Before armies clashed, insults were often the first weapons drawn.
This was hardly unusual.
Yet Liu Bei's two sworn brothers had always been opposites in this regard.
Guan Yu's blade was quicker than his tongue.
Zhang Fei, on the other hand, could defeat a man with words before the spear ever came into play.
Even so, Liu Bei could not help but ask again, brows creasing slightly.
"Did Yide truly say that?"
You Chu, still holding a roasted soybean between his chopsticks, chewed while thinking hard.
He very carefully filtered out the parts of Zhang Fei's speech that began with "your father here" or involved threats to someone's ancestral graves.
After that mental pruning, he nodded with complete sincerity.
"Yes, my lord. Word for word."
Truthfully, the battle beneath Yique Pass had been the first time You Chu had witnessed General Zhang fighting at full strength.
The fierce general rode his dragon horse like a war chariot unleashed.
Wherever he charged, enemy ranks split apart as if struck by thunder.
His iron spear spun wildly, his voice booming across the battlefield without pause, and the cavalry around him followed with the desperate courage of men who knew retreat was not an option.
Watching that scene, You Chu had suddenly found himself resenting his own short stature again.
If only he stood seven chi tall like his sworn brother Zhang Ji.
If only he could ride at General Zhang's side.
What glory that would be.
Liu Bei, however, had no such thoughts.
He merely picked up several soybeans himself, chewing with a soft crunch while rubbing his forehead.
"If Cao Xiu heard those words and escaped," he sighed,
"does that not place General Junyi in a rather awkward position?"
You Chu tried, out of loyalty, to defend Zhang Fei.
"The elite cavalry Cao Xiu brought were fearless men willing to die to cover his retreat. Nearly a hundred fell just to ensure one man escaped…"
As he spoke, his voice gradually weakened.
Even he could not decide whether that exchange counted as a loss or a gain.
Still, deep in his heart, You Chu felt a trace of stubborn dissatisfaction.
His elder brother had once served under Cao commanders and had always respected General Zhang He.
That respect had rubbed off on You Chu as well.
Later, hearing that Zhang He had spent an entire year idle in Chang'an without support from Cao Cao, that respect had turned into sympathy.
And sympathy inevitably led to a very simple thought.
Would it not be better if he just joined Lord Xuande?
Of course, such thoughts were not things one said aloud.
So You Chu lowered his head and focused on eating faster.
Zhuge Liang, as always, approached matters from the practical side.
"Now that we have exited Guanzhong," he said calmly,
"communication between Cao forces in Xuchang and Ye will already be strained. With the delays caused by ongoing battles, General Junyi's family in Xudu should not face immediate danger."
Pang Tong nodded in agreement.
"And Cao's camp is hardly a monolith. Cao Xiu has just suffered defeat. How credible his report will be is anyone's guess."
Then Pang Tong smiled faintly.
"In another timeline, Zhang He would have died at Kongming's hands."
"Who would have thought that in this one, Kongming must worry about saving him instead?"
He waved his feather fan, identical to Zhuge Liang's, which drew laughter from Kongming and Liu Bei alike.
You Chu looked up in confusion, rice halfway to his mouth.
General Zhang Junyi was alive and well, and had even grown a bit plumper during his idle year in Chang'an.
How exactly had he died at the strategist's hands?
But clearly, no one intended to explain that remark.
So he returned to eating.
They rested one night in Xin'an County.
You Chu briefly tried to find the old man who had once guided them along the road, but to no avail.
He could only hope the man had found food, a mount, and a place to survive.
Besides delivering victory news, You Chu also carried a personal letter.
It was, in essence, a recommendation written by Zhang Ji after much embarrassment and pleading with Zhang Fei.
The reason was simple.
The vanguard army was structurally straightforward and composed almost entirely of Zhang Fei's old troops.
Orders flowed smoothly, and there was little need for someone skilled in rhetoric or administration.
You Chu's talents had nowhere to shine.
Back when they served under Cao forces, Zhang Ji had repeatedly tried to secure a future for his younger brother, only to hit wall after wall.
Now that Liu Bei was known for valuing ability, Zhang Ji wanted to see whether this brother of his could perhaps rise all the way to the Three Excellencies and bring glory to their clan.
