Chapter 346: A young talent with many clever ideas Pang Tong's sudden appearance outside Liu Bei's camp was certainly not an accident, but something he had planned for a long time. Long before Liu Bei captured Jiangdong, Zhuge Liang had tried to get him to serve in the government. But Pang Tong became famous at a young age, so how could he be willing to start as a minor official in Liu Bei's army? Therefore, he told Zhuge Liang at that time that he would not come out of seclusion until Liu Bei came to Jingzhou. According to his idea, it would be absolutely impossible to enter the core circle of Liu Bei’s army through the ordinary upward channel in the short term. Therefore, only by making a stunning debut can one fully display his talents. Liu Bei's attack on Liu Biao was obviously such an opportunity. As long as Liu Bei encountered difficulties, he would come forward to help. But what Pang Tong did not expect was that Qin Zhen's methods were far more than he had imagined. Before Liu Bei could reach Jingzhou, Qin Zhen had already brazenly attacked the four counties in southern Jingzhou. In this way, if Liu Bei was blocked, Qin Zhen would definitely find a way to break through.

This would cause his original idea of ​​helping Liu Bei seize Jingzhou to fail! So after carefully considering the pros and cons, he made the decision to take the initiative to surrender to Liu Bei. His only thought was to quickly establish merit and gain a foothold in Liu Bei's army. However, what he didn't expect was that as soon as Liu Bei arrived, he encountered Liu Xianbian! For Pang Tong, this was like a pillow thrown into the air when he was sleepy, so he said he wanted to debate with Liu Xian. Liu Bei was thinking about how to get back his face, and the two of them hit it off immediately and called Liu Xian over. When Liu Xian returned to the tent, he saw Pang Tong and frowned: "Pang Shiyuan, why are you here if you are not staying in Xiangyang?" When Pang Tong heard him asking, he shook his head and smiled, and said calmly: "Because I was ordered by my uncle to go to Jiangdong to visit Mr. Huang." "I passed by here and saw General Zhengdong stationed here, so I came to pay him a visit." "I heard Liu Zhengdong say that you are here to debate, so I have a question. I wonder if you can answer it?" In fact, the moment Liu Xian saw Pang Tong, he had a bad feeling. Seeing that he took the initiative to attack, he knew that this guy was most likely planning to step on him to get to the top. He was a famous scholar in Jingzhou and held a high position. He was a little arrogant and said in a deep voice: "I have also had some contact with Duke De. Since Shi Yuan has asked, I shall answer it!" Seeing that he had taken the bait, Pang Tong smiled slightly, bowed and said: "Just now I heard General Zhengdong's words about Liu Mu's sacrifice to heaven, and your answer was out of public conscience." "May I ask, sir, if Liu Jingsheng really had no intention of rebelling, why would Han Degao dissuade him?" "Does Han Degao not know etiquette? Or do you think Han Degao does not know etiquette?" Han Song was a hurdle that Liu Biao could never overcome. Because Han Song was a famous scholar in the late Han Dynasty, he had avoided being summoned by the three officials and was forced to come out of retirement by Liu Biao.

