Originally Posted by
Lord Falcon
Sounds right to me, Sharp!
Revisiting Three Kingdoms nowadays, I've gotten a different appreciation for the characters and their motivations.
Cao Cao ends up being the ruler I root for the most. He's ruthless and deceptive, proud and driven. He highly values capable generals but is limited in his vision of how to win their loyalty. By the time the most famous period of the Three Kingdoms novel rolls around he is the logical choice for peace in China.
Liu Bei becomes a much more fascinating character when you interpret his virtuousness as a mix of his true beliefs and a deliberate political weapon. He frames his fight as one for the people of China, yet never is Cao Cao ever portrayed as someone cruel to commoners.
And Zhuge Liang should know this. Which gives his decision to become Liu Bei's strategist added depth as to what it says about Zhuge Liang's values. Because without the "fight for the people" angle, what Liu Bei is left with is his claim to restore the Han dynasty and the confucian sense of loyalty that evokes in Chinese culture. And Zhuge Liang is willing to tear himself away from his quiet life to give all his energies to a near-hopeless cause, all because there is finally a Han throne claimant who is reasonably worthy.