The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 22: The Humble Guan Yu Makes His Debut

Guan Yu's humility and gentleness made Zhang Fei's eyes widen.

Zhang Fei subconsciously rubbed his eyes, as if he were seeing Guan Yu for the first time.

"Snapped--"

Zhang Fei slapped him across the face.

"hiss--"

Feeling the pain on his face, Zhang Fei gasped.

"Registrar Zhang, what are you doing?"

Huang Zhong looked at Zhang Fei with a puzzled expression.

"Nothing, just mosquitoes."

Zhang Fei made up a reason.

"Mosquito?"

Huang Zhong's expression showed even greater confusion.

The cold wind stung my face; how could any mosquitoes dare to fly around?

Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu with surprise in his eyes as well.

The difference was that Liu Bei's eyes also showed joy.

My second younger brother has always been arrogant and has a lot of contempt for scholars.

Although Liu Bei often told Guan Yu not to underestimate the scholars of the world, Guan Yu only listened and did not change his mind.

And in front of you.

This arrogant second brother, in front of Zhuge Liang, was surprisingly humble and gentle, just like Zhuge Liang's disciple.

This surprised and delighted Liu Bei.

I've been around for many years.

Liu Bei gathered many heroes and brave warriors around him.

Among the heroes and warriors most valued by Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were the most outstanding.

Guan Yu was far superior to Zhang Fei.

This was solely due to Guan Yu's exceptional talent and comprehension, which were unmatched by ordinary people.

Not only was he tall and strong with incredible strength, but what was even more remarkable was that Guan Yu also had extremely strong comprehension skills!
Skills such as horseback riding, archery, swordsmanship, and spear fighting require a lifetime of practice for most people to master, but Guan Yu achieved minor proficiency in two or three years and major proficiency in five or six years.

While other athletes lamented the lack of time for training their strength, archery, and horsemanship, Guan Yu still had time to study the Spring and Autumn Annals after completing double the intensity of his training.

Sometimes Liu Bei would think: If Guan Yu hadn't committed a crime and fled in his early years, but instead had entered the tutelage of a great Confucian scholar based on his talent and understanding, he could have been like Lu Zhi in a prosperous era, or a warlord in a chaotic one.

The main reason why Guan Yu developed a contemptuous attitude towards scholars was that although he possessed the weight of mountains, he had never seen the majesty of Mount Tai.

After committing a crime and fleeing, Guan Yu spent many years mingling among the common people and wandering knights, and the scholars he came into contact with were mostly vulgar and pedantic.

The vulgar scholars and pedantic Confucianists I encountered possessed neither extraordinary talent nor noble character.

Having seen so much of this, Guan Yu inevitably developed an arrogance, believing that "scholars who seek fame and fortune are nothing special."

Even Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai, whom Liu Bei once called "Kong Beihai, does he know that there is a Liu Bei in the world?", was just a pedantic scholar who talked about classics but had no real talent in Guan Yu's eyes.

Such as Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Mi Zhu and others.

Guan Yu respected Jian Yong and others, but the reason for his respect was that they were determined to follow Liu Bei to the death, rather than that he respected their talents and character.

Such arrogance is evident.

When Zhuge Liang first joined Guan Yu, Guan Yu respected him because Zhuge Liang had "traveled a thousand miles to join him," rather than because he respected Zhuge Liang's talent and character.

How much talent and virtue could a scholar under the age of twenty possess?
But gradually.

Guan Yu realized something was wrong. Zhuge Liang, not yet twenty, in terms of talent, comprehension, ability, character, military strategy, political strategy, and tactics, made Guan Yu feel his own insignificance for the first time. He witnessed for the first time what "the majesty of Mount Tai" meant, and what it meant that "the world's most extraordinary talents are merely the threshold to my doorstep"!
The only thing that could restore Guan Yu's confidence was his personal martial prowess.

For Guan Yu, a dignified Left General Sima, a vigorous military general nearing forty, to compete with a scholar, who was not even twenty, in terms of personal martial prowess, was inherently a low-level position.

