented Dong Cheng in verse:
Through secret edict passed by sash, A heavenly will beyond the gate; Once you rescued the sovereign’s life, Today you suffer still his fate.
Love of country gnawed your heart, You dreamed of rooting out the knave; Your loyalty endures through time— Who dares debate its rise or grave?
Another elegy honored the four who fell alongside him:
Their missives pledged unbroken faith, Their ardor vowed to serve their lord; With scarlet hearts they gave their all, Their zeal eternal—time ignored.
Driven by fury, Cao Cao next bore his sword into the palace to slay Consort Dong—the sister of Dong Cheng—who, favored by the emperor, was five months with child. At the time, Emperor Xian and Empress Fu were conferring in secret on Dong Cheng’s fate when Cao Cao burst in, face blazing with wrath. “Dong Cheng has rebelled—did Your Majesty know?” he thundered. The emperor, startled, stammered, “I believed Dong Zhuo was executed.” Cao Cao roared, “Not Zhuo—Cheng!” The emperor trembled. “Have you forgotten the torn finger used to amend the edict?” Cao Cao demanded; the emperor fell silent.
Cao Cao ordered his guards to seize the consort. “She’s five months with child,” the emperor pleaded. “Have mercy!” Cao Cao retorted, “If Heaven had not betrayed me, I would already be dead by her kin’s hands. How can I leave this woman alive to spawn another peril?” Empress Fu interceded, “Banish her to the cold palace. After she gives birth, we can execute her then.” Cao Cao sneered, “Keep this traitor’s seed as vengeance for her mother?” Weeping, Consort Dong begged, “Let my body remain intact in death—do not parade me as a spectacle.” Cao Cao commanded a white silk cord be brought. Through tears the emperor whispered, “In the netherworld, blame not me.” Empress Fu wept as well. Impatient, Cao Cao snapped, “Must you still play the grieving woman?” and ordered the guards to drag her beyond the palace gates and strangle her. A subsequent poet mourned her thus:
Favored once within the Spring Hall’s glow, Now the dragon’s line laid low in woe. No hand could save that royal flower— She wept alone where grief did flow.
Cao Cao then decreed that any maternal relatives of the imperial family who entered the palace without his command were to be executed—and he reinforced the imperial guards with three thousand of his trusted men under Cao Hong’s command.
Turning to strategy, Cao Cao lamented, “Though Dong Cheng is dead, Ma Teng and Liu Bei remain. They too must be eliminated.” Cheng Yu advised caution: “Ma Teng holds firm in Xiliang; we should send him a respectful letter to lure him to the capital. As for Liu Bei in Xuzhou, his alliances are precarious—yet Yuan Shao garrisons Guandu and covets Xuchang. If we venture east, Liu Bei will surely seek Shao’s aid, and Shao may strike our rear.” Cao Cao smiled, “No—Liu Bei is a rare hero. If we delay, his strength will only grow. As for Yuan Shao, his doubts and jealous counselors will hamstring him.” At that moment Guo Jia entered. Cao Cao asked, “If I march on Liu Bei, what of Shao?” Guo Jia answered, “Yuan Shao’s procrastination and suspicion are his undoing; his advisors undermine each other. Liu Bei’s army is newly raised and his followers untested. A single decisive strike will rout him.” Elated, Cao Cao raised an army of two hundred thousand and dispatched five columns toward Xuzhou.
His spies reported to Xuzhou. Sun Qian rode ahead to Xiaopei to warn Guan Yu, then hastened to inform Liu Bei. Together they agreed, “We must call on Yuan Shao for rescue.” Liu Bei penned a letter and sent Sun Qian north. Sun Qian first visited Tian Feng, laid out their peril, and sought an introduction. Feng led him to Yuan Shao, who received the letter looking haggard and poorly dressed. Feng asked, “Why do you appear thus?” Yuan Shao sighed, “I am dying of scabies. With five sons, only the youngest pleases me—yet my time is short. What thoughts remain for other matters?” Feng pressed, “Cao Cao is marching east; Xuchang lies undefended. A righteous army could march in, protect the Son of Heaven, and rescue the people. This chance is rare—what say you?” Yuan Shao shook his head: “My mind is unquiet—I fear misfortune. I cannot send troops.” Feng struck his staff on the ground and lamented, “In this crisis, you shrink before an infant’s ailment—our great chance is lost! Alas!”
