Pang Tong was suddenly reminded of his own evaluation of Zhang Ziqiao: Unremarkable appearance, extraordinary talent.
How alike they were.
How similar they were! Both possessed immense talent, yet were fated to carry it to the underworld.
To find a brilliant lord but not the right time; a heart full of ambition with no place to exercise it!
"Shiyuan…"
The voice came from his lord.
Pang Tong clutched Liu Bei's warm hand like a drowning man seizing a rope, gripping it tightly as if afraid it might slip away.
Liu Bei gently patted this newly joined strategist and said with quiet reassurance, "Shiyuan, then we simply will not go to Yi Province."
"To die by a stray arrow is no longer Pang Tong's fate. I will take Yi Province for my lord."
His voice struck the ground like iron. The turmoil within him had already settled.
"I shall live until the day my Lord settles the Central Plains!"
After steadying himself, Pang Tong sat back down with the others. Leaning closer, he lowered his voice and asked Kongming,
"You saw your own end as well?"
Kongming only smiled, saying nothing.
[Lightscreen]
[The second point regarding Yi Province is the defense of Jiameng Pass. Liu Zhang's generals, Fu Jin and Xiang Cun, led ten thousand men to attack the pass, seeking to cut off Liu Bei's retreat.
Huo Jun, with only eight hundred men, not only held the city without loss but eventually sallied out and beheaded Xiang Cun, fundamentally changing the course of the war.]
"Is that why Zhongmiao was later called a famous general?" Liu Bei recalled that when the Light Screen mentioned Huo Ge earlier, it had referred to his father Huo Jun as such.
If Adou had allowed Huo Ge to go to Chengdu back then, perhaps Shu Han's fate would not have ended so quickly.
"Both father and son are heroes!" Guan Yu praised heavily.
The map clearly marked the lines of attack in the Yi Province campaign, and Yunchang saw it with perfect clarity.
If Jiameng Pass had fallen, Liu Zhang could have cut off Big Brother's retreat and harassed the grain lines, winning without a fight. Or he could have joined forces with Zhang Lu from the outside. Big Brother would have been in grave peril.
"The title of famous general is well deserved." Guan Yu stamped his approval.
"Another 'Eight Hundred' hero?' come from now?" Zhang Fei drew in a cold breath, feeling like the times were moving faster than he could keep up.
How come the screen doesn't call those losers 'Fu Ten-Thousand'?"
Zhao Yun could not help but think quietly to himself. Should I set my personal guard to exactly eight hundred men as well?
"Kongming, you must show me the records of 'Xiaoyao Ford' tomorrow," Pang Tong whispered while tugging at him.
Kongming had already given him a brief explanation of what "Sun Shinwan" joke, but Pang Tong still found it hard to believe.
Yet deep down, he felt a wave of relief. He had almost pledged himself to such a lord.
[Lightscreen]
[As for Liu Zhang's refusal to employ 'scorched earth' tactics, we won't dwell on it.
While his benevolent nature played a part, the bigger reason was fear of internal conflict. Between the 'Dongzhou' faction and the local Yi Province elites, Liu Zhang could neither suppress the friction nor satisfy both groups.
Had he ordered scorched earth, the two factions would have started a civil war before Liu Bei even arrived.
Fa Zheng, being from the Dongzhou faction, saw through this clearly, which is why he said, 'He will never use it; there is nothing to fear.' Since Liu Bei fought for Yi Province inch by inch, internal instability was not an issue afterward]
Kongming picked up his brush and wrote two words at the front: "contradictions" and "demands." Then he said with admiration,
"The summary of later generations is remarkably incisive. Governing a region is nothing more than managing contradictions and addressing the people's demands."
"Are the Dongzhou people and Yi Province natives truly so irreconcilable?" Liu Bei asked Pang Tong.
"In earlier years, tens of thousands of households from Nanyang and the Three Auxiliaries fled into Yi Province. Liu Yan used them to govern the region, and they were called the Dongzhou scholars," Pang Tong explained.
"Liu Yan relied on them to suppress the powerful clans of Yi Province, so the local elite resented them. Moreover, once the Dongzhou group gained power, they often oppressed the native populace. Over time, the two sides became as incompatible as fire and water."
Too chaotic! Liu Bei thought to himself. No wonder the Light Screen said that taking Yi Province step by step would avoid internal unrest.
Show military might first, then bestow benevolence. How could there be instability?
[Lightscreen]
[External instability came from Cao Cao. After taking Hanzhong, Old Cao's reign followed the 'small revolt every two years, major riot every three' principle. Wudu Commandery and Hechi rising again.
