"Which dynasty was the Tang again?"
Liu Bei frowned at the drifting lines of text, clearly drawing a blank.
Guan Yu answered without hesitation. History had always been his strong suit.
"From the order shown on the screen, it should come after the fall of the Sima Jin. Their scholars seem especially fond of Emperor Wu of Han—ranked him among the four great generals of the Han era."
Liu Bei nodded as the memory surfaced.
"Ah, that Tang. Civil administration strong enough to open roads through Shu, military campaigns modeled after Emperor Wu to suppress the tribes and secure the Western Regions. Sounds like another age of good governance, much like the Former Han."
Zhang Fei immediately jumped in, chest out and voice loud.
"Big Brother, I'm telling you—if you became emperor, you'd restore the Han just like the ancestors. You'd do just as well, no question!"
Liu Bei was deeply moved. His eyes went wet.
Still my third brother. Always my third brother.
Then Zhang Fei added, helpfully:
"And if there's ever another Yiling, let me command the army. Big Brother, you absolutely must not lead it yourself!"
…Third brother. Truly, forever my third brother.
[The Han dynasty placed enormous importance on family background and reputation, so suspicion toward Meng Da was, frankly, inevitable.
But no matter how you look at it, sending Liu Feng was a catastrophic mistake.
The Biography of Liu Feng records one of Meng Da's stated reasons for rebellion as:
"Feng and Da quarreled bitterly; Feng later seized Da's symbols of rank."
Yes. You read that correctly.
Liu Feng was sent to share authority with Meng Da. Instead of smoothing things over, he argued. When arguing wasn't enough, he publicly stripped Meng Da of the state-granted honors that marked his command.
This wasn't a disagreement anymore—it was humiliation.
Is this really the emotional intelligence taught by Liu 'Big-Eared' Bei?
Even a group of children wouldn't handle things this badly.
And right after losing his authority in public, Meng Da received an offer from Cao Pi:
A marquisate at Pingyang.
The three commanderies of Shangyong, Xicheng, and Fangling merged into a new territory.
And Meng Da? Appointed as its administrator.
Presented with a check that large, Meng Da—raised in a family famous for opportunism—dropped to his knees with impressive smoothness.
Don't talk to me about loyalty when the price tag looks like that.]
Liu Bei was stunned.
No matter what, Liu Feng had been raised like half a son. Even if the boy fell short, this… this was hard to process.
Meng Da's rebellion. Liu Feng's eventual execution at his own hands. Liu Bei had always assumed there must have been deep conflicts between the two.
He had imagined many possibilities:
Liu Feng was blunt with words.
Strategic disagreements.
Meng Da harboring treacherous intent from the start.
Or perhaps Liu Feng, copying Cao Cao's bad habits, forcibly took Meng Da's concubine.
But this?
Seizing his symbols of rank?
Liu Bei pressed a hand to his temple.
His head hurt.
Zhang Fei hurried over, carefully kneading his brother's shoulders.
"Big Brother, if Feng's really this hopeless, leave him to me or Second Brother. We'll straighten him out. No need to torture yourself like this."
Huang Yueying smiled gently.
"If the Left General wishes, the Department of Works could even recreate the music from the screen—"
"No. Absolutely not." Liu Bei cut her off instantly, then made his decision with a wave of his hand.
"Third Brother, take Feng to your camp tomorrow—no, tonight. Take him now. The sooner, the better."
[When Liu Bei later ordered Liu Feng's execution, two charges were listed.
One was his refusal to rescue Guan Yu.
The other was this:
"Liu Feng insulted and violated Meng Da."
Some people argue that Liu Feng and Meng Da were not under Guan Yu's command, and therefore disobeying him was understandable. After all, Shangyong and Fangling were important in their own right.
But that argument collapses instantly.
The Biography of Guan Yu states:
"In the twenty-fourth year, when the Former Lord became King of Hanzhong, Guan Yu was appointed Front General and granted authority with imperial credentials."
With that authority in place, refusing Guan Yu's call was effectively the same as watching Liu Bei himself fall into danger.
