Traveling back in time to Liu Feng, starting with rescuing soldier Guan Yu.

Liu Feng succinctly and concisely explained to Guan Yu the strategy he had already devised many times.

After he finished speaking, he looked up at Guan Yu, waiting for a response.

Guan Yu remained silent for a moment.

The oil lamp flame flickered gently inside the tent, casting the shadows of the three men on the tent wall, sometimes long, sometimes short. The faint sounds of soldiers clamoring outside the tent could be heard; the news brought by Liu Feng was still unfolding.

Some were shouting to march back to Jiangling, while others were singing folk songs from Jingxiang, their voices rough and desolate.

"Liu Feng," Guan Yu finally spoke.

"Your subordinate is here."

I understand your good intentions.

Guan Yu's voice was deep and slow, like the flowing Han River, seemingly calm yet possessing an irresistible power. "Xiangyang has fallen to you. With Ji Chang's assistance, the people are safe and the land is secure. You have clearly calculated the supply lines, waterways, and strategies for advance and retreat. That's excellent."

He paused.

"But Jiangling,"

"I must take it back."

This statement left no room for negotiation; each of the six words was like a nail driven into the ground.

Liu Feng opened his mouth, but Guan Yu raised his hand to stop him.

"You don't need to persuade me anymore. I know better than you how Jiangling was lost. I know about Mi Fang and Fu Shiren surrendering the city, and Lü Meng crossing the river in disguise."

His voice was slightly low, and a barely perceptible hint of pain flashed in his phoenix eyes.

"But Jiangling City is not only home to Mi Fang and Fu Shiren. There are also tens of thousands of families of Jingzhou soldiers, as well as the wives and children of old soldiers who fought against Guan Yu for half their lives. They are now all in Lü Meng's hands."

He raised his head, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"I, Guan, can retreat, can be defeated, can even die. But I absolutely cannot leave the families of tens of thousands of soldiers in Jiangling and retreat to Xiangyang myself."

"Those soldiers have followed me for many years; their wives, children, and elderly parents are like my own. You expect me to abandon them?"

Liu Feng remained silent for a moment, then stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I cannot agree with what you say, my lord."

Guan Ping's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously looked at his father.

Guan Yu was not angry; he simply looked at Liu Feng with a calm gaze.

"My lord, if you wish to retake Jiangling, I dare ask—with what means will you seize it?"

Liu Feng's voice wasn't loud, but every word was crystal clear.

"How many troops does Your Excellency still have under your command? How many days can your provisions last? Lü Meng is prepared in Jiangling, and the Wu navy has blockaded the river. What will Your Excellency use to attack the city?"

He didn't wait for Guan Yu's answer, because everyone already knew the answer to these questions.

He continued speaking, his pace quickening.

"If you, my lord, insist on a forceful attack on Jiangling, I cannot stop you. But have you considered what will happen if you fail to capture it? What if you perish beneath the walls of Jiangling? Cao Cao is in Xuchang, and he must have already received news of the fall of Xiangfan. If he takes advantage of your southern campaign against Jiangling to personally lead a large army south, how will Xiangfan defend itself? How will Jingzhou defend itself? The King of Hanzhong is in Chengdu, how will he launch a northern expedition against the Central Plains?"

He finished speaking in one breath, and the tent fell silent.

Guan Yu gazed at Liu Feng, his flushed face revealing neither joy nor anger. After a long silence, he spoke slowly, his voice still steady.

"I have considered what you have said. I am also aware of the importance of Xiangfan. Therefore—"

He paused.

"I will personally submit a memorial to the King of Hanzhong, explaining your achievements and also recounting my own faults. Your capture of Xiangfan is a great achievement. My loss of Jiangling is a great fault. With merits and demerits clearly distinguished, the King of Hanzhong will make his own judgment."

He spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"But I must fight for Jiangling."

Liu Feng's heart skipped a beat.

Guan Yu's stubbornness and arrogance are known throughout the world.

This man followed Liu Bei from the time he raised an army in Zhuojun. Over the course of forty years, he fought countless battles, suffered countless wounds, and was defeated countless times, yet no one ever saw him bow his head.

Cao Cao treated him like an honored guest, but he resigned his post and left without paying any money. When Sun Quan wanted to form a marriage alliance, he insulted and humiliated Sun Quan's envoy.

This man had never bowed to anyone in his entire life. To ask him now to admit that he was powerless to retake Jiangling, to retreat to Xiangyang and nominally take command while in reality retreating—this was harder than killing him.

You can't reason with them.

It's not that Guan Yu didn't understand the principles; it's that even after understanding them, he still chose to do what he believed was right.

The more you try to persuade him, the more stubborn he becomes.

Liu Feng remained silent for a few breaths, then raised his head, his expression changing.

It is no longer the respect and caution of a subordinate speaking to a superior or a junior speaking to an elder, but a bluntness that is almost offensive.

"Since Your Excellency refuses to move your troops to Xiangyang, I dare to inquire..."

His voice suddenly rose a notch, and his gaze met Guan Yu's directly.

"Is Your Excellency afraid?"

The air in the tent suddenly froze. Guan Ping abruptly stood up and said sternly, "Brother! Our father has traversed the world, remaining unfazed even when faced with an axe; how could he fear anyone else..."

Guan Yu raised a hand to stop Guan Ping from continuing.

