"Did you want that precious saber back?!"
"You can't have it back!"
"I broke it fighting!"
"With just over two thousand men, I held that pass to the death while Cao Wei's army attacked fiercely for three months!!"
"I lived on the walls for three months! I don't know how many enemies I cut down-I hacked until my saber broke! Of those two thousand-odd men, only three hundred-odd survived!"
Liu Yin's face was full of fury.
"But then what? One final imperial edict reached me-the emperor had surrendered!"
"Did all my men die for nothing?"
Liu Yin drew a deep breath. "I know Lord Pu had ties with the Grand General, but didn't I?!"
"What sort of lives have the Shu people led all these years?! You're from Shu too. Have you ever seen how the common people in the various regions live?! Taxes year after year, endless tribal rebellions, all the able-bodied men at the front, fields lying abandoned, nine homes out of ten empty!"
"And what about that Shu ruler?!"
"He trusted eunuchs, letting them appoint their cronies and suppress anyone who opposed them!"
"How many times did I distinguish myself? In every battle, I always led the vanguard, taking countless heads and captives, but did he ever once summon or promote me? Every man he promoted was a petty wretch who flattered and bribed Huang Hao!"
"That Yan Yu-could his military merit compare with mine?! Why couldn't I receive the rewards I deserved?"
"You have skill. Both the Chancellor and the Grand General acknowledged that. But what about him? Did he ever give you the slightest reward?"
"I couldn't receive the rewards I deserved, and neither could the men under me. He spent his days amusing himself and enjoying luxury, disdaining men like us. My friend submitted