Not your father's Three Kingdoms...
Turbulent times bring about unpredictable changes
The arrow on the bowstring must be shot
Brave and wise men, split the kingdom into three
Would they reveal their bold ambitions?
The arrow on the bowstring must be shot
Brave and wise men, split the kingdom into three
Would they reveal their bold ambitions?
Three Kingdoms (Original title "三国", or San Guo) is a Chinese TV series made in 2010 and yet another work based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, though it also adapts personalities closer to the actual historical Three Kingdoms.
Probably the most expensive project ever made for Chinese TV, Three Kingdoms is a milestone of the Chinese media industry. Even longer than the much-praised 1994 TV series (95 episodes compared to its predecessor's 84, although the 1994 series actually covers a greater timespan and more events from the novel) it tells a more character-driven story of the political intrigues, multiple betrayals, and fleeting loyalties of the turbulent Three Kingdoms era, and often strays from the original novel's (limited) characterization to humanize its main characters.
While the story begins with a focus on Cao Cao's ambitions and military rise, the other two factions — the honor-bound Sun family and the idealistic Liu Bei and his followers — are soon introduced, and their sides of the story told as well. The end result is an RoTK adaptation with a more balanced focus and carefully crafted characters which should appeal to newcomers and old fans alike. Of course, this is still Romance of the Three Kingdoms after all; those who want to watch legendary heroes kicking ass Dynasty Warriors-style won't be disappointed either.
While the official release has fairly shoddy English subtitles, a fansub group has released the entire series subbed and downloadable by torrent.
Three Kingdoms contains examples of:
A — G
- Abdicate the Throne: Emperor Xian abdicates his throne under duress from Cao Pi and his followers, formally ending the Han Dynasty. Cao Pi succeeds him as the first Emperor of Wei, claiming authority over all territory previously ruled by the Han. Of course, this is contested by the other two kingdoms, with Liu Bei - who is descended from the Liu imperial house - in particular reacting to the abdication by declaring himself to be Emperor Zhaolie of Han and the legitimate successor to Emperor Xian.
- Adaptation Distillation: Some major events are simplified to streamline the narrative and for practical reasons.
- The Incident at Gaoping Tombs is compressed to the length of less than one episode. Sima Yi, who has been feigning illness, takes advantage of the Cao clan's trip to Gaoping Tombs - led by Cao Shuang and for the purpose of paying respects to their departed ancestors - to rally his followers and launch a coup to seize supreme power. Supported by many generals in the Wei army who had experienced firsthand the contrast between his firm and capable leadership on campaign, and Cao Zhen's (Cao Shuang's father) cowardice and incompetence, he takes his soldiers to the palace and coerces Empress Dowager Guo - mother of Emperor Cao Fang - into sanctioning his course of action. Sima Yi then goes to the Gaoping Tombs and arrests Cao Shuang with no resistance, since the latter only has a few troops with him who put down their weapons once Sima Yi threatens them by saying that their family members are all under the control of the putschists in the Wei capital of Xuchang. In the novel, Sima Yi feigns illness for ten years - much longer than in the show - and he has to do much more detailed planning to secure the capital and deal with Cao Shuang. Cao Shuang's advisor Huan Fan manages to escape and goes to warn his lord, urging him to mobilize loyal troops to fight Sima Yi. Unlike in this series, Sima Yi does not personally leave the capital as he has to remain to keep a lid on things, so he corresponds from distance with Cao Shuang to persuade his rival to surrender, fully aware that the latter can still call upon soldiers from elsewhere to fight. Cao Shuang and his brothers vacillate for some time, but eventually decide to accept Sima Yi's guarantee that their lives will be spared and they will only be deprived of political power. They return to Xuchang based on this understanding, but Sima Yi reneges on his promise and has them all executed.
- The circumstances around the deaths of major characters - for example, Cao Cao, are also simplified for this series. See Dies Differently in Adaptation.
- Adapted Out: Many battles and events, even people, are left out simply out of pragmatism.
- The series begins with Dong Zhuo already in the capital and in control of the imperial court. This means that many significant events and characters in the first part of the novel are omitted - relegated at best to brief mentions in the opening narration of Episode 1. This includes characters such as He Jin and the eunuch Ten Attendants, events like the power struggle between them that results in the death of He, and the Yellow Turban Rebellion that forms the backdrop of these early chapters. Dong Zhuo's own role is reduced: in the novel, he first appears in the text as commander of a Han force fighting the Yellow Turbans, and has to be rescued by Liu Bei and his sworn brothers in the course of the battle. In this series, Dong Zhuo is never shown fighting the rebels and he never meets Liu Bei, Guan Yu or Zhang Fei. The three brothers, in turn, first appear in the series taking their famed Peach Garden Oath, with the tale of how they met being left out. As with the later chapters of the novel (see below), the 1994 TV series covers these early characters and events.
- In general, the series seems to be more grounded in reality, omitting or toning down most of the more mystical events in the novel. Some examples:
- In the novel, Guan Yu's spirit haunts Lv Meng after his death and causes the latter's death from shock; here, Lv Meng is implied to have been killed by Sun Quan for disobeying his orders not to pursue and kill Guan Yu.
- In the novel, Zhuge Liang lays down a mysterious formation of stone cairns to stymie Lu Xun's pursuit of Liu Bei after the decisive Shu defeat at Xiaoting. This formation apparently creates strange meteorological phenomena like strong winds and fog that prevents the Wu troops from finding their way forward. In this series, this is replaced by a prosaic arrangement of stones with a jar containing a dead cicada and a mantis as a warning to Lu Xun. On opening the jar, Lu Xun orders a halt to the pusuit.note
- In the novel, Liu Bei gets a premonition that his death is near when he dreams of meeting his two dead sworn brothers right after reaching Baidicheng. This series has no such scene, although a ghostly Guan Yu does show up in Liu Bei's chambers right after his death at Maicheng.
- Some of the choices are a bit puzzling. For example, the battle of Wancheng was one of the occasions where Cao Cao was outright outsmarted and almost killed. It's also where his mighty bodyguard Dian Wei and his oldest son Cao Ang were killed in a Heroic Sacrifice, and also where the cunning Jia Xu, who would become an important part of Cao's government, first demonstrated how dangerous and useful a tool he could be. Cao Ang is only mentioned during Cao Cao's death scene (when he appoints Cao Pi as his official successor), and neither Dian Wei nor Jia Xu appear (or are even mentioned) at all. Parts of Jia Xu's role in the novel — such as his advice to Emperor Xian to abdicate in favour of Cao Pi and his opposition to Cao Pi's decision to invade Eastern Wu — are given to Sima Yi instead.
- Likewise, Xiahou Dun is normally portrayed as Cao Cao's most trusted right hand man, but in this series he's only makes occasional off-screen appearances and his role is taken up by Xun Yu. His only big scene is during Guan Yu's escape, when he manages to hold Guan Yu off until Zhang Liao tells him Cao Cao allowed Guan to leave. He doesn't even get his infamous "Xiahou Dun devours his eye" moment.
- Zhuge Liang's first battles are completely off-screen, and only the aftermath (often an embarrassed Cao Ren reporting to a displeased Cao Cao), is shown. In particular, his first iconic victory - the Battle of Bowang Slope, against Xiahou Dun - is not shown. This battle has particular significance in the novel not just as Zhuge Liang's first contribution to Liu Bei's cause, but also as the victory that gained Zhuge Liang the respect of Liu Bei's initially sceptical sworn brothers.
- Zhang Liao does appear as a character and has some lengthy and significant scenes (for example when he persuades Guan Yu to enter Cao Cao's service), but the arguable crowning moment of his career is left out entirely. This would be his victory against Sun Quan and the much larger Wu army at the Battle of Hefei. To summarize, Zhang attacked the besieging Wu army, cut his way through its ranks to reach Sun, and challenged the Wu ruler to fight him. When Sun wisely refused and instead ordered his men to surround Zhang and his small band of men, Zhang cut his way out of the encirclement and returned to the city. This devastated the morale of the Wu army and Sun Quan shortly withdrew after failing to take the fortress. The Wu general Taishi Ci, who plays a major role in this battle and is killed in action, does not appear onscreen at all and his death is only briefly mentioned in one scene.
- Zhuge Liang's campaign against the Nanman of southern China is left out entirely, including the well-known tale of how he defeated, captured, released and re-captured the chieftain Meng Huo seven times before the latter finally agreed to surrender to Shu.
- Sima Shi's role is largely given to his younger brother Sima Zhao, although both brothers do follow Sima Yi on campaign once — when Sima Yi launches his surprise attack on Meng Da. Most notably, both historically and in the novel Sima Shi has a prominent role in the Incident at Gaoping Tombs (see below), while in the series he is shown as being unaware even that his father is faking illness as a prelude to launching the coup.
- The last major action of the series is the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, which is the coup launched by Sima Yi and his sons and followers to wrest political power from the Cao clan. The last scene of the final episode is an elderly and senile Sima Yi spending time with his son Sima Zhao and toddler grandson Sima Yan, who both historically and in the novel would be the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty and the man who reunified China. The series thus omits many key events from the later chapters of the novel, such as Jiang Wei's northern expeditions, Deng Ai and Zhong Hui's conquest of Shu-Han, the internecine strife in Wu after the death of Sun Quan, and the end of the Three Kingdoms period with reunification under the Jin Dynasty. These were covered in the 1994 TV series.
- Adaptational Badass:
- Compared to previous depictions as a morals-bound weepy idiot, Liu Bei is shown as much more perceptive, honorable, and capable. Lu Su gets an even stronger boost; no longer a hapless go-between for Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu's squabbling, he's now a skilled politician in his own right who still manages to be kind, just, and loyal. Furthermore, he's the only person in the series who can hold his own against Zhuge Liang in a verbal sparring match.
- Instead of being taken hostage by Guan Yu to escape an ambush set by Lü Meng, Lu Su informs Guan Yu of the ambush, which was against his wishes, and offers himself as a "hostage" so Guan Yu can safely escape the banquet. Furthermore, Lu Su does all this while at death's door — he is seriously ill and dies not long after. His actions impress Guan Yu so much that he calls Lu Su "the only gentleman of Wu", and agrees to hand over the three commanderies of Jingzhou that he'd been refusing to earlier.
- Sun Quan's sister matches Liu Bei in a swordfight, and nearly stabbed him in the throat before he ostensibly "won" by removing her veil.
- Ma Su, known in the original novel as 'that idiot that lost Jieting', got upgraded to being Zhuge Liang's most loyal student and ends up pulling off a dangerous diplomatic mission to Wu with aplomb. Unfortunately, he still loses Jieting for the same reasons as in the novel.
- Adaptational Heroism:
- In the novel, Pang Tong is ambushed and killed at Fallen Phoenix Slope because he is ambitious and over-confident. He walks right into the ambush by Liu Zhang's men as he was striving to cement his position in Liu Bei's camp through victory in battle. In fact, he disregards a warning from Zhuge Liang about the risks that he is taking, dismissing Zhuge Liang as giving this warning out of jealousy. In this series, he is similarly ambushed and killed at Fallen Phoenix Slope by Liu Zhang's forces, but with one major change: he walks knowingly into the ambush, making a Heroic Sacrifice so that Liu Bei has a pretext to wrest control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang by force.
- Diao Chan appears to be genuinely devoted to Lv Bu, being the only character to mourn his death and choosing to commit suicide in front of Cao Cao rather than to submit to him and live on without her late lover. In the novel, she specifies that she is entering into a relationship with Lv Bu not out of any love for him, but to help Wang Yun get back at Dong Zhuo and to repay Wang for raising her as her adoptive father. It is much less clear whether she falls for Lv Bu later on, or whether he falls for her, for the matter: she does become his concubine, but he also has a main wife - Lady Yan - who has borne him children. Lady Yan is not shown or even mentioned in this series and there is only a passing reference to Lv Bu's daughter, when he seeks to marry her off to Yuan Shu's son in order to get Yuan's help against Cao Cao. With no mention of Lady Yan and no mention of Diao Chan ever becoming pregnant, it is unclear with whom Lv Bu had this child. Diao Chan's fate is not disclosed in the novel, as she disappears from the text after Lv Bu's defeat and capture at Xiapi, so she does not get to make her Heroic Sacrifice after her lover's death either.
- Sun Jian is depicted as a skilled and largely righteous hero who lays strong foundations for the later State of Wu. He dies due to Liu Biao's perfidy, as he trusts his rival's offer of safe passage back to his own territory and falls victim to an ambush led by Liu's general Cai Mao. In the novel, he is still a skilled fighter and capable leader, but is also portrayed as rash and aggressive. Just as in this series, Liu Biao blocks his way home, although Liu does not use perfidy and the two instead fight a pitched battle. Sun is lured into an ambush from which he barely escapes. His death only comes later on, when he resolves to destroy his mortal rival Liu and launches an invasion of the latter's territory against the objections of many within the Sun clan. Again making good use of Sun's key weakness - his rashness - Liu has him lured into another ambush and killed. His clear shortcomings and the nature of his death through vengeful aggression against Liu make him a significantly less heroic and sympathetic character in the novel.
- A minor example for Cao Shuang: in this series' version of the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, he is shown as willing to lead the few troops he has to resist Sima Yi to the end. Sima Yi responds by threatening the soldiers and officials with Cao Shuang that if they offer resistance, their loved ones in Xuchang - fully under the control of the Sima clan and their followers - will be punished, and Cao Shuang only gives up after these men urge him to. In the novel, Cao Shuang takes much longer to come to a decision. Unlike in the show, he still has the capacity to mobilize troops from elsewhere to fight against the Sima clan, and his advisor Huan Fan urges him to do so. Despite this, he eventually decides to give up without resistance, believing the promises from Sima Yi's emissaries that he will only be stripped of political power but will still be permitted to enjoy a life of comfort and luxury. note
- Adaptational Jerkass:
- Lü Meng in the novel has has Undying Loyalty to Sun Quan and carries out his assigned duties to the extent of his abilities. Here, he openly ignores Sun Quan's orders in order to pursue his personal vendetta against Guan Yu and Shu (as he holds them responsible for the death of his mentor Zhou Yu).
- Cao Zhen, who is a much less likeable character in this series than he is in the novel. In the novel, he is a relatively brave and capable general who is loyal to the emperor and still primarily has the interests of Cao Wei in mind. note His main failing is that he is simply no match for Zhuge Liang — which is not much of a failing considering that almost nobody is. In the series, Cao Zhen is turned into an incompetent, cowardly Glory Hound and General Failure who is much more focused on his own interests than that of the state. Presumably, this was done so he could act as a foil to Sima Yi, who — while he does harbour the sinister motive of gaining supreme power in Cao Wei — is a capable commander who often leads from the front. The relationship between the two characters is hence also changed significantly for the worse in this series as compared to the novel: see below.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: As a result of the showrunners' decision to bring the series to a close well before the ending of the novel note , Liu Shan's portrayal in this series is considerably more sympathetic than it is in the original work. Here, he is mostly shown as a well-meaning but ineffectual ruler heavily dependent on Zhuge Liang's advice to govern, but does start to rule with greater wisdom and independence of thought in his later appearances. In the novel, he is portrayed as being a weak ruler throughout his long reign; after Zhuge Liang's death, he gradually falls under the influence of unsavoury characters like his favourite eunuch Huang Hao. When Deng Ai's invasion force suddenly appears outside of Chengdu, Liu Shan is quick to surrender over the objections of his more capable son Liu Chan, whom he has driven from the palace for speaking out. This was despite Shu still having thousands of battle-ready troops in reserve, including Jiang Wei's entire army. Liu Shan's kind-hearted nature is reflected in both the novel and series, with his decision to surrender being prompted in part by the desire to spare the citizens of Chengdu any bloodshed. Nonetheless, his choice to so easily give up the kingdom that was so painstakingly built up by his father, his uncles, and Zhuge Liang marks him out as craven and self-interested - a characterization he avoids in this series.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
- In the novel, Lü Meng never had anything to do with Zhou Yu other than being part of the same army. Here, he's introduced as Zhou Yu's subordinate and mentee, to the point after Zhou's death he's so determined to make Shu pay he willfully ignores Sun Quan's instructions (such as ignoring orders to cease pursuit of Guan Yu).
- In the novel, Xu Huang and Guan Yu were old acquaintances and conversed cordially before fighting each other at Fancheng. In this series, they do not show any special recognition of each other when fighting in that very battle.
- Both historically and in the novel, Sima Shi was Sima Yi's eldest son and confidant. It was he whom Sima Yi trusted with command of loyal troops during the Incident at Gaoping Tombs that brough the Sima clan to power in Wei, while Sima Zhao's role is unclear at best. note It was also Sima Shi who succeeded Sima Yi as de facto ruler of Wei after his death, and it was only after his death that Sima Zhao gained supreme power. In this series, Sima Shi remains Sima Yi's eldest son, but he only appears sporadically. In this series' version of the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, he only learns of the plot when he turns up at his father's house and sees - to his complete surprise - that his supposedly ailing father is in perfect health and ready to lead his men to overthrow the Cao clan! Sima Zhao, meanwhile, is the one who is shown to be intimately involved in planning the coup. It is also Sima Zhao rather than Sima Shi who is shown accompanying Sima Yi on campaign against Shu-Han, with the exception of his lightning strike on the Wei traitor Meng Da, where both brothers are present.
- Cao Zhen and Sima Yi are far from friends in the novel, but the relationship between them is much better than it is in the series. Unlike the cowardly glory-hunter that he is in the show, Cao Zhen in the novel is a relatively brave and capable general who is simply no match for Zhuge Liang. While he does show some jealousy towards Sima Yi's successes — particularly after the latter replaces him during Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition and drives back the Shu-Han invasion — he also recognizes that Sima Yi is Wei's best hope against the Shu Chancellor. In particular, he counsels Cao Rui against jumping to conclusions about Sima Yi's supposed treachery before the first Northern Expedition. Later, after Cao Zhen is defeated in the second Northern Expedition and retires ill to Luoyang, Cao Rui has him replaced as supreme commander by Sima Yi; Sima Yi himself recognizes the importance of winning over Cao Zhen and personally visits him to get the seal of command from him. Cao Zhen and Sima Yi have an amicable conversation that ends with the former stating that any hope of defeating Zhuge Liang's offensive rests with the latter; he thus graciously hands over the seal of command and wishes Sima Yi all the best. The two even work together fairly well in a later abortive attempted counter-invasion of Shu-Han. In contrast, in this series their relationship is purely adversarial, with Cao Zhen continually attacking Sima Yi's loyalty and Sima Yi retaliating by deliberately refusing to coordinate the movements of his forces with Cao Zhen when serving as his second-in-command. Their final scene together has Sima Yi allowing Cao Zhen to suffer yet another humiliating defeat, purposely arriving late and sarcastically asking Cao Zhen how he is doing. Sima Yi even slaps Cao Zhen on the back, purposely aggravating the latter's back injury, which he had suffered shortly before through falling off his horse in surprise at a Shu ambush. Cao Zhen vomits blood and dies, after which Sima Yi takes command of the army and has his subordinate Guo Huai write a memorial to the Wei court denouncing Cao Zhen's competence and conduct.
- Lv Bu and Diao Chan have a significantly more loving relationship in this series than in the novel. In the series, Diao Chan appears to have genuinely fallen in love with Lv Bu, while in the novel she makes it clear that she is not entering into a relationship with him out of love, but for the dual purposes of reviving the Han and repaying Wang Yun for his kindness in raising her. She does become his concubine, but unlike in the series Lv Bu has a main wife - Lady Yan - and children. Rather than mourning Lv Bu at his execution and taking her own life because she cannot bear to go on without him, Diao Chan simply vanishes from the novel after Lv Bu's defeat and capture at Xiapi.
- Adaptational Timespan Change: The Incident at Gaoping Tombs is shown as taking place at most a year or two after the death of Emperor Ming of Wei (Cao Rui), as shown by how his son and successor Cao Fang — who succeeded to the throne aged 7 — is still a child when the coup takes place. Both historically and in the novel, this coup was launched by Sima Yi in 249 CE, a full decade after the death of Cao Rui and when Cao Fang was already 17. This change was possibly made because there was not sufficient time to cover in detail the events of 10 more years in an already-lengthy series, with the power struggle between Cao Shuang and Sima Yi being compressed to the length of less than one episode. Pragmatically, this also avoids pacing issues arising from having a sudden decade-long timeskip near the end of the series, and the need to recast the role of Cao Fang in particular.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- In the novel, Sima Yi is already depicted as a rather unsavoury character, particularly because he schemed for years against the ruling Cao family in Wei and eventually seized supreme power from them. In this series he is depicted as even more villanous — his plot to take power includes murdering his young bride Jingshu and their unborn child (in fairness, Jingshu was a spy that Cao Pi planted in Sima Yi's household to keep an eye on him, and he knew that it was in his best interests to get rid of her anyway), then feigning a stroke from the shock of their deaths. In the novel, he similarly feigns illness to get Cao Shuang and the other members of the Cao clan to let down their guard against him, but does not murder anyone in the process.
- In this series, Liu Biao defeats and kills Sun Jian through perfidy, pretending to grant him safe passage back to his territory and ambushing him along the way. In the novel, Liu Biao similarly attacks Sun Jian on Yuan Shao's orders, but makes no pretense of granting his rival safe passage. Instead, he blocks Sun Jian's way with his troops, a battle occurs, and Sun Jian is lured into an ambush from which he barely manages to escape. Sun Jian launches a revenge attack on Liu Biao later on, is lured into another ambush, and is this time killed.
- Adaptational Wimp:
- In the novel, Cao Pi is described as being intelligent, knowledgeable and talented in the literary arts. He is also a skilful horseman and archer and excels at sword-fighting. In the series, he is far from stupid but lacks guile and is often reliant on the advice of Sima Yi in particular. The one time he is shown composing poetry; it is clear that he is deeply inferior to his brother Cao Zhi. Though he fights bravely to rescue his father during Geng Ji's attempted coup, Cao Cao himself describes Cao Pi's swordsmanship as awful.
- Cao Pi's brother Cao Zhi receives similar treatment. Both historically and in the novel, Cao Zhi was Cao Pi's main rival to succeed Cao Cao as King of Wei and de facto ruler of the Han Empire. Both brothers formed cliques of trusted followers and engaged in a clandestine struggle for power in the final years of Cao Cao's life. Cao Pi only prevailed due to help from the strategist Jia Xu, who does not appear in this series, with aspects of his character being given to Sima Yi. Jia Xu obliquely gave Cao Pi advice on how to behave in order to win his father's favour and subtly advised Cao Cao that changing the rules of succession away from primogeniture would be unwise. Cao Cao took the hint and formally designated Cao Pi - his eldest surviving son - as heir. In this series, Cao Zhi is not shown as having any particular desire to succeed his father. None of the aforementioned skulduggery is shown to occur, and there is little sign that Cao Zhi is actively plotting against his brother: he seems to much prefer getting drunk and composing poetry, at which he admittedly excels. The only hint of rivalry between them shown in the series is Cao Zhi's initial defiance to his elder brother after the latter's succession as King of Wei. Cao Cao's youngest son Cao Chong is shown to be a greater threat to Cao Pi due to his precocity, and even Cao Cao's other adult son Cao Zhang is depicted as a stronger rival as he brings his troops to Xuchang after Cao Cao's death and has to be talked out of using this army to challenge his brother's rule by Sima Yi.
