The ice-cold cola splashed into the glass. Two thin slices of lemon dropped in after it, drifting slowly back to the surface.
Wen Mang waited a few painful seconds for the violent fizz to calm into a soft bubbling sound before lifting the glass and taking a long, satisfying gulp.
"God, that really hits the spot."
August in Luoyang was brutally oppressive. The entire city felt trapped in the suffocating center of summer. Beyond the window, countless cicadas screamed endlessly like a swarm of dying chainsaws.
The trees sagged beneath the humidity, while waves of heat rose visibly from the asphalt outside. It was the sort of weather that made people wonder why humanity ever chose to build civilizations in places like this.
At moments like these, sitting in a heavily air-conditioned room with a glass of iced cola felt like the greatest luxury imaginable.
It would have been perfect if the content managers at Platform 13 were not constantly pestering him about his next upload.
Right after graduating from college, Wen Mang had thrown himself headfirst into Shanghai's corporate grind.
He survived several ruthless rounds of restructuring before eventually burning out completely. Fortunately, the video editing skills he had pushed himself to learn during those miserable years kept him from ending up completely broke.
After submitting his resignation letter for the final time, he packed up and returned to his hometown. He needed time to recover, fix his ruined sleep schedule, and maybe make a few history videos to fund his daily cola habit.
Editing was not new territory for him. After spending a week back home, he finally finished polishing his first real passion project.
The title had already been decided: A Strategic Analysis of the Possibility of Shu Han Unifying the Realm.
History essay videos were incredibly cheap to produce. Wen Mang already knew the source material inside and out. Back when he was younger, he had practically memorized the entire lore. On top of that, the Three Kingdoms period was guaranteed to attract traffic. It had political intrigue, legendary generals, famous strategists, and one of the most argumentative fanbases imaginable. It was the perfect topic to test the algorithm and see whether he could build a stable niche for himself.
Everything was ready. The video had finished rendering. The thumbnail was polished and attention-grabbing. The tags had been carefully optimized. All that remained was pressing the upload button.
"Whether I spend the rest of my life drinking premium iced cola or plain tap water depends entirely on this moment."
Wen Mang clicked the upload button on Platform 13 with an exaggerated flourish of his wrist.
Unfortunately, the universe seemed to hate dramatic behavior.
His swinging arm clipped the edge of the glass. Time appeared to slow instantly. The lemon cola flew into the air, spinning in a horrifying arc before exploding across his desk. Sticky soda flooded his mechanical keyboard, soaked his gaming mouse, and splattered across the bottom edge of his monitor.
Wen Mang let out a strangled scream and practically threw himself onto the desk. This computer setup represented nearly everything he owned.
The next ten minutes passed in complete panic as he desperately wiped everything down with a microfiber cloth. After frantically testing the keyboard and shaking the mouse back and forth, he finally released a long breath of relief. The computer still ran perfectly. The upload progress bar continued crawling steadily toward one hundred percent.
Disaster avoided.
He grabbed the sticky cup and headed into the kitchen to wash it properly.
Because he had left the room, he never noticed the strange phenomenon unfolding behind him.
A pale blue glow slowly spread from the center of the monitor. The pixels twisted and distorted into jagged, unnatural shapes. Lines of text began scrolling rapidly across the screen in complete silence.
[Geographic coordinates locked.]
[Calibrating temporal deviation parameters.]
[Deviation parameters confirmed. Anchor timeline successfully locked.]
[Anchor timeline: 209 AD.]
[Target lock: Zhuge Liang.]
---
Winter. The fourteenth year of Jian'an. Gong'an County, Jingzhou.
The cold outside was merciless.
Inside a modest administrative office, Zhuge Liang finally raised his head from the towering stacks of bamboo slips covering the desk before him.
He rubbed his tired eyes, trying to clear away the haze brought on by endless grain reports and military deployment records. He was only twenty-eight years old, yet the burden of managing an entire rising faction already rested on his shoulders.
He glanced across the room.
"Zilong, are you hungry?"
Zhao Yun sat quietly near the wall, calm and composed as always. A military text rested in one hand while he read beneath the wavering light of an oil lamp.
Hearing Zhuge Liang speak, he looked up and smiled faintly.
"If Kongming wishes to eat, I can have the kitchens prepare hot soup and flatbread immediately."
Zhuge Liang shook his head with a quiet laugh.
"There is no need. Judging by the time, our lord should be returning from his inspection rounds soon enough. We can wait for him."
