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

Zhuge Liang was working in the government office when he heard that Liao Hua had returned and gone to Fa Zheng's residence. He immediately put down his work and rushed over.

I rushed into the room as fast as I could, and was completely dumbfounded when I saw what was inside.

At this moment, Liao Hua stood in the room like a beggar, Liu Bei stood by the bed with his face covered in blood, and Fa Zheng lay limply on the bed with his chest not rising and falling, clearly dead. The scene looked like a crime scene.

Zhuge Liang's hand, holding the feather fan, froze for a long time before he asked, "Your Majesty, what about Xiaozhi...?"

According to the imperial physician, if Fa Zheng had been properly cared for, he could have made it to the New Year. How could he have suddenly...?

What happened just now?

Liu Bei was startled awake by his shouts, grabbed Fa Zheng's shoulders and shook him, saying, "Xiaozhi... Xiaozhi..."

After shaking him for a long time without waking him up, Liu Bei had no choice but to accept the fact that Fa Zheng had passed away. He had no time to grieve, but instead pulled Zhuge Liang aside and quickly told him the news that Liao Hua had brought back and Fa Zheng's last words.

The amount of information was so great that Zhuge Liang pondered for a long time while waving his feather fan before sighing, "General Guan's move is simply a stroke of genius. In this way, we can send an envoy to meet with Sun Quan and ask him to withdraw from Jiangling and return Jingzhou."

Now that Sun Quan's stronghold and family are in Guan Yu's hands, he has no choice but to submit.

Liu Bei grimaced but didn't respond. He didn't want to negotiate with Sun Quan; he wanted more.

For example, the entire Jiangdong region.

Therefore, he changed the subject and said, "The strategist's words are reasonable, but it is still necessary to send troops on an eastern expedition, at least to create the momentum of an eastern expedition and put pressure on Sun Quan."

Zhuge Liang echoed, "Your Majesty is right. I will go and gather provisions and troops. But Your Majesty, this eastern expedition is just a show of force. Please don't actually charge in."

"Taking Jianye is the best opportunity to eliminate Eastern Wu, but it is also a good opportunity for Cao Cao. If Cao Cao knew that General Guan had taken Jianye, he would definitely take action."

That damned Cao Cao put too much pressure on them, so much so that even when they knew they were at a disadvantage, they could only swallow their pride and bear it.

Zhuge Liang also hated Sun Quan for betraying him at a crucial moment in the Northern Expedition, but he had to endure it because Cao Cao would benefit from going to war with Sun Quan.

Liu Bei closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then said painfully, "Let Deng Zhi go. After meeting Sun Quan, don't rush to negotiate. Let's see how things go first. Then let my third brother lead troops to Jiangzhou to await orders. I will follow later."

After the discussion, the emperor and his minister left, and thanks to their deliberate propaganda, news of Guan Yu's attack on Jianye quickly spread.

Upon hearing the news, the officials of Shu Han were collectively shocked, marveling at how incredibly powerful Guan Yu was. He had just defeated Cao Cao and made him a force to be reckoned with throughout China, and then, despite being betrayed by his ally, he destroyed Sun Quan's stronghold.

That's amazing! Even if Han Xin were resurrected, he probably couldn't pull off such a superb maneuver.

After the initial shock, they all sprang into action. There's not much to say about this; Guan Yu had already captured Jianye, so they couldn't just stay at home doing nothing. They had to make a show of launching an eastern expedition in response.

In other words, they are no longer commanding Guan Yu, but Guan Yu is commanding them, and they must unconditionally cooperate with Guan Yu's actions.

With Liu Bei's order, the war machine of Shu Han started running again.

When good news comes, people are in high spirits. After receiving confirmation from Guan Yu, Liu Bei's illness miraculously disappeared.

Having recovered, Liu Bei did not stay long. After only three days of preparation, he ordered Zhuge Liang to stay in Chengdu and led his trusted confidants, including Zhao Yun and Huang Quan, to Jiangzhou.

As for the provisions, they can be transported later.

The roads to Shu were difficult to traverse, and it took Liu Bei seven or eight days to reach Jiangzhou. As soon as he arrived at the city, he ran into Zhang Fei, who had come from Langzhong.

Zhang Fei ran up to Liu Bei excitedly and said, "Brother, I've heard about what happened in Jingzhou. Second Brother actually destroyed Sun Quan's stronghold! That's incredibly powerful! Brother, just tell me what to do. As long as you give the order, I'll immediately rush out of the Three Gorges, recapture Jiangling, and go to Jianye to join Second Brother."

