[Lightscreen]
[A condition like that is not an ally you can trust. Shu Han's misplaced faith led to a chain of tragedies.
First came the strategic tragedy. Liu Bei underestimated how seriously Sun and Cao took Xiangyang-Fancheng and placed too much trust in Sun Quan.
He recalled the main army, which should have been providing support, back to Chengdu, leaving only Zhuge Liang to lead a small detachment as a distraction.
The Biography of Liao Li and the Yuanhe Junxian Zhi record that after returning to Chengdu, Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to march out of Luo Valley and Xingshi Mountain to serve as a distraction.
But a small force was not enough to make Cao Cao hesitate. The Cao army pressed forward with everything they had.]
Thanks to the earlier explanations about Yizhou, everyone quickly understood once they compared it with the map.
"Xingshi Mountain and Luo Valley... is that not the Tangluo Road?" Zhang Fei reacted immediately. "Did the light screen not say that road was only properly developed in the Tang dynasty? If the path is that bad, how many troops can even pass through it? No wonder Cao Cao did not care!"
"The fault lies with me," Liu Bei said, shaking his head.
"Big Brother, do not say that," Guan Yu objected at once. "The defeat at Xiangyang-Fancheng turned irreversible within a single month. Who could have foreseen it?"
Zhang Fei's fingers clenched.
Thinking of Mi Fang's betrayal, and how it caused everything to fall apart so completely, made his knuckles itch.
[Lightscreen]
[Second was the tragedy of personnel.
Guan Yu was an outstanding general on the Jingzhou-Xiangyang battlefield, but that did not stop him from being a terrible diplomat as the Governor of Xiangyang.
To secure Hanzhong, Liu Bei had stripped Jingzhou-Xiangyang of its talent. Those who could have advised or restrained Guan Yu, men like Zhuge Liang and Ma Liang, had all been transferred away.
Militarily, key fortresses such as Gong'an and Jiangling were left in the hands of absolute fools like Fu Shiren and Mi Fang.
While reports of victory poured in from the Jingzhou-Xiangyang front, Sun Wu quietly infiltrated the region politically. By the time the blow came, Jingzhou was already full of holes.
One decisive strike was enough to bring it all down and to secure Lu Meng's fame.]
The listless Mi Zhu shed tears without a sound. His own brother... just thinking about it broke his heart.
The others secretly glanced at Guan Yu. Surprisingly, Guan Yu stepped forward and cupped his fists.
"The chaos in Jingzhou-Xiangyang... the fault also lies with me. I also request Jichang to serve as my Army Supervisor. May I?"
Liu Bei was startled. Wait a moment. Is this still my proud, stubborn second brother, Guan Yunchang?
But Guan Yu's thoughts were clear.
Time will not wait. The blade in my hand still longs to drink the blood of the enemy.
"Then let it be as you wish, Yunchang," Liu Bei agreed without hesitation.
[Lightscreen]
[Actually, the most regrettable were those iron-willed officials of the Han.
For example, before the Xiang River Pact, Yuan Long and Wu Dang raised troops to respond to Guan Yu. Yuan Long was killed by Lu Dai in Liling.
Wu Dang furiously cursed Lu Su: "I received the Son of Heaven's mandate to be a commander. I know only the Han; I do not know the Wu!" He returned to his hometown and refused to serve for the rest of his life.
Guan Yu's Army Supervisor, Zhao Lei, accompanied Guan Yu to the very end and would rather die than surrender.
Guan Yu's Chief Clerk, Liao Hua, faked surrendering to Sun Wu, then faked his death and brought his mother back to Shu.
The Xi Zhen and Xi Hong brothers from Lingling, along with Fan Zhou from Wuling Commandery, raised troops to rebel against Wu.
After a year of stalemate with the defector Pan Jun, they were defeated. Xi Hong fell into Sun Wu's hands and refused to serve for life. Fan Zhou refused to surrender and was killed by Pan Jun.
Xi Zhen left his final words: "I will surely be a ghost of Han, not a minister of Wu. Do not force me!" Then he heroically slit his own throat.]
The words carried a weight that pressed down on the entire hall.
For a moment, no one dared speak.
"Fine men!" Zhang Fei suddenly shouted, leaping to his feet. "All of them are true men of the Han!"
"Big Brother, with people like these, how can you still worry about lacking talent? Are they not all of one heart with us?"
At the head of the hall, Liu Bei had already spread out a sheet of paper.
Without a word, he carefully wrote down each name, stroke by stroke, his expression solemn.
At the same time, he cast a disdainful glance over. Do you really need to tell me that?
Fine, Big Brother was at least worthy of praise in this regard. Zhang Fei looked at the names one by one, filled with admiration.
Guan Yu did the same, though when he saw Zhao Lei's name, he felt a trace of awkwardness. He had just assigned that same role to Ma Liang.
Zhuge Liang, however, was focused on something else.
"The Xi brothers and Fan Zhou rose after Yunchang had already fallen," he said slowly. "And they resisted Pan Jun for an entire year..."
He lifted his gaze.
"That means even after Jiangling and Gong'an fell swiftly, Sun Wu still needed a full year to secure Jingzhou."
"My lord, the hearts of the people were still with you!"
As he spoke, his eyes shifted toward Jiang Wan, whose expression had subtly changed.
"Gongyan, do you know someone among them?"
Jiang Wan stood, hesitating for a long moment before answering.
"I am from Lingling... I have only heard of the Xi brothers. But Pan Jun..."
