"Chicken ribs… what exactly can you figure out from that?" Zhang Fei scratched his head. He had read books before, but this one clearly exceeded his current operating system.
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment, half guessing, half analyzing, "Chicken ribs… little meat, lots of bone. Not hard to chew, yet hardly satisfying. Tasteless to eat, wasteful to discard?"
Zhang Fei froze, then stared at him in disbelief. "Wait, Military Advisor, you barely even eat chicken, how do you know this much?"
He immediately waved his hand with authority. "Listen, I'll teach you properly. Chicken ribs fried in hot oil with minced ginger and garlic, paired with wine, that's peak enjoyment. How is that tasteless?"
Zhuge Liang closed his eyes.
This man… completely missed the point.
Jian Yong, however, caught onto something else. "Yang Dezu of the Hongnong Yang clan? His father Yang Biao served as Grand Commandant and was loyal to the Han. Yet he got involved in a succession struggle…"
He could not make sense of it. If one was loyal to the Han, why wade into Cao Cao's internal politics? And if one intended to serve Cao Wei, why choose such a dangerous path?
Everyone sighed for the fate of that great clan. With Cao Cao growing ever stronger, soon to receive the Nine Bestowments and become King of Wei, and his son destined to usurp the Han, those still clinging to Han loyalty in Xu capital would only find their days growing darker.
Meanwhile, Liu Bei was completely absorbed in a different line.
"Qualified to contend for the realm."
His heart surged.
At last, Liu Xuande had reached that step. To restore the Han's glory. A duty he could not refuse.
So what if he once wove mats and sold shoes? He could still rise to claim the world. He could still…
"Elder Brother, what does it mean that the chance to unify was destroyed by your own kin?"
Zhang Fei's question hit like a bucket of cold water.
Liu Bei froze.
His gaze slowly swept across everyone present.
The light screen had already hinted at Sun Quan's betrayal, at Liu Feng refusing to rescue Guan Yu, leading to his death. But now it suggested there were others involved.
Others?
What other kin did he even have?
His eyes briefly landed on Mi Zhu, then immediately moved away.
Impossible.
If Mi Zizhong betrayed him, it would be no different from Sun Quan killing Zhang Zhao and severing his own arm.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
After scanning the room and finding no answer, Liu Bei let out a long sigh toward the heavens.
Liu Feng caused the death of his second brother.
Liu Shan… could not even preserve the ancestral temple.
Raising children… why was it this difficult?
Sun Qian quietly tugged at Liu Bei's sleeve and gave him an encouraging look.
My lord, there is still time.
[Lightscreen]
[Now that the main course is done, let's talk about the rest. Although the Hanzhong Campaign was a major victory for Liu Bei, it is a bit unfortunate that only Xiahou Yuan was killed.
Cao Cao's retreat was partly due to Zhao Yun going full berserk mode and making grain transport extremely difficult.
Another reason was Guan Yu advancing, effectively putting a blade to Cao Cao's throat.
Cao Cao probably recalled the painful lessons from Yan Province and decided to abandon Hanzhong and rush back to defend his base.
So if we are assigning credit, the top merit actually belongs to Guan Yu!]
Everyone froze.
Wait.
That counts too?
Huang Zhong stood there, slightly dazed.
He had risked his old bones to personally slay the enemy general… and now he was not even first? Not even second? Possibly third?
Zhang Fei's eyes lit up immediately.
"If that's how it works, then when Second Brother pressures Xiangfan from afar, it counts as support, right? Then me, holding Wu Commandery with remnants and keeping Cao Cao's army tied down, that should count too, right?"
Everyone silently stared at him.
So when you get beaten back, you call it "holding with remnants," but never "defeated general," huh?
[Lightscreen]
[There is also a hidden contributor to the Hanzhong Campaign, and that is Zhuge Liang in charge of logistics.
Let's break it down. The campaign lasted over two years. Just moving through Jinniu Road took half a year. Then Liu Bei went wild and ran off to Mount Dingjun.
So Zhuge Liang had to supply Gao Xiang through Jinniu Road, open a new supply line through Micang Road for Mount Dingjun, and also send provisions to Zhang Fei and Ma Chao fighting in Wudu.
Just thinking about this logistical pressure is enough to cause a headache, yet the Chancellor managed to hold it all together.
In fact, Shu Han logistics under Zhuge Liang was always solid. According to Records of the Three Kingdoms, he even invented the wooden ox and flowing horse during the Northern Expeditions.
For over a thousand years, legends about these devices spread everywhere. Ancient people believed in supernatural forces and thought Zhuge Liang used magic, claiming the devices could move on their own without human effort, which is frankly ridiculous.]
Liu Bei turned toward Zhuge Liang with shining eyes.
Zhuge Liang immediately waved both hands.
"No, no, absolutely not. No magic."
Still, inwardly, he felt a strange sense of resonance with the light screen.
Logistics really is exhausting.
In fact, while listening earlier, he had already been mentally calculating how to manage supply lines… only to realize it was indeed his responsibility.
At this moment, Zhuge Liang felt a faint sense of emotional damage.
[Lightscreen]
[In reality, the wooden ox and flowing horse are just variations of wheelbarrows. Modern museums in Sichuan and Hunan even have reconstructions. Feel free to check them out.
They definitely do not move on their own. Otherwise, we would have solved the eternal problem of perpetual motion machines.]
Images appeared on the light screen.
Zhuge Liang instantly began sketching them down at high speed.
Copying my future self does not count as copying.
[Lightscreen]
[Shu's logistics actually resemble the Huaihai Campaign during the founding era.
Marshal Chen once said emotionally: the victory of the Huaihai Campaign was pushed forward by the people using wheelbarrows.
And this has always been true throughout history. As the Internationale says, there is no savior, no divine emperor. Human happiness can only be created by our own hands.
Whether it is Shu Han logistics or modern warfare, there is one common truth.
Glory belongs to the working people!]
Silence.
Complete silence.
The hall fell so quiet that even a dropped needle would sound like thunder.
The phrase struck them like a great bell shattering directly inside their minds.
Working people.
Zhao Yun looked slightly lost. "They… have no emperor? But earlier it said their founding ancestor evaluated me…"
"Perhaps it is merely a title," Zhuge Liang said slowly, his gaze distant. "The light screen has shown us lands beyond Kunlun, beyond Lingnan, east of Fusang, north of the grasslands. Countless nations, countless customs. It is not impossible that some lands have no emperor. Perhaps later generations learned from such systems."
But in his heart, he firmly engraved those two words.
Working people.
As someone managing logistics, he understood this better than anyone. Every piece of food, every garment, every supply came from those silent commoners.
Yet just like the Yellow Turban Rebellion, when pushed too far, they could erupt like a collapsing mountain and roaring sea.
Just like his lord.
Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei, who stood there deep in thought.
Did he follow Liu Bei because of his title as Imperial Uncle? Because of his rank as Left General of the Han?
No.
It was because among all warlords, Liu Bei treated the common people as people.
Cao Cao massacred cities without restraint. He allowed Cheng Yu to use human flesh as military rations without intervention.
In Jiangdong, great clans monopolized land, leaving the commoners with nowhere to stand. Sun Ce was a hero, yes… but his younger brother…
Perhaps it was better to return to discussing how ten thousand troops became the stage for the God of War of Xiaoyaojin.
Fun fact:
The word "people" first appeared in the Book of Songs (Daya · Yi), as a loyal minister's remonstration to a tyrant king.
The ancients probably never imagined
Two thousand years later, the king would be gone.
And only the people would remain.