- Cao Hong is a capable and seasoned fighter in the novel, and he directly engages in combat with enemies on several occasions. During Cao Cao's Xiliang campaign, it is he — rather than Xu Chu — who saves Cao Cao from Ma Chao. Unlike the depiction in this series, where all Xu Chu does is block Ma Chao's thrown spear, Cao Hong even engages Ma Chao in a lengthy duel to cover Cao Cao's escape. In this series he is often present on campaign, but is almost never shown engaging in combat of any sort.
- Emperor Xian is shown to be a timid and weepy puppet ruler to first Dong Zhuo and his associates, then Cao Cao. He does participate in a plot to overthrow the latter, but crumbles into tearfully begging for the life of his beloved Consort Dong once the scheme is unravelled. He spends the rest of his screen time after that being bullied by Cao Cao, Cao Pi and other members of the Cao clan. Eventually, he is forced to yield the throne to Cao Pi and sent into exile with only his faithful wife Cao Jie and a few servants. He chooses to commit suicide rather than continue to endure poverty and humiliation. Overall, he is shown to be a pathetic figure who has led his entire life firmly under the thumb of more powerful and more capable men, and his death is the only time he actually successfully takes control of his own destiny. In the novel, he too is enthroned and controlled by first Dong Zhuo then Cao Cao, but does have a few moments of badassery. After Yuan Shao leads troops to the palace to kill the eunuch Ten Attendants, Emperor Shao and his younger brother the future Emperor Xian - then still known as the Prince of Chenliu - are abducted by two of the Attendants who are fleeing the slaughter. Their abductors are soon attacked and the children have to hide from the troops who attacked them due to being uncertain about these soldiers' loyalty. It is the Prince of Chenliu who takes the initiative to try and lead his elder brother to safety, eventually finding their way to a retinue of loyal soldiers and officials. This retinue then shortly after runs into Dong Zhuo and his army, and again it is Chenliu who questions Dong Zhuo's identity and orders him to kneel before the Emperor to show his loyalty. The future Emperor Xian was nine years old at this time. One reason why Dong Zhuo decides to depose Emperor Shao and enthrone him, is because of this series of events, which showed that Emperor Xian was a braver and worthier sovereign than his brother. This entire series of events was Adapted Out, leaving young Emperor Xian as a largely mute puppet of the cruel Dong Zhuo.
- The series' version of Zhuge Liang also suffers from this, to a degree. Just as he is in the novel, Zhuge Liang is a preternaturally talented administrator and military strategist, but compared to his counterpart in the original work, he is more temperamental and less sure of himself. For example, he looks grave and preoccupied (understandably so, given the seriousness of the situation) when confronting Sima Yi's army alone at Xicheng; in comparison, he is described as smiling and confident when in the same situation in the novel, which helps sell the illusion that he has an ambush brewing for the Wei troops. He also makes a far greater show of emotion in the series when the sudden downpour extinguishes his fire trap at Shangfang Valley; the original text describes his reaction to Sima Yi's lucky escape as being more of resignation than any outpouring of anger or frustration. Unlike in this series, he certainly does not vomit blood and collapse on the spot. The 1994 series - which is truer to the original text than this series - closely follows the novel's description, though interestingly, in contrast to the novel, it does show Zhuge Liang as being nervous in implementing the Empty City strategy.
- Zhuge Liang's nemesis Sima Yi receives similar treatment, being portrayed as an often temperamental figure given to great shows of emotionnote in contrast to his calm and calculating personality in the novel. Notably, in the novel he generally takes the setbacks he suffers at the hands of Zhuge Liang or other Shu generals with equanimity; for example, when he finds out that he was tricked by Wei Yan's use of a wooden statue to impersonate the deceased Zhuge in order to halt the Wei army's pursuit of the Shu army, he laughs and says: 'I can predict the living, but not the dead!' In this series, his reaction to being tricked is to throw a tantrum while lying down on his bed, predicting that that future generations will mock him by saying 'a dead Kong Ming (Zhuge Liang) tricked a living Zhongda (Sima Yi)!'
- Affably Evil: If you consider Cao Cao evil, he's this. He laughs and executes people in the same breath, then tells them he'll provide for their families — and means it too. He also holds tea parties to discuss the state of the world with his main rivals, Liu Bei and Yuan Shao, in both cases soon before he curbstomps them in battle. He often comes across as a genial, yet huge Troll, with Lü Bu, Yuan Shao, Xu Shu, and even Sima Yi not exempt from his antics.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Cao Cao's death; that is, if you consider him evil. His dying episode is one of the most somber in the series; the Hero of Chaos, now a tired, ill old man on his last legs, laments how his work remains unfinished despite everything he did and everyone he lost or betrayed, and finally faces death calmly after appointing Cao Pi as his successor.
- Lv Bu's death as well. In life, he was a greedy and unscrupulous warlord who repeatedly betrayed those around him, but the scene where he is executed focuses on the devoted yet doomed relationship between him and Diao Chan.
- Ambadassador: Zhuge Liang and Lu Su are the most prominent examples.
- Although he's (at the time) young and inexperienced and representing a lord with no troops and a record of mostly losses, Zhuge Liang verbally destroys Southland ministers disparaging Liu Bei's cause and helps ensure the formation of the Sun-Liu coalition against Cao Cao.
- While Lu Su doesn't retrieve Jingzhou by himself, each of his diplomatic visits gains a little more for Wu; he ends up forcing Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang to concede that they are only "borrowing" Jingzhou from Wu, and that they'll return it as soon as they have other lands.
- Ma Su gets some glory as well for convincing Wu to stay out of Wei's five-pronged attempted invasion of Shu.
- Ambition Is Evil: Discussed by several characters, and Cao Cao plays it straight if you consider him evil. Ambition is considered to be an evil, but necessary ingredient or "spark" to leadership, changing the status quo and becoming a true "hero" of the realm. Lü Bu is considered to be a man of great power but little ambition, holding him back from greatness. Liu Bei is idealistic, but that idealism is, by the end, considered to be secondary to his ambition. In the end, Cao Cao's heirs lose their entire kingdom by underestimating Sima Yi's ambition.
- In a subversion, Zhuge Liang tells Liu Bei a story about Hua Xin (one of Cao Cao's high-ranking officials) and how in his youth he and another student were studying when an imperial officer's carriage passed by. Hua was so inspired to ride in such a carriage he joined the imperial service, eventually rising to high position in Cao's administration (Zhuge mentioning the carriage he rides in is far more impressive than the one that inspired him so long ago). Meanwhile, his fellow student kept to his studies, and as far as Zhuge knows still lives in his little village doing nothing but studying. Liu Bei claims that clearly this other student was a better man, since Hua sold his dignity to work for a villain like Cao Cao. Zhuge disagrees and points out that even though Hua serves a villain, he still used his intelligence to improve the world, while the other student has done nothing worthwhile with his brains and his learning.
- Played straight with Cao Pi, whose ambition to succeed his father as King of Wei and de facto ruler of the Han Dynasty — and forge his own legacy as sovereign — leads him to do some very unsavoury things. He is heavily implied to have assassinated his smarter younger brother Cao Chong, and once newly-enthroned entertains the thought of having his brothers Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang executed in order to strengthen his grip on his position. He even forces Cao Zhi into the nigh-impossible task of composing a poem in seven steps in order to be spared, but Cao Zhi manages to pull it off and so moves Cao Pi in the process that his sentence is commuted to comfortable exile. As King of Wei, he compels Emperor Xian to abdicate in favour of himself, ending the Han Dynasty for good. Finally, he is revealed to have put his selfish ambition above the greater good, as he has hidden his incurable lung disease from Cao Cao in order to be considered for the succession. Aware that he has not much time left, Cao Pi then launches an ill-advised invasion of Wu in a bid to leave a glittering legacy for himself; this ends in a grave defeat that costs Cao Wei tens of thousands of casualties. His early death would put the Cao clan on the road to losing ultimate power in the state they founded. During his death scene, the narrator notes unsympathetically that Cao Pi 'died with no achievements'.
- Anachronism Stew: Characters frequently use quotes and concepts that won't exist for hundreds of years. Perhaps the most egregious example was Cao Cao quoting German poet Heinrich Heine right before his death.
- Animal Motifs: The phoenix is Pang Tong's, the dragon Zhuge Liang's. Since the dragon is also the symbol of the Emperor, this becomes an issue later when Zhang Fei tries to cast aspersions on Zhuge Liang's loyalty to Liu Bei by claiming he has greater ambitions.
- Antagonist in Mourning: Zhuge Liang to Zhou Yu, even after indirectly causing his death. While this mourning is completely for show in most adaptations, in this case Zhuge Liang seems to actually mean it, referring to Zhou Yu afterward as a worthy adversary and "a kindred spirit".
- Sima Yi mourns Zhuge Liang after his death, using Zhuge Liang's wooden statue as a stand-in for his actual body.
- Cao Cao mourns Guan Yunote , giving him a magnificent funeral and praising his bravery and loyalty in his eulogy. This was done partly to disclaim responsibility for Guan Yu's death: for context, Sun Quan — then nominally a vassal of the Cao Cao-controlled Han Dynasty — had sent the illustrious warrior's head to Xuchang along with a note thanking Cao Cao for his 'help' in the Wu victory at Jingzhou that had claimed Guan Yu's life. The motive was to get Liu Bei to focus on taking revenge against Cao Cao rather than Sun Quan, but Cao Cao sees through this immediately and so puts on a great show of mourning Guan Yu in order to ward off Liu Bei's vengeful anger. However, it is clear that Cao Cao has genuine love and respect for Guan Yu as well, and sincerely feels saddened by his death. In fact, he seems to be in such grief that he is taken ill at the funeral and dies shortly after.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Incompetent, rather. Yuan Shao has an illustrious family name, but it and the armies it gets him can't save him from his own indecisiveness. For imperial relatives, Liu Biao dodders while his own wife and brother-in-law scheme against him, and Liu Zhang is too busy painting pretty women to handle ruling Yizhou properly.
- In contrast, all three kindgoms' rulers — and Zhuge Liang — were men who rose from fairly low birth; in particular, although Sun Quan had the help of a brother who "founded" the kingdom and thereby set up a really good foundation, Sun Quan knew enough to recognize this advantage for what it wasnote and therefore to let his talented subordinates get on with things without his interference for the most part.
- The members of the Cao clan are a decidedly mixed bag in terms of character and talent. Cao Ren and Cao Hong served Cao Cao capably enough, with Cao Ren in particular managing to win a few victories despite repeated defeats against Zhuge Liang. After Cao Pi's death and the accession of the youthful Cao Rui, Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu become the elder members of the clan and are entrusted with great responsibilities in state and military affairs. Neither is a match for Zhuge Liang, requiring Cao Rui to call upon Sima Yi multiple times to save the situation. This sets up a vicious cycle: every time that Sima Yi saves Cao Wei only makes Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu more hateful and suspicious towards him, and thus after each success they plot against him and strive to have him relieved of duty; after retaking command, they proceed to lose to Zhuge Liang again, rinse and repeat. Cao Xiu leaves the scene first, being defeated offscreen at Yongliang in the first Northern Expedition and vanishing from the series thereafter note ; Cao Zhen then dies in anger after yet another defeat against Zhuge Liang aided by some vicious trolling by his nominal second-in-command Sima Yi. After years of seeing the incompetence of the Cao clan up close, contrasted against Sima Yi's obvious capabilities and his mistreatment by the imperial court, most of the generals in the Wei army turn their loyalties to Sima Yi instead of the ruling family of the state. Cao Zhen's son Cao Shuang proves little more capable than his father when he acts as regent after Cao Rui's death, reinforcing this shift in loyalty. The result is that Sima Yi is able to use his high standing amongst his soldiers — along with leveraging upon Cao Shuang's complacency — to launch a coup and seize supreme power in the state.
- Armor Is Useless: Even being in (anachronistic) full iron armor doesn't prevent soldiers from dying from armor-piercing arrows and blades.
- Arranged Marriage: This is a major subject of the Jingzhou arc, occurring between Liu Bei and Sun Quan's sister and used by Zhou Yu as a scheme to capture Jingzhou, kill Liu Bei, or both.
- Arrogance Breeds Laziness: This is the downfall of several characters.
- Ma Su is Zhuge Liang's chosen protege, and selected to command the defense of a vital junction on the Shu supply line. In his arrogance, he opts to set up camp on a nearby hill in the belief that such a location would provide excellent view of any incoming enemies, and that because water was often found on hills he wouldn't have to worry about supplies. So confident is he in his choice that he doesn't even bother arrange for troops to get water from nearby rivers, only to learn to his horror that he'd completely forgotten that they were now in a completely different climate that was much drier, and so there was no water on the hill.
- The best example bar none is Guan Yu, whose increasing arrogance and belief in his own skill as a warrior become more and more noticeable as the series progresses. When he prepares for his invasion of Cao Cao's territory, he brushes aside advice that they should at least strengthen their defenses in case nominal ally Sun Quan attacks in his absence, stating that Sun's fear of Guan Yu's ability would suffice. So confident and arrogant is he that he cannot be bothered to at least check on things such as reports of an invasion force approaching his territory and that enemy reinforcements have arrived until it's much too late to do anything. The shock of just how miserably he'd failed causes his hair to turn white, and he opts to commit suicide when he's cornered by the enemy.
- Arrowgram: As in the novel, Cao Cao had archers shoot messages over the wall of Xiapi promising a reward for the capture of Lu Bu. In the show, this indirectly results in his men rebelling as a result of the punishment he administered, hearing them read the notes and suspecting they would betray him.
- Assassin Outclassin': Cao Cao is on both ends of this trope.
- He tries to kill Dong Zhuo with the Seven-Star Dagger while the tyrant is asleep, but light reflects off the shiny weapon as he moves towards his target, hitting the mirror at the foot of Dong Zhuo's bed and waking him by shining into his eyes. Cao Cao quickly switches to pretending that his intention was to present the valuable dagger as a gift, staving off Dong Zhuo's suspicions just long enough for him to make his escape.
- As Chancellor, Cao Cao then survives several assassination attempts in various ways.
- A conspiracy to depose him led by the Han loyalist official Dong Cheng - and with Emperor Xian as willing participant - sees the imperial physician Ji Ping attempt to poison him. Cao Cao, however, has long had knowledge of the plot and exposes the physician by pretending to be ill, then overpowering his opponent when he tries to force poisoned medicine on him.
- Ma Teng attempts to kill Cao Cao after he moves against him and Han Sui in Western Liang. He first sends assassins to attack the Chancellor when he's on his way back to Xuchang, but this is thwarted by good planning on the part of Cao Cao and Xun Yu, with Cao Cao even using a body double to bait one of the assassins into action so that he can enter the city unnoticed. Ma Teng then goes to Xuchang on Cao Cao's invitation, and the two share a cordial feast. This is, however, a pretext by Ma Teng to bring a small but elite force of troops into the city to make an attempt on Cao Cao's life; Cao Cao, on the other hand, is offering himself up as bait so he can trap Ma Teng and kill him. There is some hard fighting, but ultimately the attempt fails and ends with the capture and execution of Ma Teng.
- Han loyalists again try to have Cao Cao killed after he becomes King of Wei, as they see this as him taking yet another step towards usurpation. Cao Cao is surrounded by the rebels at Wufeng Tower, but is ably guarded by Xu Chu while loyal troops led by his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhang try to break the encirclement, eventually emerging victorious.
- Cao Cao's suspicious nature serves him well in dodging assassination attempts, but ultimately also contributes to his downfall. Gravely ill with what is a possible brain tumour, he has the renowed physician Hua Tuo brought to him in search of a remedy, but dismisses Hua Tuo as a would-be assassin when the good doctor suggests brain surgery to save his life. Hua Tuo is arrested, though his fate is not disclosed in the series, and Cao Cao dies shortly after.
- Asshole Victim:
- Dong Zhuo, who is betrayed and killed by Lv Bu when Wang Yun's scheme comes to fruition. Due to being a
Complete Monster, he is not only unmourned, but his death is widely celebrated. - Lv Bu himself is only mourned by Diao Chan, though his execution scene focuses heavily on their relationship and hence comes across as a case of Alas, Poor Villain. Even the virtuous and usually well-mannered Liu Bei angrily chastises him and indirectly advocates his execution to Cao Cao. This is perfectly understandable, as Lv Bu had betrayed almost everyone he worked with, including Liu Bei.
- Liu Biao's chief general Cai Mao is unscrupulous, amoral and greedy. He first convinces his lord to betray Sun Jian despite promising the latter safe passage back to his territory. When the nine-year-old Sun Quan comes to Liu Biao's camp to claim his father's body, he urges Liu to have the child killed in order to further weaken the Sun clan. Fortunately, Liu has higher moral standards and allows Sun to leave with the body in exchange for a non-aggression pact. As Liu Biao weakens and nears death, Cai Mao then plots with his sister Lady Cai - wife of Liu - to install her son Liu Cong as successor instead of the rightful heir, Liu Biao's elder son (and her step-son) Liu Qi. Liu Qi is forced to flee and take refuge with Liu Bei. Cai Mao then convinces Liu Cong to surrender to Cao Cao - hence betraying his former lord - and joins the Cao army as their foremost admiral. The Sun-Liu alliance knows that they have to get rid of him in order to have any chance of victory at Red Cliffs, as Cai Mao is a skilled at naval warfare. Hence, they devise a plot that eventually convinces Cao Cao that Cai Mao is untrustworthy, and Cao Cao orders his execution. He is mourned by nobody, with Cao Cao's only reaction being a realization that he had just harmed his own hopes of victory by killing his main expert in naval combat.
- Dong Zhuo, who is betrayed and killed by Lv Bu when Wang Yun's scheme comes to fruition. Due to being a
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: This is the case for most of Liu Bei's generals, including his two sworn brothers. Zhuge Liang points out though that while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are good fighters, they both lack the humility and patience needed to be good leaders of men, which is why he favors Zhao Yun.
- Authority in Name Only: Even once he grows to adulthood, Emperor Xian is little more than a figurehead under the thumb of those who hold the real power at court, most notably Cao Cao.
- Emperor Ling of Han, who does not appear in this series, is historically considered to be the last Han emperor to exercise actual imperial authority. His death in 189 triggered the effective break-up of the Han Empire into various warlord factions. The series begins with the reign of Emperor Xian, who is already under Dong Zhuo's thumb. Even with his overbearing presence, it is clear that the authority of the imperial court is more apparent than real. The legal fiction that the Liu imperial house is still the ruling house of China is officially ended in 220 CE, when Cao Pi forces Emperor Xian to abdicate.
- Badass Boast:
- Cao Cao shows Guan Yu the disciplined formation of Yuan Shao's army, and tells him of the valour of Yuan Shao's general Yan Liang. In a prior scene, Cao Ren reports to Cao Cao that Yan Liang had just launched a lightning raid on the Cao army and killed two generals, thus establishing him as a capable fighter and skilled commander. Despite this, Guan Yu derides the Yuan army formation as being akin to a pile of rubble, and states that Yan Liang is merely advertising his own head for the taking. He promises Cao Cao that he will take Yan Liang's head on pain of death. Guan Yu then shows that he can back up his words by riding out and killing Yan Liang with a single stroke of his blade. When Yan Liang's fellow general Wen Chou challenges the Cao army the next day in order to avenge his colleague, Zhang Liao and Xu Huang — two of Cao Cao's most skilled and experienced fighters — accept the challenge. Wen Chou then proceeds to prove his own valour and skill in combat by beating them both at the same time. Guan Yu rides out, yelling that both generals should stand down and watch him take Wen Chou's head, which he again easily does.
- Before setting out for the Guandu campaign, Cao Cao boasts that even though his forces will be heavily outnumbered, he still has the ability to beat three Yuan Shaos tied together. This was preceded by a strategy meeting at which the strengths of Cao Cao and his faction were contrasted with the shortcomings of Yuan Shao and his followers.
- Badass Bookworm:
- Sun Ce is not only an excellent strategist and tactician, he is also quite capable in combat. This allows him to lay strong foundations for the State of Wu.
- Zhuge Liang is never shown engaging in physical combat, but he does face the entire Wei army alone at Xicheng — armed only with a zither — as part of the 'Empty City' strategy. His calm demeanour and flawless musical performance in the face of imminent death or capture helps sell the illusion that this is all a trap, causing Sima Yi to decide not to take any risks and to withdraw his forces instead of pressing on. That saves the provisions of the Shu-Han army, thus saving the army itself by allowing it to make the retreat back to Shu through difficult terrain.
- Sima Yi himself is also never shown engaging in physical combat, but in contrast to Zhuge Liang he is shown armed, wearing armour and leading charges from the front on horseback. Most notably, he leads his men into Zhuge's trap at Shangfang Valley, and is prepared to die together with them.
- Bad Boss: Yuan Shao harshly punishes his advisor, Tian Feng, for giving unwanted advice. The first time he does it, Yuan Shao demotes him to a stableboy. The second time, Yuan Shao imprisons him and tells him that he'll execute him sooner or later. His habits come back to bite him in the ass when Xu You defects to Cao Cao after he's accused of committing a crime. Xu You tells Cao Cao the location of Yuan Shao's war supplies.
- Zhang Fei has a bad habit of punishing his subordinates far too harshly for failing to carry out his orders, even if said orders are impractical. Zhuge Liang tries to get him to move past this. Ultimately it's for naught, and he winds up being killed by two of his own officers when he goes too far in his demands and punishments.
- Batman Gambit: Many times, following both the source material and actual history. Some examples include:
- Wang Yun allows Lü Bu to meet Diaochan, trusting that he'll fall in love. He also introduces Diaochan to Dong Zhuo, knowing he won't be able to keep his hands off her. This is all in order to drive a wedge between the two men.
- When he discovers the Imperial Seal, Sun Jian decides to take his forces and retreat to his seat of power in the Southlands. When he goes to explain his reason for withdrawing from the Anti-Dong Zhuo coalition (he claims illness), he strongly expects Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu won't just let him leave (especially if they catch wind of his discovery). Sure enough, the Yuans call in their guards, only for Sun call in his.
- Sun Quan dispatches Zhuge Jin to recover the three counties of Jingzhou "loaned" to Liu Bei until he had his own territory, and has his entire family taken hostage to encourage him to succeed. It's implied he doesn't actually intend to carry out his threat, but calculates that the sight of
the otherwise cool-headed Zhuge Jin tearfully and desperately begging Liu Bei to return the counties will cause Liu to agree (it doesn't hurt that Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei's chief advisor, is Zhuge Jin's younger brother). Notably, Zhuge Liang suspects this is the case, but understandably doesn't want to take the risk. - Cao Cao knows that Ma Chao is a hot-blooded, hot-tempered idiot, and so deliberately makes it seem as though Han Sui (a member of Ma Chao's coalition and old friend of Cao himself) is planning to defect. He writes a completely innocuous letter to Han before deliberately blotting the ink to make it look like someone tried to obscure the actual content, which Ma takes as proof of Han's duplicity.
- Lü Meng's entire plan do retake Jing Province hinges on the fact that Guan Yu believes in his own hype so much that he likely won't believe reports that Wu is attacking due to fear of his prowess, even though he's planning an invasion of Wei's territory. Sure enough, Guan initially brushes off reports until he's informed that Jing Province has fallen.
- When Guan Yu launches his Jing campaign, the high morale of his forces manages to drive Cao Ren back and into the city of Fancheng. While Xu Huang arrives with reinforcements, he's given direct orders by Cao Cao not to engage. Even when a desperate soldier manages to reach Xu's camp after breaking through the siege, Xu bitterly tells him he can't attack until he's allowed to do so, even as the soldier collapses to his knees and grasps Xu's robe. Cao Cao himself arrives and explains why he'd held Xu back: he knew that Sun Quan, who disliked Liu Bei and especially hated Guan Yu, wouldn't be willing to let Guan actually succeed in his campaign. As they spoke, Lü Meng was moving against Guan's bases in Jing Province, meaning it was now time to strike back.
