曹无伤 / Cao Wushang
曹无伤 / Cao Wushang enters the wiki through Qinji 129-1 as 刘邦’s left sima during early anti-Qin fighting. After Liu Bang attacks Xue County and the Sishui commandery governor Zhuang retreats, Cao Wushang captures and kills him.
The host flags Cao Wushang’s later narrative importance by noting that he is the same figure who nearly gets Liu Bang killed at the 鸿门宴. This page keeps that as a forward link: in this source, his concrete action is still a successful battlefield capture on Liu Bang’s side.
Hanji 140 part 1 gives that forward link its payoff. Cao Wushang sends a secret report to 项羽 claiming that 刘邦 intends to rule 关中, make 子婴 chancellor, hold the treasure, and seek confirmation from 芈心 / 楚怀王. The report becomes the immediate trigger for Xiang Yu’s decision to attack Liu Bang before Hongmen.
Hanji 141 shows the consequence of that leak from the opposite side. When Liu Bang apologizes at 鸿门宴 and blames slanderous “small people” for the split, Xiang Yu casually names Cao Wushang as the informer. The episode reads this as an 告密者来源保护 failure: Xiang Yu gains an intelligence source but then exposes him to the target.
Hanji 142 completes Cao Wushang’s branch. After Liu Bang escapes Hongmen and returns to 霸上, he immediately has Cao Wushang killed. The death is the direct payoff of Xiang Yu’s source-protection failure: once the informant’s name is exposed inside the banquet, Liu Bang can punish him as soon as he is safe.
Connections
- 刘邦 - commander Cao Wushang serves in this source.
- 《鸿门宴》 - later episode context previewed by the host.
- Hanji 140 part 1, 项羽, 关中, and 子婴 - secret leak that turns Liu Bang’s Guanzhong position into an attack crisis.
- Hanji 141 and 告密者来源保护 - Xiang Yu’s exposure of the informant inside the banquet.
- Hanji 142 and 霸上 - execution after Liu Bang returns safely from Hongmen.
- 夏侯婴 and 萧何 - other Liu Bang-side figures introduced or extended in the same episode.
- 秦国 and 大泽乡起义 - anti-Qin campaign setting.