Transmigrating to the Three Kingdoms: I, Sima Yi, Join Liu Bei as a Loyal Minister

After his soul inhabits Sima Yi, he goes against the tide and joins Liu Bei’s Han forces, determined to follow in Zhuge Liang’s footsteps and become a Shu Han loyalist who does what must be done, even when it seems impossible. But once he reaches Shu, he discovers that this vast enterprise is already burdened by deep-rooted problems. Liu Bei puts loyalty above the bigger picture, while court factions are deeply entrenched. Guan Yu is arrogant beyond compare, and as commander, he will not listen to a word of advice. Zhang Fei is violent by nature, wielding military power over his territory as he pleases. There may be only one lord in name, but in reality, three power brokers hold sway. No matter how many brilliant schemes an outsider has, he can never become part of the inner circle. He pleads with them to secure Xuzhou, but Zhang Fei ignores him, and the vital city is lost. He earnestly warns them to guard against Eastern Wu, but Guan Yu dismisses him, and Jingzhou is lost. He desperately tries to stop them from attacking Wu for now, but Liu Bei stubbornly insists on marching straight into the fire. He sees every coming defeat and understands the source of every disaster. Each time, he does everything he can to stop it, and each time, he fails. He earns nothing but cold looks and relentless ostracism, becoming the killjoy raven of ill omen in everyone’s eyes. The tide is set, the realm cannot be saved, and Shu Han’s decline is already inevitable. The fires of Yiling spread across the land. The late emperor is trapped in dire straits, while every minister hangs back to avoid disaster. Everyone knows that anyone who goes will surely die. Only he steps forward. A storm of arrows rains down, but he does not retreat a single step. With the Shu Han battle standard stained in blood, he falls before Liu Bei. He spends a lifetime exhausting his schemes and reckoning with the currents of the realm, yet in the end, he cannot fathom the human heart or save a kingdom in decline. As he draws his final breath, he sighs inwardly: “Kongming, I finally learned to follow the way of loyalty to one’s lord in this lifetime.”