Xun Yu's New Path: The Road to Restoring the Han

In the seventeenth year of Jian'an, Xun Yu gazed at the empty food box on his desk, and for a moment, he was lost in thoughts of a dusk twenty years earlier on the outskirts of Xuchang. Cao Cao had poured him wine that was still warm, but he had not known that the drink sliding down his throat would be steeped in half a lifetime of blood and tears, and herald the Han dynasty's downfall. Unable to accept his death and filled with regret over Cao Cao's ambition, Xun Yu was reborn on the third day after his death, back at the crossroads of fate: the crucial moment when he had to choose whether to follow Cao Cao. This time, Xun Yu chose to abandon Cao Cao and support Liu Bei. He knew Cao Cao would eventually take the road to usurp the Han, while Liu Bei, with his benevolent heart, was the hope of restoring the dynasty. Drawing on his memories from his previous life, he maneuvered carefully through the chaos: he provoked Lü Bu with his wits atop the walls of Xuzhou, then resolved a crisis with the arrow shot through the halberd at the camp gate; at the thatched cottage in Longzhong, he and Zhuge Liang studied the map and devised a plan to divide the realm into three; at Bowang Slope, he used fire to send Xiahou Dun retreating in defeat; and at Fallen Phoenix Slope, he risked his life to stop Pang Tong, rewriting the tragedy of his premature death. Facing Cao Cao's suspicions and Sun Quan's schemes, Xun Yu used his unmatched cunning to navigate between the warlords. Together with Chen Gong, Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang, and a host of other strategists, he built Liu Bei a team capable of vying for the realm. He introduced new policies to stabilize people's lives and built a vast intelligence network to keep the situation in hand. In crucial battles, including the Battle of Xiangfan and the struggle for Chang'an, he turned the tide. When Cao Pi attempted to usurp the throne, Xun Yu raised the late emperor's edict hidden in a belt and helped Liu Bei lead his troops to Xuchang, finally fulfilling the great ambition: “The Han and its enemies cannot coexist; the imperial cause must not be confined to a corner.” This is a story of rebirth, redemption, and ideals. With his life, Xun Yu forged a path unlike anything in history amid the turbulent Three Kingdoms, allowing the glory of the Han dynasty to shine once more