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Song-Ming -> Romance of the Three Kingdoms -> In A Plum Garden, Cao Cao Discusses Heroes; Using The Host's Forces, Guan Yu Takes Xuzhou -> 8

玄德曰：“备肉眼安识英雄？”操曰：“休得过谦。”玄德曰：“备叨恩庇，得仕于朝。天下英雄，实有未知。”操曰：“既不识其面，亦闻其名。”玄德曰：“淮南袁术，兵粮足备，可谓英雄。”操笑曰：“冢中枯骨，吾早晚必擒之！”玄德曰：“河北袁绍，四世三公，门多故吏；今虎踞冀州之地，部下能事者极多，可谓英雄。”操笑曰：“袁绍色厉胆薄，好谋无断；干大事而惜身，见小利而忘命：非英雄也。”玄德曰：“有一人名称八骏，威镇九州──刘景升可为英雄。”操曰：“刘表虚名无实，非英雄也。”玄德曰：“有一人血气方刚，江东领袖──孙伯苻乃英雄也。”操曰：“孙策藉父之名，非英雄也。”玄德曰：“益州刘季玉，可为英雄乎？”操曰：“刘璋虽系宗室，乃守户之犬耳，何足为英雄！”玄德曰：“如张绣、张鲁、韩遂等辈皆何如？”操鼓掌大笑曰：“此等碌碌小人，何足挂齿！”玄德曰：“舍此之外，备实不知。”操曰：“夫英雄者，胸怀大志，腹有良谋；有包藏宇宙之机，吞吐天地之志者也。”玄德曰：“谁能当之？”操以手指玄德，后自指曰：“今天下英雄，惟使君与操耳。”"I am just a common dullard. How can I know such things?" "Do not be so modest," said Cao Cao. "Thanks to your kindly protection I have a post at court. But as to heroes I really do not know who they are." "You may not have looked upon their faces, but you must have heard their names." "Yuan Shu of the South of River Huai, with his strong army and abundant resources: Is he one?" asked Liu Bei. His host laughed, "A rotting skeleton in a graveyard. I shall put him out of the way shortly." "Well, Yuan Shao then. The highest offices of state have been held in his family for four generations, and his clients are many in the empire. He is firmly posted in Jizhou, and he commands the services of many able people. Surely he is one." "A bully, but a coward. He is fond of grandiose schemes, but is devoid of decision. He makes for great things but grudges the necessary sacrifice. He loses sight of everything else in view of a little present advantage. He is not one." "There is Liu Biao of Jingzhou. He is renowned as a man of perfection, whose fame has spread on all sides. Surely he is a hero." "He is a mere semblance, a man of vain reputation. No, not he." "Sun Ce is a sturdy sort, the chief of all in the South Land. Is he a hero?" "He has profited by the reputation of his father Sun Jian. Sun Ce is not a real hero." "What of Liu Zhang of Yizhou?" "Though he is of the reigning family, he is nothing more than a watch dog. How could you make a hero of him?" "What about Zhang Xiu, Zhang Lu, Han Sui, and all those leaders?" Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed very loudly, saying, "Paltry people like them are not worth mentioning." "With these exceptions I really know none." "Now heroes are the ones who cherish lofty designs in their bosoms and have plans to achieve them. They have all-embracing schemes, and the whole world is at their mercy." "Who is such a person?" said Liu Bei. Cao Cao pointed his finger first at his guest and then at himself, saying, "The only heroes in the world are you and I."

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