The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 7 Desiring but not obtaining, longing day and night
Of course, Mi Wei had heard of the story of "shaking hands and making peace" in his previous life.

However, he always thought that Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, was an ancient person from two hundred years ago.

This kind of tactic was already commonplace and no longer effective by the end of the Han Dynasty.

It can't be that just because Nanjun is right next to Nanyang, it passively triggers a "special location bond storyline," right?

However, this is a common problem for people in later generations who have experienced the information explosion era.

Because of the amount of information we see, the amount of exposure we have, and the number of memes we use, our sensitivity to certain allusions has actually decreased under the onslaught of a large amount of information.

What about in ancient times?

Scholars are rare to begin with.

The number of books available to them is far less than that of modern people.

Therefore, it is not surprising at all that a classic routine can still have a "miraculous effect" after being passed down for hundreds of years.

In short, although the posture of hugging the leg was slightly off, at least the hug was successfully secured.

They say that if the sky falls, someone tall will hold it up.

Mi Wei believed that Guan Xing was "superior" to him.

His father and brothers were even "taller".

As long as he can bring the tall guys to his side, he can settle down in Sichuan and live a comfortable life as a rich second-generation.

Bashi!
……

at the same time.

At the foot of Xiangyang City, on the banks of the Han River.

Guan Yu sat calmly in the central command tent, stroking his beard and closing his eyes without saying a word.

Seeing that their commander remained motionless, the men under his command had various expressions, but none of them dared to speak easily.

The silence was broken only when a young lieutenant, whose physique was no less than Guan Yu's, hurriedly arrived.

"My lord... my lord! Although I believe Cao Ren's letter is suspicious, there is some truth to what he says!"

"Sun Quan harbors wolfish ambitions; we must indeed be wary of him!"

This young lieutenant was none other than Guan Yu's eldest son, Guan Ping.

As for the letter he mentioned, it was after Cao Cao learned of Sun Quan's plan to attack Guan Yu from both sides that he immediately ordered Cao Ren to shoot Sun Quan's letter with an arrow in front of Guan Yu's formation.

The purpose was obvious: to hope that Sun Quan and Guan Yu would restrain each other so that they could reap the benefits.

However, Guan Yu hesitated after seeing the letter.

As the eldest son, Guan Ping naturally knew what his father was hesitating about.

First of all, Cao Cao was known for his cunning, so this letter may not be genuine.

Then, even if the letter was true, Guan Yu still made arrangements in Jingzhou.

Even if Sun Quan sends out all his troops, he might still be able to hold out!

Finally, and most importantly.

After Guan Yu used the overflowing Han River to defeat Yu Jin's tens of thousands of Wei troops, the enemy's morale had already plummeted.

The newly arrived reinforcements, including Xu Huangjun, do not appear to be able to extricate the situation.

It seemed that with just one more push, the twin cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng would be within their grasp.

With Xiangfan now captured and the three eastern commanderies providing support, Cao Cao fears he may also lose the more important Nanyang commandery in the north.

If we take Nanyang, the path to advance into the Central Plains will be completely opened.

What is meant by an unparalleled feat?

This is!
Not to mention Guan Yu, whose hair was already half white, even Guan Ping was unwilling to retreat.

However, he is still young and has a lot of youth to squander, so his "opportunity cost" is relatively low.

Since he wasn't the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he didn't have as many burdens, so he wasn't afraid to play it safe.

Of course, no matter how you look at it, the only person who can truly make the final decision here is Guan Yu.

A moment later, Guan Yu finally opened his eyes.

All the generals under his command, including Guan Ping, were visibly shaken.

However, Guan Yu only looked down at the letter on the table.

I glanced at it, then glanced at it again.

He remained silent.

……

This is the fifth day since Miwei woke up.

The good news is that Sun Quan and Lü Meng's armies have not yet appeared.

The bad news was that the messenger Guan Xing sent to Gong'an County never returned.

It's unclear what Fu Shiren's current situation is, whether he's surnamed Liu or Sun.

Fortunately, Guan Xing proved to be reliable and promptly cleared out the suspicious garrison soldiers around Jiangling.

In this way, it won't be so easy for Lü Meng to pull off his old trick of crossing the river in disguise again.

"My lord, it's time to head out to the banquet."

A voice came from outside the door.