He looked at Liu Feng, his phoenix eyes suddenly blazing with light, like a gust of wind suddenly blowing into a furnace of charcoal. He didn't speak, but that silence was more oppressive than any roar.

Liu Feng did not back down. He knew that now that he had opened this door, he had to see it through to the end.

Giving up halfway is the real offense.

"Cao Cao has lost Hanzhong and then Xiangfan. How could he possibly let this go? He will surely lead a large army south to retake Xiangfan. Your Excellency is unwilling to remain in Xiangyang at this time. Is it because you fear Cao Cao's power and are afraid of losing Xiangyang again?"

Guan Yu placed his right hand on his knee, his knuckles slightly clenched.

Liu Feng continued, "If Your Majesty finds my words incorrect, you may order me to be thrown out now. But I have one more thing to say..."

He took a deep breath, his voice pressing out from his chest, carrying a sharp edge that only a young man possesses.

"It is easy for a true man to die. To fight a battle beneath the city walls and die wrapped in horsehide is a truly exhilarating experience. I know that you, my lord, are not afraid of death, and the entire army and the world know this."

"But if you die at the gates of Jiangling, what will become of the King of Hanzhong? How will the Han dynasty be restored? Your death may be quick and painless, but it will allow Cao Cao to reap the benefits, Sun Quan to seize Jingzhou and Xiangyang, and the King of Hanzhong to hold out alone in Chengdu."

"My lord, have you long studied the Spring and Autumn Annals? Do you believe this to be the bond between brothers? The way of a subject? The mark of a great man?"

These words were fired off like a barrage of arrows, each one hitting the same bullseye.

The tent fell completely silent.

Guan Ping stood there, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his face pale. He had followed his father for many years and had seen countless people tremble before Guan Yu, and countless people offer tactful advice, but he had never seen anyone dare to speak to Guan Yu like this.

Guan Yu sat on the couch, his right hand still resting on his knee, his knuckles white from clenching his fists. His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze slowly shifted from Liu Feng's face to the large banner with the character "Guan" on the tent wall.

The oil lamp flame crackled silently.

Time seemed to stretch out.

Then, Guan Yu suddenly laughed.

The laughter was extremely short, as if squeezed out from deep within his chest, with a hint of hoarseness. After laughing, he reached up and stroked his long beard, then slowly stood up. This time he stood up very slowly, his back still ramrod straight.

He looked down at Liu Feng. Liu Feng remained motionless, still in the gesture of clasped hands.

"You know, I have always looked down on you, and I have even advised my brother not to use the adopted son."

Guan Yu suddenly spoke, but the topic abruptly shifted to another direction.

Liu Feng raised his head and resolutely said, "Yes."

Guan Yu looked up at the sky and laughed, his smile tinged with bitterness and relief. He said in a deep voice, "Now it seems that my elder brother's judgment of people is indeed far superior to mine! Alas, the younger generation surpasses the older generation, and heroes have always emerged from among the young."

"I doubt anyone else in the world would dare utter these words before me. Liu Feng, you truly deserve the blood of the King of Han, and you are indeed my elder brother's flesh and blood!"

"Very well, I am old now, and the unfulfilled ambitions of my life can only be accomplished by you and Ping'er."

Guan Yu strode to the tent wall and reached out to take down the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. The blade was heavy; he lifted it with one hand, and the hilt tapped lightly on the rammed earth, producing a dull thud.

He turned around, and the lamplight cast his shadow on the tent wall, making him appear as tall as a mountain.

"Order the three armies to break camp at dawn tomorrow and head north to Xiangyang."

Guan Ping paused for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and loudly replied, "Yes, sir!"

He turned and strode out of the tent. The moment the tent flap was lifted, a wave of sound rushed in from outside.

Liu Feng heard Guan Ping's voice ring out in the camp, announcing the order to break camp and march north. Immediately afterward, an even more intense shout erupted from the camp.

These Jingzhou soldiers experienced a dramatic shift in their emotions within a short half-hour period, from despair to indignation, and from indignation to exhilaration. Now, upon hearing that they were to march north to Xiangyang to join forces with Liu Feng, they could no longer contain themselves.

The tent flaps fell again, shutting out the noise outside. Guan Yu stood inside the tent, leaning on his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, his gaze fixed on Liu Feng.

"Feng'er".

"My nephew is here."

"I have ordered the more than 10,000 naval troops of Jingzhou to be stationed at the ferry crossing 60 li east of Dangyang City. Feng'er, you may rest for the night. Tomorrow, take my orders and command them to return to Xiangyang together to defend the Han River."

Liu Feng looked up and met Guan Yu's gaze.

The flame burning in those phoenix eyes was no longer the resentment of a defeated general, but the excitement of a tiger regaining the scent of its prey.

"Your nephew obeys!"

That night, Liu Feng rested in Guan Yu's camp. Guan Ping ordered someone to clear out a small tent and bring him dry rations and water.

Liu Feng hadn't slept for two days and nights, falling into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. But before he fell asleep, Guan Yu's words kept replaying in his mind.

"Tomorrow, take my orders and command the navy to return to Xiangyang and defend the Han River."

He chuckled silently in the darkness.

Instead of asking, use provocation.

This strategy might be useless to others, but for Guan Yu, it was the perfect remedy. Guan Yu was not afraid of death, defeat, or the opinions of the world, but he feared one thing—that others would say he had let Liu Bei down, and that he had become a burden to the restoration of the Han Dynasty.

Every word Liu Feng said hit this sore spot.