"What? Who was killed?"
Liu Bei initially looked puzzled, thinking he had misheard.
"My lord... Yun Chang... has fallen in battle!" Pang Tong said again.
Liu Bei chuckled and looked at Zhuge Liang, saying, "Kongming, look, Shiyuan is drunk. He's starting to talk nonsense. He says that Yunchang has died in battle."
"My lord, Pang Tong wasn't talking nonsense. Zhou Yu used the pretext of borrowing a passage through Jingzhou to launch a surprise attack on Nanyang. Yun Chang was forced to retreat to Maicheng, where he was overwhelmed by the Jiangdong army and has already been killed in battle!"
Upon hearing both of them say this, Liu Bei immediately froze on the spot.
"Impossible! My second brother... my second brother is invincible!"
"He's always the one killing people, nobody ever kills him!" Liu Bei refused to accept this reality.
Pang Tong continued, "My lord, this is absolutely true!"
Liu Bei shook his head slightly, muttering, "Impossible! Impossible..."
My lord! Please accept my condolences!
"No...no! This must be fake!"
Liu Bei suddenly roared, "You're lying! You must be deceiving me!"
"How could Yun Chang die? How could he die?"
Liu Bei kept muttering to himself, his eyes red and tears streaming down his face, as if he had lost control.
Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang looked at each other, neither daring to utter a sound.
"Zhou Yu! Sun Quan! I...I will conquer Jiangdong!"
"Give me back...my second brother! Give me back...my second brother!"
Liu Bei was so anxious that he lost his breath and fainted.
Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were instantly terrified and quickly supported Liu Bei, crying out, "My lord! My lord!"
"Quickly, summon a doctor!"
Soon, Zhuge Liang sent his servants to fetch a doctor.
After examining Pang Tong, the physician looked grave and said to Zhuge Liang, "My lord, it seems that your anger has overwhelmed you, causing you to faint!"
Upon hearing this, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang showed expressions of worry.
A moment later, Liu Bei slowly woke up.
Pang Tong quickly asked, "My lord, are you alright?"
Liu Bei swayed as he sat up, but before he could speak, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"My lord!"
Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang exclaimed in surprise.
Liu Bei waved his hand, forcing himself to speak, "Pass on my order... mobilize the entire army and... crush Jiangdong!"
Upon hearing this, both Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang knelt on the ground.
"My lord, you mustn't! We have just fought a great battle; we cannot afford to clash with Jiangdong again!" Zhuge Liang advised.
Liu Bei said angrily, "My two brothers and I swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden. We started from humble beginnings. If we do not avenge our loss, my heart will not be at peace! I will definitely conquer Jiangdong!"
"My lord, for the sake of the Han dynasty's foundation, I implore you to reconsider!" Pang Tong continued his admonition.
Liu Bei was taken aback for a moment, but quickly calmed down.
He also knew that launching an attack at this point would be extremely risky for them.
But how could he accept the thought of Guan Yu's death?
"Then... what should I do?" Liu Bei murmured.
Pang Tong pondered for a long time before saying, "My lord, Jiangdong has broken its promise this time. We can send someone to Jiangdong to question Sun Quan and demand the return of the three counties of Jingzhou."
"Therefore, we demand that Eastern Wu hand over Lü Meng, or we will raise an army and attack them!"
Liu Bei nodded and said, "This method... is feasible."
"But who should we send?"
Pang Tong said, "I am willing to go to Jiangdong to demand the three counties of Jingzhou from Sun Quan. I urge my lord to stabilize the situation for now and not to lose sight of the bigger picture!"
“No, Jiangdong has already broken ties with us. How can the strategist take such a risk?” Liu Bei retorted.
Pang Tong said, "My lord, rest assured, I do not believe Sun Quan would dare to do anything to me!"
"No, absolutely not!"
Liu Bei refused no matter what he said; he had already lost Guan Yu and could not take the risk.
At this moment, Zhuge Liang cupped his hands and said, "My lord, let me go."
“My elder brother works in Jiangdong. I will definitely not be in danger if I go.”
Zhuge Liang's elder brother, Zhuge Jin, is currently serving under Sun Quan and enjoys his deep trust. It would be most appropriate for Zhuge Liang to go to Jiangdong.
But Liu Bei still disagreed, saying, "No! I don't agree!"
"My lord! If we fail to reclaim the three counties of Jingzhou, we will surely be attacked by Sun Quan during our future northern expeditions, and then it will be too late to regret it!" Zhuge Liang said resolutely.
After listening, Liu Bei fell silent. He knew that Zhuge Liang was right, but he still felt it was inappropriate and did not want Zhuge Liang to be in danger.
Zhuge Liang saw Liu Bei's hesitation and said, "My lord, if you are worried, you can have Zilong accompany me."
Zhao Yun's strength is beyond doubt, and coupled with Zhuge Liang's own superb wisdom, Liu Bei could feel a little more at ease with Zhao Yun escorting him.
"Since that's the case... then I'll have to trouble you, Kongming!" Liu Bei sighed and said slowly.
After Zhuge Liang finished speaking, he and Pang Tong finally breathed a sigh of relief, having managed to stabilize Liu Bei.
After Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang left, Liu Bei leaned against his bed, recalling all the things that had happened since the three brothers met.
Thinking of this, two cloudy tears slid down Liu Bei's cheeks, and he murmured softly, "Second brother, second brother..."
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Zhou Cang and several hundred remaining soldiers fled Jingzhou with Dian Wei, heading towards Yunmeng Mountain. They raced all the way and it took them several days to reach Yunmeng Mountain.
After Dian Wei woke up, he immediately wanted to return to Jingzhou, but Zhou Cang stopped him.
"General Guan's orders to me are to send you back to Guigu. I must carry out General Guan's orders. Unless you kill me, I will never let you leave!"
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
