[Server Chat Log]
[Cloud_Strife_97: Farewell, Second Lord!
History_Buff_666: I will never forget the Lord Guan brought to life by Teacher Lu. Farewell.
Pwnage_King: A cup of warm wine to slay the enemy, a volume of the Spring and Autumn Annals to show loyalty, a Crescent Blade for bravery, a lone horse traveling a thousand miles to find his brother. This long song ends in tears.
Iron_Soul_Reaper: This reminds me of Marshal Chen's calligraphy: I depart for the underworld to summon my old troops, with a hundred thousand banners, I shall slay the King of Hell!
Viper_Strike_00: Even at the dead end, he stood with his hands behind his back, proud as ever. No regrets for the Peach Garden oath. Truly a man of pure loyalty and righteousness.]
The sternness on Guan Yu's face softened.
From betrayal to ambush, although he had long prepared himself, the moment he saw the scene of his own death upon the light screen, his heart still could not remain unmoved. Yet as he listened to that aged actor's monologue and watched the drifting lines of text, something within him settled into place.
A thousand years later, his deeds were still sung. 1,700 years on, people still wept for him.
For a general who had fallen just short of victory, aside from the regret of dragging Ping'er to death with him, what grievance remained for me, Guan Yunchang?
Seeing the envy and admiration in the eyes of the generals beside him, Guan Yu suddenly laughed, the last trace of coldness fading away.
[Lightscreen]
[Looking at the campaign in Xiangyang-Fancheng as a whole, Guan Yu:
Repelled Yue Jin, fought Wen Ping, suppressed Cao Ren, wiped out Yu Jin, held back Xu Huang, and executed Pang De. At his peak, he dragged 150,000 enemy troops into a siege around himself.
And then? Lu Meng struck from behind. Lu Xun smiled and flattered his way through deception. Sun Quan threw every resource he had into a coordinated conspiracy.
The imperial brother-in-law Mi Fang stabbed him in the back. Fu Shiren, a comrade of 30 years, opened the city gates.
With the strength of a single commandery and 30,000 men, he fought the world. The flame of the Han was extinguished, and with one hand he could not hold back the collapse of heaven itself.]
"The way people praise others in the future really is something," Zhang Fei said with a grin. "But I like it."
Zhao Yun shook his head slightly. "But if this battle of Yunchang had not..." He trailed off, unwilling to speak ill of Sun Wu.
Huang Zhong interjected. "If no treachery had occurred, those 30,000 sailors relying on the Han River would not have feared Cao Cao even if all 150,000 of his troops arrived at once."
He spoke with confidence. Of those present, he understood naval warfare best.
As for the part about fighting the world, everyone tactfully ignored it, mostly because Liu Bei's face had gone completely dark.
[Lightscreen]
[However, as the saying goes, one must view problems dialectically. Behind the failure to continue the Han's revival at Xiangyang-Fancheng, there were also strategic flaws.
Chairman Mao once said: We must make our friends many, and our enemies few.
In 1925, he also raised the question clearly: Who are our friends? Who are our enemies?
This points directly to the overall strategic failure of Shu Han. Liu Bei and Kongming thought Sun Quan was an ally, but Sun Quan thought Liu Bei was a nuisance.]
Zhuge Liang pulled out a sheet of paper and carefully copied down the two lines.
Liu Bei leaned over to look, shaking his head in admiration. "No flowery language, just clear meaning. And the more one ponders it, the more it seems to contain profound truth."
"Perhaps it is because they are over 1,000 years ahead of us," Zhuge Liang said. "Whether in food, clothing, or conduct, the later generations differ vastly from our time."
As he spoke, he suddenly recalled the crawfish floating in red oil from that night. He could not help but wonder what it tasted like.
"Or perhaps not only that," Liu Bei murmured, deep in thought. The answer seemed close, yet just beyond reach.
Huang Yueying also leaned in, reading carefully before sighing. "This person speaks with the spirit of Gaozu, but perhaps even more profoundly."
For the people of Han, whenever Gaozu was mentioned, one also thought of his many strategists and generals. The struggle between Chu and Han was the clearest illustration.
"The words are simple, but to carry them out is exceedingly difficult," Zhuge Liang said. "Take Xu Gongming just now."
