"Cao Cao certainly never ran short of amazing talents serving under him," Zhuge Liang said, shaking his head with honest envy plain on his face.
Liu Bei's mind drifted off, and he suddenly thought of the man who had first recommended Zhuge Liang to him.
"I wonder how Yuanzhi is doing these days."
Pang Tong lowered his voice a little.
"If I remember correctly, Guangyuan also went over to Cao Cao's camp together with Yuanzhi, right?"
Shi Tao went by the courtesy name Guangyuan. Back in Jingzhou, he had often kept company with Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, and was also a close friend of Xu Shu.
"Guangyuan is a man of real integrity." Zhuge Liang's expression dimmed a little as he thought of his old friend.
But he pulled himself together quickly and kept speaking.
"Their abilities are no worse than Liu Ziyang's. In Xuchang, they should be receiving proper recognition."
Jian Yong suddenly cut in with a loud snort.
"That might not actually be how things stand."
"When I traveled through Yongzhou and Liangzhou, I met an envoy of Cao Cao coming out from Xuchang. Pretending I only wanted news about old acquaintances, I asked carefully about Yuanzhi."
"That man spoke with nothing but plain disdain. He said both Yuanzhi and Shi Tao were only low-ranked Court Gentlemen and Attendant Officials. Their reputation was far bigger than what they could actually deliver."
Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong exchanged one quick look.
They knew their old friends' true capabilities better than anyone alive. That single glance said everything. Neither spoke another word, but deep down both had already made up their minds.
[Lightscreen]
[At this point, it was hard to tell if Cao Pi was genuinely dim-witted or just putting on an act. He responded to the strategic advice with a tone of self-righteous indignation:
The man has already surrendered, yet you want me to attack him? Are you trying to ruin my reputation? Why should I not just help Sun Quan fight Liu Bei instead?
You can almost picture Liu Ye suppressing the urge to kick Cao Pi in the head as he patiently explained:
Yizhou lies far behind natural defenses. If we send troops there, Liu Bei will simply withdraw. What can we achieve?
Right now, Liu Bei has lost his mind in his quest for revenge. If we strike at the Jiangdong region, Liu Bei will definitely jump in to twist the knife alongside us rather than help Sun Quan defend. This is the ultimate opportunity!
The reasoning was solid, the prospects bright.
But unfortunately, the Emperor did not listen.
Instead, he enfeoffed Sun Quan as King of Wu.
Liu Ye still wanted to accomplish something, so he stepped forward once more in opposition.
If you grant him the title of King of Wu, then the people of Jiangdong will naturally become his rightful subjects. When we later attack, we will lose the moral justification.
It would be better to grant him only a general's title. Then, when he inevitably oversteps proper ritual bounds, we can campaign against him with full legitimacy and crush him completely.
The advice was brilliant, but once again, the Emperor did not listen. There was nothing left to be done.]
"Hahahaha!"
Zhang Fei burst into loud laughter.
"So Cao Cao actually managed to produce a Song Xianggong?"
Liu Bei suppressed his lingering thoughts about Xu Shu for the moment, intending to discuss the matter with Zhuge Liang later that night.
Hearing Zhang Fei's remark, he shook his head.
"Song Xianggong may have been stubbornly foolish, but he still upheld a sense of righteousness."
"Cao Pi is merely obsessed with empty reputation."
Even Pang Tong could not help but feel a trace of sympathy.
"He refuses wise counsel and insists on acting arbitrarily. A stubborn and self-willed man."
"A ruler like this turns Liu Ziyang's talent into a joke for the ages."
Only then did everyone fully understand why the Lightscreen had said Liu Ye became famous precisely because his strategies were never adopted.
Jian Yong chuckled.
"After Hanzhong, Liu Ziyang likely concluded that Cao Cao was not a wise lord. So under Cao Pi, he exerted himself even more."
"If he could help Cao Wei unify the realm, he might yet have become a celebrated minister through the ages."
Zhang Fei immediately chimed in.
"And who would have thought, this Cao Pi really is Cao Cao's son through and through." The hall erupted in laughter.
[Lightscreen]
[The reason history views the Battle of Yiling as Liu Bei gambling with destiny is that he was essentially dragging Sun Wu into a mutual destruction pact to lure Cao Wei into the fray.
If Cao Wei had struck, Sun Wu would have been trapped between two fires, unable to hold their ground.
In Liu Bei's script, Sun Quan would have been forced to bow his head and beg for peace once more just to survive. With Cao Wei's armies pressing down on Jiangdong, the very survival of Sun Wu would have depended on Liu Bei's choice.
