Series / The Advisor's Alliance

The Advisor's Alliance (Original title "大軍師司馬懿之軍師聯盟", or The Great Military Strategist Sima Yi: The Military Strategists' Alliance) is a Chinese television series made in 2017 focusing on the life of Wei statesman Sima Yi (portrayed by Wu Xiubo) during China's Three Kingdoms era. The series also stars Zhang Junning (Xu Hui in The Empress of China) as Bai Lingyun, a character based on the historical Lady Bai, favored concubine of Sima Yi and mother of Sima Lun, Yi's youngest son and later one of the titular princes in the Western Jin-era disaster "War of the Eight Princes".

The series is divided into two parts, with part one focusing on his early career under the warlord Cao Cao and his role in assisting Cao Pi in the power struggle with his brother, Cao Zhi, to succeed Cao Cao.

The second part, subtitled Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon (虎啸龙吟，"hu xiao long yin") begins near the end of Cao Pi's reign, and focuses on Sima's contributions to the state of Wei following the total dissolution of the Han dynasty. In this part, he takes a more active role in Wei by commanding the armies against rival states Wu and Shu (referred to in-series by its own officials as "Han", just as how its own people and officials would have referred to it historically), eventually taking on the role of regent under the third Wei emperor Cao Fang.

Part one and part two of the series can be found entirely on YouTube, though the quality of the official English subs leave much to be desired and viewers of certain regions may be geo-blocked. The series also has a two-part "making-of" documentary, also on Youtube, but without English subtitles.

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The Advisor's Alliance contains examples of:

• Action Girl: Despite being a mother of two and living in a society where women are heavily oppressed, Zhang Chunhua is not above openly taunting a well respected general in front of his men and kicking an arrow back to him. ^note Historically, Zhang was a mother of three boys (Her youngest son Sima Gan died in his late 70s and survived the Sima dynastic strife that is the War of the Eight Princes). She was also one of the few women of the Three Kingdoms era to have killed someone on record.
  • Xiao Yuan, while Lady Bai's personal maid, is also trained in martial arts from the Investigation Bureau and is not afraid to jump into action at the slightest provocation.
• Ambadassador: Sima Yi serves as one to convince Sun Quan in lending aid to defeat Guan Yu and reclaim the territories of Jing.
• Adapted Out: Historically, Cao Cao was well-known for his harem and many sons. In records which have survived, he had at least 15 concubines (including one ex-wife Lady Ding, who left him after Cao Ang's death; Lady Bian was elevated as her replacement), 25 sons and 6 daughters. Cao Chong's mother Lady Huan was also the grandmother of the last Wei emperor Cao Huan (who was her son Cao Yu's ^note the one who lost Cao Fang's regency to Cao Shuang, although historically he also had the intention of resigning after being General-in-Chief for a few days son). Also, Lady Bian had four sons; the fourth, Cao Xiong, died at a young age.
  • Historically, Ding Yi had a brother whose name sounded similar (丁廙), who also assisted Cao Zhi in the fight to become Cao Cao's heir.
  • Historically, Sima Yi had nine sons, born to four women. Among them, the more famous ones left out are Sima Liang (like his half-brother Lun, one of the titular princes in the "War of the Eight Princes") and Liang's full brother Zhou (who led an army in the final conquest of Eastern Wu and whose grandson became the first emperor of the Eastern Jin). Yi also had two daughters; the younger daughter, Princess Gaolu, married Du Yu, another prominent general who led an army in the final conquest of Eastern Wu. ^note Du was also the originator of two Chinese idioms: "势如破竹" ('shi ru po zhu'; literally "(a) situation like breaking bamboo", used to describe easy and complete victories) and "迎刃而解" ('ying ren er jie'; literally "splitting upon contact with (a) blade's edge", used to describe solutions which resolve a problem easily and completely), as he used the two terms to describe the ease of eliminating Wu.. The elder daughter, Princess Nanyang, married Xun Yi, a grandson of Xun Yu.
  • Sima Yan, Zhao's son and the future Emperor Wu of Jin, was also not depicted. Historically, he would be about 11 when his grandmother Zhang Chunhua died.
• Adaptational Badass: Cao Cao, who was depicted lording over the imperial court and the emperor even before his victory at Guandu.
• Adaptation Expansion: Greatly expands on the life and role of Sima Yi and his family.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Sima Yi is significantly more devoted to his wife than in actual history, going so far as willingly disobeying a royal edict and losing his position because of his love for his wife. Historically, Sima Yi favored Lady Bai over Zhang Chunhua in later years, which drove the latter into a hunger strike. Sima Yi only apologized to his wife because his sons joined their mother and he didn't want his boys to suffer. ^note Yi calling Chunhua "(an) old thing" (Original: 老物) in this anecdote may be self-deprecating, given that he was about a decade older than his wife. Also, Yi and Chunhua had their youngest son Gan circa 232 CE, where he's about 53 and she's about 43.
