Yang Xiu is a minor antagonist from the 14th-century Chinese classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by the late Luo Guanzhong and it's multiple adaptations. He is an official of Cao Wei and one of Sima Yi's first rivals.
Biography[]
Yang Xiu was the nephew of warlord Yuan Shu. He was known to be a very talented scholar. After Yuan Shu's death in 199 AD, he joined Cao Cao. He quickly rose through the ranks and became one of Cao Cao's msot trusted advisers. He was also a close friend and right-hand man to Cao Cao's fourth son Cao Zhi who was favored by his father and was a primary canditate to succeed him.
Yang Xiu's support for Cao Zhi made him a rival to Sima Yi, another adviser who supported Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Pi. The two would often argue and plot against each other. Yang Xiu, who was very proud of his knowledge and intelligence, was infuriated that Sima Yi was as clever than him and hoped to eliminated him by framing him and Cao Pi for several matters.
Yang Xiu was also trying to impress his lord Cao Cao and would often showcase his intelligence in front of him. One instance where when Cao Cao wrote the character ''live'' on a door frame. While others could not understand what it meant, Yang Xiu figured out that Cao Cao found the door to be too wide for his liking. Another incident was when Ma Teng of Xiliang sent a box of pastries to Cao Cao as a gift. Cao Cao wrote the words ''One Box of Pastries'' on the box. Yang Xiu guessed his thoughts and let everyone taste the pastries with Cao Cao later confirming that his guess was right.
However, Yang Xiu's arrogance and intelligence would be his undoing as predicting his lord's thoughts would made him dangerous. The third time he tried to predict Cao Cao's thoughts would be his last. During that time Cao Cao was losing a battle against Liu Bei at Hanzhong and ordered his men to bring him a soup with chicken ribs. Yang Xiu falsely thought that the ''chicken ribs'' meant that Cao Cao wanted to retreat, so he gave orders for everyone to pack their things and prepare to leave. Cao Cao was informed and was enraged with Yang Xiu, ordering him to be executed immediately.
TV Series[]
Yang Xiu is a minor antagonist in the 2010 Three Kingdoms adaptation (where he was portrayed by Jin Yi), a major antagonist in the 2017 The Advisor's Alliance TV series (where he portrayed by Zhao Tianlin) and a major antagonist in the 2018 Secret of the Three Kingdoms TV series (where he was portrayed by Wang Meng).
Relationships[]
Enemies[]
- Sima Yi
- Cao Pi
- Zhang Chunhua
- Sima Fang
- Sima Lang
- Sima Fu
- Liu Bei
- Zhuge Liang
- Zhang Fei
- Zhao Yun
- Ma Chao
- Ma Teng
- Sun Quan
- Zhou Yu
Allies[]
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 Villains
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Wei Empire Wu Empire Shu Empire Jin Empire Other Villains Lu Bu's Army Nanman Tribe Yellow Turbans Yuan Shao's Army Zhong Dynasty Others | ||