Is “Zhou Yu's letter theft and falling for the trick that led to the deaths of Cai and Zhang” true?
novel invention
The 'Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu, Biography of Zhou Yu' cites the 'Chronicles of Jiang Biao' in Pei Songzhi's annotation, which records that Jiang Gan tried to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender, and Zhou Yu showed his magnanimity; Jiang Gan praised Zhou Yu's elegance. There is absolutely no incident of letter theft.
Jiang Gan
In official history, he was a scholar unmatched in the Jiang-Huai region for his eloquence and bearing, but in the novel he is portrayed as a ridiculous buffoon who steals letters and falls for tricks.