  • Guo Zhao's character was based on Guo Nüwang, who became the first empress of Wei after heavily undermining Zhen Ji's position as Cao Pi's favorite wife. Lady Guo in the series shares a cooperative, sisterly bond with Lady Zhen.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Sima Fang. Historically, he was known for being a serious and solemn man throughout his life; he was humourless even in informal settings such as banquets. Also, he maintained a very low profile and avoided interacting with his colleagues outside the workplace. He was also strict and stern towards his sons even after they grew up and became adults. In his presence, they did not dare to move, sit or speak without his permission.
  • Cao Pi, in the incident involving Cao Hong's potential execution. Historically, Pi wanted to kill Hong as he offended Pi over money matters before Pi became emperor.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • The two daughters of Liu Xie, particularly the elder one, scheme heavily to become the favorites in Cao Pi's harem. Historically, little was recorded of them.
  • While Cao Hong was historically very stingy with his personal wealth, the series turns his greed up to eleven. ^note Hong's stinginess historically nearly cost him his life, as he offended Cao Pi over money matters before Pi became emperor. Pi was so determined to kill Hong that Empress Dowager Bian had to threaten to depose Empress Guo in order for Guo to work doubly hard to convince Pi not to go ahead with the execution.
  • Bi Xie's role as Cao Rui's male companion is actually based on Cao Xiu's son Cao Zhao, who indeed had a close relationship with Cao Rui, but was not recorded in official history to have any major misdeeds. ^note The history/ historical fiction collection Shishuo Xinyu recorded that Rui and Zhao once had a bet with clothes as stakes. When Rui lost, he did not honor the bet; Zhao then waltzed into the imperial palace, and left while wearing some of Rui's clothes. This story later became a Chinese idiom, "赌衣弄帏", 'du yi nong wei'.
• Animal Motifs: Sima Yi is often compared to a wolf due to his extreme patience before making a move. ^note Historically, Sima Yi was compared to a wolf because he seemingly shared the wolf's ability to turn their heads 180 degrees. According to Yi's biography in the Book of Jin, Cao Cao decided to test this himself, by allowing Yi to move ahead of him and then calling out to him. Lo and behold, only Yi's head turned to face Cao, while his body still faced the front.
  • Often lampshaded by Sima Yi himself in his early career, the turtle due to its reluctance with being outside of its shell for too long. Later on in his career when commanding the armies of Wei, his staff would also lampshade this when he refused to lead his armies against Zhuge Liang at Mount Qi. On a meta level, one may also notice that he is a turtle as he simply outlived many of his opponents. ^note Sima Fu was an even better turtle than his brother; he died at the grand old age of 92, well into the reign of his grand-nephew as emperor of Jin.
• Another Story for Another Time: The final narration of the series goes on to mention the future exploits of the Sima family, namely Shi consolidating power, Zhao conquering Shu Han, and Yi's grandson Yan usurping the throne and conquering Wu under the banner of the Jin Dynasty.
• Armchair Military: Ma Su at Jieting, where he relied solely on military theorems and ignored the obvious dangers. A famous Truth in Television example. ^note While Ma Su had held several important positions in Shu's government before his failure at Jieting, one cannot discount the possibility that he was placed in those positions in order to strengthen the Jing province faction.
• Arranged Marriage:
  • As a test of loyalty and ways to keep tabs on him, Cao Pi gives Sima Yi Lady Bai. Zhang Chunhua is not amused.
  • Sima Shi and Xiahou Hui are married as a means to ease tension between the two families.
• Alternate Character Interpretation: In-Universe. Surprisingly only a handful of characters really fall under this trope, with the large majority remaining faithful to their historical counterparts.
• Artistic License – History: Numerous, considering the series is a historical drama first and foremost:
  • Historically, Hua Tuo, Yang Biao and Sima Fang were not involved in Dong Cheng's Belt Edict plot to assassinate Cao Cao. Also, Hua Tuo's "Five Beasts Dance" was passed down to his disciple Wu Pu, and not Sima Yi; Hua himself was not recorded to have any links to the Sima family. ^note Historically, Yang Biao did have an unpleasant incident with Cao Cao and Man Chong, but the context was totally different; at an official banquet after Emperor Xian had settled down in Xu County, Cao saw that Yang looked unhappy, and thought that Yang wanted to harm him. Later that year, Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor; Cao took the opportunity to frame Yang as a traitor in cahoots with Yuan to remove Emperor Xian (Yang and Yuan were relatives, Yang Xiu's mother being Yuan Shu's sister). Besides Kong Rong interceding for Yang, as the main investigator, Man Chong also advised Cao not to execute Yang without firm evidence. In the end, Cao released Yang. In the same incident, Kong and Xun Yu implored Man not to use torture on Yang during investigations. Man refused to do so, incurring the anger of Kong and Xun. However, after the pair knew of Man's words to Cao, they became more friendly towards Man.
  • Historically, while Sima Fang was once Intendant of Jingzhao (京兆尹, Jingzhao yin), and Prefect of Luoyang (洛陽令, Luoyang ling), by the time part one began, he had already left those positions; Luoyang itself was also left desolate after Dong Zhuo burnt down the city in his retreat to Chang'an in 190 CE. ^note Cao Cao would only rebuild Luoyang in late 219 CE, just before Sun Quan's attack on Jing province.
