The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 527 Liu Bei learns of his fate

Upon hearing this, the people in the tent almost instinctively looked towards Zhang Fei, their expressions extremely strange.

They never dreamed that Zhang Fei, so brave and fearless on the battlefield, would die so hastily; it was too frustrating.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were not afraid of death; otherwise, given their backgrounds, they wouldn't have reached their current positions.

Zhuge Liang was not afraid of death. If he were, he would not have sought refuge with Liu Bei, who was living in Xinye and whose territory was smaller than the palm of his hand, when Cao Cao had already unified the Central Plains.

Few who climb up from the bottom are afraid of death, but there are many kinds of deaths. Some die gloriously and go down in history, while others die hastily and carelessly, unworthy of their status.

The people present all thought that even if they were defeated, they would die a glorious death on the battlefield. They never thought that they would die such a miserable death as Zhang Fei, who was killed by his own people instead of by the enemy.

Zhang Fei's face instantly turned a deep liver color, then flushed red and then turned pale several times before he slammed his fist on the table and stood up, gritting his teeth as he demanded, "Who did this? Who was that subordinate?"

The group looked at Guan Xing at the same time. Liu Bei and Guan Yu's eyes were filled with murderous intent. They secretly resolved that as long as Guan Xing revealed his name, they would immediately tear the traitor who plotted against Zhang Fei to pieces.

Facing the murderous gazes of the several killers, Guan Xing calmly spread his hands and said, "Don't ask, I won't say. They haven't done anything yet. If I rashly say something, wouldn't I be harming them? Why would I do this to someone I have no grudge against?"

He is no longer the green recruit who trembled with fear at Guan Yu's mere glance when he first transmigrated, but a veteran who has experienced countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The gazes of several killing gods can no longer frighten him.

Guan Xing continued, "Besides, it takes two to tango. When something like this happens, the thing you should do most is not to question who the murderer is, but to reflect on why the murderer would do such a thing. Why didn't any of the king's soldiers do it? Why didn't any of the strategist's soldiers do it either? Why did only your soldiers kill you? Didn't you look for the reasons within yourself?"

Zhang Fei was so angry his nose almost twisted. He drew his sword, pointed it at Guan Xing, and shouted, "Stop babbling at me and tell me who that person is!"

Guan Xing answered irrelevantly: "Do you know how future generations will evaluate this matter? We, their descendants, all feel regret when we mention General Guan. We also feel regret when we mention you, but after feeling regret, we will always add two words of evaluation: 'Serves you right.'"

Zhang Fei couldn't hold back any longer. He jumped over the table, rushed to Guan Xing, grabbed him by the collar, lifted him off the chair, and angrily shouted, "You brat, say that again if you dare!"

Zhang Fei was truly devastated. Not only did he die a very frustrating death, but he was also judged in this way by later generations. How could Zhang Fei, who cared about his reputation, bear this?

Guan Xing tilted his head, looked over Zhang Fei’s shoulder at Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, and asked them with his eyes, “Are you two going to do anything?”

Liu Bei quickly ran over and grabbed Zhang Fei's wrist, saying, "Third brother, calm down and let Anguo finish speaking first."

Zhang Fei, in a berserk state, refused to listen and stubbornly refused to let go despite Liu Bei's persuasion. Liu Bei, however, was not tolerant of his bad habit and forcibly pried Zhang Fei's wrists open and dragged him back to the table.

In terms of strength, Zhang Fei really can't compare to him. Back then, he was able to forcibly pull Guan Yu and Zhang Fei apart when they were fighting. Now, he faces Zhang Fei alone without any pressure.

After forcibly pressing Zhang Fei back down onto his heels, Liu Bei did not leave. Instead, he used both hands to press Zhang Fei's shoulders down, restraining him to his heels to prevent him from lashing out again, before saying, "Anguo, you continue. What happened to our third brother after he was killed?"

Guan Xing said, "Naturally, Your Majesty should continue your eastern expedition. Not long after Lü Meng killed General Guan and returned to Jiangling, he died of illness. In response to Your Majesty's eastern expedition, Sun Quan quickly promoted Lu Xun to Grand Commander. Lu Xun abandoned Yiling and Zigui, blocking Your Majesty in the Yiling Mountains, and confronted Your Majesty across the river for more than a year."

