[Heaven's mandate is not with me!]
These five words were unbearably heavy. For a moment, everyone in the hall fell silent, as though even breathing had become difficult.
Yet the drifting lines of text upon the light screen drew their attention away.
Kongming was the first to regain his composure, analyzing the tone:
"'People of Xiangfan, come witness Second Lord's glory'… it sounds more like the words of those from the same era as this Wen Mang."
Zhang Fei stroked his steel-needle beard and added his own guess:
"The tone sounds like spectators at a cuju field, shouting as they watch a match."
Huang Yueying offered her view with measured elegance:
"Perhaps in later generations there exists some wondrous method that converts spoken commentary into written text, displaying it upon the light screen."
Jiang Wan, writing furiously as he recorded everything, silently judged the remarks.
The Third General likening such an auspicious phenomenon to a cuju field truly feared no divine reproach, yet Madam Huang's phrasing was refined and precise. Public discourse, indeed, a fine choice of words.
As for the sudden appearance of the light screen, Jiang Wan felt little surprise.
After all, it was the very culprit behind his current workload.
Instead, it was Huang Yueying's speculation about transforming speech into text that truly piqued his interest.
"I wonder what this 'naval and land force' refers to?" Zhang Fei said, unconcerned, focusing on something else. "And Second Brother, it seems the later generations think highly of you!"
"After all, the light screen has mentioned multiple times that Second Brother's might shook all under Heaven," Liu Bei said, drawing on a veteran's instinct. "As for this naval and land force, it is likely an elite corps equally adept at fighting upon water and land."
The other generals nodded in agreement.
As for the final name that appeared, Li Shimin…
Who was that? No one had any idea.
[Lightscreen]
[As we mentioned before, one reason Cao Cao withdrew his troops was because his rear was attacked, so when weighing the greater of two evils, he decisively abandoned Hanzhong and returned to defend Xudu.
So who attacked his rear? Of course, it was today's protagonist, Guan Yu!
Did this strategy succeed?
The good news: it succeeded. The bad news: it succeeded too well.]
"How can success be a bad thing?" Zhang Fei protested.
Guan Yu shook his head slightly. The light screen had discussed Xiangfan multiple times, and as a famed general he had already formed his own deductions, even discussing them with Kongming. He had his suspicions.
"Still, 'attacking the rear' is a fine term!" Zhang Fei added with approval. "Clear and easy to understand. We are striking right at that Cao thief's home!"
[Lightscreen]
[During the Hanzhong Campaign, the Shu forces in Jing Province naturally had to relieve pressure for their lord. That was simply part of their duty.
Thus Guan Yu and Meng Da each led separate detachments to strike Xiang, Fan, Shang, and Fang, forcing Cao Cao to redeploy troops from the western Hanzhong front to reinforce the eastern Xiangfan front.]
A textbook operation.
There was almost nothing to criticize. Kongming even rose to gesture at the map behind him.
"If Shangyong can be secured, then General Guan need only take Xiangyang, and not even Fan City would be necessary. Thus Jing, Yi, and Hanzhong would be linked as one, and the grand plan could be realized!"
Though he already knew the outcome, seeing his former strategy progress to this stage still filled him with excitement.
The terminology used by the light screen also caught his attention.
Referring to battle zones as "fronts" was indeed clear and concise. Then the fighting in Hanzhong would be the Hanzhong front?
Kongming made a mental note.
[Lightscreen]
[In fact, it was our old acquaintance Meng Da who performed rather well here. According to the Book of Shu, in the Biography of Liu Feng, he first attacked Fangling in the north, then joined forces with Liu Feng at Shangyong, accepting the surrender of the local Administrator, Shen Dan.
Here comes the first interesting point. After Meng Da killed the Administrator of Fangling, Liu Bei sent Liu Feng via the Mian River to take over Meng Da's troops. The Book of Shu explains this as "the Former Lord secretly feared Meng Da could not be trusted alone."
However, the Zizhi Tongjian later argued that this speculation is unreliable. After all, the Records of the Three Kingdoms was compiled under Jin, which regarded Wei and Jin as orthodox, and thus preserved the tradition of avoiding offense toward the honored.
In any case, it is true that Liu Bei sent Liu Feng to divide Meng Da's command, and this decision would later become the first critical failure leading to the disaster at Yiling. But, Liu Feng failed to handle this delicate task properly.]
"It sounds like this Records of the Three Kingdoms is not exactly praising us," Zhang Fei muttered.
Kongming calmly pointed out the key:
"If that text regards Cao Wei as orthodox, then Meng Da's later defection to Wei would naturally be portrayed favorably, and…" he recalled, "the light screen previously mentioned that Meng Da defected to Wei around the same time Wei Feng rose in rebellion for Han. Thus, such an act could be framed as returning to the rightful cause."
Kongming was quite familiar with such matters.
Was it unusual for historians to write with bias?
[Lightscreen]
[But if we consider the broader picture, Liu Bei's decision had its reasons, beginning with Meng Da's father, Meng Tuo, who was quite famous.
During the late Han, when the Ten Eunuchs held power, Meng Tuo sold off his assets and went to Luoyang seeking advancement. Lacking both talent and connections, how did he succeed? Through manipulation.
With limited funds, he chose his target carefully. He sought to curry favor with Zhang Rang's household servants, hosting them lavishly and bearing all expenses.
After a long time, the servants felt embarrassed, believing themselves unworthy of such attention, and asked what Meng Tuo desired in return.
Meng Tuo replied that he valued face above all, and requested only that when he passed by in his carriage the next day, they bow to him.
To the servants, this was trivial. They were well accustomed to bowing.
