"Marquis Sun seems to have no idea how badly Zhou Gongjin is suffering."
Liu Bei had just gotten back from Dantu and looked completely worn out. These past few days had been far too much for him.
First he hosted the New Year celebrations, then rushed straight to Dantu to meet with Sun Quan and marry Lady Sun. All that traveling back and forth was no small thing. Even a seasoned man like Liu Bei could feel every bit of it.
Even though he already knew the outcome, Zhuge Liang still asked, "My lord, how did the negotiations go?"
A faint smile appeared on Liu Bei's face before turning into a sigh.
"I got the authority to oversee Jingzhou, but Zhou Gongjin is still camped out in Jiangling, supposedly recovering from his injuries."
Kongming's expression said he understood every bit of it.
Lu Su had truly proven himself reliable. He had successfully persuaded Marquis Sun to let Liu Bei take charge of Jingzhou and administer Nan Commandery.
But there was one big problem. Nan Commandery had been won through the efforts of both sides. Yet Zhou Yu was currently holding Jiangling and simply would not move.
Liu Bei felt a strange mix of delight and frustration, so tangled he could barely put it into words.
Kongming saw the whole picture clearly. Zhou Yu thought that by standing his ground and refusing to yield, he might still change Sun Quan's mind. But his days were already numbered.
The moment Zhou Yu died was the moment Nan Commandery truly became theirs. And right then, Pang Tong, the one called Fengchu, along with all the great local families of the commandery, would surely come and pledge their loyalty too.
"Big brother, our sister-in-law's troops have already moved into Chanling!" Zhang Fei reported, clearly fuming.
He had every right to be angry. Even though he had been given a heads-up about Lady Sun's arrogant nature, the dowry cavalry sent by Marquis Sun still caused a massive ruckus while riding through Gong'an.
Lady Sun herself was surrounded by a squad of armed female riders, making it impossible for regular folks to get anywhere near her.
"Did she come here to get married, or did Marquis Sun send her here to be our boss?" Zhang Fei grumbled.
The others wore complicated expressions, while Liu Bei just looked incredibly awkward.
Fortunately, his second brother arrived right on cue.
"Big brother!"
Guan Yu walked in radiating a murderous aura, the hem of his robes stained with fresh blood.
"Two of our sister-in-law's riders trampled good farmland and spoke arrogantly, refusing to accept the law. I, Yunchang, have beheaded them and come to request punishment!"
Liu Bei was completely stunned. He glanced at his perfectly calm strategist, then at his imposing second brother, and a realization immediately clicked in his mind.
Before he could even react, Ma Su jogged in to report.
"My lord, Lady Sun's riders have left Chanling and are marching toward Gong'an. They are demanding that the person who killed the Jiangdong riders come out and tie himself up to apologize!"
Liu Bei was starting to feel numb, but in the middle of all this chaos, his mind became clearer than ever. No matter how messy things got, could it really be worse than the days he spent running for his life?
Besides, after having his horizons broadened by the light screen, the Liu Bei of the past might have chosen to play it safe, but now...
Opening his eyes, a cold light flickered in his gaze.
"Zilong!"
"Your general is here!"
"Take your personal cavalry and suppress them. Issue two warnings. Anyone who dares to resist is to be slain on the spot!"
"Zilong obeys!"
"Yunchang! Lead your men to seal off the river immediately. Anyone crossing without a written order is to be executed!"
"Yunchang obeys!"
"Yide! Take your personal troops and station yourselves ten li northwest of Chanling. Build a large camp to guard against bandits!"
"Old Zhang is on it!"
In the span of a single breath, all decisions were made.
Ma Su watched with eyes full of pure admiration.
As the three generals left, Liu Bei's brain went into overdrive.
He turned and said, "Kongming, draft a letter to Marquis Sun explaining the pros and cons. Tell him I am willing to renegotiate the terms of Nan Commandery in exchange for Lady Sun's dowry cavalry returning to Jiangdong."
Knowing the other side's bottom line and the impending deaths of key figures in Jiangdong in advance, this tug-of-war did not seem difficult at all.
Kongming smiled and cupped his hands.
"I accept the order and will make the stakes perfectly clear."
Of course, Zhuge Liang added mentally. 'I also need to write a letter to Lu Zijing. At least for now, Lu Su is dead set on putting our faction and the others on the front lines against Cao Cao, so Jiangdong can sit back and reap the benefits.'
At the same time, he felt a measure of relief.
