Zhao Yun was the textbook example of someone developed in morality, intellect, physique, and aesthetics. Almost instantly, a terrifying hypothesis surfaced in his mind—
—and his pupils quake-shifted.
Meanwhile, Zhang Fei was still shouting away.
"Who the hell is Yunmei? There aren't any women in the army! Could it be someone that Cao the traitor brought along?!"
Smack.
Guan Yu slapped Zhang Fei on the back of the head.
"Quiet."
Then he softened his tone and said, "Zilong, don't worry. From what I see, later generations must have held you in great affection, hence the nickname. Didn't the light screen also mention 'God of War mode at Changban' and 'seven charges in and seven charges out through Cao's camp'? Let's just keep watching."
There was nothing else to be done.
Zhao Yun nodded, steadied his mind, and refocused on the light screen.
At that moment, the images shifted again. As the viewpoint changed, a 21st-century 3D map appeared before the Han-era civil and military officials.
[In the year 217 CE, Shu Han formally launched the Hanzhong Campaign. It's important to understand that battles of this scale are never decided in a single strike. They involve prolonged stalemates, logistical contests, and constant probing for opportunities—so this war was destined to drag on for quite some time.
Let's first look at the commanders involved.
On the Shu Han side: Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Fa Zheng, and Huang Quan.
On the Cao Wei side: Xiahou Yuan, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Cao Hong, Zhang He, Xu Huang, and Guo Huai.]
The hall stirred as the civil and military officials glanced at one another.
They had all heard of Ma Chao.
As for Fa Zheng and Huang Quan—no one present recognized the names.
But now that the light screen had declared them to be their own, the feeling was oddly novel.
Zhang Fei scratched his head. "Second Brother's guarding Jing Province at this time?"
Zhuge Liang did a quick calculation and nodded. "Jing Province cannot do without General Guan."
Jian Yong munched on some dried fruit while rattling off names with ease. "I've heard of Fa Zheng—should be Fa Zhen's precious grandson. His ancestor was Fa Xiong, former Administrator of Nan Commandery. As for Huang Quan… likely the Chief Clerk of Yi Province."
As half a mingshi, Jian Yong had spent years running errands and building connections for Liu Bei. Digging into people's backgrounds was second nature to him.
"Formidable enemies," Guan Yu concluded succinctly.
Zhang He and Xu Huang needed no introduction.
Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, and Cao Hong had followed Cao Cao since the anti-Dong Zhuo campaign—men who had survived decades of warfare and emerged as veteran generals.
"No problem! We've got General Huang!" Zhang Fei said, slapping Huang Zhong on the shoulder without a care.
Huang Zhong's old face flushed red.
[In 217 CE, Liu Bei dispatched Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Wu Lan, and Lei Tong to strike Wudu. They successfully drove off the Wudu Administrator and captured Xiabian City.
Interestingly, that Wudu Administrator was Yang Fu, courtesy name Yishan, a native of Tianshui—and a fellow townsman of Jiang Wei. He had killed Ma Chao's entire family, making the two sworn enemies.
Modern audiences often praise Yang Fu, portraying him as a righteous man resisting the 'evil Ma Chao.' But viewed historically, the so-called 'Ma Chao Rebellion' is far more complex.
In 211, when Cao Cao seized Hanzhong, Han Sui and Ma Chao rebelled, joining forces with Zhang Lu and defeating Cao Cao at Tong Pass. Romance of the Three Kingdoms even added the famous scene of Cao Cao 'cutting his beard and discarding his robe,' which is admittedly great fun.]
At this point, Wen Mang directly played a clip from the old Three Kingdoms TV drama.
The people in the hall watched the figure labeled "Ma Chao" shouting:
"That man in the red robe is Cao Cao!"
"The long-bearded one is Cao Cao!"
"The short-bearded one is Cao Cao!"
Three accusations in a row forced the man identified as Cao Cao to cut off his beard, throw away his robe, wrap a banner around his face, and flee in utter disgrace.
Laughter filled the hall.
Liu Bei didn't forget to explain to the three less familiar civil officials, "This is something later generations created based on our deeds—similar to ritual performances."
With that explanation, Jian Yong, Mi Zhu, and Sun Qian understood.
Mi Zhu's eyes, however, gleamed with interest.
This kind of new-style ritual play… it's far more entertaining than what we have now.
