As the Light Screen gradually dimmed, a torrent of text descended upon Liu Bei and those around him like an unending storm.
By now, everyone was already familiar with the routine.
Kongming did not waste even a moment. He immediately pulled Pang Tong over to serve as his second scribe, and the two men's brushes began to fly across the parchment, racing to capture the chaotic flood of thoughts from the future.
[Server Chat Log]
[V0id_Stalker: A heavy sigh for the Emperor Zhaolie. Losing a city or a province is a setback that can be recovered from, but losing the very limbs of one's brotherhood... when will such brothers ever meet again? A king is supposed to be cold, calculating, and heartless, yet the Emperor Zhaolie simply could not bring himself to be that kind of man.
Nitro_Trigger: Huang Quan surrendered to Wei out of bitter necessity, while Fu Rong fought to the death to cover the retreat. When Shu Han finally fell decades later, both of their sons chose to die for the state in the same way. Perhaps that was the true lingering echo of Yiling.
Null_Vector: Zhang Nan, Feng Xi, Ma Liang, Shamoke, Fu Rong, Zhao Rong, Cheng Ji, all dead on the battlefield. Huang Quan, Shi He, and Pang Lin forced to yield to Cao. Du Lu and Liu Ning surrendered to Wu. Twelve named generals gone in a single stroke.
Static_Wraith: Speaking of Huang Quan, that reminds me of Cao Pi again. Appointing Huang Quan as the "General Who Guards the South"? Seriously? What a petty move, deliberately rubbing salt into the wound.
And it did not stop there. After Huang Quan surrendered, rumors spread that Liu Bei had executed his entire family.
Cao Pi ordered Huang Quan to hold funeral rites for them. Huang Quan refused outright and said only this: "I believe Lord Xuande is not that kind of man."
That, right there, is the very height of the ancient bond between lord and minister. Only the virtuous and the wise can truly command the hearts of men.
Apex_Shift: Liu Bei spent his entire life fighting without ever betraying the word 'benevolence.' Before his death, he told Liu Shan: "Your father's virtue was thin; do not follow my example." Meanwhile, Cao Cao, who spent his life massacring cities and executing surrendered foes, said upon his deathbed: "I have followed my will, and my heart bears no regrets." Both men lived as the absolute pinnacle versions of themselves. As for Sun Quan... let us skip him.
Cipher_Blade: The fire of Shu Han first flickered at Maicheng, nearly went out at Yongan, and was finally extinguished at Wuzhang Plains. Jiang Wei of Tianshui carried the torch of Longzhong, trying to rekindle that dying flame, but in the end, he fell just short of the finish line. How tragic.
Viper_Protocol: In life, lord and minister respected one another; in death, they remained companions. There is no need to grieve too deeply. Both Liu Xuande and Zhuge Kongming did all they could in their respective roles.
V0id_Stalker: One entrusted him with mountains and rivers; the other gave his life until his heart ceased beating. The glory of Shu-Han shines brightest here. "The river flows, the stones do not turn, eternal regret for failing to swallow Wu." The poet Du Fu truly loved the Zhuge Liang.
Ping Warrior: "Broken but unyielding, never willing to bow beneath another." That is the finest summary of the Liu Bei.
Wind Hit The Tree: "The river flows, yet the stones do not turn; a lingering regret for failing to swallow Wu." Du Fu truly had a deep admiration for the Zhuge Liang. Personally, I think Xin Qiji described him best: "A man's heart remains iron until death. Watch me try to mend the cracks in the sky."
March If Get Paid: Watching these records, one might think Cao Pi was a child who never truly grew up. I checked the dates: Cao Pi was born in 187, Sun Quan in 182. Sun Quan was only five years older, yet he played Cao Pi like a fiddle. Sun Quan, I officially take back all the trash talk.
Ant Under Grass: Cao Pi's character arc: smirking while watching the drama unfold, blushing like a bride-to-be, throwing a tantrum, and finally getting slapped in the face by reality. To be fair, he was a decent poet and a man with refined tastes for food, but as an Emperor? He was largely carried by Sima Yi and Jia Xu.
Wifi Warrior: Looking back, Sun Quan was practically improvising the entire time. If Cao Cao had not died so early, if Cao Pi had possessed better judgment, if Lu Xun had not secured a perfect victory, or if Jiangling had not been fortified so well, Wu would have been finished. Sun Quan's luck was truly legendary. That is the beauty of history, is it not? Its sheer unpredictability.
Li Shimin: "It took seven years to pacify the realm. Only the Emperor Guangwu can stand shoulder to shoulder with me."]
The officials in the hall could not help but feel a wave of sympathy for the ministers of Wei.
Liu Ye, Jia Xu, Xin Pi.
