Is “Surrendered to Cao Cao, received title, and was killed on the way” true?
based on fact
According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Biography of Liu Biao, Liu Cong was appointed as a General of the Vanguard and Governor of Qingzhou after surrendering to Cao Cao, enfeoffed as a marquis, and died peacefully; the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fictionalizes a tragic ending where Cao Cao sends Yu Jin to intercept and kill him and his mother on the way.
Liu Cong
In official history, after surrendering to Cao Cao, he was appointed Governor of Qingzhou and lived out his life; the novel fictionalizes that he was hunted down and killed by Yu Jin on the way to his post, sent by Cao Cao.