"What a shame Cao the traitor didn't die there," Zhang Fei smacked his lips regretfully.
"General Zhang," Huang Zhong reminded him, "you laughed the loudest just now. Best not take it too seriously."
Guan Yu stroked his treasured beard thoughtfully.
When the light screen mentions my defeat at Maicheng… will someone be shouting 'the long-bearded one is Guan Yu'?
Still, he was certain of one thing.
I would never do something as disgraceful as cutting my beard and fleeing.
Jian Yong, meanwhile, calculated the timeline with his fingers and shook his head.
"Ma Teng is dead."
The hall fell silent.
They had nearly forgotten—just last year, Ma Teng and his family had been relocated to Ye by Cao Cao.
"Cao the traitor must have anticipated Zhang Lu seeking aid from Ma Chao and Han Sui, so he seized Ma Teng first," Jian Yong continued. "But he didn't expect Han and Ma to rebel anyway."
Ma Teng had always been a hostage meant to restrain Ma Chao.
And Ma Chao's response—cutting beard and discarding robe—was effectively telling Cao Cao that he didn't care about his father.
In order to maintain authority, Cao Cao had no choice.
Ma Teng had to die.
Ma Chao's ruthless decisiveness left everyone unsure how to judge him. They almost wanted to label him a feral wolf—
—but the light screen had already said he would later join Lord Xuande and become a founding meritorious official of Shu Han, which complicated matters.
[After Cao Cao retreated in defeat in 211, Ma Chao went raiding again in 212. He allied with Zhang Lu, annexed multiple commanderies in Liang Province, and killed Wei Kang, the provincial inspector. Local elite families submitted at once.
Xiahou Yuan was dispatched to suppress the rebellion and was defeated by Ma Chao.
In 213, Yang Fu and Jiang Xu betrayed Ma Chao, slaughtering his family. Ma Chao retaliated by attacking Licheng and exterminating Jiang Xu's clan.
Xiahou Yuan then seized the opportunity presented by internal strife in Liang Province, marched out, and ultimately defeated Ma Chao.
In 214, Ma Chao was forced to flee to Hanzhong and submit to Zhang Lu—only to defect again later that same year and join Liu Bei.
But if you break it all down, this episode is really just the same old Jiangdong-style mess: Ma Chao used force to cow the landlords, but pushed too hard, causing resentment. In the end, the elites banded together and rebelled.
If Yang Fu were truly the 'great worthy' Cao Cao praised, he wouldn't have stayed silent when his superior Wei Kang was killed—he even went to work for Ma Chao afterward. He only made up his mind to rebel once his cousin was thrown into prison.
So let's not gild anyone's reputation. At its core, this was simply dogs biting dogs—everyone getting blood in their mouths.]
The generals in the hall felt their heads buzzing.
Is Liang Province always this brutally straightforward?
Everyone just wipes out entire families at the drop of a hat?
And Ma Chao's killing of a sitting provincial inspector—
That was a major taboo.
Just like how Liu Biao and Sun Jian's conflict ended with Huang Zu taking the blame, even though imperial authority had all but collapsed, appearances still mattered.
As for the light screen's assessment of Yang Fu, Liu Bei deeply agreed.
He had once believed that "the people were just the people."
Only after being bloodied in Xuzhou did he realize that when necessary, powerful clans could also claim to be 'the people.'
[We've strayed a bit—let's return to the current Hanzhong Campaign.
Liu Bei's general Ma Chao encountered his nemesis Yang Fu in Wudu. It was a classic case of enemies meeting with bloodshot eyes.
After only a few exchanges, Yang Fu turned his horse and fled—off to bring reinforcements!
Soon, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen arrived with troops, aiming to retake Xiabian.]
Everyone felt slightly exasperated.
We're talking about the Hanzhong Campaign!
Why did you loop back to the first Hanzhong war, then yank us forward again without explaining what happened to Zhang Lu?
Zhang Fei, however, was thrilled.
After all, of the four generals who attacked Wudu, he was the only one present in this hall.
"Hold the city and defend it!" Zhang Fei slapped his thigh. "The three Caos are coming! The advantage is ours! That means I've got battle merit now, right?!"
He was genuinely envious of how many times the light screen had mentioned Huang Zhong beheading Xiahou Yuan.