All hell breaks loose as Cao Cao’s troops catch up to Liu Bei. Out of this hell rides his general Zhao Yun, with a precious package strapped to his chest.

* Transcript

* Map of Key Locations

* Graph of Key Characters and Relationships

Zhao Yun’s Fight Scenes

Which is your favorite?

1994 TV Series

The two guys at 1:21:42: You weren’t stabbed off your horses. You jumped! And those two foot soldiers flying through the air at 1:24:31, oh man!

 

2010 TV Series

A much more impressive fight sequence, though the scene at 33:45 is a little too over the top for me.

 

“Red Cliff” Movie

“No, how can a general be without his horse?!” As he slaughters a whole detachment of baddies on foot while cradling a baby in one arm.

Transcript

PDF version

Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 51.

Last time, Cao Cao and his huge army were on the move toward Jing Province. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang managed to scorch his vanguard, but with his numerical advantage, Cao Cao just shrugged off this bloody nose and kept marching, so Liu Bei took a bunch of civilians with him and fled.

While that was happening, Liu Cong (2), the younger son of the now deceased Liu Biao, surrendered to Cao Cao and handed him Jing Province. Cao Cao summoned Liu Cong for a meeting, but Liu Cong was too afraid to go, and one of his officers, Wang (2) Wei (1), advised Liu Cong to launch surprise attack on Cao Cao instead.

Liu Cong, however, told his uncle Cai Mao what Wang Wei had said, and Cai Mao, who had been pushing for Liu Cong to surrender, was not about to put up with this.

“How dare you go against heaven’s will and speak such nonsense?!” he chided Wang Wei (1) angrily.

“You traitor! I wish I could eat your flesh!” Wang Wei retorted equally angrily.

Cai Mao was irate and wanted to kill Wang Wei, but the adviser Kuai (3) Yue (4) played peacemaker and reminded Cai Mao that he had to go see Cao Cao. So Cai Mao and his fellow officer Zhang Yun (3) went to see Cao Cao at the city of Fancheng (2,2), which laid across the river from Xiangyang (1,2), where Liu Cong was holed up. There, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun (3) met Cao Cao and launched into hyper-suck-up mode to get on his good side.

“How much troops and provisions does Jing Province possess?” Cao Cao asked them.

“50,000 cavalry, 150,000 infantry, 80,000 navy, for a total of 280,000,” the two sycophants answered. “Most of the money and provisions are stored at Jiangling (1,2), the rest are spread out. It’s enough to last a year.”

“How many warships do you have? Who is in charge of them?” Cao Cao asked.

“We have more than 7,000 warships, large and small,” Cai Mao answered. “We two oversee them.”

Satisfied with their answers, Cao Cao now heaped a couple marquiships on Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. He also named Cai Mao superintendent of his navy and made Zhang Yun the assistant superintendent. This made them very happy, and they bowed to thank Cao Cao.

“Liu Biao is dead, and since his son has submitted, I shall write a memorial to the emperor and recommend that he remain the master of Jing Province for the rest of his life,” Cao Cao told them. Hearing this,