- Sima Yi knows that Cao Shuang and the other members of the Cao clan are deeply — and rightly — suspicious of him, believing that he harbours intentions of seizing supreme power in the state of Cao Wei. So he pays off the midwife in attendance when his wife Jingshu is in labour, getting the midwife to deliberately give Jingshu the wrong medication and killing both her and the unborn child. He then feigns a stroke from the shock and becomes comatose. Cao Shuang sends an elderly eunuch to check on Sima Yi's condition and is convinced that this illness is genuine; as Sima Yi expects, he thus lets down his guard, allowing Sima Yi to launch a coup and take control of the state.
- Battle of Wits: Zhuge Liang vs. Zhou Yu, from the moment they meet until Zhou Yu's death, which was itself caused by Zhuge Liang winning so many of these.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Averted, although Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong illustrate two ends of this trope. Both are intelligent and loyal to the death, but the former's an elegant white-robed sage and the latter has a face like a potato.
- Berserk Button: Do not slight, or even appear to slight, any of Zhang Fei's two sworn brothers. Of course, all three share deep personal bonds and are very protective of each other, but Zhang Fei is the most short-tempered and impulsive of them and is hence prone to flying into towering rages at the merest sign that Guan Yu or Liu Bei are being insulted or bullied. Zhang Fei — and, admittedly, Guan Yu, although he's calmer about it — even threatens Zhuge Liang's very life when he feels that the strategist is not doing enough to get Liu Bei back from Eastern Wu in the aftermath of his marriage to Sun Shangxiang. note Zhang Fei's deep bonds with his brothers tragically prove to be his undoing, as he flies into a rage when two of his officers fail to meet an exacting deadline for manufacturing suits of mourning attire to commemorate the death of Guan Yu. He has them badly whipped and they murder him in response.
- Big Brother Mentor: Cao Cao is this to Cao Ren. Liu Bei tried to be this to Zhang Fei, always encouraging him to control his temper. It doesn't work- Zhang Fei's temper eventually gets him killed by his own men.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family:
- Cao Cao's kids scheme against each other constantly for the sake of being named Cao Cao's heir, to the point that Cao Pi has to murder his youngest brother to both obtain Sima Yi's assistance and thin out the competition. Cao Cao's own reaction to this is a good reminder that even the "hero of chaos" is only human when confronted with family.
- Yuan Shao's children vying to be named Leader of the Vanguard before Guan Du. Xu You and Guo Tu lampshade they're actually vying to be named Yuan Shao's heir. Yuan Shao does not know what to do so he solves this by appointing himself. Both historically and in the novel, Yuan Shao's children would go on to fight each other for the right to succeed their father after his death, and Cao Cao exploited this familial strife to finish off the Yuan faction for good. This struggle is not shown in this series.
- Also Liu Biao's family with his scheming second wife, her brother Cai Mao, and his first son Liu Qi. Lady Cai and Cai Mao want Liu Qi dead so Liu Biao — an old man by this time — names her child as his successor.
- Boss Subtitles: Every important character gets them, every episode. It's practically a necessity, given the numerous characters present.
- Blood from the Mouth: This is the main indicator of illness, severe injury, poisoning, shock, and every other ailment that results in a character collapsing or dying shortly afterward. Many nameless soldiers suffer from this in the various battle scenes, and the more prominent examples are:
- Yuan Shao, who projectile vomits blood due to shock, regret and anger after losing the Battle of Guandu. He falls seriously ill and dies (offscreen) the next year.
- Zhou Yu, who coughs up blood whenever he gets trolled by Zhuge Liang. This is explained as being a result of an earlier injury he suffered in battle, which gets aggravated anytime he gets agitated.
- Cao Pi, who coughs up large amounts of blood as his reign nears its end. He tells Sima Yi this is due to an incurable lung disease he contracted as a teenager.
- Cao Zhen, who after his final defeat by Zhuge Liang falls from his horse and is seriously injured. Sima Yi, his second-in-command, deliberately arrives too late to save him and sarcastically asks whether he is alright. Cao Zhen is so angered by this that he expires on the spot, blood still pouring from his mouth.
- Zhuge Liang, who like Yuan Shao projectile vomits blood in anger and despair after seeing Sima Yi escape his trap at Shangfang Valley. His health has clearly been going downhill for quite a while, and after the battle he enters the last stages of illness and expires within at most a day or two.
- Bond One-Liner: When the newly enthroned Cao Pi orders Xu Chu to bring his brother Cao Zhi to him, Xu is confronted by Cao Zhi's guards. One of him calls him a brute compared to their master (Cao Zhi being a noted poet), daring him to put even a scratch on one of Cao Zhi's guards. In response, Xu Chu draws his sword and kills him with one swing, contemptuously retorting, "There. A scratch."
- Boring, but Practical:
- Sima Yi exemplifies this trope. Unlike his nemesis Zhuge Liang, he has no bag of tricks with which to win dazzling battlefield victories. On the few occasions he chooses to give battle against the Shu-Han Chancellor, he loses. note Hence, most of the time, he chooses simply not to give battle, hiding behind fortifications and willingly ceding the initiative to his opponent. Sima Yi understands that Wei is by far the larger kingdom and possesses much greater resources than Shu-Han; furthermore, Zhuge Liang is attacking through very difficult terrain and so will consistently run into problems supplying his army. Hence, he can afford to simply wait out his nemesis. The ploy works until the final Northern Expedition, when Zhuge finally succeeds in drawing out Sima using stolen Wei provisions and traps him in Shangfang Gorge. Fortunately for Sima, a timely rainstorm saves him and his troops.
- Sima Yi then wins the struggle for supreme power in Wei through a simple yet effective trick: he pretends to be seriously ill, supposedly struck down by a stroke when his concubine Jingshu has a miscarriage. In reality, he bribed the midwife to poison her and feigns illness and shock, falling into an apparent catatonic state. His political opponent Cao Shuang observes all this and lets down his guard, which allows Sima Yi to launch a swift coup and take full control of the Wei court.
- Break the Haughty: Being from a long and illustrious noble family, Yuan Shao never viewed the lowborn Cao Cao as a credible threat until Cao Cao destroyed his army at the Battle of Guandu. Cao Cao in turn got a hot dose of this upon underestimating the Sun-Liu coalition and being soundly defeated at Chibi.
- Wang Yun thought he could easily crush the remnant of Dong Zhuo's generals after having Dong Zhuo killed. It ended in his own death.
- Being from the same illustrious family as Yuan Shao, and having the imperial seal in his possession, Yuan Shu believes the time is right for him to declare himself to be emperor of his own new dynasty — the Zhong. This is a dire miscalculation, as despite years of misrule the Liu imperial house still retains great support amongst the people. Having painted a target on his own back as a traitor to the Han, Yuan Shu's army is destroyed through attacks by multiple other warlords and he dies regretfully by suicide.
- Cao Cao again when he faces Ma Chao — he derides his youthful opponent as a whelp still wet behind the ears, but Ma Chao's powerful cavalry charge completely demolishes the Cao army's formation, forcing Cao Cao to flee and repeatedly disguise himself in order to escape his pursuers. He survives only by the skin of his teeth — Xu Chu appearing in the nick of time to block a spear thrown by Ma Chao at his master's retreating figure — and returns to camp admitting that he greatly underestimated his opponent.
- Guan Yu is painfully aware that the loss of Jingzhou is completely on him, and kills himself as his few remaining loyalists (including his son) are cut down around him. note
- Liu Bei's final loss at Yiling ended his growing arrogance after becoming emperor.
- Wang Lang is confident that he can overcome Zhuge Liang in a verbal battle of wits. He is so thoroughly destroyed by the Shu chancellor that he has a heart attack and dies on the spot. Literally murdered by words!
- Brilliant, but Lazy:
- Despite being an administrator and military strategist of unparalleled ability, Zhuge Liang initially chooses to live the genteel life of a farmer in an admittedly picturesque cottage in the country. He is also apparently reluctant to leave this life to use his talents for the good of the realm, purposefully making Liu Bei call on him three times before agreeing to serve the latter's cause. On the third occasion, in fact, he is at home but asleep and has left instructions that he should not be woken — Liu Bei has to patiently wait for him to wake up. Turns out Zhuge Liang was actually looking out for the right master to serve, and once convinced that Liu Bei is worthy, he devotes the rest of his life to serving the Liu clan and the state of Shu-Han.
- His eventual nemesis Sima Yi is introduced as a low-ranking retainer living under a pseudonym who falls asleep while Cao Cao is giving a motivational speech to his men in the aftermath of the defeat at Red Cliff. Cao Cao is publicly dismissive of his attitude and orders him imprisoned, but is then intrigued enough by his behaviour to look into his real identity. He then visits Sima Yi in prison, reveals that he knows who he really is, and brings him onboard as an advisor. Sima Yi, for his part, begins to contribute to Cao Cao's military campaigns and the governance of the empire, eventually rising to prominence in the new state of Cao Wei.
- The trope is also subverted in the case of Pang Tong, who is given a post as a low-ranking civil official when he initially enters Liu Bei's service. He proceeds to complete one year's worth of work in a matter of days, then locks himself up in a room to drink. When Liu Bei arrives to investigate, he thinks that Pang Tong is either a layabout or straight-up on strike, only for Pang Tong to tell him of the above. He realises that Pang Tong is a man of great ability and that he has not been given duties commensurate with his talents, and so promotes Pang Tong to become one of his personal advisors. Pang Tong then serves Liu Bei dutifully until his Heroic Sacrifice in the campaign against Liu Zhang.
- Butt-Monkey:
- Not much goes right for Cao Pi in this series. Despite being Cao Cao's eldest surviving son and primogeniture being an established tradition during the time period in which the series is set, he is not automatically granted the status of heir apparent. In fact, his father prefers his much younger brother Cao Chong, who outshines him several times in intelligence. Cao Pi is also shown to be inferior to his other brothers Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang - when he enters into a poetry competition with the former, Cao Zhi's submission is loudly acclaimed as being superior; when he fights alongside the latter to rescue Cao Cao from an assassination attempt, his father praises his loyalty afterward but derides his swordsmanship. Cao Cao is also shown to be deeply suspicious of Cao Pi, in particular suspecting him of having Cao Chong killed and even seemingly believing that he was party to the aforementioned assassination plot despite his strenuous rescue efforts. Cao Pi is hence put through significant psychological torment, being repeatedly tested and interrogated by his father before Cao Cao finally decides he is a worthy successor. Despite emerging victorious in the contest to succeed Cao Cao, Cao Pi's reign is undistinguished. He is portrayed as greedy and grasping when he forces Emperor Xian to yield the throne in order to found a new dynasty. A deeper motivation behind this desire for glory is revealed when he tells Sima Yi - who had just overheard him laboriously coughing up blood - that he has an incurable lung disease that will soon kill him, and this is the reason why he is striving hard to make a name for himself by quickly reunifying the realm. Unfortunately, he comes up against competent opponents in the form of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang in Shu-Han, and Sun Quan and Lu Xun in Wu, and all his efforts end in costly failure. When he dies, the narrator notes unsympathetically that "he died with no achievements".
- Not much goes right for the State of Wei, as a whole. It is the largest and most powerful of the three kingdoms, yet is repeatedly not just beaten but humiliated in battle by its weaker neighbours. Even its best field marshal - Sima Yi - is no match for Zhuge Liang in open battle; Sima Yi only beats his opposite number by practising a Fabian strategy that allows the wealthier, more populous and better-resourced Wei state to outlast its enemy. Nor is Wu any easier to overcome, as Cao Pi found out at great cost.
- Cain and Abel:
- Yuan Shao's sons are shown vying for the title of Grand Commander in the army he raises to attack Cao Cao, although their battle to succeed their father after Yuan Shao's death is Adapted Out. In the novel, this fratricidal strife was exploited by Cao Cao to complete his victory over the Yuan clan.
- Cao Pi vies with his brothers to succeed their father Cao Cao, and the series shows that he has a clear rivalry with each of them. He is strongly implied to have had his youngest brother Cao Chong - Cao Cao's favourite child and likeliest choice as heir - assassinated, though this is never explicitly confirmed. His rivalry with Cao Zhi is recorded in history and detailed extensively in the novel (where Cao Zhi rather than Cao Chong was Cao Pi's main competitor for the position of heir), but downplayed in this series, though Cao Zhi is shown ignoring Cao Pi's authority after he becomes King of Wei and Cao Zhi's iconic on-the-spot composition of the Poem of Seven Steps is still shown as the only thing that prevents his enraged elder brother from taking his head. Cao Zhang, meanwhile, is in command of a large army when he hears of the death of his father and has to be persuaded to accept Cao Pi's accession to the throne by Sima Yi.
- Notably averted by Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang, who serve different states for decades and maintain their brotherly ties even when their respective lords go to war with each other.
- The Cassandra: Xu You is shown giving Yuan Shao sound and correct advice on multiple occasions, only to be ignored each time, despite Yuan Shao admitting regret at not listening to his advice to receive Emperor Xian. He doesn't have the heart to leave Yuan Shao until being wrongly accused of embezzlement during Guandu, after which he finally defects to Cao Cao.
- Poor Chen Gong. He warned Wang Yun that not pardoning Li Jue and Guo Si would make them desperate. Wang Yun didn't listen, Chang'an was lost, and Wang Yun ended up dead (and the Emperor a hostage again). Later he warned Lü Bu that he should attack Cao Cao before the rainy season began at Xia Pi. Lü Bu didn't listen, Xia Pi was lost, and Lü Bu ended up dead.
- Ma Liang keeps warning Guan Yu that he's letting his ego get the better of him and that there's something very suspicious about how Wu Grand Commander Lü Meng falling ill and getting replaced by the much more inexperienced Lu Xun just before Guan launches a campaign against Cao Cao's territory that will leave their own holdings in Jingzhou undermanned. Guan assures him that Wu is too terrified of him to even think about invading. After everything comes to pass (Jingzhou falls, the Fancheng campaign fails, and Wu forces are in pursuit) during his retreat with the scattered remnants of his once mighty army, Guan Yu laments not listening, and wonders if Ma Liang is even alive.
- Zhuge Liang twice warns Liu Bei against the invasion of Wu, but the most he can get out of Liu Bei is a promise to delay it. After Zhang Fei's death, Liu Bei refuses to do even that and makes immediate preparations for the attack. Zhuge Liang privately continues to oppose the invasion, but confides in Ma Su that a third warning would be excessive and futile, so they have no choice but to support their leader. After the devastating defeat at Xiaoting, Liu Bei expresses regret to Zhuge Liang for not listening to him.
- The Cavalry: Just as Liu Bei's ragtag band is trapped on the riverbank and preparing for a final stand against Cao Cao, Liu Qi's fleet sails down the river and carries them to safety at Jiangxia.
- The Chessmaster:
- Cao Cao, often. Wang Yun, with the plot against Dong Zhuo, although that ended up being his single stroke of brilliance, and his subsequent arrogance from that achievement proved his downfall.
- More appropriately later, Zhuge Liang. Some of his battles are plotted out in such detail in advance that the show doesn't even give them screentime, because they happened Exactly As Planned.
- Wu has Lu Xun, who first escaped the danger of having Sun Quan suspect him after Lü Meng's death note by suggesting not to appoint another Grand Commander, as Sun Quan wished to be free from his Grand Commanders' control, and later acting insane by "prophesizing" Wu's defeat in the war against Shu knowing that Sun Quan would name him Grand Commander.
- Sima Yi starts by sleeping during Cao Cao's speech after the Red Cliffs, knowing Cao Cao would imprison him so he could investigate Sima Yi's conduct. Later in the series, he successfully deceives every Cao ruler after Cao Pi's death, feigning illness before Cao Rui so that they wouldn't think of him as a threat, and showing how much Wei needs him after the Cao commanders turn ineffectual. He kills his maidservant/wife Jingshu on learning she's been spying on him and appears griefstricken and on the verge of death... only to ambush Cao Shuang with Emperor Cao Fang mere days after.
- Choose Your Own Reward: A man reports a plot against Cao Cao, who promises to reward him with rank and wealth. The man asks for one more thing, and Cao acquiesces, saying that he will grant anything that's within his power. The man asks for one of the plotters' concubines, a woman he'd been having an affair with. Upon hearing this, Cao Cao has him executed, seeing that the man's report had been motivated by self-interest rather than loyalty to him.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Poor Lü Bu, his CBD is so bad even other characters in-universe notice it. Cao Cao finally decides not to extend the chain and executes him.
- Zhang Fei notes that Lü Bu brought terrible luck to all of his adoptive fathers, including Wang Yun (his father-in-law), to which Liu Bei (intending to receive Lü Bu as a guest) has to remonstrate, "I only want to be his friend, not his father!" In fact, the first time Zhang Fei meets Lü Bu — when he rides out to fight the great warrior at Hulao Pass — he greets Lü Bu as 'bastard of three surnames'. When the offended Lü Bu asks why he has been greeted thus, Zhang Fei takes the time to explain that aside from his original surname of Lü, Lü Bu has had two adoptive fathers — Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo — and betrayed them both. note Hence, he is a 'bastard (in every sense of the word) of three surnames'.
- Liu Bei lampshades this after Lü Bu pleads to him to speak in his favor to Cao Cao: "Lü Bu has called three men his adopted fathers. The first was Ding Yuan. The second was Dong Zhuo. The third was Wang Yun. All of them have much to thank Lü Bu for. Today I dare, lord Cao Cao, to plead for you to be Lü Bu's fourth adopted father." Cao Cao laughs and pats Liu Bei's shoulder, then sends Lü Bu to die.note
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: As the series progresses, the armies of each of the Three Kingdoms end up uniformed in distinct colours: Wei troops use black and grey, Wu troops dress in maroon tunics with white plumes while their commanders are all in white, and Shu troops dress predominately in dark blue with bronze/gold armour.
- Combat by Champion: Used to raise the morale of the troops behind the winning champion. Generally a foregone conclusion if one of the champions involved is a big-name character. Examples of this include Lü Bu vs Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and Liu Bei, Sun Ce vs Taishi Ci (incidentally one of the only duels that actually took place historically), and the memorable bout between Ma Chao and Xu Chu, where both combatants had to break off to switch horses in order to continue fighting.
- Combat Pragmatist: Like the original text, this series heavily emphasizes the importance of honour and praises gallant acts on the battlefield. Also like the original text, that does not prevent generals and strategists on all sides from resorting to trickery to obtain victory. The point of war, after all, is still to win. Some prominent examples include:
- Liu Biao eliminates Sun Jian through feigned friendliness to his fellow warlord, who is his regional rival and is returning home from the failed campaign against Dong Zhuo. He lets Sun Jian and his men pass through his lines and board their ships before launching an ambush on a narrow part of the river, lined with cliffs on both sides.
- Cao Cao beats Liu Bei at Xuzhou by feigning weakness, sending old and weak soldiers to launch the first series of assaults on the city to lull his opponent into complacency. When Liu Bei and his brothers respond with a night raid on the Cao camp to finish off what they believe to be a spent opponent, Cao Ren springs a trap that results in their utter defeat.
- Through yet more trickery, Cao Cao crushes Yuan Shao's army - which reportedly outnumbers his own ten-to-one - in their first engagement at Guandu. He invites Yuan Shao to a parley and promises to all-but surrender to him; in reality, this is a ploy to buy time for the sun to move into just the right position to shine into the eyes of the Yuan army and for a force of Cao cavalry to assume a position behind the enemy lines. Once the time is right, Cao Cao runs away laughing and Yuan Shao has barely any time to react before the Cao army charges home from both directions and routs his soldiers.
- The victory of the Sun-Liu alliance at Red Cliffs relies heavily on Huang Gai's feigned surrender to Cao Cao. Before this, Zhuge Liang gets rid of Cao Cao's best admiral, Cai Mao, by spreading rumours about his disloyalty.
- Zhuge Liang, of course, is quite the master of deception. He has to be, as he spends the series fighting armies that are larger and more well-provisioned than his own. Among the notable tricks he pulls are: tricking Cao Cao to obtain arrows for the Sun-Liu alliance at Red Cliffs, fooling Sima Yi with the Empty City strategy to save his army after Ma Su's defeat at Jieting, and luring his nemesis into a fiery trap at Shangfang Valley using stolen Wei provisions. The last of this nearly succeeds in eliminating Sima Yi and thus paving the way for Shu-Han to take the Central Plains.
- Zhuge Liang is also aware that Sima Yi is the only individual in the the service of Wei whose talents match his own. Rather than face this redoubtable opponent in battle, he first tries to get Sima Yi executed for disloyalty by leaking evidence to the Wei court that Sima Yi has been secretly recruiting troops at his post in Yongliang to face the coming Shu-Han offensive. It nearly works, as Emperor Cao Rui himself personally goes to Sima Yi's camp to confront him and strip him of his command; however, the Emperor rejects Cao Xiu's suggestion that Sima Yi and his clan be exterminated (the usual punishment for recruiting troops without official approval, as this is seen as tantamount to rebellion) and instead exiles Sima Yi and his son Sima Zhao back to their hometown. Fortunately for the state of Wei, this allows for Sima Yi to be recalled after Zhuge Liang's string of victories endangers the very existence of the kingdom.
- After the death of Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wei succeeds him as supreme commander of the Shu-Han expeditionary force. He faces the difficult task of pulling back the army in the face of Sima Yi, a capable and dangerous opponent who has deduced that Zhuge Liang has died and thus is ready to attack at any sign of movement. Jiang Wei gets around this problem by tricking Sima Yi into thinking Zhuge Liang is still alive, using a wooden statue and the former Chancellor's wheelchair. Sima Yi takes fright at the illusion and immediately stops the pursuit, allowing the Shu-Han army to safely make it home. He goes ballistic when he later discovers that he has been fooled.
- Rather than engaging Guan Yu in a duel to the death like so many did before him, Pang De shoots him from afar with a poisoned arrow. This nearly kills Guan Yu, and while he survives, it does weaken him at a critical moment in the Battle of Fancheng and leads to his eventual defeat and suicide.
- The Compassionate Executioner: Several characters get dramatic execution scenes, but this trope is downplayed as the actual executioners are generally silent background characters.
- When Cao Cao defeats Lu Bu once and for all, he tries to convince Chen Gong to rejoin him. Chen refuses, even as he is escorted out for execution. Cao brings him to a hill with a nice view and tries one last time, pleading that he really can't Chen go. In response Chen says he is aware, but he himself decided to go and requests that Cao go through with the execution. The actual executioner takes up position with his sword, and waits for Chen to finish giving his last words before executing him.
- Tian Feng acts as an Honest Advisor to Yuan Shao in all his appearances, even when it finally leads to his imprisonment as Yuan felt annoyed he continued to advise against war with Cao Cao. Eventually, after his defeat at Guandu Yuan orders Tian to commit suicide, having been falsely informed Tian celebrated the defeat because it proved it right. The prison guard tasked with informing Tian of the suicide order and ensuring it is done is reluctant to do so, and when Tian requests he be allowed to take his life in the courtyard rather than his dark little cell obliges. The guard tries to comfort Tian in his last moments, but Tian despairs when he looks up at the night sky and realises that the stars predict Yuan's destruction. After he cuts his throat, the guard bows deeply in respect.
