Brothers 2

After returning to Chang’an, Guan Yu’s funeral was held. Though Guan Ping took on the role of chief mourner, it would not be wrong to say that Liu Bei was actually in charge of officiating the funeral.

With the imperial family directly taking charge of conducting the funeral, all of Han, beyond Chang’an, paid attention to Guan Yu’s funeral.

Guan Yu’s wake was crowded with visitors. All sorts of civil and military officials from not only Chang’an but all over Guanzhong took turns coming to pay their respects. Even the provinces currently occupied by Han – Yizhou, Jingzhou, Yongzhou, Liangzhou – each selected representatives to send condolences.

Unlike Cao Cao’s death, where condolence delegations went from both Han and Wu, there were no condolence delegations from other countries. Wei, the culprit who killed Guan Yu, was natural, and Wu, which had become a clear enemy state, also found no reason to send condolences.

It was a funeral solely for Han, but the scale was grand. It could be called a state funeral. Although the rites followed the protocols for a feudal lord, from the point that Emperor Liu Bei wore mourning clothes and kept vigil at the wake, it went beyond an ordinary feudal lord’s funeral.

Liu Bei, who had come over from Chengdu to Chang’an, reducing even his attendants, as if he had intuitively realized something upon hearing reports that Guan Yu had raised an army.

Even amid the funeral proceedings, he had only Guan Ping as the chief mourner greet the mourners, while he himself just silently gazed at the coffin containing Guan Yu’s body from one spot at the wake.

Liu Bei continued to keep his place at the wake where Guan Yu’s body was being kept, as the funeral procession had not yet taken place.

Time passed. The night deepened. Amidst only the last cicada sounds loudly announcing the end of summer, silence flowed through the wake.

Except for the smoke rising thickly from the incense burner, nothing moved.

Those who had filled the wake expressing condolences had disappeared, and those remaining could be counted on one hand.

Liu Bei sitting in the center of the wake, blankly staring at Guan Yu’s coffin.

Father standing behind such a Liu Bei, maintaining a motionless posture as if he had become a stone statue.

Guan Ping standing at the side of the wake, staying awake with open eyes as the chief mourner.

Though Guan Yu’s blood relatives, his wife and daughter, had not yet come, Guan Yu’s family was guarding his body. As long as Guan Yu’s body remained in this world, they would not leave this place.

And I was the same. As his niece, I silently kept my place a step behind Father. Waiting for Guan Yu’s hun soul to fly to heaven and his po soul to return to the earth.

The silence that seemed like it would continue forever suddenly ended.

Liu Bei’s voice, hoarse from long wailing, was heard:

“I thought very carefully… and very deeply.”

Liu Bei’s voice was slow and low as if drained of strength, but it carried a heart-rending quality that overwhelmed the listeners.

“I must avenge Yunchang.”

His suppressed voice gradually rose and the rough tone filled the quiet wake with tension.

“Ping’er, I cannot live under the same sky as those who killed your father.”

Though calling Guan Ping, it was also words directed at Liu Bei himself.

“Ran’er, I want to accomplish the long-cherished task your uncle ultimately couldn’t achieve, and console his spirit wandering in the nine springs.”

The great enterprise Guan Yu attempted in the last days of his life, the capture of Luoyang. Liu Bei wanted to take revenge on his mortal enemies while simultaneously seizing Luoyang from them to make it an altar for Guan Yu.

Not for the revival of Han, but to console the spirit of Guan Yu alone.

Rather than the great enterprise of Han that he had cherished all his life, consoling the utterly private resentment of his younger brother was more important to Liu Bei.

“Yide, I must make those who took away our brother shed tears of blood from their eyes as well.”

Liu Bei’s tone was calm. A flat voice, not an impassioned one consumed by emotion. But within it was dissolved anger and hatred greater than ever before.

Was Liu Bei who started the Battle of Yiling like this too?

Strangely seeming not to have lost his composure, but upon closer inspection one realizes his calmness has crumbled.

A coldly burning flame. Liu Bei’s anger ironically resembled the appearance of Cao Cao, who had been his lifelong rival, whom he said he had lived opposite to all his life.

As if not expecting answers from Guan Ping, me, and Father, Liu Bei’s words continued:

“The Prime Minister, Imperial Uncle, Minister of Justice, and Three Excellencies speak with one voice. Please calm down. It is not yet time. When the time comes, we will take the lead in raising the banner of revenge before anyone else.”

That’s right. Our circumstances had aspects that made it difficult to wage further war. The people’s sentiments, inventory of supplies, fatigue of troops and horses, etc. There were countless reasons that could be presented to oppose war.

Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Liu Ba. The standing of the Three Excellencies currently supporting Han’s internal affairs is incredibly thick. But even that was unable to stop Liu Bei.

“It’s all lies. When exactly is that time? After they have made all preparations? When Yunchang’s death has been forgotten by the world? Moreover, how could they say to take revenge first? I will think only of Yunchang when the sun rises and when the moon rises.”

I closed my eyes. Is the Battle of Yiling unavoidable?

Though he met a more peaceful death than his final moments in the original history where he was miserably beheaded after being captured by an unknown Wu general and became a spectacle for Wei and Wu, Liu Bei’s anger remained the same.

Why didn’t Guan Yu, who left last words for Guan Ping and Father, leave words telling Liu Bei to calm his anger? I felt just a tiny bit resentful towards Guan Yu who had departed.

If Liu Bei really intends to gather all the country’s strength to wage a bloody battle, what are the odds of victory? As I was considering the situation of the Three Kingdoms and various possibilities, Guan Ping opened his mouth:

“This humble one will fulfill his duty as a son. And as a subject, I will follow Your Majesty’s will.”

If avenging his father’s enemy was a son’s duty, Guan Ping was prepared to willingly take on that yoke. If Liu Bei declared a great war for Guan Yu’s revenge, Guan Ping would surely volunteer to lead the vanguard before anyone else.

Guan Ping as the son was Liu Bei’s justification for raising an army, rejecting the words of the Three Excellencies.

In such a situation, if Father, who had now become the head of Han’s military, also followed Liu Bei’s words, a reenactment of the Battle of Yiling was a predetermined course.

I looked at Father. Considering the brotherhood of the three, Father would naturally follow Liu Bei’s will. However, contrary to my guess, Father’s expression remained the same as usual.

“Your Majesty, no, Elder Brother. If we raise an army now, can we truly console Elder Brother Yu’s spirit? Can we occupy Luoyang and capture all those who harmed Elder Brother Yu to make them pay the price? If so, this younger brother will naturally follow Elder Brother and lead soldiers to stand at the vanguard.”

Perhaps because he had watched over Guan Yu’s final moments. Unlike Liu Bei, Father faced reality.

“But if we cannot do so, raising an army now will not console Elder Brother Yu’s spirit, but rather leave him with greater resentment to wander the nine springs.”

If successful, all would be well, but if we fail, it’s not simply that Guan Yu’s revenge would be put off once, but the opportunity itself might be blocked forever.

As Father expressed his concerns, even Liu Bei, who may not have completely lost his reason, refrained from speaking for a moment.

A little later, when Liu Bei opened his mouth again, the words that came out were somewhat disconnected from Guan Yu’s revenge war:

“I wanted to live as a junzi. As Cao Cao put forth hegemony, I put forth virtue. Confucius said the sage is supreme, but feeling I couldn’t follow that, I chose to be a junzi. I enjoyed the three pleasures Mencius spoke of, and took ‘a junzi changes like a leopard’ as my life’s motto to overcome all sorts of hardships.”

The pleasures of a junzi that Mencius spoke of.

The first pleasure is that one’s brothers are safe and sound, the second pleasure is that one feels no shame looking up to Heaven or down at people, and the third pleasure is obtaining talented youth of the world and nurturing them into outstanding talents.

Though he lost his parents, his brothers were with Liu Bei.

It’s questionable whether Liu Bei was truly upright, but at least there was no ruler in the world who received as much love from the people as Liu Bei.

The talents who blossomed through his hands were active in key positions of Han, so it could be said that Liu Bei enjoyed the three pleasures of a junzi as he said.

“Although I cannot confidently say I truly lived as a junzi looking back on my life, I could proudly say that I pursued being a junzi.”

The people, righteousness, virtue.

Liu Bei, who had prioritized the greater good over personal desires until now, chose his personal desires this time.

“But now I can no longer dare to utter the word junzi. I have become the emperor ruling the world, and I have lost my brother. Now I can say it. I am not a junzi. I am Liu Bei.”

Liu Bei slowly rose from the spot he had been keeping all day long.

Standing tall before Guan Yu’s coffin, Liu Bei was more enormous than ever, yet more diminutive than ever.

“They say a junzi’s revenge is not too late even after ten years. But I am not a junzi, so I cannot wait ten years. That is too long.”

Turning his body to look at me, Zhang Fei, and Guan Ping, Liu Bei declared:

“So it will be one year. One year later, I will raise an army. Next year, I will offer the heads of Sima Yi, Xiahou Shang, and Cao Pi on Yunchang’s memorial altar to comfort his spirit.”