Execution was almost unavoidable.
Still, in the larger picture of the Xiangfan campaign, Liu Feng and Meng Da were only a minor factor—the final straw, not the main cause.
They were not the primary culprits behind Guan Yu's death.
So let's set them aside for now and return our focus to the Xiangfan battlefield.]
Every gaze in the hall returned to Guan Yu.
Liu Feng, Meng Da, stolen honors—none of that mattered now.
This was imperial authority.
Whether holding a token, a staff, or ceremonial credentials, such power represented absolute trust from the Son of Heaven.
Some looked envious. Some curious.
Guan Yu alone sat unmoved, calm as a mountain.
[Xiangyang and Fancheng formed the strategic heart of Shu-Han.
Situated on opposite banks of the Han River, the two cities supported each other like interlocking teeth.
Geographically, Xiangfan lay at the southern edge of the Nanyang Basin, controlling access to the Han River. To the east and west rose natural barriers—Mount Wudang, Mount Dahong, Mount Tongbai—shielding the region.
Whether marching north into the Central Plains or south into the Jianghan lowlands, all roads passed through here.
This was not just contested ground.
It was a choke point.
Centuries later, the Southern Song and the Mongols would grind against each other here for decades. When Xiangyang finally fell in 1273, the Southern Song never won another major battle.
Ezhou. Jiading. Huaixi. Dingjia Islet. Jiaoshan. Lin'an.
Thirteen consecutive defeats.
The main army was annihilated.
At the Battle of Yashan, Lu Xiufu carried the child emperor Zhao Bing on his back and leapt into the sea. Over a hundred thousand soldiers and civilians followed.
The dynasty ended there.
That is how important Xiangfan was.
Strategically, Zhuge Liang had already explained everything back in 207 in the Longzhong Plan:
"When the world changes, one general shall lead the armies of Jingzhou toward Wan and Luoyang, while Your Excellency leads the troops of Yizhou through Qin Province… thus the great enterprise may be achieved, and the Han restored."
For Shu-Han, the goal of linking Jing and Yi had already been flawlessly achieved by Zhang Fei at Dangqu.
But to advance from Jingzhou toward Wan and Luoyang, Xiangfan was the essential springboard.
The opportunity was there.
Heaven offered it.
Liu Bei simply failed to seize it.]
〖Li Shimin: Where exactly are these Mongols? Tell me.
And if they were already fighting over Xiangfan, how did anyone still dare claim the throne?〗
Zhang Fei couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Zhao Yun had courage that shook the world!
Old General Huang was a tiger even in his twilight!
Second Brother's name thundered across the realm!
So why is my achievement summed up as 'immediately carved into stone'?! I refuse to accept this! I refuse!"
Liu Bei and Guan Yu hurried to calm him.
"Didn't the screen say clearly?" Liu Bei soothed. "The Longzhong Plan had two pillars, and you completed one of them in a single campaign. That's the mark of a great general!"
"Without pacifying Ba Commandery," Liu Bei continued, "Yi Province could never have been secured. Without you, we'd have nowhere to stand!"
Guan Yu added quietly, "Without you at Changban Bridge, there would be no Big Brother, no me… no Shu-Han."
Only then did Zhang Fei finally settle down.
Liu Bei stared at the words again, troubled.
"The Song… ended like that?"
He had survived the Yellow Turban chaos, the collapse of the Han, endless war. Yet the image of ten thousand families drowning together left his eyes red.
"The calamity of foreign invasion… could it reach such extremes?"
"They died with their country," Huang Zhong said heavily. "The emperor must have struggled to the end—lacking only Heaven's timing."
"And to them," Huang Yueying added softly, "we were the foreigners as well."
Zhang Fei, now calmer, muttered again:
"Big Brother, seeing this, we really shouldn't give up Jiaozhou. The screen said later generations lost it too."
"Tiny states claiming kingship, abandoning our script—so close to us. Who knows when they might turn on Han people?"
"Better to have Jiaozhou guarding the Han forever. Never let it slip away."