Is “Chen Tai was ordered by Sima Yi to deceive Cao Shuang, which is fictional in the novel” true?
In the novel, during the Incident at Gaoping Tombs, Sima Yi summoned Chen Tai and others, ordering them to deceive Cao Shuang: "Go see Cao Shuang and tell him that the Grand Tutor has no other business but to strip your brother of military power." Chen Tai went and delivered this message, leading Cao Shuang to surrender his seal and ribbon. In official history, Chen Tai was not assigned this task but voluntarily urged Cao Shuang to admit guilt, after which Cao Shuang sent two people to Sima Yi to plead guilty: According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Biographies of the Xiahou and Cao Families, "Attendant-in-ordinary Xu Yun and Minister Chen Tai persuaded Cao Shuang to surrender early and admit guilt. Cao Shuang then sent Yun and Tai to see Sima Yi, confessing guilt and begging for death."
The detail of Chen Tai persuading Cao Shuang to surrender was rewritten in the novel
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