Cao Zhen's Death (Three Kingdoms [2010 TV series])

Historically, he died by illness. In the novel, while being ill, killed by insulting letter from Kongming, aka Zhuge Liang. But In TV series 2010 version, he died from...!
According to Wikipedia, Cao Zhen played by Zhao Jin, Cao Shuang played by Xia Tian and Sima Yi played by Ni Dahong (倪大宏).

[@viniciusribeiro1112]

Cao Zhen in every single one of Three Kingdoms adaptations is downgraded to highlight the rivalry between Kongming and Zhongda, but he was a fierce defender of the west, with more wins than loses. Only after he died, Sima Yi was unmatched in Wei. Historically, i loved reading about him. But in every single adaptation he is: a simpleton, a hot-tempered and reckless general or someone who stands in Sima Yi's way to power, and because of that he is put to the ground early.

[@Seisoks]

He was a simpleton in a way that he let capital power flow toward Sima Yi by being a good soldier and power hungry general. He may won battles but lost sight of the war.

[@RitsukaRose]

I recommend you to watch 'Growling Tiger Roaring Dragon', a sequel to 'The Advisors' Alliance'. Cao Zhen is portrayed rather shrewd and cunning there, albeit still inferior to the title's main character, Sima Yi.

[@natalkumar6132]

Advisors Alliance.

[@Killerbee4712]

@@RitsukaRose I definitely enjoyed Cao Zhen's portrayal there. Even though he was still made out to be the archnemesis of Sima Yi, he had his moments with court intrigue and minor victories. Overall, much more nuanced than a bumbling idiot, but rather, a ruthless and vengeful guy that many generals still trusted. And his offspring Cao shuang, in typical ROTK fashion is depicted as smarter, but clearly Cao Zhen was the better guy in show lol.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

It's true. He rose through the ranks by merit and was extremely accomplished, though his final campaign was an overreach it was more due to weather and terrain than the overall strategy.

[@Megumi_Bandicoot]

Poor Cao Zhen. The guy has been thrown in the dirt and treated like an incompetent fool even though he did more against Shu than Sima Yi did.

[@rlouie05]

Sima Yi grew boys that eventually would topple whatever Cao Cao's adopted son could muster. Shame.

[@herokiryu2652]

All chinese generals are assholes that deserve death

[@doomphus]

@@herokiryu2652 Why do people like you exist? Like how fucking dumb and messed up can you get?

[@Master_122]

@@applesaucelord368 he is just a troll he only wants attention

[@fahad_hassan_92]

@@herokiryu2652 Why do you exist?

[@malikward8522]

The disrespect for Cao Zhen is ridiculous here, the historical Cao zhen handed Zhuge Liang his ass time and time again.

[@thesuddendemise7735]

I know how you feel

[@Abigdummy4life]

Advisors Alliance Cao Zhen was basically a bitch fucker who always dismissed Sima Yi all because he didn't like him. Along with the overall drama within the Wei state, it REALLY made me despise both Cao Hong and Cao Zhen in general since they both were portrayed as such asswipes.

[@zhouwu]

Too bad. :)

[@asuka7309]

@@Abigdummy4life which part of "the historical cao zhen" didn't you understand?

[@Abigdummy4life]

@@asuka7309 well, did historical Cao Zhen actually get along with Sima Yi...?

[@antarcticaresearchprogram8349]

That look Cao Zhen gives Sima Yi at 5:48 is priceless. In that moment he realizes just how much Sima Yi played him.

[@liegelord1971]

Best potrayal of Sima Yi the best combination of villianious wit, strategic genius and unnerving calmness

[@CoffeeSuccubus]

Cao Zhen here: AAAAAAAAAAAAA Cao Zhen Historically: -laughs at Zhuge Liang-

[@Abigdummy4life]

While he may or may not be one of Sima Yi's major detractors. :P

[@brokensky2378]

Abigdummy4life the two worked pretty closely together didn’t they? It was Cao Shuang who was trying to kick the sima family out

[@rlouie05]

Why was Cao Zhen portrayed not just as a coward and incompetent, but extremely so?

