The "Chicken Ribs" Watchword, Killed for Reading the Mood
With Hanzhong long unconquered and the army caught between advance and retreat, Cao Cao offhandedly set "chicken ribs" as the night’s watchword, and Yang Xiu, hearing it, at once judged: "chicken ribs — no flavor to eat, a pity to throw away; this is the Chancellor’s wish to withdraw," and told his men to pack for retreat in advance. On learning of it, Cao Cao flew into a rage and executed him for disturbing army morale. It was not the first time Yang Xiu had read Cao Cao’s mind — that incorrigible "flaunting of cleverness" was, in the end, what cost him his life.