When the heaven was offered sacrifice that year, Han Song participated in the dissuasion, and Liu Biao therefore disliked him. Now Pang Tong uses Han Song to ask, does Han Song not know etiquette, or do you think he does not know etiquette? This question cannot be answered directly, and any answer will be refuted by Pang Tong. So when Liu Xian heard this, he frowned and remained silent for a while. After Pang Tong got the upper hand, he took advantage of the situation and continued to ask: "Since you don't want to answer, let's skip this discussion and move on to the issue of Liu Mu's tribute." "Sir, you said that the palace was built for Jingzhou in the past. May I ask if Liu Mu sent troops to help the emperor when he was in trouble?" "If Zhao Binqing hadn't gone south, why would Liu Mu have sent troops to help build the palace?" "Sir, you are the deputy governor of Jingzhou. How can you turn a blind eye to this and confuse right and wrong?" "This, this." Liu Xian was speechless again. It was not because he could not argue, but because what Pang Tong said was true. His argument points were that Liu Bei was bullied because he was an outsider and did not know the details. But facing Pang Tong, who knew the truth, he didn't have the nerve to cover up for Liu Biao. But Pang Tong saw this and continued to pursue the victory, still smiling: "As for the alliance between Liu Mu and Yuan Shao, this is known to everyone in the world and has been so for many years." "If Liu Mu really wanted to serve the public, why didn't he attack Yuan Shu when he rebelled?" "Last year, Yuan Shao wanted to assassinate the emperor. Liu Mu knew about it, so why did he send troops to respond?" After refuting the three questions one by one, he stopped talking and waited for Liu Xian's reply. Liu Xian naturally could not reply, he just looked at Pang Tong and said sternly: "I am here today to reconcile the two families and to prevent war in Jingzhou." "You are also from Jingzhou. Why do you act like this if you don't want to lend me a helping hand?" Seeing that he couldn't win the argument, he naturally started to use moral blackmail and asked Pang Tong what his intentions were. Unexpectedly, Pang Tong was waiting for this moment, and immediately pointed at him and shouted coldly: "Although I am a Jingzhou scholar, I am also a Han citizen. Now Liu Jingsheng has violated the king's orders and Liu Zhengdong is here to punish him." "I am a Han citizen. How can I not help the General who conquers the East, but help the traitors instead?" "If Liu Biao knew his fault now, he should abdicate and submit a petition to the court to plead guilty." "As a result, this person not only knows his crime, but also sends troops to resist the royal army, which makes you keep talking here." "Jingzhou was hit by war, and it was also caused by this man. Sir, you are also a Jingzhou scholar, why can't you distinguish right from wrong?" After drinking like this, Liu Xian was so drunk that he pointed at Pang Tong and was speechless. Seeing Liu Xian like this, Liu Bei was very pleased. He clapped his hands and laughed: "Mr. Pang's words are reasonable. I am fighting Liu Jingsheng not for personal revenge, but for the sake of the Han Dynasty." "I hope you can go back and tell Liu Jingsheng that if he knows his crime now, he should withdraw his troops and submit a petition to the emperor to apologize." "After the emperor has punished me, I will not continue to pursue the matter and can withdraw my troops."

"If you still insist on resisting my troops, I will fight you to the death!" After making this statement, he directly called the warriors into the tent to send Liu Xian away. Seeing this, Liu Xian was helpless and had to leave with a feeling of resentment. After Liu Xian was sent away, Liu Bei took Pang Tong's hand affectionately and said with a smile: "It is true that there is no false reputation under a great name. Your talent is indeed as good as your reputation as a phoenix chick!" Faced with Liu Bei's praise, Pang Tong was humbled for a moment and was about to say goodbye and leave. As soon as he said he was leaving, Liu Bei became anxious and quickly grabbed him and said: "I was just about to see you, sir, and was about to ask you for advice. Why do you want to leave in such a hurry?" Pang Tong certainly wouldn't say that he was playing hard to get, so he simply saluted Liu Bei and said: "I am still young, how can I deserve such courtesy from the general? I just spoke for justice, not because of my talent or knowledge." "Now that I have seen the general, I will go to Jiangdong to pay a visit to Mr. Huang. I hope the general will agree." Liu Bei naturally refused to let him go no matter what he said, and said earnestly: "I have also heard of Mr. Huang's name, and I should pay him a visit, but the state is in turmoil right