"Second brother," Zhang Fei said suddenly, puzzled.
"Didn't you always say the thing you feared most back home was the Yellow River flooding?"
Zhang Fei really was surprised.
Back when the three brothers slept side by side in Xuzhou, they often talked late into the night—about old days, hometown stories. Whenever Guan Yu spoke of his youth, the Yellow River always came up.
Xieliang County lay west of the Yellow River, south of Mount Shou.
Every time the river flooded, disaster followed.
"Exactly why we should train naval forces," Guan Yu replied calmly.
"The art of war lies in adaptation. One must never trap oneself in a single way of fighting."
Zhang Fei flushed.
He remembered Hanzhong—how he'd tried the same old tricks against Cao's army, only to be seen through immediately. Head lowered, he nodded obediently.
Huang Zhong's praise clearly pleased Guan Yu. He clasped his hands in thanks.
"Wen Zhongye was no ordinary general either," Liu Bei added, recalling old days in Jing Province.
"When Governor Jing was still alive, Jingbei rested entirely on Wen Ping's shoulders. Alas…"
Everyone understood.
The whole deposing the elder son to elevate the younger mess. A perfectly good warlord dismantling his own house.
For a moment, the room fell quiet.
Old acquaintances.
Merit earned, marquisates granted.
Each serving a different master.
Put together, those words were enough to make anyone sigh at fate's cruelty.
[Throughout this stage of maneuvering, the Han River keeps appearing—Xunkou, Han Ford, Jingcheng—all along its banks.
Which strongly suggests that Lord Guan's naval forces were formed during this very period.
Otherwise, Cao Ren would have had no reason to abandon Xiangyang on the south bank and instead station himself at Fancheng on the north.
Xiangyang lies south of the Han River.
If Guan Yu advanced both by land and water from Dangyang, Xiangyang would be attacked from all sides—trapped, with no room to maneuver.
Fancheng, north of the river, at least allowed strategic flexibility.
Thus, from 210 to 214, Cao Wei's defensive line kept retreating—and, more importantly, lost control of the Han River itself.]
"Second brother, unmatched in valor!" Zhang Fei clapped enthusiastically.
Nothing fancy here. Pure praise.
A single detachment shaking all of Jingbei.
A name that thundered across Xiangfan.
Even if history blurred the details, hadn't later generations—like those behind the light-screen—still gone digging for his achievements?
"General Guan truly has the makings of a great commander," Zhuge Liang said sincerely.
"Who would have expected a northern man, already advanced in years, to abandon his familiar methods and raise a navy almost as if by instinct?"
For once, Guan Yu's face reddened slightly.
The navy wasn't finished yet.
[Once Cao Ren took over Xiangfan, both sides became noticeably restrained.
On one hand, Cao Ren's command style was cautious—fight when necessary, retreat when prudent.
Unlike Yue Jin, who let his temperament drive him to smash his head repeatedly against Lord Guan's wall.
On the other hand—
Sun Quan's first betrayal arrived.]
"Huh?!" Zhang Fei exploded.
"That green-eyed—brother-in-law—this wasn't even his first betrayal?! There were more later?"
Liu Bei said nothing.
His thoughts drifted back to the New Year negotiations in Jiangdong.
He'd gone into those talks having already seen the light-screen. Naturally, the alliance he forged differed from the one history recorded.
After all—
How could that Liu Bei have known that the brilliant, imposing Grand Commander would die so soon?
"Third brother, wait," Guan Yu said calmly, restraining him.
Zhang Fei always flew into rage for the sake of his brothers. Guan Yu never said it aloud, but he felt it deeply.
[The Biography of Zhou Yu spells it out clearly:
'Cao Cao has just suffered defeat and cannot raise arms.
Sun Yu and I enter Shu and attack Zhang Lu.
Sun Yu guards Chengdu and allies with Ma Chao.
I take Xiangyang.
Then Ma Chao from Liangzhou, Zhou Yu from Xiangyang, and Sun Quan from Hefei strike north together.']