Night and again morning passed. Sun Qian returned to Liu Bei and shared Yuan Shao’s refusal. Alarmed, Liu Bei fretted, but Zhang Fei reassured him: “Fear not. Cao’s troops must grow weary on the march. If we strike his camps by surprise, we can crush him.” Liu Bei rewarded Zhang Fei’s boldness: “You are no mere warrior. Your plan to seize Liu Dai showed cunning—so shall we adopt your stratagem.” They split their force to raid the camps.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao marched on Xiaopei. A sudden gale snapped one of his colored tusked banners. He halted and consulted his strategists. Xun Yu noted, “The wind blew from the southeast and shattered the blue-and-red banner—a bad omen. Tonight Liu Bei will raid our camp.” Cao Cao nodded gravely. Mao Jie echoed the warning: “The east-south wind and broken tusk flag foretell an assault.” From this, Cao Cao resolved to prepare an ambush: he deployed one detachment to show camp-fires in front and concealed eight others all around.
By the pale moonlight, Liu Bei advanced with Zhang Fei on the right and himself on the left, leaving Sun Qian to guard Xiaopei. Zhang Fei, riding light cavalry, dashed into what he thought was a lightly held camp—only to be surrounded by flames and the cries of eight hidden detachments led by Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, Yu Jin, Li Dian, Xu Huang, Yue Jin, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan. His men, once Cao Cao’s veterans, surrendered, and though Zhang Fei cut a bloody path out, only a few dozen riders remained. He turned toward Xiaopei but found the roads barred; he then headed for Mount Mangdang.
Liu Bei likewise slammed into the ambush, losing most of his force. Seeing Xiaopei aflame and escape routes cut off, he resolved to seek Yuan Shao’s asylum. Alone he fled north, pursued by Li Dian, who captured his remaining followers. Riding hard three hundred li a day, Liu Bei reached Qingzhou’s gates, where he was brought before the governor—none other than Yuan Tan, Yuan Shao’s eldest son. Yuan Tan, who respected Liu Bei, welcomed him, sent word to Yuan Shao, and dispatched troops to escort him safely. At Pingyuan, Yuan Shao himself rode out thirty li from Ye to greet Liu Bei. Bowing in thanks, Liu Bei declared, “I, impoverished Liu Bei, long sought to serve under Your Excellency. Now my family is captured and my cause undone—I come to place myself under your banner and swear to repay your kindness.” Yuan Shao embraced him warmly and hosted him in Jizhou.
Back in Xuzhou, Cao Cao seized Xiaopei that very night and pressed on to capture the province. Mi Zhu and Jian Yong were forced to abandon the city; Chen Deng surrendered. After securing Xuzhou, Cao Cao turned his attention to Xiaopei. Xun Yu urged, “Guan Yu guards Liu Bei’s family at Xiaopei and will hold out to the death—if we delay, Yuan Shao may seize them.” Cao Cao mused, “I admire Guan Yu’s skill and loyalty. Perhaps we can persuade him to surrender.” Guo Jia warned, “Guan Yu’s loyalty is unbreakable—any envoy risks death.” At that moment Zhang Liao volunteered: “I have a bond with Guan Yu; let me speak with him.” Cheng Yu replied, “Though they share history, Guan Yu’s resolve is iron. I have a better plan: trap him so he cannot escape, then send Zhang Liao to negotiate. Only then will he yield.”
整备窝弓射猛虎，安排香饵钓鳌鱼。 (“As one sets bows like a lair to trap the fierce tiger, so baits with perfumed lure to hook the mighty fish.”)
What scheme they devised remains untold—listen as the next chapter unfolds.
