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

Chapter 484 Guan Xing Meets Jiang Wei

Military affairs serve politics, and politics is often absurd. It is not uncommon for soldiers to be fighting to the death on the front lines while the monarch at home suddenly shakes hands and makes peace.

For example, right now, Guan Yu is still confronting Cao Ren in the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor, but Liu Bei is thinking of letting Cao Ren go and allowing Cao Cao to live a few more years.

Big Ears and Cao Cao are sworn enemies. They used to dream of killing each other. Now Big Ears wants Cao Cao to live. Doesn't that sound ironic?

But that's politics for you, politics that always puts interests first.

Guan Xing nodded and accepted the order. After whispering with Liu Bei for a while, he returned to the army and continued his journey.

As Liu Bei rode on his horse, gazing at both banks of the Han River in deep thought, he was finally awakened by Zhu Ran's words and knew what he should do next.

The next most important thing, besides implementing land reform and consolidating the rear by digesting the three prefectures of Jing, Yang and Jiao, was to declare himself emperor.

The Han Dynasty was not like the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period where the strongest army ruled. The resistance to becoming emperor was enormous, even greater than the pressure when facing Cao Cao. If things went wrong, the empire that had been built would soon fall apart. Yuan Shu is the best example of this.

Such a difficult task is beyond the capabilities of his foolish son Liu Shan; it must be accomplished by himself.

Therefore, the most important thing right now is how to become emperor; compared to that, the Northern Expedition can be put on hold.

While Liu Bei was deep in thought, Guan Xing suddenly felt the urge to urinate. He glanced around and decisively turned into the roadside woods. Zhang Bao, who had been watching Guan Xing since the reunion but hadn't found an opportunity to make contact, promptly followed. Taking advantage of Guan Xing's moment of needing to relieve himself, Zhang Bao suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed Guan Xing's neck. Startled, Guan Xing clamped his arms around him. Turning around and seeing Zhang Bao, he inwardly cried out in alarm and said with a guilty smile, "Brother Bao, what a coincidence!"

Zhang Bao smiled maliciously, "Unfortunately, I came here specifically to ambush you. It's been a long time since we brothers sparred. Why don't we have a little practice while we still have time?"

Guan Xing's expression changed slightly, and he decisively shook his head and refused. He was a weakling who couldn't even beat Yu Jin, so he dared not spar with Zhang Bao, who was known as Little Lü Bu. That wouldn't be sparring; it would be asking for a beating.

As for the "Black Dragon Eighteen Hands" that he learned from videos behind his instructor's back in his previous life, those were all deadly moves that could dislocate tendons and bones. He dared not use them on Zhang Bao, because if he accidentally hurt Zhang Bao, he would be crippled.

Guan Xing pulled up his pants, wrapped his arms around Zhang Bao's neck, and laughed, "Brother Bao, if you want to beat me up, just say so. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Now it was Zhang Bao's turn to be stunned. He asked in surprise, "How did you know my dad beat me?"

Guan Xing said matter-of-factly, "Others may not know what kind of temper Uncle San has, but we two brothers know him well. He can't stand a day without cursing someone."

Having his intentions exposed, Zhang Bao stopped pretending and snapped his fingers, saying sarcastically, "Now that you know I got beaten up, things are easier. I'll give you a chance to explain. Why didn't you take me with you when you secretly left Chengdu for Jiangling that day?"

This was Zhang Bao's biggest resentment. If Guan Xing had called out to him that day, he would definitely have gone with him. If he had gone, he would have been credited for killing Han Dang, capturing Lu Xun, and destroying Yu Jin.

As it turned out, that damned Guan Anguo hogged all the credit, leaving me behind to go to Jiangdong to make a name for myself, leaving me stuck in Chengdu staring blankly at his victory reports every day and getting beaten by my father. Is this something a human being would do?

I treat you like my own brother, but you treat me like your cousin?

Guan Xing knew that if he couldn't explain this, he would inevitably get a beating from Zhang Bao sooner or later. He had no choice but to say, "My dear Brother Bao, you know how badly my father was defeated in Xiangfan. I really had no idea what to do back then. I went to Jiangling with the intention of dying, and the raid on Jianye was a desperate gamble. I had no idea whether it would succeed or not. I just wanted to do something big before I died. Whether it succeeded or not was entirely up to fate. Under these circumstances, how could I take you to your death?"