"Wait," even Huang Zhong frowned.
"Where does that leave us?"
"We're the vanguard," Zhuge Liang answered flatly.
"We fight Liu Zhang to exhaustion. Once we're spent, our fate lies entirely in the Grand Commander's hands."
"Why should we bleed as the vanguard?" Zhang Fei protested.
Zhuge Liang countered calmly, "Without the light-screen, if Zhou Gongjin used his Red Cliffs prestige to force you into the role—what then?"
Zhang Fei didn't hesitate.
"Then either I die in Yi Province, or I convince my brother to surrender to Liu Zhang."
Zhuge Liang: …miscalculation. Forgot who I was talking to.
[The plan was beautiful.
Its lifespan was not.
And as we all know—
Sun Quan spent his entire life walking the road to Hefei.
Zhou Yu was formidable, yes. But the so-called 'Tiger Ministers of Jiangdong' simply weren't on the same level as the Five Tiger Generals or the Five Elite Generals of Wei.
The north was the true Three Kingdoms crucible:
Yellow Turbans, the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, Guandu, Wancheng, Xinye, Yanzhou, Jieqiao—
So many bloodbaths they blur together.
Anyone who survived that meat grinder to the end was a purebred war monster.
Compared to that, Jiangdong's "tiger ministers" were greenhouse flowers.
Just Liu Bei's veteran core alone was enough to take Jing's four commanderies and make Sun Quan "slightly fearful."
It's not an exaggeration to say that aside from Zhou Yu, Jiangdong's generals simply could not fight large-scale wars—let alone siege campaigns.]
"Heh." Zhang Fei grinned.
"That part I like."
Guan Yu agreed.
From the Yellow Turbans onward, the three brothers had no powerful clans, no inherited base—nothing.
They'd fought their way here.
How could they respect a group of private-army landlords calling themselves "generals"?
Jiang Wan stared at the line 'Sun Quan spent his entire life walking the road to Hefei'.
Did that mean Sun Quan broke himself there?
He wasn't sleepy at all anymore.
The writing was exhausting, but glimpses of the future made it worthwhile.
Especially moments like this—judging the world from above.
"Still," Huang Zhong said, playing the local devil's advocate,
"saying Jiangdong's generals can't fight goes too far.
Their real problem is this:
Private armies are hard to control.
Win, and they loot freely.
Lose, and the clan head comes demanding compensation.
How do you fight like that?"
"Jiangdong has people but no soldiers," he continued.
"All the population belongs to great clans. Commanders have to raid the Shanyue just to scrape together fighting men."
The generals all shook their heads.
How could anyone fight?
[Gan Ning's 'hundred riders raiding the camp' makes a good story—but at best, it's a fig leaf for Sun Quan's hundred thousand, and its authenticity is questionable.
Even if Zhou Yu's plan had gone all the way through, the most likely outcome would've been training a few more 'Gods of Xiaoyao Ford' for Wei.
And there's a bigger problem:
Zhou Yu's plan had no place for Liu Bei.
Yet obsessed with Yi Province, Sun Quan—after stabilizing things following Zhou Yu's death—still sent invitations.
'Brother-in-law Xuande, let's take Yi Province together!'
'Sorry, brother-in-law. Lady Sun invited me to spar today.'
Sun Quan asked. Liu Bei declined.
Again and again.
Finally, Sun Quan snapped and sent Sun Yu to Xia Kou.
Liu Bei responded by stationing Guan Yu at Jiangling, Zhang Fei at Zigui, Zhuge Liang overseeing Nan Commandery, and himself at Changle.
Faced with that deployment, Sun Quan had no choice but to withdraw.
Later, of course, we all know what happened.
In 214, Liu Bei quietly took Yi Province himself.
Sun Quan smashed his cup:
'That fox—how dare he deceive me!']
Seated at the head, Liu Bei smiled calmly.
"Sun Quan was no Zhou Gongjin."
Survey Jiangdong from end to end—
In the end, only Zhou Yu and Lu Su truly had vision.