If one were to ask what Guan Yu's greatest regret regarding Jiangling City was, the answer came easily. Years of blood, sweat, and tears handed over to an enemy in a single day.
The most impregnable fortress under heaven and thirty thousand elite surrendering troops under Yu Jin. All of it snatched away by Lu Meng without losing a single soldier.
That man had leaped to fame as a Great Commander on the back of Guan Yu's tragedy.
Zhu Ran had used this very city to shake the foundations of Cao Wei, and Sun Quan had used it to hold off Cao Pi's northern hordes.
Every time Guan Yu dwelled on this, a suffocating tightness gripped his chest. Consequently, every time he looked eastward, a fierce anticipation flickered in his eyes.
Come then, he thought. Come and see what Jiangling looks like when held in the grip of Guan Yunchang.
While Guan Yu and Zhao Lei stood atop the battlements, lost in their swirling thoughts, Zhao A sat in a local eatery, contentedly patting his stomach.
He felt a simultaneous sense of profound satisfaction and sharp physical pain. The latter was in his wallet.
The lamb was exquisite, but it was ruinously expensive. Mourning his spent copper coins and having no clear destination in mind, Zhao A decided to mimic the other patrons.
He ordered a cup of tea and sat there, sipping slowly to kill time. This sensation of leisure was entirely strange to him.
Before Mr. Li had arrived in Zigui, Zhao A's favorite pastime was lying on a ridge and soaking up the sun.
After Mr. Li arrived, it was lying on that same ridge listening to stories.
But stories eventually lose their luster. Tales of Cao's soldiers harvesting heads for merit, arrogant servants bullying the weak, or commoners fleeing in terror. It was always the same cycle.
Sitting here now, Zhao A had a sudden realization. Perhaps this was exactly how Mr. Li used to live.
At that moment, the shop owner greeted an elderly man entering the shop. "Uncle Qian! Bringing your grandson by again, I see!"
Uncle Qian nodded with a certain dignified air. "My wife went to that water-mill workshop again. Said she wanted to learn something about a hydraulic loom. So I brought the boy here for a meal."
The owner skillfully guided the pair to a table and barked an order toward the kitchen.
Zhao A's brief spark of self-importance sank back into the abyss. Even if his life mirrored Mr. Li's, he was still an outsider. He was not a local. A hazy, desperate thought began to form in his mind. If only I could become a man of Jiangling.
But he knew it was likely a pipe dream. He saw the prosperity of Jiangling with his own eyes. Though he lacked worldly wisdom, he guessed that the price of a house or a plot of land here would tower over anything in Zigui.
Uncle Qian's food arrived quickly. As the grandfather and grandson ate, the old man's mouth did not stop moving.
"Now that you are learning characters, you must learn more of them! Do not end up like your father. He does not know a single word, so he can only serve as a common soldier. His monthly pay is a measly five hundred coins!"
"Look at the Wu family boy next door," Uncle Qian continued.
"He only learned fifty characters, but that was enough to get him in as a papermaker's apprentice. Next year..."
Zhao A's ears perked up. He did not know how to read either. Did that mean he could join the army?
But then he thought of his land back in Zigui. He shook his head. Perhaps he should head back and discuss this with Mr. Li.
---
While Guan Yu was gathering strength in Jiangling, the tempers in Yi Province were reaching a boiling point. Zhao Zuo remained the Governor of Jiangzhou in name, though he had been stationed in Langzhong for some time. Yan Yan, having traded his civilian robes for the familiar armor of a general, had been officially recruited as Liu Bei's Deputy General.
"In the sixth year of Jian'an, Pang Xi already harbored thoughts of rebellion," Yan Yan explained. As a local, his knowledge of Yi Province far surpassed even Pang Tong's.
"At the time, Pang Xi demanded the Cong tribal soldiers from Cheng Yu, but Cheng Ji stopped him. Without troops, Pang Xi had no choice but to travel to Chengdu and beg Liu Zhang for forgiveness. After that, Liu Zhang renamed Ba Commandery to Baxi."
