Inside Ganlu Hall in Chang'an, you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone sat there, half stunned, half awestruck.
Du Ruhui let out a dry, bitter smile. The kind you make when your whole picture of the world just got flipped clean-side-up.
"Your Majesty... such a miraculous thing... if one did not witness it with one's own eyes, who would ever believe it?"
Just a little while back, he had honestly thought the Emperor was just fishing for excuses to stuff his harem, wrapping it all up pretty with talk of omens and heavenly portents. He had even lined up every argument he could think of. Some gentle, some straight-up blunt. Ready to talk His Majesty right out of it. But now? Staring at that Lightscreen hanging there like a chunk of the sky torn loose, every single doubt he had built up so carefully suddenly felt little... and downright silly.
Li Shimin sat there with a smug face, thoroughly enjoying himself.
His gaze drifted over the three men standing side by side: Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji. Every last one a true pillar of the Tang court. Li Shimin knew full well what they were up to. Their whole plan had been plain as day right from the start. They had shown up to give advice, dead-set convinced their Emperor had just gone and fallen for some weird silly superstition.
Now look at them.
Speechless, shaken, and trying very hard not to show it.
Heh, but seeing the expressions on my closest ministers' faces... this is very refreshing!
The three ministers, however, chose a different tactic entirely. They simply ignored his expression and buried themselves in examining the Lightscreen and the records in In Search of the Supernatural laid before them.
They knew this man too well.
The more you reacted, the more delighted he became. The only way to cut off his enthusiasm was either to ignore him or to counter him with absolute seriousness.
Zhangsun Wuji struck first.
"Your Majesty, when did this Lightscreen first appear? Does it follow any pattern? Is it truly harmless?"
Fang Xuanling followed immediately.
"Your Majesty, does this screen offer methods to enrich the people and benefit the nation? Are there strategies to build the foundation of the Tang for ten thousand generations?"
Du Ruhui delivered the final blow, calm but precise.
"Your Majesty, you previously asked me about the unfilial nature of future descendants. Did the screen speak of the future of our Tang?"
Li Shimin froze.
For a moment, the great Emperor of Tang, conqueror of realms and breaker of armies, found himself at a loss.
Then he forced a laugh.
"Hahaha... Wuji, Xuanling, Keming, let us first observe the Lightscreen. As for these matters, we may discuss them later."
It was deflection.
The three ministers exchanged glances, nodded, and continued watching. But the pressure did not vanish.
"Your Majesty, are there written records of what the Lightscreen has shown previously?"
The sun of the Great Tang stuttered again: "Previously, it was all viewed just like this. It was all old tales of Wei, Shu, and Wu."
In his heart, however, he remembered the prosperous future and the god-like, hellish battlefields the Lightscreen had shown last time.
How on earth am I supposed to describe all that?
The three ministers did not press further. Instead, they requested writing materials, right there in Ganlu Hall, and began recording everything they could see.
Even if it spoke of past dynasties, this was knowledge granted from beyond. One could not afford to be careless.
On the other side, Jiang Wan and Ma Liang, who were doing the exact same copying duty, bumped heads again.
"That annoying Li Shimin did not show up this time either?"
"Maybe he is envious of the Zhaolie Temple and Wuhou Shrine on the Lightscreen and cannot bear to watch."
A small aside, nothing more.
They soon turned their attention to the main matter.
Liu Bei's expression was more complex than ever before. He seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief, yet also harbored deep unwillingness.
"Big Brother, just take this as a lesson from the past," Guan Yu comforted him.
He understood this feeling all too well. When he had returned from the Nan Commandery battlefield and been told of his impending death, it took a process to go from initial disbelief to gradual acceptance.
Pang Tong absorbed all the text into his heart, and with Zhuge Liang's whispered explanations beside him, he gained a rough understanding.
The Lightscreen continued.
[Lightscreen]
[So, why did the Battle of Yiling happen?
If you want the short version, people usually say: Because Guan Yu died.
And... yeah.
But that explanation is doing way too much work.
Guan Yu's death was absolutely one of the biggest triggers for the conflict. But Liu Bei was not simply sitting in Chengdu one morning thinking: They killed my brother. Time to commit several hundred thousand men to a terrible military expedition.
There was a much bigger problem.
Jingzhou.
Back in 208, when Cao Cao marched south and looked increasingly unstoppable, Liu Bei and Sun Quan had a very obvious reason to cooperate.