  • The trial of Dong Cheng as depicted in-series is historically implausible. ^note Yuan Shao had not yet been defeated at Guan Du; during the Guan Du campaign itself, even Cao himself expressed his lack of confidence in defeating Yuan in his correspondence with Xun Yu (and it was Xun who encouraged Cao to hang on in Guan Du, resulting in Cao's victory). In the aftermath of Cao's victory, he ordered that all correspondence between his men and Yuan be burnt. While the common interpretation was that Cao did this in order to calm his men, an alternate theory was that Cao knew that there were too many would-be collaborators for him to pursue the matter.
    • The term "Da Li Si" is historically incorrect; the branch of the imperial court in charge of investigations during Emperor Xian's reign was simply "Da Li". ^note The term "Da Li Si" first appeared in Northern Qi, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
  • Cao Cao calling Sima Fang "old and useless" would be odd, considering Sima was only 6 years older than Cao historically. In addition, way back in 174 CE, Sima had recommended Cao for his first official position in Luoyang.
  • Lady Guo is portrayed as a member of the Sima household as Zhang Chunhua’s handmaid and sworn sister, while historically she was attached to the household of one Marquis of Tongdi. Also, when Lady Guo was married to Cao Pi, Cao Cao was already the Duke of Wei.
  • Historically, Yang Xiu was Yuan Shu's nephew, although given the complicated relationship between Shao and Shu, Yang Xiu could have been Shao's nephew as well. ^note By blood, the pair are half-brothers. Genealogically, they are cousins, as their father Yuan Feng sent Shao away to become the heir of Feng's elder brother Cheng, who had passed away at a young age.
  • Cao Pi oversees the Investigation Bureau during Cao Cao’s Guan Du campaign. Historically, he should be around 12 or 13 at the time. ^note Historically, Pi was about 8 years younger than Sima Yi, Yi being born circa 179 CE and Pi circa 187 CE. However, Cao Pi may have taken part in the Guan Du campaign as a kid, if an annotation in volume 7 of the poetry collection "Gu Wen Yuan" (古文苑) is correct. Similarly, during the events of Dong Cheng's failed plot, Lady Bian's children were all literally kids.
    • However, the series pushed back Cao Pi's wedding to Lady Zhen; historically, this event took place in 204 CE (soon after the fall of Ye city and before the death of Guo Jia), when Cao Pi was around 17 and Lady Zhen 21.
  • Sima Shi’s Big Damn Heroes moment to his father and Cao Zhi seem improbable since he should be around 11 or 12 at the time. It is likely that he and his brother Zhao were given an Age Lift. ^note The first episode of part one depicted Sima Zhao's birth, which in-series took place between 199-200 (the plot against Cao Cao by Dong Cheng and co. was historically exposed around the first lunar month of 200 CE, while the Guandu campaign took place later that year). Historically, Sima Shi was born in 208 CE, the year of Hua Tuo's historical death and where his father was forced by Cao Cao to serve as an official; Zhao was born in 211 CE.
  • Historically, Cao Cao's first attempt to recruit Sima Yi took place in 201 CE (after the Guandu campaign). Also, Sima Yi only pretended to be paralysed at the time. The second attempt took place in 208 CE (around the same time as the series), with Yi relenting after Cao Cao gave instructions to arrest (not kill) him should he continue to refuse.
  • Historically, after leaving Liu Bei to serve Cao Cao, Xu Shu never left Cao's service. ^note The last known record on Xu was during the reign of Cao Rui, where Zhuge Liang led his series of campaigns to attack Cao Wei. When Zhuge Liang heard about the ranks of Xu Shu and Shi Tao in Wei, he remarked, "Are there so many talents in Wei? Why aren't the talents of these two men put to good use?"
  • Historically, Cao Cao's war against Ma Chao took place after Chibi.
  • Historically, Cao Cao first assumed the position of Duke of Wei in 213 CE, at least 4 years after his defeat at Chibi. He only became King (Prince) of Wei in 216 CE. Also, Liu Zhen historically died the year after Cao Cao became king (217 CE, the year where the Sima Gate Incident took place), while Xun Yu died the year before Cao became duke (212 CE); Xun You died in 214 CE, a few years before the Sima Gate incident.
  • Historically, Sima Lang was not linked to the Sima Gate Incident. Also, at the time of the incident, Cao Zhi was no longer the Marquess of Pingyuan; his fiefdom had been shifted to Linzi (临淄) in 214 CE.
    • While Sima Lang did die from an epidemic illness, he contracted said disease during a campaign against Sun Quan; Wang Can's death from illness was during his return to Ye city, also after a campaign against Sun Quan.
  • Historically, while Cui Yan did write a letter bearing the same content to Yang Xun, the circumstances around his death were slightly different. ^note According to Chen Shou (author of Records of the Three Kingdoms), Cui's true intention in writing those remarks was to mock Yang Xun's critics for being too eager to disparage Yang without making any careful consideration. However, Cui Yan was accused of displaying arrogance and defaming Cao Cao in his letter. The Weilüe recorded more details of the events leading to Cui Yan's death. It mentioned that Cui Yan's letter to Yang Xun fell into the hands of Cui Yan's enemies, who accused him of defaming Cao Cao. Cao Cao felt that Cui Yan was discrediting him so he had the latter arrested, imprisoned, head shaved, and sent to perform hard labour. Later, Cui Yan's enemies told Cao Cao, "When Cui Yan serves his sentence, he glares at people straight in the eye as if he is filled with resentment." Cao Cao believed them and wanted Cui Yan to die so he sent an official to inform Cui, "You've three days to live." Cui Yan did not understand what the official meant and he continued to live on for several days. When the official reported to Cao Cao that Cui Yan was alive and well, Cao furiously said, "Cui Yan is forcing me to use the sword on him!" The official went to see Cui Yan again and explained to the latter that Cao Cao actually wanted him to kill himself within three days. Cui Yan said, "How silly of me. I didn't know that he actually wanted me to do this." He committed suicide after that.
