By now, everyone had developed a tacit understanding. They mentally hit "like," and new text appeared on the light screen.
[Lightscreen]
[Next video update in three months.]
Then the next question arose. What should they send?
Zhuge Liang smiled and rose to his feet. "This time, perhaps I..."
"Kongming, wait." Guan Yu stepped forward and stopped him.
Zhuge Liang paused, then smiled in understanding. "Ah, Yunchang, do as you wish."
The information from the screen regarding the Battle of Jingzhou-Xiangyang and Guan Yu's own legacy was profoundly personal.
'The green mountains remain, as the setting sun turns red again and again.'
Now that all matters after his death had been made clear, Yunchang could finally cast aside all burdens and devote himself fully to restoring the Han.
As for the rest of them, how would later generations judge their own endings?
For a brief moment, Zhuge Liang found himself lost in thought.
Guan Yu carefully took a sheet of paper, laid it flat, and ground the ink. He held the brush suspended for a long time before finally writing only a few lines.
He gently blew on the ink to dry it, then removed two items from his waist and placed them atop the paper.
With solemn care, he set everything beneath the light screen, raised his head, and said in a deep voice, "Thank you!"
A flash of light.
The items vanished.
Ma Liang blinked. "It could even do that?"
Jiang Wan smiled faintly and rolled his wrists. "Jichang... ah, Military Supervisor Ma, we will still have more things to copy later."
Looking around, it was just as he expected.
Even after Guan Yu had made his offering, Liu Bei and the others showed no sign of dispersing.
Liu Bei spread out another sheet of paper, inwardly sighing at how liberating it felt to have paper readily available these days, especially during certain private moments.
His hand moved swiftly as he wrote down the imperial names and posthumous titles that had appeared earlier on the light screen, then passed the sheet to Zhuge Liang.
"Kongming, this Zhao Ji... is he truly the Emperor of Song?"
"Likely so." Zhuge Liang sighed for the people of that era. "Hun means darkness or dusk. As a posthumous judgment, it suggests a ruler who was muddled or failed in his rule."
"The light screen mentioned earlier that Song was destroyed by the Mongols. This Zhao Ji may have been captured, hence such a posthumous name."
"A fallen ruler..." Liu Bei shook his head. "Faced with omens of disaster, yet placing his hopes on invoking the name of my second brother to command spirits and deities?"
"What is so strange about that?" Zhang Fei snorted. "Even if Second Brother went before the Lord Taishan in the underworld, he would still be the strongest fighter there!"
Zhang Fei shot Guan Yu a firm, supportive look.
Guan Yu actually considered it seriously. 'Maybe next time, I should ask Big Brother for permission to bring a weapon in here. You know, just in case I need to discipline this Yide.'
Zhuge Liang was still puzzled. "Why did the Later Song emperor's surname change to Wanyan? And what of these titles, Baizong and Huaizong?"
"Kongming, you are overthinking it," Zhang Fei declared confidently. "The light screen speaks plainly."
"Baizong must mean he was just a decoration! And since locust trees represent wealth and luck, Huaizong must have been a rich emperor who knew how to make money!"
"As for that Wanyan Gou, did the text not say to add 'Ninth Sister' before his name? He must have been a fierce horseback emperor like Zilong!"
"He must have driven back the Mongols and restored a Later Song, just as Emperor Guangwu restored the Han! Only for his descendants to fail and lose it again."
"And the surname?" Zhao Yun asked calmly. "Even Emperor Guangwu descended from Gaozu. How did Zhao Song become Wanyan Song?"
"What does Wanyan even mean?" Zhang Fei waved a hand. "It probably means No Face. He was probably so ashamed of the state of the empire that he said he had no face to see his ancestors, and history just misheard it as Wanyan!"
Liu Bei felt that something was off at every turn, yet somehow all of it sounded strangely plausible.
In the end, he could only let the matter drop.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wan was reviewing notes. "The light screen praised the strength of the Tang. How could Buddhism become a cause of its downfall?"
The group was not entirely ignorant of Buddhism.
"In the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, the monks Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna were invited to preach, and the White Horse Temple was established,"
Zhuge Liang recalled. "In the century that followed, people from distant lands, some claiming to be from Parthia or Yuezhi, came to spread the scriptures."