- After the disastrous Battle of Jieting where Ma Su performed a blunder so awful it forced the entire Shu army to retreat, he is sentenced to death by his mentor Zhuge Liang. Wei Yan, who has butted heads with Ma and the rest of Zhuge's cronies throughout the campaign, is tasked with seeing it through. Despite their animosity, he offers Ma a final cup of wine and promises to deliver any last words he has. Ma thanks him and asks him to assure Zhuge Ma has full faith in his ultimate victory. Moved by his loyalty, Wei tearfully smashes the empty cup on the floor and orders the executioner to strike.
- Composite Character: Some characters have this happen to them because of the Compressed Adaptation, such as Xun Yu and Sima Zhao. In the original novel, Guo Jia gives the "10 reasons Cao Cao is better than Yuan Shao speech", in the show it's Xun Yu. Jia Xu, a prominent Wei strategist in the novel, does not appear at all but parts of his role are played by Sima Yi, such as when Sima Yi gives Cao Pi advice on how to gain Cao Cao's favour and be chosen as his successor.
- Compressed Adaptation: This series is a whopping 95 episodes long, but is still this. Many events had to be left out as there weren't the time or resources to film these, and the series covers "only" sixty years (c. 189 CE to c. 251 CE) as compared to the nearly-century long timeline (mid-180s CE to 280 CE) of the novel. In particular, the series starts some considerable time after the novel begins, with Dong Zhuo already in charge of the imperial court. This omits various characters and events like He Jin and his struggle with the Ten Attendants, and the key background Yellow Turban Rebellion is relegated to a brief mention in the opening blurb. The series also ends about thirty years before the end of the novel with an ailing and senile Sima Yi on the verge of death rather than closing with the reunification of China under the Jin as the original work does. The 1994 series, in contrast, is a much more faithful adaptation of the novel and covers all major events within it.
- The Consigliere: Every ruler has a trusted military advisor who serves in this capacity. Zhuge Liang is Liu Bei's, Xun Yu was Cao Cao's until he began disagreeing with Cao Cao's authority, and Lu Su was Sun Quan's until his death.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Cao Pi is often a figure of fun in this series, being derided as a callow youth or mocked by his own father as inferior to his siblings - especially his precocious younger brother Cao Chong. However, with some help from Sima Yi, he proves himself to be a doughty survivor who eventually emerges as Cao Cao's heir, with the great warlord himself deciding that his eldest son has demonstrated sufficient mettle to take over the family enterprise. As Emperor of Wei, he is far from perfect and suffers defeats against both Shu-Han and Wu, but competently manages the rising threat of Sima Yi and wisely avoids being drawn into the conflict between the other two states when Liu Bei invades Wu to avenge his brothers (a move that earns Sima Yi's genuine approval, no less). As was the case with his father, it was overweening ambition that drove him towards his greatest failures, but he earned his inheritance and governed reasonably well when he succeeded to the throne.
- Darkest Hour:
- After Cao Cao conquers Jingzhou, Liu Bei is confined to Jiangxia with few forces and little land, and stuck between a southward-looking Cao Cao and Eastern Wu. Zhuge Liang, however, points out that "now that we are at our lowest point, we have nowhere to go but upward."
- The State of Wu is reeling from Liu Bei's ferocious attack. Despite intense resistance, the Wu forces have suffered grievous losses and have been pushed back to Xiaoting, from where there can be no further retreat. Lu Xun emphasizes this, then unveils his plan for a massive fire attack on the Shu-Han army...
- Sima Yi, his son, and the entire Wei army is irrevocably trapped in Shangfang Valley by Zhuge Liang's fire attack. As the Shu-Han archers pick off his men, Sima Yi raises his sword to his throat and exclaims to the heavens that he will soon be joining his late master Cao Pi. Then raindrops start plinking off the sword...
- David Versus Goliath: The leader of every faction has been 'Goliath' at least once, and lost accordingly.
- Yuan Shao ended up as the first Goliath when his much larger army was annihilated by Cao Cao's forces at the Battle of Guandu.
- Cao Cao got cast as Goliath himself at the Battle of Chibi, when his much larger fleet was decimated by the tiny Sun-Liu coalition and a lot of fire.
- Sun Quan was next, having his army of ten thousands soundly routed at the Battle of Hefei by Zhang Liao's tiny squad of a few hundred defenders.
- Finally, Liu Bei's vengeful crusade against Wu with hundreds of thousands of soldiers was ended by a 'mere bookworm', Lu Xun, at the Battle of Yiling.
- Decomposite Character: Happens to Sima Yi's wife, Zhang Chunhua with an exclusive character to this show, Jingshu. In history, Sima Yi starts his coup under the guise of mourning his wife's death, in the show it's Jingshu's. Sima Yi's wife does seem to be a thing, but she is not seen onscreen, and we know this because before Cao Pi introduces Jingshu to Sima Yi, he already has two sons.
- Defiant to the End: The Wei army, led by Sima Yi, is trapped by Zhuge Liang in Shangfang Valley. Despite the fire blocking their path of retreat and the countless enemy projectiles raining down on them, none of them surrender. Instead, all the soldiers stand together and defiantly sing a mournful song of farewell. Zhuge Liang commends them — and Sima Yi in particular — on their heroism. Unfortunately for the Shu-Han Prime Minister, a timely downpour shortly after gives the Wei army the chance to escape, which they seize with aplomb after some rejoicing.
- Demoted to Extra:
- Xiahou Dun, who is a prominent character in the novel but only has a single significant scene in the entire 95-episode series — when he duels Guan Yu as Guan is trying to leave Cao Cao's service. Aside from this he only has a few non-speaking background appearances, with his actions in the novel either being adapted out or given to other characters like Cao Ren instead.
- Sima Shi, who has a much more significant role in the novel that is given to Sima Zhao in this series.
- Cao Hong is present in many episodes and does have quite a few lines, but his role in this series pales in comparison to his role in the novel. In the novel he is an excellent fighter who duels several other prominent characters and can go toe-to-toe with Ma Chao. In this series, he is not seen in combat and mainly speaks during crowd and council-of-war scenes.
- Cao Fang succeeds to the throne of Wei after the death of his father Cao Rui, but only has a non-speaking role as a child ruler totally under the control of first Cao Shuang then Sima Yi. He is far from a main character in the novel, but his role is much larger. For example, in the novel the Incident at Gaoping Tombs — the coup launched by Sima Yi to take control of the state from Cao Shuang — occurs a full decade after Cao Rui's death. Cao Fang is by then in late adolescence and discusses plans to counter the coup with his uncle Cao Shuang and other advisors. In contrast, in the show the coup takes place no more than a year or two after Cao Rui's death, as shown by how Cao Fang is still a child when it takes place. His only action during the entire episode is to cling fearfully to Cao Shuang while Sima Yi and his men threaten the Cao clan and their retainers. In the novel, Cao Fang is also party to a plot to overthrow Sima Shi, who has succeeded his father Sima Yi as regent. Due in part to Cao Fang's vacillations about whether the plot should move forward, Sima Shi discovers it and has him deposed and replaced with yet another puppet emperor. This storyline is Adapted Out in this series, as it ends just before Sima Yi's death.
- Sima Yan is a prominent character in the later part of the novel, as he is Sima Zhao's son and successor and is the man who eventually reunifies China under his new state of Jin. This series ends decades before that event, so he only makes a brief appearance in the final episode as a toddler.
- Despair Event Horizon:
- Yuan Shao, after realising that his gigantic army has been basically annihilated with only a few hundred horsemen accompanying him. He's almost Driven to Suicide, but he's talked down. He's later mentioned as having passed away after a second attempt at an attack fails too.
- Liu Bei nearly crosses this twice in quick succession. First, after losing battle after battle against Cao Cao and being confined to a small town in Jingzhou, and upon finding that Cai Mao was approaching to kill him, he merely sighs and asks, "must I keep running?" Luckily, Liu Qi convinces him to escape, and he acquires Xu Shu's aid soon thereafter. However, he would have nearly crossed this again when Xu Shu is forced to leave due to Cao Cao threatening his mother, but for Xu Shu telling him at the last moment that a certain Master Sleeping Dragon lived nearby.
- Zhuge Liang, after six northern campaigns, finally succumbs to despair after a sudden rainstorm destroys the fire trap he had just barely forced Sima Yi into.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation:
- Guan Yu and Guan Ping. In the novel, Guan Yu is captured and brought before Sun Quan, who asks his advisors whether they believe it would be possible to turn the great warrior over to their side by treating him honourably and well. One of his advisors points out that Cao Cao already tried this, and it didn't work, so Sun Quan should be executed to remove a grave threat to Wu. Sun Quan thus has Guan Yu and Guan Ping both beheaded. In this series, Sun Quan sends Lu Xun to deliver explicit orders to Lv Meng that Guan Yu is not to be harmed. Lv Meng deliberately avoids Lu Xun as he knows the likely content of these orders, has Guan Yu surrounded, and watches with vengeful satisfaction as a regretful Guan Yu - shamed by defeat and unable to live with the fact that he let Liu Bei down - commits suicide. Guan Ping dies before his father does, killed in action earlier during this last stand.
- Lü Meng is also subject to this trope. In the novel, he dies after being possessed by Guan Yu at the celebratory banquet Sun Quan throws for him, while in the series he instead dies of a sudden, unexplained illness after a feast. It's heavily implied that Sun Quan had him killed as punishment for disobeying his orders to spare Guan Yu's life.
- Cao Cao, in that the circumstances around his death are different. In the novel, Sun Quan sends him the head of Guan Yu, and Cao Cao is initially delighted at the elimination of a potent foe. It takes Sima Yi to point out that this is no ordinary gift, but rather Sun Quan's ploy to direct Liu Bei's hatred towards Cao Cao instead of towards Eastern Wu for the killing of his sworn brother. Sima Yi is also the one who suggests the solution, which is to give Guan Yu an honourable and lavish burial. Cao Cao agrees to his suggestions, but is then shocked when the severed head moves after he opens to box to look upon Guan's visage. Despite the following grand funeral, Cao Cao continues to be haunted by Guan Yu (the text is ambiguous on whether this is supernatural phenomena or simply a product of Cao Cao's own paranoia), and his officials thus suggest that he construct a new residence to escape the haunting at his current one. When Cao Cao tries to have a huge ancient pear tree cut down to provide the lumber for his new home, all efforts fail, and this is attributed to the tree housing a powerful ancient spirit. Cao Cao flies into a rage and hits the tree with his sword; it bleeds and some of the blood spurts onto him, terrifying him into fleeing. The same night, he has a horrific nightmare of a black-clad assassin advancing upon him claiming to be the spirit of the tree, and he wakes in a cold sweat after the figure swings its sword at him. This leads into his final, fatal headache, which he refuses to allow Hua Tuo to treat due to his suspicions about the doctor. This entire series of events takes a couple of months, at least, to unfold. In this series, the events around Cao Cao's death are greatly simplified. He receives the head from Sun Quan, just as in the novel, but immediately recognizes it as a scheme by the Wu ruler. It is he who quickly orders a lavish funeral for Guan Yu, and at the end of the ceremony he is taken ill and carried to bed. Barely a day or two later (or even potentially later on the same day), he is already on his deathbed, and Hua Tuo is brought to him. Cao Cao similarly declines his suggested treatment and has him arrested, and his death scene occurs at most about a few days after that.
- Disease Bleach: On learning of the loss of Jingzhou, being forced to retreat from Fancheng, and the pain of his wound continuing to weaken him, Guan Yu's hair and beard turn white, seemingly overnight.
- Similarly, Zhuge Liang goes from having streaks of grey in his hair and beard to walking around bent over and with pure white hair between scenes.
- Dragon Ascendant: After Dong Zhuo's death, his subordinates Li Jue and Guo Si remain at large with their troops. Despite being warned by other court officials, Wang Yun dismisses them as a threat, thinking that Dong's faction will simply disintegrate without his leadership. Due to a mixture of fear that they will be hunted down by government troops, and a desire to avenge their lord, these two generals attack the capital. Wang Yun and his soldiers are defeated, and he commits suicide, allowing Li and Guo to take control of the city and the Emperor.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Zhou Yu to Sun Quan. The former hates Zhuge Liang with every fiber of his being, is willing to go to war with Liu Bei over the slightest provocation (and likely get both Sun and Liu factions wiped out by Cao Cao), and controls the majority of the Southland's soldiers, so Sun Quan only controls them through Zhou Yu, so Sun Quan ends up having to ensure Zhou Yu's obedience through extremely delicate maneuvering.
- But it turns out Zhou Yu was mostly doing it for the good of the Southland, at least in his own somewhat-biased way... nevertheless, upon the death of Zhou Yu's protege Lü Meng and Lu Xun's subsequent suggestion to not appoint another Grand Commander, Sun Quan admits to his civil advisor Zhang Zhao that he's relieved at finally being free of his Grand Commanders' control after almost twenty years of themnote .
- Lü Meng deserves a special mention, as despite orders not to pursue Guan Yu, he ended up cornering him and having Guan Yu commit suicide. It is hinted in his death scene that the "illness" he succumbed to was due to "the will of Heaven". Thankfully, Lu Xun takes the hint and advises Sun Quan not to appoint another Grand Commander, at least for the time being.note
- Sima Yi to three successive Wei rulers: Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui. Since all of them are aware that he is exactly this, he takes over thirty years to achieve his goal of seizing supreme power in the state.
- Enemy Mine:
- This is how the titular three kingdoms managed their relationships with each other, preserving the balance of power. Both historically and in the novel, this dynamic was only destroyed when Wei (by then under the de facto control of the Sima clan) launched an unexpectedly swift conquest of Shu-Han, leaving the emergent Jin state under Sima Yan - who deposed the final Wei Emperor to claim suzerainty in his own right - to confront a much weaker Wu. That is not shown in this series, which ends before the death of Sima Yi, grandfather of Sima Yan.
- Sun Quan wishes to keep the independence of Wu, while Liu Bei desires to reunify the realm under Han rule. Nonetheless, both of them team up to stop Cao Cao from achieving his own ambition of bringing all of China under his control. This is achieved at the decisive Battle of Red Cliffs.
- Sometime after Red Cliffs, Sun Quan 'lends' Liu Bei part of Jing Province at the latter's request, as Liu Bei is trying to build a power base of his own. Sun Quan also sees this as beneficial for Wu, as the territory would serve as a buffer between him and Cao Cao. However, tensions soon rise between the two factions, and when Sun Quan asks for the territory to be returned, Liu Bei refuses. After further pressure from Wu (including a plot to effectively imprison Liu Bei in Wu after his wedding to Sun Shangxiang and threats against Zhuge Liang's brother Zhuge Jin, a minister at the Wu court), Liu Bei concedes and agrees to return part of the territory. Guan Yu, however, refuses to obey the order to hand over the land. He only agrees after a dying Lu Su saves him from an Wu ambush. This earns him the undying enmity of the Wu court, especially Lv Meng. Guan Yu next decides to launch a campaign against Cao Cao and lays siege to Fancheng, but is stymied by a strong defence led by Cao Ren. Sun Quan and Cao Cao then decide to team up, taking advantage of Guan Yu's absence from Jing Province and Liu Bei's absence on campaign against Liu Zhang. They coordinate their attacks, with Lv Meng taking advantage of the thin defences of Jing Province to sneak his troops across the river and Xu Huang leading a relief force to battle Guan Yu at Fancheng (there is even a scene showing Cao Cao ordering Xu Huang to launch his offensive and stating that this is the right time as Lv Meng has crossed the river). By the time Guan Yu realises what has happened, it is much too late. He ends up being beaten by Xu Huang and having nowhere safe to withdraw to, eventually committing suicide after an unrelenting pursuit led by Lv Meng.
- Sun Quan asks Cao Pi for help when Liu Bei launches his massive invasion of Wu in the wake of his sworn brothers' deaths. Cao Pi agrees verbally but does nothing, and Sima Yi backs him up on this. In the aftermath of the devastating Shu-Han defeat at Xiaoting, Zhuge Jin is sent by Sun Quan to renew the Sun-Liu alliance. This enrages Liu Bei, who vomits blood in anger, but he realises that the threat posed by Cao Wei leaves him no choice but to agree.
- Before the three kingdoms came to be, Dong Zhuo seized control of the imperial court and reduced the Han emperor to a powerless puppet. A coalition of 18 warlords (19, with the later inclusion of Liu Bei and his sworn brothers) - from former and serving Han officials to freebooters, many of whom did not particularly like each other - was formed in order to oppose him. Despite their differences, these men recognized that Dong Zhuo was the greatest threat to the stability of the realm (although some did also have more selfish motives), and banded together to defeat him. Unfortunately, this unity did not last, and the alliance collapsed under the weight of mistrust and conflicting agendas despite achieving several victories against Dong Zhuo's forces.
- This is how the titular three kingdoms managed their relationships with each other, preserving the balance of power. Both historically and in the novel, this dynamic was only destroyed when Wei (by then under the de facto control of the Sima clan) launched an unexpectedly swift conquest of Shu-Han, leaving the emergent Jin state under Sima Yan - who deposed the final Wei Emperor to claim suzerainty in his own right - to confront a much weaker Wu. That is not shown in this series, which ends before the death of Sima Yi, grandfather of Sima Yan.
- Ensemble Cast: As the series covers a time period of over sixty years (when it starts, Dong Zhuo is already in control of the capital, dating this to about 189 or 190 CE; it ends with an elderly and senile Sima Yi close to death, which is around 250 to 251 CE), it has a huge cast of main characters. note
- The early episodes focus heavily on Dong Zhuo and Lv Bu, with the former in a leadership role and the latter as his deputy. Leading the resistance against the Dong faction are prominent characters like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, who are soon joined by Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
- After the failure of the coalition against Dong Zhuo, other major characters like Sun Jian and Sun Ce emerge, laying the foundations for the later State of Wu. Sun Quan also makes his first appearance as a child.
- Cao Cao then begins to gain in strength, with a good number of episodes being devoted to his victory at Guandu and his takeover of Jing Province. His faithful advisors Xun Yu and Cheng Yu also make many appearances during this time. The three sworn brothers of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are joined by Zhuge Liang, while Sun Ce and Zhou Yu work to establish their kingdom down south. Eventually, Sun Quan succeeds his elder brother.
- Most of the aforementioned characters are prominent in the build-up to Red Cliffs, and in the battle itself. This is followed by multiple episodes devoted to Cao Cao and Liu Bei's battles in western China, the establishment of the State of Shu-Han, and the collaboration between Wu and Wei against Guan Yu in Jing Province.
- Cao Cao's death then sees the focus shift to his heir Cao Pi, as well as his (thus far) faithful retainer Sima Yi. Liu Bei remains in control in Shu-Han and Sun Quan in Eastern Wu. A fair number of episodes are then devoted to the Shu-Han campaign against Wu, which ends in the Battle of Xiaoting and Liu Bei's death shortly thereafter.
- The final quarter or so of the series then sees many new characters emerge, with the rivalry between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang taking centre stage. Sima Yi also has to contend with opposition from within the Cao clan, and his battles with Cao Zhen and Cao Shuang also take up significant screentime. The series ends with Zhuge Liang's death in the penultimate episode and his succession by Jiang Wei, followed by Sima Yi's seizure of supreme power in Wei in the Incident at Gaoping Tombs in the final episode.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei appear for the second time in the series when they turn up at the camp of the warlords' coalition against Dong Zhuo. Their meeting with the warlords gives the audience the first clear look at their individual personalities and the dynamic between them.
- Liu Bei is the eldest sibling and a calming influence on the other two. Despite being insulted at the ongoing strategy meeting for his lowly status, he restrains the impulsive Zhang Fei, who appears ready to start a fight in response to all the mockery. His righteous nature shines through in his genuine desire to do all he can to save the Han Dynasty from the excesses of Dong Zhuo, which is the stated aim of the coalition. When push comes to shove - in this case, when Guan Yu departs to fight Hua Xiong despite the misgivings of many at the meeting - he is ready to back his sworn brothers to the hilt, offering his own life as collateral should Guan Yu fail.
- Guan Yu is less impulsive than Zhang Fei and also holds back his enraged younger brother. He, too, is completely faithful to his brothers and holds a deep respect for Liu Bei. The arrogance that would eventually cost him his life can be glimpsed when he declines Cao Cao's offer of wine before he leaves to duel Hua Xiong, saying that he will return to have that wine after he wins.
- Zhang Fei has a quick temper and is ready to defend his brothers with his fists. Yet his deep respect for them is shown in how he obeys them and controls his anger when they ask him to. His deep love and respect for his brothers will eventually cross with his impulsive nature and lead to his own demise.
- Sima Yi is introduced as a lowly retainer who falls asleep as Cao Cao is giving his men a heartfelt speech in the aftermath of the dire defeat at Red Cliffs. He is introduced under a false identity, with Cao Cao only revealing his true identity later when visiting him in prison. It is also revealed that Sima Yi purposely acted thus to attract Cao Cao's attention and get a chance to speak with him. This establishes Sima Yi as a cunning schemer skilled at hiding his true intentions, and that is the way he eventually takes power in Wei. It can even be said that his flagrant disrespect for Cao Cao in his first appearance is a microcosm of his lack of respect for the Cao clan as a whole, culminating in his deposition of the Cao royal family much later on.
- Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei appear for the second time in the series when they turn up at the camp of the warlords' coalition against Dong Zhuo. Their meeting with the warlords gives the audience the first clear look at their individual personalities and the dynamic between them.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Sima Yi seems to hold genuine affection for his maidservant, Jingshu, and when the two eventually marry, he appears to be nothing but sincere in his love for her. It's not enough to stop him murdering her and their unborn child — in such a way to appear she dies in childbirth — when he learns his enemies have had her spying on him. Ultimately the trope is played with as he's seen to continue mourning her even years after her death.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Cao Cao is completely ruthless to his enemies — real and imagined — and has numerous people tortured and/or killed on his path to power. However, he does not commit or condone violence For the Evulz; any heinous acts he commits or orders have clear motivations behind them. This is in contrast to characters like Dong Zhuo and his Xiliang troops, who wantonly kill and pillage. Dong Zhuo even forces the officials of the imperial court to drink human blood just because he feels like it! When Cao Cao explains to the captured rebel Geng Ji that he has done much good for the realm, his tone is one of admonishment but he also speaks with complete earnestness, justifying that he did what he had to in order to restore peace and order as the Han Empire declined.
- Even though he keeps Emperor Xian as a puppet ruler, Cao Cao never threatens the physical safety of the emperor. In fact, Emperor Xian admits to Liu Bei that Cao Cao makes the effort to ensure that he lives in the lap of luxury, constantly plying him with gifts of gold, silver, expensive silks, etc. This is of course partly Pragmatic Villainy to keep the emperor quiescent, but Cao Cao seems to go above and beyond in terms of providing for his material needs. Cao Cao also never deposes Emperor Xian in favour of a younger and more pliable puppet ruler, even though it would be easy to do so and even after he catches the emperor red-handed plotting against him.
- Cao Cao also generally treats his family well unless he has reason to suspect that they deserve otherwise. He adores his younger son Cao Chong in particular, and only puts Cao Pi through hell because he suspects Cao Pi of having Cao Chong murdered. On his deathbed, he states that his concubines should be allowed to leave his household and/or remarry if they choose — not a given in the patriarchal society of the time. This contrasts with Sima Yi's behaviour — he was willing to have his lover Jingshu and their unborn son killed just for a chance at ultimate power.
- Liu Biao is willing to betray and kill Sun Jian, partly because the much stronger Yuan Shao has ordered him to do so note and partly because the Sun family are neighbours and rivals to his faction. However, despite Cai Mao's urging, he draws the line at harming the 9-year-old Sun Quan, who turns up at his camp as an emissary to retrieve his father's body in exchange for the captured Jingzhou general Huang Zu. This is also partly because he was impressed by Sun Quan's intellect and eloquence that belied his age.
