Xu Shu did not see Guan Yu until evening, after returning to Wancheng.
"Jingzhou has been recovered," Guan Yu said, wiping the sweat from his face. "For now, those giant warships have nowhere to show their worth."
Then he added calmly,
"In Yingchuan and Runan, victory will belong to cavalry."
Xu Shu nodded in full agreement and replied with deliberate seriousness,
"If the giant ships are useless, then perhaps we should suspend the shipyards at Linju for the time being. It would save funds."
Guan Yu was not fooled for a moment. He sat down, glanced once at Xu Shu's face, and immediately guessed the real issue.
"Jiangdong making a move?"
Xu Shu sat as well and shook his head.
"No movement at all. That's precisely the problem."
The talk of shutting down the shipyards was, of course, only a joke. Both men understood perfectly: the giant ships might be temporarily idle in Jingzhou, but in Jiangdong, they would be devastating.
In truth, neither of them wished to take those ships east. Managing the northern front alone was already more than enough trouble.
Unfortunately, whether the giant ships would remain idle did not depend on what Guan Yu or Xu Shu wanted.
It depended entirely on what Sun Quan decided.
This elder brother-in-law had no ambition to seize the world—but his determination to hold Jiangdong was enormous.
After briefly discussing Jiangdong, the matter was set aside.
After all, an alliance already existed. Betraying it was something Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Xu Shu simply would not do.
As for Pang Tong?
His mind was entirely occupied with Yong and Liang. As he himself put it:
"Jingzhou has Yunchang and Yuanzhi, Gongyan and Jichang. Strong cities, giant ships, ample grain and soldiers—what is there to worry about?"
"Yuanzhi was gone for two days," Guan Yu said, stroking his beard as he suddenly remembered. "While you were away, my rewards arrived."
He stood and retrieved an official document from the table.
Xu Shu took it and glanced through.
Commendation for Guan Yunchang as General of the Left Army.
Commendation for Xu Yuanzhi as General of the Northern Central Army.
Commendation for Huang Hansheng as General of Strong Crossbows.
Commendation for Ma Jichang…
"Oh, right," Guan Yu added. "There's also a letter from Strategist Shiyuan—addressed to you."
Xu Shu immediately set the commendation aside.
"Quick, let me see it!"
There was no helping it. Xu Shu had been back for over half a year, yet still had not met Pang Tong even once.
They guarded the north and the east respectively—both critical positions. Even exchanging letters had been rare.
Before Fangling and Shangyong were secured, letters from Jingzhou had to travel through Zigui into Shu, pass Jiangzhou, go north through Langzhong and Jiameng Pass, then east into Hanzhong—an absurdly long detour.
Now that Jingzhou had been recovered, both men were busier than ever. Letters became even fewer.
Xu Shu opened the letter and read by candlelight. Before long, he laughed out loud.
"Yunchang—Yi De is urging Shiyuan to hurry up and plan the Yong–Liang campaign."
At the mention of their third brother, now already credited with achievements in Hanzhong, Guan Yu smiled as well.
"These documents were delivered by Yi De's personal guards. Along with them came the Light Screen records from late July."
"They include the life of the Great Tang's God of War, the formations of the Tang army, and notes on military strategy."
"I suspect Yi De can't wait to train cavalry."
Xu Shu had not yet seen the Light Screen records, but just imagining them made him laugh.
"Sounds like Yi De is getting anxious."
Guan Yu stroked his beard, clearly in good spirits.
"The military writings of Li, Duke of Wei, are truly beneficial."
"And the Tang army's infantry–cavalry coordination is well worth learning."
Seeing Guan Yu in such rare cheer, Xu Shu laughed as well.
"Hanzhong has neither good horses nor suitable ground for cavalry training."
"Yi De is holding priceless treasure with nowhere to use it. How could he not be anxious?"
Whether General Zhang was anxious or not was unclear.
But Ma Su certainly was.
Thinking back over the past few months—before the campaign against Fangling and Shangyong—Ma Su had felt there was little to worry about.
Even though he had been exiled here, his understanding of military theory was still intact.
Geographically speaking, Fangling and Shangyong were little more than corridors.
On one side stood Hanzhong, with General Zhang watching like a tiger. On the other lay Jingzhou, with General Guan's blade gleaming.
Under such circumstances, whatever the local clans thought was irrelevant. They surrendered smoothly—almost too smoothly.
After holding the area for a while, Ma Su quickly grew bored.
When could he return to Chengdu or Jingzhou? If not, even Hanzhong would do.
Just as he was sighing inwardly, Liu Feng shouted from afar,
"Ma Deserter! Pack up—we're heading back to Hanzhong tomorrow!"
Ma Su was overjoyed. There was barely anything to pack. Aside from a few pieces of rock sugar he had saved, he owned almost nothing.
Only after setting off the next day did he remember to ask,
"Are we returning to Hanzhong for land reclamation?"
Liu Feng shook his head, brimming with confidence.
"Following General Zhang's orders—we're mustering troops to march into Yong and Liang!"
Ma Su's heart dropped.
His face instantly turned ash-gray.
Compared to that… Fangling suddenly seemed quite nice.
"Ma Deserter, why are you still like this?" Mi Fang mocked loudly.
"Same as last time with General Zhang—afraid before the battle even starts. Shameful!"
Ma Su was a mess inside, but his mouth refused to give ground.
"At worst, I get nervous on the battlefield. What about you?"
"You were in Hanzhong, yet when you heard Jing-Xiang had erupted, you were so scared your legs shook. That's unheard of."
Mi Fang choked.
