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

Chapter 502 Don't Make Swearings Randomly, the Luo River is Dirty

Although Guan Xing only said a few words, the amount of information contained in them was greater than that in Sima Qian's entire "Records of the Grand Historian," making Zhuge Liang's head almost explode.

Zhuge Liang stood there stunned for a quarter of an hour, as if frozen in place, before rubbing his aching head and saying, "You used Qin Er Shi as an example to show that the fate of the Han Dynasty was similar to that of Qin Er Shi. Guan Yu couldn't escape from Maicheng, and Your Majesty didn't reclaim Jingzhou. In the end, the Han Dynasty perished, right?"

Guan Xing nodded.

Zhuge Liang felt inexplicably heartbroken upon hearing this, but said with a complicated expression, "So it must be that Heaven couldn't bear to see the Han Dynasty perish, so it sent you to save the Han Dynasty, right? This is the will of Heaven."

Guan Xing: "..."

Zhuge Liang continued, “Since it is the will of Heaven, how could I go against it to kill you? Since you are the savior sent by Heaven to save the Han Dynasty, the King and I will naturally treat you with courtesy. I, Zhuge Liang Kongming, swear by the Luo River that as long as you do not betray the Han Dynasty, I will never betray you in this life.”

Zhuge Liang was also deeply influenced by Dong Zhongshu's ideas of the unity of heaven and man and the divine right of kings. He felt that if it was the will of heaven, it could not be defied. Since Guan Xing was sent by heaven to save the Han Dynasty, he should be given the treatment due to the heavenly messenger.

But the mention of the Luo River made Guan Xing's eyelids twitch. He quickly raised his hand in a defensive gesture and said, "No, please don't swear by the Luo River. I don't believe you."

Zhuge Liang asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Aren't you from a thousand or eight hundred years later? Don't you know the story of Emperor Guangwu swearing an oath by pointing to the Luo River?"

Guan Xing sighed helplessly, "I know, I also know that in the tenth year of the Zhengshi era of Cao Wei, which is 249 AD, Sima Yi launched the Gaopingling Incident to seize power from Cao Shuang, the son of the then Grand General Cao Zhen. He used the Luo River as a swearing oath and had Jiang Ji act as guarantor to persuade Cao Shuang to surrender. Because of the deeds of Emperor Guangwu, Cao Shuang believed Sima Yi and gave up resistance and surrendered. As a result, Sima Yi turned around and wiped out Cao Shuang's entire clan. This incident angered Jiang Ji so much that he died of depression."

"Uh..." Zhuge Liang opened his mouth wide in surprise again.

He hadn't heard of the tenth year of the Zhengshi era, but he understood 249 AD. Guan Xing had just mentioned that the defeat at Maicheng was in 219 AD, meaning that Sima Yi launched the Gaopingling Incident thirty years later.

How old was Sima Yi this year? Was he really that long-lived?

Longevity is fine, but openly breaking the oath made by the Luo River is a bit too immoral. Doesn't he care about public opinion?

Zhuge Liang quickly asked, "And then what happened?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about that for now. If you're really sincere, then change your oath. You can swear by the Yangtze River, but forget about swearing by the Luo River. The Luo River is already tainted by me."

Zhuge Liang: “…”

He was still reeling from the shock of Sima Yi breaking his oath at Luoshui. People with high moral standards like him sometimes just couldn't understand what people with low moral standards did. Did they really have no shame at all?

Zhuge Liang said helplessly, "Then I'll swear in the name of the ancestors of the Zhuge clan of Langya, okay? I'll say it again: as long as you don't betray the Han Dynasty, I will never betray you, but if you do betray the Han Dynasty..."

Guan Xing interrupted, saying, "I still trust Prime Minister Zhuge's character. As for the history of the next 1,800 years that you want to know, there's nothing to hide and I can tell you. But a history of over a thousand years is really too vast to be told in one night. Let's wait until the great battle with Cao Cao is over."

"Like I said before, I don't like guessing. After the great battle is over, I will personally confront the king. Remember to speak up for me and protect me then."

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "That's for sure."

Guan Xing said, "Then go back and rest early. There are still many things to do with the big battle imminent. Don't waste your precious time on these trivial matters."

After saying that, he lay down, turned his back to Zhuge Liang, and before Zhuge Liang could react, he began to snore loudly.

Falling asleep doesn't happen that quickly; this is clearly someone pretending to be asleep.

