King Duosi

Historical Record

As for King Duosi, there is no clear record in the official histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms. His life, deeds, and interactions with other figures of the Three Kingdoms period are nowhere found in the historical biographies, and so cannot be verified or recounted from a historiographical standpoint.

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, King Duosi is a Southern Man cave-chieftain of strong local color, his image fashioned with a fantastical and self-assured cast. He first appears after Meng Huo's defeat, when Meng Huo sent Meng You to the Bald Dragon Cave to seek aid. King Duosi warmly received him and assured Meng Huo that if the Shu troops came to invade, he would see to it that "not one man nor a single horse should return home, and that they should all die here together with Zhuge Liang!"^[1] In an almost arrogant posture, he offered Meng Huo a wondrous plan that "needed no swords or spears." The core of this plan was to exploit the treacherous terrain to the northwest of the Bald Dragon Cave and four poisonous springs: the Mute Spring, the Destroying Spring, the Black Spring, and the Soft Spring. He planned to block the level road to the northeast and lure the Shu army onto the northwestern mountain road, so that by drinking the water of the poisonous springs they would collapse without a fight.^[1]

King Duosi believed absolutely in his own plan, holding that even if Zhuge Liang had "divine schemes and marvelous calculations, they would be hard to apply," and he could not escape the retribution of the poisonous springs.^[1] However, when the Shu army, under Zhuge Liang's command, resolved the threat of the poisonous springs by finding sweet-spring water and arrived safely before the Bald Dragon Cave, King Duosi saw with his own eyes that the Shu troops were "untouched by the miasmic, pestilent air, and likewise free of the affliction of parched thirst, the various springs all failing to take effect,"^[2] and only then realized that he faced "divine soldiers," whereupon his "hair stood on end."^[2]

Although his plan failed, King Duosi still showed a certain loyalty and resolve. When Meng Huo declared he would fight the Shu troops to the death, King Duosi too said, "If you, great king, are defeated, my wife and children are likewise finished," and proposed: "We should slaughter oxen and horses and richly reward the cave warriors, and shunning neither water nor fire, charge straight into the Shu camp—only then can we win,"^[2] attempting to make up for the deficiency in stratagem through the valor of the Man troops. However, in the ensuing battle, King Duosi together with Meng Huo and Meng You was captured by a stratagem of Yang Feng, chieftain of the Silver Smelting Cave. Yang Feng pretended to come to their aid, and at a feast seized the three of them off guard, capturing them all and presenting them to Zhuge Liang.^[3]

After Meng Huo was released, King Duosi appeared again, appointed by Meng Huo as defending general of Sanjiang City, serving as a screen against the Shu army.^[4] This shows that Meng Huo still trusted his military ability, or at least regarded him as an important subordinate. However, King Duosi's end in the novel is not detailed, and his ultimate fate fades out with the conclusion of the Southern Man war.

Key Relationships

* Lord of the Southern Man (lord_of): King Duosi was the chieftain of the Bald Dragon Cave, possessing his own territory and troops, and held a certain power and influence in the Southern Man region (unique to the novel).
* Meng Huo's ally and subordinate (commands_in): King Duosi was an important ally and subordinate of Meng Huo. After Meng Huo's defeat, King Duosi provided him shelter and a plan.^[1] After being released by Zhuge Liang, Meng Huo again appointed King Duosi to guard Sanjiang City, showing his standing within Meng Huo's group.^[4] (unique to the novel)

Signature Scenes

* Offering the poison-spring plan: King Duosi offered Meng Huo a plan to deal with the Shu army by exploiting the treacherous terrain northwest of the Bald Dragon Cave and the four poisonous springs (the Mute Spring, the Destroying Spring, the Black Spring, and the Soft Spring). He arrogantly held that this plan "needed no swords or spears" and could make the Shu army, "even a host of a million, all fail to return."^[1] This scene fully displays King Duosi's self-assured character and excessive confidence in his own schemes (unique to the novel).
* Witnessing the Shu army break the poison-spring trap: When King Duosi saw with his own eyes the Shu army safely drink the sweet-spring water and break the threat of the poisonous springs, his "hair stood on end" and he cried out, "These are divine soldiers!"^[2] This scene marks King Duosi's turn from arrogance to shock, and obliquely sets off Zhuge Liang's divine ingenuity (unique to the novel).
* Being captured by Yang Feng: When Meng Huo, Meng You, and King Duosi together held a feast for the Silver Smelting Cave chieftain Yang Feng, who had come to "assist in battle," Yang Feng set an ambush and, taking advantage of the feast, together with his sons captured Meng Huo, Meng You, and King Duosi.^[3] This scene is a major setback in King Duosi's military career, and also reflects the complexity of power relations within the Southern Man (unique to the novel).