- Evil Chancellor: Dong Zhuo executes ministers at the slightest suspicion, rapes imperial concubines at will, and enforces his self-appointed rule as Chancellor with a Xiliang army apparently just as bad as he is.
- Most of Cao Cao's rivals consider him to be this, although aside from murdering the Imperial Consortnote and treating the Emperor like a pawn, his rule as Chancellor was actually fairly beneficial to the realm.
- Evil Laugh: Sima Yi is prone to an incredibly creepy, wheezing laughter.
- Fake Defector: Huang Gai used this ploy to get Cao Cao to let down his guard before the Battle of Chibi, as per the novel.
- Family Extermination: Dong Zhuo frequently orders the wholesale slaughter of the families of disloyal retainers (or those simply more loyal to the Han than to him), including women and children.
- The Farmer and the Viper: With Lü Bu as the viper and his string of masters culminating in Liu Bei as the farmers. Interestingly enough, Liu Bei gets accused of this by quite a few people as well in the years after.
- This includes Cao Cao, who at their confrontation before the first battle over Hanzhong, points out to Liu Bei that he has helped Liu Bei considerably over the years. For example, it was Cao Cao who gained Liu Bei and his two brothers entry into the camp of the expedition of 18 lords aimed at eliminating Dong Zhuo, and he also spoke up in favour of the three brothers when the other lords looked down on their humble origins. From Cao Cao's perspective, Liu Bei is repaying his generosity with hostility.
- Fatal Flaw: In the blink-and-you'll-miss-it sense, but Zhuge Liang was not much of a people person when he was younger. Where Xu Shu would patiently explain his actions to skeptics, and Pang Tong would go drinking with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to cement his position as "one of the bros", Zhuge Liang preferred to use his intelligence to wow critics into submission. Unfortunately, this made people more resentful and suspicious of him in the long run, with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei never fully trusting him and eventually infecting Liu Bei with this mentality, leading to disaster after Liu Bei refused to listen to Zhuge Liang and marched on Wu.
- Zhang Fei's belligerent nature is there from the very start, when he threatens people or claims to be willing to beat people he doesn't like up. Even when this causes disaster (for example, Liu Bei loses Xu to Lü Bu because Zhang Fei brutally beat a man who declined to drink with him, the man informing Lü that Xu is undermanned), Zhang refuses to change, despite repeatedly claiming he's learned his lesson. This comes to a head when two of his officers protest they need time to complete his orders to outfit the entire army with white cloth (symbolising mourning over Guan Yu's death), and his response is to have them whipped before threatening to kill them. As a result, they murder him in his sleep.
- Guan Yu's is his arrogance, which slowly but surely grows over the course of the show. It becomes especially notable during the Fancheng campaign wherein he dismisses warnings and negative reports and commits several crucial blunders that ultimately end in the loss of Jingzhou and his death, as well as the death of his son.
- Faux Affably Evil: Dong Zhuo is often polite, pleasant or even merry when meeting the officials of the imperial court. He also often maintains that joyful demeanour while doing horrible things to these same officials — for example, he has one of them executed for disloyalty and forces the others to drink his blood mixed with wine, himself partaking in the beverage while happily praising its taste.
- Foil: Sima Yi, to Zhuge Liang. Both are brilliant strategists who come to dominate the governments of their respective states. However, while Zhuge Liang is utterly loyal to the ruling Liu family of Shu-Han, Sima Yi harbours the ambition to depose the Cao family and seize supreme power in Cao Wei for himself. The contrast between them is further highlighted by showing just how much easier it is for Zhuge Liang to take power in Shu-Han as compared to Sima Yi in Cao Wei — he is loved and respected by virtually everyone in the state, and after Liu Bei's death serves a young emperor of mediocre ability. He is even told by Liu Bei that he can depose Liu Shan and rule in his own right should be find Liu Shan to be incompetent, but remains loyal to the end. Sima Yi, on the other hand, is treated with suspicion by the Cao family, with Cao Cao himself warning Cao Pi to always be on guard against him. Cao Rui, successor to Cao Pi, is also constantly warned by his uncles Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu about Sima Yi (and presumably by his father Cao Pi as well, though we don't see this) and takes these warnings to heart. In fact, Cao Rui only grants him supreme military command because no one else can stop Zhuge Liang, and Sima Yi eventually leverages on the relationships he builds with the army generals to take power in a coup.
- Forgotten State of Undress: Invoked by Cao Cao during the Guandu campaign against Yuan Shao when Xu You arrives at his camp. Xu You, an advisor of Yuan Shao's, has fallen out of favour and so fled to Cao, his childhood friend, for help. Cao is so pleased to hear of Xu's arrival he rushes out to meet him without even putting on his shoes, and Xu is immensely honoured when he notices. This was recorded as actually having happened historically.
- From Nobody to Nightmare:
- Cao Cao, who rose from a low-ranking court official often derided by his colleagues and superiors for being the descendant of a eunuch note , to become the effective ruler of the Han Dynasty.
- Sima Yi, who enters the story as a low-ranking retainer and through decades of patient scheming, eventually becomes the de facto ruler of Cao Wei. He lays the foundations for his clan to eventually unite China and bring the Three Kingdoms period to an end.
- A non-villainous example (though Lv Meng might disagree) is Guan Yu, who rises from a humble horse archer to become the most feared warrior of the realm.
- Frontline General: Many characters, naturally.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: Lü Bu. Everyone fears him as an undefeatable warrior in melee combat, yet he doesn't seem to have any ambitions or motivations aside from his love for Diaochan, and his would-be conquering is mainly thanks to Chen Gong's direction; Lü Bu's actor Peter Ho confirmed in an interview that this was the director's intent.
- Genius Bruiser: Guan Yu is all but invincible in personal combat and rightly well-known as the foremost warrior of the realm, but he also shows himself to be a good strategist and tactician when in command at Jingzhou. Most famously, he deals a devastating defeat to Cao Cao's forces in the Fancheng Campaign by cleverly diverting the waters of the swollen Han River to flood the encampments of Yu Jin and Pang De. Guan Yu's plan for guarding Jingzhou against Eastern Wu is also generally sound, relying on a preponderance of watchtowers for close surveillance of enemy movements. This plan only fails because he in his arrogance underestimates Wu and draws too many men from the Jingzhou garrison to prosecute the siege of Fancheng, allowing Lv Meng's troop movements to go undetected.
- Gilded Cage:
- After rescuing Emperor Xian from the ruins of Luoyang, Cao Cao brings him to his own capital of Xuchang, where he installs the emperor in a palace and ensures that he lives in the lap of luxury. By the emperor's own admission, he wants for nothing in terms of material needs, and Cao Cao always sends him rare treasures and fine silks on festive occasions. Of course, none of this compensates for his loss of freedom, privacy and power as a powerless puppet of the warlord. When the emperor summons Liu Bei to meet with him in secret to discuss plans to throw off Cao Cao's yoke and revive the Han Dynasty, he apologetically tells his imperial uncle that the only place sufficiently private for them to meet is the toilet in his quarters.
- Zhou Yu tries this on Liu Bei as part of a ploy to take over Jing Province. When Liu Bei arrives in Wu for his marriage to Sun Shangxiang, Zhou Yu sends down orders for him to be housed in a luxurious mansion and provided with excellent food, drink, gifts and entertainment. He explains to Lv Meng that the aim is for Liu Bei to give up on his ambitions in favour of staying in Wu to make merry. Bereft of his leadership, his faction will be thrown into disarray and Wu will then take the opportunity to seize Jing Province. Naturally, this doesn't work, as Liu Bei sees through it and crafts a plan with Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang to free himself. To her credit, Sun Shangxiang remains loyal to her husband and agrees to accompany him back home in defiance of Zhou Yu's plan - she even helps him to ward off pursuers sent by Zhou!
- Cao Rui keeps Sima Yi under comfortable house arrest for some time. He explains that though Sima Yi has proven himself a match for Zhuge Liang on campaign, and though Cao Rui personally trusts him, he cannot but remove the strategist from supreme command as other members of the Wei court have complained en masse about his doubtful loyalties to the state and expressed suspicion about his repeated refusal to face the Shu-Han Chancellor in open battle. The perception — which Cao Rui firmly states he does not hold, although there are obvious reasons to doubt this — is that Sima Yi is trying to keep himself in a high position of power by deliberately prolonging the war against Shu-Han, as he is the one man who can effectively defend Cao Wei against Zhuge Liang. Sima Yi is only released and restored to command when the other Wei generals — Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu — prove completely inadequate in defending the state.
H — Z
- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: When Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei were arguing who would attack Guiyang, Zhuge Liang suggested that they draw slips to choose. The impulsive Zhang Fei grabbed his slip first to find that it said "stay", so Zhuge Liang promptly declared Zhao Yun the winner... even though Zhao Yun's slip also said "stay." When Zhao Yun privately voiced his concern of favoritism despite being the beneficiary, Zhuge Liang pointed out that the trick only simply revealed Zhang Fei as too impulsive and brash for the task in the first place.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Liu Bei's morals prevent him from conquering Sichuan from its inept ruler, Liu Zhang. Pang Tong solves this problem by provoking Liu Zhang into setting an ambush and knowingly walking into it, so Liu Bei could use his death as an excuse to attack.
- Huang Zhong deliberately exposes himself to danger in order to lure the Wu troops under Han Dang and Zhou Tai into a devastating ambush by the Shu army. He is shot full of arrows and dies of his injuries in camp after the battle.
- Historical Badass Upgrade:
- While this adaptation does present a more nuanced portrayal of Zhuge Liang than the novel, he is still shown as being an administrative and military genius far more capable than anyone else in all three kingdoms. Historically, Zhuge Liang was a talented administrator, but not a brilliant military strategist or battlefield tactician.
- Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, respectively the sons of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, are shown to be valiant warriors during the Shu-Han invasion of Wu. In reality, neither served in battle — Zhang Bao even pre-deceased his father.
- Historical Downgrade:
- Cheng Yu is depicted as an intelligent military strategist rather than as a great warrior and field commander. Even during the most desperate of times (eg during the retreat from Red Cliffs), he never personally engages in combat. Historically, he is recorded as being a tall man with a magnificent beard, and got his start by rallying the locals of his area to defend against the Yellow Turban rebels. He led troops in battle several times before and after entering Cao Cao's service, and distinguished himself with his courage on the field of battle.
- Historically, Cao Zhen was not just a capable commander but also a great warrior. He got his start serving as an officer in Cao Cao's elite cavalry unit, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and distinguished himself with his valour in combat. He then served Cao Cao capably during the Hanzhong campaign, defeating several Shu-Han generals in battle. During the reign of Cao Rui, it was he — rather than Sima Yi as depicted in both this adaptation and in the novel — who defeated Zhuge Liang's first two Northern Expeditions. He was hence held in very high regard by three generations of Cao rulers — Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui. In the novel, he is reduced to being a well-meaning and brave commander-in-chief who is simply no match for Zhuge Liang. In this adaptation he is further reduced to being a cowardly and vainglorious General Failure who is better at court politics than military command. On more than one occasion, his incompetence imperils the very survival of the state, which tests Cao Rui's patience to the very limit. In fact, Cao Zhen is so awful at his job that he alienates most of the officers serving under him; this is contrasted with Sima Yi's capable leadership, thus allowing the latter to gain support amongst the Wei military and lay the foundations for his eventual coup. Yes, in this adaptation he is so bad that he contributes significantly to the fall of his own clan's power in the state they founded!
- Historically, Sima Shi was Sima Yi's heir and confidant. He played a much more significant role in helping his father to seize supreme power in Wei than his younger brother Sima Zhao; for example, he was much more heavily involved in planning the coup at Gaoping Tombs that saw Sima Yi supplant his rival Cao Shuang as effective ruler of the state note . He would also go on to succeed his father as de facto ruler of Wei, governing until his death and being succeeded by Sima Zhao thereafter. In this series, his role is inverted from what it was historically - he plays second fiddle to his younger brother, to the extent that he has no idea that his father was feigning illness in preparation to launch the coup until the day they implement the plan.
- Historical Relationship Overhaul:
- During Guan Yu's failed Fancheng Campaign, he dispatches messengers to get support from Meng Da and Liu Feng, only for the messengers to return and state that they were actively chased out. Guan's advisors express disgust at this, noting that this was especially vile as Meng and Liu are members of Liu Bei's family and so ought to view Guan as family. Historically, while Liu Feng was indeed Liu Bei's adopted son note , Meng Da had no such relationship with the family at all. note
- Lu Meng is introduced as having an obsession with fulfilling the deceased Zhou Yu's desire to unify the Southlands under Sun Quan's rule, even being willing to ignore Sun's actual commands and desires. After he successfully kills Guan Yu (and deliberately avoided Sun's messengers who were trying to pass on orders that under no circumstances was Guan meant to be harmed), his next appearance is as a corpse with the implication Sun had him killed for his disobedience (Sun claims it was "illness") and Sun even expresses happiness at Lu's death. Historically, Lu was much closer to Sun Ce, Quan's older brother and predecessor, who gave him his big break. In addition, Lu was such a loyal and dependable subordinate that when Lu fell ill with what would eventually be his final illness, Sun did everything he could to try to cure him (to the point that when Lu seemed to be recovering, Sun would be so pleased he'd hold a feast to celebrate).
- Sima Yi is portrayed as an advisor to Cao Cao, providing ideas and advice. Historically, Sima was one of Cao's protégés and adjutants (partially because Cao himself had been mentored by Sima's father Sima Fang), rather than an advisor.
- The relationship between Cao Pi and Emperor Xian is depicted as largely antagonistic. Acting on Sima Yi's advice, Cao Pi refuses to properly receive the emperor when he arrives to pay his respects at Cao Cao's funeral; in return, Emperor Xian is clearly insincere when conveying his condolences to Cao Pi. When Hua Xin speaks up asking Emperor Xian to kneel before Cao Cao's funeral tablet — a breach of etiquette since Cao Cao is technically the emperor's subject — Cao Pi says nothing. Cao Pi then instigates the officials of the court to compel Emperor Xian to abdicate, and further humiliates him by declining three times. note Cao Pi proceeds to send the former emperor into exile with only a few servants and his loyal wife Cao Jie, and he chooses to commit suicide instead, unable to any longer bear the humiliation heaped on him by everyone throughout his life. Historically, although Cao Pi did force Emperor Xian to abdicate, there are clear signs that their relationship was not this antagonistic. The emperor's exile was comfortable: he was granted the noble title of Duke of Shanyang along with a huge fief of 10,000 households. He was granted further privileges, being ranked above all other vassal lords, not needing to refer to himself as a subject when speaking with the emperor, and not needing to kneel when receiving imperial edicts. When he died in 234 CE (of natural causes, certainly not suicide like in this series), he was buried with honours befitting an emperor. The Wei government even made sure to revive Han Dynasty rites for his funeral and the then-Wei emperor, Cao Rui, attended the ceremony.
- Sima Yi's younger son Sima Zhao is portrayed as being more prominent and involved in affairs of state and in the business of the Sima clan than his elder brother Sima Shi, who is Demoted to Extra. Historically, Sima Shi succeeded his father as head of the clan and de facto ruler of Cao Wei, and Sima Zhao succeeded him in turn. It's possible that this series accords more importance to Sima Zhao because it was Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan - who appears at the very end of the last episode as a toddler - who disestablished Wei to form the State of Jin, then conquered Wu to reunify China under the Jin Dynasty.
- Honor Before Reason: Most of Liu Bei's problems are caused by his being unable to overcome personal honor for a greater goal, whether by refusing to wrong his "relatives" by conquering their lands, refusing to abandon peasants while fleeing from a larger force, or refusing to accept Wu's peace terms without fully avenging his brothers.
- In the aftermath of the allied victory at Red Cliff, Guan Yu allows Cao Cao to go free at the Huarong Trail despite swearing an oath before the battle to capture him on pain of death. He was guilted into it by Cao Cao, who appealed to his strong sense of honour by reminding him of how well he was treated when serving the great warlord. Guan Yu is fully prepared to be executed for his actions, and only escapes this fate because Zhang Fei and — much more importantly — Liu Bei insist that they will die together with him as per their Peach Garden Oath.
- Hope Spot: After five Northern Expeditions, Zhuge Liang has finally trapped Sima Yi in an inescapable firestorm and eliminated his last barrier to reconquering the Central Plains... and then it rains. Notably, this is portrayed from both sides, with the scene from the Sima side essentially treating the rain like a case of Big Damn Heroes.
- As part of Dong Cheng's plot to assassinate Cao Cao and revive the power of the Liu imperial house, the imperial physician Ji Ping attempts to poison Cao Cao through the medicine for his recurrent headaches. Cao Cao seems ready to drink the proffered medicine... but suddenly hesitates and begins to tell a story about his assassination attempt of Dong Zhuo. He then asks Ji Ping to taste the medicine first, and the physician, knowing the game is up, tries to force it on the great warlord. Naturally he fails, as Cao Pi (who was near his father at the time) overpowers him.
- Humiliation Conga: Cao Cao during and after the Battle of Red Cliffs. He arrives with a huge army and navy, having easily taken over Jing Province and incorporated its troops and resources into his war effort. All that stands in between him and his dream of reunifying China is the Sun-Liu alliance, which possesses but a fraction of his power. As a result, Cao Cao is over-confident and suffers a series of reverses before his final defeat through a fire attack. He is tricked into executing his best admiral, Cai Mao, fooled into presenting arrows to the enemy by a simple scheme cooked up by Zhuge Liang, and finally duped into believing that Huang Gai's surrender is genuine — the last of this is what allows for the devastating fire attack to take place upon his fleet. In the aftermath of the battle, Cao Cao is met and repeatedly defeated by enemy generals as Zhuge Liang has divined his route of escape with unerring accuracy. His journey seems at end when he runs into Guan Yu at the Huarong Trail, but he uses his past honourable treatment of Guan to convince the idealistic general to let him go. Eventually, he makes it back to Xuchang with only a few remnants of his great army, and reflects that he would not have been fooled by all of the above relatively simple tricks had he not been overconfident.
- Hyper-Competent Sidekick:
- Xu Shu, Pang Tong and finally Zhuge Liang are these to Liu Bei. Liu Bei is hardly incompetent, but he does lack ability in military strategy and tactics, which is why he suffers repeated defeats against Cao Cao until Xu Shu chooses to enter his service. Xu Shu is blackmailed into leaving Liu Bei to serve Cao Cao, but before that he recommends Zhuge Liang. Pang Tong, too, serves with distinction literally right up to his death, with his final ploy being a Heroic Sacrifice to give Liu Bei a legitimate reason to take over Liu Zhang's territory.
- Zhuge Liang continues to act as this to Liu Bei's benign but ineffectual son and successor Liu Shan. Liu Bei himself tells the great strategist that he can depose Liu Shan and take over as Emperor of Shu-Han if Liu Shan proves incapable of ruling, but the thought of betraying the Liu family never crosses Zhuge's mind.
- Huang Zhong — one of only two characters shown to be a match for a healthy Guan Yu in personal combat — and Jiang Wei — who would succeed Zhuge Liang as Chancellor of Shu-Han and continue his campaign against Wei — were both subordinate commanders in Wei before defecting to Shu-Han.
- Eastern Wu has the Grand Commanders Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lv Meng and Lu Xun acting as this to Sun Quan. Sun Quan himself is, as with Liu Bei, hardly incapable, but his strengths lie in delegating tasks to subordinates with the right skillsets and giving them freedom of action to complete these tasks. This is most evident in his relationship with Lu Xun, whom he shields from heavy criticism by the other members of the Wu court during the defensive campaign against the Shu-Han invasion. Lu Xun repays his lord's faith by masterminding a stunning victory against the more numerous and battle-hardened Shu forces.
- Sima Yi acts as this to first Cao Pi, then Cao Rui. Cao Pi is intelligent and brave, but lacks guile and is heavily dependent on Sima Yi's advice both during his struggle to succeed Cao Cao, and during his reign as Emperor of Wei. Cao Rui is rightly suspicious of Sima Yi's loyalty to the state, but finds that the latter is the only commander capable of matching Zhuge Liang on the battlefield — the alternatives are Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and Cao Shuang, all of whom are handily beaten by the Shu-Han Chancellor. Unlike his nemesis in Shu-Han, Sima Yi has no qualms about leveraging upon his power and influence amongst the officers of the Wei army to take supreme power from the ruling Cao clan.
- Idealist vs. Pragmatist:
- As the series progresses, the formerly close relationship between Cao Cao and his advisor Xun Yu falls apart. This is due to Cao Cao adopting a more pragmatic stance, believing that consolidating power in his hands allows him to end years of warfare in favour of peace and plenty; Cao Cao also has no particular attachment to the Han Dynasty and is focused on doing what is necessary to reunify all under Heaven. This includes keeping Emperor Xian as a puppet and potentially replacing the Han with a new dynasty if the opportunity arises or if there is a need for this. Xun Yu is much more idealistic: he is a Han loyalist who wishes to see Cao Cao revive the dynasty and serve its emperors as a loyal official. Paradoxically, he is the one who suggests that Cao Cao "rescue" Emperor Xian and use him as a puppet to gain legitimacy and compel obedience from the other warlords, but for him this is merely a way to restore the Han to its former glory. He may also hold the belief that Cao Cao concentrating so much power in himself makes him no better than the reviled Dong Zhuo. Xun Yu hence openly opposes Cao Cao's elevation to King of Wei, seeing it as a step towards usurpation. After a final confrontation between the two men, Cao Cao signals to Xun Yu that he has outlived his usefulness and should commit suicide, and Xun Yu takes the hint. At his funeral, Cao Cao mourns him as a brother but says that Xun Yu should have continued to trust him and tried to see things his way.
- A less severe instance of this occurs between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei is a righteous man bent on doing what is morally correct, but Zhuge Liang sees that this is not always desirable for his ambition to revive the Han. When Liu Bei shows willingness to return parts of Jing Province to Wu, Zhuge Liang speaks out against it, saying they need to keep the territory as it is an ideal springboard from which to conquer the Central Plains. Zhuge Liang also urges Liu Bei to take Yi Province from its inept ruler Liu Zhang, but Liu Bei is hesitant to do so since Liu Zhang is a distant relative and hence his kin. Most tragically, Liu Bei decides to attack Wu to avenge his sworn brothers, disregarding Zhuge Liang's advice that this would be unwise given the strength of the Wu state and the threat posed by Wei. The two men never completely fall out with each other, as Liu Bei does show a capacity to at least compromise on his principles except for in the last instance, which ends with his defeat at Xiaoting and death from illness shortly after.
- I Did What I Had to Do: This is Cao Cao's usual justification when called out by other characters for any of his morally questionable actions. In fact, it bears great similarity to his stated approach to life: 'I would rather betray the world, than have the world betray me.'
- Idiot Ball:
- Ma Su, who till his actions at Jieting had appeared to be a highly intelligent and capable understudy and confidant to Zhuge Liang. He gives good advice to Zhuge Liang, acts capably as the Chancellor's sounding board for tough decisions and pulls off a challenging diplomatic mission to Wu with aplomb. Then he asks for and receives an independent military command for the first time, and completely bungles it. Zhuge Liang shows hesitation in having him executed, but the fault for the loss of Jieting and the subsequent failure of the first Northern Expedition is unambiguously Ma Su's, so he ultimately has no choice but to tearfully order Ma Su to be beheaded. Ma Su, to his credit, fully accepts blame and meets his end with dignity.