Mi Wei had already gotten ready and pushed open the door when he heard the sound. He saw Zhan Sifu's oddly styled short hair.

In the past few days, "Chief Zhan" strictly followed Mi Fang's orders and stayed by Mi Wei's side.

They were both servants and monitors.

But whenever Mi Wei met Guan Xing, he always managed to give Mi Wei just the right amount of private space.

This made him somewhat confused about the person's stance.

After leaving the house, Miwei deliberately slowed down his pace.

"Mr. Zhan, I find the characters 'Sifu' in your name quite meaningful. Did one of your elders in the family name you that?"

"You flatter me, sir. My family are all mountain folk, how would we know anything about such meanings? We had someone change it after we entered the city."

As Zhan Sifu spoke, he kept half a body length behind, neither too close nor too far.

"That would be even more interesting."

Mi Wei chuckled softly.

"These two characters come from the poem 'Guanju' in the Book of Poetry, which means 'I seek it but cannot find it; I long for it day and night.'"

"Then, Mr. Zhan, what is it that you seek that keeps you up at night?"

Without hesitation, Zhan Sifu replied, "I come from a barbarian background, so it is only natural that I admire the king's rule."

"Wang Hua..."

Miwei deliberately dragged out his words.

"Although the feudal lords are nominally all in favor of the Han emperor, they are actually each ruling their own territory."

"But I wonder which family the 'royal influence' that Lord Zhan seeks belongs to?"

Zhan Sifu paused in his steps.

But they quickly caught up again.

“I left Wuling in the twenty-second year of Jian’an, went north to Nanjun, and went to join Liu Yuzhou…King of Hanzhong.”

Jingnan is home to many barbarian tribes, with the Wuxi barbarians of Wuling County being the most famous.

"Wuxi Man" is not the name of a specific barbarian tribe, but rather refers to all barbarian groups in the Wuling region.

Mi Wei remembered this name because the Wuxi barbarians had actively responded to Liu Bei during the Battle of Yiling.

It's unknown whether the story will repeat itself in this timeline.

His thoughts shifted slightly, and he noticed that the other party had specifically emphasized the year 22 of Jian'an.

Suddenly, it dawned on me:

"Was your hometown also affected by the epidemic?"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Sifu rarely showed any unusual emotion:

"That year, a great plague swept across the land. Unless one fled alone into the world, where was not ravaged?"

"And unlike the Central Plains, where the government still provides disaster relief."

“If someone in the mountains gets infected, the entire tribe will be doomed.”

"The reason I fled was that there was no food left at home, and I would starve to death if I didn't leave."

"Secondly, my parents and relatives have all passed away from illness, leaving me with nothing left to hold me back..."

This is so!

Mi Wei couldn't help but turn around and glance at Zhan Sifu, feeling as if a thousand pounds were pressing down on the other's thin body.

He already felt that Guan Xing's family had suffered enough.

But compared to Zhan Sifu, whose clan was wiped out, he seems too lucky.

At least they have enough to eat and wear, and access to renowned doctors.

Even the suffering they endured will be recorded in history books, so that future generations can feel pity for them.

In contrast, the Zhan Sifu clan could only be silently swallowed up by the dust of history.

If he hadn't asked today, he probably would have thought that the barbarians were like cockroaches in the ground, both savage and tenacious, and not afraid of disease at all.

Sensing something, he stopped and solemnly said:
"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, please don't hesitate to ask, and I will help if I can."

This promise, of course, contained elements of manipulation and calculation.

But it could also stem from the conscience of a modern person with a normal moral compass.

And so, the two chatted idly all the way to the gate of Guan's residence.

Zhan Sifu handed Mi Wei his calling card, but made no move to follow him inside.

"Tonight everyone is a distinguished guest. I am of humble birth, so I will not go in."

"If you have any instructions, sir, please send a servant out."

Mi Wei nodded, and after taking two steps, Zhan Sifu suddenly called out to him.

"Mr. Zhan?"

Mi Wei turned around and saw that Zhan Sifu looked somewhat conflicted.

But after only a few breaths, he stepped forward resolutely and whispered:
"Tonight, in addition to the Chief Clerk, the two Inspectors will also be attending the banquet."

Leaving behind this ambiguous statement, Zhan Sifu bowed and retreated down the steps.

(End of this chapter)