At that time, Sun Quan had not yet earned the title of Sun 'Shinwan'. Fearing trouble in the rear, Cao Cao chose not to press further after gaining Longyou and instead ordered a retreat.
But before withdrawing, he left Zhang He with ten thousand troops, ordering him to invade Ba Commandery, seize land, and plunder population.
Zhang He marched from Hanzhong deep into Ba Commandery, grabbing money, grain, and people. Anyone from Ba he encountered was handed a new Hanzhong household registration on the spot.
After the defeat at Hanzhong, Cao Cao even reassigned these people to Chang'an or Luoyang and relocated their entire families. Truly the kind of life experience one could never imagine even in dreams.]
"Again with the population grabbing!" Zhang Fei burst out angrily. "That dog Cao! Always the same tricks! And so brazenly!"
Liu Bei was equally incensed. By calculation, those were all people who should fall under his rule.
Pang Tong, however, sensed something off.
"After pacifying Yi Province, with capable troops in hand, how could such a detached force be allowed to penetrate so deeply and rampage at will?"
Kongming could guess the answer, but it was not convenient to say it outright. He simply glanced at his lord and said,
"Shiyuan, just keep watching."
Liu Bei blinked.
A look of confusion returned.
[Lightscreen]
[This military operation started successfully for Zhang He. He reached Dangqu, only four hundred li from Chengdu.
The direct reason for this smooth advance was that Liu Bei was not in Chengdu at the time. He had taken thirty thousand troops to the Xiang River to have a friendly chat with Sun Quan.
This move was later fiercely criticized by Liao Li: The late emperor took his soldiers on a stroll, gaining neither Hanzhong nor the three southern commanderies, merely exhausting military strength, while allowing Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He to push deep into Ba Commandery, nearly costing Yi Province itself.]
Only now did Liu Bei understand the meaning behind Kongming's earlier glance.
Thinking back to the events before and after the Xiang River alliance, he broke out in a cold sweat. Yi Province had only just submitted, the people had not yet been pacified, and yet he had withdrawn elite troops back to Jing Province.
If at that time the alliance had failed and instead turned into war with Sun Quan, the consequences were too terrible to contemplate.
"Big brother need not worry. Yi Province still has Yide."
Guan Yu offered calm reassurance. He remembered clearly that during the Xiang River alliance, it was the third brother who remained to guard Yi Province.
Zhang Fei said nothing. Though he very much wanted to puff out his chest and claim Zhang He would be easy prey, in the end he only nodded firmly at his elder brother.
[Lightscreen]
[Liao Li had a habit of being arrogant, but his criticism here was quite fair. Fact is, Liu Bei never fought a 'wealthy' war in his life. As the Zhao-lie Emperor, he was resilient in adversity and brilliant with small-unit tactics during the Hanzhong campaign.
But once he got 'rich'? He spent the Xiang River campaign tracking his 'WeChat steps' with thirty thousand men. And Yiling... well, we'll get to that.
In this moment of crisis, similar to the Dangyang Bridge, Zhang Fei stood up once more. As the Administrator of Ba Comandery, Zhang Fei led ten thousand men to intercept Zhang He at Dangqu.]
Zhang Fei stared at the Light Screen, unease written all over his face.
Guan Yu noticed and reached out, patting his shoulder.
Third Brother, you are a peerless general of this age! The Military Advisor's goal of connecting Jing and Yi must be achieved by you in this battle!"
"Erecting the stele and carving the inscription. The fame of Zhang Fei of Zhuo Commandery shall be passed down for a thousand years!"
[Lightscreen]
[The exact troop numbers on both sides were not recorded, but given Liao Li's claim that a single campaign nearly cost an entire province, and that the two sides remained locked in stalemate for over fifty days without Zhang He relying on mountain defenses, it suggests their forces were not vastly unequal.
But, the stalemate was broken by Zhang Fei's strategy. After carefully surveying the terrain, he chose Wako Pass as the decisive battlefield.
The terrain there was narrow and treacherous. Zhang Fei lured Zhang He into this position, then unleashed ambush forces simultaneously, using the terrain to sever Zhang He's army and cut communication between the front and rear.
In a single battle he shattered the enemy. To escape, Zhang He was forced to abandon his horse and climb over the mountains with only a dozen guards to escape.
Thus Ba Commandery was pacified.
After defeating Zhang He, Zhang Fei did something elegant, carving an inscription on the cliff at Bameng Mountain:
"General of Han, Zhang Fei, leading ten thousand elite troops, has greatly defeated the bandit chief Zhang He at Bameng. Inscribed upon halting the horse."
This act also served to intimidate the local Cong tribes who leaned toward Cao Cao, thoroughly stabilizing Ba Commandery. The crisis of Yi Province was resolved, and stability was restored both internally and externally.]