"During this period, Han Dang, Xu Sheng, and other fierce generals of Eastern Wu repeatedly requested to fight, but Lu Xun, with his power as Grand Commander, forcibly suppressed them. The conflict between the two sides was like a volcano about to erupt, and even Sun Quan could hardly contain it. If a decisive battle was not fought soon, it was estimated that internal fighting would break out within the Wu army..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang were overjoyed. The Wu army was in disarray, which was a perfect opportunity to defeat the enemy.

Unexpectedly, Guan Xing changed the subject and said, "Despite this, Lu Xun still withstood the pressure and endured the rainy season. Around September, when the autumn air was crisp and clear, he secretly crossed the river and set fire to the mountains, burning Your Majesty's eastern expeditionary army to the ground. While burning the camps, Lu Xun divided his troops to pursue and block from the front and rear, causing Your Majesty to flee in a sorry state and almost be captured. Under the desperate protection of the army, you fled hundreds of miles in one night and barely escaped back to Baidi City. However, all the loyal ministers who accompanied you, such as Cheng Ji, Ma Liang, Feng Xi, and Zhang Nan, were killed in battle. The elite of Shu Han was wiped out, and the talent pool was directly cut off, completely losing the qualification to contend for the world."

"The Battle of Yiling, along with the Battle of Guandu and the Battle of Red Cliffs, was thus named one of the three great battles of the late Han Dynasty. After the two major defeats at Xiangfan and Yiling, I believe you can guess what kind of situation the Bashu region would be in."

The four people in the tent gasped simultaneously, their eyes filled with disbelief and a barely perceptible fear as they looked at Guan Xing. Guan Xing was so nervous that he could even hear their heartbeats.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang were well aware of the disparity in strength between themselves and Cao Wei. At the end of the Battle of Hanzhong, they might still have been able to put up a fight against Cao Wei, but after suffering two major defeats at Xiangfan and Yiling, what would they have left? They would probably instantly become the weakest of the three families of Cao, Sun, and Liu. Let alone restoring the Han Dynasty, even self-preservation would probably become a problem.

The heavy atmosphere lasted for a good quarter of an hour before Liu Bei came to his senses. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he asked with a bitter taste in his mouth, "And then?"

Guan Xing replied, "After the retreat to Baidi City, Your Majesty fell ill and could not recover. You had no choice but to summon your military advisor, who was far away in Chengdu, to entrust him with your affairs. After entrusting his son to the emperor in Baidi City, you passed away at the age of sixty-three. Your posthumous title was Zhaolie. By the way, after Cao Pi usurped the throne, you became emperor, Emperor Zhaolie of Han."

Liu Bei didn't care about that and asked impatiently, "What will happen after I die? After the defeat at Yiling, Sun Quan will definitely take advantage of the victory and pursue, and Cao Wei will certainly not miss the opportunity. In addition, with all the elite troops lost, the gentry of Yizhou and even the barbarians in the south will rise up in rebellion, right?"

Guan Xing nodded and said, "Your Majesty guessed correctly. After your death, Sun Quan raised an army of 100,000 to attack the Liangchuan Gorge, Meng Da attacked Hanzhong from Shangyong to the west, Cao Zhen attacked Yangping Pass, and there were also the Qiang people of Liangzhou and the Nanzhong barbarians. In total, five armies surrounded Bashu. What's even more desperate is that Yizhou is out of food. The food supplies in Bashu were burned to ashes by a great fire in Yiling. The Shu army has neither soldiers nor food. They are so poor that they are almost selling their blood."

"At the critical moment, the strategist came up with a brilliant idea: he linked the Zhibai coins to Shu brocade, using the Shu brocade as an anchor to exchange for grain from Cao Wei and Eastern Wu. The specific operation was that Cao Wei and Eastern Wu could buy Shu brocade, but they had to use Zhibai coins. But what if Cao Wei and Eastern Wu didn't have Zhibai coins? They could sell grain to the strategist and exchange it for Zhibai coins. In this way, the Zhibai coins formed a cycle and were fully circulated."

"Setting an anchor for currency is the foundation of currency circulation and the fundamental reason why paper currency could circulate in later generations."

"Once the internal crisis is resolved, the external crisis will be easier to handle. Although the enemy forces that surrounded Sichuan and Chongqing came in five routes, they all had their own agendas and were easily dealt with by the strategist."

Upon hearing this, the four people in the tent breathed a sigh of relief. The situation after Liu Bei's death was too dangerous. If they were not careful, the foundation of Bashu would be buried with Liu Bei. Fortunately, they had Zhuge Liang.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei instinctively looked at Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang also looked at him. The two men, ruler and minister, looked at each other with sighs on their faces.

After a moment, Zhuge Liang asked, "And then?"