The Battle of Red Cliffs goes badly for Cao Cao, but he still finds reasons to feel smug, much to his men’s chagrin.

* Transcript

* Map of Key Locations

* Graph of Key Characters and Relationships

Transcript

PDF version

Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 61.

Last time, we set the board for the coming Battle of Chibi (4,4), or Red Cliff. Zhou Yu had planned a fire attack. Pang (2) Tong (3), aka Master Young Phoenix, had talked Cao Cao into tying his ships together in the name of stability, but that also ensured they won’t be able to just sail away from the fire. The general Huang Gai was to head to Cao Cao’s camp under the pretension of defection and start the fire. Zhuge Liang had summoned the southeastern winds to make sure the fire moves in the right direction, and both the forces of Dongwu and Liu Bei were set up to cut off any reinforcements for Cao Cao on land while taking bites out of his troops once he’s on the run.

So everything looked good on paper. And now, it was time to actually execute the plan. Let’s start in Zhou Yu’s camp on the south bank of the river. As evening descended, Zhou Yu summoned Cai (4) He (2), one of the fake defectors that Cao Cao had sent to serve as spies. Zhou Yu ordered the guards to tie him up. Cai He protested and claimed innocence, but Zhou Yu scoffed.

“Who do you think you are? How dare you pretend to defect to me? I am missing an appropriate sacrifice for my banner, so I am borrowing your head.”

Knowing that the jig is up, Cai He decided that if he was going down, he was going to take everyone down with him.

“Two of your own people, Kan (4) Ze (2) and Gan (1) Ning (2), were my accomplices!” he shouted.

Well, the joke was on him, as Zhou Yu revealed that those two guys were just leading him on. Cai He had nothing but regret at this point, and Zhou Yu ordered the executioners to drag him to the foot of the banner on the bank of the river. There, Zhou Yu poured wine and burned paper money as a sacrifice, and then his executioners lopped off Cai He’s head and they offered his blood to the banner to ensure good fortune in the coming battle.

This gory business done, Zhou Yu sent out the word, and his ships moved out according to plan.

 

At the front of the fleet were Huang Gai’s 20 boats filled with fire-starting material. Huang Gai himself stood on the third boat, wearing a chestplate and carrying a sharp knife. His banner was adorned with the giant words “Vanguard General Huang Gai”.

With the wind at his back, Huang Gai set sail toward Red Cliff. The wind was raging, and the waves surged. On the other side of the river, Cao Cao peered out over the river from the center of his navy. The reflection of the rising moon flickered across the water, turning the river into myriad golden serpents rolling and sporting amidst the waves. As the wind blew in his face, Cao Cao laughed loudly in anticipation of his coming victory.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers pointed and said, “I see a fleet coming into view from the south, with the wind at its back.”

Cao Cao sent scouts to take a look from a high vantage point, and they reported back that they boats carried blue flags, including a big one that bore Huang Gai’s name. At this, Cao Cao laughed again.

“General Huang’s defection is a sign that heaven is on my side!” he said.

As the oncoming boats drew closer, one of Cao Cao’s advisers, Cheng (2) Yu (4),