Liu Bei's interest was piqued by a specific name. "Cheng Ji?"
Yan Yan was not sure why his lord cared, but he answered truthfully.
"Cheng Ji was the Chief of Hanchang back then. Because he successfully persuaded Pang Xi to stand down, he was promoted to Governor of Jiangyang. Jiangyang is two hundred li upstream from Jiangzhou. Even against the current, a boat can get there in two days."
Should I go? Liu Bei certainly knew the name. Cheng Ji was one of the fourteen civil officials honored in the Zhaolie Temple.
During the Battle of Yiling, he had stayed behind with Fu Rong to cover the retreat, eventually dying in battle at Maanshan.
Since he was that kind of man, of course he had to go. "General Yan, please prepare a boat. I wish to visit this eminent scholar in Jiangyang."
"Lord, Cheng Ji was personally promoted by Liu Zhang..." Yan Yan started to protest, but Liu Bei cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"General, just prepare the boat."
Yan Yan left with a sullen expression, convinced that his lord would eventually need his old bones to fight to the death just to pull him out of a mess.
Nearby, Pang Tong, who was busy processing government documents, grinned and bowed. "I wish the lord a successful trip. I look forward to hearing how you and Cheng Ji ended up sharing a bed in Jiangyang two days from now."
Liu Bei shook his head, ignoring the banter. "Shiyuan, please keep a close eye on the situation in Chengdu."
Pang Tong waved him off lazily. "Just go, my lord! Leave it to me!"
Pang Tong felt as though there was not a single worthy opponent in all of Shu.
Liu Zhang had plenty of advisors, but the beauty of the situation was that he was Liu Jiyu.
Men like Fa Zheng were ignored and dispirited, content to be bystanders.
Men like Liu Ba offered bitter, honest advice that fell on deaf ears.
Pang Xi was even easier to handle. Zhao Zuo had returned to Langzhong and used the weight of the Zhao clan to throw his full support behind the man.
Pang Xi was now delightedly discovering that he had finally found his spine. He truly believed Langzhong loved him as their Governor. Zhao Zuo had officially become his most trusted advisor.
Pang Tong let out a soft chuckle as he filed the reports away. By the time the lord returned, it would be about time to head back to Gong'an.
And when he, Pang Tong, returned to Jiangzhou next time, it would be to seize Chengdu for his lord.
---
By the end of July in Gong'an, Kongming was, as usual, the first to arrive. Guan Yu followed closely behind. Jiangling was a short trip, after all.
The progress on the navy and the massive warships was going smoothly, allowing a rare, genuine smile to grace Guan Yu's face.
As they spoke, Zhang Fei's boisterous voice thundered through the air. "Is big brother late again?"
"Yide, just wait quietly," Guan Yu sighed. He felt that even Guan Ping was more disciplined than his third brother.
Guan Yu then noticed that Zhang Fei's hands were full. "What are those?"
Wiping away a bead of sweat, Zhang Fei set down a large jug. "Sour plum drink. And some preserved fruits."
Guan Yu felt a swell of pride. "Third brother, you have become quite thoughtful."
Huang Yueying arrived as usual, clutching several blueprints she was still studying. Jian Yong and Mi Zhu arrived together, just as Ma Liang and Jiang Wan entered as a pair.
"Yide, has Youchang deserted his post in Linju yet?" Ma Liang asked, trying to find a subtle way to check on his brother.
"Do not worry about it," Zhang Fei replied confidently. "Once someone enters the camp of the cruel and ungrateful Zhang Fei, do you think it is that easy to leave?"
Kongming added, "Linju is remote. Cao Cao's spies will not notice it, and Jiangdong will not scout it. Even if Ma Youchang and Mi Zifang wanted to trade information from the light screen for riches, they could not escape Yide's grasp."
Ma Liang and Mi Zhu nodded. They had already considered the necessity of this arrangement.