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

@@rlouie05 it's a writing trope. The idea is to make the other character seem that much smarter by comparison. In this case Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. The problem with this trope is that it often creates the opposite effect as Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang's personal duel of wits is much more interesting watching two characters portrayed as capable and intelligent attempt to outwit one another, whereas having a smart character triumph over a dumb cowardly character is the 'easy way of writing' since you only have to have one character be clever. When you have two equally capable characters in opposition it is tougher to write because you have to actively have them on the same level so problem solving, situations and planning all have to mirror that. It's far easier to simply write an incompetent commander on one side as it's easy for a competent commander on the other to see that incompetence. Historically Cao Zhen held of Zhuge Liang very capably, though this is partly due to Shu Han having a smaller army, the difficulty in invading through the mountains and the smaller economy, food stores and resources of Shu Han compared to Cao Wei. Realistically after losing Jing and the catastrophic losses in Liu Bei's campaign against Wu, Shu Han was never a real offensive threat to Cao Wei again, it simply could not recover militarily or economically and Zhuge Liang and later Jiang Wei's Northern Campaigns only further bled Shu Han white while achieving nothing in return.

[@rlouie05]

@@grandadmiralzaarin4962 Funny, as the whole book & each ROTK series seemed to make Zhuge look like a nearly invincible monster who only loses because of subordinates gaffes such as Ma Su at Jie Ting, internal political bickering (Shu ministers being convinced that Zhuge was going to take over upon conquering Wei), or some misfortune beyond his control (supply shortages or rain saving the Simas from impending doom).

[@edifysalim5359]

this is how you raised to the top like a boss despite all the odd against you, I notice Sima Yi didn't even hate Cao Zhen

[@jeremycharles2051]

Cao Zhen was in his way, and Sima Yi doesn't f*ck around

[@Abigdummy4life]

Cao Zhen was often a complete ass towards Sima Yi in Advisors Alliance. That drama made me really hate both him and Cao Hong.

[@Megumi_Bandicoot]

Maybe because Cao Zhen and Cao Hong were historically superior to Sima Yi. You shouldn’t be surprised that a show which is biased towards Sima Yi would disrespect them like that, just like how Romance of the Three Kingdoms downplayed on anyone who was historically superior to Zhuge Liang (Fa Zheng, Zhou Yu).

[@damiester1]

@@Megumi_Bandicoot I agree that Cao Zhen is historically significant and shouldn't have been dumbed down this way. However, Sima Yi did win a lot of battles against other opponents. His suppression of rebellions and the Northern campaigns were particularly notable. So let's not hate on Sima lol

[@MrLolx2u]

​@@Megumi_Bandicoot ??? ROTK toned down Zhou Yu? Bullshit. ROTK actually romantacized him alot and placed him at the same level as Zhuge Liang. The reason on why Zhuge Liang overshadows Zhou Yu is that he's more healthy than Zhou Yu who died young. In fact, he's the best strategist that the Southlands ever saw and even Zhuge Liang gave him some form of respect despite Yu showing him tons of disrespect time and time again and even threatening him time and time again that he would lob off his head.

[@Zexi141]

I really need to watch this whole series.

[@hiddenstampede]

Even official KoeiTemco Twitter suggested us to watch it, but they didn''t tell us where to watch it, lol.

[@hiddenstampede]

*where

[@dan020350]

if you watched the older version there is more details

[@HamanKarn567]

All 90 episodes are right here on KZbin or you can buy the series off Amazon. I own it on DVD but the subtitles are a mess. They work but the English is not the best. The version here on KZbin has much better subs so it's best to do it that way.

[@Blackwolfninja89]

the 1994 version is here too, all 84 episodes

[@kittykattzee]

I broke my back My back is broken Spinal...

[@XiangYu94]

0:31 my manager after seeing the Black Friday crowds outside the store

[@jarrodyuki7081]

sima yi made smart move. knowing that he cannot challenge the authority of cao zhen, he relegated the position of grand commander to cao zhen and allowed cao zhen to take the blame of chencang's fall for him. this way cao zhen is discredited and he once again secures the position of grand commander himself.

