Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast.

This is episode 79.

Last time, Liu Bei and company got a visit from a strange man named Peng Yang,

who made himself at home in the residence

of Liu Bei's advisor Pang Tong. Peng Yang ate Pang Tong's food, drank his wine, and took a nap on his

couch, all without so much as telling his host what his name was. It turns out that Peng Yang

was a good friend of Fa Zheng, a Riverlands official,

who was helping Liu Bei, and he claimed that he was there to save the lives of tens of

thousands of Liu Bei's men, but he would only reveal his secret to Liu Bei.

So Fa Zheng quickly alerted Liu Bei, and Liu Bei rushed over to meet this strange man

who had apparently come to save his life and the lives of all his troops.

General, how much troop do you have in your front camps? Peng Yang asked him.

Wei Yan and Huang Zhong are garrison there, Liu Bei answered.

How can a commander not understand geography? Peng Yang said. The front camp hugs the river

Fu. If the enemy redirects the river's flow, no one would be left alive in your front camp.

This reminder brought Liu Bei to his senses, but Peng Yang was not done yet.

Judging by the stars, something bad is going to happen, you must be careful, he told Liu Bei.

Liu Bei thanked him profusely and treated him as an esteemed guest. He also secretly sent word

to Wei Yan and Huang Zhong,

warning them to be on the lookout for shenanigans with the river. So the two generals decided that

they would take turns keeping watch every day and would alert each other if they saw the enemy coming.

That night, the rain began to pour and the wind was howling. The Riverlands general

...