This was a play it by ear script, riddled with uncertainties. Liu Ye understood the gamble, which is why his advice was to strike straight at Jiangling. Taking Jiangling would prevent Liu Bei from snatching up Jiangdong territory in the chaos and provide a springboard to stab into the heart of the South.
Liu Ye's plan was highly executable. If Cao Pi had taken it, the era of the Three Kingdoms would likely have ended decades earlier.
Liu Bei's plan was a grand gamble at the end of his life because, by this point, Cao Wei had already usurped the throne. The two sides were like fire and water. Cao Wei would not help Shu Han gain ground, nor would they do their work for them. Even if Sun Wu had been destroyed, it would have been harder for Shu Han to stand against Wei alone.
But Liu Bei never could have imagined that Cao Cao's successor would be... like this.
This entire gamble was essentially Liu Bei throwing seductive glances at a blind man.
This also answers the previous question: What was Liu Bei waiting for during those six months of stalemate?
He was buying as much time as possible for Cao Wei to move. But Lu Xun's precision strike ended the Battle of Yiling prematurely, cutting off all of Liu Bei's hopes.]
"This plan was far too reckless!" Zhuge Liang said, shaking his head in disapproval.
"But it was the only plan left to restore the Han!" Pang Tong countered sharply.
Zhuge Liang shot him a sidelong glance. Huh. Contradicting me again, are we? Let us see what you have to say.
"Pray, Shiyuan, enlighten us!"
Pang Tong remained completely unfazed.
"Jiangling's twin cities were forged into an impregnable stronghold by Yunchang. Even advancing from Yiling, capturing it would not be easy."
Guan Yu stroked his beard, though his thoughts drifted to Mi Fang. Without that betrayal, things might have been very different.
Pang Tong continued without pause.
"When Cao Cao held Jiangling, Sun Quan said nothing. But the moment Yunchang held it, he suddenly claimed it was Jiangdong's lifeline. As if the betrayal at Xiangyang-Fancheng was some tragic necessity. Utterly shameless!"
"Why did Sun Quan not go tell Cao Cao that Hefei was Jiangdong's gateway and ask him to hand it over? He simply stabbed an ally in the back."
"The roads in Yizhou are a nightmare. Mobilizing troops is painfully slow. For our lord, Jiangling is the key to sending Yizhou's wealth downstream to Jingzhou. It is the vital organ for restoring the Han."
"Now that Jiangdong has seized both cities through betrayal, Yizhou will never be able to take them back by force. Better to draw Cao Wei into the fight and grab Jiangling amid the chaos."
"Otherwise, even if we retake Guanzhong, Jiangdong will always hold Jiangling like a knife at our throat. The moment Cao Wei weakens, Sun Wu will turn on us again to keep Shu Han in check."
"With Jiangling, Yizhou lives. Without it, Yizhou slowly dies."
Zhuge Liang frowned and thought for a long moment before finally speaking.
"That is like trying to steal meat from a tiger's jaws."
Pang Tong let out a soft scoff.
"Look at the map on the Lightscreen. Jiangling is the lifeline of Yizhou. Kongming, with your ability, how could you not see this during Yiling?"
"You were so focused on restoring the Han that you could not bear to lose an ally. But Sun Quan is cunning and fickle. He will betray us eventually. If betrayal is certain either way, then we should seize his lifeline first and force him to hesitate out of fear."
Zhuge Liang said nothing.
Of course he understood. But he also knew that one state alone could not crush Cao Cao.
Did I really give Jiangdong too much room? Was I too lenient with them?
A seed of doubt finally took root in his mind.
"And according to this Lightscreen, once Sun Quan wins at Yiling, he will never honor his submission."
Pang Tong pointed at the screen, utterly confident.
[Lightscreen]
[After the Battle of Yiling, Cao Pi polished his jade crown tassels and had his imperial robes newly embroidered, preparing to receive Sun Quan's promised submission.
At that moment, Cao Pi was like a young village boy about to marry the most beautiful girl in ten counties, filled with excitement and nervous anticipation.
This was something even his father had never accomplished.
I, Cao Pi, am no less than Cao Cao. I will bring glory to the Cao clan!
But the pitiful Cao Pi was completely toyed with in Sun Quan's hands.
After his great victory at Yiling, Sun Quan simply used the letter of submission as toilet paper.
The court had already celebrated, Liu Ye had already advised, and the atmosphere had been fully built up.
And now, Sun Quan refused to play along.
Cao Pi could no longer maintain his composure. Like a pure-hearted boy who had been toyed with and then dumped by a manipulative courtesan. The promise was gone, the beautiful honeymoon nothing but a dream. His face burned with humiliation and rage.
Mobilize the army! Mobilize the army!
He would make Sun Quan pay for his fickle betrayal.]