Their alliance made sense because their interests temporarily overlapped. At Red Cliffs, they combined their forces and stopped Cao Cao from turning the entire south into one giant Cao Cao fan club.
But there was a problem.
Once Cao Cao was pushed back, Liu Bei and Sun Quan had to go back to being neighbors.
And neighbors are great.
Until they start arguing about property lines.
The real source of tension was Jingzhou.
Both Liu Bei and Sun Quan understood that controlling Jingzhou meant controlling one of the most strategically important corridors between the middle Yangtze and the Sichuan basin. Whoever controlled it had a much better position for projecting power across the region.
So the alliance was never really: Brothers forever.
It was more like: You are extremely useful to me while Cao Cao is trying to kill both of us.
By 219, the situation had become especially dangerous. The political logic was pretty simple. Whoever gets too powerful becomes everyone's problem.
And right now? Liu Bei was becoming a very big problem.
Sun Quan looked at the map and saw Guan Yu driving north, committing his best troops against Cao Cao around Xiangyang-Fancheng.
His rear was completely exposed.
So Sun Quan made his move.
He sent word to Cao Cao, offering his submission and proposing a joint strike. Cao Cao, being Cao Cao, happily accepted the offer and even leaked Sun Quan's letter to Guan Yu's camp just to mess with his head.
Then Sun Quan attacked.
No need for a secret meeting. Just two old enemies who suddenly realized they shared the same problem.
And there were two prerequisites for the Battle of Yiling to even happen: First, internal stability was required. Second, war is essentially a clash of comprehensive national power. You need to have enough money.]
Even though Guan Yu had already seen the Xiangyang-Fancheng campaign once, seeing it again like this, reduced to a few simple arrows on a map all pointing toward Xiangyang-Fancheng, his fist tightened unconsciously.
Zhuge Liang sighed softly.
He agreed deeply with the statement that war was, at its core, a contest of resources. The better fed the soldiers, the warmer their clothing, the more complete their armor, the greater the chances of victory.
That was precisely why he had ordered Jiang Wan to oversee the water-powered workshops. If the common people could save effort and cost, they would have the strength to raise livestock, to cultivate more land, to gradually strengthen the territory.
Pang Tong also cast a deep, meaningful glance at Zhuge Liang.
'Kongming has already started moving forward. How am I going to catch up?'
[Lightscreen]
[During Liu Bei's campaign to take Yizhou, Zhang Song initially helped him from inside Liu Zhang's administration. He secretly provided information and helped Liu Bei gain a foothold in the province.
But his little double-agent career did not last forever.
Once Liu Zhang discovered what Zhang Song had been doing, he had him executed.
Meanwhile, Liu Bei was steadily turning his "I am here to help" mission into something that looked increasingly like a hostile takeover.
After entering Yizhou, Liu Bei took control of the troops stationed at Baishui and began consolidating his position. He then moved toward Fucheng, where fighting with Liu Zhang's forces broke out.
Liu Bei defeated the forces sent against him and pushed them back toward Mianzhu. Liu Zhang then sent Li Yan to reinforce the city, but Li Yan eventually surrendered to Liu Bei.
With Mianzhu now in his hands, Liu Bei continued toward Luocheng, one of the major defensive positions on the road to Chengdu.]
Looking at the location of Baishui Pass marked on the map, the generals glanced at the map hanging in the hall and could not help but feel puzzled.
"How did my lord end up at Baishui Pass?"
"My lord being there was naturally to resist Zhang Lu," Zhuge Liang guessed. "Liu Zhang was weak and allowed Zhang Lu to declare independence. Hanzhong is the gateway to Yizhou and of critical importance. Zhang Song likely advised Liu Zhang to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf, sending my lord to campaign against Zhang Lu."
"However, Zhang Ziqiao was not careful. His plot was exposed, leading to his death, and thus a forced assault became the only option."
"Is that truly so?" Pang Tong shook his head. "Last month, Zhou Gongjin intended to take Yizhou, so I know a bit more about it than Kongming."
Zhuge Liang smiled and extended his feather fan in a please, go ahead gesture.
Pang Tong did not decline the spotlight: "The situation in Yizhou is incredibly complex. Liu Zhang is the fourth son of Liu Yan. How did he inherit the position of Provincial Governor? Only because of Zhao Wei's support."