- The way that the series depicts Cao Cao's assassination attempt on Dong Zhuo basically has him holding this. Cao Cao chooses to use the incredibly sharp Seven-Star dagger that should quickly accomplish the task, but for no apparent reason chooses to draw the dagger and advance on the sleeping tyrant from across the room. As Cao Cao moves, the shiny dagger reflects light off the mirror at the foot of Dong Zhuo's bed and directly into his eyes, thus waking him and causing the attempt to fail. Cao Cao was even standing right next to a sleeping Dong Zhuo, fanning him, not even a minute before this — he had only moved away from the bedside in the first place to check that the tyrant's guards were not paying attention!
- Yang Xiu, who serves as one of Cao Cao's key aides, is intelligent enough to correctly divine Cao Cao's intentions from his lord's seemingly inscrutable actions. However, he is somehow not intelligent enough to realise that it is not a good idea to reveal Cao Cao's inner thoughts to others, particularly since as a close aide he should be aware of his boss' suspicious nature. This comes to a head during the Hanzhong campaign: Cao Cao, then having a bowl of chicken soup for supper, thoughtlessly gives his camp guard commander the password 'chicken tendon' for the night. Hearing of this, Yang Xiu guesses that Cao Cao is about to order a retreat from Hanzhong, reasoning that chicken tendon is not the tastiest part of the chicken, yet is still wasteful to discard rather than consume; hence, Cao Cao means that that his army is bogged down in Hanzhong with advancing and retreating both being disadvantageous. He concludes that therefore Cao Cao will order a retreat to cut his losses. Yang Xiu then gets his staff to start packing in advance; when questioned by Cao Cao's other subordinates, he reasons this out with them. Cao Cao hears of this and immediately orders him to be beheaded, stating that Yang Xiu is spreading false rumours and harming the morale of his army.
- Inadequate Inheritor:
- Liu Bei views his son, Liu Shan, as this, describing the kid as 'mediocre' and clearly not having high hopes for him as a future ruler. When Liu Shan inherits the throne after Liu Bei's death, he indeed starts out weak-willed, unsure and even painfully naïve, and it's up to Zhuge Liang to do the bulk of the heavy lifting of ruling Shu.
- However, this trope is eventually downplayed as Liu Shan also has moments of being a Reasonable Authority Figure note and even shows signs of being The Good King note . In his last appearances, he conducts himself with more maturity and authority than he had previously, demonstrating his own Character Development. note
- Cao Pi is Cao Cao's eldest surviving son and thus his prospective heir, but the great warlord seems to view him as this. Instead, Cao Cao favours his youngest son Cao Chong and shows some inclination towards making him heir, even though Cao Chong is still a child while his brothers are full-grown adults. After Cao Chong's death from "illness" note , Cao Cao smells a rat and puts Cao Pi through a rigorous series of loyalty tests before finally choosing him as successor. The series' portrayal of Cao Pi is also largely harsh and unsympathetic, as he is shown variously to be: deeply inferior to his brother Cao Zhi in poetry; lacking in father's guile and wit with his over-reliance on Sima Yi's strategizing; power-hungry in forcing Emperor Xian to yield the throne; and greedy for great achievements despite his mediocre ability. The voiceover announcing his death states bluntly that he "died with no achievements" over a backdrop showing the total defeat of his invasion of Wu.
- Liu Bei views his son, Liu Shan, as this, describing the kid as 'mediocre' and clearly not having high hopes for him as a future ruler. When Liu Shan inherits the throne after Liu Bei's death, he indeed starts out weak-willed, unsure and even painfully naïve, and it's up to Zhuge Liang to do the bulk of the heavy lifting of ruling Shu.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Liu Zhang is the least threatening of all the major enemies faced by Liu Bei. He is kind-hearted but prefers to spend his time appreciating art and watching dance performances rather than on governance. His advisors repeatedly warn him about the danger of granting shelter to Liu Bei and his men, but he is indecisive at best about the matter. Eventually, Liu Bei's strategist Pang Tong forces the issue by baiting Liu Zhang's troops into laying an ambush and deliberately getting himself killed. Liu Zhang loses his territory in the ensuing fighting, and exits the show more as a pitiful figure well out of his depth than as an antagonist of any real threat to Liu Bei or anybody else.
- Info Drop: It would take far too long to show how Lu Su came to be so trusted by Sun Quan that he's considered the third most important person in Wu; let's just have Zhuge Liang tell Liu Bei all about it. We can assume he got the info by gossiping with Zhuge Jin.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Several examples happen throughout the series:
- When Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei turn up at the camp of the warlords' coalition against Don Zhuo, most of the warlords are skeptical that they will be able to contribute anything substantial to the cause. The three brothers are treated rudely, but from the perspective of the warlords, they have brought no troops, no money, and are mere commoners of little repute. Even Liu Bei's claim that he is a descendant of the Liu imperial house - which would lend significant legitimacy to the warlords' cause - is impossible to verify at that time. Yuan Shu is particularly dismissive of them and while his manners are lacking, he does have a point in questioning what exactly they can bring to the table. It is only after Cao Cao vouches for them and Guan Yu proves himself in combat by slaying Hua Xiong that they are allowed to formally join the coalition.
- When Geng Ji is brought to him in chains after his failed rebellion, Cao Cao questions him on why he launched the uprising. Geng Ji derides Cao Cao as a traitor against the Han and states that the aim of the rebellion was to kill him and restore the power of the Liu imperial house. While Cao Cao did indeed turn Emperor Xian into a puppet and ruthlessly crush various plots against his power — including one attempt by the emperor himself — he points out that the Han imperial court had long become corrupt and incapable. Emperors sold official posts, officials enriched themselves at the expense of the people, and warlords arose all across the land. The result was war, famine, and complete misery for commoners. Cao Cao states that it was he who put an end to these excesses and defeated multiple warlords, bringing a measure of peace and prosperity to the ailing empire. When Geng Ji insists that he is obeying the sages' teachings on loyalty, Cao Cao mockingly replies that if the sages' teachings were so great, they would themselves have unified all under Heaven a long time ago. Cao Cao concludes by telling Geng Ji that blind loyalty is no virtue, and that if Geng Ji wants to live up to an earlier threat he made to kill the Chancellor in the underworld, he should make the effort now to remember Cao Cao's face. Given that the whole story is set in the twilight years of the Han Dynasty (to the point where what Cao Cao said about the imperial court becoming corrupt and incapable is Truth in Television), and that Cao Cao has done a lot of work to restore stability as well as restoring civic functions by stabilizing food supply and holding officials to a standard that they have to fulfill, Cao Cao has a point.
- Cao Cao points out to Liu Bei when they first meet in battle at Hanzhong, that he has helped Liu Bei a fair bit over the years, and that Liu Bei is repaying his generosity with hostility. When Liu Bei and his brothers were mere commoners trying to contribute to the revival of the Han Dynasty by joining the expedition of the 18 warlords against Dong Zhuo, they were stopped by a haughty guard at the camp entrance; it was Cao Cao who gained them entry. Cao Cao also proceeded to lend them support against the other warlords during the subsequent meeting to decide on strategy. Later, after Liu Bei was betrayed by Lv Bu, it was also Cao Cao who gave him shelter and brought him to meet Emperor Xian. note Naturally, Cao Cao's intentions were never completely pure — for the latter case in particular his intention was to keep Liu Bei in a gilded cage so Liu Bei would never be able to strike out on his own, or would even come to serve him — but he does have a point when he derides Liu Bei as ungrateful.
- Cao Zhen is a vainglorious General Failure who loses repeatedly against Zhuge Liang, imperiling the survival of the state of Cao Wei. He is also cowardly and scheming, consistently trying to maintain his high status in court by plotting against others and doing as little real work as possible. His son Cao Shuang is little better, although he does show more valour in battle. This father-son duo continually warn Emperor Ming (Cao Rui) to guard against Sima Yi, saying that he has aspirations to supplant the Cao clan and gain supreme power in the state. They even advocate his execution on more than one occasion. While this is certainly partly motivated by jealousy and by their selfish desire to keep their prominent roles in government, they are also right that Sima Yi harbours such ambition and thus poses a great danger to the power of the Cao clan. Sima Yi ultimately acts upon it after observing that Cao Shuang has been lulled into complacency by his feigned illness, launching a coup and taking complete control of the imperial court.
- The conceited and self-serving Wei minister Wang Lang believes himself to be Zhuge Liang's equal in intellect and speech, and promises Cao Zhen that he will defeat the Shu-Han Prime Minister in a war of words before the forces of the two states meet in battle. It doesn't end well for him. That said, he has a point when he argues that the Han Dynasty had run its course and that it was Cao Cao and his descendants who restored a semblance of order and prosperity to the realm. It is notable that Zhuge Liang does not directly address this point about the chaotic final decades of the Han, but instead chooses to repeatedly attack Wang Lang as a traitorous dog.
- Wei Yan disagrees with Zhuge Liang's cautious and conservative approach to warfare, showing a preference for high-risk plans that promise huge rewards should they come to fruition. Zhuge Liang, naturally, is the supreme commander and never allows Wei Yan to implement any of these daring plans, and so the latter gradually grows resentful of his boss. Such resentment, along with his overweening ambition, motivates him to rebel after Zhuge Liang's death as he seeks to make a name for himself by seizing control of the Shu-Han expeditionary force to conquer Cao Wei. note While Zhuge Liang's caution is understandable as failure would be ruinous for the state, Wei Yan is right that such an approach tends to make his overall strategy relatively predictable and the speed of advance relatively slow, meaning that Wei — which is also the larger state with greater resources at its disposal — usually has the time to devise effective countermeasures even if they suffer defeats in multiple battles. It also means that Zhuge Liang's expeditions tend to run into problems of supply, particularly given the difficult terrain they have to traverse to attack Wei. Sima Yi unwittingly agrees with Wei Yan, also pointing this out as one clear weakness in the Shu-Han chancellor's efforts to conquer the Central Plains.
- Join or Die: The Sun-Liu alliance began and continued out of a mutual fear of invasion by Cao Cao.
- Kangaroo Court: In the imperial hierarchal sense, not the judicial sense; while Emperor Xian nominally has final say over all issues raised at court, Cao Cao's power as the Chancellor lets him "strongly discourage" any decisions not advantageous to himself.
- Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand: Liu Bei to Lü Meng, over Lü Meng's participation in an assssination plot against Liu Bei due to outrage at Liu Bei's land grab. Subverted, since Lü Meng actually does take a swing at him, but thank goodness for Zhao Yun's kung fu skills!
- Kingmaker Scenario: To protect its own survival, Wu sides with whichever of the other two kingdoms is weaker at the moment.
- Large Ham:
- Dong Zhuo, in keeping with his Faux Affably Evil persona.
- Cao Cao, who consistently expresses himself in quite a grandiose manner.
- Sima Yi generally has an understated manner - in fact, he makes a deliberate effort to present himself as such in order to ward off suspicion from his enemies at court - but he does have quite a few moments of great expressiveness.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Cao Cao keeps Emperor Xian as a powerless puppet, contributing to the decline of the Liu imperial house and the eventual end of the Han Dynasty. Decades later, Sima Yi turns his great-grandson Cao Fang into a powerless puppet, contributing to the decline of the Cao imperial house and the eventual end of the kingdom of Cao Wei. note
- Literally Apoplectic: Done for dramatic effect on a number of occasions, usually before a Time Skip that mentions a character has died.
- In the aftermath of the disastrous battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao is left with a small group of soldiers out of his hundreds of thousands of troops. He despairs at the thought that his powerful army was reduced to almost nothing and almost takes his own life before his sons and remaining officers restrain him. Even then, he is so filled with regret and anguish he spits up blood, weakly ordering his men to take him back home. The next scene has the narration state that Yuan Shao managed to return to his domain and rallied his forces, but a second (offscreen) defeat at Cao Cao's hands caused him to fall ill and die.
- After his blunder at Yiling results in his mighty army to be burned to ashes by Lu Xun's fire attack, a screaming, frothing Liu Bei begins coughing up blood as he's taken from the field. While he lasts for a few more episodes to make arrangements for the succession, it's clear to almost everyone that the shock of his failure, boosted by the fact it was his own arrogance that caused it note , has fatally wounded him.
- Sima Yi has proven himself to be Zhuge Liang's nemesis, successfully foiling his Northern Campaigns. Zhuge has gone through great lengths to lure Sima into an inescapable fire trap, realising that only with Sima gone can he try to realise the late Liu Bei's desire to restore the Han Empire. He has even visibly aged, with his hair going white and needing a walking staff to move around. Sima is completely trapped with he and his men singing a final song, and Sima is about to cut his own throat when it begins to rain. Zhuge is filled with horror at the sight, as he understands it is definitive proof that the Han have truly lost the mandate of Heaven and he will never see his goal realised. He collapses in grief and dies soon after.
- Long Runner: At 95 45-minute episodes, and originally speculated to be 120 episodes given how many scenes and story events were still left out, this series is the longest show adaptation of RoTK to date.
- Make It Look Like an Accident:
- After the Wu victory at Jingzhou, Lv Meng deliberately ignores Sun Quan's orders not to pursue and kill Guan Yu. He then brings back Guan Yu's head and joyfully shows it to his lord, who acts pleased in public and puts on a banquet for the victorious hero. The very next day, Sun Quan summons Lv Meng's second-in-command Lu Xun and shows him Lv Meng's body, saying that Lv Meng unfortunately came down with a case of sudden death by illness during the banquet. Lu Xun takes the hint and quickly asks to retire from military service, which Sun Quan immediately approves. Whether Sun Quan really had Lv Meng murdered is never explicitly confirmed on screen, but the conversation he has with Lu Xun shows it to be all but certain.
- Cao Cao's favourite son and prospective heir Cao Chong dies from a sudden illness. Diseased rats are blamed for biting him and causing his death, but his father — suspicious by nature — believes this to be no simple accident. He suspects Cao Pi, but Cao Pi himself falls ill around the same time and also comes close to death before recovering. Cao Pi also disregards the lingering effects of his illness to run straight to his brother's deathbed to piteously mourn him. Cao Cao doesn't buy it, however, and puts Cao Pi through an intense investigative process before seemingly finally believing his denials that he did not kill his younger brother. As with Lv Meng's death, it is never confirmed on screen whether Cao Pi murdered Cao Chong, but it is also heavily implied through Cao Pi's actions and mannerisms.
- Mama Bear: Lady Wu is not letting her 17-year-old daughter be married to a man three times her age without a damn good explanation.
- Manchild: Zhang Fei at times comes across as this, with his boisterousness, wild emotions and fierce temper sometimes more suited to a big kid than a fully-grown man. It ends up being his Fatal Flaw as, after Guan Yu's death, he's so deep in grief that he begins to act ever-more erratically and sincerely doesn't seem to understand that he can't beat his officers half to death, then expect them to laugh it off with him over drinks. It winds up costing him his life.
- Meaningful Echo: Compare Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me" to Liu Bei's "Let the people flee me when the battle starts, but I'll never forsake the people."
- Never My Fault: Among his other gifts, Cao Cao demonstrates a staggering talent for refusing to take the blame for his acts of villainy, starting with his murder of Lü Boshe, which he spins as not being murder at all, but a tragic death resulting from the chaos engulfing the realm. He dips into it again when standing before Xun Yu and Guan Yu's graves, but this time it comes across as more of a psychological coping mechanism.
- Nominal Subordinate:
- The series begins with Dong Zhuo - who nominally reports to the child Emperor Shao - in control of the Han imperial government. Various provincial governors and officials are also nominally under the authority of the imperial court, but are in reality independent warlords. A coalition of 18 of these warlords comes together to fight Dong Zhuo, and they are careful to state that they are not rebelling against the Han but rather seeking to rescue the Emperor from his Evil Chancellor. When these men then proceed to fight each other in the years after the collapse of this coalition, they are all similarly careful to acknowledge the authority of the imperial court and present themselves as making war on behalf of the court. Cao Cao, in particular, effectively takes Emperor Xian hostage (see below) and conquers most of China in his name, backed up by imperial edicts "issued" by the emperor. This only stops after the Han Dynasty is formally disestablished with the abdication of Emperor Shao's successor Emperor Xian.
- For decades, Cao Cao acts as this to Emperor Xian, who had succeeded his brother Emperor Shao at a young age. It is Cao Pi who puts an end to the charade by forcing Emperor Xian to abdicate, formally bringing an end to the centuries-old Han Dynasty.
- The Sima family acts as this to all the Cao Wei Emperors after Cao Rui, with Sima Yi kicking this off by removing his rivals in the coup known as the Incident at Gaoping Tombs.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Dong Zhuo, the Big Bad for the first part of the series, clearly has military training and often wears armour. However, he never engages in personal combat onscreen, usually being surrounded by guards and relying on Lv Bu's fighting prowess for added security and to defeat his enemies in battle.
- Non-Action Guy: just as in the novel, officials generally have roles that are either civil or military in nature. On campaign, supreme commanders, advisors and strategists don't personally engage in combat because their role is to devise strategies and coordinate the movements of their various forces, while generals lead troops in battle and also fight in individual duels. There are many examples of these as all the warlord factions are shown to have this distinction, so only examples from the Han Dynasty and actual three kingdoms will be included.
- Unlike some of his predecessors, Emperor Xian most certainly counts as this. Which is quite understandable when one considers how he was under the thumb of powerful warlords almost his entire life.
- For Shu, Xu Shu, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong are the three main strategists who are never shown engaging in physical combat. Liu Bei also gives up this role after becoming lord, and then emperor, although his brothers continue to lead from the front.
- For Wei, Cao Cao's only action that resembles physical combat in the entire series is his botched assassination of Dong Zhuo. Later supreme commanders like Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and Sima Yi are also never shown fighting on the frontlines. Cao Cao's advisors Xun Yu, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu also never engage in combat.
- For Wu, the supreme commanders Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lu Xun are never shown engaging in combat. Lu Su is never even shown wearing armour and a military uniform despite holding that position. Lv Meng does engage in some combat, but not much.
- Not Worth Killing: Zhuge Liang concludes his famously scathing speech against Wang Lang by stating that Wang is such a snivelling and pathetic creature that killing him would only dirty the weapons of the Shu-Han army. This proves to be the literal final insult to Wang, as he collapses and is declared dead shortly after.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: After Lv Bu betrays Liu Bei and is in turn defeated and executed by Cao Cao, Liu Bei ends up being kept in a Gilded Cage in Xuchang by his erstwhile ally. Cao Cao has no intention of allowing a potentially dangerous rival to leave and become strong enough to challenge him, but also refuses to kill Liu Bei because he is a capable man and also an imperial relative; it would soil Cao Cao's legacy to be responsible for the execution of such a character. Liu Bei hence has to plot his escape in order to realize his ambitions, and he does this by leading the simple life of a farmer, pretending that he no longer harbours any hope of revitalizing the ailing Han Dynasty. Cao Cao is, naturally, not so easily taken in and one day he invites Liu Bei for tea in order to suss him out. During their conversation, Cao Cao asks Liu Bei who he thinks to be the greatest heroes of the realm at present; he then rejects all of Liu Bei's answers and states that there are only two true heroes under Heaven: Liu Bei and himself. On hearing this, Liu Bei thinks that that Cao Cao is on to his act and will imminently order his exile or execution, and he is so shocked that he drops his chopsticks mid-meal. Fortunately for him, a timely rumble of thunder allows him to claim that he was frightened by the thunder when Cao Cao enquires after him. Cao Cao then starts to believe that he has overestimated Liu Bei's courage and ambition, and he shortly thereafter grants Liu Bei's request to take an army to go and fight Yuan Shu, who is moving to link up with Cao Cao's main enemy Yuan Shao. To his credit, Cao Cao is not entirely fooled by Liu Bei's act, as he orders two of his officers to accompany Liu Bei and hold actual military command; unfortunately for him, Liu Bei and his sworn brothers outfox these two officers and get control of the army, allowing Liu Bei to take Xuzhou and set himself up as an independent warlord with the aim of restoring the Han.
- Offended by an Inferior's Success:
- Yuan Shao is head of the Yuan family, controlling the entire northern part of the Han Empire. As a result, he can't accept the idea that Cao Cao, his childhood friend and formerly his de facto subordinate, is now giving him orders in the Emperor's name. His advisor Xu You notes that he'd warned Yuan that not taking the Emperor into his care would result in someone else doing so, and Yuan is forced to concede the point. Simply having the Emperor in his power propels Cao Cao from "merely" one of many warlords into one of the top contenders.
- Yuan Shu is also part of the Yuan family and refuses to even consider that the likes of Cao Cao (at best a minor noble) or Liu Bei (a penniless peasant claiming to be related to the Imperial line) can possibly be any threat to someone of such superior breeding as him. As such, he's outraged that Cao somehow managed to become Prime Minister, putting him well above Yuan himself.
- Throughout the series, Cao Cao himself scoffs at this attitude whenever someone brings up that an opponent he is facing soon is from a famed or wealthy family, as he correctly points out that actual competence/skill matters far more than perceptions of superiority/inferiority.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Zhuge Liang lays out a complex plan to lure Cao Cao's troops into a firetrap in Xinye. The next mention of the battle shows Cao Ren, looking sooty and depressed, getting chewed out by Cao Cao for losing so badly.
- Were you looking forward to Zhuge Liang's seven defeats of Meng Huo? "Now that you've defeated the Nanman and pacified the south, Prime Minister..."
- Were you looking forward to Dian Wei's Heroic Sacrifice for Cao Cao? You'll have to settle for a conversation between Xun Yu and Xu Chu about Cao Cao's fondness for other men's wives costing the life of Dian Wei. This happens when discussing Cao Cao's intent to keep Diaochan.
- During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Sima Yi is told by an old acquaintance that the Wei general Meng Da is planning to rebel and seize the Wei capital of Luoyang for Shu. He can easily do this because the city where he is stationed — Xincheng — is not far from Luoyang. Sima Yi immediately gathers a force of light cavalry, speeds to Xincheng, lures Meng Da out of the city, and kills him. He even finds time along the way to confirm the report by capturing a messenger from Zhuge Liang to Meng Da. All that is shown of this is Sima Yi being informed of the planned rebellion, his troops capturing the Shu messenger, and his report to Cao Rui thereafter.
- Off with His Head!: Preferred method of execution; throwing a head into the hall is a nice dramatic way of showing the death of an enemy general.
- Oh, Crap!: Several prominent examples throughout the series:
- Xu You at the opening exchange of the Battle of Guandu, when he realizes that Cao Cao has sufficiently delayed the action through his tea session with Yuan Shao, to allow the sun to be in the exact right position to shine into the eyes of the Yuan troops. Cao Cao has also used the time to send a force of cavalry to the rear of Yuan Shao's army, so as to be able to attack from both directions. He barely has time to send Yuan Xi to recall Yuan Shao before the Cao army charges home from both sides and routs Yuan Shao's much larger force.
- Xu You again right before his death. When Xu Chu threatens to kill him if he doesn't stop his drunken mockery of Cao Cao, he taunts Xu Chu, daring the great warrior to cut off his head. Xu You dares to do this because he believes Xu Chu won't actually kill him, as he is not only Cao Cao's childhood friend but has also just secured victory for Cao Cao at Guandu by defecting from Yuan Shao's camp and advising the Chancellor to make a crucial raid on the Yuan army's supplies at Wuchao. Xu Chu answers the taunt with his blade, and Xu You has but a second to react thus before he dies.
