"Third brother!"
At this moment, Guan Yu did not hold back his praise in the slightest. His hand came down heavily on Zhang Fei's shoulder, patting with such force that Yide bared his teeth in pain.
"Third brother, you defeated Zhang He in a single battle, and not just a minor victory, but a crushing defeat that shattered his main force. One of Wei's Five Elite Generals, beaten by your hand!"
Wei Yan stared, stunned: Is this truly the same General Guan who is known for his sternness and hidden emotions?
Zhang Fei did not respond immediately. His gaze remained fixed upon the Light Screen, where the image labeled "Bameng Mountain Inscription" was displayed.
He studied every single character carefully, as if engraving them directly into his heart.
After a long breath, the tension in his expression dissolved, and his usual easy grin returned.
"Second brother, I did not even take Zhang He's head. How can this count as a great victory? Compared to your might shaking all under Heaven, it is far from enough."
For a moment, the entire hall burst into laughter, and the atmosphere grew lively once more.
"Yide has saved me," Liu Bei said with a soft laugh. "From this, it seems that what this Liao Li said is not without reason. When Yi Province had just been secured, I should have either temporarily abandoned Hanzhong to stabilize the four commanderies of Jing Province, or ceded three commanderies of Jing in exchange for striking at Hanzhong."
"In the end, the three commanderies were given away, yet Hanzhong was not taken. A situation where both ends came up empty, wasting soldiers in vain."
"My lord, why blame yourself so harshly?" Pang Tong immediately objected, clearly dissatisfied.
"Liao Li's words are like judging the mistakes of a previous cart while riding in a later one. How unfair is that?"
Liu Bei smiled and gently soothed him, then turned to Zhang Fei and said,
"Yide's bravery is evident to all."
"Even with this inscription alone, your name will pass down to later generations. But you should also follow the example of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, cherishing soldiers and rewarding and punishing with clarity."
Zhang Fei looked serious. "This inscription... the prose isn't great, and the location isn't ideal. Looking at it now, defeating a rebel like Cao isn't much to brag about."
Jiang Wan laughed. "Does the Third General wish to emulate the Marquis of Champion, Huo Qubing then?"
Before Zhang Fei could answer, the Light Screen happened to shift to that very topic.
[Lightscreen]
[Let us expand a bit here. 'Lemo' Inscribing merit upon stone was a method by which ancient generals boasted of their achievements.
The Han Dynasty had the highest achievements: Sealing the Wolves at Mount Juxu, Zen at Mount Guyan, drinking horses at the Gobi Sea, and Inscribing the Stone at Mount Yanran.]
Zhang Fei pointed at the screen and recited with gusto,
"Brave riders surged forth, advancing in six great drives, returning west to the great river, subduing the Qilian regions. The Marquis of Champion, Huo Qubing achievements are worthy of praise. Truly a great man!"
"Well said, Yide." Guan Yu nodded in satisfaction.
"It seems later generations place great importance on expanding territory and annihilating foreign tribes," Liu Bei observed.
"That may not be entirely a good thing…" Kongming remained clear-minded. "The Marquis of Champion, Huo Qubing was a man beyond mortal measure. Later generations praise such feats perhaps because none could surpass them."
Liu Bei fell silent.
He suddenly recalled the repeated mentions by the Light Screen of the chaos of the Five Barbarians, and that dynasty where both army and people perished together, the Song.
Zhao Yun, meanwhile, remembered the later tale of his own "Horse-Washing Pool," If the barbarians reached Chengdu, does that mean the North was completely lost?
"Dou Xian wielded power arrogantly, yet he also destroyed the Xiongnu. It seems later generations judge merit and fault quite clearly," Pang Tong concluded.
Yet in his heart, there was a faint ache.
He looked at Kongming's calm expression, as if such matters were nothing unusual. He looked at his lord's composed demeanor, as though he had long accepted such truths.
Before joining Liu Bei, Pang Tong had relied upon his strategy for taking Yi Province as his bargaining chip. Yet he had not expected that his lord's ambition already stretched across all under Heaven.
Pang Tong, Pang Tong. You must not fall behind others.
Tonight, he resolved, he would stay up and thoroughly copy and study every word from the Light Screen.
[Lightscreen]
[The Great Tang Dynasty, however, says: What's so hard about that? They directly incorporated these lands into the map. At its peak, their northern border reached near the Arctic Circle]
The entire hall was instantly shaken as if struck by thunder.
"They actually incorporated the Gobi Sea into their territory?"
"Their domain surpasses even our Han?"