"During his governance of Yizhou, Zhang Lu rebelled, Zhao Wei rebelled, and Pang Xi and Li Yi disobeyed orders. Liu Zhang's decrees could barely leave Chengdu. His position as governor was like walking on thin ice. To campaign against Zhang Lu, he had no choice but to borrow my lord's hand."
"Liu Zhang was weak, but not stupid. How could he let a tiger swallow a wolf just based on a trusted aide's words? As for Zhang Song's death..." Remembering Zhang Song's own account last month, Pang Tong sighed softly. "His elder brother's heart leaned toward the Cao thief. That is likely the cause of his death."
Zhuge Liang nodded. Liu Bei praised him: "Shiyuan, though you are in Jingzhou, your observation of Yizhou is remarkably detailed."
Pang Tong showed no smugness, accepting the praise with a calm expression.
[Lightscreen]
[Meanwhile, Liu Bei's reinforcements from Jingzhou finally entered the picture.
Zhuge Liang led one army up the river, taking Baidi and moving toward Jiangzhou. Zhang Fei came through Badong, pacifying the region as he advanced. Zhao Yun took another route along the river and moved toward Jiangyang.
They were not simply three armies marching in a neat little circle around Liu Zhang.
Instead, they attacked from different directions, securing key cities and river routes while steadily tightening the pressure around Chengdu.
Liu Zhang was now running out of options.
His territory was being cut apart, his major defensive positions were falling, and Liu Bei's forces were closing in from multiple directions.
At this point, Liu Zhang finally agreed to surrender.
Liu Bei sent Jian Yong to negotiate with him, and Jian Yong successfully persuaded Liu Zhang to give up the fight.]
Unexpectedly mentioned while just sitting there eating dried persimmons, Jian Yong leisurely wiped the food crumbs from the corner of his mouth and smiled:
"If my lord is going to meet Liu Jiyu, you must take me with you."
"As you should be," Liu Bei nodded, looking at the attack directions drawn on the Lightscreen and sighing.
"Ziqiao never got to display his lifelong learning. What a pity."
Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang exchanged a glance, both recalling the look of desolation on Zhang Song's face that day.
Meeting a mediocre ruler is lamentable. Meeting a mediocre ruler, having talent, and still not being used is even more lamentable.
[Lightscreen]
[There are two more things worth mentioning about the Yizhou Campaign.
The first is the siege of Luocheng.
Up to this point, Liu Bei had been making steady progress. Cities were falling, enemy commanders were surrendering, and the whole campaign was starting to look surprisingly manageable.
Then he reached Luocheng.
And suddenly, the brakes were slammed.
Luocheng was defended by Liu Xun, the son of Liu Zhang, and the defenders refused to fold. What followed was a brutal stalemate that lasted for roughly a year.
For Liu Bei, this was a completely different kind of war.
He could not just keep marching forward and collecting surrendering officers like Pokémon.
Eventually, Pang Tong decided to take a more direct approach and personally led troops in an attack on the city.
It went badly.
Pang Tong was struck by an stray arrow during the assault and died.
Liu Bei had lost one of his most talented strategists. One of the men who had helped shape his campaign in Yizhou.
Pang Tong was known by the nickname Fengchu, or Young Phoenix.
And while Liu Bei lost his Fengchu at Luocheng, another important figure was rising in his camp: Fa Zheng.]
Zhuge Liang frowned slightly, his feather fan pausing mid-wave.
"Pokémon?" he repeated, tasting the strange word. "What kind of creature is that?"
Jiang Yong, still processing the host's words, blinked in confusion. "Is it some kind of beast? A monster? It sounds like a name from the southern tribes."
Zhang Fei, of course, had the most straightforward reaction. "Who cares what it is? If it can fight, I want one!"
But Pang Tong was no longer listening.
His mind had snagged on something else. A single line from the Lightscreen, still burning in his ears.
"Killed by a stray arrow?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Me?"
The words came out like a man waking from a bad dream.
"What do you mean... killed by a stray arrow?"
Pang Tong felt his mind go completely blank. He reached out his hands, grasping at the air as if trying to catch something, but ultimately lost his balance and collapsed.
"Shiyuan, this is not your current fate!" Zhuge Liang caught the collapsing Pang Tong, shouting loudly into his ear.
Pang Tong opened his eyes wide, staring at Zhuge Liang, before finally closing them and letting out a long, agonizing sigh:
"Heaven has betrayed me!"