But Zhuge Liang knew he could never wake someone who was pretending to be asleep, so he could only sigh and get up to leave.

Regardless of gender, the most unbearable thing is when the other person only says half of what they mean, especially when it's about a topic that interests them.

Back in his tent, Zhuge Liang suffered from insomnia. His mind was filled with the things Guan Xing hadn't finished saying, the vast history books of the next 1,800 years. He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

He regretted confronting Guan Xing. In doing so, he resolved Guan Xing's anxiety but ended up depressed himself. It was a losing proposition.

What should we do? Should we go talk to Guan Xing again?

Although he really wanted to drag Guan Xing up and listen to him talk for three days and three nights, he didn't really want to force Guan Xing.

Besides, Guan Xing is right. A history of thousands of years cannot be told in a few words. It takes a lot of time, and time is exactly what I lack right now. Now that I know Guan Xing’s background, understand his attitude, and have calmed him down, there is really no need to waste any more precious time.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to suppress the urge to find Guan Xing again. He shifted his thinking according to Guan Xing's ideas, putting himself in the shoes of Qin Er Shi to control the course of history. He was surprised to find that if he were Qin Er Shi, knowing the course of history would make it incredibly easy to defeat the feudal lords and restore the Qin Dynasty, even when facing formidable opponents such as Xiang Yu, Emperor Gaozu of Han, and the Three Heroes of the early Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Liang, immersing himself in the role of Qin Er Shi, simulated the struggle for supremacy at the end of the Qin Dynasty in his mind. He continued this simulation until late at night, when he finally drifted off to sleep.

As dawn broke, Guan Xing's condition remained unknown, but Zhuge Liang, yawning and with bloodshot eyes, continued working. Stepping out of his tent, he saw Guan Xing's tent from afar, his eyes filled with resentment.

Zhuge Liang was not the only one who harbored resentment towards Guan Xing.

Before the sun had even risen, Guan Yu, who, due to his age, needed less sleep, stormed into Guan Xing's tent, whip in hand. Seeing Guan Xing still fast asleep, his anger flared even more. He lashed the bedside with the whip, making a sharp crack, which startled Guan Xing so much that he sat bolt upright. Seeing Guan Yu's grim face, he instinctively shrank back into the corner, weakly asking, "Father, what are you doing? You...you know everything..."

While asking the question, he cursed Zhuge Liang in his heart, saying, "I already said that we would reveal our secrets after the great battle, why did you tell Guan Yu in advance?"

Guan Yu rebuked sharply, "Otherwise what? Do you think you can keep it a secret? Why did you plead for Mi Fang and Fu Shiren?"

He rushed back as fast as he could, hoping to settle accounts with those two traitors, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, but to his dismay, they had slipped away.

Upon further inquiry, it turned out that it was Guan Xing who had come up with the idea, and Guan Yu immediately became furious.

He had never suffered such a great defeat as Maicheng in his life. He dreamed of settling accounts with Mi Fang and Fu Shiren. Just when he was about to settle the score after all the bitterness, his enemy was let go by his son. How could Guan Yu bear this?

Guan Xing: "..."

It wasn't Zhuge Liang who leaked the secret; it was aimed at Mi Fang and Fu Shiren.

I thought Zhuge Liang had betrayed you.

Thank goodness, thank goodness I didn't say anything wrong, otherwise I would have inadvertently confessed.

Mentioning this made Guan Xing very interested, and instead of answering, he asked, "Then why did you let Cao Cao escape at Huarong Pass back then?"

Guan Yu was speechless for a moment. He felt his father's authority had been challenged and his anger intensified. He swung his leather whip at Guan Xing and shouted, "You unfilial son, how dare you talk back! I'll beat you to death!"

Guan Xing wasn't about to stand there and take the beating. He decisively dodged the trampoline, and before Guan Yu could swing his whip a second time, he took off running, shouting hoarsely outside the tent, "Help!"

Guan Yu, unwilling to give up, rushed out of the tent and continued the chase, shouting as he ran, "You unfilial son, stop right there! If you don't explain yourself today, I'll kill you!"

At this moment, many people in the military camp had already gotten up. Zhang Bao, Jiang Wei and others who lived near Guan Xing heard Guan Xing's cry for help and instinctively rushed to his aid. Upon seeing Guan Yu, they all tacitly twisted their heels, turned around on the spot, and fled back to their tents as quickly as possible.

It's only natural for a father to beat his son; they don't want to be stupid enough to run over there and get beaten up by Guan Yu along with them.