Novel scene
Cao Cao Pacifies Hanzhong 曹操平定漢中地
About this event
This is the scene from the chapter title of Chapter 67 of the Romance, "Cao Cao Pacifies the Land of Hanzhong," the passage depicting the Battle of Yangping. Blocked at Yangping Pass by Zhang Wei, Yang Ang and Yang Ren, Cao Cao takes the pass by pretending to withdraw, lures Zhang Lu's general Pang De into surrendering, then takes Nanzheng and Bazhong in turn and receives Zhang Lu's surrender. Romance, Ch. 67 §1–28
Chen Shou's text records this as an event of the 20th year of Jian'an (215) in the Annals of Emperor Wu in Records of Wei 1 and the biography of Zhang Lu in Records of Wei 8. Records, Wei 1 §146–148Records, Wei 8 §66–68
In the Romance
In Chapter 67 of the Romance, Zhang Lu, following the advice of his younger brother Zhang Wei, sets up more than ten camps on either side of Yangping Pass, and Yang Ang and Yang Ren raid the camps of Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He at night and rout Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao himself, inspecting the enemy lines in person, is chased by Yang Ang and Yang Ren and escapes thanks to Xu Chu and Xu Huang, and after a standoff of more than fifty days he pretends to withdraw his army while sending Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He around behind the pass by a byway. Romance, Ch. 67 §1–7
Yang Ang, despite Yang Ren's attempts to stop him, leaves his camp empty to give chase, and Xiahou Yuan, who has lost his way in a thick fog, occupies the empty camp while Zhang He beheads Yang Ang. Zhang Wei abandons the pass at night and flees, Cao Cao takes Yangping Pass, and Yang Ren, who challenges him to battle again, is cut down by Xiahou Yuan's trailing-sword trick. When Pang De, sent out by Zhang Lu, holds his own against four generals, Cao Cao, following Jia Xu's plan, bribes Zhang Lu's adviser Yang Song to slander Pang De, and when Pang De sallies out, captures him in a pit and receives his surrender. Romance, Ch. 67 §8–23
Zhang Lu rejects Zhang Wei's proposal to burn the granaries and, saying that "the granaries and treasuries belong to the state," leaves them sealed and flees to Bazhong. Zhang Wei is cut down by Xu Chu, and Yang Song, after sending Zhang Lu out of the city, shuts the gates on him, so Zhang Lu dismounts and surrenders. Cao Cao makes Zhang Lu General Who Guards the South and beheads Yang Song for selling out his master, and when Sima Yi and Liu Ye urge him to attack Shu on this momentum, he says, "Having gained Long, must I now look toward Shu?" and halts his army. Romance, Ch. 67 §24–31
Where the Romance differs
How Yangping Pass was taken: In Chapter 67 of the Romance, Xiahou Yuan, lost in the fog, occupies the empty camp and Zhang He beheads Yang Ang. In the Annals of Emperor Wu in the Records, when Cao Cao, unable to take the pass, withdrew his army, the enemy relaxed their defenses, and Xie Biao, Gao Zuo and others attacked at night, crushed them and beheaded Yang Ren. In the biography of Liu Ye, Cao Cao, short of provisions, really did intend to go back, but attacked again at Liu Ye's urging. Romance, Ch. 67 §9–11Records, Wei 1 §147Records, Wei 14 §94–95
Pang De and Zhang Wei: In the Romance, Pang De falls into a pit and surrenders after Yang Song's slander, and Zhang Wei is cut down by Xu Chu. The biography of Pang De records only that when Taizu pacified Hanzhong, Pang De surrendered along with the others, and in the Annals of Emperor Wu Zhang Wei fled at night. The affair of Yang Song is not in Chen Shou's text. Romance, Ch. 67 §21–23 · 26Records, Wei 18 §69Records, Wei 1 §147
Zhang Lu's surrender and the proposal to attack Shu: In the biography of Zhang Lu, Zhang Lu entered Bazhong at Yan Pu's advice, leaving the granaries sealed, and when Cao Cao sent men to reassure him, he came out with his family and became General Who Guards the South and Marquis of Langzhong. As for who proposed attacking Shu, only Liu Ye appears in the biography of Liu Ye, and Cao Cao did not follow his advice. Romance, Ch. 67 §24–30Records, Wei 8 §67–68Records, Wei 14 §95–97
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.