All were men of extraordinary talent and lofty ambition.
Their strategies were sound, their vision sharp as an eagle's gaze, and yet Liu Ye died maddened by neglect, Jia Xu's final masterstroke was cast aside into dust, and even Xin Pi's desperate remonstrations could not bend the whim of a stubborn ruler.
To force a hundred thousand households to relocate hundreds of miles during a locust plague, when they did not even possess enough grain to survive...
That was not disaster relief.
That was cruelty imposed by the state itself.
"What crime did the common people commit to deserve this?" Guan Yu's voice rumbled with growing anger. "To suffer Heaven's wrath, only to be crushed beneath the folly of men."
He could tolerate incompetence.
But such disregard for human life was beneath the dignity of a sovereign.
"Big Brother, when we march on Jiangdong, you must give me the vanguard!" Zhang Fei shouted. "I have to avenge you!"
The words sounded slightly strange to Liu Bei's ears, given that he currently felt quite healthy.
While the generals were stirred into righteous fury, the civil officials continued to transcribe the Light Screen's words.
Jiang Wan, who had been copying the text with great care, paused thoughtfully.
"The Light Screen mentioned earlier that after Lei Xu led his people to join us, Cao Cao relocated the entire population of the Jianghuai region, forcing a hundred thousand households to flee to Jiangdong. With his father's failure as a warning, how could Cao Pi repeat the same mistake?"
Ma Liang, whose expression had darkened while copying the list of the dead, including his own name, replied distractedly,
"Wei controls most of the realm. They likely believe they can afford recklessness. Besides, this Cao Pi died young. I imagine the later ruler, Cao Rui, will not be so flighty."
Kongming, who had always held men of integrity in high regard, let out a soft sigh for Huang Quan.
"To offer the plan that won Hanzhong, and even after being forced to surrender, still trust in our lord's character... he did not fail Lord Xuande. Only the tragedy of Yiling failed him."
Pang Tong's eyes lingered on the phrases Wuzhang Plains, Final Testament, and Northern Expeditions.
He was already piecing together the grim trajectory of the original timeline.
The teaser for the next Light Screen segment made it obvious.
Kongming would be the one to pull the state back from the brink.
No wonder later generations revered him so deeply.
"Kongming..." Pang Tong began softly.
For once, his voice carried none of its usual sharpness.
He had wanted to ask whether, this time, he might help shoulder that burden.
But before he could continue, Zhang Fei's thunderous voice shattered the moment.
"Military Advisor, move aside! Clear some space!"
Everyone turned.
Zhang Fei and Chen Dao were hauling an enormous wooden crate into the middle of the hall.
The Third Brother looked like a man who had just won the greatest prize in the world.
"When I went out to meet Master Jian, I happened upon a den of White Bears on the cliffs northwest of Linju!" Zhang Fei announced, grinning from ear to ear.
Kongming immediately felt a chill run down his spine.
Almost instinctively, he stepped in front of Huang Yueying.
"Are you telling me," he said slowly, "that there is a White Bear inside that crate?"
Zhang Fei laughed with complete confidence.
"The future generations clearly adore these creatures. Military Advisor, just look at this gift! Those future White Bears looked as if they could barely fight their way out of a paper bag, but the one I caught? It took two elite soldiers just to help pin it down! The people of the future are definitely going to love this!"
Kongming had an extremely bad feeling about this.
Before he could stop him, the "gift" had clearly decided it had tolerated enough.
ROAR!!!
The beast inside was anything but some harmless mascot.
With a violent surge of wild strength, the wooden crate exploded into splinters.
A massive black-and-white shadow shot across the hall.
The White Bear clearly sensed that the room was full of dangerous warriors.
It did not linger for even a moment.
It brushed past a startled Zhang Fei, smashed straight through the plaster wall of the side hall as though it were paper, and bolted toward the distant mountain forests without a single glance back.
"Zilong will subdue the beast before it can harm the civilians!"
Zhao Yun was already halfway out the door before his words had fully landed.
"Hey! I caught that thing! I'm coming too!"
Zhang Fei roared as he charged after him.
The remaining officials stood in stunned silence within the now half-ruined hall, all staring at the bear-shaped hole left in the wall.
The Third General truly was an endless source of surprises.
Kongming slowly closed his eyes, his feather fan moving faster than usual.
"Yide nearly turned our headquarters into a feast for a wild beast."
Jian Yong, ever the peacemaker, crouched beside the shattered remains of the crate.
Then his hand paused.
"Well," he said lightly, "it was not a total loss."
From the wreckage, he carefully lifted a tiny fuzzy bundle that had been left behind.
It was a round, squeaking White Bear cub.
The moment it appeared, the tension in the room finally broke.
Even Liu Bei could not help the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.