The notes are as follows:
Chapter 1: At the end of the Han Dynasty, the Zhang Jiao brothers launched a rebellion. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei became sworn brothers in Taoyuan and embarked on the road of protecting the country and Anbang.
The second time Du You deliberately made things difficult for Liu Bei. Zhang Fei was furious and beat Du You severely. The eunuchs had exclusive power in the imperial court. General He Jin made his nephew Liu Bian emperor. After taking control of the military, he decided to eliminate the eunuchs.
Chapter 3 He Jin was killed by the eunuchs, and at the same time Dong Zhuo, the governor of Liangzhou he summoned, had led his troops to Luoyang. Dong Zhuo wanted to abolish Ding Yuan, but was opposed by Ding Yuan. Dong Zhuo used a estrangement strategy to make Ding Yuan's adopted son Lu Bu betray Ding Yuan and defect to Dong Zhuo.
Chapter 4 Dong Zhuo deposed the young emperor and established King Chenliu as emperor, which caused dissatisfaction among the courtiers. Cao Cao volunteered to assassinate Dong Zhuo, but failed.
Chapter 5: Cao Cao raised troops in Chenliu and issued an edict to denounce Dong Zhuo. The eighteen princes who came to attack Dong Zhuo appointed Yuan Shao as their leader. Guan Yu killed Dong Zhuo's general Hua Xiong in front of the battle, and he became a powerful force among the three armies. Lu Bu came out to challenge, and the three Liu Bei brothers fought bravely to defeat Lu Bu.
Chapter 6 Dong Zhuo used Li Ru's plan to rob Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and take him to Chang'an. Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, left Luoyang after receiving the imperial seal, preparing to return to Jiangdong to develop his great cause.
Chapter 7 The coalition of eighteen princes began to disintegrate. Yuan Shao occupied Jizhou and went to war with Gongsun Zan. However, Gongsun Zan got the fierce general Zhao Yun, and Yuan Shao was at a disadvantage in the battle. In order to avenge Liu Biao's obstruction, Sun Jian led his troops to attack Jiangxia, but was killed by random arrows.
Chapter 8 Dong Zhuo was tyrannical and unruly. Situ Wang Yun used the beautiful Diao Chan to drive a wedge between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. Dong Zhuo hit Lu Bu with a painted halberd in Fengyi Pavilion, and the two became enemies from then on.
Chapter 9 Lu Bu personally killed Dong Zhuo at Wang Yun's instigation. Dong Zhuo's remaining party, Li Jue and Guo Si, attacked Chang'an and killed Wang Yun.
Chapter 10 After Li Jue and Guo Si gained power, they used the name of Emperor Xian to send Cao Cao to attack the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army. Cao Cao's father was killed by Tao Qian's general Zhang Kai. Cao Cao was angry with Tao Qian and led his troops to Xuzhou to watch and plunder.
Chapter 11 Kong Rong was attacked by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, so he sent his fellow villager Tai Shici to the plain to ask Liu Bei to come and rescue him. When Liu Bei came to Xuzhou, Cao Cao withdrew his troops because Lu Bu attacked him in the rear. Tao Qian intended to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei, but Liu Bei politely declined.
Chapter 12 Tao Qian died of illness, and Liu Bei took charge of the Xuzhou herding. Cao Cao used a trick to defeat Lu Bu and captured Puyang City. Lu Bu was forced to abandon the city and flee.
Chapter 13 Yang Biao used counterintuitive tactics to turn Li Jue and Guo Si into enemies. Unexpectedly, the two actually caused trouble in Chang'an City, leaving Yang Biao ashamed and helpless. Li Jue's general Yang Feng was dissatisfied with Li Jue's tyranny and raised troops to attack Li Jue, but the incident was revealed and Yang Feng was defeated.
Chapter 14 Cao Cao raised an army to defeat Li Jue and Guo Si, and welcomed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to Xudu. From then on, he took control of the imperial court. Yang Feng and Han Xian were defeated by Cao Cao and went to Yuan Shu. Liu Bei took Lu Bu under his wing, and Cao Cao ordered Liu Bei to attack Yuan Shu under the guise of the Han Emperor. Zhang Fei was ordered to defend the city, but Zhang Fei became drunk due to drinking. Lu Bu took the opportunity to capture Xuzhou City.
Chapter 15 Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian, borrowed troops from Yuan Shu, intending to inherit his father's legacy and develop his great cause. Sun Ce captured Moling, defeated Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, and surrendered Taishi Ci. Yan Baihu of Wu County attempted to rebel. Wang Lang of Kuaiji raised troops to help, but was defeated by Sun Ce.
Chapter 16 Liu Bei was forced by Yuan Shu and had no choice but to turn to Lü Bu for help. Lü Bu fired a halberd at the gate to relieve Liu Bei. Zhang Fei stole Lu Bu's horses, Lu Bu drove Liu Bei out of Xuzhou, and Liu Bei defected to Cao Cao. Zhang Xiu attacked Cao Cao's camp at night in Wancheng, and Cao Cao's general Dian Wei was killed in the battle.