He paused.
"...is my cousin. He recently sent a letter, asking me to recommend him to my lord."
"A scoundrel!" Zhang Fei cursed immediately. "Let him come! I want to see what kind of shameless man he is. Surrendering is one thing, but killing loyal men of his own side?"
Jiang Wan broke into a light sweat, unsure how to respond.
Liu Bei stepped in calmly.
"Let him come. From what we hear, he is capable. As long as we do not lose land to Sun or Cao, why would such a man defect?"
"Assign him under Yunchang. If there is any sign of disloyalty, detain him."
[Lightscreen]
[Sun Quan used Second Lord's head to exchange for the title of King of Wu of Great Wei.
Although Second Lord had passed, the affairs after his death were only just beginning. This was because the common people widely spread tales of his loyalty and righteousness.
During the Northern Song, the debauched Son of Heaven, the Hunde Duke Zhao Ji, set the precedent by enfeoffing Guan Yu as Duke Zhonghui.
After adding painting studies to the imperial examinations, he was further enfeoffed as Chongning Zhenjun. After the Yellow River showed signs of disaster, he was enfeoffed as King Wu'an. After the uprisings of Song Jiang and Fang La, he was enfeoffed as King Yiyong Wu'an.
Later, Song Emperor Gaozong, Wanyan Gou, enfeoffed him as Zhuangmiao Yiyong Wu'an Wang. Song Emperor Xiaozong further enfeoffed him as Zhuangmiao Yiyong Wu'an Yingji Wang.
We will not even talk about the Yuan Dynasty. They gave him a full 12 titles.
During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Baizong enfeoffed him as the Three Realms Demon-Subduing Great Emperor, Divine Might Far-Reaching Heavenly Worthy, Guan the Sage Emperor Lord.
Emperor Huaizong was unwilling to fall behind and enfeoffed him as Zhenyuan Xianying Zhaoming Yi Han Heavenly Worthy.
We will not even discuss the Qing Dynasty. Talking about this stuff feels like it is just padding the video length.
If Second Lord knew about these posthumous affairs himself, he probably would not know whether to laugh or cry.
But for Second Lord, swearing the Peach Garden Oath to support the Han, slaying Yan Liang, displaying his might at Xiangyang-Fancheng, he had done everything he could and had no regrets in this world.
The common people saw Guan Yu's deeds clearly during his lifetime. Otherwise, why would they actively worship him?
As for the affairs after his death, as the poem Linjiang Xian says:
Right and wrong, success and failure, all fade into emptiness.
The green mountains remain,
while the setting sun reddens them again and again.
So this episode ends here. See you in the next one, do not miss it. Advance preview:
The Shu Han Memories of Chengdu.]
As the light screen faded, a storm of comments swept across it.
[Server Chat Log]
[ShadowHunter_91: Read them! Why won't you read them! Are you afraid that the title given by the poisoned Emperor Guangxu, Holy Emperor Guan, Loyal, Righteous, Divine, Brave, Miraculous, Guardian of the People, Protector of the State, Sincere, Peaceful, Supporter of Virtue, is too much of a mouthful?
xX_Dark_Slayer_Xx: Wen Mang forgot to add the Nine Sister prefix before Wanyan Gou. That is total sacrilege!
Tofu_Delivery_Guy: My heart aches for Second Lord. He was peerlessly loyal to Big Brother, only to be played with like a toy by later emperors who could not lead their way out of a paper bag.
GhostInTheShell: It was not just emperors. The Tang Dynasty literati were dirty, too. They teamed up with monks to invent a story about Guan Yu falling into a ghost path because his kill count was too high, only to be saved by a monk. To thank the monk, Big Brother supposedly built a temple. Talk about a top-tier scam.
Pwnage_King: +1 on the shamelessness. That guy was actually a friend of the poet Du Fu, yet he had the gall to say he saw Guan Yu's manifestation in a temple. If Guan Yu actually manifested, he would have been cleaved in half instantly.
GlitchFinder_Zero: Tang monks were a literal mafia. They seized so much land they basically helped crash the Tang server. Later, they forced Emperor Wuzong to hit them with the Purge patch.
Sleepy_Panda: Wuzong was such a waste. He could have been a great Restorer-King, but he had to follow his ancestor Er Feng and chug those alchemy pills until his brain rotted.
Cloud_Strife_99: Er Feng could not help it. The medicine did not work, and he dropped dead after the pills. Wuzong, on the other hand, popped them even when he was not sick. Mercury in the brain, total system crash.
NoobsGetRekt: The Slacker Emperor was actually a natural talent for cultivation. He probably gave Guan Yu that title just so Guan Yu would carry him in the afterlife.
Lag_Spike_Pro: The Yuan Dynasty was even funnier. They did not know which title actually gave the buff, so they just gave him all of them. Technically, the ghost of Guan Yu was eligible for a government paycheck.
Zero_Tolerance: Sigh, even though Guan Yu's direct line went extinct, the spirit of loyalty and righteousness lives on.
Steel_Resolve: Pang De was somewhat of a man, but his son had zero character. Battlefield grudges should never touch the family. Low-tier behavior.
Viper_Strike: Guan Yu was never a man of many words. If he knew what a disaster Pang De's son would become, he would not have bothered talking to Pang De at all. One swing, and done.
Li Shimin: This Song Dynasty is truly absurd. How can painting be part of the Imperial Exams! Also, who is this Er Feng ancestor of Wuzong? How could he be so pathetic?]