He stopped speaking. Xu Huang had used old ties to lure Yunchang into battle before striking. In that moment, Xu Huang had seen more clearly than Guan Yunchang.
Others were still puzzled by the latter question.
Ma Liang, who had returned, asked softly, "Kongming, does the Marquis Sun count as a friend?"
"Sometimes he does. Sometimes he does not," Zhuge Liang replied meaningfully.
[Lightscreen]
[There is an interesting modern theory that Sun Quan suffered from Cognitive Dissonance.
In simple terms, it is a psychological state akin to a split personality. This analysis starts from Sun Quan's life experiences.]
"What kind of illness is that?" Jiang Wan asked, squinting at the screen, only to see a string of foreign characters.
"I said it long ago, that Sun fellow definitely has something wrong with him," Zhang Fei declared with certainty.
"A sickness of the mind? A disease of the heart?" Zhuge Liang frowned.
Since the screen appeared, he felt his knowledge base was severely lacking. "Copy that part down separately and send it to Physician Zhang," he ordered.
'I really wish I had that Tiangong Kaiwu book right now, Zhuge Liang lamented inwardly.'
[Lightscreen]
[First, a young heroic Sun Quan must naturally have grand ambitions. But Sun Ce had long seen through his younger brother.
At the time of entrusting him, he said plainly: In fighting for the realm, you are not my equal. In preserving Jiangdong, I am not your equal.
Before his death, he even told Zhang Zhao: If he cannot manage, you take over. If that fails, just surrender and go back to the old home in Huaisi.
It was a heavy blow to the young Sun Quan's ego. Worse still, Sun Ce's old subordinates all regarded Sun Quan as a junior.
The Emperor Zhu Chongba, one of the most legitimate rulers in history, scathingly critiqued Sun Quan: He was too casual with his subordinates, playing and joking with them, losing the dignity of a ruler.
You can see how much Sun Quan resented his brother's words by the fact that after he became Emperor, he only posthumously titled Sun Ce as King Huan of Changsha.]
With the foreign terminology gone, the explanation became clear.
"Loss of proper ruler-subject distinction, lacking sovereign authority," Zhuge Liang summarized.
As for the personal grievances within Sun Quan's family, it was not their place to comment, though many inwardly agreed with the assessment.
Sun Ce's valor was known to all. To reduce him to merely King Huan of Changsha would only invite ridicule toward Sun Quan's narrow-mindedness.
"Wait, is A-Dou going to be a patient too?" Zhang Fei suddenly worried. "Big Brother, did you not say something similar to Kongming on your deathbed?"
Liu Bei nearly choked. "That was a private conversation with Kongming! I did not say it to A-Dou's face!"
"You say it was private, but people 1,000 years later still know about it," Zhang Fei muttered.
Liu Bei ignored him, though inwardly he took issue with the phrase most legitimate founding. Had Gaozu not slain the white serpent and overthrown Qin? Was that not legitimacy?
And what kind of name is that? Why does the emperor's name sound like a childish joke?
[Lightscreen]
[The 4 Grand Commanders of Sun Wu also reflected this division.
Zhou Yu and Lu Su possessed vision and sought to swallow the realm whole.
Lu Meng and Lu Xun, however, only cared about their own small plot of land, their core idea being to preserve Jiangdong.
These 2 opposing strategies produced Sun Quan's wavering attitude.
Later historians of Ming and Qing evaluated him thus:
Fickle and treacherous, driven solely by profit, using softness to overcome strength, cunning and deceitful.
He wished to preserve Jiangdong yet never truly dared to seek the realm, yet also spoke boldly as if he did.
Thus, between ambition and preservation, Sun Quan's character became one of duplicity and hesitation.]
"With such an evaluation?" Liu Bei was astonished. "Did the Marquis Sun truly offend everyone?"
Jiang Wan, thoughtful, asked Zhuge Liang, "Kongming, does that mean while Lu Su lived, Wu was a friend?"
Zhuge Liang only smiled.
Zhang Fei's laughter shook the roof beams. He tossed a bean into his mouth and crunched loudly.
"These future people," he said, delighted. "They really know how to talk! Say more!"