Reviving the Han Dynasty: Liu Shan Refuses to Forget Shu

After Cao Cao unified the north, the tide had already turned. Neither the Shu Han nor the Jiangdong groups could amount to anything. Trying to change the course of events based solely on later memories would only lead to increasing despair. Cao Wei could simply outlast them with its national strength.

Suddenly, I started thinking about what would happen if you, as Liu Shan, could revive the Han Dynasty after the Battle of Yiling. In my opinion, Zhuge Liang's seven expeditions to Qishan were a desperate act of resistance, resulting in heavy losses on both sides; Cao Cao's advantage was too great. My personal view is that he should have attacked the Qiang, Di, and Nanman tribes, trying to annex other ethnic groups and accumulate strength.

If this book ended with the unification of the Three Kingdoms, it would only be a decent Three Kingdoms novel. It's precisely the depiction of the Han Dynasty after Liu Shan's death that truly makes this book stand out. It evokes memories of the turbulent times of decades past; perhaps he too thought that only a genuine revolution could realize his ideals. Did he fail?

This book has a unique appeal: Zhuge Liang, a brilliant strategist throughout history, a resolute minister with unwavering loyalty to the Shu Han state; a monarch who wielded immense power and influence over the course of history, magnanimous and detached—it's simply captivating.

In a sense, the Chancellor's Northern Expeditions saved Cao Wei, temporarily setting aside its internal conflicts. At that time, the conflict between the nobles and aristocratic families in the Cao Wei army was on the verge of exploding. The Xiahou clan had gradually faded from the scene, leaving only the Cao family to hold the line. Cao Pi lacked Cao Cao's prestige to mediate.

Now, when I read stories about transmigrating into Liu Shan's body, the phrase "Your Majesty, where has my good-for-nothing A Dou gone?" Keeps popping into my head...

Liu Shan trusted Zhuge Liang so much, and yet he wanted to slack off, so why didn't he give Zhuge Liang an epic buff—the kind of hindsight buff?

To be honest, the advantages of time-traveling to Liu Shan are enormous, but I don't know why the author didn't give him a modern-day time travel story, but instead made him a reborn character? An average person reborn would at most be a slightly better-off ordinary person, especially one reborn after Liu Bei's crushing defeat, when the situation was irreversible.

Why did the author explain so much in Chapter Six? Knowing it was highly poisonous, why write it? The protagonist goes to Jiangdong as a hostage? What kind of people are in Jiangdong? They're nothing but cowards! Either the protagonist turns the tide, or he stays behind the scenes watching Zhuge Liang's strategist perform. If the protagonist could manage domestic affairs well, Zhuge Liang wouldn't be so overworked! Pah, he's nothing!

My head is throbbing. I guess it's because I prefer Wei and feel awkward looking at Shu. Speaking of which, what were Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei really like? Does that lousy Romance of the Three Kingdoms seem to have mythologized them? I heard Guan Yu was arrogant and looked down on people? Zhang Fei liked to get drunk and beat his subordinates? Liu Bei…