  • Historically, by the Fancheng campaign, the Sun-Liu alliance was in tatters. Lady Sun (Sun Quan's sister and Liu Bei's wife) had already returned to Wu, and Lyu Meng's seizure of the three commandaries of Changsha, Jiangxia and Guiyang did not fully settle the territorial dispute between the two powers. As such, Sun Quan decided to attack Guan Yu out of his own considerations; conversely, he was the one who sent emissaries to Cao Cao, asking for a formal alliance.
  • Historically, like the "chicken rib" incident, Wei Feng's rebellion happened during Cao Cao's campaign in Hanzhong. The commander of the Fancheng campaign was historically Cao Ren. ^note However, the Fancheng campaign did have a connection to the Cao Pi-Cao Zhi competition; their father actually wanted Zhi to lead troops to assist Cao Ren. However, after the order had been issued, Zhi got himself too drunk to accept the order. This was the last straw for Cao, and he never gave Zhi another important task.
  • Sima Fang’s death historically occurred in 219, before Cao Pi’s reign as emperor or even Cao Cao's death.
  • Cao Pi’s ascension from the King of Wei to Emperor of the Wei dynasty seems to happen in a matter of weeks when Emperor Xian’s abdication occurred almost 9 months after Cao Cao's death. Also, Cao Pi's ascension as King of Wei was dramatised. ^note While several events depicted had historical basis (including Cao Zhang asking about the royal seal, and Jia Kui rebuking him, and Cao Zhi refusing Zhang's offer of assistance to become King of Wei, citing the precedent of the Yuan brothers), Jia and Sima Yi were not physically harmed. It was recorded that Sima Yi supervised the funerary arrangements to ensure that everything was going to be carried out in an orderly fashion, and thereafter accompanied the funeral cortège to Ye city, whereby in doing so he earned the respect of officials both within and outside the central government.
  • Chen Qun’s "Nine Rank System" was historically his own design, with no involvement from Sima Yi.
  • During the arc where Cai Yong's excellent calligraphy was mentioned, his daughter Cai Yan was addressed using the style name "Wenji". This style name only appeared in later eras where historians needed to avoid a naming taboo. Her real style name was "Zhaoji" ^note the "Zhao" being the same as the one in Sima Zhao's name. Since Sima was posthumously honoured as an emperor by his son after the founding of the Jin Dynasty, Cai's style name was changed..
  • Zhong Hui and Deng Ai are portrayed as contemporaries when Zhong Hui wouldn't be born for another five years after Deng Ai's first appearance in the series. The series also gave Zhong an Age Lift.^note Historically, Deng was about 28 years older than Zhong; in turn, Deng was 18 years younger than Sima Yi. Also, Zhong was portrayed as an adult during Cao Cao's reign as King of Wei; historically, he was born in 225 CE, near the end of Cao Pi's reign as emperor. Besides plot reasons, giving Zhong an Age Lift also deflects attention from the fact that Zhong Yao was in his 70s when Hui was born.
    • Besides appearing too early, Zhong Hui historically was never fully trusted by Sima Zhao, who nonetheless didn't believe him to be a threat. ^note Zhao wasn't even worried when Zhong was leading troops against Shu in the final Wei campaign in late 263 CE. As predicted, although Zhong did rebel (together with Jiang Wei), both men were killed and the rebellion swiftly put down.
  • Historically, Xiahou Dun died soon after Cao Cao, before Cao Pi's coronation as emperor.
  • Historically, Sima Yi recognized Deng Ai's talent between 235 and 239 CE, while he was Grand Commandant (Cao Rui himself died on the first day of the Lunar New Year of 239, which corresponds to 22 January 239 in the Julian calendar).
  • Historically, Sima Yi was not involved in the saga surrounding Cao Pi's marital issues, or Cao Rui's journey to become crown prince.
  • Historically, Cao Zhen was never sent as far as the Western Regions (Xiyu), nor was he sent to pacify the Loulans; he was sent to oversee military affairs in Yong and Liang provinces, the northwest border provinces of Cao Wei.
  • Historically, Meng Da's rebellion at Xincheng took place a few months before the Battle of Shi Ting.
  • The arc involving Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions largely adapted events from Romance. Most notably, the sixth expedition is entirely fictional. ^note Its inclusion is justified to a degree as it is meant to play up Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang's rivalry. In the "making-of" documentary, director Zhang Yongxin admitted that the Northern Expedition arc mainly drew from Romance, as Chinese audiences were expecting the classic scenes from Romance. Historically, both Shi and Zhao were first mentioned in events taking place after Zhuge Liang's death.