Zhang Bao snorted coldly: "Why not? At times like these, we brothers need to be of one mind."

Guan Xing continued to deceive, "That's true, but if we both die, who will take care of your father, who will take care of your uncle, and who will protect the country?"

“You’ve been stronger than me since childhood. Your martial arts skills are superior, your abilities are greater, and as the eldest son, your status is also higher. You are the future pillar of the Han Dynasty. Your untimely death would be a loss for the entire Han Dynasty. In comparison, I am dispensable. My death would have no impact on the court. Of course, I should be the one to die, right?”

These words softened Zhang Bao's expression considerably. Just as he was about to flatter Guan Xing, he suddenly realized his mistake, his smile vanished, and he said fiercely, "Now you are the Marquis of Champion, and I am a good-for-nothing who has accomplished nothing. Who are you insulting by saying this?"

Guan Xing made such great contributions, yet he turned around and said that he, who had not made any contributions, was a pillar of the country. This statement sounded sarcastic no matter how you looked at it.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bao's anger did not subside; instead, he became even angrier.

Guan Xing continued, "My success was mainly due to luck. If you were in my position, you would definitely do better than me. Don't underestimate yourself. Believe in yourself. Tell me about the Northern Expedition. I haven't been to Liangzhou yet."

Zhang Bao got excited when the topic came up, and began to tell his story with spittle flying everywhere. With Guan Xing's timely comedic interjection, he quickly forgot his unpleasantness and started smiling broadly. Before he knew it, he had left the woods and returned to the group. Then he waved to the distance and said, "Boyue, come here. Let me introduce you to a new friend."

Jiang Wei, who was equally curious about Guan Xing and had been keeping a close eye on the two of them, quickly ran over upon hearing the shout, bowed, and said, "Jiang Boyue of Tianshui greets General Guan."

This is Jiang Wei, the last great general of the Han Dynasty?

Guan Xing looked at Jiang Wei with even more excitement than Jiang Wei looked at him. He put his arm around Jiang Wei's neck and laughed excitedly, "Calling me General Guan is too formal. You are Xingguo's brother, so you are my brother. From now on, just call me Anguo."

This is Jiang Wei, and he's alive! It's definitely not a bad deal for me to be on friendly terms with the Han general Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei's eyes were also shining as he looked at Guan Xing. This was Huo Qubing, who had just made great achievements in battle. Following him would definitely not be a bad thing.

Jiang Wei dared not address Guan Xing by his courtesy name directly, and upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "Brother Anguo, Brother Xingguo often mentions you."

The two sides thus became acquainted. Men can become brothers after chatting about a few common topics, so they quickly became close and traveled together with the group, chatting and laughing. They arrived in Fangling before dark and were invited into the city by Sun Huan, who came out to greet them.

After a night's rest, at dawn Liu Bei appointed Sun Huan as the Prefect of Fangling to continue guarding Fangling, and led nearly 50,000 troops, which had been combined with Guan Xing's, straight to Xiangyang.

After crossing the Zhu River and traversing the Jing Mountains, and after five days of trekking, they finally arrived at Xiangyang City, which was 400 li away from Fangling.

Looking around, Xiangyang's city gates were broken and the city walls were collapsed, a scene of utter devastation. In contrast, on the north bank of the Han River, Fancheng, countless Wei soldiers were busy building a new city. Further along the riverbank, defensive weapons such as ballistae and catapults, as well as many warships, were set up. The Wei army had actually established a solid defensive line on the north bank.

The Wei and Han armies faced off across the Han River for a long time. Liu Bei led his army back five miles to set up camp. Xiangyang was not yet habitable and needed to be repaired.

Guan Xing didn't need to do the mundane tasks of setting up camp, so he told Liu Bei and secretly led Zhang Bao and Jiang Wei to Xiangyang City to survey the terrain and prepare to draw up city building plans.

Xiangyang City definitely needs to be rebuilt, but how to build it properly is crucial. Guan Xing, who is determined to transform Xiangyang into a military fortress like those of the Southern Song Dynasty, naturally does not trust others to handle the city's construction.

After spending two days with Zhang Bao and Jiang Wei surveying the terrain around Xiangyang, they spent another night drawing up architectural plans, which they then handed over to Liu Bei and left to his own devices.