"By the time of Emperor Ling, hundreds from the Yuezhi had settled in Luoyang, translating texts and chanting sutras. Even now, they remain there."
"They chant all day?" Zhang Fei frowned. "Then how did Tang fall? Do not tell me they chanted the emperor to death."
"That is impossible," Zhuge Liang said, shaking his head. "Judging from the wording, Tang greatly revered Buddhism. But if the temples grew powerful enough to seize land like the great clans did, would the result not be much the same?"
No one needed the rest explained.
Powerful families encroaching upon the land, leaving the common people with nothing. It was an old sickness of the Han. Replace the great clans with temples, and the result would be the same.
Chaos.
"Oh, I see," Zhang Fei said, nodding. "Chanting all day, no farming, no fighting. No wonder they came to our Han to beg for food."
"And even that was not enough. They wanted to seize the people's land too?"
The atmosphere in the hall darkened.
Liu Bei clapped his hands lightly. "The Tang is far in the future, and we do not yet know all the details," he said with a smile. "Such matters can wait until we have defeated Sun and Cao."
The hall responded in unison.
Ma Liang recorded their thoughts, but in his heart, he felt something deeper.
Though they held only four commanderies of Jingzhou, no one spoke with inferiority. Instead, an unseen flame seemed to be rising within this side hall, slowly illuminating the land of Jingzhou.
At that moment, the light screen flickered to life once more. Everyone turned.
The creator's style remained unchanged. A few images, followed by text. Looking closely, those were Guan Yu's items.
[Lightscreen]
[Thanks to our friend for the green-jade zhang and the command tally! Much appreciated. The craftsmanship is excellent, but I do have a question: did the Han not use tiger tallies?
Also, I went to see Huahua again for the next video. Sadly, they only let me watch for a few minutes. So frustrating.]
The image showed a rectangular jade plaque with tooth-like notches along its edges.
On the front were the words: "Han, Dangkou Jiangjun, General Who Sweeps the Bandits, Guan."
On the reverse, smaller characters read: "Marquis of Hanshou."
The craftsmanship was exquisite, with beast motifs carved along the edges.
The second item was a bronze token, long and narrow, bearing a large character: "Command."
Below it were the words: "Dangkou Jiangjun, General Who Sweeps the Bandits, Transmission Token."
There was also a sheet of paper. Neatly written upon it: "A humble warrior of Hedong, Guan Yu, offers this in thanks. Courtesy name Yunchang, of Jie County."
Comments began to scroll.
Jiang Wan shot Ma Liang a glance, and Ma Liang immediately began copying.
[Server Chat Log]
[HistoryBuff_99: Hahaha, the uploader really lives up to his name! Tiger tallies were used for authorizing military mobilization, but you would not use one for every little order, right? So they had token tallies back then. These two should be a green-jade zhang, an identity tablet, and a copper command token.
Lvl1_Noob: Did not know that. +1. If you know, please say more.
HistoryBuff_99: Good, good, say more. The jade one is a qingyu zhang, a green-jade tablet used as an official token. Officials used them to enter palaces or camps. They were made of gold, jade, iron, or wood. Jade was high-spec. The craftsmanship here is great.
The copper one is a chuanling pai, a command token used by commanders to send orders through messengers while in the field. Again, you cannot use a tiger tally for everything, right? Copper command tokens are the most common. If the uploader ever sells them, DM me first. I will buy the set.
SugarDaddy_Historian: This big shot is really sugar-daddy-ing the uploader, always sending handmade items that fit the theme.
Simp_For_GuanYu: To be honest, I am a bit disappointed. It would be so cool if he imitated Second Lord's handwriting and wrote: I am the Three Realms Demon-Subduing Great Emperor, Guan the Sage Emperor Lord.
HistoryBuff_99: Hahaha, then you could just set up a shrine at home and worship it on the spot.
Gacha_God: Speaking of which, the cost-performance ratio of worshipping Second Lord nowadays is really high. He is the Martial Confucius, God of War, God of Wealth, Martial Saint, and Buddhist protector. No matter what you believe in or what you pray for, worshipping Second Lord is never wrong.
Lovecraft_Fan: You make a good point, sir. But what if I believe in the tentacle monster? How would you respond?
Cultist_Recruiter: Then I would say... sir, have you heard the good news about our Lord and Savior, Cthulhu?]