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

"What? Liao Hua is back?"

Liu Bei was so shocked that he sat back down. His grief-stricken heart sank to the bottom, and his head was spinning. He didn't hear a word that followed.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: Why is it that only Liao Hua has returned? Where is his second brother?

Were they captured or killed in battle?

Fa Zheng was equally shocked. He pressed Liu Bei's thigh and tried to sit up, but failed several times. Helpless, he advised, "Your Majesty, let's hear what General Liao Hua has to say first."

Liu Bei then realized what was happening and quickly said, "Yes, yes, let General Liao Hua come over here and invite the strategist over as well."

Liao Hua was quickly found, and his miserable appearance startled Liu Bei.

At this moment, Liao Hua was disheveled and dressed in tattered clothes. The sole of his left shoe had separated from the shoe body, exposing all five of his toes. His right foot was in even worse shape; not only was he missing his shoe, but half of his trouser leg was also missing, and there were even several bloody marks on his leg.

Liu Bei's heart sank. If he was in such a state, what about Guan Yu?

Could Guan Yu, who was almost sixty, withstand such torment?

Liu Bei approached Liao Hua with questions in mind, intending to first comfort this loyal subordinate.

Unexpectedly, Liao Hua knelt down with a thud as soon as he entered the room, wailing loudly, "Your Majesty, you must do justice for me! Those two bastards, Liu Feng and Meng Da..."

Liu Bei was dumbfounded. What's the meaning of you complaining as soon as you get back?

He was now eager to know Guan Yu's situation and had no time to care about anything else. He quickly walked up to Liao Hua, grabbed his shoulder, and said urgently, "My dear minister, please rise. Tell me about the situation in Jingzhou first. How is my second brother?"

Liao Hua tried to stand up, but failed. He was tired and hungry and didn't want to get up from his knees, so he simply sat on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, General Guan has neither died in battle nor been captured. He has already marched to Jianye."

"What the hell?" Fa Zheng exclaimed from behind Liu Bei, saying incredulously, "A surprise attack on Jianye?"

Before Liu Bei could even be shocked and lost in thought, he was startled awake by Fa Zheng's exclamation. Turning around, he found that Fa Zheng had already sat up. He quickly went back to help him sit up, poured a cup of water, and personally brought it to Liao Hua before asking in surprise, "Yes, how is this possible? How could he still have the strength to attack Jianye?"

Guan Yu's forces were already small, and after being betrayed by Mi Fang by the Wu army, he probably had less than a thousand men left after being hit by a series of blows. How could such a small force attack Jianye?

Are you kidding?

After finishing his water, Liao Hua said, "It's like this: General Guan led us out of Maicheng that day, and we originally planned to retreat to Linju and then return to Shu, but Prince Anguo stopped us in time."

"Young Master Anguo said that Lü Meng had already laid a trap in Linju, and that if we went there, we would be courting death. He held onto General Guan's horse reins tightly to prevent him from leaving, and offered General Guan three strategies for breaking out."

"The worst strategy is to feign an attack on Xiangyang to the north, hoping to provoke a war between the Wei and Wu armies, and then find an opportunity to escape in the chaos."

"The middle strategy is to head east to the Han River, then retreat south along Huarong Road to Changsha, continue fighting the Wu army in Jingnan, and wait for Your Majesty's eastern expedition."

"The best course of action is to rush east to Jianye and exchange territory with Sun Quan."

These words were so revealing that they gave Liu Bei a headache. He was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses and muttered subconsciously, "Sun Quan just took his Jiangling and he went to steal Sun Quan's Jianye. When did my second brother become so vengeful?"

Fa Zheng, however, was overjoyed, as if he had finally found a kindred spirit after many years of waiting. He said, "What a brilliant plan! Under those circumstances, Lü Meng must have thought that General Guan would break through and return to Shu. He would have transferred all his troops to the west to block him, leaving the other three sides vulnerable."

"Especially to the east, Lü Meng would never have imagined that General Guan would attack his stronghold under such circumstances, so he was definitely not on guard. Going east may seem like a dead end, but it is actually a way out."

