[Lightscreen]
[Mi Fang and Fu Shiren sent messengers to welcome Sun Quan.]
The hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Liu Bei covered his face in agony; his gut had been screaming this since the screen started. Mi Zhu looked like he'd seen a ghost, while Guan Yunchang phoenix eyes narrowed to slits as he stared down Mi Fang.
Mi Fang burst into tears instantly, clutching Liu Bei's leg and bawling like a child.
"My Lord! Big brother! I gave up my post as Chancellor of Pengcheng for you! I followed you through Ye City, Runan, Xinye, and the Changban Slope!
I'm loyal to the bone, I swear!
This... this must be some trick by Cao thief or those rats from Jiandong!"
Mi Zhu finally snapped out of his shock and marched over.
SLAP! SLAP!
A backhand and a forehand caught Mi Fang across the face.
Mi Fang staggered, stunned. "Brother?"
Guan Yu shook his head and stepped in. "I was winning. I was unstoppable. Why would Zi Fang betray me then? There must be more to this. Let's keep watching."
Everyone thought about it and nodded.
The others considered this. Everyone knew how deep the bond between the Mi Clan and Liu Bei went. Even if Mi Fang defected to Wu, would he ever be more respected than he was now?
Zhang Fei didn't say a word.
He just slowly drifted behind Mi Fang, staring at the man's neck with a very dark, contemplative expression.
---
[Lightscreen]
["Sun Shinwan-ge, stabbed him in the the back, while a 'fellow countryman' strikes him from the front.
After destroying the Seven Armies, Guan Yunchang besieged Xiangyang and Fancheng, stationed troops at Yancheng to guard against Xu Huang, and transported prisoners back to Jiangling.
Xu Huang, at Wancheng, judged that Guan Yu was uncertain of his true strength and forced Shu-Han troops back to the Yancheng.
Once his twelve reinforcement battalions arrived, Xu Huang moved to break the siege.
He actually invited Guan Yu out for a chat, acting like old buddies, before suddenly screaming: 'A thousand gold for the head of Guan Yunchang!'
Guan Yu, with only five thousand troops, was defeated."]
Guan Yu showed no anger. Instead, he stroked his beard and sighed.
"Gongming and I are both from Hedong. I am from Xie County, he from Yang County. Back in Xuchang, we often visited each other."
"He used a stratagem against me, but well, he was just serving his master."
"Serving one's master does not justify this, and using a friendship to lure a man into a kill zone? That's just dirty."
Kongming said, unable to let it pass.
"If that were the case, he should have acted as strangers, not lured you out with familiarity and then struck."
The others silently agreed.
It was not a violation of principle, but it was undeniably distasteful.
---
[Lightscreen]
[While Guan Yunchang was shaking the world, Jiang Ji and Sima Yi hatched a plan: offer the Southland to Sun Quan if he'd attack Guan Yu from behind.
Sun Quan's response? 'Please keep this a secret so Guan Yunchang isn't prepared and the plan succeeded.
Later, Sun Quan sent Guan Yu's head to Cao Cao as a gift, earning himself the title of 'King of Wu' under the Great Wei dynasty.
Cao and Sun formally allied.
But even then, Guan Yunchang still controlled the Han River natural defense and held Fortress of Jiangling. Even a direct assault would not have been easy.
But then came the unexpected: Lü Meng crossed the river in disguise, and Mi Fang and Fu Shiren surrendered the cities.]
Mi Fang lay on the ground, trembling violently, drenched in sweat. He did not dare look at the screen, but every word sank deeper into despair.
Zhang Fei sneered from behind him.
Hah! Look at this dog-lord, those Jiangdong rats crawling on the ground! Selling out allies for gain, begging while doing it too. They've disgraced Sun Jian and Sun Ce completely!"
"No need to bring up their fathers and brothers," Huang Yueying said with a shake of her head. "Even Zhou Yu and Lu Su across the river would be furious if they knew."
Kongming, however, caught something else.
"So the 'Wu' of Sun Wu actually comes from a title granted by Cao Cao?"
No one had expected that.
They had all assumed it came from the land of Wu and Yue.
"At that time, Cao Cao had not yet usurped the Han. That title was granted in the name of the Han," Liu Bei argued.
"Oh come on, Big Brother,"
Zhang Fei cut in bluntly, tearing away that last layer of dignity.
