Mi Zhu wept bitterly.
His younger sister had only recently passed away.
And now—not even ten years later—his own brother would betray his brother-in-law, lead to Yunchang's death, and ultimately cause Mi Zhu himself to die of grief and resentment.
He had once believed that by offering his family's entire fortune to support the state, even if he died, his name would remain unblemished in history.
Yet in that cruel stretch of time, his brother would be branded a traitor to the realm.
History would not spare him.
Liu Bei stepped forward and gently pulled Mi Zhu down to sit, lowering his voice as he spoke words of comfort.
Kong Ming, however, was no longer watching Mi Zhu.
His gaze was fixed on the screen, thoughtful. After a moment, he leaned toward Ma Liang and whispered several sentences into his ear.
Ma Liang's refined face showed a trace of reluctance as he glanced at the screen. Still, he accepted the order without argument and quietly left the side hall.
Huang Yueying tilted her head slightly toward her husband.
"Figured it out?"
Kong Ming shook his head faintly.
"Only a bit of suspicion."
Then he sighed, voice barely above a breath.
"What that later Ming Dynasty eunuch said was correct. The way of governance lies in caution—in words and in deeds."
"But don't you find it strange?" Huang Yueying asked softly.
"What's strange?" Kong Ming replied dismissively.
"The Han's troubles began with the calamity of the eunuchs. Could later ages truly avoid repeating it?"
He paused, eyes dim with reflection.
"Punishing the past does not necessarily prevent future mistakes.
The overturned cart ahead is not always a warning to the carts behind."
Many in the hall were still staring at the phrase 'Nine Clan Elimination Game'.
That meant execution of the nine clans, right?
It definitely meant execution of the nine clans!
How could something so horrifying be mentioned so casually?!
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
[The so-called "burning of military equipment" was, in essence, selling it off.
For something powerful enough to make an imperial uncle utterly collapse, the buyer could only have been extremely problematic.
Considering the environment at the time, the Xiang River Alliance was a pact Sun and Liu entered only because circumstances forced them to.
After dividing governance along the Xiang River, both sides established Xiang Pass as a checkpoint for merchants and travelers. Yet because control over the region changed hands repeatedly in a short span, effective border management was nearly impossible.
The Biographies of Lü Meng, the Annals of the Lord of Wu, and the Annals of the First Ruler all record frequent friction between the two sides.
Lu Su's biography summarizes it most succinctly:
"Suspicions arose repeatedly; the borders were tangled and confused."
Even under alliance, infiltration into each other's internal affairs never truly stopped.
Under such circumstances, the buyer of Mi Fang's military equipment was extremely likely to be Sun Quan.
Whoever guarded Jingzhou for Sun-Wu—Lu Su, Lü Meng, or Lu Xun—was a master of their era. Using Mi Fang to extract intelligence would have been child's play.
Missing military equipment could be explained by burning it prior to Guan Yu's inspection.
But if Eastern Wu produced transaction records—equipment exchanged, intelligence delivered—Mi Fang would have only one road left to walk.
Surrender.
Looking back further, Lady Sun's ambiguous return to Wu, and Sun Quan's fleets appearing at precisely the right moment, were very likely facilitated by an internal traitor.
Of course, all of this remains conjecture, inferred from historical materials.
But regardless—
The fire of the Fiery Han's third rise was extinguished here.
Yang Xi would later deliver the final judgment in Eulogies for the Ministers of the Ji-Han:
"He cut himself off from others, becoming a laughingstock for both states."]
The segment was long.
No one looked away.
Though the screen stressed that this was conjecture, as it itself admitted—reasoning backward from known facts—it was likely very close to the truth.
By the time the screen finished, Ma Liang had already returned.
Kong Ming's expression was calm as he waved his hand.
"Report directly to our Lord."
"My Lord," Ma Liang said, bowing,
"Following the Military Advisor's instructions, I searched General Mi's residence. In a concealed box, I discovered three suspicious secret letters."
He presented them forward.
Liu Bei's face was still water as he accepted the letters.
Below him, Mi Fang suddenly lunged forward.
"My Lord! It must be that white-browed villain framing me—mmph!"
Zhang Fei moved faster than thought. He slammed Mi Fang down and, without ceremony, yanked off his own belt to gag him.
After reading the letters, Liu Bei shook his head slowly.
"Zifang," he said quietly,
"I have never treated you unkindly. Why were you exchanging secret letters with Zhou Gongjin?"
Tears flooded Mi Fang's eyes. He mumbled furiously through the gag.
Zhang Fei glanced at Liu Bei's expression, then pulled the belt free.
Mi Fang coughed violently twice—then lifted his head, eyes blazing with hatred.
"You straw-sandal-weaving, mat-selling lout!" he screamed.
"Back then, my elder brother and I pledged ourselves to you, abandoning a Chancellor's post worth two thousand dan!"
"And how did you treat me?"
"I couldn't even command a separate army!"
"A butcher! A fugitive! They outranked me!"
"Now even a white-haired old reject can lead troops!"
Huang Zhong glanced left and right, then reflexively touched his hair.
"You're barely surviving now," Mi Fang continued, voice shrill,
"defeated again and again—like a stray dog wagging its tail, begging for mercy before Lord Sun!"
"My elder brother exhausted our family's wealth for you!"
"My younger sister suffered and toiled until she died—her bones not yet cold!"
"And you, Governor of Jing, couldn't wait to marry a new woman! How joyous indeed!"
Finally, Mi Fang turned his gaze toward Guan Yu.
"Killing you—
you blind fugitive from Hedong—brings me great comfort!"
He burst into wild, unrestrained laughter.
