Chapter 377: Letting go of the path, releasing the owl-hero

On Yuan Shao's side, he finished watching the whole scene, the expression on his face changing several times—

First a cold laugh, then restraint, finally settling into silence.

A strategist beside him leaned over and whispered: "My Lord, Guan Yu actually let Cao Cao go."

Yuan Shao didn't answer, just said: "If I had such a person who values loyalty under my command..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone could guess the second half.

Liu Zhang stood on the side of the Shu lords, looking at the Sky Screen from afar, his expression indescribable.

A general beside him lowered his voice: "My Lord, this Guan Yu didn't kill Cao Cao; what kind of military order is that? Punishing him by military law wouldn't be too much."

Liu Zhang didn't answer, looking for a long time, only replying: "Between military order and loyalty, which one do you choose?"

The general choked and didn't speak again.

Sun Quan stood there, Zhou Yu beside him, the two of them watching the whole process side by side.

Sun Quan opened his mouth: "Gongjin, do you think Guan Yu did right or wrong?"

Zhou Yu was silent for a while, replying: "For loyalty, he was right."

"For the country, he was wrong."

Sun Quan thought: "Then do you think he should have done it?"

Zhou Yu: "Whether he should have done it or not, he did it."

"A thousand people standing on that mountain road, a thousand people choose a thousand ways, but only he chose that one."

He paused again, "That's why he's called Guan Yu."

The words reached Guan Yu's ears.

The voices from all directions surged over, some praising, some criticizing, some defending him, some pitying him.

But he stood there, not lowering his head, nor raising it.

He reached out to tidy his long beard scattered by the wind, then put his hand back on the handle of the Green Dragon Blade.

"Cao Mengde treated me with great kindness back then; if I had taken his head while he was in distress, even if I achieved great things, I would never have peace in my heart for the rest of my life."

His voice was neither high nor low, just right for those around him to hear.

"Violating military order, I am willing to accept punishment."

"Only this favor, I cannot betray."

As he finished this sentence, the voices that were still discussing grew half smaller.

Not because their mouths were blocked, but because they didn't know how to respond.

Cao Cao suddenly laughed in that silence, the sound very light, as if afraid of being heard.

But the Sky Screen had already cut the camera to him—

Cao Cao stood in the line of lords, his eye sockets red, the corners of his mouth smiling.

He shook his head, his voice not loud, but the Sky Screen's sound traveled very far.

"I have spent my life holding the Emperor to command the lords, considering myself to have seen through human calculation, but Guan Yunchang is the person I respect most and owe most in this life."

"Huarong life, I will remember for a lifetime."

As he finished this sentence, several veteran soldiers on the Cao camp side lowered their heads.

Zhang Liao's Adam's apple moved up and down, Xu Chu turned his face away.

Liu Bei walked over and patted Guan Yu on the shoulder: "Second Brother values loyalty, it is our original heart."

"Even if we missed the opportunity, I never blamed you."

Zhang Fei stood up, his voice still loud: "Big Brother is right! If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to strike either!"

Before the words fell, Zhuge Liang on the side opened his mouth while waving his feather fan.

"I had already calculated that Yunchang would definitely release Cao."

"Cao Cao's life was not meant to end, the Han dynasty's destiny had not yet reached the time of unification; it was not Yunchang's fault alone."

Many people turned to look at him, their expressions changing from "So that's it" to "You calculated it in advance?".

Several strategists on Zhou Yu's side looked at each other, their faces writing the same meaning—

Did this person really calculate it in advance?

Above the clouds, the nine emperors sat in a row, not dispersing immediately after the Sky Screen ended.

No one spoke while watching, but now that it was over, the conversation opened up.

Ying Zheng spoke first: "Although those who command troops must strictly follow military orders, human hearts value loyalty more."

"Guan Yu does not forget old favors, open and upright, even if he made a mistake, he can be remembered by the people of later generations."

"Only those who value loyalty can win people's hearts."