- Cao Cao right after the execution of Cai Mao, realizing that he's been tricked by the Sun-Liu alliance into having his best admiral killed. To his credit, he does not openly show it.
- Guan Yu when he realizes that Jingzhou has been lost to Wu.
- Sima Yi when he realizes that he has been tricked into entering Shangfang Valley by Zhuge Liang, and that his army will soon be surrounded and destroyed. note
- Old Retainer: Zhang Zhao, who spends all of his entire 20+ years in-series looking 70.
- The unnamed elderly eunuch who serves three Wei emperors (Cao Pi, Cao Rui and Cao Fang), and to whom Sima Yi confesses his murder of Jingshu and their unborn child in the final episode.
- Old Soldier:
- Huang Zhong, who serves as one of Shu-Han's five 'Tiger Generals' well into his seventies. His final battle is during the Shu-Han invasion of Wu, where he is put in charge of luring the Wu forces commanded by Han Dang and Zhou Tai into a trap. He succeeds in doing this, fighting on the frontline in doing so, but is hit by multiple enemy arrows and succumbs to his injuries later in camp.
- Zhang He, who in the novel began his military career fighting the Yellow Turban rebels in the 180s CE. This is not shown in the series, with the focus being on his service to Cao Cao and then to the state of Wei instead. Initially a subordinate of Yuan Shao, he defects to serve Cao Cao after the Battle of Guandu and ends up serving the next two leaders of the Cao clan — Cao Pi and Cao Rui — as well. After thirty years of frontline military service to Cao Wei, he dies in a Shu-Han ambush during Zhuge Liang's fourth Northern Expedition.
- Zhao Yun, who continues to serve in a frontline role well into his sixties. In fact, his martial skill in old age is downplayed in this series as compared to in the novel, as he is not shown engaging in battle as an elderly warrior. In the novel, one of his most iconic actions occurs when he is past 60, at the time of Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition against Cao Wei: he engages and kills the Wei general Han De and his four sons in single combat.
- One-Man Army:
- Zhao Yun at the Battle of Changban, who singlehandedly fights his way through Cao Cao's lines to find Liu Bei's wife Lady Mi and son Liu Shan, then fights his way back out with Liu Shan strapped to his body. When he brings Liu Shan to Liu Bei, Liu Bei famously throws his own son to the ground as a gesture of regret, saying that his son had nearly cost him one of his best generals.
- At the same battle, Zhang Fei helps Zhao Yun escape by confronting the Cao army alone at Changban Bridge. His fearsome reputation as a warrior, along with some preparations he had made earlier to trick the enemy into thinking there might be an ambush in the woods behind him, means that Cao Cao orders a retreat rather than trying to force the crossing.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted due to linguistics. Most names in this series are two-syllable, there are only so many syllables in Chinese, and there are even fewer allowed in names or style names. Good luck remembering all of the Lius (not all of whom are related to the Imperial family) or distinguishing between the style names Wenchang, Wenyuan, Youchang, and Yunchang (Wei Yan, Zhang Liao, Ma Su and Guan Yu respectively).
- OOC Is Serious Business:
- Cao Cao is the actual ruler of the Han Dynasty and everyone knows it, but he usually makes it a point to behave properly and correctly towards his nominal boss, Emperor Xian. The one occasion he drops this facade is after he discovers that the Emperor — together with some court officials and his concubine Consort Dong — has been plotting to overthrow him. Cao Cao crushes the plot with ease and sentences the pregnant Consort Dong to death; when the Emperor pleads for his lover to be spared at least until after the child is born, Cao Cao asks him rhetorically: 'Is this because you wish for this bastard to grow up to avenge its parents?' This is the only time that Cao Cao — who is also attired in full armour, itself a rarity for him as he only appears as such a handful of times over the course of the entire series — is overtly blunt and rude towards Emperor Xian, and underlines how seriously the conspirators have screwed up by plotting against him and by allowing themselves to be found out. Cao Cao then has Consort Dong slowly strangled in front of the Emperor, after which he forces the Emperor to accept his daughter Cao Jie as his new consort — an act of cruelty that is also out of character for the usually Affably Evil warlord.
- The usually calm and sagely Zhuge Liang only completely loses his head a handful of times in the series, and this reaction of his underlines the seriousness of the situation on each occasion. For example, he is totally stunned when shown a plan of Liu Bei's camps at Xiaoting, exclaiming that whoever advised the Emperor note to encamp his troops thus is either an idiot or a traitor and should be executed forthwith. Later on, he reacts similarly to Ma Su's defeat at Jieting, knowing that it will imperil the entire Northern Expedition. These reactions presage, respectively, the near-total destruction of the Shu-Han army by Lu Xun's fire attack and the near-annihilation of the Shu-Han expeditionary force - which is only saved by his famed Empty City strategy.
- Parental Favoritism:
- Liu Biao favours his younger son Liu Cong over his elder son Liu Qi, and this is encouraged by Liu Cong's mother Lady Cai and his uncle Cai Mao, who also serves as Liu Biao's top-ranking military commander. Liu Cong is appointed successor to Liu Biao, though Liu Qi manages to escape before his brother surrenders to Cao Cao and fights alongside the Sun-Liu alliance at Red Cliffs.
- Cao Cao's favourite son is his youngest, Cao Chong. This is helped by Cao Chong's precocity, as he proves himself to be more intelligent than his much older brothers. Cao Chong's early death by "illness" (it is all but stated outright that Cao Pi had him killed in order to further his own ambitions to succeed Cao Cao) leaves his father bereft and suspicious of foul play.
- Passing the Torch: Knowing he has little time remaining after his collapse at Shangfang Valley, Zhuge Liang passes on to Jiang Wei both his books of military strategy and his vision of restoring the Han.
- Please Spare Him, My Liege!: Happens very frequently to people who are threatened with execution, and often times their associates would beg their superiors to spare their lives.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Zhang Fei wobbles between being this and a drunken lout when off the battlefield, and often does both in rapid succession around Zhuge Liang.
- This is best shown soon after Liu Bei ascends the throne, with Zhang Fei visiting him at night and railing against Zhuge Liang's strong advice against going to war with Wu.
- Xu Chu for Wei. Even when Cao Cao is angry at him for killing his old friend Xu You, for making disparaging remarks about Cao Cao while drunk. Cao Cao screams "Unacceptable!", and Xu Chu simply answers "Just replace his head with mine!" without batting an eye.
- Pragmatic Villainy:
- Cao Cao refrains from deposing Emperor Xian and founding his own dynasty with himself as its first emperor. This is not because he does not desire to be both de facto and de jure ruler of China, but because he knows that it is not in his interest to do so. Despite decades of decline, the Han Dynasty has ruled the country almost continuously for 400 years, and the Liu imperial house retains a high degree of support amongst the people. If he deposes Emperor Xian, he risks losing support not just from commoners but also from his own followers, opens up the opportunity for other warlords to attack him in the name of restoring the Han, note and will also likely leave a lasting negative legacy for himself as an usurper (although the last bit is unfortunately already part of his reputation in life, due to everyone knowing full well how much control he has over the Emperor). Cao Cao uses a hunting trip with the emperor to test this out: in a move fraught with symbolism, when Emperor Xian repeatedly fails to bag a kill, Cao Cao requests to take his bow and immediately takes down a deer with it. He then observes how the various accompanying generals and civil officials react, and sees that a significant number of them are dismayed. He notes that this even includes Xun Yu, one of his closest advisors. Hence, he gives up on the idea of taking the throne for himself, though he does later allow himself to be persuaded to accept the title of King of Wei.
- Cao Cao in general is quite mindful of his reputation and legacy, which means he as far as possible avoids taking openly amoral or immoral actions. For example, after the Battle of Shouchun, he offers Liu Bei the opportunity of serving under him. Liu Bei declines, as he already sees Cao Cao as the Evil Chancellor and also wishes to strike out on his own to achieve his goal of reviving the Han Dynasty. Cao Ren urges Cao Cao to have Liu Bei killed lest he pose a threat later, but Cao Cao points out that Liu Bei has just rendered meritorous service to the imperial court — under which Cao Cao himself is nominally serving — and so having him killed now would be unwise. He instead devises a plan to sow discord between Liu Bei and Lv Bu, who at that time were allies, with the stated aim of getting Lv Bu to do his dirty work for him.
- Cao Cao also usually seeks to spare the lives of any opponents he deems worthy, so that he can turn them towards serving him. He offers Lv Bu the chance to join him before the Battle of Xiapi (although it's hard to tell how sincere this offer was, especially given that Cao Cao is likely fully aware of Lv Bu's history of betraying those under whom he served), spares Zhang Liao after the same battle, tries to have Zhao Yun captured at Changban, and treats Guan Yu well in the hope of changing his loyalties. Unfortunately for him, he meets with only mixed success.
- Unlike his father, Cao Pi is willing to force Emperor Xian to abdicate so that he can take the throne and found a new dynasty. However, in order to avoid gaining a reputation as a power-hungry tyrant, he never directly threatens the emperor — instead, he leaves Hua Xin, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu to do the 'persuading' on his behalf. Cao Pi also symbolically declines Emperor Xian's offer to abdicate in favour of him three times, putting up the appearance that he is reluctant to become emperor and making it seem as if he is only doing so because this is the will of Heaven.
- Yuan Shao orders Liu Biao to attack and kill Sun Jian as the latter is on the way back to the south with the imperial seal in his possession. Cai Mao suggests to Liu Biao that they do this by tricking Sun Jian with a conciliatory approach before ambushing him and killing him later on. Liu Biao is reluctant to do this, but that is not because he has any love for Sun Jian or any scruples against such a dirty trick — rather, he fears that this will wreck his reputation amongst the other warlords and make them more antagonistic towards him. Liu Biao eventually does as Cai Mao suggests, but with clear hesitation, and in the aftermath of the battle he is seen in his tent grousing that while they managed to kill Sun Jian, this act will certainly heighten others' mistrust of him.
- Preemptive Threat Elimination:
- Yang Xiu is a young official who demonstrates at least twice an understanding of his master Cao Cao's thought processes, happily unravelling Cao's wordplay before his fellow courtiers. Sima Yi upon hearing of these events observes that Yang is truly clever... but not clever enough to realise that his actions could easily be seen as a threat to Cao's authority and not something Cao will tolerate for long. He is proven right during the battle of Hanzhong, when Yang orders preparations for a retreat in Cao's name due to inferring Cao's intentions. Unhappily for Yang, Cao hadn't actually issued any orders, meaning Yang had dared to assume Cao's authority on his own initiative. In a fury, Cao has him executed, and Sima Yi sarcastically congratulates the general who'd listened to Yang for keeping his head, since by ignoring The Chain of Command Cao could've executed him as well.
- Discussed in the final conversation between Zhuge Liang and his older brother Zhuge Jin, as the latter is leaving after visiting as an emissary for his lord Sun Quan. Liang cautions Jin to not become too accomplished, as an overly talented subordinate can be seen as a threat by those in power. Jin replies that Liang is the one in danger of such a thing, referring to how Liang's lord Liu Bei is on his deathbed and his heir Liu Shan is a completely useless dullard more interested in playing with crickets than learning statecraft.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Just as in history and in the Romance, Sima Yi is the ultimate victor of the series, ending with his family effectively in control of the state of Wei and all those who could stand against him — notably Zhuge Liang — either dead or powerless. However, he's forced to murder his concubine Jingshu (and while she was pregnant with his child, no less) despite his apparent genuine love for her. The death of Zhuge Liang leaves him without a Worthy Opponent to measure himself against and he admits, in private, that he now feels truly lonely. His advanced age means that he dies not long after his usurpation, and his last scene shows how in old age even his remarkable intellect has left him, as he's so deep into senile dementia that he can barely follow a conversation.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Cao Cao is generally merciful to his subordinates who make mistakes, unless those involve outright negligience or directly threaten his authority. Cao Ren, for example, suffers several dire defeats at the hands of Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang, but gets to keep both his job and his head. Instead of impulsively executing Cao Ren for losing these engagements, Cao Cao realizes that he has simply been outmatched by the otherwordly talents of the two enemy strategists, and starts devising his own plans to counter them in turn. For example, he gets rid of Xu Shu by inviting his mother to court and using her presence to threaten him into leaving Liu Bei's service. Cao Cao also takes the blame for the defeat at Red Cliff in front of the remnants of his army, stating that everyone including him had become complacent after a string of successes and that this was the main reason for their loss.
- Cao Cao also strives to win over his enemies through persuasion and good treatment rather than killing them in battle or executing them after capture. He manages to get Lv Bu's subordinate Zhang Liao to join forces with him, and partly succeeds with Guan Yu - which ultimately leads to Guan Yu sparing his life at Huarong Trail.
- Liu Bei is grief-stricken by the death of Guan Yu at the hands of Lv Meng and vows revenge on the State of Wu, but privately admits to Zhang Fei that Guan Yu was partly responsible for his own fate through his arrogant and high-handed treatment of Wu emissaries - including the aforementioned Lv Meng. He uses this to counsel Zhang Fei to be more circumspect in his own words and actions. Zhang Fei, of course, does not take his advice and ends up getting murdered by his own subordinates who then flee to Wu - and this drives Liu Bei off the deep end, causing him to launch an immediate massive invasion of Wu against the advice of both Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun.
- Sun Quan backs Supreme Commander Lu Xun to the hilt during the Shu-Han invasion of Wu despite strong opposition to the latter's defensive strategy. He continues to back Lu Xun even after Lu Xun has his brother-in-law Fu Jun executed for disobeying orders and engaging the Shu troops in open battle. Ultimately, Sun Quan's resolve sees its just reward when Lu Xun delivers a stunning victory over the numerically-superior Shu-Han forces at Xiaoting.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Multiple examples, with some of the most prominent listed below.
- The most well-known is the one Zhuge Liang gives to the Wei Minister Wang Lang. Wang Lang himself had the idea of giving one of these to Zhuge Liang before the Shu and Wei armies meet in battle, stating that it would lower the morale of the Shu army and allow the Wei forces to win an easy victory. Zhuge Liang lets him go first, then retorts with such venom - by calling Wang Lang a traitor to the Han (as he had been a Han official before joining Cao Cao's faction), stating that he would not be able to face the spirits of the Han Emperors in the underworld, and declaring that he is such a snivelling, contemptible creature that he is not worth killing - that Wang Lang dies from shock.
- Cao Cao gives Yuan Shao a short but angry one after he suffers a defeat against Dong Zhuo's faction because none of the other warlords in the coalition was willing to help him. He quits the coalition on the spot and it disintegrates completely shortly after.
- Cao Cao and Liu Bei exchange these right before meeting in battle in the Hanzhong campaign. Liu Bei calls Cao Cao a traitor to the Han whom he is eager to literally tear apart with his own teeth, while Cao Cao derides Liu Bei as an ingrate who has decided to attack his former benefactor.
- Geng Ji gives Cao Cao one of these after being captured in the wake of his failed rebellion. He calls Cao Cao a traitor who is in name the Han Chancellor but in reality has betrayed the Han to take supreme power for himself. Cao Cao replies in turn that Geng Ji is a blinkered fool clinging to useless traditions of loyalty and virtue, who is blindly loyal to the evidently ailing dynasty.
- Hua Xin gives one to Emperor Xian when urging him to abdicate the throne, stating that the Emperor is weak and the Mandate of Heaven has passed to the Cao clan.
- Emperor Xian in turn gives one to the assembled officials of the court, deriding them for betraying the ruling Liu clan despite having enjoyed - together with their ancestors - generations of peace, prosperity and personal remuneration provided by successive Han Emperors.
- Reassigned to Antarctica:
- Tian Feng is one of many characters demoted to menial positions for getting on the boss' bad side.
- On the advice of Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu, Emperor Ming (Cao Rui) sends Sima Yi away from the Wei capital of Chang'an to guard the remote border town of Yongliang. Sima Yi is secretly pleased with this, as he sees it as a place where his enemies at court can do him no harm and judges it to be a key stronghold that will be targeted by the next Shu-Han expeditionary force aimed at Chang'an. The remainder of the Wei court — including Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and even Sima Yi's own son Sima Zhao — believe that the latest Shu-Han invasion force will come by the Xie Valley route rather than the Qi Mountain route that will require them to take Yongliang, so unlike Sima Yi they do not accord the place any degree of importance. Sima Yi is given just 8,000 troops to guard the city and soon begins secretly recruiting more in preparation to face the army of Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang — who exactly as foreseen by Sima Yi does plan to attack through the Qi Mountain route — learns of his nemesis' presence at Yongliang and his unauthorized recruitment of troops; he deliberately leaks this news to the Wei court to get them to execute Sima Yi and help him to eliminate his great rival. Sima Yi is stripped of all his titles by an enraged Cao Rui and kept under house arrest in his hometown. He is only recalled and placed in supreme command after being proven completely right, with Zhuge Liang taking the Qi Mountain route, defeating Cao Xiu at Yongliang to threaten Chang'an, then beating the follow-up Wei army led by Cao Zhen to put the Cao-Wei state on the brink of extermination.
- Reassignment Backfire: After defeating Lv Bu at Xuzhou, Cao Cao has to face the issue of what to do with Liu Bei, whom he already sees as a dangerous rival. His advisors recommend that Liu Bei be left to garrison the tiny city of Xiaopei, which he was governing before being betrayed by Lv Bu, while holding the grandiose but empty title of 'Protector of Xu Province'. They further recommend that Cao Cao assign a trusted subordinate to stay in the province and watch over Liu Bei. Cao Cao is about to agree, but a delegation of citizens turn up and ask him to keep Liu Bei around to govern the province, stating that he has done much to alleviate the daily burdens of the people. Cao Cao then realises that it would be a case of this should he leave Liu Bei in Xu Province, as Liu Bei will be able to use the support of the people to build up his own power base. He hence decides to immediately take him back to Xuchang on the pretext of meeting Emperor Xian before taking up his new appointment.
- Refuge in Audacity: Zhuge Liang's 'Empty City' strategy is an iconic moment in the novel and in every full adaptation of its contents. This series is no exception. Ma Su's defeat at the hands of Sima Yi in the Battle of Jieting during the first Northern Expedition exposes the supply lines of the Shu-Han army to enemy attack. The supply base is in a small city called Xicheng, which is poorly fortified. A swift Cao Wei attack would result in the loss of all the supplies, imperiling the entire Shu-Han army. Sima Yi is aware of this and bears down on Xicheng with his whole army; there is no time to re-deploy any troops to defend the city, and as already noted it isn't a place to hold for long anyway. Zhuge Liang hence decides to order all his troops to retreat with their supplies while he himself — literally — holds the fort. Keeping only a few unarmed soldiers around dressed as civilians, he orders the city gates to be opened and assumes a position with his zither atop the walls in full view of the enemy. When Sima Yi arrives, all he sees is an apparently undefended city with Zhuge Liang calmly playing his zither in plain sight. The disguised soldiers sweep the streets or go nonchalantly about other inconsequential tasks. All he needs to do is order some of his men forward, and his arch-enemy will be killed or taken captive, hugely weakening Shu-Han and opening the way for Cao Wei to dominate all of China. Or... is it? Having fallen victim numerous times to Zhuge Liang's ruses, Sima Yi is loth to trust the evidence of his own eyes, and — fearing a deadly ambush — orders a retreat after considerable hesitation. With the enemy gone, Zhuge Liang breathes a sigh of relief and gets his army home, ready to fight another day. note
- Refusal of the Call: Xu Shu notes that Zhuge Liang has done this consistently even as all of his friends went off to serve different lords, but hopes that Liu Bei will be the one to end it. He's right.
- Regent for Life: Although officially Chancellor, Cao Cao successfully becomes this to Emperor Xian.
- Zhuge Liang effectively acts as this to Liu Shan, who addresses the Chancellor as 'chancellor-father' and is happy to go along with all his decisions. Zhuge Liang is even in a position to determine his own punishment after the failure of his first northern expedition, which turns out to be a token demotion in rank. In fact, Liu Bei tells Zhuge Liang on his deathbed that if he finds Liu Shan to be inadequate at the task of ruling, he can depose Liu Shan and make himself emperor instead. He says this in front of Liu Shan, who puts up no resistance whatsoever. Zhuge Liang is horrified as he cannot imagine usurping the throne from a family he has served so devotedly.
- By the end of the series, Sima Yi and his descendants are in the position to be this to the emperors of Cao Wei.
- Request for Privacy: On several occasions a character meaningfully glances at other people present when addressing someone. Depending on who is involved, one of three things may happen: a) the other characters may take the hint and excuse themselves note , b) the person being addressed assures the speaker they can be trusted note or c) the addressee orders the others to leave note .
- Revenge Before Reason:
- While Liu Bei was still mostly reasonable after Guan Yu's death from Wu's conquest of Jingzhou, Zhang Fei's death finally pushes him completely over the edge. He tries to execute an official who warns him against the invasion, discards the advice of Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang (who he had formerly trusted greatly), and even rejects a plea for peace from Wu which would have returned Jingzhou and his wife to him.
- Zhang Fei is even more obsessed with avenging Guan Yu than Liu Bei, flying into a rage and personally going to Chengdu to confront his elder brother once he learns that Liu Bei has agreed to postpone the invasion of Wu. He also insists that his subordinates produce thousands of sets of mourning attire within just 3 days, and has two of them badly beaten when they are quite reasonably not able to meet the deadline. This leads directly to his murder.
- Lv Meng is driven by vengeance in his pursuit of Guan Yu, as the latter had on several occasions slighted the state of Wu in general and him in particular. He chooses to overlook the likelihood that anyone responsible for Guan Yu's death would earn the undying enmity of Liu Bei, and disobeys a direct order from Sun Quan — who hands down such an explicit order precisely to avoid an irretrievable break in relations between Shu and Wu — to stop the pursuit. He even trumphantly brings Guan Yu's head back to Jianye for the victory feast. Sun Quan pretends to be pleased by this, then orders Lv Meng to be poisoned for his failure to obey his lord and for most likely bringing Liu Bei's wrath down on his head.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Cao Cao often does this to traitors, as he has a very low opinion of them even if they benefitted him in some way, because he wishes to uphold a reputation of being fair, and because he knows that if they betrayed someone for him they could do it to him.
- When Guan Yu refuses to betray Liu Bei despite Cao Cao giving everything (riches, authority, and Red Hare) he could to Guan Yu, Cao Cao was very respectful and even outright said to his officers that Guan Yu's loyalty should be an example to them all, and that he would rather have Guan Yu as an enemy than kill him.
- Early in the series, Cao Cao was saved from an assassination attempt ordered on him by a conspiracy involving Emperor Xian when one of the conspirator's servants informed on them to him. Cao Cao, however, was quite displeased with this when he found out, giving the servant a "The Reason You Suck" Speech on how his attempt to do this was essentially attempting to sell out his master for fame and riches, before telling the conspirator that he raised an unworthy servant and would have been better off raising a dog- and promptly ordering the servant's execution.
- Despite being his Childhood Friend, Cao Cao mistrusted Xu You due to his willingness to betray Yuan Shao note and was annoyed at his insolent public behavior (including calling Cao Cao by his childhood name- a huge no-no in Chinese culture). Cao Cao agonized over how to get rid of him (i.e do this to him) without appearing like an Ungrateful Bastard... Until Xu Chu killed Xu You in a fit of drunken rage when the latter was insulting Cao Cao in public, solving the problem without Cao Cao's direct interference.
- The gatekeeper who turned in his cousin as one of Ma Teng's conspirators, thereby saving Cao Cao from Ma Teng's revolt, did so because he was having an affair with his cousin's concubine. Upon hearing this, Cao Cao immediately orders the gatekeeper's execution, stating that given how many wives and concubines he had, there was no way he could trust someone willing to betray his own family for a woman.
