The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 66

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 66:

Armed With Sword, Guan Yu Goes To A Feast Alone;

For The State, Empress Fu Offers Her Life. 

Listen:

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WARNING:

THERE'S SPOILERS HERE YET TO BE READ.
READING THEM MIGHT JUST DO IN YOUR HEAD.
BUT IF YOU READ ON, 
MANY QUESTIONS  BEGONE, 
AND YOU'LL SLEEP EASIER IN YOUR BED. 

So it's Chapter 66 now (I'm sure the superstitious out there among you are probably like "Whoa! What an inauspicious number that is. Something bad's going to happen in this chapter, I know it!")

And you know what? They're right. They do know it. Because something bad does happen in this chapter. What happens?  Ohhhhh, the suspense...is it getting to you yet? ;)

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 65

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 65:

Ma Chao Battles At Jiameng Pass;;

Liu Bei Takes Over Yizhou. 

Listen:

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WARNING: IT'S THANKSGIVING DAY, IF YOU HAPPEN TO LIVE IN AMERICA. THAT MEANS A LOT OF LEFTOVER TURKEY. BETTER MAKE SOME COLD TURKEY SANDWICHES OUT OF THAT, BEFORE YOU END UP WITH A WHOLE LOT OF THE SAME THING AS YOU'LL FIND IN THIS CHAPTER'S COMMENTARY...YOU KNOW...SPOILERS. 

HAHA. I SLAY MYSELF.  

In the last chapter, of course, Ma Chao was driven from the West Valley Land (eastern Xi province, pretty much), after unwisely giving in to the urge to be a Tyrant, slaying a few people in the process, and then later on having most of his family wiped out by their next-of-kin in revenge. 

It is here that we see the recurring theme of Heaven's invisible hand turning the course of events once again. Ma Chao, you will recall, was the son and heir of Ma Teng, the unfortunate governor of Xi Liang who had been assassinated by Cao Cao a few chapters back. As such, Ma Chao had been one of the Feudal Lords in his own right...a person on equal standing with Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and even Cao Cao himself as far as his essential status in soiety was concerned. 

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 64

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 64:

Zhuge Liang Plans For The Capture Of Zhang Ren;;

Yang Fu Borrows Soldiers To Destroy Ma Chao. 

Listen:

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WARNING: THE GUY MAKING THIS AUDIOBOOK HAS BEEN DRIVEN INTO FINANCIAL RUIN BY HIS GENEROSITY IN ALWAYS GIVING HIS ART AWAY FOR FREE. HIS ART WILL REMAIN FREE HOWEVER...HE WILL NOT CHARGE YOU FOR IT, BUT IF YOU WANT HIM TO STILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE THESE AUDIOBOOK CHAPTERS FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT, IT IS HIGHLY SUGGESTED THAT YOU MAKE A FREE WILL DONATION TO THE CAUSE. YOU CAN DO SO AT THE TOP-LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN BENEATH THE SITE BANNER, WHERE IS LOCATED A DONATE BUTTON. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH...WHEN I'M TOO POOR TO AFFORD ELECTRICITY TO POWER THE COMPUTER, OR A ROOF OVER MY HEAD, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT IS REQUIRED FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THESE AUDIOBOOK CHAPTERS, THIS AUDIOBOOK WILL DIE AND I WILL NOT THEN BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. YOU CAN HELP KEEP IT FROM DYING, BY DONATING WHAT YOU MIGHT OTHERWISE HAVE SPENT ON A CUP OF COFFEE OR A VIDEO FROM NETFLIX. YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO SAVE THIS AUDIOBOOK...I HOPE THAT YOU CHOOSE TO DO SO BY YOUR GENEROSITY. REGARDLESS, THOUGH, I WILL CONTINUE TO PUT THESE EPISODES UP FOR FREE ON THIS WEBSITE FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD WHETHER OR NOT YOU DONATED. BECAUSE ART SHOULD BE FREE TO THE PUBLIC. THANKS.

So now it's Chapter 64, and Liu Bei is dealing with the fallout from what happened in the last chapter. What happened in the last chapter?  Well, it's been a while since I released that one from the vaults but you might remember that in the last chapter, Pang Tong was assassinated by Zhang Ren, and quite suddenly Liu Bei found himself not only bereft of his primary advisor in the invasion of Shu, but also now surrounded by enemies, his retreat cut off, and his entire dream in danger of being destroyed. (My oh my, how I can totally relate to that. I know that feel, Liu Bei. I know that feel.)

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 56

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 56:

Cao Cao Feasts in the Bronze Bird Tower;

Zhuge Liang Provokes Zhou Yu a Third Time.

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 WARNING: THE SANGUO YANYI ITSELF CONTAINS SPOILERS...ABOUT OUR OWN FUTURE. LEARN IT. BE PREPARED. UGLINESS IS COMING...

Chapter 56 of the Sanguo Yanyi sees a continuance of the almost tragically comical striving of Zhou Yu against Zhuge Liang, two of the great minds of the late Han. Seriously, these two are almost like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.  Zhou Yu, obviously, is Daffy, since, as you might have noticed in previous chapters, things just don't seem to go well for him when he tries to scheme against Zhuge Liang. This is like "Duck season! Rabbit season! Duck season! Rabbit season! Rabbit season! Duck season! Fire!" 

BANG!!!! 

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The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 52

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 52:

Zhuge Liang Negotiates With Lu Su;

Zhao Zilong Captures Guiyang.

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 WARNING: WE ARE THE MEDIA. AND WE KNOW THE TRUTH. BY THE WAY...SPOILERS.

Chapter 52, like many of the chapters before it, describes a power-struggle. Previously, the struggle had been first between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Then Cao Cao beat Yuan Shao. Or rather, Yuan Shao beat himself (the invisible hand of "Heaven" is heavy indeed in this story...) and then Cao Cao turned south. Then, it was Cao Cao and Liu Bei, but Cao Cao crushed Liu Bei at Dangyang. Then Cao Cao went to war against a coalition of Sun Quan's Southland and Liu Bei's few remaining followers (and by extension, Liu Qi's troops in Jiang Xia). There, at the Three Gorges, the Battle of the Red Wall, Zhou Yu stopped Cao Cao's southern advance, and the massive navy of Cao Cao, along with his entire naval camp, perished in fire. And now, with Cao Cao largely out of the picture for the moment, it came down to a race for Jingzhou, and one that apparently has been won by Liu Bei's forces. (Oh, that Zhuge Liang were a clever one, he were...)

Several chapters back, Liu Bei uttered the famous line "If I only had a starting place, I would not be afraid in a world full of fools!" (Ch. 34, I think) Now, though several times he had been told that he was seeking to defy the will of Heaven by restoring the Han Dynasty (it had already been restored once, by Liu Xiu, in the early first century.  A.D. 36, right around the same time as that whole Jesus thing you've heard about once or twice. Betcha didn't know that. :p )

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