Almost the moment he finished speaking, a loud laugh rang out from the freezing courtyard outside.
"Kongming!"
Liu Bei pushed open the heavy wooden doors and strode into the room full of energy. His tall frame instantly dominated the cramped space.
A blast of icy wind followed him inside, causing the charcoal braziers to flicker violently before the flames steadied again, throwing restless shadows across the walls.
"You predicted it perfectly!" Liu Bei said with obvious excitement.
He rubbed his hands together to chase away the cold. "A messenger just arrived from Yunchang. Cao Ren is beginning to show signs of exhaustion. The siege is succeeding. Nan Commandery will fall soon!"
He walked over eagerly, his eyes bright.
"Kongming, you truly are my lucky star."
Liu Bei could not help reflecting on how dramatically everything had changed in only two years.
Compared to the nightmare he had endured before, his current position felt almost unreal.
Just the previous year, Cao Cao had marched south with what seemed like an unstoppable army of eight hundred thousand men.
Liu Bei had spent weeks fleeing for survival, losing soldiers, abandoning supplies, and dragging terrified civilians through mud and chaos. At the time, he genuinely believed his ambitions would end in a forgotten grave somewhere along the road.
Then Zhang Fei stood alone on the bridge at Changban, roaring so fiercely that Cao Cao's cavalry halted in fear.
Then Kongming crossed into Eastern Wu and dismantled an entire court of scholars with words alone, forging an alliance no one thought possible.
Finally, Zhou Yu unleashed the inferno at Red Cliffs, reducing Cao Cao's fleet and his southern ambitions to ashes.
And now, only a year later, the situation had transformed completely.
Liu Bei controlled four prosperous commanderies in Jingzhou. The names Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun inspired fear throughout the land. Zhuge Liang's brilliance was acknowledged everywhere. Talented administrators like Yi Ji were joining their cause one after another.
And today, Guan Yu's latest report confirmed that Cao Ren's collapse was only a matter of time. Soon, Cao Cao's remaining influence south of the Yangtze would be swept away entirely.
The only blemish on the situation came from the allied front. Zhou Yu had apparently suffered a stray arrow wound several days earlier while overseeing siege operations.
"Tell the kitchens to prepare wine and proper meat dishes!" Liu Bei declared enthusiastically.
"Tonight, I drink with my advisor. We will discuss strategy until dawn. Kongming, I am taking over your schedule tonight. We are even sleeping in the same room!"
The temporary offices at Gong'an was far from luxurious. The side hall used for meals barely fit the three men once the braziers and wind screens had been arranged.
Following ancient custom, even a small private banquet required a formal toast before anyone could begin eating.
Liu Bei understood such etiquette perfectly. He filled his own cup and raised it toward the two men beside him.
"To possess the foundation we have today, I owe everything to Kongming's unmatched intellect and Zilong's invincible courage. May we continue forward with one heart and one purpose, and restore the glory of the Han Dynasty!"
The instant Liu Bei finished speaking, reality itself shattered.
A glowing rectangular screen suddenly appeared above the center of the table.
The impossible sight froze all three men where they sat.
Liu Bei's cup stopped halfway through the air. Zhuge Liang's expression stiffened in rare surprise.
Zhao Yun's hand immediately moved to the hilt of his sword, his body preparing for danger despite there being no visible enemy to strike.
"Th... this..." Liu Bei stammered, struggling to process what he was seeing. "Could this be a sign from the spirits of the Han Emperors? A blessing sent from Heaven?"
The light screen ignored the bewilderment of the ancient warlords completely.
The image shifted.
Cheerful, energetic background music suddenly filled the cramped hall, followed by the voice of a young man speaking in a clear and lively tone.
[Lightscreen]
[Alright folks! Ladies and gentlemen! It is your boy Wen Mang. You can basically think of me as a hardcore Shu Han fan. Today, we're diving into one big question: did Shu Han ever truly have a realistic chance of unifying China?
First, let's quickly cover the timeline. Shu Han officially begins in 221 AD, when Liu Bei declares himself Emperor in Chengdu. It officially ends in 263 AD, when Liu Shan surrenders to the overwhelming invasion force of Cao Wei. Total lifespan: forty-three years.
Now here's the funny part. Only two years after Shu Han falls, Cao Wei also collapses. Then seventeen years later, Sun Wu gets wiped out too. In the end, all three major players of the Three Kingdoms era lose everything.
The mainland eventually falls into the hands of the Jin Dynasty, a regime best remembered for nobles getting addicted to weird heavy-metal drugs.
