[As for Zhao Yun intercepting the river convoy and retrieving A-Dou, this incident actually happened earlier than Lü Meng's seizure of the Three Commanderies.
The exact dates are impossible to pin down. Historical records only allow us to narrow it to somewhere between 211 and 212.
The rough sequence goes like this:
Liu Bei quietly moves west to take Yi Province.
Sun Quan flies into a rage and sends ships to "escort" Lady Sun back to Wu.
Lady Sun attempts to take A-Dou with her.
Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun block the river crossing and forcibly retrieve the child.
Judging by the political timing, this looks less like careful planning and more like Sun Quan deliberately trying to disgust Liu Bei — not enough to start a war, just enough to make cooperation miserable.
That kind of half-hostile pressure was very much Sun Quan's style at this stage.
Because the records are vague — we don't even know Lady Sun's exact birth or death dates — later generations invented countless conspiracy theories.
Some claim Lady Sun was a Wu spy from the beginning.
Others insist she genuinely loved A-Dou like her own child.
None of these can be proven.
What is beyond dispute is this:
Sun Quan and Liu Bei were already drifting toward open hostility,
and the age gap between Lady Sun and Liu Bei was… noticeable.
In this entire affair, Lady Sun was less a schemer and more a political sacrifice.
As for the claim that Liu Bei was a "scumbag husband," that doesn't really hold up either.
Years later, during the Yiling campaign, Liu Bei still went out of his way to rebury Lady Gan in Shu — nearly a decade after her death.
That's not legendary devotion, but it's a long way from indifference.]
Liu Bei felt as if thunder had detonated inside his skull.
Ever since Changban, Lady Gan's health had never fully recovered — that much he knew.
But Lady Mi had only just died.
Eight… nine years?
He ran the numbers in his head.
Too close.
Far too close.
Liu Bei shot to his feet.
Zhang Fei sprang up with him and immediately clamped both hands onto his shoulders.
"Big Brother, don't panic! You're forgetting someone!"
Liu Bei blinked.
Zhang Fei said it slowly and clearly:
"Zhang Zhongjing. The old immortal doctor."
The meaning was obvious.
In the original course of history, Liu Bei had never recruited Zhang Zhongjing.
This time, he had.
Liu Bei's breathing finally steadied, though the knot in his chest refused to loosen.
Seeing his chance, Zhuge Liang smoothly redirected the discussion.
"Lady Sun herself may be innocent," he said, "but the women warriors she brought as attendants are another matter. Many are arrogant, unruly — and not unlikely to include Wu agents."
"Would it be wise for my lord to tighten control over Gong'an?"
Forced to think, Liu Bei nodded slowly.
"Yide already garrisons Gong'an. And south of the river, Yunchang holds the line."
He paused, then issued orders.
"Yide, you are to station troops outside the city. Take my written command."
"You may requisition Lady Sun's escort riders. Any who disrupt discipline or refuse orders — detain them first, punish later."
He hesitated.
"As for the women soldiers…"
Even Liu Bei found them troublesome. They had a habit of drawing blades at the slightest provocation.
Huang Yueying spoke gently.
"They are Lady Sun's troops — which makes them your troops, my lord."
"The logistics bureau currently employs female papermakers. We could transfer the stronger ones to pulp-boiling and fiber processing."
"As for the rest, remove their arms and assign them to Lady Sun's daily service."
Liu Bei blinked once.
Then smiled.
"Madam Huang truly is Kongming's other half."
[In the grand conflict between Sun and Liu, the Lady Sun incident was only a side episode.
By 215, the real stage belonged to Lü Meng and Lu Su.
Lü Meng seized the Three Commanderies under Sun Quan's written orders. Despite the move, he acted with restraint — minimal bloodshed, no mass reprisals.
Lu Su, however, faced a far more volatile situation.
And he made a decision that only Lu Su would dare make.
"Guan Yunchang," he said.
"I am here to negotiate."
Lu Su believed the situation "required explanation," not escalation.
And he also believed Guan Yu could not — and would not — kill him.
The two agreed to meet.
Each side halted their troops one hundred paces away.
Only senior officers attended.
Every man carried a single blade.
This was the event later romanticized as the Single-Blade Meeting.
In reality, both men carried knives —
and the meeting took place on neutral ground, not in either camp.]
"Lu Zijing truly was a man of vision," Zhuge Liang sighed.
That confidence — stubborn, self-assured — fit Lu Su perfectly.
Guan Yu nodded in agreement.
Even Zhang Fei had to admit it.
"Got guts," he muttered. "I respect that."
[The meeting looked fair.
In truth, if violence broke out, Lu Su would likely die first.
But it wasn't fair to Guan Yu either.
Throughout the entire exchange, Guan Yu spoke exactly one sentence:
"I have slain Cao's generals, bled for Red Cliffs. After all that, do I not deserve a land to stand on?"
Lu Su responded with a barrage.
Why haven't you returned the Three Commanderies?
At Changban, Liu Bei was one step from annihilation.
What did Liu Bei's followers truly accomplish?
You were chased across half the realm — what are you proud of?
Sun Quan showed mercy and gave you refuge.
Now you've taken Yi Province and still want Jing?
Any man would snap.
Lu Su's performance was spectacular —
in modern terms, easily top-tier influencer material.
The historical record concludes with four words:
"Yu had no reply."
Guan Yu wasn't defeated.
He was stunned.
Which is why this meeting wasn't fair to him either.
Lu Su could grab his collar and curse him freely —
but Guan Yu could never draw his blade in return.
No agreement was reached.
But to their credit, neither side expanded the conflict.
Frankly, it's a shame the Chancellor wasn't present.
A single-blade shouting match between those two would have been legendary.]
Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei all felt their ears grow warm.
They'd praised Lu Su moments ago.
Now this?
Guan Yu tightened his grip on his cup.
Commanding armies was his strength.
Verbal warfare was not.
Zhuge Liang, however, found it amusing.
"Lu Zijing had that kind of tongue?" he laughed.
"He always seemed so mild."
"Reframing facts with absolute confidence," he added.
"Impressive work."
Huang Zhong frowned.
"The Strategist is good at scolding people?"
He'd missed much of the pre-Red Cliffs drama.
Zhang Fei burst out laughing.
He nearly hooked an arm around Huang Zhong's neck —
then thought better of it and settled for a hearty pat.
"You don't know the half of it!"
"When Cao Cao came south, Sun Quan's men nearly tied him up and handed him over!"
"The Strategist walked in and scolded hundreds of them into silence!"
"That pro-peace fellow surnamed Zhang? Fell sick for three days afterward!"
"No Kongming, no Red Cliffs — simple as that!"
"And this Sun Quan has the nerve to turn around and stab us in the back — bah!"
Zhuge Liang shook his head, half-amused.
"I merely spoke for the pro-war faction. Hardly a one-man massacre."
Zhang Fei thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Still counts!"
"If Wu really wanted to surrender, Sun Quan couldn't have stopped them!"
Then his eyes lit up.
"Strategist — by that logic…"
"Didn't you help secure Sun Quan's throne too?"