Soon, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, and the others arrived. They sipped the sour plum drink and snacked on the fruit, creating an atmosphere of uncharacteristic harmony in the hall.
When Pang Tong and Liu Bei finally walked in, they were greeted by the sight of everyone smiling at them.
Zhang Fei shouted, "Shiyuan! Do you regret missing out on the last viewing?"
Pang Tong did not answer, simply taking his seat beside his lord.
Zhang Fei continued loudly, "Shiyuan! That Everlasting Chang'an from last time was truly a sight to behold!"
Pang Tong felt a vein throb in his temple. Fortunately, Liu Bei intervened. "Yide, stop your noise."
Zhang Fei grinned. "Brother, Feng'er went into the mountains himself to find those plums. He learned the recipe from the folks in Linju and made this with his own hands."
Liu Bei's expression softened. He took a sip. "Sweet, sour, and refreshing. Excellent. At the end of a sweltering July, this is exactly what one needs."
Liu Bei and Pang Tong shared updates on Yizhou Province, while Guan Yu spoke of Jiangdong's restless movements.
This made Liu Bei uneasy. "If that is the case, perhaps we should set Yizhou Province aside and secure Jiangdong first."
"There is no need," Guan Yu said firmly. "Jingzhou will not fall. Brother, you must not delay your plans for Yi Province and waste Shiyuan's hard work."
Liu Bei could only agree. And right at that moment, the light screen unfurled in the sky.
[Lightscreen]
[Hello everyone, this is Wen Mang.
Today, we are starting with an important update. The floods in Zhuozhou.]
The content on the screen was no longer a magnificent city like the thousand-year-old Chengdu or the Everlasting Chang'an.
It was a city ravaged by water. Muddy, yellow torrents surged through streets where people should have been living in peace.
Modern civilians were forced to scramble to high ground, and those metal boxes that usually sped along the roads were now bobbing helplessly in the floodwaters.
The color drained from Liu Bei and Zhang Fei's faces. Though it was a thousand years in the future, these people were still their fellow townsmen.
These were the descendants of people who might have shared a drink or a life with them.
"Run!" Guan Yu could not help but shout. Since these were his brother's kinsmen, they were his as well.
Having been born in Hedong, he understood the true horror of a flood better than most.
[Lightscreen]
[At the end of July, influenced by the combined effects of cold and warm air currents and Typhoon Doksuri, northern Hebei experienced extreme rainfall.
The average rainfall in Zhuozhou reached 398 millimeters, far exceeding the 250-millimeter threshold for a catastrophic rainstorm.
This resulted in a peak flood discharge of 4,500 cubic meters per second for the North Juma River, while the Liuli and Xiaoqing Rivers also exceeded 3,000 cubic meters per second.
For comparison, the average flow rate of the Yellow River is about 2,500 cubic meters per second.]
Though some of the terminology was foreign, Pang Tong calculated the figures instantly. "It is the equivalent of being hit by the force of three Yellow Rivers at once!"
Liu Bei and Zhang Fei stood frozen, their eyes locked on the screen. In their world, a flood of this magnitude meant the end. What would happen to the people?
[Lightscreen]
[Fortunately, just as with the massive earthquakes and floods we have faced before, the government and the People's Liberation Army are always our strongest shield.]
The rain on the screen had not stopped, but groups of men in green uniforms were already plunging into the ravaged land.
Long lines of square-headed metal boxes charged through the waves. They did not turn their backs on the flood. They faced it head-on, moving forward with courage.
These small human figures stood against a natural disaster, working tirelessly to rescue every single citizen.
Liu Bei stood in a daze, his eyes filled with disbelief and joy. Zhang Fei was equally stunned, blurting out, "Are they not afraid to die?"
Guan Yu, however, burned the name of this unit into his memory. He recalled what he had learned of their discipline and their iron will from previous viewings. He sighed softly.
"Perhaps... they simply place the people above their own lives."