Following that is the nightmare of the Five Barbarians ravaging China, the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Northern and Southern Dynasties... basically centuries of garbage we really do not want to look back on.]
The voice spoke rapidly and casually, using strange phrases and unfamiliar vocabulary throughout.
Still, the screen displayed an incredibly detailed moving map, complete with clearly marked territorial borders.
With the visuals and surrounding context combined, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and Zhao Yun quickly grasped the core meaning behind the broadcast.
Liu Bei would eventually proclaim himself Emperor. Liu Shan, his son, would lose the kingdom. Soon afterward, the ruling Cao, Liu, and Sun families would all be swept away one after another.
Liu Bei's face immediately twisted in shock.
I am a loyal servant of the Han. I am the Imperial Uncle. Why would I ever proclaim myself Emperor? Is someone trying to frame me?
Emperor Xian was still alive in the north, trapped under Cao Cao's control. If Liu Bei truly claimed the throne, would that not make him a traitor to the Han itself?
The thought struck him like lightning. His mind spiraled.
Wait. Hold on. Let me think about this carefully.
I spend my entire life fighting to restore the Han Dynasty. I drag my brothers through mud, blood, and countless battles. I build an army from nothing. I endure defeat after defeat. And then, apparently, I just... declare myself Emperor?
Me? The guy whose whole brand is "loyal Imperial Uncle"?
What kind of ending is that?
He stared at the screen with the expression of a man who had just discovered his future self had committed career suicide.
Did I lose a bet? Was I drunk? Did someone forge an imperial edict and I just went along with it?
His hands trembled slightly.
This has to be a misunderstanding. There is no way I would do something that stupid.
...Right?
Zhuge Liang, however, showed exactly why his brilliance would one day become legendary.
He recovered from his shock almost instantly. With a sweep of his sleeve, he shoved bowls and chopsticks off the table to clear space. Then he seized a fresh bundle of bamboo slips, grabbed a brush, and rapidly ground ink against the stone slab beside him.
Kongming did not fully understand the strange voice, nor did he trust the glowing screen hovering before them. But a true strategist recorded information first and analyzed it afterward.
Across the table, Zhao Yun silently did the same thing. The normally quiet general had already taken out his own writing tools.
Noticing this, Kongming felt a wave of reassurance.
Good. Later, they could compare notes and ensure no detail had been overlooked.
But his mind was already racing through countless calculations.
Who founded this Jin Dynasty?
The geopolitical puzzle rapidly assembled itself inside his thoughts.
After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Sun Quan's faction had become a major power. The voice claimed Liu Bei would eventually establish an imperial court in Chengdu.
That meant their current strategy would succeed. They would take Yi Province and secure a true territorial foundation. Their faction would control both Jingzhou and Yizhou. Sun Quan would dominate the southeast. Cao Cao would hold the north.
The realm would split into three rival states.
So where in heaven's name does this Jin Dynasty come from?
How do they blitz all three established superpowers in such a short window of time?
Before Kongming could untangle that historical knot, the voice on the screen pivoted back to its main thesis.
[Lightscreen]
[Now let's talk about Shu Han's actual chances of unification.
Most casual history fans think everything was doomed the moment Ma Su lost Jieting. According to that view, Shu Han's fate was sealed right there.
But let me give you a hot take
The real turning point happened the moment Sun Quan cut off Guan Yu's head and sent it to Cao Cao in a box.
That single act destroyed Sun Wu's chances of unifying China just as thoroughly as it destroyed Shu Han's.]
Liu Bei suddenly felt his breathing stop.
Learning that he would one day claim the imperial throne was already horrifying enough. Discovering that his kingdom would survive only forty-three years was painful beyond words.
But this...
This was unbearable.
His sworn brother. His beloved second brother.
Beheaded by their own allies?
Damn.
Not Cao Cao. Not some northern general. Not even a random arrow on the battlefield.
Sun Quan.
The guy we're currently allied with. The guy whose court Kongming personally visited to secure this coalition. The guy we just helped win at Red Cliffs.
That Sun Quan.
He's going to chop off my second brother's head and mail it to Cao Cao like a festival gift?
Liu Bei's eye twitched.
What kind of broken future is this?
Liu Bei's fingers instantly lost strength. The bronze wine cup slipped from his hand and crashed onto the wooden floor, dark wine spilling everywhere.
He stared blankly at the glowing screen. His vision blurred. His chest tightened painfully with every shaky breath.
And my second brother is invincible under heaven...
Isn't he?