RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 4 §9
NTogether with Ze Rong, dissuaded Liu Yao from beheading Zhang YingCh. 15 §24
Xue Li 薛禮
| Occupation | ROfficial · Chancellor of Pengcheng NStrategist | Faction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears | RN | Biography in | |
| Cause of death | RKilled NKilled in battle Unverified | ||
| Existence | Historical | Mentions | R4 |
Profile
Xue Li was Chancellor of Pengcheng who, pressed by Tao Qian, Governor of Xu Province, was stationed at Moling. He has no biography of his own in the Records and appears once each in the records of Ze Rong, Wu Jing and Zhou Yu. Wu Jing, who had become Yuan Shu's Army-Supervising General of the Household, attacked Ze Rong and Xue Li at Moling together with Sun Ben, and Zhou Yu, who had joined Sun Ce after he crossed the Yangtze, also attacked Moling and defeated Ze Rong and Xue Li. Records, Wu 4 §9Records, Wu 5 §3Records, Wu 9 §3
Ze Rong, who had killed Zhao Yu, Administrator of Guangling, plundered widely and left, killed him on his way. The Records does not record the year or place of his death. Records, Wu 4 §9
In the Romance he appears only in Chapter 15, as an adviser to Liu Yao, and his name is in no chapter title. Together with Ze Rong he saves Zhang Ying's life, and while holding the city of Moling he hears the false report that Sun Ce has been killed by an arrow, leaves the city in pursuit, runs into an ambush and dies amid the confusion of battle. Romance, Ch. 15 §24 · 40–42
In the Records
Ze Rong was a man of Danyang who gathered a following of several hundred men and went to attach himself to Tao Qian, Governor of Xu Province. Tao Qian had him supervise grain transport in Guangling and Pengcheng. When Lord Cao (Cao Cao) attacked Tao Qian and the land of Xu was thrown into turmoil, Ze Rong fled to Guangling with tens of thousands of men and women and 3,000 horses, and Zhao Yu, Administrator of Guangling, received him with the courtesies due to a guest. Records, Wu 4 §8–9
Ze Rong's record notes that before this, Xue Li, Chancellor of Pengcheng, pressed by Tao Qian, had been stationed at Moling. Records, Wu 4 §9
According to the record of Wu Jing, Wu Jing, who had been pressed by Liu Yao and had gone north again to rely on Yuan Shu, was appointed Army-Supervising General of the Household by Yuan Shu. Together with Sun Ben, Wu Jing attacked Fan Neng and Yu Mi at Hengjiang, and also attacked Ze Rong and Xue Li at Moling. Records, Wu 5 §3
According to the biography of Zhou Yu, when Sun Ce, intending to cross the river eastward, reached Liyang and sent word by letter, Zhou Yu came with troops to meet him. Zhou Yu followed Sun Ce in attacking Hengjiang and Dangli, taking both, and then crossed the river, attacked Moling and defeated Ze Rong and Xue Li. After that they took Husu and Jiangcheng and entered Qu'e, and Liu Yao fled. Records, Wu 9 §3
Coveting the large population and wealth of Guangling, Ze Rong killed Zhao Yu when the drinking was at its height, let his troops loose to plunder widely, and then loaded up the spoils and left. On his way he killed Xue Li, and after that he killed Zhu Hao. Chen Shou's main text does not state the year or place of Xue Li's death. Records, Wu 4 §9 · 6
In the Romance
In Chapter 15 of the Romance, when Zhang Ying returns after losing the battle at Niuzhu, Liu Yao in anger wants to behead him. His advisers Ze Rong and Xue Li dissuade him, so Zhang Ying is spared and is stationed at the city of Lingling to hold off the enemy. Romance, Ch. 15 §22–24
During the fighting at Shenting, Liu Yao, hearing that Zhou Yu has made a surprise attack and taken Qu'e, withdraws his troops, saying that since his base has been lost he must hurry to Moling to join the troops of Xue Li and Ze Rong. Sun Ce makes his newly acquired Chen Wu the vanguard and has him attack Xue Li, and when Chen Wu leads a dozen or so horsemen into the enemy formation and takes more than fifty heads, Xue Li shuts his gates and dares not come out. Romance, Ch. 15 §35–37
Having defeated Liu Yao and Ze Rong at Niuzhu, Sun Ce turns his army back to attack Moling again and goes in person close to the city moat to urge Xue Li to surrender. Just then an arrow shot in secret from the city wall strikes Sun Ce in the left leg. Sun Ce has it falsely announced in the army that the commander has been killed by an arrow, and the army breaks camp and leaves, wailing. Romance, Ch. 15 §37–41
Hearing that Sun Ce is dead, Xue Li raises the troops in the city overnight and sets out in pursuit together with the brave generals Zhang Ying and Chen Heng. But ambushers rise up on all sides, and when Sun Ce rides out in front shouting, 'Young Master Sun is here!', the soldiers throw down their spears and swords and prostrate themselves. Zhang Ying dies by Chen Wu's spear and Chen Heng by Jiang Qin's arrow, and Xue Li dies amid the confusion of battle. Sun Ce enters Moling and settles its inhabitants. Romance, Ch. 15 §41–42
