Zhuge Liang's "borrowing an arrow from a straw boat" is one of the most wonderful stories in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Reading this story often makes people admire Zhuge Liang's cleverness. However, Zhuge Liang has never done this in his life. Sun Quan did it.

According to the Notes on the Reflection of the Three Kingdoms Wu Shu and Wu Zhuan Zhu II Pei Songzhi, in the 18th year of Jian 'an (AD 2 13), Cao Cao and Sun Quan confronted each other in ruxu (now a waterway of Chaohu Lake in Chao County, Anhui Province into the Yangtze River). Cao Jun was defeated in the first battle, so he couldn't hold on. One day, Sun Quan broke into the front by canoe from ruxu to observe the deployment of Cao Jun. Sun Quan's canoe went for five or six miles, and the drums were full of music. Cao Cao was suspicious by nature. Seeing that Sun Jun was so powerful, he was afraid of fraud and didn't dare to go to war. He sighed and said, "My son should be like Sun Zhongmou, and Liu Jingsheng's son should be like a dolphin and a dog!" Subsequently, Cao Cao ordered the crossbow to be shot at Wuchuan. Soon, Sun Quan's canoe was in danger of capsizing because there were too many arrows on one side. Sun Quan ordered the bow to be turned around, so that the other side was hit by an arrow again. After a while, all the arrows were laid flat, and Sun Jun returned safely. Cao Cao realized that he had been cheated.

This happened five years after Battle of Red Cliffs. It can be seen that Borrowing Arrows from Grass Boat is just an adaptation of Sun Quan by Luo Guanzhong.