- Cao Cao outright said at Guan Yu's funeral that if the latter had switched allegiances to Cao Cao, he would still be alive but would have also lost Cao Cao's respect.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The series' - and original novel's - theme of brotherhood, as well as the general vengeful nature of many of its characters, means that this is quite prevalent:
- Diao Chan seems ready to avenge Lv Bu when she pulls out a dagger during a private audience with Cao Cao, but ends up killing herself instead.
- Having seen Guan Yu repeatedly belittle and humiliate him and the State of Wu, Lv Meng embarks on this during the Wu conquest of Jingzhou. He is determined to see Guan Yu dead and eventually corners the great warrior, who commits suicide. Sun Quan is not best pleased with that result, so Lv Meng suffers a mysterious "death by illness" soon after.
- Liu Bei is enraged by the deaths of his two sworn brothers, both of which he blames on Wu. Fuelled by this vengeful rage, he launches a campaign against Wu that ends in disastrous defeat at Xiaoting and effectively extinguishes his dreams of reunifying China.
- Royal Blood: Liu Bei is a distant descendant of the imperial line and takes it, and the duty it imposes on him, very seriously.
- Rule of Three: The three Peach Garden Oath brothers and the three kingdoms themselves.
- Sacred Hospitality: Averted. Banquets are a great place for ambushing or poisoning someone unawares.
- Satellite Character: Emperor Ming of Wei (Cao Rui), whose only purpose seems to be to serve as a tertiary antagonist to Sima Yi. note Unlike his contemporaries Liu Shan (ruler of Shu-Han) and Sun Quan (ruler of Eastern Wu), he shows little character development over the course of the series — he starts out as a young emperor trying his best to balance the interests of the state and the Cao clan against the ambitions of the capable yet evidently faithless Sima Yi, and is still struggling to do this on his deathbed. Unlike his father and grandfather, nothing is shown of his loved ones (aside from his heir Cao Fang) and his personal interests, as virtually all his screentime is devoted to interactions with Sima Yi or in addressing issues arising from the repeated Shu invasions of Wei.
- Say My Name: Sima Yi roars Cao Cao's name when he thought that Cao Cao had died from head pain after charging Sima Yi with the upkeep of his legacy. Cao Cao, fortunately, was only jesting at that point.
- Scenery Porn: Zhuge Liang's cottage in Longzhong, built over a still pool running over a waterfall and surrounded by lush greenery.
- Share the Blame: Sometimes invoked by characters to show determination, though quite often the other people involved in the decision don't have their reactions shown.
- During the Fan Campaign, Cao Ren is besieged by Guan Yu and Xu Huang has arrived to break the siege. Upon being informed that their first assaults have been beaten back, he dramatically throws his sword tip-first into the ground and declares there will be no retreat. He then issues orders that all units will advance, and if they don't break the enemy line by nightfall all soldiers beginning with himself will be executed. His soldiers roar with approval and charge, and despite heavily losses they successfully defeat Guan.
- When Sima Yi is appointed a military rank and tasked with repelling the forces of Shu, the official who presents the order to him congratulates him and notes that he'd sworn his own life and the lives of his entire family, over 200 people in total, that Sima would succeed. He means for it to be a gesture of how much faith he has in Sima's ability, but Sima sighs and points out that he's just put the lives of over 200 people in his hands when he's never actually led troops into battle and had actually tried to avoid being given military duties due to being uncertain of his ability.
- Shocking Defeat Legacy: As might be expected for a series based on long years of destructive conflict, there are a few examples:
- For Yuan Shao, the defeat to Cao Cao at Guandu. Before the battle he was the foremost warlord in northern China; after it, he retains only a shadow of his former glory. He dies soon after, and the offscreen strife between his sons over the succession allows Cao Cao to take over his territory entirely.
- For Cao Cao, the defeat to the heavily outnumbered Sun-Liu alliance at Red Cliffs. This ends his ambition of reunifying China for good, although he does still campaign successfully against various other enemies (for example, defeating Han Sui and Ma Chao in Western Liang and Guan Yu at Fancheng). His descendants would go on to establish the state of Cao Wei, largest and most powerful of the titular three kingdoms, but Cao Cao still dies with his greatest ambition unfulfilled.
- For Liu Bei, the defeat to Eastern Wu (led by Lu Xun) at Xiaoting. This not only means he is unable to avenge his sworn brothers — the scale of the defeat also means that Shu-Han is severely weakened and thus their goal of restoring a unified Han Empire is now quite beyond them. Liu Bei dies shortly after the battle, ill and broken by regret, at Baidicheng.
- Zhuge Liang also laments Guan Yu's defeat by the combined efforts of Eastern Wu and Cao Wei and resultant loss of Jingzhou, stating that if Shu-Han had kept Jingzhou — with its strategic location in central China — the goal of reunification would have been easily within reach.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Cao Zhi is the educated and cultured scholar, and Cao Zhang the muscleheaded and brash warrior. Cao Pi falls squarely between them and has a bit of an inferiority complex about it; in history, he was as cultured a poet and scholar as Cao Zhi.
- Significant Name Shift:
- Sometimes it's used to show how someone has undergone Rank Up, like Cao Cao originally being addressed as "Master" or "Lord" by his subordinates, but by the end of his life is addressed as "Your Highness" as Prince of Wei.
- Sometimes used to show contempt, as seen when several characters throughout the show's run address or refer to Cao Cao as "Cao Ah-Man", using his childhood name as an insult. Xu You, an old friend of Cao Cao, makes the mistake of publicly addressing him by the name (a huge faux pa in that culture) after helping him defeat Yuan Shao. Xu Chu, one of Cao's generals, winds up killing him in a fit of rage for the disrespect.
- Is sometimes inverted to show which relationship is stronger. Zhuge Liang and his older brother Zhuge Jin serve different lords. During their final meeting, Zhuge Liang is now the Chancellor of the state of Shu while Zhuge Jin has a comparatively low rank as a diplomat. Despite this, they still address each other as "Eldest Brother" and "Second Brother" respectively. They even do this in the presence of their lords during informal chats, but during formal events or discussing official business properly use their titles (e.g. "Chancellor Zhuge"). note
- Cao Zhi pulls this after his older brother Cao Pi becomes Emperor of Wei. Xu Chu is sent to bring him to court (he refused to attend when summoned by Pi), but when Xu addresses him as "Young Master" Zhi sneers that his proper title ought to be "Your Imperial Highness" and refuses to go along until Xu addresses him in that way. Pi orders his execution almost as soon as he arrives, though he's eventually talked down.
- Skipping the Basics: Implied by Zhuge Liang when he defeats some of Sima Yi's troops. He allows the survivors to flee to Sima with the message to learn the basics from scratch, implying that Sima is in no way fit for his high rank and position. The last laugh is with Sima, as he is able to foil every one of Zhuge's invasions and Zhuge eventually dies of grief and frustration.note
- Smart People Play Chess: Go, or Weiqi, seems to be Zhuge Liang's game of choice; he's seen playing it with both Liu Bei and Ma Su, but the only time Ma Su ever beats him is when he's distracted.
- The Starscream: Sima Yi to the Wei emperors after Cao Pi, although by overthrowing them he's effectively made himself Cao Cao's spiritual successor.
- At least a few characters insinuate to Liu Bei (and then Liu Shan) that Zhuge Liang might be this. He's not, as he carries on Liu Bei's wishes after the latter dies, until Zhuge Liang himself died of illness.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are all great warriors; they are capable of easily winning individual duels against enemy generals and tossing aside multiple enemy soldiers on the battlefield while themselves suffering nary a scratch. One might expect Liu Bei to be practically unbeatable in battle with such men at his disposal and thus be able to quickly build up his own base of power to realise his dream of reviving the Han Dynasty, but he is repeatedly defeated by Cao Cao until he gains a great strategist in Xu Shu. After Xu Shu is forced to leave his service, he recommends Zhuge Liang, whose work enables Liu Bei to establish Shu-Han and make a viable bid to reunify China. Turns out victory in battle depends not just on personal bravery, but also sound knowledge of military tactics, and establishing a strong power base for oneself requires a clear plan in addition to victories in the field.
- Tempting Fate: Watching on as Sima Yi seems about to succumb to a well-placed fire trap in Shangfang Valley, Zhuge Liang comments, "even Heaven can't save him now." Cue sudden rainstorm.
- The Stoic:
- Liu Bei in the first third of the series, to such an extent that the Chinese fandom took to calling him "Mister Facial Paralysis." Granted, he had good reason for concealing his emotions and ambitions around both Yuan Shao's coalition and Cao Cao, and he got much better after meeting Xu Shu and then Zhuge Liang.
- Lu Xun after he's named Grand Commander, and has to deal with his own generals who resent his repeated orders to retreat. He maintains the same expression even when executing Fu Jun for continually disobeying orders and jeopardizing his strategies, despite the generals' cautions that he is Sun Quan's brother-in-law. He snaps out of it with an emotional reaction after Sun Quan publicly signals his support by burning every written protest against him in front of him.
- Before he was named to the top post, Lu Xun was second-in-command to Lv Meng. His calm and stoic demeanour acted as a contrast to the much more emotive actions of his boss. This was particularly evident in the Wu conquest of Jingzhou, where Lv Meng basically goes on a one-man Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Guan Yu while Lu Xun tries to restrain him with orders from Sun Quan.
- Sima Yi as well, in a way that makes him unnerving and appear endlessly calculating and legitimately sociopathic.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Several characters, most notably Chen Gong, Liu Bei and the pro-Liu imperial house loyalists, feel this way towards Cao Cao:
- For Chen Gong, it was when Chen Gong and Cao Cao murdered Lv Boshe and his entire clan due to an honest mistake. The former is appalled when he finds out, but the latter is unrepentant and states that he would rather betray the world, than have the world betray him. Chen Gong, from the point Cao Cao said that, spends the rest of his time in the series as an implacable enemy to his former friend.
- For Liu Bei and his sworn brothers, Cao Cao crosses this when he makes the choice to keep the emperor as his puppet. For other characters that seem to be genuinely loyal to the Liu imperial house, it's a bit more complicated. Xun Yu, for example, was fine with Cao Cao turning Emperor Xian into a puppet — in fact he was the one who suggested it as a means to exert control over the other warlords — but he appears to be supportive only because he wishes for Cao Cao to use his control of the emperor to reunify the country and gradually restore the authority of the Liu imperial house. When it becomes clear that this is not going to happen, note and that Cao Cao is content to keep Emperor Xian (and any possible future successors) as a powerless puppet, Xun Yu deems Cao Cao irredeemable and openly turns against his lord.
- Took a Level in Badass: Despite being 'absolutely terrible at swordsmanship' in his father's own words, Cao Pi manages to hold his own alongside his more martial brother, Cao Zhang, while defending Cao Cao from rebels at Wufeng Tower. This (as a clear show of loyalty to boot) impresses Cao Cao enough to decide to make Cao Pi his heir.
- Undying Loyalty:
- Practically everyone who ends up joining Liu Bei, including nameless peasants. Liu Bei was so respected in Xu province that the commoners, when given money and food to flee for their lives from Cao Cao's invading army, instead chose to follow Liu Bei's forces in their retreat.
- Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei to each other. While this is usually heartwarming, it also leads to Liu Bei's ill-fated crusade against Wu for being responsible for his brothers' deaths.
- When Lu Su calls out Guan Yu for releasing Cao Cao at Huarong Road, Zhuge Liang is obligated to order Guan Yu's execution — however, Liu Bei then vows that he must die alongside his brother, at which point both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei offer their lives in trying to talk Liu Bei out of it. Lu Su privately admits to seeing this scene as being all an act — at least on Liu Bei's part, if not his brothers' — but having gone along with it anyway.
- During Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's near-coup in Jingzhou in Liu Bei's absence, Zhuge Liang states his willingness to die if it would prove his loyalty to his lord. This is averted by Liu Bei's timely return, but later fulfilled anyway as Zhuge Liang devotes the rest of his life to carrying out Liu Bei's last wishes of reviving the Han.
- Xu Chu to Cao Cao. He serves with devotion as Cao Cao's personal bodyguard for decades and prioritizes his master's well-being over all else. To list a few examples:
- When given cause to fear that Diao Chan might assassinate Cao Cao during their night together, he bursts into their chambers with weapon drawn and ready to protect Cao Cao note .
- When Xu You publicly mocks Cao Cao right after the victory at Guandu, he kills Xu You for the insults and brings his head to Cao Cao despite likely knowing that his master would have him executed for murdering — without orders — a close personal friend and one who had just contributed heavily to the defeat of Yuan Shao. Fortunately, despite Xu You's ostensible status as Cao Cao's childhood friend and despite his key contributions to the victory over Yuan Shao, Cao Cao mistrusted Xu You for his betrayal of his former master and detested him for his rude and insubordinate behaviour. He was actually agonizing over a way to get rid of Xu You without gaining a reputation as a suspicious and ungrateful lord, and Xu Chu handily solved the problem for him. This is why Cao Cao made a big show of ordering Xu Chu's execution, then allowed himself to be 'persuaded' by Xun Yu to spare his loyal subordinate. All of that was explained to Xu Chu by Xun Yu afterward.
- When Cao Cao battles Ma Chao for the first time, his army formation is broken by Ma Chao's powerful cavalry charge. Cao Cao is forced to flee for his life with Ma Chao in hot pursuit. Just as Ma Chao flings his spear at Cao Cao's retreating figure, Xu Chu appears in the nick of time to block it and stop the pursuit. Later, he volunteers to duel Ma Chao and bring Cao Cao his head, leading to one of the most iconic encounters of the series.
- Cao Cao is staying at Wu Feng Tower when Geng Ji launches his rebellion, and the rebels surround the building. Xu Chu, as usual, is on guard and volunteers to lead Cao Cao to safety by breaking through the encirclement. Cao Cao persuades him to wait for the situation to become clearer before acting.
- When Cao Cao is on his deathbed, Xu Chu is present and crying piteously at his lord's imminent demise.
- Xu Huang serves Cao Cao loyally in numerous campaigns, but his loyalty shines through during the Battle of Fancheng:
- He is in command of the Wei army that has been sent to relieve Fancheng. With the city in a desperate situation after months of siege, Cao Ren sends a rider to break through the Shu encirclement to ask Xu Huang to attack and relieve them. An anguished Xu Huang explains to the equally distressed rider that he cannot move without Cao Cao's permission. He then monologues that he cannot any longer bear the misery of having to look on helplessly while his comrades suffer in the beleaguered city — only for Cao Cao to turn up as he's despairing to issue the order to attacknote . During their conversation, Xu Huang mentions that he had asked Cao Cao for permission to attack seven times, and been admonished to wait seven times. Clearly, no matter the personal toll, he will not move without his lord's express orders.
- Later, after the Wei army has broken into the Shu camp and the Shu army is on the run, Xu Huang prepares to pursue a stricken Guan Yu. Cao Cao, knowing that anyone responsible for Guan Yu's death will earn the eternal enmity of Liu Bei — and by extension, of the state of Shu — orders only a token pursuit of the Shu forces. Xu Huang immediately obeys, but Cao Cao's hotheaded son Cao Zhang does not understand this and insists on hunting down Guan Yu. Xu Huang physically stops Cao Zhang from mounting his horse, insisting that Cao Cao's orders must be obeyed and that the only way Cao Zhang can start the pursuit is to kill him. Cao Zhang is prepared to do so, but is stopped by the timely arrival of Cao Cao. Xu Huang is evidently prepared to give up his life to see that his lord's orders are followed.
- Surprisingly enough, Empress Cao Jie to Emperor Xian — even though she is Cao Cao's daughter and the chancellor had forced Emperor Xian to marry her and make her Empress in the aftermath of the emperor's and Dong Cheng's failed plot to regain power for the Liu imperial house. When the vast majority of his officials led by Hua Xin try to compel him to abdicate in favour of Cao Pi, the emperor retreats to the imperial ancestral temple to take refuge. Cao Jie finds him there and attempts to console him, but seeing her as yet another member of the detested Cao clan, he lashes out at her. He is immediately confronted by Cao Hong and Cao Xiu, but Cao Jie defends him and calls them out on their disrespect for the emperor. Later, she runs into Cao Pi and questions him on his imperial ambitions, even attempting to personally assassinate him when he admits to wanting to end the Han Dynasty and enthrone himself as Emperor. When the former emperor goes into exile, she follows him and they die in each others' arms when Emperor Xian has the boat they're travelling on sabotaged as part of his suicide bid.
- Verbal Tic: Dong Zhuo constantly says "Hao, hao," or "Good, good," when he's excited.
- Cao Cao: "Heh heh heh.", and "Huh?" mid sentence.
- Vestigial Empire: At the start of the series, the once-mighty Han Dynasty is this in all but name. Central authority is virtually non-existent, even after Dong Zhuo attempts to re-assert it by acting as Chancellor of State to the child Emperors Shao and Xian. The warlords who control their own fiefs across the realm pay nominal obeisance to the Han court, but in reality govern independent polities. 18 of them even come together to form a coalition against Dong Zhuo, promoting the legitimacy of this move by claiming to be fighting for the emperor against his wicked chief minister. The situation does improve after Dong Zhuo is killed and Emperor Xian comes under Cao Cao's 'protection' (read: authority) instead, as he reconquers most of China in the name of the Han. His decisive defeat at Red Cliff seals the division of the empire, however, and in any case had Cao Cao won, he might have eventually deposed Emperor Xian to found his own dynasty anyway. In 220 CE, Cao Cao's son Cao Pi ends the Han Dynasty for good by forcing the emperor to abdicate, founding the state of Cao Wei. In response, Liu Bei — scion of the Liu imperial house and by then well-established in western China — proclaims himself Emperor of Han. He would govern what is known historically as the Kingdom of Shu-Han, which is generally referred to as Shu note in this series to avoid confusion with the Han Dynasty of the earlier episodes. This state would be the final vestige of the Han Dynasty — Liu Bei specifically viewed it not as a new state but as a continuation of the dynasty — and would last until 264 CE, when it was conquered by Wei.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: Parts of the story aren't given nearly as much detail as they are in the novel, as their imagery is supposed to be so iconic for Chinese audiences that they're expected to be aware of what's referenced.
- Villainous Breakdown: Cao Cao is so incensed by Liu Bei's 'easy' occupation of Xuzhou — a direct result of all the blood and effort expended by Cao Cao's own attempts to conquer it — that Cao Cao briefly goes into a rage comanote .
- As his camp burns around him in the Battle of Xiaoting, Liu Bei — arguably the villain here as he was the aggressor who had spurned numerous peace overtures from Sun Quan — rages at Lu Xun and the Wu army, ordering his troops to attack and kill the opposing commander-in-chief and all his soldiers.
- Sima Yi throws a tantrum while lying down on his bed after being told that he had been tricked out of pursuing the withdrawing Shu army by a wooden statue of the deceased Zhuge Liang. He recovers from it, orders the statue retrieved, and mourns Zhuge Liang as a Worthy Opponent.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: What happened to Xu Chu, Cheng Yu, and the rest of Cao Cao's surviving old guard after his death? Pretty much the only familiar face in Wei during Cao Pi's reign was Sima Yi.
- Yuan Shu's main advisor was a white-bearded sage who, despite his distinctive character design, is never named or mentioned again after Yuan Shu's ignominious death.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Sun Quan and Cao Chong, although the latter isn't quite wise enough to hide his cleverness in front of his ruthless eldest brother...
- Worthy Opponent:
- Zhou Yu towards Zhuge Liang, though it's often obscured by Zhou Yu's jealousy. Zhuge Liang later reveals to Pang Tong that he reciprocated this and considered Zhou Yu to be a kindred spirit.
- Cao Cao to Liu Bei. While the two were still on the same side in Yuan Shao's coalition, Cao Cao had already realized that Liu Bei was no ordinary man, and tried to sway Liu Bei's loyalty from the Han to him. After his failure, he came to regard Liu Bei as this.
- In the end, Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi held this towards one another — in their final encounter, Sima Yi resolved himself to death with such composure that Zhuge Liang (out of earshot of Sima Yi) called him admirable, heroic and honorable. After Zhuge Liang's death, Sima Yi ordered his son Sima Zhao to retrieve Zhuge Liang's wooden statue and privately mourned him, stating that they were "a match not made in a thousand years".
- After their duel is halted by the arrival of Cao Cao's messenger announcing that Guan Yu is to be allowed to pass, he and Xiahou Dun compliment each other's martial skills.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Cai Mao, who advises Liu Biao to either capture or kill the 9-year-old Sun Quan when he comes as an emissary to claim his father Sun Jian's body. He reasons that this will greatly weaken the Sun clan, who are neighbours and rivals to Liu Biao's faction. Fortunately, despite taking Cai Mao's earlier advice to trick and kill Sun Jian, Liu Biao draws the line at harming his son; he is also impressed by Sun Quan's eloquence that belies his age. Hence, he lets Sun Quan leave with his father's body.
- Cao Pi, who is heavily implied to be responsible for the murder of his more intelligent younger brother Cao Chong. He does this to eliminate a clear rival to succeeding Cao Cao as de facto ruler of the Han.
- Sima Yi, who has his pregnant lover Jingshu murdered along with his own unborn child to create an opportunity to seize power.
- You Have Failed Me / You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
- Lü Meng suddenly 'falls ill' after a feast, and dies soon after. It's heavily implied that Sun Quan had him removed due to the headstrong general ignoring and disobeying his orders not to pursue or slay Guan Yu.
- Xun Yu is Cao Cao's close advisor for decades, and provides valuable input that lays the foundations for Cao Cao's success and the eventual formation of the state of Cao Wei. However, this was not at all what Xun Yu intended - he is actually a Han loyalist and wished for Cao Cao to revive the Han. The two men gradually fall out over this issue, to the extent that Xun Yu openly opposes Emperor Xian's elevation of Cao Cao to King of Wei as he sees it as a step towards the Cao clan's usurpation of the Han. When Cao Zhi attempts to pass through White Horse Gate to take a more convenient route to his next appointment after a court session, Xun Yu physically blocks his way as the gate is by law reserved only for use by the Son of Heaven. Cao Cao intervenes, disciplines his son for being rude to Xun Yu, but also tells Xun Yu that he will order the gate to be immediately demolished. Xun Yu, seeing this blatant defiance of imperial authority, collapses to the ground. Cheng Yu later informs Cao Cao that Xun Yu has been taken ill at home and is not eating; Cao Cao orders Cheng Yu to then prepare some food to be sent to the Xun residence. When Xun Yu receives the delivery, he opens it and finds all the boxes empty. Recognizing his lord's message, he proceeds to commit suicide. At his funeral, Cao Cao mourns him as a brother, but also admits that they had fallen out, making it clear that he intended to eliminate Xun Yu because the latter had outlived his usefulness and become an opponent instead.
- A less extreme example involves Cao Rui and Sima Yi. After Zhuge Liang's death at the Wuzhang Plains, Cao Rui — who had all along been wary of Sima Yi's loyalty — recognizes that there is no longer a need to keep Sima Yi in supreme military command. He thus "promotes" Sima Yi to Grand Commandant, which is a grandiose-sounding title that is in reality a sinecure, and says that he should take the time to rest after his long years of service to the state.
- Young Conqueror: Sun Ce succeeds his father Sun Jian as leader of his clan when he is just a teenager. He then breaks away from Yuan Shu's control to conquer territory south of the Yangtze and lay the foundations for the State of Wu. All this by the time he is barely out of his teens.