Where the Romance differs
Status: Chapter 15 of the Romance portrays Xue Li as an adviser to Liu Yao. In the Records, Xue Li was Chancellor of Pengcheng and was stationed at Moling after being pressed by Tao Qian. Chen Shou's main text does not say that he served Liu Yao. Romance, Ch. 15 §24Records, Wu 4 §9Records, Wu 5 §3Records, Wu 9 §3
Saving Zhang Ying: In Chapter 15 of the Romance, Xue Li, together with Ze Rong, dissuades Liu Yao and saves Zhang Ying's life. The Biography of Liu Yao in the Records only records that Zhang Ying, together with Fan Neng, was stationed on the riverbank to hold off Yuan Shu and was defeated by Sun Ce when he crossed the Yangtze; Xue Li's remonstrance does not appear. Romance, Ch. 15 §24Records, Wu 4 §5 · 9
The fighting at Moling: In Chapter 15 of the Romance, Sun Ce makes Chen Wu the vanguard to attack Xue Li and goes in person up to the city. In the Records, according to the biography of Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu, who had joined Sun Ce, attacked Moling and defeated Ze Rong and Xue Li, and according to the record of Wu Jing, Wu Jing, Yuan Shu's Army-Supervising General of the Household, attacked Ze Rong and Xue Li at Moling together with Sun Ben. Chen Wu does not appear in these records. Romance, Ch. 15 §37 · 40Records, Wu 9 §3Records, Wu 5 §3
Sun Ce's wound: In Chapter 15 of the Romance, Sun Ce is struck in the left leg by an arrow shot in secret from the wall of Moling. The record of Wu Jing in the Records only says that around that time Sun Ce was wounded at Niuzhu and that bandits who had surrendered rebelled again, and does not connect this with Moling or Xue Li. Romance, Ch. 15 §40Records, Wu 5 §4
Death: In Chapter 15 of the Romance, Xue Li, deceived by the false report of Sun Ce's death, leaves the city in pursuit and dies amid the confusion of battle. In the Records, Ze Rong, who had killed Zhao Yu, Administrator of Guangling, plundered and left, killed Xue Li on his way. Romance, Ch. 15 §41–42Records, Wu 4 §9
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.
Abilities
The Records score (Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms, main text) is the baseline. Each ability compares how the Romance redrew the same person, and the evidence from both sources explains the difference.
Records total376 / 1000Rank 752 of 996 · Top 76%Romance total369 / 1000Rank 743 of 1,113 · Top 67%
Romance adaptation index−7Romance total − Records total
- LEA4038−2
- STR3835−3
- INT3525−10
- POL4535−10
- CHA3838±0
- VIR4045+5
- ADP3535±0
- SCH3533−2
- DIP3550+15
- DIS3535±0
Abilities shaped by the Romance — where it differs from the Records Differences of 10 or more
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 4 §9
NBelieved the false report of Sun Ce's death, pursued overnight and fell into an ambushCh. 15 §41
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 4 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Liu Yao's adviserCh. 15 §24
7 similar abilities — show evidence
RWas stationed at Moling but was defeated by Sun Ce and Zhou YuWu 9 §3Wu 5 §3
NLost more than fifty heads to Chen Wu and shut his gates; collapsed in an ambush while giving chaseCh. 15 §37Ch. 15 §41
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 9 §3
NNo direct record — died amid the confusion of battleCh. 15 §42
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 4 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Liu Yao's adviserCh. 15 §24
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 4 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Liu Yao's adviserCh. 15 §24
RNo direct record — pressed by Tao Qian, he moved to MolingWu 4 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Liu Yao's adviserCh. 15 §41
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 4 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Liu Yao's adviserCh. 15 §24
RNo direct record — estimated from his post as Chancellor of PengchengWu 4 §9
NNo direct record — estimated from his role as Liu Yao's adviserCh. 15 §24
Records Romance Unverified No direct record; scored from their actions (evidence grade C)
3KDEX scoring — the Records use the main text of Chen Shou’s Records of the Three Kingdoms; the Romance uses the 120-chapter Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Click a source tag to open that passage in the reader.
Romance chapters (1)
AppearsNot present Chapter list →
Related events (1)
- Battle of Que 195 · Command
Includes automatic matching from Wikipedia infoboxes and source keywords (unverified).