Zhou Yu and treated him respectfully. He even remarked: "Being with Zhou Gongjin is like drinking the finest of wines. You get carried away and become drunk before even realizing it." Sometime early in Zhou Yu's career, Cao Cao heard of Zhou's talent and wanted to recruit Zhou Yu to serve under him, so he sent Jiang Gan to persuade Zhou Yu to defect to his side. However, Zhou Yu indirectly affirmed his loyalty to Sun Quan in front of Jiang Gan, and hinted to Jiang Gan that he cannot be persuaded to switch his allegiance. When Jiang Gan later returned to Cao Cao, he told Cao Cao that "Zhou Yu's magnanimity was too great to be described in words". Around 209, after visiting Sun Quan at Jing (京; present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), Liu Bei was on his journey back to Jing Province when Sun Quan, along with Zhang Zhao, Qin Song, Lu Su and others, rushed to catch up with Liu Bei to see him off. Sun Quan then held a farewell banquet for Liu Bei. After the feast, the others left while only Liu Bei and Sun Quan remained behind. When they spoke of Zhou Yu, Liu Bei said: "Gongjin's talents and abilities are far greater than those of thousands of others. He possesses great ambitions and he may not be willing to remain subordinate for long." In another incident, after his defeat at the hands of Zhou Yu at the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao remarked: "I am not ashamed of having lost the battle." He later wrote to Sun Quan: "At the Battle of Red Cliffs, my men were affected by a plague, so I burnt my warships and retreated of my own accord. That resulted in Zhou Yu claiming the glory (of winning the battle)." Zhou Yu's widespread fame incurred much jealousy towards him, which was why Cao Cao and Liu Bei attempted to slander him and sow discord between him and Sun Quan. Zhou Yu was known to be very learned in music from a young age. Even after three rounds of drinking at a banquet, he could still detect a mistake or a wrong note when a musical piece was being played. When that happened, he would look up at the musician. There was a saying at that time to describe this: "If there is a problem with the tune, Zhou Yu will