Kong Xiu 孔秀

In Chapter 27 of the Romance, Lord Guan receives from Hu Hua, the master of the manor where he has stayed the night, a letter to be delivered to Hu Hua's son Hu Ban, who serves under Wang Zhi, Administrator of Xingyang, and the next day he puts his two sisters-in-law in the carriage and takes the road to Luoyang. The pass that appears ahead is named Dongling Pass, and the general guarding it, surnamed Kong and named Xiu, holds it on the ridge with 500 soldiers. When Lord Guan climbs the ridge escorting the carriage, the soldiers inform Kong Xiu, who comes out of the pass to welcome him and exchanges courtesies with Lord Guan, who has dismounted. Romance, Ch. 27 §16–17

When Kong Xiu asks where he is going, Lord Guan answers that he has taken leave of the Chancellor and is on his way to Hebei to seek his elder brother. Kong Xiu says that Yuan Shao of Hebei is the Chancellor's very adversary, so Lord Guan must surely have a travel permit from the Chancellor, and on the answer that his departure was so pressing that he had no time to obtain one, Kong Xiu says that he can let him go only after sending someone to ask the Chancellor. When Lord Guan says that waiting for the messenger to go and come back will delay his journey, Kong Xiu says that he is bound by regulations and has no choice. When Lord Guan asks whether he means to refuse to let him through the pass, Kong Xiu tells him that if he wants to pass he must leave his family behind as hostages. Romance, Ch. 27 §18–19

When Lord Guan, in a great rage, raises his blade to cut him down, Kong Xiu withdraws into the pass, beats the drums to muster his soldiers, puts on his armour, mounts his horse and comes charging down from the pass, shouting, "Do you dare to pass?" Lord Guan has the carriage drawn back, spurs his horse and, blade in hand, rides straight at Kong Xiu without a word. Kong Xiu levels his spear to meet him, but when the two horses meet, in a single bout, where Lord Guan's steel blade flashes up, Kong Xiu's corpse tumbles beneath the horse. Romance, Ch. 27 §19–20

When the soldiers flee, Lord Guan tells them that he killed Kong Xiu because he had no choice and that it has nothing to do with them, and asks them to tell Chancellor Cao that he killed Kong Xiu because Kong Xiu tried to harm him; the soldiers all bow before his horse. At Luoyang, the next pass, Lord Guan angrily says to Han Fu (韓福), the Administrator of Luoyang, who asks for his travel permit, "Kong Xiu of Dongling Pass has already died at my hands. Do you wish to die too?" At Sishui Pass, when Lord Guan tells of having cut down Kong Xiu and Han Fu, Bian Xi, the general guarding the pass, says that he was right to kill them and that when he sees the Chancellor he will explain the circumstances on Lord Guan's behalf. Romance, Ch. 27 §20–21 · 23 · 26–27