  • The factional struggle within Shu-Han was slightly more complicated in real life. ^note Besides the native Yi province faction, and the Jing province faction which followed Liu Bei into Yi province, there was a third faction consisting of non-native officials who came to Yi province during Liu Zhang's reign; Li Yan actually belonged to this faction.
  • Historically, Chen Qun died in Feb 237, almost two years after Empress Dowager Guo, who died in March 235. Also, while the series gave a plausible explanantion of the circumstances behind Lady Guo's historical death, the Sima clan was historically left alone since they did not have any links with her in the first place. ^note In 234CE, the clan had just gotten away with the mysterious death of Xiahou Hui, Sima Shi's first wife.
  • Historically, Xiahou Hui was poisoned by Sima Shi himself in 234 CE, during Cao Rui's reign. ^note Hui's early death and the fact that the Sima clan did not suffer any reprisals was a sign that the Sima clan's power was already threatening the Cao and Xiahou clans by that time. On the other hand, Sima Guang, author of the Zi Zhi Tong Jian, did not include the poisoning account in his work as he believed that when Xiahou Hui died, Sima Yi had just earned Cao Rui's trust, and showed no signs of disloyalty; his sons had no reasons to be disloyal as well. Also, Sima Shi later married a daughter of Wu Zhi and divorced her; his third wife is Yang Huiyu, a granddaughter of Cai Yong and sister of Yang Hu, a general during the late Wei/ early Jin era.
  • Historically, Cao Fang was about 17 during the Incident at Gaoping Tombs.
  • Historically, Sima Fu did marry and have children; two of his grandsons (Yong and Mao) would later take part in the War of the Eight Princes, although only Yong was regarded as part of the eponymous eight.
• Appeal to Tradition: Cao Cao sees Pi's supporters as this, them being unwilling to consider the possibility that talent should trump morality or tradition.
• As You Know: In one episode, Sima Yi explains the meaning of a ballad to Cao Cao, which is redundant as while Cao may not have known the lyrics beforehand, given his literary accomplishments, he would have been able to grasp the meaning of the song by himself. ^note Said song was "At Fifteen I Joined the Army on Expedition" ("Shíwǔ Cóngjūn Zhēng", 十五從軍征), made famous in the West by its inclusion in Total War: Three Kingdoms
• Automatic Crossbows: The archers of Shu come equipped with them during Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition to devastating effectiveness. Historically, the crossbows were actually pretty weak at long range due to a lack of penetrating power.
• Batman Gambit: Zhuge Liang's Empty Fort strategy managed to scare away Sima Yi's army of around 50,000 men. Zhuge Liang even pointed out how bad a plan it was after Sima Yi retreated as it only works if the deceived general is one who overthinks.
  • While Sima Yi was genuinely in a catatonic state for a time, he spent years unresponsive and bedridden after Chunhua's death. During that time, Cao Shuang's attention moved away from the Sima family as he deemed them no longer a threat so they could continue plotting their eventual coup.^note Historically, the Incident at Gaoping Tombs took place about two years after Chunhua's death.
• Battle of Wits: Effectively the entire story for most of the series, with Sima Yi's opponent changing as the years and conflicts go on.
• Betty and Veronica:
  • Lady Zhen is the Betty to Guo Zhao's Veronica for Cao Pi.
  • Zhang Chunhua is the Veronica to Lady Bai's Betty.
• Big Damn Heroes: Just as Sima Yi and Cao Zhi were about to be executed, Xiahou Dun and Sima Shi arrive to the execution site with an imperial edict to stop the trial.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: The bid to become Cao Cao's heir nearly split Wei in two, even with Cao Cao officially declaring Cao Pi as his rightful heir. To make matters worse, Cao Zhang effectively imposed martial law on the capital to force his brother Cao Zhi to become the King of Wei despite the latter refusing as Cao Pi was the designated heir.
  • Under Cao Pi's reign, his cousins and uncles all try to strengthen and protect their personal power, with numerous courtiers privately lampshading the possibility of another war of Eighteen Kingdoms. ^note Ironically, a full-blown civil war would only break out among the Sima clan after Sima Yan (Yi's grandson, known posthumously as Emperor Wu of Jin) died. Said civil war became known as the War of the Eight Princes and was a major factor in China becoming divided for more than two centuries.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Averted with Lady Bai, who has no interest in competing with Zhang Chunhua as Sima Yi's favorite. Played Straight with Elder Princess Liu, who attempted to undermine Lady Zhen's position and is at odds with Lady Guo.
• Bittersweet Ending: An inevitability given the nature of the show, however it is still bittersweet knowing the Sima family finally achieved the security they had been striving for, but many of them didn't live to see it. Even Sima Yi barely sees what a world ruled by the Sima family has in store.
  • Goes into full-blown Downer Ending when one considers the fate of the Sima clan during the Jin Dynasty. ^note Both Sima Shi and Zhao died younger than their parents (Shi in 255 CE at about 47, Zhao in 265 CE at about 54). Shi did not have a son as heir, so Zhao sent his son You to become his brother's heir. This in turn led to one of the causes of the civil war, as You was suspected by his full brother Yan of having designs on the imperial throne; the suspicions led You to die in 283 CE, before the age of 40. You's son Jiong then became one of the titular eight princes of the civil war. The civil war led to the weakening of the Western Jin, which eventually lost the north and had to retreat to the south, re-establishing itself as the Eastern Jin. Shi's and Zhao's branches of the clan were almost completely destroyed, while many Eastern Jin emperors also became political puppets to powerful court officials.
