Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast.

This is episode 90.

Last time, the forces of Liu Bei and Cao Cao were going at it in the region of Hanzhong.

One of Cao Cao's generals, Zhang He, was routed by Liu Bei's brother Zhang Fei, losing almost his entire army of 30,000 men.

When Zhang He ran back to his commander Cao Hong,

Cao Hong was so incensed that he wanted to execute Zhang He.

Fortunately for Zhang He, one of Cao Hong's officers, Guo Huai, chimed in and said,

Building an army is easy. Finding a general is hard. Even though Zhang He is at fault,

he is well-liked by the King of Wei and must not be lightly executed.

We can order him to lead 5,000 men to attack Jiameng Pass.

That would force Liu Bei to redeploy his forces, and peace will naturally be restored in this region.

If Zhang He fails, then you can punish him for both offenses.

Cao Hong simmered down a bit when he heard this, so he gave Zhang He another 5,000 men and sent him off

to attack Jiameng Pass. Jiameng Pass was a key location near the borders between Hanzhong and the western

riverlands. It was being defended by the officers Meng Da and Huo Jun. When they heard the enemy was

coming, Meng Da insisted on going out to fight, despite his comrades' advice to the contrary.

So out when Meng Da, and moments later, back in came Meng Da, having received a beat down by Zhang He.

So now, they hurriedly sent off an urgent dispatch to Liu Bei in the city of Chengdu.

When Liu Bei got word of this, he consulted Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang assembled the officer

corps and said, There's an urgent situation at Jiameng Pass. We must go fetch General

Zhang Fei. He is the only one who can defeat Zhang He.

But General Zhang is currently defending another important location, the advisor Fa Zheng said.

...