that the man dressed in the red robe was Cao Cao, so Cao took off his robe and discarded it to avoid being recognised. When Ma Chao saw that he shouted again that the man with a long beard was Cao Cao, so Cao drew his sword and quickly trimmed his beard until it was very short. Ma Chao then shouted that the man with a short beard was Cao Cao, and Cao responded by wrapping a flag around his jaw. Cao Hong appeared and held off Ma Chao long enough for Cao Cao to escape. The following day, Ma Chao engaged Cao Cao's general Xu Chu in a duel. Xu Chu removed his upper garments, fighting topless against Ma Chao both on horseback and on foot. Neither of them managed to overcome his opponent. Cao Cao eventually followed Jia Xu's strategy to turn Ma Chao and his ally Han Sui against each other. Ma Chao fell for the ruse and believed that Han Sui was planning to betray him so he barged into Han Sui's tent and attacked him. Han Sui lost his left arm during the fight and narrowly escaped under the protection of his subordinates. Cao Cao then took advantage of their internal conflict to attack them and defeated Ma Chao. Ma Chao fled to join the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong after his defeat. Historicity Both Ma Chao and Cao Cao's biographies in the Sanguozhi confirmed that Ma Chao started a rebellion in 211 together with Han Sui, Yang Qiu, Li Kan, and Cheng Yi in Guanzhong and they formed a coalition army to attack Cao Cao, leading to the Battle of Tong Pass. The Dianlue stated that around a year after Ma Chao rebelled, Emperor Xian issued an imperial decree to Cao Cao, ordering him to have Ma Chao's entire family executed. This proves that the order of events had been reversed in Sanguo Yanyi, because Ma Chao started a rebellion in the first place, and then his clan was exterminated by Cao Cao about a year later. The duel between Ma Chao and Xu Chu is not documented in the Sanguozhi and is likely to be fictional. Ma Chao, Cao Cao, and Xu Chu's biographies gave an account of a meeting between Cao Cao, Ma Chao, and Han Sui during the battle. Cao Cao rode forth on horseback to speak with Ma Chao and