• Blood from the Mouth: Most common way to show a character is going to die apart from combat.
• The Caligula: Cao Rui. It didn't help that his father Cao Pi shunned him because it was unknown if he even was his son, and it especially didn't help when he saw his mother commit suicide before him. When he finally took the throne, his early years were defined by all sorts of Ax-Crazy acts of madness. ^note Historically, the evaluation of Cao Rui's reign was mixed; while he was an emperor who was known to have been a strong military strategist and a good leader astute in commissioning capable officials and personally a supporter of arts, his building projects and desire to have many concubines (who numbered in the thousands) greatly exhausted the imperial treasury.
• The Chessmaster: The series is littered with them, given the constant warring political factions that support Wei.
• Color-Coded Armies: While most officers wear the same armor, the foot soldiers they leave wear different colored tunics to represent their state. Wei is black, Wu is green, and Shu is red.
• The Coup: Years of meticulous planning and close calls results in Sima Yi leading a revolt to remove Cao Shuang from power.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Sima Yi at times might come across as a bumbling, goofy courtier, but underneath it all he's taking very close observations of his surroundings and planning out his next moves.
  • Deng Ai is often overlooked due to his meek nature and terrible stammer, but when he's relaxed he's a brilliant orator and agricultural genius.
• Decadent Court: In Wei, the Cao and Xiahou clans faction to keep their power and privileges at any cost; in Shu, the natives of Yi province struggle against the Jing province faction (officials who followed Liu Bei to Yi province).
• Death Seeker: Lady Bai. As the carriage she was in burns during an assassination attempt, she could have escaped. After remembering how the cautious and humble Sima Yi she knew was gone, only to be replaced by a power-hungry mass murderer, she willingly remained in the burning carriage.
• Dénouement Episode: Episode 43 of the second season serves as this.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Ziye dies in Deng Ai’s arms when she interrupted Deng Ai’s execution by Cao Hong
• Doomed by Canon: Played With. All the characters are fated to die at some point, but the dramatic nature of the show typically gives them a few extra years to live.
• End of an Age: Cao Pi's ascension to the throne formally ends the Han Dynasty and begins the era of the Three Kingdoms.
  • While the Wei Dynasty will yet continue for some time, Sima Yi's death at the end of the series marks the transition of power to his sons and a newer generation.
• Face Death with Dignity: Yang Xiu accepts his execution for misinterpreting Cao Cao's message and accidentally violating military law by having a last drink with Sima Yi as a friend, not a long-time rival.
  • Similarly, Ding Yi willingly ties himself up and presents himself before the newly crowned Cao Pi. He loses his composure as soon as Cao Pi extends the punishment to his entire family.
• Faking the Dead: Sima Yi pulls this off in order to move under Yang Xiu’s nose to get more information about the origins of the Belt Edict.
• The Fellowship Has Ended: By the end of the series, most if not all of the characters from Sima Yi's generation have passed away. The last scene of the series sees Hou Ji pass, and finally Sima Yi not long after.
• First-Name Basis: At the time, it was common courtesy for men to address their friends or equals by their "style" or "courtesy" names ("zi"). For example, many characters would refer to Sima Yi as "Zhongda" or Cao Pi as "Zihuan". Conversely, if someone calls another person by his name ("ming"), it is considered extremely rude and only used towards subordinates or enemies.
• The Ghost: Several important characters of the period were only mentioned without being seen, including Yuan Shao and Guan Yu (unless one counts his severed head in a box which was sent to Cao Cao,); Liu Bei barely averted this as he was shown once in Part I, during the events of the Belt Edict Plot.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Zhang Chunhua doesn't take too kindly to Lady Bai becoming Sima Yi's concubine, even if it's by imperial decree.
• Historical In-Joke: Hua Tuo being executed before the exposure of Dong Cheng's plot is one, considering that he was depicted in Romance of the Three Kingdoms to die years after his historical death.
  • The incident where Cao Cao scattered Weiqi pieces in order to test Sima Yi is a less fantastical adaptation of an ancedote in Yi's biography in Book of Jin, where Yi supposedly turned his head 180 degrees like a wolf.
  • Sima Lang's in-series resemblance to Dong Zhuo's late son is a nod to the historical Dong Zhuo's observation that Lang was of the same age as said late son.
  • Zhang Chunhua's killing of the servant spy is a nod to her historical killing of a maid in the same situation.
  • Cao Chong's note that Sima Yi closely resembled his father (during the former's re-enactment of the recruitment scene at the stables) is a nod to the two men's elevation as emperors posthumously.
  • Guo Zhao's milk name of "Nyuwang" is a nod to the historical Lady Guo's real style name.
  • The "chicken rib" incident is a nod to the same event which happened historically during Cao Cao's campaign at Hanzhong.
