Romance Of Three Kingdoms
Zhang Jiao was an unclassified grad who devoted himself to medicine. One day, he saw an old man in a cave who gave him three volumes of the "Book of Heaven". He studied it day and night and could summon winds and command the rain. Thus, when a terrible pestilence ran through the land, Zhang Jiao started handing out remedies. He then started having disciples and started a Yellow Turban Rebellion. They, large in number, swept through many cities and were attacking You Province. The prefect, Liu Yan, set up posters creating a volunteer army.
Romance of Three Kingdoms
The three of them ate heartily and Zhang Fei suggested that they should go to the peach garden behind his house and become sworn brothers. The three of them then became sworn brothers. Due to their ages, Liu Bei became the eldest, Guan Yu the second and Zhang Fei the youngest. They all said, "We were not born on the same year of the same month of the same day but we pledge to die on the same year of the same month of the same day together. Whoever breaks the oath will die." Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu joined the army and got their weapons.
The three brothers had good success in suppressing the rebellion and they also saved the high-ranking official Dong Zhuo who looked down on them for they were not of high nobility. Zhang Fei wanted to kill him, but was controlled by his brothers.
Lü Bu and Zhang Fei fought toe to toe for 50 bouts, with no one gaining a significant edge over the other. Thus, Guan Yu and Liu Bei joined the battle and Lü Bu. The continuous movement of the Three brothers caused Lü Bu to be dizzy, and he struggled to duel with them. Overcome by fatigue, he fled. The whole army cheered and dashed forward to pursue. The three brothers maintained the pursuit and Zhang Fei saw Dong Zhuo. However, stones and arrows fell and Zhang Fei retreated. Dong Zhuo eventually fled back to Luoyang. Sun Jian advanced forward and took Hulao Pass.
Liu Bei then followed Cao Cao back to the imperial capital, Xu, where Emperor Xian honored him as his "Imperial Uncle". During a hunting round, the Emperor struggled tl shoot down a deer. Cao Cao took the Emperor's golden bow and arrows and shot the deer down. The spectators, thinking the Emperor had shot the deer down, shouted, "Long live the Emperor!" Emperor Xian was disgusted when Cao Cao laughed. Guan Yu was so offended that he wanted to kill Cao Cao but Liu Bei stopped him, saying the three would be executed for killing him.
Guan Yu was about to reach the third gate. News spread to the guard Bian Xi. Bian Xi was a warrior who used nunchucks. Knowing that three major generals had already fallen to Guan Yu, he knew that he needed to use trickery if he wanted revenge. Hence, he welcomed Guan Yu and gave him some food to eat, while he ordered some troops to kill Guan Yu when he get out of the building. While Guan Yu was alone, a monk came to him and explained Bian Xi's trick. Guan Yu was furious and dueled Bian Xi, killing him.
He found a farmer's son and took a liking for him. The farmer let him take the son. Guan Yu named the son Guan Ping. He found Zhang Fei, but Zhang Fei thought that Guan Yu had betrayed him as Cao Cao's general Cai Yang was following him. Guan Yu cut the general down and forgave his brother for the misunderstanding. The two brothers met up with Liu Bei at Runan and made it their temporary base. Finally, the three brothers met and had a happy reunion. Just then, Zhou Cang and Liao Hua came back very injured, having arrived from an invading army camp. When Liu Bei checked it out, he was surprised to see Zhao Yun there. Zhao Yun immediately stopped attacking and revealed that after Gongsun Zan's death, he had been searching for Liu Bei.
On the third time, it was Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's brotherhood anniversary, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not want to visit but to celebrate. Liu Bei decided to go on his own. Learning that, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei immediately chased him, not wanting him to be in danger. When they arrived at Zhuge Liang's residence, the brother informed them that Zhuge Liang was asleep. Thus, the three men stood outside for hours before Zhuge Liang awoke.
Zhuge Liang showed his intelligence when he was able to collect 100 000 arrows in 3 days using straw people. For the first three days, Lu Su noticed Zhuge Liang had not even started manufacturing arrows. When he questioned Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Liang ignored the question and asked him for 20 boats filled with straw people. Lu Su was confused but did so anyway.
Sun Quan sent Lu Su to talk with Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei about returning Jing Province. Previously, Zhuge Liang said that he would return it after Liu Qi died, but he did not, so Lu Su reminded him. However, Zhuge Liang, a fluent speaker, was able to convince Lu Su that he would give it back after Liu Bei had conquered Liu Zhang's lands. Zhou Yu told Lu Su that he was tricked, but he had a scheme that he had discussed with Sun Quan. Liu Bei's wife Lady Gan had died, and Liu Bei was in distress every day. Thus, Sun Quan offered his sister Lady Sun as a wife. Zhuge Liang knew it was Zhou Yu's scheme, but told Liu Bei to accept, even though the latter was way older than Lady Sun. Then, he gave Zhao Yun three bags and told him to open them in three different situations.
