With a few strokes of his brush, Cao Cao sows dissent in Ma Chao’s inner circle.

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Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 73.

Before we pick up where we left off, I should note that the show just celebrated its second anniversary a couple days ago. The introduction episode was published on April 9, 2014, and the first actual episode went up exactly two years ago today. Thank you to everyone who has listened to the podcast, rated it in iTunes, recommended it to a friend, and made a donation to support it. You guys have made this a great ride, and I’m looking forward to the next two years.

 

So last time, after numerous unsuccessful attempts, Cao Cao finally managed to build a fortified camp on the Wei (4) River against Ma Chao, thanks to some freezing weather that allowed him to build a dirt-and-ice wall. This done, he went out to taunt his enemy about it. Ma Chao did not take kindly to this and was just about to charge at Cao Cao when he noticed an imposing figure behind Cao Cao.

Ma Chao suspected that this might be Xu Chu, the so-called Mad Tiger he had heard about. So he pointed with his whip and asked, “I have heard that your army has a Tiger Lord. Where is he?”

“I AM Xu Chu!” the man behind Cao Cao shouted. Supernatural light seemed to shoot from his eyes, and his air was so imposing that Ma Chao dared not make a move against Cao Cao. Instead, he simply turned his horse around and returned to camp. Cao Cao and Xu Chu also returned to their camp, and men on both sides were in awe of Xu Chu’s presence.

“Even the rebels know General Xu as the Tiger Lord,” Cao Cao said to his officers. So from that point on, everyone in Cao Cao’s army also referred to Xu Chu as such.

Impressive nicknames were nice, but there was still a battle to be fought, and Xu Chu said to Cao Cao, “I will capture Ma Chao tomorrow.”

“Ma Chao is very valiant; you must not underestimate him,” Cao Cao cautioned.

“I vow to fight him to the death!” Xu Chu replied.

 

So Cao Cao sent a message to Ma Chao, informing him that the Tiger Lord is challenging him to single combat the next day. Ma Chao, never one to shy away from a fight, was incensed when he read the letter.

“How dare you disrespect me so?! I swear I will slay the Mad Tiger tomorrow!”

So the duel was on. The next day, both sides lined up in battle formation. Ma Chao told his general Pang De to anchor his left wing, while his cousin Ma Dai anchored the right and Han Sui, his father’s sworn brother, watched over the center.

Ma Chao, hoisting his spear atop his horse, stood in front of the lines and shouted, “Mad Tiger, get out here now!”

Seeing this, Cao Cao turned and said to his men, “Ma Chao’s valor is on par with Lü Bu’s!”

But Xu Chu was not impressed. Before Cao Cao had finished speaking, Xu Chu was already galloping out to answer the challenge, and he and Ma Chao threw themselves at each other. They hacked and thrusted at each other for 100-some bouts without a winner. Both of their horses were exhausted after this long duel, so they both returned to their lines, switched horses, and came back out, whereupon they hacked and thrusted at each other for another 100-some bouts without a winner.

At this point, Xu Chu’s blood was up. He called for a quick timeout, galloped back to his lines,