Inside Ganlu Hall of Chang'an, the atmosphere was thick with disbelief that bordered on reverence.
Du Ruhui let out a bitter smile, the kind that came from a man whose worldview had just been neatly overturned.
"Your Majesty… such a miraculous thing… if one did not witness it with one's own eyes, who would ever believe it?"
Not long ago, he had thought the Emperor was merely looking for an excuse to fill his harem, dressing it up with talk of omens and divine signs. He had even prepared arguments, subtle and not so subtle, to dissuade him. And yet now, faced with the Light Screen hanging in the air like a fragment of heaven itself, all those carefully constructed doubts felt embarrassingly small.
Li Shimin sat there, thoroughly enjoying himself.
His gaze swept over the three men who had come together, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Zhangsun Wuji, each of them a pillar of the Tang court. Their intentions had been obvious from the start. They had come to "advise" him, convinced that their Emperor had fallen for some strange superstition.
Now look at them.
Speechless, shaken, and trying very hard not to show it.
He almost laughed out loud.
Heh, but seeing the expressions on my closest ministers' faces... how delightful!
The three ministers, however, chose a different tactic entirely. They simply ignored his expression and buried themselves in examining the Light Screen 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 Light Screen 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 Light Screen. As for these matters, we may discuss them later."
It was a reasonable 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 Light Screen has shown previously?"
Li Shimin's smile stiffened.
"Previously… we have merely observed. It speaks of the affairs of Wei, Shu, and Wu. Nothing more."
Inside, however, his thoughts were anything but calm.
He remembered what the Light Screen had shown before. That flourishing future world, radiant and prosperous, and those battlefields that looked like hell forged by divine fire.
How on earth am I supposed to describe those things to them?
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.
…
Back in Gong'an, Jiang Wan and Ma Liang were doing the exact same thing.
The two briefly bumped heads over their scrolls.
"That annoying Li Shimin did not show up again this time?"
"Perhaps he cannot bear to look, seeing the ancestral temples of Emperor Zhaolie and the Marquis Wu praised like that."
A small aside, nothing more.
They soon turned their attention to the main matter.
Liu Bei sat there, his expression more complex than either of them had ever seen. There was relief in it, unmistakably so, but also something else, something like regret that refused to settle.
"Big Brother, we shall take this as a warning for the future," Guan Yu said quietly.
He understood that feeling better than anyone.
To be told of one's own death, to move from disbelief to reluctant acceptance, that was not something a man resolved in a single moment.
Pang Tong, meanwhile, had already absorbed most of the text, assisted by Zhuge Liang's soft explanations. A rough understanding began to form in his mind.
The Light Screen continued.
[Lightscreen]
[The motive for the Battle of Yiling was the death of Guan Yu, or more clearly, the backstab by Sun-Wu.
This is the nature of the Three Kingdoms. Alliances are never firm. When Cao Cao was powerful and moved south, Shu and Wu join forces against him. When Liu Bei grows strong during the Xiang-fan campaign, Sun Quan and Cao Cao tacitly cooperated for a pincer attack. The prerequisites for Yiling were twofold: internal stability and the fact that war is a collision of national power, and you need enough money.]
Even though Guan Yu had already seen the Xiang-fan campaign once, seeing it again like this, reduced to a few simple arrows on a map all pointing toward Xiang-fan, 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 glanced at him.
Kongming had already taken the first steps.
How, then, was he to catch up?
[Lightscreen]
[For the campaign to seize Yi Province, Liu Bei initially relied on Zhang Song as an internal ally, but Zhang Song was soon exposed and killed. Liu Bei seized control of Baishui Pass, advanced through Zitong, took Fucheng, and then Mianzhu to attack Luocheng.]
Several generals frowned as they compared the Light Screen's map with the one hanging in the hall.
"How did my lord end up at Baishui Pass?"
Zhuge Liang considered for a moment.
"The Lord was there to resist Zhang Lu," Kongming guessed. "Liu Zhang was weak and allowed Zhang Lu to declare independence. Hanzhong is the gateway to Yi Province; it is critical. Zhang Song must have advised Liu Zhang to 'drive the tiger to swallow the wolf,' letting the Lord attack Zhang Lu.
However, Zhang Ziqiao was careless, and the plot was exposed, leading to his death. Thus, the Lord had to resort to a direct assault."
"Is it truly so simple?" Pang Tong shook his head. "Because Zhou Yu intended to take Yi Province last year, I know a bit more than Kongming."
Zhuge Liang smiled and gestured for him to continue.
Pang Tong did not hesitate.
"The situation in Yi Province is complex. Liu Jiyu is the fourth son of Liu Yan; how did he inherit the governorship? Only because of Zhao Wei's support.
Under his rule, Zhang Lu rebelled, Zhao Wei rebelled, and Pang Xi and Li Yi ignored orders. His decrees barely leave Chengdu. His position is precarious, so he sought to use the Lord to strike Zhang Lu. He is weak, but not a fool.
As for Zhang Song's death..." Recalling Zhang Song's own words from the previous month, Pang Tong sighed. "His brother favored Cao Cao; that may be the cause of his death."
Kongming nodded, and Liu Bei praised him: "Shiyuan, though you are in Jing Province, your observation of Yi Province is quite meticulous."
Zhuge Liang nodded.
Liu Bei praised him.
"Shiyuan, though you are in Jing Province, your understanding of Yi Province is remarkably detailed."
Pang Tong accepted the praise without any sign of pride.
The Light Screen continued.
[Lightscreen]
[Meanwhile, forces from Jing Province advanced in support. The Chancellor took Baidi, Zhang Fei pacified Badong, Zhao Yun advanced via the outer river to Jiangyang. The three armies converged, encircling the region. Jian Yong persuaded Liu Zhang to surrender, and Liu Bei obtained Yi Province.]
Jian Yong, who had been casually eating fruit, wiped his mouth and chuckled.
"My lord, when the time comes to meet Liu Jiyu, do remember to bring me along."
"Of course," Liu Bei nodded, then sighed as he looked at the map. "Ziqiao died before he could display his life's learning. How tragic."
Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang exchanged a glance, both recalling the loneliness on Zhang Song's face that day.
To meet an unworthy lord was a tragedy.
To possess talent and yet be unable to use it under such a lord, that was an even deeper tragedy.
The Light Screen shifted again.
[Lightscreen]
[There are two more points regarding the Yi Province campaign.
First, the siege of Luocheng. Liu Bei had been advancing while accepting surrenders until he met resistance at Luocheng, defended by Liu Zhang's son, Liu Xun. The two sides stalemated for a year.
Pang Tong grew impatient, personally led an assault, and was struck down by a stray arrow. Thus Shu Han lost the Young Phoenix and gained Fa Zheng.]
"Struck… by a stray arrow?"
Pang Tong's mind went blank.
His hand lifted as if to grasp something in the air, something slipping away just beyond reach. His vision swayed, his body lost balance, and he collapsed.
"Shiyuan, this is not your fate now!"
Zhuge Liang caught him, his voice firm and urgent right beside his ear.
Pang Tong's eyes widened as he stared at him, then slowly closed. A long breath escaped him, heavy with something that was not quite despair and not quite anger.
"Heaven has wronged me."