The Han Dynasty Endures: I Become Guan Yu, Defend Jingzhou, and Rule the World

Lin Yue, a modern graduate student in history, unexpectedly transmigrates into Guan Yu’s body in Jingzhou in the twenty-fourth year of Jian’an (219 CE), just as Guan Yu is preparing for the Battle of Xiangyang and Fancheng. Knowing that “once Xiangyang and Fancheng are lost, Maicheng is doomed,” Lin Yue suppresses his urge to campaign north. Citing his unhealed arm and the need to secure Jingzhou, he overrules all objections and vows to defend this half of Shu Han’s realm. He orders Mi Fang and Fu Shiren to lead infantry in harassing the supply routes to Fancheng, using “hook formations” and “fish-scale formations” to wear down the enemy. At the same time, he builds up Jingzhou’s navy, using tower ships with battering rams and warships equipped with crossbowmen to fortify the Yangtze defenses, foiling Sun Quan’s plot to cross the river in white robes before it can come to fruition. To overcome the shortage of generals and soldiers, he forms the Hidden Dragon unit, an elite corps of covert operatives. They sneak into Runan to capture Deng Ai’s mother and into Luoyang to seize Zhong Hui’s family, then win over the two extraordinary talents through a combination of kindness and intimidation. He also allies with Ma Dai and the Qiang and Hu peoples, and builds ties with Shi Xie in Jiaozhi, securing provisions and strengthening the cavalry until Jingzhou becomes an impregnable foundation. Facing Cao Ren’s powerful forces at Fancheng and Yu Jin’s seven armies bearing down on him, he takes advantage of torrential rain on the Han River to launch a deliberate flood attack, annihilating tens of thousands through coordinated naval, infantry, and cavalry assaults. To deal with Sun Quan’s duplicitous alliance, he extorts grain and horses and captures Lu Xun’s family to force a retreat. By exploiting divisions within Cao Wei, he drives a wedge between Sima Yi and the Cao clan, undermining the enemy’s strength. From defending Jingzhou to capturing Xiangyang and Fancheng, securing Nanyang, and taking Chang’an, then finally destroying Cao Wei and pacifying Eastern Wu, Lin Yue, in Guan Yu’s body and alongside famous generals such as Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, and Ma Dai, turns history’s tide with precise tactics and ruthless political schemes. He helps Liu Bei restore the Han dynasty, raising the banner of “the Han mandate shall never perish” once more over the Central Plains.