The "Cao Man Zhuan" () and the "Shiyu" () mentioned that Xiahou Dun once suggested to Cao Cao to eliminate Liu Bei first in order to force Sun Quan to surrender of his own accord, and then follow in the footsteps of the mythological rulers Shun and Yu by making Emperor Xian voluntarily abdicate the throne to him. Cao Cao accepted his proposal. After Cao Cao's death, Xiahou Dun regretted his words and fell sick and died. The historian Sun Sheng dismissed the "Shiyu" account as nonsense, saying that it did not match what was recorded in the main text of Xiahou Dun's biography in the "Sanguozhi" – Xiahou Dun felt ashamed of serving under the Han imperial court so he requested to serve in Cao Cao's vassal kingdom.