"The Marquis of Champion, Huo Qubing marched three thousand li beyond the frontier to reach the Gobi Sea," Pang Tong calculated without hesitation.
"From Chang'an to the Gobi Sea is over five thousand li. Would this Tang not have a northern frontier spanning ten thousand li?"
For a time, no one could even find words.
Zhao Yun spoke quietly, "With such vast territory, would that not mean the northern tribes were entirely wiped out?"
"More likely they were merely controlled through loose governance," Kongming said. "If they had been completely eradicated, what troubles would later generations face?"
[Lightscreen]
[By the time of the Song, all of this was lost. They could only listen to Fan Zhongyan's poem:
A cup of turbid wine, ten thousand li from home, Yanran yet uninscribed, there is no way to return.
And in Xin Qiji's verse:
In the Yuanjia era, rashly sealing Wolves at Mount Juxu, gaining only a hurried glance north in regret.
Throughout the Song dynasty, passionate patriots held the highest expectations for military achievement, yet what they received was always disappointment.]
"Wait a moment," Ma Liang said, pen still in hand from copying, his memory sharp for unfamiliar names.
"Did not that Song have a General Yue who was determined to carry out the Northern Campaign?"
"Perhaps… he was held back by that Wanyan Gou?" someone offered, a rather reasonable guess.
The earlier remark at the Marquis Wu Shrine about "sending heads for nothing" had left a deep impression on them.
Liu Bei, however, recalled it clearly.
"No. The Light Screen said that General Yue fought the Northern Campaign against the Jin, but in the end the Song was destroyed by the Mongols."
"Not a single foreign enemy, but multiple great foes."
"In such a predicament?" The group immediately felt a trace of sympathy.
Was that not even worse than their current situation? At least Wu, unreliable as they might be, still counted as an ally in name.
But that Song had faced enemies on multiple fronts. It must have been destroyed by combined assaults of foreign tribes.
[Lightscreen]
[In 2017, Mongolia announced the discovery of a cliff inscription.
It was verified to be Ban Gu's "Inscription of Mount Yanran," and the characters remain clearly legible to this day.
This thousand-year-old inscription stands as the best testament to how the Han once marched three thousand li beyond the frontier, spreading their prestige to Lake Uvs.
To inscribe one's achievements for later generations is indeed the highest honor for a general.]
The news made everyone's eyes widen:
Mongolia!
"The Mongols not only built a country but it lasted until the future?"
"And the Yanran inscription lies within its borders. Could it be that these Mongols are descendants of the Xiongnu?" Ma Liang voiced a perfectly logical guess.
"Though Tang's territory was vast, it could not completely eliminate those who would not submit," Liu Bei muttered.
Perhaps it was because their situations seemed somewhat similar, or perhaps because that Song also had a General Yue.
Liu Bei felt a certain affinity for the Song. If Tang had truly eradicated all foreign tribes and seized their lands, how could such disasters have occurred later?
"Even the inscription of Ban Gu has become the possession of another land…" Zhao Yun shook his head, feeling deeply unsettled.
"Then we shall inscribe Yanran once more," Guan Yu said slowly, his eyes shining with brilliance.
"If the Tang of later generations could become a realm of ten thousand frontiers…"
"We have the auspicious Light Screen, brothers united in heart, and two great strategists. Why should we not achieve a realm of ten thousand frontiers?"
It made perfect sense.
At once, everyone felt the burden on their shoulders grow heavier by a measure.
Yet this weight did not feel oppressive. Instead, it carried a sense of purpose.
If they truly achieved such greatness, how would later generations praise them?
The mere thought made their blood stir with anticipation.
[Lightscreen]
[Ahem… we have wandered off again. Let us return to Yiling.]
Ah?
This time, everyone felt a trace of dissatisfaction.
"What is there to say about Yiling?" Zhang Fei, fully energized again, immediately started talking.
"Everyone already knows it is the defeat at Yiling. What is there to discuss? Might as well talk more about this Mongolia and those vast frontiers."
Liu Bei looked at his third brother with gentle affection.
In his mind, however, he was already considering whether he should write him a piece of calligraphy.
Perhaps something along the lines of "impetuous yet lacking restraint."
[Lightscreen]
[After Zhang Fei's prestige shook Ba Commandery, the first issue for launching the Yiling campaign was resolved: internal and external stability.
The territorial problem was settled, but Yi Province at the time faced another bitter fruit created by Liu Bei's own hand: They were extremely short of money.]
Note:
The "Inscription of Mount Yanran" was a real-life archaeological discovery in 2017 in Mongolia, marking the victory of the Han General Dou Xian over the Xiongnu in 89 AD.