Liu Bei was suspicious of Pang Tong and sent Zhang Fei and Sun Qian to check on Pang Tong. Zhang Fei intended to execute Pang Tong, but Sun Qian checked him and let Pang Tong speak for himself. Zhang Fei admonished Pang Tong for drinking wine all day and not contributing to society. He then scolded Pang Tong, saying he only knew about drinks. Pang Tong chuckled and told Zhang Fei that he could do those three months worth of investigation in one day. Zhang Fei did not believe and rented a building for Pang Tong to solve a huge stack of books regarding crimes that had happened. Pang Tong took his time and cleared the books by half day.
Ma Chao cut down Ma Ruan and Liang Xing while the other three fled. When Ma Chao tried to find Han Sui, Ma Dai and Pang De came to say that Han Sui had already surrendered to Cao Cao. The three fought the whole of Han Sui's army, and just then, Cao Cao's army swept upon them. The three fled for their lives. By twilight, they were still pursued. Just then, Li Kan, Cao Cao's general, attacked Ma Chao and fell back quickly. Ma Chao pursued Li Kan, when Yu Jin arrived and shot Ma Chao. Ma Chao endured and killed Li Kan. Ma Chao then caught up with Ma Dai and Pang De. Then, Ma Chao's horse was shot and Ma Chao fell to the ground.
Just when he was about to be trampled upon, Ma Dai and Pang De blocked the attackers and the three fought their way out. Cao Cao drove his men by placing a high bounty on Ma Chao's head. Finally, all of Cao Cao's soldiers were exhausted and Cao Cao gave up on the pursuit.
The fledging phoenix Pang Tong proposed three choices to Liu Bei. The first was to attack Liu Zhang head-on and extract troops from Jing Province. The second was to kill off all the generals guarding the entrances of Yi Province and get into Yi. His final proposal was to just not attack Yi Province at all. Liu Bei was instantly reminded of the Longzhong plan and rejected the third proposal. After some thinking, he knew that the first could be very dangerous as Cao Cao or Sun Quan could take Jing Province while it was less defended. Thus, he decided on the second option.
Seeing that Cao Cao was focused on the west, Sun Quan forces, led by Gan Ning, the veteran naval commander and pirate, attacked He Fei, one of Cao Cao's bases. Cao Cao panicked and sent Zhang Liao, Yue Jin, and Li Dian to rescue He Fei. The three arrived late, and one of the cities was already taken down, crushing their morale. Cao Cao told Zhang Liao to let Li Dian with him to attack the army camp while Yue Jin stay to defend. Zhang Liao and Li Dian were never on friendly terms. However, Zhang Liao was able to convince an upset Li Dian to raid the camp with him. Zhang Liao only had 800 men with him, but they were inspired by his bravery, and scored a major victory against Sun Quan. The rescue captains Gan Ning and Lü Meng were stopped by Li Dian and Sun Quan barely escaped with his life. From then on, Zhang Liao became a story that parents told to their naughty children to make them behave.
At night, Lu Xun set fire to Liu Bei's camps that were in the forest. Liu Bei woke up to the flames and hurriedly put on his armour. All the camps were set ablaze, and soldiers were dying left and right. Suddenly, many arrows fell upon the camps, and Guan Xing and Zhang Bao quickly escorted Liu Bei away as he stared in horror at the number of lives lost. As the three of them went into a narrow path in the forest, Lu Xun cornered them and demanded Liu Bei surrender. Fortunately, Zhao Yun and the reinforcements arrived and Lu Xun was defeated in a duel and fled. Zhao Yun escorted Liu Bei to the nearest city, Baidi, and Liu Bei mourned the massive loss of life during the battle.
Zhuge Liang, on the brink of victory, was called back. Zhuge Liang met Liu Shan at the front gates, and Liu Shan, realizing his error, pretended that he called Zhuge Liang to come back so that he could see his face again. Zhuge Liang told him not to continue lying. Liu Shan was embarrassed, and at Zhuge Liang's suggestion, removed all the eunuchs from power. The high-ranking officials Jiang Wan and Li Yan had their ranking lowered. Zhuge Liang then spent three years mustering his forces to get ready for another campaign.
Some 50 or 60 Yuan and early Ming plays about the Three Kingdoms are known to have existed, and their material is almost entirely fictional, based on thin threads of actual history. The novel is thus a return to greater emphasis on history, compared to these dramas.[20] The novel also shifted towards better acknowledgement of southern China's historical importance, while still portraying some prejudice against the south.[21] The Qing dynasty historian Zhang Xuecheng famously wrote that the novel was "seven-parts fact and three-parts fiction."[11][22] The fictional parts are culled from different sources, including unofficial histories, folk stories, the Sanguozhi Pinghua, and also the author's own imagination. Nonetheless, the description of the social conditions and the logic that the characters use is accurate to the Three Kingdoms period, creating "believable" situations and characters, even if they are not historically accurate.[23] 041b061a72