Second Brother's campaign was already in the tenth month. Cao traitor was on his deathbed. Cao Pi was about to seize the throne and usurp the Han. That 'King of Wu' title is 100%, King of Wu of the Great Wei
Liu Bei fell silent.
Then he remembered. That same year saw the Wei Feng rebellion, followed by Cao Cao's death.
Why… did I not hold Hanzhong just a little longer?
---
[Lightscreen]
[As for Mi Fang's surrender, almost no one can understand it.
Mi Fang had been with Liu Bei since Xuzhou. Sure, he was a mediocre talent with a big ego, but because of his brother Mi Zhu and his sister Lady Mi, he was basically Shu-Han royalty.
Would a defector get better treatment in Wu? Obviously not.
In fact, the Wu scholar Yu Fan later mocked him to his face:
'How can a man who lacks loyalty and faith talk about serving a lord? You lost two cities and still call yourself a General? Have you no shame? You closed the gates you should have kept open and opened the ones you should have kept closed. You think you'll get a happy ending?
He lived like a rat in Wu. So, why did he do it? Was there a hidden reason?]
At last, a lifeline.
Mi Fang wept uncontrollably.
"My lord! My lord! My Brother-in-law! Great Emperor Zhaolie! There must have been some unavoidable reason!"
"It must be like Liu Feng being misled by Meng Da! it was all Fu Shiren's fault!"
Liu Bei stepped back and looked at him steadily for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh.
"If it weren't for your betrayal, there would be no 'Emperor Zhaolie' to speak of!"
"I dare not claim credit!" Mi Fang kowtowed repeatedly. "Your Majesty's ascension was only aided by my humble... wait..."
The room went quiet.
That… really did not sound like a compliment.
Mi Zhu could not bear to look anymore and bowed.
"My lord, please enforce the law."
"Let us see what the Light Screen says," Liu Bei replied calmly.
---
[Lightscreen]
[First, Mi Fang wasn't forced by his men. Records show that even after he surrendered, the soldiers in Jiangling plotted to take the city back. Lu Meng only stopped them because he was paranoid and caught them in time.
Second, it wasn't because he couldn't win. Guan Yu had sent all of Yu Jin's thirty thousand prisoners there.
Between the garrison and the manpower, plus the double-walled fortress of Jiangling, even Lu Meng's 'White-Clad' army would have been crushed in a siege
Third, it was not because of Fu Shiren pressure. Jiangling fell first.
Then the Jiandong used their favorite trick and told Fu Shiren:
'Jiangling has already fallen. Why are you still holding Gong'an?
Even Mi Fang, your lord's brother-in-law has surrendered. Why should you risk your life?
Thus, Fu Shiren surrendered.]
With each line, the atmosphere grew heavier.
Liu Bei suddenly stepped forward and kicked Mi Fang to the ground.
"If your sister knew she had a brother like you… how could she face me?"
Zhang Fei, remembering Hao Pu's humiliation, cursed bitterly.
Zhang Fei added, "This Lü Meng is Has no moral bottom line, despicable and shameless!". Dressing as civilians and lying through his teeth? That's not a general; that's a con man."
---
[Lightscreen]
[So why the betrayal? Historical records give two reasons for Mi Fang's betrayal.
Before Guan Yu left, a fire 'accidentally' destroyed military supplies in Nan Commandery, Guan Yu left with a parting threat: 'I'll deal with this when I get back.
This is like the classic case of investigating the granary only for it to mysteriously catch fire.
This sounds a lot like when a modern warehouse catches fire right before an audit. As a famous Ming dynasty eunuch once said: 'Before it hits the scales, it weighs four ounces; once it's on the scale, not even a thousand pounds can keep it down
Normally, such a crime would only affect ordinary officers.
But Liu Bei is famously soft-hearted with his old friends. In Cao Cao's camp, Mi Fang would have get ticket 'A cheerful invitation to the Nine Clan Elimination Game.
But Liu Bei didn't even scold the family. Mi Zhu eventually 'died of shame and illness within a year.
So Guan Yu's 'I will deal with this' was likely just a warning. At most, it would have been a complaint to Liu Bei.
Yet Mi Fang still chose to surrender.
That suggests one thing: if those burnt supplies had actually 'hit the scales,'… even an imperial in-law could not withstand its weight.]