Liu Bei finally processed this astonishing information and hurriedly asked, "So, Second Brother has chosen the best course of action?"

Liao Hua replied, "No, he chose all three strategies. He ordered me to launch a feigned attack on Xiangyang to the north, luring the Wu army to Xiangyang. He also ordered Guan Ping to go south and wage guerrilla warfare in Jingnan to prepare to support Your Majesty's eastern expedition. He himself led the remaining troops to attack Jianye."

"I returned from the three eastern commanderies. On my way back, I deliberately stopped for a moment to observe the movements of the Wu army. I discovered that Lü Meng personally led the elite Wu army from Linju to Xiangyang, and then from Xiangyang to Fangling to prepare to surround us. The commotion made me break out in a cold sweat. If we had really broken out from Linju that day, we would definitely have died without a burial place."

Liu Bei's forehead was covered in sweat from nervousness. After listening, he said with relief, "Thank goodness, thank goodness we didn't go to Linju. But Second Brother only has so few men left. Can we take Jianye?"

"If we can't take it, he'll have no food or water, and being deep inside enemy territory, I'm afraid..."

“General Guan will definitely take Jianye, and he may have already taken it by now.” Fa Zheng’s eyes gleamed with wisdom as he said confidently, “Because the timing of his surprise attack on Jianye was perfect.”

"At this time, Wu's elite troops were all in Jingzhou, and Jiangdong was very vulnerable. Sun Quan and Lü Meng were busy stabilizing Jingzhou and guarding against the King's eastern expedition and the Wei army's southward advance. Their hearts were in their throats, and they had no time to pay attention to what was behind them. Jianye had never experienced a major battle, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were unprepared. So, if General Guan could successfully penetrate to the city of Jianye, he would have succeeded."

"As for insufficient troops, that's not a problem either. Your Majesty, don't forget that when General Guan launched his northern expedition, many powerful families in Jiangbei responded to him. If he gathers these people together, he can easily muster four or five thousand soldiers to attack Jianye at this time. Four or five thousand men are enough, Your Majesty..."

At this point, Fa Zheng's face suddenly flushed an unnatural red, which startled Liu Bei, who quickly patted his chest and comforted him, saying, "Xiaozhi, stop talking. The imperial physician said you need to rest."

Fa Zheng, however, struggled to grasp his arm and said, "Your Majesty, we all know General Guan's abilities. If nothing unexpected happens, he should have already entered Jianye City, and Sun Quan and the families of the Wu army have fallen into his hands."

"Moreover, Jianye City has ample food supplies. General Guan can use these supplies to recruit more troops. This is the best opportunity to destroy Eastern Wu. I urge Your Majesty to immediately lead the army eastward to recover Jingzhou, attack Jiangdong, and unify the area south of the Yangtze River."

"At worst, we can use this to force Sun Quan to withdraw from Jingzhou and restore the Xiang River boundary. Now the initiative has shifted to our hands. This is an opportunity that will not come again, Your Majesty."

"Furthermore, we should nurture Prince Anguo more in the future. To be able to come up with a counterattack under those circumstances and strike at Sun Quan's weak point, Prince Anguo is simply a genius... Pfft..."

Before Fa Zheng could finish speaking, he spat a mouthful of blood precisely onto Liu Bei's face, then his head lolled to the side and he collapsed limply.

Liu Bei was struck dumb, frozen in place.

Liao Hua was shocked and quickly stood up, staring blankly at Fa Zheng lying on the bed.

What's going on? How did the Law Enforcer (who was appointed Minister of Justice) suddenly pass away? I hope I won't be blamed for this.

It's really not his fault. Fa Zheng has a heart condition, and the most important thing for this disease is to maintain emotional stability. But the news that Liao Hua brought back was too shocking. Who wouldn't have their blood pressure soar when they hear such news?

Upon hearing about Guan Yu's incredible raid on Jianye, Fa Zheng's blood pressure instantly spiked to 180. How could he not die?

Liao Hua was still reeling from the shock of Fa Zheng's sudden death when he saw Zhuge Liang rushing into the room at top speed, holding a feather fan.