No, not him, too!! Another major character bites the dust.

* Transcript

* Map of Key Locations

* Graph of Key Characters and Relationships

Transcript

PDF version

Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 102.

Last time, we left off with Liu Bei declaring himself emperor after the Han emperor was officially deposed by Cao Pi. As his first imperial act, Liu Bei was going to attack Dongwu to make them pay for killing his brother Guan Yu, but a number of his officials were against it. However, his third brother, Zhang Fei, heard about this and personally headed to the Shu capital Chengdu to make sure Liu Bei did not waver in his conviction for war with Dongwu.

At this time, Liu Bei was personally drilling his troops every day in preparation for the campaign, but many of his officials were still hoping to talk him out of it. A bunch of them went to see Zhuge Liang and said, “His highness has only just recently ascended to the imperial throne and now he wants to personally lead an expedition. His priorities are misplaced. Prime minister, you hold an influential position. Can you not talk him out of it?”

“I have already tried time and again,” Zhuge Liang said, “but he would not listen. Today, why don’t you all go with me to the training grounds to offer our counsel?”

So they all followed Zhuge Liang to see Liu Bei and told him, “Your highness has just ascended to the throne. The only time when it would be appropriate for you to personally command an army is if you are marching north to bring the usurpers to justice. If you want to attack Dongwu, then you should just appoint a top general to lead in your place. There is no need for you to go personally.”

Being leaned on so hard by Zhuge Liang and others, Liu Bei was starting to sway, but just then, Zhang Fei arrived. Liu Bei summoned him immediately, and Zhang Fei came in and threw himself onto the ground. He clutched Liu Bei’s foot and wept, which made Liu Bei cry as well.

“Your highness is now the emperor, and you have forgotten the oath in the peach orchard!” Zhang Fei said. “Why are you not avenging brother Guan’s death?!”

“Many officials oppose such an action, so I haven’t dared to move rashly,” Liu Bei said.

“How can other people understand our pledge?!” Zhang Fei said. “If your highness will not go, then I will forfeit my life to avenge brother Guan! If I do not succeed, then I would rather die than to face you!”

Well, so much for all the hard work that Zhuge Liang and company had done in trying to dissuade Liu Bei from his invasion. A few words from Zhang Fei made up his mind.

“I will go with you,” Liu Bei said to Zhang Fei. “Lead the troops under your command and move out. I will meet up with you with crack troops so that we may attack Dongwu together and seek vengeance!”

 

So it was decided. Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were going out on a quest for revenge. Before Zhang Fei took his leave, Liu Bei reminded him, “I know that when you drink, you tend to get angry and whip your soldiers, but then you keep them around you. That is a recipe for disaster. From now on, you must change your ways and be more lenient.”

Zhang Fei agreed and took his leave. The next day, Liu Bei was about to mobilize his army, but the scholar Qin (2) Mi (4) again spoke up against it.

“For your majesty to risk your precious self over a trifling point of honor is a course that no ancient sage would approve of,