夏侯惇

Profile

Cao Cao’s companion from the very first muster. An arrow took his left eye fighting Lü Bu’s forces, and the "One-Eyed Xiahou" became the army’s moral anchor. His greatest services were as much logistical — farmland and waterworks — as martial, and he was famed for keeping no personal fortune. Cao Cao trusted him enough to share his own carriage: Wei’s foremost founding subject.

Key events

1. 194

   Cao Cao vs. Lü Bu for Yan Province

   On Chen Gong’s counsel, Lü Bu storms Cao Cao’s home province of Yan; savage fighting at Puyang follows before Cao Cao claws it back.

   Cao CaoLü BuChen GongDian Wei

History vs. the novelHistoryvsNovel

The gruesome scene of swallowing his own eyeball is the novel’s invention. The historical Xiahou Dun was less a berserker than a steadying administrator-general who fed armies and people alike.