娄圭 / Lou Gui (Late Han)

Overview

娄圭 / Lou Gui (Late Han), styled Zibo in the episode, is a 曹操 adviser whose reading of 刘琮’s surrender token supports the peaceful transfer of 荆州, and whose wealth and later execution make him a case of exposure under concentrated political power.

Current Profile

Hanji 1092 gives Lou Gui two distinct roles. In 208 CE, he interprets Liu Cong’s voluntary return of an imperial tally as credible evidence of submission when other Cao-side officers suspect deception. In 211 CE, the episode describes him as extraordinarily wealthy but without power equal to Cao Cao’s; after 习授 reports an ambiguous remark about achieving things oneself rather than admiring others, Cao Cao orders his imprisonment and death.

The page therefore treats Lou Gui neither as a fully documented great strategist nor as a man demonstrably killed for wealth alone. The current evidence supports political judgment, unusual wealth, a denunciation, and execution; the causal chain from wealth to prior murderous intent remains the host’s interpretation.

Key Characteristics

• Reads political symbols as evidence about actor commitment.
• Helps Cao Cao accept Liu Cong’s surrender without battle in the episode’s account.
• Is portrayed as one of the wealthiest figures in Cao Cao’s camp.
• Lacks independent power equal to the ruler who can seize or destroy him.
• Dies after an ambiguous private remark is reported as political disrespect.

Evidence

• Surrender judgment: Hanji 1092 says Lou Gui treats Liu Cong’s delivery of the imperial tally as evidence against a false surrender.
• Wealth and power imbalance: Hanji 1092 reports Cao Cao contrasting Lou Gui’s greater wealth with his own superior force.
• Denunciation and death: Hanji 1092 says Xi Shou reports Lou Gui’s remark and Cao Cao has him imprisoned and killed.

Qualifications

The source does not identify the origin of Lou Gui’s fortune, independently establish strategic parity with more famous advisers, prove that Cao Cao already intended to kill him, or settle whether the execution was formally a grant of suicide. The meaning of the reported remark is ambiguous, and the episode’s portrait of Lou Gui as “正直天真” is interpretation rather than direct evidence.

What Changed

• Created Lou Gui’s page from Hanji 1092’s surrender judgment, wealth-power imbalance, denunciation, and execution account.

Relationships

• 曹操 - ruler who accepts Lou Gui’s surrender analysis and later orders his death.
• 刘琮 - surrendering Jingzhou successor whose tally Lou Gui interprets.
• 荆州 - province whose transfer gives Lou Gui’s judgment strategic consequence.
• 习授 - companion who reports Lou Gui’s ambiguous remark.
• 降服凭证式可信度 - mechanism underlying Lou Gui’s 208 CE judgment.
• 权力笼罩下的财富不安全 - broader pattern explaining why wealth without protected autonomy remains exposed.