l[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
The records of the Xiangfan battlefield still follow the old rule of Spring and Autumn Annals brushwork when it comes to defeats.
They write lightly.
They dodge directly.
They leave only fragments.
Victory is sung loudly. Defeat is whispered.
So today, all we can do is piece together the battlefield from those broken lines.
The Biography of Pang De records:
"Later, [Pang De] personally engaged Guan Yu in battle and shot Guan Yu in the forehead. At that time, De often rode a white horse. Guan Yu's army called him the White Horse General and all feared him."
This alone tells us quite a lot.
The two sides could still engage in open battle.
Pang De could ride forward and loose an arrow at Guan Yu's helmet.
Which meant—
The navy had not yet entered the fight.
This could only have happened during the dry season.
By the fourth month, the dry season ended.
And Guan Yu transformed from his juvenile form into his complete form.
From that point on, Pang De no longer had chances.
No matter how ferocious cavalry might be, no horse in the world can charge ships moving on a river.
And thus we arrive at that exquisitely deceptive phrasing in the histories:
"Cao Ren, defending Fancheng, attacked Guan Yu at Fan."
Zhang Fei burst into laughter, clapping his hands in admiration.
"Beautiful writing! Truly beautiful!"
Being beaten until you can't lift your head—
Yet written so that it sounds like you were pressing the attack.
"What's this 'juvenile form Guan Yu' nonsense?" Liu Bei asked, laughing as well.
"Obviously means Second Brother without his navy fights like a kid!" Zhang Fei roared.
He imagined a tender child with Guan Yu's long beard pasted on his face, standing stiff-backed and pretending to be dignified.
Zhang Fei laughed even harder.
Guan Yu looked at them all with the gaze he reserved for fools and declined to comment.
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
Faced with this situation, Cao Cao chose reinforcement.
Xu Huang—just withdrawn from Hanzhong—was thrown straight into the fire.
The records say:
"[Cao Cao] again sent Xu Huang to assist Cao Ren in attacking Guan Yu, garrisoning at Wan."
Xu Huang alone wasn't enough.
He was also given newly recruited troops.
And at this moment, Liu Bei chose to withdraw his army and return to Chengdu.
Hanzhong was secure.
So Cao Cao revealed his trump card.
The Annals of Emperor Wu record:
"In autumn, seventh month, he made Lady Bian his Queen. He sent Yu Jin to assist Cao Ren in attacking Guan Yu."
The Chronicles of Huayang add:
"The King of Wei sent General of the Left Yu Jin to supervise seven armies, thirty thousand men, to rescue Fan."
The Biography of Xu Huang further supplements:
"Taizu successively sent Yin Shu, Zhu Gai, and others—twelve battalions in total—to join Huang."
The generals straightened simultaneously.
"How many men is that?"
Huang Zhong narrowed his eyes, calculating.
"Cao Ren… should be of the same rank as Xiahou Yuan. Xiahou Yuan—'Tiger Striding West of the Pass'—commanded fifty thousand."
"But not fifty thousand here," Liu Bei shook his head.
"Hanzhong is remote. Xiahou Yuan had Zhang He and Xu Huang under him—fifty thousand to hold Yi Province."
"Xiangfan is close to Xudu and naturally fortified," Kong Ming added.
"Stationing too many troops wastes supplies. Twenty to thirty thousand would be enough."
Everyone nodded.
Feeding tens of thousands of men was no small burden.
"Pang De isn't listed separately," someone said.
"He probably commanded his own unit."
"Five thousand," Zhang Fei guessed. "That's how Cao Cao assigns."
"Yu Jin's seven armies are thirty thousand at base," Zhao Yun added.
"He was favored—probably a few thousand more."
"And Xu Huang?"
"Eight to ten thousand, counting new troops."
They fell silent.
"At least sixty thousand."
"And Xu Huang received twelve battalions—another ten thousand?"
A chill crept through the hall.
"So… how many did General Guan have?"
"The screen said—even at the time of his death—only thirty thousand."
"And he couldn't bring all of them north."
"Gong'an and Jiangling needed garrisons."
"At most—twenty thousand."
"Twenty thousand… besieging a fortress… against over sixty thousand?"
The generals exchanged looks and shook their heads.
How does one fight that?
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
And yet—even now—the Xiangfan battlefield had not reached its climax.
In the very month Yu Jin was dispatched, Liu Bei—having returned to Chengdu—proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong.
He enfeoffed Guan Yu as General of the Vanguard.
He granted him the ceremonial axe.
And the imperial tally.
Zhang Fei looked at Liu Bei.
Liu Bei looked at Zhang Fei.