  • Sima Yi advising Cao Pi to cry while sending Cao Cao off to war was a nod to the historical Wu Zhi, who gave the same advice.
  • Jia Kui's and Sima Yi's common experiences in the aftermath of Cao Cao's death is a nod to their sons' historical collaboration. ^note Jia Chong was instrumental in assisting both Sima Shi and Sima Zhao in their ambitions to control (and in Zhao's case, take over) Wei.
  • Lady Bai warned Sima Yi that the Nine Rank System would entrench powerful scholar-bureaucrat clans in Wei's bureaucracy at the expense of learnt but poor men. Historically, that was exactly what happened.
  • Deng Ai's first appearance is a nod to his historical background as an agricultural official with a stammer.
  • Cao Rui's paternity issue is a nod to the same issue historically, but with Yuan Xi (Lady Zhen's first husband) as the suspected father instead of Cao Zhi.
  • Cao Rui's comment to Sima Yi on having travelled more than 4000 li during the Xincheng-Jieting campaign is a lampshade on the historical implausibility of the situation. ^note Historically, during and after the Xincheng rebellion, Sima was either at Xincheng or Wan city; Zhang He was the sole commander in charge of reclaiming the three lost commandaries. However, the Empty Fort Strategy was an iconic moment in Romance.
  • Bi Xie's comment that Cao Rui would surely outlive his then-still-living regents is a nod to the fact that Cao Rui did outlive two of them, but not the most important one. ^note Historically, Sima Yi was about 60 when Cao Rui died, Shi about 30, Zhao about 28 and grandson Yan (the eventual Emperor Wu of Jin) was 2-3 years old.
    • Bi Xie's name itself is a nod to the Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" trope. ^note A "bi xie" is a eunuch whose duty is to relay the emperor's messages to officials.
  • Hao Zhao warming the wine in anticipation of Wang Shuang's victory is both a nod to the similar scene in Romance involving Guan Yu before his bout with Hua Xiong, and a lampshade on Wang's eventual defeat and death.
  • Zhang He's disagreements with Sima Yi is a nod to their historical arguments and friction, so much so that Zhang He's life as recorded in the Records was one of the work's weaker points. ^note Author Chen Shou was a Jin official, and so felt compelled to fudge certain details so as not to offend the ruling Sima clan. For example, it is unclear if Zhang He defected to Cao Cao after the attack on Wuchao, or before; conflicting records were found across four biographies: Zhang's own, Cao Cao's, Yuan Shao's and Xun You's.
• Human Pincushion: Zhang He's fate at the battle of Mount Qi.
• Important Haircut: At the time, haircuts were considered going against filial piety.
  • Subverted with Zhou Fang, who cut his hair in order to deceive Cao Xiu into trusting him.
• It Began with a Twist of Fate: Lampshaded later in the series when Sima Yi wonders what would have happened to their family had he not stepped out of the audience to debate Yang Xiu when Yang insulted his brother's honor.
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Man Chong early in part one, in his (historical) capacity as the Prefect of Xu County, at the time the imperial capital. Downplayed in that while harsh, Man still tries his best to uphold true justice, instead of merely carrying out his master Cao Cao's orders.
• Lonely at the Top: By the last episode of part 2, while Sima Yi had obtained absolute power, he had lost Chunhua and Lingyun, and his sons respect and fear him rather than love him. Even Hou Ji became estranged from him once he confirmed how Xiao Yuan died.
• The Man Behind the Man: The penultimate episode of the series reveals that all of Zhao's plots and murders weren't completely of his own volition. Sima Yi had secretly been helping Zhao pull the strings and eliminate those who opposed their family.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: After his ascension to the throne, Cao Pi arranges Lady Bai and Sima Yi to be married as a means to keep tabs on him. Even while Pi was alive, the pair grew to genuinely respect, and then love each other.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Happens a lot in the series.
  • Xun Yu’s suicide was both a wake up call for Cao Cao and the perfect opportunity for Yang Xiu to plant a forged letter to discredit both Xun Yu and Cao Pi
  • Cui Yan’s willing execution bit the bullet for Cao Pi and spurred Sima Yi to find the real writer behind the letter.
  • Xiahou Dun dying of a stroke in Sima Yi’s household turns the animosity between the Sima and Xiahou-Cao clans up to eleven.
  • Xiahou Hui's murder causes a death spiral of characters and relationships that completely severs any trust between the Cao and Xiahou clans to the Sima.
  • Zhang Chunhua's death is the singular event that makes Sima Yi cross the line into Pragmatic Hero territory and overthrow Cao Shuang.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Due to seeing the face of Lady Zhen during a private banquet, Cao Pi's friends and power base for his bid to be the crown prince is exiled to remote positions in the countryside.
• Recap Episode: The front portion of episode one of part 2 is a recap of part 1.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Numerous characters have this dynamic
  • Cao Pi's suspicious and stricter red to Cao Zhi's easy-going and kinder blue
  • Zhang Chunhua's hot temper red to Lady Bai's refined blue
  • Yang Xiu's hands-on red to Sima Yi's heavily scheming blue
  • Cao Zhen's militaristic red to Sima Yi's political blue
• Refusal of the Call: At first, Sima Yi was uninterested with getting tangled in court politics like his father, going so far as to crippling his legs by running them over with a loaded wagon. After a miraculous recovery, he decided to stand with Cao Pi.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Cao Zhi is a poet and scholar while Cao Zhang a gruff, seasoned general. Cao Pi lays somewhere in the middle, though leans slightly towards Zhang's side due to being fairly temperamental.
