Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast.

This is episode 56.

Last time, Sun Quan had agreed to join forces with Liu Bei to resist Cao Cao. However, his field commander

Zhou Yu had a strange notion of alliance because he kept trying to kill off his allies,

first Zhuge Liang, and then when that failed, he set his sights on Liu Bei himself.

Zhou Yu sent an invitation for Liu Bei to come visit his camp.

During the welcome banquet,

Zhou Yu was going to throw his cup as a signal for a bunch of armed soldiers to storm in and kill Liu Bei.

Now, Liu Bei had an inkling that this could be a trap,

so he brought his brother Guan Yu along. They took about

20 men with them and sailed down river toward Dong Wu's camp. As they approached the camp, Liu Bei

was quite impressed by the orderly deployment of the ships and troops, which made him happy,

since it meant that he might actually stand a chance against Cao Cao.

When Zhou Yu got word that Liu Bei had arrived, he asked how many ships Liu Bei had brought with him.

When the answer was just one, Zhou Yu laughed and said,

He is destined to meet his end.

So Zhou Yu set his ambush and came out to greet Liu Bei and escorted him and his entourage to the main tent.

After the usual formalities, Zhou Yu asked Liu Bei to take the first seat.

General, your name is renowned across the realm, Liu Bei said.

How dare an unworthy man like me accept such an honor from you.

After the prerequisite back and forth,

Oh no, I am so honored to have you here, and no, no, no, I insist,

...