Among the three of them, he had been the most obsessed with the Jing-Xiang campaign—anyone with eyes could see that.
Before the war ended, Mi Fang often had nightmares.
In them, Guan Yu stood before him, defeated and beheaded. Beside him was his elder brother, driven to suicide by grief.
Mi Fang would wake in terror—always with one furious curse ringing in his ears:
The gates that should've been opened stayed shut. The gates that should've been shut were thrown wide open.
Only after hearing that Jing-Xiang had ended, and that Jiangling remained secure, did Mi Fang finally begin to recover.
Liu Feng stepped in to stop the argument and offered encouragement.
"This campaign into Yong and Liang is precisely the chance to earn merit."
"With distinguished service, old shame might yet be washed away."
Ma Su and Mi Fang imagined it—then both shook their heads.
They didn't dare hope for that.
As long as we don't drag our elder brothers down, they both thought, in perfect unspoken agreement.
Ma Su's face remained pale.
"Yong and Liang are lands of Qiang cavalry and Xiliang riders—fast as wind, charging freely."
"From Hanzhong, the only route is through Qishan. There's no terrain to defend along the way, and Qishan City is famously easy to hold and hard to take."
"And Longshan Road is difficult to secure. If Cao's troops interfere mid-battle, we wouldn't have enough heads for them to chop."
Liu Feng stroked his chin, thoughtful.
"You Youchang are from Jingzhou—how do you know the north so well?"
As for Ma Su's worries, Liu Feng didn't take them too seriously.
To be honest, he didn't even know where Qishan was, much less what Longshan Road looked like.
Ma Su fell silent, unsure how to explain.
Mi Fang, delighted to stir trouble, added,
"So Ma Youchang—you were a deserter who defected in Yong and Liang?"
Ma Su's blood surged. He cursed outright.
"Defect my ass! I broke military law in Yong and Liang and accepted death to uphold discipline!"
At the same time, he instantly connected this to Mi Fang's earlier unease.
"By that logic, Mi Drag-Feet—did you defect during Jing-Xiang?"
The two men flushed red, glaring at each other, fury radiating from their bodies.
Liu Feng was utterly confused.
During the Jing-Xiang campaign, Mi Fang had not fled in battle. He had been lax at times while holding Fangling, but had committed no grave error.
As for Ma Su—he had been sent here while Liu Bei was advancing from Zigui to Jiangzhou. How did Yong and Liang even enter the picture?
Seeing they were about to come to blows, Liu Feng chose the simplest and most effective solution.
"Where is the military judge?"
Moments later, after both men had each received five strokes of the army cane and finally calmed down, Liu Feng's face was icy.
"You two—are you hiding something from me?"
Ma Su and Mi Fang exchanged a glance, then shook their heads together.
"This matter cannot be spoken," Mi Fang said firmly, rubbing his backside.
"If we spread it privately, we would implicate our elder brothers—and invite death."
Ma Su proposed a compromise.
"If the young lord wishes to know, you should seek General Zhang's judgment."
The address young lord drained much of Liu Feng's curiosity.
After a moment's thought, he nodded.
"The expedition into Yong and Liang will be perilous beyond measure. Do not stir up further trouble."
Meanwhile, in Hanzhong—
Thanks to relatively ample grain reserves, Zhang Fei managed to suppress his craving for fine horses and calmly coordinated troop movements with Pang Tong.
First, reinforcements and supplies were sent to Wuzhang Plains.
The garrison there was increased to ten thousand men, with an additional thousand of Lady Huang's redesigned crossbows.
With this, even if Cao's Chang'an forces marched out in full, Wei Yan and Huo Jun could hold Wuzhang Plains without retreating into the Baoye Road.
News had arrived from Jing-Xiang as well—Xu Huang had been transferred there. Given that Cao's grain supplies had only just stabilized, it was unlikely Xu Huang could return anytime soon.
This ensured Xiahou Yuan would find it difficult to seize Longshan Road, allowing the Yong–Liang campaign to proceed behind closed doors.
Next came full mobilization.
Here, Zhang Fei was pleasantly surprised.
Even with manpower stretched thin in Hanzhong, Pang Tong insisted on assigning a team to repair Qishan Road.
Progress was slow, but steady. After half a year, the results were visible.
With the road passable, Zhang Fei and Pang Tong settled on deploying twenty-five thousand elite troops through Longshan Road into Yong and Liang.
Pang Tong would march with the army. Fa Zheng would remain to guard Hanzhong.
Everyone was satisfied.
Zhang Fei had long coveted the great horses of Liangzhou.
Pang Tong, on the other hand, had resolved to take a calculated risk—to see with his own eyes the Hexi Corridor, a land that could become the empire's lifeline, later generations calling it an "industrial mineral capital."
He wanted history to remember Hexi—and remember Pang Tong with it.
Fa Zheng was equally delighted. Less than a year after entering Liu Bei's service, he was already commanding Hanzhong independently.
Rapid advancement indeed.
Many of Hanzhong's people were refugees from Guanzhong—quite a few from Fufeng.
For Fa Zheng, it was half a homecoming. He had no complaints.
After half a month of preparations, once the final batch of weapons arrived from Chengdu, the army set out again.
On the command platform, Zhang Fei sharpened his blade eagerly.
"Yong and Liang are vast," he bellowed.
"Add me, Old Zhang, and it still won't feel crowded!"
Mounted on horseback, Pang Tong looked back at the departing Jiang Wei and waved with a smile.
Turning forward again, a hint of worry crept onto his face.
Perhaps, he thought, I should just claim "military duties are too busy" and avoid returning to Chengdu for the next two years—avoid seeing Kongming altogether…