The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 167 Guan Yu Listens to a Song, Showing Utmost Loyalty to His Country

Guan Yu didn't dwell on Xia Tian's excessively long title, but instead stared at the words on the ground and asked, "What do these circles you drew mean?"

Xia Tian scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "I forgot how to write it. The blackboard wasn't put out today, so there's nothing to copy. I can only draw a circle to use for now."

That's a really honest answer; even Guan Yu was at a loss for words.

Guan Yu reorganized his thoughts and continued, "When did you start learning to write? Was it before or after you joined the army?"

Although Xia Tian was illiterate, he was not stupid. He immediately understood Guan Yu's meaning and explained, "After enlisting, or more precisely after capturing Zhang Cheng twice, General Guan established the Han Army Military Academy and called on soldiers to enroll. However, it failed to be established because there were no classrooms or teachers."

"But General Guan wrote a song and taught us to sing it while making us copy the lyrics on the ground. We copied them and kept copying them, over and over again. But I'm not very smart, and I didn't remember them all even after copying them from Wushang to Jianye."

Guan Yu glanced at the chopsticks in his hand, then at the words on the ground, and couldn't help but mutter, "This method is really convenient. You can continue."

“Yes…” Xia Tian bowed and squatted down to continue writing.

Guan Yu continued to weave through the crowd, looking at what this soldier had written and then at what that soldier had written, like a proctor. Before long, he had basically completed the lyrics by cross-referencing them.

Then, suppressing her shock, she waited patiently for about half an hour until Meng Jun finally announced the end of get out of class and the order to rest on the spot. She raised her hand and beckoned Meng Jun closer, asking, "General Meng, I just heard that young man named Xia Tian mention that there was some kind of blackboard. Why wasn't it put out?"

He had a good impression of Meng Jun because the boy was from Zhuo County in Zhuojun, the same hometown as Liu Bei and Zhang Fei. Because of this, Guan Yu found the boy more and more pleasing to the eye.

Meng Jun chuckled and said, "Originally, each battalion had a blackboard filled with song lyrics for the soldiers to copy. Every seven days, the blackboard would be removed so everyone could recite them from memory, which was a way to check their learning progress. But we brought too much stuff back to Jianye, and we really couldn't keep up with bringing blackboards anymore, so..."

"We just arrived in Jianye and haven't had time to prepare new blackboards yet, so we'll have to make do for now."

Guan Yu then asked, "What about the song? Didn't Xia Tian say he was going to sing? Why didn't we hear you sing?"

Meng Jun glanced at the distant military camp and laughed, "The seniors haven't gotten up yet. It wouldn't be good if we disturbed them as soon as we arrived."

Uh……

You're quite considerate of others.

Guan Yu looked at the soldiers studying diligently in front of him, and then at the distant military camp where his own soldiers were still in bed, and he immediately became furious.

They're all soldiers, so why is there such a big difference? Can't you guys be as ambitious as Meng Jun and the others?

Guan Yu said, "Everyone, gather together and sing. Let me hear how you sing."

“Look…” Meng Jun stepped back and called out, “Assemble.”

The 20,000 scattered troops quickly assembled and, once they had taken their positions, Meng Jun began to lead the way, and the soldiers followed his rhythm, singing the song "Serving the Country with Utmost Loyalty," which they knew by heart.

"Smoke rises as I gaze northward across the land, dragon banners unfurl, horses neigh, and swords flash like frost..."

The stirring melody instantly pulled Guan Yu back to the battlefield, making him hear the shouts of soldiers and the neighing of warhorses, and bringing to mind the scene of soldiers from both sides charging back and forth on the battlefield.

As he witnessed these scenes, a surge of passion welled up within him, making him yearn to immediately grab his Green Dragon Crescent Blade and charge into the Wei army.

Unlike the ordinary soldiers who were naive, foolish, confused, and ignorant, Guan Yu always knew what he was fighting for, and his goal was always to follow his elder brother and restore the Han Dynasty.

To achieve this goal, he slew Yan Liang and Wen Chou, passed five passes and killed six generals, and flooded seven armies, shaking the land with his might. But no matter how hard he tried, the goal of restoring the Han Dynasty was still far away, leaving him with an indescribable sense of powerlessness.

"The horses' hooves head south, while people look north; as people look north, the grass turns green and yellow, and dust flies..."

The song's mood perfectly matched Guan Yu's state of mind, leaving him stunned and in tears.

At the same time, the singing traveled for miles and reached the ears of Guan Yu's army, who were still asleep. The soldiers in the tents were awakened by the singing and came out to watch.

Standing outside the tent, looking at the howling army in the center of the training ground, someone couldn't help but complain, "Why are the young general's soldiers barking like dogs so early in the morning instead of sleeping?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than his captain snapped, "Shut up and listen carefully."

The soldiers didn't dare to speak again and listened attentively.

Without the noise interference, the singing clearly reached the soldiers' ears. The lazy smiles on their faces gradually disappeared, their slouching postures straightened, and their gazes toward the singing army gradually changed from anger and disdain to solemnity.

They are also subjects of the Han Dynasty. Their ancestors once fought alongside Xiang Yu to conquer the world and followed Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to fight against the Xiongnu. Their fathers followed Sun Jian to fight against Dong Zhuo and followed Sun Ce to conquer Jiangdong, defeating the Yue tribes so badly that they dare not show their faces now. They are not Jiangdong rats, but true Jiangdong sons with red roots.

They still possess the pride unique to the people of the Han Dynasty, and the unwavering loyalty to serve their country. The vision in the lyrics, "Horses gallop south while people look north, I am willing to defend the land and expand the territory," also resonated with them, making them feel their blood boil and their eyes fill with tears.

Tens of thousands of soldiers stood silently under the tents, listening intently. Many were moved by the song, their faces streaked with tears, while others had tears welling in their eyes but stubbornly refused to let them fall.

The song ended, but the lingering sound still echoed in people's ears. Some people, not wanting to hear enough, cupped their hands to their lips and shouted, "Sing it again!"

The others chimed in, "Sing it again! Sing it again..."

With his back to them, Meng Jun heard the tremor in their voices. Turning around, he looked at the eagerly expectant soldiers by the tent and seemed to see his former self. He roared in a trembling voice, "The smoke of war rises, and we look northward to the land..."

The song echoed through the camp once again, and even reached the city. Wang Fu, who had just gotten up and was riding his horse towards the camp, was slightly taken aback when he heard the song. He then cracked his whip and sped up to head towards the main camp.

Stepping into the camp, I was instantly stunned. Looking at the singing formations, then at the army listening attentively by the tents, and then at the stirring lyrics, I was completely dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice that many people who had just gotten up were also attracted by the singing. As time went on, more and more people gathered outside the camp.

Seeing how loyal the audience was, the singing group sang even more energetically, singing one song after another, more than a dozen times, before finally stopping when they could no longer sing.

Guan Yu finally came to his senses and, seeing the soldiers singing with sweat pouring down their faces, excitedly clapped his hands and raised his drum so that the soldiers in the distance could see it.

When the soldiers saw that their general was clapping, what else could they say but join in?

The camp erupted in applause, and the soldiers who sang all wore shy, silly smiles.

The applause stopped, and Wang Fu jogged up to Guan Yu and asked, "My lord, what's going on?"

Guan Yu briefly explained, then summoned Meng Jun and said, "Have your men return to the squares and continue writing. They can only write, not make a sound."

After saying that, he said to Wang Fu, "Have our people line up to watch them write. Remember to be quiet and watch without saying a word."