[@doraemon61377]

He was using Fabian strategy in both military and politics. Dude was the Asian version of Fabius Maximus.

[@ElBandito]

*Cao Shuang will remember this.*

[@ajshim]

Oh man, a point & click adventure game based on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms would be awesome!

[@wesleyhsu6659]

Kinda suck that they decided to have Sima Yi and Cao Zhen having some sort of bad blood when there was no written record of any disrespect between them. It was Cao Shuang and Sima Yi that disliked one another.

[@Gen3designs]

El Bandito Lol Sima kills Shuang anyways

[@nickrainiersantos]

LOL. Sima Yi was so OP he broke the fourth wall 5:33

[@ravezon]

SIma Yi looks at the camera while giving the look saying this is how i kill this guy and go ahead smack the broken back. XD

[@XiangYu94]

Bro gave him the back clap of death

[@mistertaz94]

@@XiangYu94 gave him the big vibe check

[@alexanderchristopher6237]

Man, Sima Yi creeps you out.

[@Legoman775]

he haunts your dreams

[@SadParting97]

I think that was the intention

[@98luk45]

he makes me horny.

[@S1lvermoon]

Sad to see how they treat caozhen He’s a capable commander but to ensure simayi vs zhugeliang is the highlight he’s painted like a fool

[@ConstantineJoseph]

Sima Yi literally on par with Zhuge Liang. A cautious commander that always relied on reconnaissance and a master counter puncher. Zhuge Liang on he other hand is an offensive expert and always tries to pick the right terrain for superior positioning and timing of his attacks.

[@christopherlethe2997]

No sima yi is way more cunning and calculating both in records and the romance. He literally uses zhuge liang’s questionable crusade as his leverage in his power struggle with the cao family.

[@Hawktotalwar]

@@christopherlethe2997 He is on par with Zhuge Liang but definitely not better than Zhuge Liang. I would argue Zhuge Liang is better than Sima Yi. Sima Yi is just backed by a larger nation and just plays defensive. Zhuge Liang logistically has to campaign out of the mountains with no good generals in his northern expeditions.

[@viniciusribeiro1112]

@@Hawktotalwar No good generals? Wei Yan, Ma Dai, Yang Yi, Wang Ping... They were all veteran generals which achieved great sucess in several campaigns. The key of both strategies was in logistics and supplies. Sima Yi knew that because of the reforms in Wei, he could get supplies anytime, but because of Shu mountainous terrain the chain of supplies were poor at best. Combine that with the extreme defense of the troops, you can kiss goodbye to any achievements. Sima Yi made Zhuge Liang retreat because the refuse to engage, after all, he will retreat because of his supplies. I dont need to fight if i know that my opponent consumes more than he can produce or levy to the front lines.

[@Hawktotalwar]

@@viniciusribeiro1112 Wei Yan, Ma Dai, Yang Yi, Wang Ping. Yes they are all useless. They are just noteworthy of getting Zhuge Liang into trouble. Shu only had five tiger generals but most of them were dead before the first northern expedition. Only Zhao Yun at 70 years old was considered to be good. Is easy for Sima Yi to claim he is on par with Zhuge Liang afterall, all he does is sit and defend. Backed with a larger nation with almost 4 times the population than Shu.

[@doomphus]

@@Hawktotalwar I think you've horribly confused ROTK Zhuge Liang with his historical counterpart.

[@Blisterdude123]

I mean, I see a lot of people saying this is 'disrespectful', but most of these TV shows take their cues from the novel, which is incredibly fictionalised anyway, rather than basing themselves on history. Nobody takes as much issue with how most of Zhuge Liang's famous moments, schemes, and plans are either entirely made up, or borrowed from other famous figures of the period, such as Zhou Yu. Framed in the fictional context of the novel, Cao Zhen is portrayed as another rival for Sima Yi, within Wei, and a representation of how feeble, hollow and corrupt the state is following Cao Cao/Cao Pi's deaths. It's not a documentary. It's called Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Take it up with Luo Guanzhong.