• Smart People Play Go: Guo Zhao's self studying in the imperial palace often involved practicing Go.
• Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness: Many serious moments throughout the series are broken through a comedic jab, usually Slapstick.
  • In one instance when Sima Yi was interrogating Shu prisoners, he struck Sima Zhao for insulting them. When Sima Yi released them of their restraints, Guo Huai questioned why they weren't put to death to which Yi instinctively struck Zhao. Cue a shift to a more lighthearted soundtrack and Sima Yi being mildly embarrassed at the situation after Zhao's protest.
  • Just when it seemed like Cao Shuang's plot to kill Sima Yi was about to work, Sima Yi offers Cao Fang a kite he had taken from his campaigns against Zhuge Liang. Cao Fang, being a child, is giddy with excitement of the prospect and personally takes Sima Yi by the hand to go get the kite. Cao Shuang's men follow, but since this is the emperor they're dealing with they can only follow while maintaining a distance and must obey whatever he says since he thinks they're following as part of a game.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Lady Zhen and Cao Zhi fell in love almost immediately during the Guan Du campaign. However, due to Cao Cao's Insane Troll Logic in deciding who would be his heir, Lady Zhen was sent to marry Cao Pi in order to test which of the brothers is fit to be the heir. ^note Historically, there is debate over whether Zhi had Lady Zhen in mind when he wrote his "Ode to the Nymph of the Luo River" (Luo Shen Fu), with no firm evidence proving or disproving the claim.
  • Cao Zhi felt no ill will towards his father's decision. However, the fact his wife was actually in love with his rival for the throne and younger brother did not help Cao Pi's massive Inferiority Superiority Complex.
• The Needs of the Many: Shu Han and Zhuge Liang's motives for the frequent attacks on Wei. Ironically, it's those frequent campaigns that drain the state of men and resources, a trend which would worsen under Zhuge's eventual successor Jiang Wei.
• Tempting Fate: While Sima Fu was petitioning Cao Rui over the issue that is the empress dowager, Cao Rui bragged that his Wei would last ten thousand years. Well, about that...
• Time-Passage Beard: Most male characters grow some sort of facial hair following the brief time skip between episodes 19 and 20 of the first part (217-219 CE).
  • Happens again following the failure of Zhuge Liang's fifth expedition, this time with many of the older characters showing some or a lot of gray in their facial hair.
• Time Skip: The series skimmed through the campaign against Yuan Shao, only highlighting the beginning of the Guandu campain (200 CE) and the fall of Yuan Shao's capital Ye city (204 CE) ^note Yuan Shao himself died in 202 CE, after another defeat at Cangting.; the next scene of Guo Jia dying of illness actually took place in 207 CE, while Cao Cao was warring against the Wuhuan.
  • The series also left out Cao Cao's historical tenure as Duke of Wei.
• Truth in Television: How Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui handled their respective succession issues was only slightly exaggerated. It is known that Cao Rui was Crown Prince for at most 2 weeks before he became emperor, while Cao Fang was only Crown Prince for less than a day before being pushed to take the throne on the same day. Similarly, Lady Zhen did meet with a terrible fate, with no explanation found in official histories. Pei Songzhi, the annotator of Sanguozhi, wrote that Lady Zhen must have committed an offence which was either so embarrassing or serious that it could not be recorded down.
• Viewers Are Geniuses: A lot of events and scenes are lifted from iconic moments from Sima Yi's biography, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or Records of the Three Kingdoms, so viewers are expected to already have an idea of what exactly is occurring. Also, many poems, Chinese idioms and expressions are quoted without further explanation.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • Yang Xiu towards Sima Yi, who in the end lost due to the former's impatience with securing Cao Zhi's position as prince.
  • Sima Yi considers Zhuge Liang this long before either of them had any sort of authority in their respective governments. Zhuge Liang returns the sentiment.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Various side characters just disappear after their in-series roles are over. Prominent examples include Lady Bian and Cao Zhi, who both lived through Cao Rui's first few years in power. ^note Lady Bian died as a grand empress dowager in July 230, aged about 69, while Cao Zhi died in December 232, aged about 40. Upon assuming the throne, Cao Rui actually had plans to elevate his uncle to a high position in Wei's government, but abandoned those plans after officials warned Rui of Zhi's ambitions and that once Zhi had a taste of power, it would be difficult for him to remain a subordinate. Rui also ignored Zhi's warning of Sima Yi's growing power.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The final narration goes over Sima Shi's consolidation of power, Zhao's conquest of Shu Han, and the conquest of Sun Wu by Sima Yan (Zhao's son) that ultimately reunites the three kingdoms.
• Writers Cannot Do Math: At the banquet commerating the Lunar New Year after Guan Yu's death, Cao Cao claimed that he hosted a similar banquest 12 years ago, before he embarked on the Guan Du campaign. Historically, the Guan Du campaign took place nearly 20 years before.