Liu Bang shook his head: "Jianghu loyalty is moving, but letting the tiger return to the mountain directly ruined the excellent opportunity to unify the world; the Liu Bei group has had a formidable enemy for life since then, which is a pity."

Liu Che continued: "Many military generals in the world are opportunistic; Yunchang cannot be moved by wealth, keeps favors in his heart, is both an upright righteous man and a rare person of temperament, which is understandable."

Yang Jian added indifferently: "Public and private should be distinguished; military order is for the country, private favor is for oneself; delaying the great cause of restoring the Han dynasty due to private favor, the pattern is ultimately limited."

Liu Xiu opened his mouth gently: "Distinguishing between favor and resentment is the bottom line of a gentleman; Cao Cao had the favor of recreating him, if he had struck, it would have appeared heartless and unrighteous, losing the backbone of a military general."

Li Shimin thought for a while and said something that many people took to heart.

"This release achieved eternal loyalty, but left behind decades of hidden dangers of war; it is too difficult to have the best of both worlds, the most difficult things in the ages are the most piercing to the heart."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "The word 'loyalty' is admirable, this action can leave a good name for thousands of years, but in terms of the overall military and political situation, it is truly a major flaw."

Zhao Kuangyin nodded: "In troubled times, interest exchanges are everywhere; this kind of pure loyalty that keeps promises and repays favors is hard to find in a hundred years."

Zhu Di's voice was the loudest: "The world understands killing, but few understand tenderness; Guan Yunchang hides tenderness in his chivalry, distinguishing favors and resentments clearly, a true hero indeed!"

The nine of them said one sentence after another, but didn't reach a conclusion, and no one convinced anyone.

Gu Shanhe sat on the side, holding a cup of tea, not speaking from beginning to end.

Listening to their arguments, he took a sip of tea, put it down, the corners of his mouth curling, still not opening his mouth.

The golden light on the Sky Screen began to fade, the glow slowly closing, as if the curtain was about to fall.

The last sentence floated in mid-air, the handwriting clear—

【Favor and country, private loyalty and military order, if you were on the Huarong mountain road, what choice would you make?】

The moment this sentence came out, the discussion below rose again.

This time it wasn't the commoners, but some young lieutenants and squad leaders.

A squad leader in old leather armor changed his spear to the other shoulder and said to the person beside him: "If I were Guan Yu, would I release him?"

He thought for a long time, "I might release him too."

The person beside him didn't answer.

But after a while, he added: "Releasing Cao Cao, you'll be punished by military sticks when you go back."

"Punished by military sticks, so be it; as long as my heart is at ease."

The voice wasn't loud, but several soldiers nearby heard it.

No one answered, but several young soldiers lowered their heads, as if calculating the same thing in their hearts.

There was also discussion among the commoners.

A teenager squatted on the ridge, clutching a blade of grass in his hand.

After watching the Sky Screen, he put the grass in his mouth and muttered to himself: "What is Guan Second Master? Is he stupid? Or is he loyal?"

He didn't understand, but when he left, he turned back to look at the Sky Screen—the Sky Screen was empty, but that line of words was still there.

Gu Shanhe's voice rang out in this noise, not loud, but every word clearly reached the ears of everyone on the ground.

"The two words 'loyalty and righteousness' can transcend the schemes of troubled times and spread for thousands of years; this is the reason why this scene of Huarong Road can be on the list of top ten famous scenes."

The glow of the sky closed completely, the last ray of light falling on Guan Yu, illuminating the reflection on the blade of the Green Dragon Blade in his hand.

Guan Yu reached out and patted the blade, saying nothing.

The last sentence on the Sky Screen appeared, then faded, as if giving everyone a period of time to let that sentence fall into their hearts—

【The next famous scene will be revealed in an hour—one person, one zither, one isolated city, single-handedly repelling ten thousand brave soldiers.】

Someone in the crowd muttered: "One person, one zither? Repelling ten thousand soldiers single-handedly? Who is that?"

No one answered, but many were already thinking. ===== CHAPTER 378 =====