Cao Cao discards his robe and slices off his beard (fictitious stories 17)

Cao Cao
Co Coh

In the novel, Ma Chao of Xiliang rallied an army to attack Cao Cao for revenge as the latter had murdered his father Ma Teng. Cao Cao’s troops were utterly defeated by Ma Chao’s coalition army at the Battle of Tong Pass. Amidst the chaos, Cao Cao fled but was pursued by Ma Chao. Ma Chao shouted “The man in the red robe is Cao Cao! Capture him!” Hearing that, Cao Cao took off his robe and discarded it. Ma Chao shouted again “The man with the long beard is Cao Cao!” Hearing that, Cao Cao drew his sword and trimmed his beard until it was very short. Ma Chao shouted again “The man with the short beard is Cao Cao!” Hearing that, Cao Cao used a flag banner to wrap around his jaw and managed to escape from Ma Chao barely after Cao Hong arrived to intercept Ma Chao, allowing time for Cao Cao to escape. In historical records, Ma Teng was executed by Cao Cao after his son Ma Chao started a rebellion and the order of events in the novel had been reversed. Also, Cao Cao’s troops did suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Ma Chao’s coalition army, but there were no indications of Cao Cao discarding his robe and slicing off his beard.