"Sun Quan is no Zhou Gongjin."
Even after being called a "cunning barbarian" by the Sun Quan in the light-screen, Liu Bei smiled calmly, unbothered.
Jing Province was too small to hold both the Sun and Liu houses—let alone Yi Province.
Lu Su and Sun Quan lending him half of Nan Commandery had never been charity.
They wanted a hired blade.
"As General Huang said," Zhang Fei muttered under his breath,
"Jiangdong's troops aren't exactly elite. Whether that green-eyed brother-in-law could even take Yi Province is questionable."
He paused, then grudgingly added:
"But that Gan Ning—raiding a camp with a hundred riders? That man's got guts."
Huang Zhong, who knew Jiangdong well, stroked his whitening beard and nodded thoughtfully.
"Gan Ning… I served alongside him when he was under Governor Liu of Jing.
Bold, clever, generous with men, careless with money. A true hero."
He hesitated, then continued:
"He once said that in his youth, he was misled by petty men into rebelling against Liu Zhang.
The failure left him unable to return home."
"A Ba Commandery native?" Liu Bei murmured, filing the name away.
[Sun Quan is a strange man.
At times, he's the very image of a calculating ruler—he hadn't even crowned himself emperor yet, but in Jiangdong he'd already mastered the art of balancing factions.
At other times, politically speaking, he's almost endearingly naive.
Wu's invasion of Shu required passage through Jiangling. Any leader with half a brain would've hesitated.
Borrow a road to destroy the state—who doesn't know that lesson?
Once his brother-in-law took Yi Province, Sun Quan demanded repayment:
"Now Jing Province should be returned."
Liu Bei replied:
"I am presently planning for Liang Province. Once Liang is secured, Jing shall be returned in full."]
Liu Bei nodded slowly at the mention of borrowed roads—that concern had been real.
But at the second half, his eyes widened.
His hand twitched, yanking out two strands of beard.
"Hiss—wait, hold on."
"We only borrowed Nan Commandery, didn't we?!"
Everyone turned to look at him.
Liu Bei rubbed his chin, heart aching:
"I negotiated for Jiangling only.
The agreement was: once Nan Commandery was reclaimed, it would be returned.
How did this turn into all of Jing Province?"
Zhang Fei cut straight through it.
"Big brother, earlier you said Sun Quan wasn't Zhou Yu.
Were you… afraid of Zhou Yu back then?"
Liu Bei fell silent.
In the original course of history—if Zhou Yu had still been alive—
would he really have agreed?
[To be fair, Liu Bei's words weren't entirely empty.
He had made a promise—and what he promised to return was Jing Province.
But there's a crucial detail people often overlook:
What Liu Bei actually borrowed was Jiangling, a single city in Nan Commandery.
Not even a full province—barely five commanderies' worth of territory.
The four southern commanderies of Jing were taken by Liu Bei's own troops.
And Sun Quan opened negotiations by demanding all of Jing Province.
Frankly, Liu Bei refraining from splashing tea in his face already showed restraint.
Sun Quan's verdict was blunt:
"He borrows and never returns—dragging it out with empty words."
From Sun Quan's perspective, that wasn't wrong.
So he acted.
Lü Meng seized three commanderies.
Around the same time, Zhao Yun crossed the river to rescue A-Dou.]
"Lü Meng took three commanderies?" Guan Yu frowned.
"Zhao Yun rescued A-Dou?" Zhang Fei spun around.
"Huh?" Huang Yueying blinked.
The three stared at each other.
Yueying gestured politely for the brothers to continue, pulled a sheet of paper, and began sketching—ignoring Zhuge Liang's pained expression.
"That Lü Meng," Liu Bei said slowly,
"the one who later stabbed my second brother in the back?"
As for A-Dou…
Once Liu Bei's cherished only son, he now felt strangely… detached. Perhaps the boy could be observed further.
Guan Yu studied the map.
"It must have been Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling."
