"Cao Zihuan… I know his kind."
Pang Tong's tone was laced with the dry satisfaction of a scholar who, at last, could lecture without interruption. Across from him, Kongming listened more intently than usual, eyes half-lidded, fingers absently fanning the air as though weighing each word.
"Before Cao Cao began his campaign against Zhang Xiu," Pang Tong continued, "he often brought his sons to the front to learn the ways of war. In the second year of Jian'an, when Zhang Xiu first surrendered and then rebelled, Cao Zixiu—better known as Cao Ang—sacrificed himself so his father could flee. Cao Zihuan, however, escaped on horseback."
Zhang Fei frowned. "What do you mean 'first surrendered, then turned traitor'? Was that rebel Cao doing anything a decent man would call proper conduct?"
"Third Brother," Liu Bei said gently, raising a hand. "Let the Military Advisor finish."
"Since Zixiu's death," Pang Tong went on, "Cao Zihuan has lived in comfort within the capital at Xuchang. He has never faced true battle. He knows the taste of power, not the sting of blood or the weight of command. He does not understand war."
Pang Tong's expression hardened. "Our lord marches alone at Yiling, but in the North, we do not face the tiger Cao Cao. We face a cub—an untested boy. If the Marquis of Sun flatters him with honeyed words, and his courtiers drown him in rhetoric, Cao Pi will do nothing but watch the fire from the far bank."
Zhang Fei grinned, finally grasping it. "So, what you're saying, Military Advisor, is that this Cao Pi is only a tyrant in his own courtyard?"
The others nodded. That, in essence, was the truth.
[Light-Screen]
The brotherhood of Liu, Guan, and Zhang was famed across the realm.
In late 220, soon after Cao Pi usurped the throne and proclaimed himself Emperor, the court of Wei debated a pressing question:
Would Liu Bei raise his army to avenge Guan Yu?
The ministers quickly agreed:
"Shu is but a minor state. Their sole general of renown was Guan Yu. With Yu slain and his troops scattered, they are paralyzed with fear. They will not move again."
Wei Yan's eyes gleamed faintly with reluctant respect. Insolent though the words were, they acknowledged the awe General Guan inspired—even among his enemies.
Zhang Fei let out a bark of laughter. "Big Brother, it seems the Cao ministers are stuffed full of their own arrogance."
Liu Bei said nothing. His gaze lingered on a single word: Usurped.
Was this, then, the moment the Later Han truly died?
A bitter smile curved his lips. "To commit treason and yet lack the courage to name it—calling our Great Han 'Shu' to soothe their own guilt. How pitiful."
"A simple matter to settle," Guan Yu said calmly. "When Brother's banners reach the gates of Xuchang, I shall stand before them with blade in hand and ask: Are we 'Shu,' or are we 'Han'?"
[Light-Screen]
Only one man dissented—Liu Ye.
He saw through Liu Bei's heart with remarkable clarity.
He argued that Liu Bei was neither weak nor compromising; the more desperate his situation, the fiercer his resolve.
Liu Ye himself was of royal blood, descended from the Han's King Yan of Fuling.
One could almost hear his unspoken thought:
"I, a true prince of the Han, have accepted the mandate of Heaven and bent to the times. What drives you, a distant kinsman from the margins, to fight so hard?"
Liu Bei smiled faintly. "Ziyang possesses keen insight. A pity he lends his loyalty to a usurper."
Jiang Wan scowled. "A descendant of the Restoration Emperor serves a traitor, while our Lord—who rose from nothing—acts in the name of the Restoration! How can the favor of a rebel outweigh the righteousness of the Han?"
"Indeed not," Kongming said. "During the chaos in Yangzhou, Cao Cao saved Liu Ye's life. Gratitude bound him thereafter. But to abandon the Great Righteousness for a single favor—that is folly unworthy of his lineage."
Zhang Fei snorted. "The Cao clan digs up his ancestors' graves right before his eyes, and he says nothing? Some 'loyal minister' he is!"
[Light-Screen]
Liu Ye believed that the more cornered Liu Bei became, the bolder his response would grow.
The bond between Liu Bei and Guan Yu was no mere relation of lord and vassal—it was deeper than blood, stronger than that between father and son.
If Liu Bei failed to avenge Guan Yu, how could he ever face his spirit?
Liu Ye understood him perfectly.
Later, the Jin minister Fu Xuan would say of Liu Ye:
"Had his virtue equaled his brilliance, he would rival the sages of old."
In short—he had the mind of a sage, but not the heart of one.
"Is that praise or an insult?" Zhang Fei asked, baffled.
Kongming fanned himself lightly. "Since ancient times, all men die, but without trust, a people cannot stand. Virtue and loyalty are the roots of humanity. Talent without them is a sword without a hilt."
"Now that I understand!" Zhang Fei smacked his fist into his palm. "He's saying Liu Ye isn't a proper man at all!"
"This Liu Ziyang had the eye of a true strategist," Pang Tong said thoughtfully. "With a few sentences, he foresaw that our Lord would strike Yiling. But given how history remembers him, I doubt he met a peaceful end."
[Light-Screen]
Unlike Guo Jia or Zhuge Liang—men whose single plans could secure an empire—Liu Ye is remembered precisely because his best counsel was never taken.
The first instance came after Cao Cao captured Hanzhong. Liu Ye urged him:
"Take Long, then move toward Shu."
He argued that Yi Province was unsteady and ripe for conquest; the mere sight of the Wei banners would bring its surrender.
He warned that delay would give Liu Bei, with Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng to govern, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to lead his armies, time to fortify the passes. Once secured, Shu would be untouchable.
Cao Cao ignored him, declaring that he "could not take Long and look toward Shu."
"To claim a single plan could secure a nation is an exaggeration," Kongming said modestly. "Without our Lord's endurance and the valor of our generals, my Longzhong Plan would have been little more than talk over wine."
"The rebel Cao retreated because our 'Green-Eyed Brother-in-law' was busy earning his title of 'Sun the Ten Thousand,'" Zhang Fei said with a laugh. "Had Cao Cao known of Zhang Liao's feat with his eight hundred, he might have pressed on."
Guan Yu's gaze sharpened. "Even so, that plan reeks of empty theory. To advance from the North into Shu requires either the Baoxie Road or the river routes for grain; the Golden Ox Road is misery itself. Without local guides, how could he have struck swiftly?"
Jiang Wan nodded. "His talent cannot compare with our Military Advisor."
Kongming and Pang Tong exchanged a look—then turned to Jiang Wan in unison. "Which one?"
[Light-Screen]
The second instance was Yiling itself.
Seven months after Liu Ye predicted the invasion, Liu Bei's banners appeared on the frontier.
Facing Shu's wrath, Sun Quan readied his armies—and simultaneously sent envoys to Wei, declaring his 'submission.'
Sun Quan had blinked. The court rejoiced, and Cao Pi exulted; it was a triumph his father had never achieved.
Then, Liu Ye appeared again.
Seeing the Emperor's elation, he spoke carefully, reasoning that a man like Sun Quan would never truly submit.
His 'surrender' was a ruse, born of fear—meant to keep Wei from intervening and to use Wei's name as a shield against Liu Bei.
Finally, Liu Ye presented the 'Heaven-Sent Opportunity':
"The world is divided into ten parts," he said. "Cao holds eight, while Liu and Sun each cling to one. Once they devour each other, Heaven grants the Emperor the chance to unify all under Heaven. Strike the Yangtze now, and within ten days, Sun-Wu will perish. Shu, left alone, will crumble soon after."