Guan Yu couldn't bear to lose face like that!
Before the wise strategist of the Ten Sages of the Martial Temple, who combined military and political power, Guan Yu's arrogance and conceit vanished, replaced only by humility and gentleness!
Furthermore, Zhuge Liang showed no disrespect to Guan Yu and answered all of Guan Yu's questions without reservation, which earned Guan Yu's deep admiration.

Perhaps even Zhuge Liang himself did not realize that the regret of raising the cowardly Ma Su and the regret of not being able to pass on all his knowledge to Jiang Wei would eventually merge into his expectations for Guan Yu.

"What Guan Sima said coincides with what I said."

Zhuge Liang affirmed Guan Yu's suggestion, and Guan Yu couldn't help but smile.

Then Zhuge Liang faced Liu Bei and said:
"The powerful families of Xiapi have many complaints about the collection of grain and fodder by Che Zhou. Now that winter is approaching, the laborers are eager to return home. Forcing them to escort grain and fodder will only cause them to resent it, which is not a good thing."

"General, you can advise Che Zhou to prioritize the well-being of the people and focus on farming so that they can get some rest. However, Cao Cao's military might is formidable, and I am certain that Che Zhou will not dare to disobey Cao Cao's orders."

"The general can then feign that 'a general in the field may disobey orders,' place Che Zhou under house arrest, and control his followers; then promise Che Zhou that if Cao Cao holds him accountable, the general will bear all the responsibility."

"Indeed, General, you can secretly control Xiapi, prevent any unrest in Xiapi, and take this opportunity to secretly win over Zang Ba, Chang Xi, and others under the guise of Che Zhou, in preparation for any eventuality."

Zhang Fei offered an idea, Guan Yu elaborated on the strategy, and Zhuge Liang, in just a few words, perfected the details of Guan Yu's elaborated strategy.

This scene made Guan Yu even more impressed.

Guan Yu silently noted down every detail of Zhuge Liang's perfection and secretly pondered Zhuge Liang's way of thinking.

When ordinary people see the majesty of Mount Tai, they can only sigh in admiration and resign themselves to mediocrity.

Guan Yu was different.

Having witnessed the majesty of Mount Tai, how can one call oneself a great man if one cannot climb to its summit and survey all the surrounding mountains?

Zhang Fei wanted to shout, "Since Second Brother and the strategist have both said to place Che Zhou under house arrest, I'll go with Eldest Brother and capture that scoundrel Che Zhou!"

But as soon as he was about to speak, Zhang Fei felt it was inappropriate.

Guan Yu's humility and gentleness made Zhang Fei feel both unfamiliar and anxious.

Both being heroes and warriors regarded as brothers by Liu Bei, Guan Yu became increasingly steady and capable of handling important matters, so how could Zhang Fei not be anxious?

Huang Zhong was also moved.

As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black."

An excellent team inspires each member to strive for self-improvement and not fall behind.

After Huang Xu started practicing the Five Animal Frolics, although the root of his illness remained, his overall mental state underwent a significant change.

In addition, Huang Xu’s position as the Left General’s scribe made him no longer feel like a burden to Huang Zhong, and his behavior became more cheerful.

To borrow Wu Pu's words: The root of human illness lies in the decline of one's vital energy and spirit. If one's vital energy and spirit are abundant, the root of the illness will heal itself without treatment.

Although Wu Pu's medical theories contained elements of metaphysics, Huang Zhong, observing the changes in Huang Xu's mental state, felt that Wu Pu's words made sense.

Huang Xu's improved mental state reduced Huang Zhong's anxiety, which indirectly made Huang Zhong appear more energetic.

With his energy and spirit full of vitality, Huang Zhong naturally refused to admit that he was getting old.

General Zuo has treated me with immense kindness, and I must strive diligently to repay his favor.

Huang Zhong made a silent vow, and his eyes became even more piercing.

Liu Bei also noticed the changes in everyone.

As he thought of how many people followed him, some with force and others with intellect, risking their lives, Liu Bei's eyes gradually hardened.

"Let's follow the strategist's plan."

"Yide, Hansheng, come with me to the governor's mansion!"

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(End of this chapter)