"Sun Quan is far inferior to Zhou Gongjin."
Even after being called a nasty scoundrel by Sun Quan on the light screen, Liu Bei still smiled calmly.
Jingzhou was vast, yet it could not accommodate both Sun and Liu, let alone Yizhou.
When Lu Su and Sun Quan had jointly lent him half of Nan Commandery, was it not simply because they wanted a capable blade to use?
"If Jiangdong's troops are as Hansheng described, then whether that blue-eyed brother-in-law can even take it is still a question!"
Zhang Fei muttered under his breath. "But this Gan Ning, to raid a camp with a hundred men, he is indeed a real man!"
Huang Zhong, who understood Jiangdong far better, stroked his graying beard and considered before speaking.
"Gan Ning... I once served alongside him back when he was under Liu Biao in Jingzhou. Bold and straightforward. Brave and clever. He cared nothing for wealth but gave freely to his men. A truly fine man."
"Back then he told me that in his younger days he had been misled by bad men and joined a rebellion against Liu Zhang. Because of that, he could never go home again."
"He is a native of Bashu?" Liu Bei considered this carefully and made a mental note.
[Lightscreen]
[Sun Quan is the kind of man who can be coldly calculating one moment, exactly how a seasoned ruler should be. He has not even declared himself emperor yet, but he already masters the art of balancing power inside Jiangdong perfectly.
Yet at other times, politically, he can seem strangely naive.
If Sun Wu wanted to march into Bashu, they would have to pass through Jiangling. Any leader would hesitate over that. Borrowing someone else's road just to conquer another state is a trick everyone knows well.
Now that his brother-in-law Liu Bei has gone and taken Yizhou, Sun Quan's position becomes very simple.
Then Jingzhou should be given back.
Liu Bei's answer?
I am getting ready to take Liangzhou right now. Once Liangzhou is firmly in hand, I will return Jingzhou full to you.]
At those words about borrowing a road to conquer another state, Liu Bei narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly. That had always been his deepest worry.
But when he heard the rest, his eyes went wide with shock.
His hand shook so hard he pulled two strands right out of his beard and hissed in pain. Even so, he stared at the screen and asked in utter disbelief.
"Was it not just Nan Commandery that we borrowed?!"
That was right. It had only ever been Nan Commandery.
All eyes turned toward their lord.
Liu Bei rubbed his chin, looking truly troubled. "What I agreed with Sun Quan was borrowing Jiangling alone. In exchange, once we had secured the rest of Nan Commandery, we would give the whole thing back. How did it turn into all of Jingzhou?"
Zhang Fei cut right to the heart of it. "Big Brother, you just said Sun Quan is no match for Zhou Yu. Are you actually afraid of what Zhou Yu might do?"
Liu Bei stayed wordless.
If things had followed their original course and Zhou Yu were still alive, he might very well have been forced to accept those terms.
[Lightscreen]
[To be fair, Liu Bei's side was not entirely without ground.
He had made a promise. And what he said he would give back was Jingzhou.
But here is the key detail people often miss.
What Liu Bei actually borrowed was only Jiangling city inside Nan Commandery. It was not even an entire province, merely zero point five of a single commandery.
The four commanderies of Jingzhou were taken by Liu Bei himself.
And yet Sun Quan comes forward asking for all of Jingzhou in one demand.
That is quite the appetite.
The fact that Liu Bei did not throw his cup in Sun Quan's face already shows restraint.
But from Sun Quan's point of view?
He saw it as a stalling tactic. Just empty words meant to buy time.
And honestly, you could see why he would think that.
But then Sun Quan stopped waiting and acted.
He sent Lu Meng with troops to seize three commanderies. And around this same time, Zhao Yun made that famous rescue of A-Dou right there on the river.]
Guan Yu frowned. "Lu Meng seizes three commanderies?"
Zhang Fei exclaimed, "Zilong rescues A-Dou at the river?"
Huang Yueying blinked. "Zero point five?"
The three looked at one another. Huang Yueying gestured for them to continue, then pulled out a sheet of paper and began sketching, ignoring Kongming's pained expression.
"This Lu Meng, is he the one who later ambushed my second brother under Sun Quan's orders?" Liu Bei asked, recalling clearly.
As for A-Dou... once, Liu Bei had doted deeply on his only son, but now he felt it was better to observe further.
Guan Yu glanced at the map. "It must be Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling."