Guan Yu looked at him.
In his eyes—there was no anger.
Only piercing pity.
Mi Zhu removed his official cap, set it aside, and silently kowtowed to Liu Bei.
Zhang Fei pressed Mi Fang down, barely restraining himself, eyes fixed on his elder brother.
Kong Ming watched Liu Bei closely.
Their lord did not hesitate long.
"I will not punish today a crime committed ten years hence," Liu Bei said evenly.
"Jichang—detain him on charges of collusion with Wu. Guard him strictly."
Then he personally helped Mi Zhu to his feet.
Mi Zhu's face was soaked with tears. He could not speak.
Carefully replacing his minister's cap, Liu Bei patted the back of Mi Zhu's hand.
"Zizhong has never failed me. I will repay you—as a man of state should."
Then he turned to the others and smiled.
"Since Chancellor Mi believes we—this peddler, butcher, fugitive, village bumpkin, and old reject—cannot achieve great things…"
He pointed at each one, laughter spreading through the hall.
"Then we must restore the Han house—
just so we can toss that lost Chancellor's position right back at him!"
Kong Ming studied the three secret letters.
An idea quietly surfaced.
Huang Yueying, as if reading his thoughts, glanced over, smiled faintly, and reached out to take one of the letters.
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
[With Mi Fang and Shi Ren's surrender, Jiangling and Gong'an fell.
Guan Yu received no further reinforcements. Worse still—his soldiers' families were now in enemy hands.
Here, Lü Meng executed a masterful stratagem.
He invited Guan Yu's envoy into the city, allowing him to witness firsthand how Wu troops committed not the slightest offense against the common people.
He even ordered the execution of a fellow townsman who had committed a crime—beheaded publicly before the envoy.
The envoy returned with the news.
Morale in Guan Yu's army collapsed, sinking to its lowest point.]
"Beheading a fellow townsman?" Zhang Fei muttered in disbelief.
"What a move to win hearts. I can't compare—this man's heart is pitch black!"
He shot Guan Yu a suspicious glance.
"And this is the 'mere brave general' you were talking about?"
Guan Yu returned an equally puzzled look.
The Lü Meng I saw in Nan Commandery… really didn't seem this clever.
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
[Lü Meng's actions may feel strangely familiar.
Our people's army relied on precisely such discipline to make the masses understand who truly stood on their side.
In the end, they drove Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan and founded New China.
Judging Lü Meng's lifetime of schemes, this was undoubtedly his most brilliant stroke.]
Even as they reeled from the Mi Fang affair, everyone's eyes widened.
"In war, bumps and scrapes are inevitable," Zhang Fei muttered.
"You have to pay for damaged property? And not mistreat prisoners?"
"Not killing prisoners is already the height of mercy!"
Kong Ming's eyes shone with interest.
He silently admired how perfectly this had been summarized.
Discipline—the iron rule.
Orders followed. Prohibitions obeyed.
The people unharmed.
Spoils not privately taken.
Simple words—yet they formed the very core of an army.
Guan Yu stared for a long moment, then spoke.
"If the Cao traitor could truly uphold these eleven articles, the realm would already belong to him."
Huang Zhong's eyes widened.
"General Guan must be joking! Cao's troops don't take valuables—but they seize able-bodied men for tuntian or conscription, forcibly assign women in marriage, and behead the elderly to pad merit quotas!"
"Massacres are routine for them!"
"How could they possibly meet such standards?"
Silence fell.
[Wen Mang – Voiceover]
[The final weight on the scale was added by Lu Xun.
Eastern Wu came prepared.
Lu Xun marched out and seized Yidu, completely severing Guan Yu's route back to Shu.
An additional note: the previous Administrator of Yidu had been Meng Da, whom Liu Bei transferred to attack Fangling and Shangyong. Had Meng Da remained—fickle as he was—Guan Yu might still have had a sliver of hope.
With his path cut off, Guan Yu fought while retreating.
A ruse of feigned surrender failed.
Departing from Mai City, he took the Zhang River route—embarking on the final journey of his life.
In the twelfth month, Ma Zhong, under Pan Zhang's command, captured and killed Guan Yu and Guan Ping at Zhang Township, Linju County.
Thus fell a generation's Martial Sage.]
The screen shifted from maps to a cinematic portrayal.
A general resembling Guan Yu stood alone, delivering his final soliloquy:
"I am but a warrior from Xie Liang.
My Lord treated me as a brother—how could I betray righteousness to serve another state?"
"If the city falls, there is only death."
"Jade may shatter, but its whiteness cannot change.
Bamboo may burn, but its joints cannot be destroyed."
"Though my body perish, my name shall be written upon bamboo and silk."
[Live Comment Barrage]
[BrotherChill]: Big Brother takes Hanzhong? No matter—watch me capture Yu Jin's seven armies and behead Pang De!
[HanZhongKing]: Big Brother returns to Chengdu? Fine—watch me stir rebellion in Xuchang from afar!
[SneakyTortoise]: Sun Quan wants Jingzhou? So what! Three brothers start again—another decade from scratch!
[IfOnlyReturned]: As long as I can return to Chengdu, Big Brother and Third Brother will laugh like in old Xuzhou days.
[LongzhongPromise]: With Yi Province and Hanzhong secured, the Military Advisor at my side, I, Yu, shall revive the Fiery Han!
[BlazePurge]: Destroy the Cao traitor! Annihilate Sun-Wu! Free the people—clear the cosmos for ten thousand miles!
[PeachBlossomOath]: As long as I return to Chengdu… Big Brother and Third Brother will be waiting when the peach blossoms bloom…