"A dragon can assume any size, can rise in glory or hide from sight. Bulky, it generates clouds and evolves mist; attenuated, it can scarcely hide a mustard stalk or conceal a shadow. Mounting, it can soar to the empyrean; subsiding, it lurks in the uttermost depths of the ocean. This is the midspring season, and the dragon chooses this moment for its transformations like a person realizing his own desires and overrunning the world. The dragon among animals compares with the hero among people. You, General, have traveled all lakes and rivers. You must know who are the heroes of the present day, and I wish you would say who they are."

"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."