Wuling Commandery connected both Yizhou and Nan Commandery. If it had fallen in one stroke, there would be no war left to fight.
"The loss of three commanderies still leaves Nan Commandery and Wuling. Our troops remain intact. There is still room to recover," Guan Yu judged calmly.
The three commanderies were not major troop concentrations. Losing them, especially under a calculated surprise attack, was not unexpected.
"Big brother, A-Dou has been taken!" Zhang Fei said anxiously.
"Could it be that Sun Quan had been preparing in these three commanderies for a long time?" Liu Bei asked, stressing the word preparing as he sought Guan Yu's opinion.
Guan Yu thought carefully. "Most likely. These three commanderies border Jiangdong, sharing customs and connections. Many of the officials we recruited have ties to Jiangdong aristocratic clans. It would be difficult to guard against."
"Difficult to guard against," was Guan Yu's final conclusion. "This only shows that Yizhou is even more critical. If we remain confined to the four commanderies of Jingzhou, Sun Quan could overturn us at any moment. In the end, we would only be doing all the work for someone else to reap the reward.
"Big brother, your only son has been taken!" Zhang Fei was frantic.
Liu Bei snapped, "What are you panicking for, Yide? He later surrendered the entire state! He later buried our hard work! He later enjoyed himself there without missing Shu at all!"
"He lives a long life! Why worry about him!"
Liu Bei had already pieced together the dangers of Jingzhou and Yizhou.
Cao Cao sought to enter Shu through Hanzhong, completely locking down Sun and Liu.
Sun Wu also sought Jingzhou and Yizhou to attack Cao Cao, while internally divided between Sun Quan and Zhou Yu's differing visions.
In such a situation, only by seizing Yizhou could one truly establish a foundation.
After decades of hardship, was it all just to send A-Dou to Cao Wei to attend banquets?
Liu Bei felt the veins at the back of his head throb.
Zhang Fei stopped speaking, but still muttered, "He is still your son... my own nephew..."
[Lightscreen]
[In taking the three commanderies, Lu Meng employed a method he would later use with great proficiency.
Changsha and Guiyang surrendered upon hearing of his approach, but Hao Pu alone held firm in Lingling.
On the surface, Lu Meng mobilized troops frequently, making it appear that Lingling would inevitably fall.
In secret, he contacted Hao Pu's close friend Deng Xuan and told him:
Liu Bei is trapped by Xiahou Yuan in Hanzhong. Lu Su has pinned Guan Yu at Jiangling. Who can come to your aid?
Hao Pu despaired.
When he left the city to surrender, Lu Meng then revealed the truth and even showed him Sun Quan's letter.
This method was ruthless.
To break not just the body, but the will.
Hao Pu was ashamed beyond bearing.
His misfortune did not end there.
After surrendering to Sun Wu, he encountered Yin Fan, one of Cao Rui's greatest spies sent into Wu.
Yin Fan feigned surrender, rose to the position of Court Inspector, and secretly conspired with Jiangdong aristocratic clans.
When the plot was exposed, Hao Pu was implicated and ultimately forced to take his own life.]
"Who is Cao Rui?"
Everyone spoke up at once.
"The Emperor of Wei! The son of that short-lived Cao Pi!"
"Pretending to surrender... quite the clever trick. Hao Pu was truly unfortunate!"
Zhang Fei said angrily. "Trickery is one thing. But to mock a man right after forcing him to yield? This Lu Meng has no decency at all!"
The other generals all nodded in agreement.
If Hao Pu believed the surrender offer, it meant he had trusted that man completely. And once he gave up his position, he was met with nothing but scorn to his face. Hahaha, you utter fool.
Huang Zhong frowned deeply. "Could it be that Lu Meng meant to push Hao Pu to take his own life?"
The others exchanged glances. The more they thought about it, the darker it felt.
Kongming connected it with what they had seen earlier and understood. "At that time, our lord had not yet gone to Hanzhong. Yizhou had only just been secured. Hanzhong was still held by Zhang Lu. How could Liu Bei have been surrounded by Xiahou Yuan?"
"Hao Pu was truly unfortunate," Liu Bei sighed. He grieved for the fate of this loyal man.
So faithful and true, yet to serve under a commander who would crush him in both body and spirit.
"Second Brother..." Zhang Fei thought of what Lu Meng would do later and a cold feeling settled in his chest. Had these same methods been used against Guan Yu too?
He reached out and patted Guan Yu's shoulder.
"Be very careful."