It seemed his lord had finally figured it out. Right now, Jiangdong needed this alliance way more than Liu Bei did!
Nan Commandery was the front line against the Cao thieves. With Zhou Yu gravely ill and Jiangdong wavering toward surrender, Sun Quan's Jianghuai veterans could not easily leave Dantu without risking internal instability.
Under these circumstances, tossing Liu Bei into Nan Commandery was the best result Sun Quan and Lu Su could come up with after pushing the responsibility back and forth.
It meant minimal losses and maximum gains.
Standing to the side, Ma Su had already deduced exactly how things would play out.
Lady Sun's cavalry numbered less than four hundred, and their skill and training were all over the place. Zhao Yun's own personal cavalry alone counted a full twelve hundred elite riders.
How fast that escort could be wiped out depended entirely on how many of his own men Zhao Yun was willing to lose.
Guan Yu had the river sealed tight so no reinforcements could cross. Zhang Fei, meanwhile, stationed troops at Chanling, standing ready as both a warning and backup force.
What kind of waves could they possibly stir up?
And just as expected, the whole thing turned out to be completely uneventful.
After losing only seven or eight riders, the entire Jiangdong cavalry surrendered right away. Lady Sun locked herself up inside Chanling in a fit of anger. She declared that Liu Bei had to come and apologize to her in person.
Other than that one small scene, absolutely nothing else happened.
Zhou Yu on the other side of the river did not react at all. Marquis Sun sent no reply either. He acted as though he had completely forgotten he even had a sister.
And as for Liu Bei... educating the next generation of the Liu clan was everyone's duty after all!
Lady Sun could wait for now. Both A-Dou and Liu Feng had happily settled into their lessons and were enjoying themselves.
Demanding that Liu Feng never forget his teammates, and demanding that Liu Shan never forget the spirit of the Han, Liu Bei's teaching method of giving a slap followed by a sweet date proved incredibly effective.
Even the servants watched in sheer terror, feeling that the Liu Jingzhou ran an extremely strict household.
Once the New Year was over, Zhao Yun headed for Changsha to take up his post as Administrator and clear out the bandits there.
Jian Yong volunteered to travel to Yizhou and meet Liu Zhang. From there, he would go north to find Ma Chao and speak on Liu Bei's behalf.
Under these circumstances, Liu Bei's biggest headache was figuring out who to add to the light screen next.
Huang Yueying's name had been marked down long ago.
And the Ministry of Works under her supervision? It took only twenty days to build a massive waterwheel right on the banks of the Hudu River!
Using methods Liu Bei could not begin to understand, she connected the waterwheel to a giant pestle and mortar.
Even Zhang Fei shouted out loud the moment he saw it. "Good heavens! Is this not basically a strongman who never tires, pounding grain day and night?"
After seeing such wonderful results, Liu Bei made up his mind and set aside all hesitation about her being a woman.
There was simply no way around it. The ideas from future generations were far too valuable to ignore!
Liu Bei wanted even more. If only he could figure out that so-called high-speed rail...
Shaking his head, Liu Bei snapped himself back to reality.
Now, for the final person...
When Jiang Wan stepped into this side hall, his heart was completely dead.
His dream of slacking off was gone!
This was especially true after Kongming dragged him to the side and shoved some paper and a brush into his hands.
"Gongyan, since you serve as a clerk, your copying skills must be up to par. Later on, you must write down everything you see and hear, understand?"
Looking at the messy hall, Jiang Wan nodded in total bewilderment.
Facing the newly added Huang Yueying and Jiang Wan, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, and Mi Zhu had pumped themselves up to put on a calm and composed show in front of the light screen.
They had even planned out whether to use the phrase "making a fuss over nothing" or "just an ordinary item."
But when the light screen opened right on time, they were still totally shocked!
[Lightscreen]
[Hello everyone, I am Wen Mang. Today, as promised, we are going to chat about the Battle of Xiangyang-Fancheng. The war that truly made Shu Han feel that Heaven's mandate was no longer on their side!]
Right then several lines of text lit up across the screen.
[Server Chat Log]
[AntClimbingTree: It is finally here! The Sage of War whose might shook the world, Guan Yunchang!
NerdAlwaysLonely: People of Xiangyang Fancheng, come witness Second Lord's glory!
LovelyTofu: His prestige shook the whole land, his fame unmatched through all time!
CakeUnderroad: Come see Second Lord and his naval forces landing ashore!
Li Shimin: What in the world is this?!]
Everyone in the room was completely confused.
What were these floating lines of text?