If Wuling had fallen as well—connecting Yi and Nan Commandery—there would've been no war left to fight.
"Three commanderies lost," Guan Yu reasoned calmly.
"But Nan and Wuling remain. Our forces are intact. This can be recovered."
To him, the three commanderies were administrative lands, not military cores. Losing them in a surprise move was unfortunate—but not fatal.
Zhang Fei wasn't having it.
"Big brother! Your son was taken!"
"Those three commanderies fell too easily," Liu Bei said, emphasizing each word.
"Could Sun Quan have been preparing this for some time?"
Guan Yu nodded gravely.
"Very likely. Those lands border Jiangdong—same customs, same clans.
Many of our local officials have deep ties with Jiangdong noble families.
Guarding against this would've been… extremely difficult."
His conclusion was blunt:
"This only proves Yi Province is indispensable.
Hold Jing's four commanderies alone, and Sun Quan could overturn us at any time.
In the end, we'd just be sewing wedding garments for another bride."
"BIG BROTHER—YOUR SON—" Zhang Fei nearly shouted.
Liu Bei snapped:
"Why panic?! He lives long! He surrenders the state later!
He buries our foundation! He spends his days saying 'this place is nice'!"
"He survives just fine! What are you worrying about?!"
The dangers of Jing and Yi were already clear in Liu Bei's mind.
Cao Cao wanted Hanzhong—to seal both Sun and Liu.
Wu wanted Jing and Yi—to strike north from three directions.
And within Wu, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu had never truly aligned.
Only by seizing Yi Province himself—snatching chestnuts from the fire—could Liu Bei establish a true foundation.
Decades of bloodshed…
Was it all just to send A-Dou off to Wei to drink wine?
The veins at the back of Liu Bei's head throbbed violently.
Zhang Fei fell silent, then muttered weakly:
"He's still your son… my nephew…"
[When Lü Meng took the three commanderies, he used a method he would later perfect.
Changsha and Guiyang surrendered at the mere sight of his banners.
Only Hao Pu held firm at Lingling.
Lü Meng made open displays of troop movements, signaling an imminent assault.
In secret, he sent Hao Pu's close friend Deng Xuan with a lie:
"Liu Bei is trapped by Xiahou Yuan in Hanzhong.
Lu Su has sealed Guan Yu at Jiangling.
Who will come to save you?"
Hao Pu despaired.
When he surrendered, Lü Meng revealed the truth—and showed him Sun Quan's letter.
It was filthy.
Textbook kill the man, break the heart.
Hao Pu collapsed in shame, wishing to bury himself alive.
Fate wasn't done with him.
After defecting to Wu, he crossed paths with Yin Fan—the greatest Wei spy ever sent south.
Yin Fan feigned surrender, rose to Court Inspector, secretly rallied Jiangdong clans, and plotted rebellion.
When exposed, everyone connected fell.
Hao Pu took his own life.]
"Who's Cao Rui?" someone asked.
Voices overlapped:
"Emperor Ming of Wei! Cao Pi's short-lived son!"
"Feigning surrender—damn fine work."
"Hao Pu… what a waste."
Zhang Fei roared:
"Deception alone is one thing!
But mocking a man after forcing his surrender?!
That Lü Meng has no soul!"
The generals nodded grimly.
To be deceived by a trusted friend was bad enough.
To be humiliated by the enemy commander afterward?
"Was Lü Meng trying to drive him to suicide?" Huang Zhong wondered aloud.
The room fell silent.
That possibility felt… far too plausible.
Zhuge Liang connected the dots.
"At that time, my lord hadn't entered Hanzhong.
Yi had just been secured. Zhang Lu still held Hanzhong.
There was no Xiahou Yuan siege."
"Hao Pu…" Liu Bei sighed.
"A loyal man, undone by a heart-killing general."
Zhang Fei glanced at Guan Yu, uneasy.
"Second brother…"
He stopped, then clapped Guan Yu on the shoulder.
"Be careful."