now, how can I leave without permission?" "Sir, since you have the talent of a patriot, why don't you stay in the army and lend me a hand?" "Once the threat in Jingzhou is eliminated, it won't be too late to visit you someday." Pang Tong was moved by his sincere words and immediately bowed. "I am a country bumpkin, not well-known for my talent. I am honored to be valued by the general, so I have no reason not to repay him!" After these words, he officially joined Liu Bei's army and became a member of Liu Bei's army. Liu Bei was overjoyed when he saw this, and he ordered people to bring wine and meat, placed them in the tent, and discussed military strategies with him in detail. Pang Tong spoke eloquently and answered questions fluently. No matter what Liu Bei asked, he could answer it with ease. After an interview, Liu Bei came to a conclusion about Pang Tong, that this guy was only similar to Liu Ye! When he thought that he had found another talented person, he treated him with great hospitality and asked Pang Tong for advice. Now he was faced with a big problem: Wen Pin and Huang She had a combined army of 40,000. Although he had the advantage in terms of military strength, the enemy had occupied Xiling City and was preparing for a protracted war. This made Xiling a hard nut to crack, stuck in his throat. He also asked Liu Ye and others how to resolve the current situation. Liu Ye and others suggested that Qin Zhen attack from both sides. Because they are still blocked outside Jingzhou, while Qin Zhen is inside Jingzhou. As long as Qin Zhen cuts off the retreat of Wen Pin and others, Wen Pin will become an isolated force. If this continues, Wen Pin will not be able to hold on and will have to retreat with his troops in three months at most. But Liu Bei always felt that this strategy was too slow and too dependent on the results achieved by Qin Zhen! It’s not that Old Liu doesn’t trust Qin Zhen now, but he feels that Qin Zhen has been busy and never stops since he joined him. He conquered Jiangdong and Jiaozhou, and now he is helping him seize Jingnan.

If he still needs Qin Zhen's help to defeat Wen Pin, isn't that too lazy! Old Liu admits that he does not have much talent, but he is proud of charging into battle. Now if there is an opportunity to turn the situation around with his own abilities, he doesn't want Qin Zhen to continue running around. As Pang Tong was a scholar from Jingzhou and had military talent, it was obvious that he would have a way to break the impasse! His idea naturally coincided with Pang Tong's. After thinking for a moment, he analyzed: "Wen Pin is here now. He was ordered by Liu Biao to come and resist your army." "But they are coming so quickly, so they must not have much food and supplies, so we can cut off their food supply!" "In my opinion, Jingzhou has many waterways, but its grain routes only have two places, one is Anlu and the other is Xiakou." "And Anlu is where the Huang clan is located. Huang Zu, the father of Huang She, is also here." "Why don't you first occupy Xiakou with your navy, then launch a surprise attack on Anlu and take Huang Zu hostage?" "Huang She has always been a filial man. If you use Huang Zu as a hostage, Huang She will certainly open the city and surrender." "Once Huangshe surrenders, even if Wenpin has a large army, he will not be able to gain a foothold here." "He can only go north. You only need to set up an ambush halfway to capture him." Pang Tong thought that the easiest way was to capture Huang Zu and seize Jiangxia to open a passage, but when Liu Bei heard this, he quickly shook his head and said: "Forcing a son to be a father is against moral principles and is also an unjust act. I don't want to do it!" "If this is your only plan, I will stop here and not do it!" When Pang Tong saw that he directly rejected it, he nodded secretly and thought to himself that he was indeed a benevolent ruler! "If you do not want to do this, I have another plan. For the rest, you can follow what I just said." "Only the matter of taking Anlu needs to come later. We can ambush a group of soldiers on the road first." "Send another force and pretend to go west to seize Anlu first. Huang She will see this and send troops to rescue." "According to this plan, we can also capture Huang She and leave Wen Pin isolated and helpless here!" Seeing Pang Tong come up with a workaround in a blink of an eye, Liu Bei immediately laughed and said: "Shi Yuan is truly talented, and he deserves the title of Phoenix Youngster!" He immediately appointed Pang Tong to join the army in the General's Office and acted according to his plan overnight. First, Wei Yan and Zhang Liao would send troops to ambush on the road, and let Gan Ning capture Shaxian. Zhang Fei also led more than 10,000 troops and marched westward towards Anlu. (End of this chapter)