Thus when Meng Tuo passed by, the servants knelt in rows. He entered Zhang Rang's residence, stayed briefly, then departed grandly.
Those seeking favor at the residence saw this display and assumed Meng Tuo held influence, so they began sending him gifts.
Meng Tuo accepted everything, resold the gifts for profit, and eventually caught Zhang Rang's attention.
Finally, with a single hu of grape wine, he secured Zhang Rang's favor and obtained the post of Inspector of Liang Province, leaving behind the phrase "a hu of Liang Province."
The Song dynasty's Su Shi later mocked this: "A general may fight a hundred battles and never be ennobled, while a mere fellow gains Liang Province with a single measure."]
More lines drifted across the light screen:
[Server Chat Log]
〖Grow Under Moon: Tang's Liu Yuxi also wrote: "With a single measure I go to obtain the governorship of Liang Province."〗
〖Unshaken Tree: Lu You followed with his own satire…〗
〖Always BadPing: Ancient insults were quite refined.〗
〖March If Getpaid: Using Li Guang's misfortune as metaphor has become excessive, the old general is practically covered in arrows.〗
〖Just Giveme Cake: Reverse listing, inflating value, then absconding with funds, Meng Tuo is a textbook example of a capitalist entrepreneur.〗
〖IronVoid: From the Yellow Turban Rebellion to Xiangfan, this content creator truly knows how to trace roots.〗
〖Ant ClimbingTree: Zhang Rang seems rather unsophisticated, being won over by such cheap wine.〗
〖Wifi Warrior: Grapes thrive in the Western Regions, though later regimes failed to hold those lands until the great Tang emperor reclaimed them.〗
〖Li Shimin: Say more. I like this.〗
Everyone in the hall covered their faces, unable to bear it.
From the looks of it, Meng Tuo's conduct had brought great shame upon the Han, to the extent that even later dynasties mocked it.
Liu Bei gently rested his hand upon his sword.
"If only I could personally execute the Ten Eunuchs."
"Then Elder Brother would have quite the task," Zhang Fei chuckled, counting on his fingers. "After them comes the General-in-Chief, then Dong Zhuo, and now Cao Cao. Your sword would dull before you finished."
"With such a father, Meng Da is indeed untrustworthy. Moreover, Shangyong is a strategic point, so assigning a trusted subordinate there was the more reasonable choice," Kongming said, agreeing with the reasoning presented.
He then cut Zhang Fei off before he could continue.
"Third General, enough. Let us continue watching."
Meanwhile, Huang Yueying quietly recorded her own thoughts in elegant script:
The Western Regions are scorching by day and cold by night, with sandy and arid terrain. Guanzhong has a milder climate, which instead may hinder the growth of grapes.
Her curiosity had clearly been stirred.
Footnote : What exactly did Meng Tuo do?
To a modern reader, Meng Tuo's story sounds like something between a scam tutorial and a social media growth hack, except it took place in the late Han court where the stakes were not followers but actual provinces.
At that time, real power did not sit neatly in official titles or merit-based systems. It clustered around people like Zhang Rang, one of the most influential eunuchs in the imperial court. If you had his favor, doors opened. If you did not, even talent could leave you standing outside the gate, wondering what went wrong with your life choices.
Meng Tuo looked at his situation, saw that he had neither talent nor connections worth mentioning, and made a bold decision. If he could not enter the circle of power, he would manufacture the appearance that he already belonged to it.
Instead of bribing Zhang Rang directly, which would have been expensive and uncertain, he chose a more creative route. He befriended the household servants. Not casually, but with full commitment. He hosted them, paid for everything, treated them like honored guests, and kept this up long enough that they began to feel awkward about receiving so much without giving anything back.
When they finally asked what he wanted, Meng Tuo did not ask for money, favors, or introductions. He asked for something so small it sounded almost ridiculous. He wanted them to bow to him when he passed by in his carriage.
That was it.
The servants agreed. After all, bowing cost them nothing.
The next day, Meng Tuo rode past, and the servants lined up and bowed respectfully. Anyone watching this scene would immediately jump to one conclusion: this man must be important. Why else would Zhang Rang's own people treat him with such respect?
And just like that, Meng Tuo went from "nobody" to "someone you should probably not offend."
From there, things escalated quickly. People who wanted access to Zhang Rang began approaching Meng Tuo with gifts, hoping he could put in a good word. Meng Tuo accepted everything with great professionalism, resold the gifts for profit, and let the rumors grow. The illusion fed itself. The more people believed in his influence, the more influence he actually gained.
By the time Zhang Rang noticed him, Meng Tuo was no longer a random outsider but a man surrounded by signals of importance. Offering a jar of grape wine at that point was not a desperate bribe. It was the final handshake in a deal that had already been psychologically agreed upon.
To modern eyes, it might look like Zhang Rang got tricked by something cheap. In reality, he responded to a carefully constructed reputation. In a world without instant verification, appearances were not just decoration, they were evidence.
This is why later generations turned the whole incident into the phrase "a hu of Liang Province," meaning that a single container of wine was enough to secure a major post. Scholars like Su Shi had a field day mocking it. From their perspective, it perfectly captured the injustice of the system. A hardworking general might fight for years and still go unnoticed, while someone like Meng Tuo could game the system with social engineering and a decent hospitality budget.
And then comes the important part for the story.
Meng Da, his son, inherits none of the clever setup but all of the reputation.
In a society where family background functioned like a permanent label, having a father famous for manipulation did not inspire confidence. To people like Liu Bei, this was not ancient gossip. It was a warning sign. If the father rose through crafted appearances and opportunism, then trusting the son blindly would be, at best, optimistic and, at worst, a future disaster waiting to happen.