In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao is stalled in Hanzhong and gives the night password: “Chicken rib!” His registrar Yang Xiu tells the soldiers to pack. A chicken rib has no meat, he explains, so the king will soon withdraw. Cao Cao has him executed for disturbing the army. The novel says that Yang Xiu “relied on his talent and was unrestrained, and he often offended Cao Cao.”
The historical Yang Xiu was executed in the autumn of 219, on a charge of leaking Cao Cao’s instructions and conspiring with the princes.