In fact, they had not yet received news of Guan Yu's capture of Jianye; everything was based on guesswork. However, Liu Bei believed in Guan Yu's abilities and even more so in Fa Zheng's judgment, believing that Jianye had already fallen into Guan Yu's hands.

But they had no idea what Guan Yu would do after taking Jianye, or how he wanted them to cooperate; they could only guess.

Looking at the excited Zhang Fei, Liu Bei smiled wryly and said, "The army is not yet fully assembled, and we still need time to prepare the provisions. The key is Cao Cao. That old bastard will definitely come out and cause trouble. It's a headache. Zilong, tell me your thoughts."

Zhao Yun bowed and said, "I think we should strike first, at least break through Yiling and Zigui, and take Yidao City into our hands. Yidao City is the gateway to Jiangling. If we take Yidao, we can advance straight to Jiangling or retreat back to Shu, making us invincible."

Yidao City was extremely important to the Han army. In the Battle of Yiling in history, Liu Bei was trapped in the mountains of Yiling by Lu Xun because he failed to capture Yidao City in time, and was able to launch a fire attack.

Now that Guan Yu has captured Jianye, whether the Han army intends to launch a full-scale eastern expedition to destroy Jiangdong or simply wants to create momentum and force Sun Quan to sign a treaty under duress, they must retake Yidao City.

Zhang Fei chimed in, "I agree with Zilong's idea. We have all received news of the fall of Jianye, and Lu Xun, who is stationed in Zigui, must have received it as well, but I doubt he would dare to tell his soldiers about it."

"Therefore, I suggest that we take advantage of the waiting time for supplies to send out spies to spread the news of Jianye's fall quickly, thereby undermining Lu Xun's morale. Once the army's supplies arrive, we should rush out of the Three Gorges."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "Let's do it this way. At the same time, send scouts to gather information about Jingzhou and contact the gentry there. I don't believe that Sun Quan would still be willing to fight for him after losing his base."

After agreeing on a plan, Liu Bei stayed in Jiangzhou, gathering information about Jingzhou while waiting for reinforcements and supplies from the rear.

Another ten days passed, and more than twenty days had passed since Liao Hua returned.

With everything finally prepared, Liu Bei finally took action, appointing Zhang Fei as the vanguard to lead the navy to attack Zigui.

After the rally was held on the training ground that day, Zhang Fei clasped his hands in a fist salute to Liu Bei and said, "Brother, I'm going now. Wait for me to catch up..."

Before he could finish speaking, someone shouted, "Your Majesty, General Zhou Cang is back! General Zhou Cang is back!"

Liu Bei's eyes widened suddenly, and he replied with delight, "Bring General Zhou Cang to the training ground."

It's obvious that Zhou Cang was sent back by Guan Yu to deliver a message. The fact that Guan Yu sent his personal bodyguard Zhou Cang to deliver the message shows how much importance Guan Yu attached to it.

After waiting for so many days, Liu Bei finally received definite news about Guan Yu. How could he not be excited?

Led by the soldiers, Zhou Cang quickly appeared on the training ground. Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and the others looked up at the same time, and their eyes widened when they saw Zhou Cang's face.

Zhou Cang is in an even worse state than Liao Hua was back then; he is so badly injured that no one at the scene recognizes him.

Zhou Cang recognized Liu Bei, ran up to him, knelt down, and said with a wronged expression, "Your Majesty, the Wu army is such a bastard! After they crossed the river in white robes and broke the rules, they strengthened the guards at the checkpoints along the way. Now, no matter who you are, you will be strictly checked by the sentries. My journey has been so difficult, I almost didn't get to see you again."

Liu Bei: "..."

You brat, don't you know what I'm most worried about?

I know you're aggrieved, but could you please tell me about my second brother before complaining?

Helpless, Liu Bei quickly walked to Zhou Cang, not minding the dirt, and helped him up, comforting him, "It's alright, we're home now, everything is over. By the way, how is things on your side, Second Brother?"

Zhou Cang wiped away his tears and said, "General Guan has successfully captured Jianye City. He has asked Your Majesty not to launch an eastern expedition, but to immediately lead the army north to attack Guanzhong."

"Huh..." Liu Bei asked, bewildered, "What the heck?"