"Alright," Liu Bei sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Second Brother, no need to say it. I know—I shouldn't have gone back."
From his position at the time, his army had campaigned for nearly two years.
Men were exhausted. Supplies stretched thin.
On the surface, Jingxiang looked like a stalemate.
But who could have predicted what would follow?
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
The Records of the Three Kingdoms for this year even records an almost absurd detail:
"Cao Ren was besieged by Guan Yu. Taizu made Cao Zhi General of the Central Gentiles… Cao Zhi was drunk and could not accept the order. Taizu regretted it and dismissed him."
Such detail—yet utter evasion of the battlefield itself.
But one can imagine the scene.
Kong Ming shook his head hard.
"How could he send Cao Zhi?"
"By this point," he continued, "Cao Pi had already been established as Crown Prince for two years. Letting Cao Zhi lead troops now would only stir succession chaos again."
"Cao Cao's favoritism among his sons has long been rumored," Liu Bei sighed.
"Now it seems… brotherly strife begins with the father."
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
At this moment, Sun Quan provided a small assist.
In response, he attacked Hefei again.
But after Zhang Liao's past exploits—and that recent letter of surrender—no one paid him much attention.
Wen Hui, Inspector of Yang Province, left behind a striking remark:
"There are bandits here, but they are not worth worrying over. What I fear is trouble in the south. The waters are rising, Zixiao's army is isolated, unprepared for a long campaign. Guan Yu is fierce and sharp—he will press his advantage and bring disaster."
"Wen Hui…" Liu Bei murmured.
"Why does that name feel familiar?"
Then he and Zhang Fei looked at each other.
"The son of Wen Shu, Governor of Zhuojun!"
Two men of Zhuojun shook their heads in disbelief.
To hear of a half-fellow townsman like this…
Huang Yueying smiled faintly.
"And calling Sun Quan 'not worth worrying over'…"
The hall erupted in laughter.
Guan Yu, who paid twelve parts attention to this campaign, frowned slightly.
"'Isolated'?"
"His manpower was cut by more than half," Zhao Yun said firmly.
"How else could ten thousand-plus be called isolated?"
Guan Yu nodded.
"Cao Ren is brave. Fond of attacking."
Last year, when he and Zhou Yu besieged Nan Commandery, it was Cao Ren they surrounded.
Even while defending Jiangling, Cao Ren would lead sorties—
Grinding down his own troops.
The generals understood.
Even with the Han River blockaded, Cao Ren kept fighting—
Until his force of over ten thousand was worn thin.
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
By the seventh month, the rainy season arrived.
The Han River could flood at any time.
Perfect for naval warfare.
Guan Yu ordered Fu Shiren to guard Gong'an.
He ordered the Administrator of Nan Commandery, Mi Fang, to guard Jiangling.
And personally led the main army north.
Mi Zhu was first overjoyed—then alarmed.
Joyful that his Lord still remembered old bonds and showed great generosity to the Mi family.
Alarmed because he remembered how Guan Yu died.
Sun-Wu's strike from behind.
For that to happen, Jiangling must have fallen.
Otherwise, Guan Yu would have had choices—to defend Jingzhou or retreat to Yi Province.
If Jiangling fell…
How could Zifang survive?
Mi Fang caught his brother's gaze.
Three parts joy.
Two parts worry.
Five parts regret.
Ten parts complexity.
"Elder Brother," Mi Fang declared, lifting his head.
"I know how to defend a city."
"When I served as Chancellor of Pengcheng, I studied military texts."
"When defending, I will ensure city and people live together."
"If the city falls—the people fall with it!"
"And with Shiren guarding Gong'an, we will support each other across the river!"
"We will exhaust our brains and marrow to repay our Lord!"
Mi Zhu sighed inwardly.
What I cannot bear… is my brother's life.
But perhaps this was fate.
If he died for Han—great righteousness would remain.
To depart alongside General Guan…
A fine tale for history.
Liu Bei felt equally torn.
He sensed his second brother's death was tied to Gong'an and Jiangling.
And yet—
He owed Mi Fang deeply.
Hadn't Mi Fang just mentioned Pengcheng again?
And Lady Mi had only recently passed…
Liu Bei sighed inwardly.
"Zifang," he said slowly, "you are one who stands by righteousness and dies for principle."
"If misfortune truly comes again—abandon the city if needed."
"Preserve yourself. Restore the Han."
Stands by righteousness and dies for principle.
Mi Fang stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"How dare I not give my life?!"
Liu Bei helped him up, heart heavy.
Yet a faint echo from the screen surfaced in his mind—
His relative?