[@superbowyiming]

Well u know what? Cuz the director said they r according to Sanguozhi, which is the historical one. Not many ppl would blame the show if he's not that pride🤣

[@Blisterdude123]

@@superbowyiming Some of it is, some of it isn't. The inclusion of the three brothers duelling Lu Bu, Guan Yu submitting to Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang outwitting Zhou Yu with schemes that historically were Zhou Yu's, and Zhuge Liang driving away Sima Yi in the empty fort should indicate they were drawing plenty from Romance. All those events had no basis in historical fact.

[@Slixer]

@@Blisterdude123 Guan Yu did submit to Cao Cao though, he even killed Wen Chou for him before leaving.

[@Blisterdude123]

@@Slixer Yes, but the novel and the show leave out the context that historically, it's believed Wen Chou had been told by Liu Bei to expect Guan Yu's defection from Cao Cao. So it's thought that the reason Guan Yu killed him so easily was because he wasn't expecting a fight. And Guan Yu did submit, but the events surrounding his rejoining Liu Bei are actually more complicated and elaborate with a different timeframe than presented in the novel. His epic journey slaying various generals at various passes for example didn't happen I believe.

[@pradyumn2692]

Overall color in the entire series is so grey and depressing. Indicating those sad times.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

The look of Sima Yi right before he does that fatal pat followed by the deadpan, "Grand Commander...are you safe and sound?"

[@mr_phamtastic]

these scenes are awesome

[@longhuo2867]

Sima Yi slams Cao Zhen. Then Sima Yi steps on Cao Shuang. 🤭🤭🤭

[@unclefred8731]

Rule like a soft wave. Let the sands of the past be carried out into the past. So that the shore knows no difference.

[@ZsXie10]

气功大师司马懿

[@ajshim]

Sima Yi in this episode has zero fucks to give.

[@HolyknightVader999]

This implies that Sima Yi is some kind of martial arts master with some sort of death grip, and that he killed Cao Zhen to seize power.

[@Monadoabyss]

司马懿内功深厚啊， 一掌把曹真打死。

[@time2travel451]

不是说从马下上摔下断了脊椎骨吗

[@Fargusno7930]

5:38 Cao Zhen gets cracked

[@yougonasorry]

hao! *nodding intensifies*

[@MrLolx2u]

This is the only point when the show turns stupid. Cao Zhen in fact had handed Zhuge Liang his own ass and sent him back packing back to Chengdu when he managed to just defend Chencang (Yes, Chencang wasn't even defeated and Cao Zhen din't even flee) with just a fraction of what the Shu army had. Zhuge Liang brought about 100,000 men and tossed it against Chencang which only had 7,000 men defending the city with Hao Zhao placed in charge of the defense by Cao Zhen who, ironically, had predicted that Zhuge Liang would play it safe and and attack Chencang (Again, yes. It's not Sima Yi who thought about that possibility only). The broken bow thing wasn't even that early yet. That was at least a year or so later when Cao Rui decided to attack Shu and sent Cao Zhen towards Hanzhong only to be mired in torrential rain non-stop and damaged both the roads leading to Hanzhong and also his equipment as they rotted in the rain thus he abandoned the mission and return back to Wei. ALSO, not only did he NOT collapse off his horse and broke his back then subsequently die right infront of Sima Yi, he actually died when he was back in Wei after suffering some form of pneumonia from said campaign and Cao Rui even visited him when he was back in Luoyang.

[@mistertaz94]

Chad Records reader vs virgin Romance reader scenario

[@user-gw4kl8ft9u]

​@@mistertaz94 Nope. Record readers is always "um ackshually ☝️🤓" even when the adaptation is made specifically to adapt romance. They're like a bunch of petty ruists that love hearing themselves talk and drown themselves in the Dunning-Kruger juice (aka their own hubris). Such a person can never comprehend the true knowledges of the heavenly masters.