Liu Bei and the others, however, had little time to dwell on such matters.
After passing Hangu Pass, Liu Bei turned south and gazed into the distance.
He knew that somewhere beyond those lands, one sworn brother guarded the gate for him.
And even further south waited an enemy with whom a final reckoning would someday be unavoidable.
But for now, they would continue east.
The further they marched, the more familiar the land became to Liu Bei.
He pointed again and again while speaking to Zhuge Liang, his voice growing brighter with each memory.
"That is the Gu River. Follow it forward and you reach a place called Gucheng."
"This is the Jian River. It links with the Gu River's canals, passes Luoyang, then merges into the Yellow River near Yanshi."
"And there lies the Yi River. Climb a little higher and you can see its course more clearly. It flows from Yique Pass and rises in the Xiong'er Mountains."
As he spoke, his expression grew increasingly radiant.
He laughed while pointing out where Yuan Shao once bathed.
He fondly described a flat stretch of road where he and Gongsun Zan had once raced horses in their youth.
River bends like jade belts had once hosted spring outings for Luoyang's elite.
Hilltop pavilions had once echoed with the debates of traveling scholars reciting their verses.
Behind them, Pang Tong watched with a gentle smile.
He shook his head and quietly walked over to Huo Jun, giving instructions in a low voice.
Soon, Huo Jun led a detachment ahead of the main column.
Not long after, Chen Shi was sent out as well.
Although Cao forces in the region were thin, they were not nonexistent.
Luoyang, even in decline, still possessed fertile plains, rivers, and irrigation channels.
No commander would abandon such farmland entirely.
Huo Jun was ordered to push northeast, seize Mengjin Pass, and hold it.
Chen Shi was sent east to sweep Yanshi and Gong County, while also scouting the southern passes.
Once both commanders departed, the central army slowed even further.
Partly because Liu Bei's emotions had grown complicated.
Partly because of something else.
"Distribute some grain," he ordered quietly.
"Let these people eat their fill."
He looked toward the ragged figures gathering along the army's flanks.
They were likely settlers from Gucheng.
News of the advancing army, combined with Zhang Fei's rapid breakthrough, had sent the agricultural officials fleeing.
These farmers had been stripped of everything.
They worked the soil day after day, yet could barely feed themselves.
Liu Bei turned and saw that Zhuge Liang was watching them with the same solemn focus.
The march slowed further.
By the time they made camp at dusk, still forty li from Luoyang, the number of starving refugees had grown even larger.
Fortunately, this campaign had been prepared for a long time.
The supply train was strong.
Food was not lacking.
At least, not compared to Cao's armies.
Thick porridge, a clean camp, and warm fires.
Such simple things quickly dissolved the refugees' fear.
Soon they even began asking what the Liu banner flying above the central army meant.
Few here had heard of "Governor Liu of Yu Province."
His reputation from stabilizing the Three Qins meant nothing to them.
But when they heard that taxes under Liu Bei could be as low as forty percent, sometimes even thirty-five, and that agricultural officials taught improved farming methods, disbelief spread across their faces.
To them, this sounded like a scam.
What they knew were officials who punished freely, seized children, and collected half the harvest as routine, sometimes sixty or seventy percent without shame.
An old veteran grew irritated at their suspicion.
He grabbed a stone and drew the curved plow's design on the ground, explaining composting methods in detail.
The farmers, who had tilled soil all their lives, examined the drawing and quickly believed most of it.
And so Liu Bei's image rose rapidly in their eyes.
"Truly worthy descendant of the High Emperor and Emperor Guangwu!"
Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang watched in silence.
The army slowed yet again.
Agricultural officers traveling with them even began giving lessons inside the camp.
Only on the third morning did the bloated column finally arrive at Luoyang.
Broken walls wore coats of moss.
Collapsed ramparts sprouted green shoots.
Tender branches pushed stubbornly through piles of rubble.
Seasonal wildflowers bloomed within cracked stone, bright and indifferent to history's sorrow.
Zhuge Liang stood beneath a half-ruined gate.
He brushed aside weeds with his sleeve, revealing two ancient characters carved in stone.
Luo Yang
For a moment, countless emotions surged within him.
In the end, only two words escaped his lips.
"The old capital."
Beside him, Liu Bei repeated softly,
"The old capital."