[Lightscreen]
[After Guan Yunchang got verbally destroyed by Lu Zijing, the standoff over Jingzhou froze solid.
Neither side dared to make the first move.
And then, someone else finally ran out of patience.
Boss Cao, who always had an eye for talent, could no longer sit still.
In 215 AD, while Sun Quan and Liu Bei were still locked in their tug-of-war over Jingzhou, news reached both sides.
Cao Cao personally led an army of one hundred thousand troops, marching west to campaign against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.
The objective was obvious.
If he took Hanzhong, the gateway to Shu would fall right into his hands.]
The assembled generals quickly connected the dots.
At this point, Ma Chao had already defected to their lord, and under Zhang Lu there remained a general named Pang De.
"From Chang'an into Hanzhong, supplies can be sent downstream along the Bao River!" Voices rose one after another. "In that case, Zhang Lu's defeat would not be unjust!"
After all, the light screen had already mentioned the Battle of Hanzhong, and the one guarding Yangping Pass was Xiahou Yuan.
"If they truly field troops capable of fighting, they should first hold the Baoxie Road. If that falls, then they can fall back to Yangping Pass and rely on its natural defenses."
Guan Yu spoke steadily, giving his own judgment. "Even with a hundred thousand troops, taking Hanzhong would take at least a year, if not longer."
Yangping Pass was famed as a natural stronghold under Heaven. Even when his big brother later campaigned there, he had to avoid its edge and take a long detour through the mountains. There was no way Cao Cao could forcefully smash through it head-on.
But reality never cared about calculations.
[Lightscreen]
[As Cao Cao marched on Hanzhong, Liu Bei was forced onto the back foot again.
Meanwhile, Sun Quan holding those three commanderies was already a done deal.
So the two sides sat down to talk again. Each side gave a little ground.
Nan Commandery, Wuling, and Lingling stayed with Liu Bei.
Changsha, Jiangxia, and Guiyang went to Sun Quan.
They split the land right along the Xiang River.
This became known as the Xiang River Pact.]
"Wait. The Xiang River Pact?" Guan Yu frowned hard. "Then later when they stabbed us in the back at Xiangyang-Fancheng, did they just tear this agreement up like it never existed?"
"What is so surprising about that, Second Brother?" Zhang Fei snorted. "Like the light screen said earlier, you fear your brother suffers, yet you also fear your brother gets a Land Rover."
"I do not know what that Land Rover thing is, but the meaning is clear enough. Right now Sun Quan can push us around all he wants. But what about later?"
He counted on his fingers. "Big Brother takes Yizhou and Hanzhong. I pacify Bashu. You hold Xiangyang-Fancheng. Kongming sits in the center coordinating everything."
Zhang Fei grinned. "At that point, Sun Quan would have to watch our face before making a move. You think he would not panic?"
Zhuge Liang nodded, seeing it all too clearly. "Sun Quan cannot stand the thought of us growing powerful. He believes Jingzhou and Yizhou were always meant to be his. We could give him three commanderies. We could give him four. He would still call us deceitful and say we owe him more. Sun Wu does not want an ally. They want someone they can push around whenever they please. They will never accept us standing as equals."
He paused slightly. "Even so, this pact is actually an opportunity for us."
Liu Bei answered with a brief statement. "The answer is to move north."
Something else weighed on his mind too. If Lingling was returned to us, then what about my Administrator of Lingling? Was he meant to be taken by Sun Wu and dragged to his death?
[Lightscreen]
[After the Xiang River Pact, Liu Bei hurried back to reinforce his lands, but unfortunately arrived too late.
The Battle of Hanzhong had already ended.
Zhang Wei, Zhang Lu's younger brother, tried to fight. He lost at Yangping Pass and was killed in battle. Everyone else, including Zhang Lu himself, simply surrendered.
Zhang Lu said: I had long intended to submit to the state, only my intent had not yet been fulfilled.
Even when retreating to Bazhong and pretending to resist, he stopped his subordinates from burning supplies and treasures, saying: These goods and storehouses belong to the state.
What kind of awareness is that! What kind of vision! When Cao Cao arrived, he was overjoyed and greatly praised him.
He even sent envoys to offer reassurance, and Zhang Lu promptly surrendered with his entire family.
Cao Cao enfeoffed Zhang Lu as Marquis of Langzhong, and had his son Cao Yu marry Zhang Lu's daughter.
Cao Yu's son, Cao Huan, later continued Cao Rui's line and became Emperor Yuan of Wei, though the timing of his reign was unfortunate.
The year was 260 AD.
