Faced with Zhang Fei's grin, Ma Su couldn't bring himself to speak.
He knew the answer.
He knew it too well.
Years of military texts didn't even need time to warm up in his brain. The conclusion appeared instantly, clean and merciless:
Execute.
But what if the one who deserved execution… was himself?
For the first time in his life, Ma Su felt those two words weigh more than a thousand catties.
Even Zhang Fei's smile—normally just annoying—now looked downright terrifying.
Seeing Ma Su standing there like a wooden chicken with its soul halfway out of its body, Zhang Fei quickly lost interest and shook his head.
"Tch. Boring."
At that very moment, the light screen once again displayed Ma Su's name—like fate deliberately reopening a wound just to sprinkle salt in.
[Light-screen]
[The first three Northern Expeditions, the Battle of Shiting in Jiangdong, and Wei's own southern campaigns were not separate events, but a single, interconnected war spanning the Three Kingdoms.
And in this war, the most critical figure—without question—was Ma Su.
From a strategic perspective, the Chancellor's plan was flawless.
Longyou was the gateway to the Hexi Corridor. To the north lay the Alashan Plateau; to the south, the Tibetan Plateau.
Cut the Longyou route, and—as You Chu once said—within a month, Longyou would surrender on its own.
From there, Shu could raid Guanzhong at will, seize full initiative, and force Wei into a purely defensive posture.
So why did history say Ma Su "disobeyed Zhuge Liang's orders"?
Because Ma Su was sent to Jieting for one purpose: delay Wei reinforcements heading to Longyou.
Hold the ground. Harass the enemy. Die to the last soldier if necessary.
As long as Longyou was cut, Shu won strategically.
But Ma Su—though he never said it aloud—answered a different question with his actions:
"Why can't I be the main character?"
His greatest flaw was wanting to turn a supporting role into the starring one.
And with a sequence of catastrophically stupid decisions, he succeeded—by becoming the clown instead.
Attempting to concentrate forces to annihilate Wei reinforcements, he was defeated by Zhang He using the most basic tactic imaginable:
Cut off the water supply.
Normally, tactics serve strategy.
Ma Su's defeat at Jieting managed to fail at both—a rarity worthy of academic study.
It was so baffling that even Zhang He didn't dare pursue.
After decades of warfare, he had never seen anyone fight like this.]
By now, no one even bothered looking at Ma Su anymore.
"If Longyou could've been cut and held…"
Zhuge Liang couldn't help imagining it aloud.
"To the west lies the Silk Road—endless wealth to sustain the army."
"To the east, three hundred li of Guanzhong Plain—constant raids would force Wei back to Tong Pass."
"Take Tong Pass… and the realm would be settled."
Guan Yu slowly chewed on the words strategy and tactics, increasingly impressed by how sharply later generations dissected warfare.
Liu Bei, meanwhile, sighed.
"It's not just wealth that moves men's hearts," he said softly.
"Fame does that even better."
The word protagonist had long since numbed him.
If Sun Quan hadn't wanted to sing the lead role…
If Sima Yi and Cao Xiu hadn't fought over the spotlight…
If Ma Su had simply guarded the city…
History would have been very different.
A heavy silence fell.
Ma Suo's face burned hotter by the second.
[Light-screen]
[Singlehandedly ruining years of Shu's effort, abandoning the army, and fleeing—execution was fully justified.
Were there people who pleaded for him?
Of course.
They were all dismissed or punished by the Chancellor.
One staff officer surnamed Chen was punished by having his hair cut.
That man later had a son named Chen Shou.
Chen Shou studied under Qiao Zhou, the most famous pro-surrender advocate, and later suffered repeated slights from Zhuge Liang's son, Zhuge Zhan.
This led later scholars to suspect that Chen Shou inserted personal bias while compiling Records of the Three Kingdoms.
The work totaled sixty-five volumes.
Shu accounted for only fifteen.
Chen Shou's explanation?
"Shu had no official historians."
Whether you believe that or not—he wrote it anyway.]
"…This feels wrong," Zhuge Liang said carefully.
Zhang Fei burst out, "So you're saying that for over a thousand years, whatever Chen Shou wrote is what later generations had to believe?"
"Is my statue ugly because of him?!"
His tiger-like glare snapped back to Ma Suo.
Ma Su nearly collapsed.
"General Zhang, please discern clearly—I'm only a staff officer!"
Guan Yu sighed.
"Third Brother, your face was ruined by opera performers, not historians."
Zhang Fei snorted, grudgingly letting it go—while silently resolving to commission as many portraits of himself as possible for the future.
[Light-screen]
[The matter of Shu 'not having historians' is complicated.
Han-era historians weren't full-time historians at all.
The Grand Historian handled astronomy, calendars, rituals, disaster records, examinations, and manuscript copying.
Sima Qian was an exception—Records of the Grand Historian distorted everyone's expectations.
After him, history writing was always a side job.
Cao Wei and Eastern Wu eventually established dedicated historical offices.
Shu followed later, creating the Dongguan Secretariat.
Records show that Chen Shou was far from alone.
At the very least, his claim that "the state had no historians" is… unreliable.]
"So complicated?" Jiang Wan paused mid-notes.
"But history must be written," Zhuge Liang said gravely.
"Two thousand years later, the world knows us only through these books."
"If historians twist facts for personal grudges…"
"A man could vanish from history entirely."
Jian Yong added quietly,
"If Cao Wei had won and written history first, we might all be recorded as rebels."
Everyone felt a chill.
Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang exchanged a glance.
Priority: write history. Immediately.
[Light-screen]
[And yet, problems remain.
Early Shu records are detailed—Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang.
Later records grow strangely sparse.
Jian Yong's biography is 276 characters long. Over half is devoted to him telling jokes to Liu Bei.
No death recorded.
Wu Yi—imperial relative, high general, northern campaign hero—doesn't even get a biography.]
Jian Yong smiled bitterly.
"So that's how I disappear."
"At least you're remembered as funny," Mi Zhu consoled.
Zhang Fei suddenly perked up.
"Wait—there's a sister-in-law?"
Jian Yong nodded calmly.
"Wu Yi's sister. Wu Xian. Famous beauty."
Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were about to congratulate Liu Bei—
"Married to Liu Mao," Jian Yong added.
"Who went mad and died last year."
"…Ah."
Zhang Fei thought for a moment.
"Big Brother really has the air of Emperor Gaozu!"
The cup flew instantly.
[Light-screen]
[History is power.
Who controls the past controls the future.
And if you want unreliable history—
Then the Book of Jin, supervised by Fang Xuanling…
Deserves a special mention.]
Fang Xuanling froze mid-writing.
And thus began the legend of the "Magic Table of Contents of the Book of Jin."