While the Peach Garden brothers gathered their volunteer army, another figure was rising in the turbulent landscape of the crumbling empire.

Cao Cao was the son of a high-ranking court official, sharp of mind and sharper of ambition. As a youth, a famous physiognomist had studied his face and declared: "In times of peace, you would be a capable minister. In times of chaos, you would be a hero of treacherous genius." The prophecy would prove terrifyingly accurate.

When the warlord Dong Zhuo seized the capital of Luoyang, deposing the emperor and plunging the realm into chaos, Cao Cao saw his opportunity. He volunteered to assassinate the tyrant.

With a jeweled dagger hidden in his robes, he approached Dong Zhuo's chamber. The warlord, enormous and brutish, lay facing the wall. Cao Cao drew the dagger—

But Dong Zhuo caught the reflection in a bronze mirror. "What are you doing?" he roared.

Cao Cao's mind worked faster than lightning. Dropping to his knees, he offered the dagger with both hands. "I wished to present this family heirloom to Your Excellency."

Dong Zhuo, pleased by the gift, dismissed him. Cao Cao fled Luoyang that very night, knowing he had escaped death by the width of a hair.

During his flight, he stayed at the home of an old family friend, Lu Boshe. In the night, he heard voices and the sound of blades being sharpened.

"They're preparing to kill me!" Cao Cao whispered to his companion. "Strike first!"

They burst into the courtyard and slaughtered everyone—Lu Boshe's entire household. Only afterward did they discover the truth: the servants had been sharpening knives to slaughter a pig for his welcome feast.

"My lord!" his companion cried. "What have we done?"

Cao Cao's expression did not change. "I would rather betray the world," he said, "than let the world betray me."

It was a philosophy he would live by for the rest of his life. And it would carry him to heights of power that few in history have ever reached.