[@danmoua7686]

Oh he was betrayed. I thought he had no honor but okay never mind.

[@doomphus]

Who had no honor?

[@ZAR556]

the curse of Great Man is to have Mediocre Descendant

[@keithmugisha5205]

@2:22-2:34 🤣🤣🤣. I've never seen anyone love their daily life/indulgences to that extent, that they blame their friends with that hurt for not coming thru... 🤣🤣. What a deep betrayal/disappointment he felt in his bossom friend Sima Yi!! Tho the acting was really awesome. I felt his loss.

[@yulinyang4600]

曹爽应该是不如曹真的

[@jasonjekyll8576]

I love how stone cold Sima Yi was 😂

[@blackffan]

奉天承運皇帝詔曰，八字用法始于明朝。另外為什麼箭鏃鏽了就射不死人？

[@superbowyiming]

这剧本来就非常多错误，旧三国盔甲等是实在太穷没法避免，而新三国的好多问题都是可以避免的。。。

[@rlouie05]

If Cao Zhen was historically a good and competent general, how did the Simas ultimately gain control of northern China? Pure luck?

[@1987AnimeBoy]

Because Cao Shuang proved to be too controlling yet too incompetent in court politics, while Sima Yi proved too cunning for him.

[@trollmcclure2659]

Because Cao Zhen died and the Sima clan took the power from Cao Zhen's son

[@RVMan985]

He Yan also had a hand in Sima Yi's ascension. He was the reason Sima Yi was Grand Tutor in the first place. There was a reason Cao Pi and Cao Rui never gave him power. I know he and Cao Shaung did it to demote him, bit it was a terrible mistake for them to do.

[@ultraslashism]

新三国黑曹真黑得更彻底

[@liufubf1099]

事实上曹真打仗很不错，力抗蜀国

[@liufubf1099]

@Lap Lap Ricky Fung OK

[@jmhhjyy]

ultraslashism 这不就是新三国吗

[@mars_7137]

曹真被黑的有够惨的

[@lottenetzel8751]

It's just a harmless prank... The prank: 5:25 - 5:48

[@hksuperstar]

BAI YING GU

[@Kijokobodo79]

CHIN SUUUUU.......

[@Arjibi]

Soy sauce company?

[@mikehunt9884]

he gave him the dim mak

[@NamNguyen-xt4yk]

wait, Sima Yi just tapped him in the neck and he died? the fuck?

[@finding_aether]

What did Sima Yi do?

[@mildanvongrius5530]

Cao Zhen spinal cord was damaged when he fell, he just damage it further by hitting it harder, killing Cao Zhen.

[@hyouzanren1846]

He hit broken back Bones and piercing his lungs/heart!

[@Vahn-xc1gc]

Sub Zero Fatality spine cord minor version.

[@SerajAlhorany]

He knew before time that weapons well become useless with rainy weather

[@sungcho2973]

ironic that he calls his son a bastard...no wonder the son didn't kill Sima Yi when he saw what he did

[@jarrodyuki7081]

auhtority cannot override my safety or basic biological needs fair protocols for infractions and misdemeanors and fair compensation for chores and hw.

[@doraemon61377]

Cao Zhen dressed as Shu soldier and abandoned his duty, hence Sima Yi executed him on the pretext of treachery.

[@liufubf1099]

其实没必要拍曹真，有意义吗？还让人记恨，而且曹真的曹家人，不过这里作死黑曹真不遗余力的黑

[@hidekitsuge316]

サムネ、ロバートの秋山かと思ってしまった

[@zhouwu]

What villainous treachery on the part of Sima Yi! Shameful!

[@stephenlau246]

蘇大強在幹啥

[@user-jn5zd4dp2k]

Stephen Lau 我笑了哈哈哈哈哈哈

[@faredaa123]

hahaha

[@normalguycap]

I don't know these characters because they aren't in Dynasty Warriors!!

[@Fargusno7930]

They are, but Cao Zhen/Shuang are generics :(

[@darthbane2669]

This is fucking unbearably bad.