The Prince of Gaogui Township, Cao Mao, had been assassinated, and Cao Huan inherited that exact throne.
Later on, Zhang Lu was even posthumously granted the title Perfected Lord of Supreme Clarity and Vast Virtue by the Yuan dynasty.
All in all, it was quite an unusual life.]
"So that is why Hanzhong turned into such a nightmare..." Liu Bei muttered, frustration clear in his voice. If Zhang Lu planned to surrender all along, what could anyone have done?
"This Zhang Lu really is an interesting fellow," Zhang Fei laughed, glancing at Guan Yu. "Second Brother, your estimate was way off. Even after his own younger brother was killed, he still would not change his mind about surrendering. He was completely iron-hearted. With that kind of mindset, how could it take a year or more? It was basically taken in one push."
Guan Yu said nothing. 'What I had calculated was resistance. This was surrender. Those are two entirely different things.'
When the name Cao Mao appeared, Liu Bei's expression hardened. "Was he assassinated?"
To assassinate meant a son killing a father, or a minister killing his ruler. Everyone had heard of Cui Zhu assassinating his monarch.
"Was it the Gaoping Tombs Incident?" someone ventured. The light screen had mentioned it more than once, so they could only think of this.
"So the Sima clan killed their ruler during that event?" This was the logical deduction.
"Did they then install Cao Yu's son to continue Cao Rui's line, essentially making him a puppet?" This was the final guess.
"Then what about Cao Rui's own sons?" This was the question on everyone's mind.
"Perhaps they all died during the Gaoping Tombs Incident," Guan Yu guessed.
"Or perhaps they were deposed and imprisoned," Liu Bei added.
"Or maybe the Cao bloodline truly is weak, and they all died early like Cao Cao's sons!" Zhang Fei said confidently.
In the end, it was all speculation. They could only sigh that the Cao clan's fate was truly a difficult one. They faced palace struggles and bloodline issues on top of that.
"Zhang Lu surrendered in 215 AD," Zhuge Liang said, piecing things together. "Then 216 AD would be preparations in Chengdu, and 217 AD is when my lord begins the campaign to reclaim Hanzhong."
"Sun Quan will definitely make a move as well." His tone was absolutely certain.
[Lightscreen]
[After the Xiang River Pact, Liu Bei leads his army back to Chengdu to fight for Hanzhong.
Guan Yu was left to guard Jingzhou with only thirty thousand men. Looking at Cao Ren stationed at Fancheng, and Sun Quan treating the alliance like toilet paper, a familiar sense of frustration welled up within him.
How do you defend a four-way crossroads like Jiangling against both Sun and Cao with such a small force?
But luckily, and very quickly, a gong sounds from the walls of Hefei! Sun Quan has delivered us the God of War of Xiaoyao Ford!
Zhang Liao essentially says: Watch closely, fellow countryman! I am only doing this once! Here is Sun Quan's weakness!
And standing on the walls of Hefei is Yue Jin, the man Guan Yu had previously driven there.
This once-mighty general, with only three years left to live, watches from the ramparts as Zhang Babai goes into God War Mode. He probably sees the reflection of his younger self, always being the first to scale the walls for Cao Cao.
For Sun Quan, 215 started out perfect.
He gained three commanderies in Jingzhou without lifting a finger!
Cao Cao's army was far away in Hanzhong, leaving the northern defenses of Jiangdong empty!
Liu Bei had returned to Yizhou, leaving the western borders of Jiangdong secure!
And Hefei, the city that held the fate of Jiangdong, was defended by only seven thousand men!
The days of ruling all under heaven were finally coming!]
[Server Chat Log]
[brain_cells_left_1: "HERE IT COMES!!! LEGENDARY!!!"
anxiety_nugget_99: "Sun Quan is about to regret every single life choice he ever made 😭"
ceo_of_bad_takes: "Sun Jian = Tiger of Jiangdong. Sun Ce = Little Conqueror. Sun Quan = Guy Who Got Bullied By 800 Men 😂"
history_nerd_007: "This battle literally defined both of them forever. One became a god of war. The other became a joke."
travel_addict_2026: "Bro the high speed rail from Nanjing to Hefei takes ONE HOUR. Just go home!! Why are you crying on the battlefield??"
pov_im_a_chair: "A soldier complained 'Our commander is an idiot!' Lu Meng heard him and arrested him. Soldier said 'I didn't say WHO!' Lu Meng yelled 'I've lived here my whole life! I KNOW who the idiot is!!!'"
Li Shimin: "Regarding the Alliance of Xiang River, the state of Chu lost out, but the state of Qi didn't exactly win either."]