Chapter 17 Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Huainan and at the same time raised troops to attack Lu Bu. Chen Deng went to talk to Han Xian and Yang Feng. They betrayed Yuan Shu and Yuan Shu was defeated. Cao Cao sent a message to Liu Bei, Lu Bu, and Sun Ce to attack Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu had no choice but to cross the Huaihe River and escape, and Cao Cao captured Shouchun.
Chapter 18 Cao Cao fought with Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao, and both sides won or lost. Liu Bei was forced by Lu Bu, and Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun to help, but Xiahou Dun was shot in the left eye by Cao Xing, a general of Lu Bu's army.
Chapter 19 Cao Cao teamed up with Chen Deng as an internal response, causing Lu Bu to retreat steadily and defend Xiapi City. Cao Cao used Xun Yu and Guo Jia's plan to flood Xiapi, leaving the city without food. Lü Bu's generals Song Xian, Wei Xu, and Hou Cheng rebelled and surrendered. Lü Bu was captured by the three of them. Cao Cao ordered Lü Bu to be executed.
Chapter 20 Cao Cao brought Liu Bei back to Xudu, and Emperor Xian recognized Liu Bei as his uncle. Cao Cao hunted Xu Tian and Emperor Xian to observe the actions of the courtiers. Emperor Xian felt uneasy because of Cao Cao's monopoly, so he wrote the edict in blood on a jade belt and gave it to his uncle Dong Cheng.
Chapter 21 Dong Cheng showed Liu Bei the edict on clothing and belts, and Liu Bei signed the petition. Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to have a drink and pointed out that Liu Bei was the hero of the world. Liu Bei was so shocked that his chopsticks dropped to the ground. In order to escape from Cao Cao's control, Liu Bei volunteered to attack Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu died in Huainan. Chezhou, the governor of Xuzhou, wanted to kill Liu Bei, but his plan was discovered by Chen Deng.
Chapter 22 After Liu Bei regained Xuzhou, he was worried that Cao Cao would attack, so he wrote to Yuan Shao for help. Yuan Shao ordered Chen Lin to write a message to attack Cao Cao. Cao Cao sent Liu Dai and Wang Zhong to attack Xuzhou, but the two generals were captured by Zhang Fei and Guan Yu respectively.
Chapter 23 After Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao, Kong Rong recommended Mi Heng to Cao Cao, but Mi Heng insulted Cao Cao in public, making Cao Cao very dissatisfied. Cao Cao sent Ni Heng to recruit Liu Biao, but Ni Heng was killed by Huang Zu.
Dong Cheng confided his concerns to the imperial physician Ji Ping. Ji Ping poisoned Cao Cao's medicine, but was discovered by Cao Cao, thus leaking the clothing edict.
Chapter 24 Cao Cao killed Dong Cheng's family and raised troops to attack Liu Bei. Liu Bei abandoned the city and went to join Yuan Shao. Cao Cao attacked Xia Pi, and Cheng Yu offered Cao Cao a plan to recruit Guan Yu to surrender.
Chapter 25 Zhang Liao went to persuade Guan Yu to surrender, but Guan Yu had no choice but to surrender to Cao Cao. Yuan Shao listened to Liu Bei's advice and sent Yan Liang to attack Baima. Guan Yu took action and killed Yan Liang.
Chapter 26 Yuan Shao sent Wen Chou to avenge Yan Liang again, but Wen Chou was killed by Guan Yu again. Liu Bei wrote a letter to contact Guan Yu. After receiving Liu Bei's letter, Guan Yu decided to leave Cao Cao and go to Hebei to look for Liu Bei.
Chapter 27 Cao Cao led his generals to see Guan Yu off. On his way to Hebei, Guan Yu passed through five passes. The generals guarding the passes intentionally blocked Guan Yu, but they were all killed by Guan Yu.
Chapter 28 Guan Yu came to the ancient city and killed Cao General Cai Yang in front of Zhang Fei, dispelling Zhang Fei's suspicion of his brother. Guan Yu took Zhou Cang, Guan Ping and others in on his way to Hebei, and Liu Bei finally escaped from Hebei. He, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and others came to the ancient city to meet Zhang Fei, and the brothers finally met.
Chapter 29 Sun Ce was attacked by Xu Gong’s family guests and was seriously injured. Yu Ji, a Taoist priest from Langya Palace, distributed talisman water to the people. Sun Ce thought that Yu Ji's evil words were confusing the people, so he beheaded him. Sun Ce was so furious that his heart burned, the sores burst open, and he died. Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Quan inherited his father and brother's inheritance and recruited talents in Jiangdong.
In Chapter 30, Yuan Shao raised an army of 700,000 to attack Cao Cao. Cao Cao’s army had no food. Xu You offered Yuan Shao a plan to capture Xudu, but Yuan Shao thought that Xu You’s nephew had committed an act of treason and refused to adopt it. Xu You defected to Cao Cao in anger and persuaded Cao Cao to attack Wuchao, where Yuan Shao stored grain and grass.