My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 192: Where there is a Crouching Dragon, there must be a Phoenix! Cao Cao wants to unify the north, so we will attack Huainan and march towards the Central Plains!

A scribe?
He also claimed that he would help him take over Huainan.

That is to say, this person at least anticipated that he had the intention of using military force against Huainan.

The person who came is not ordinary...

Liu Bei was cheered up and asked the visitor's name and appearance.

"Reporting to the General, the scholar did not give his name, only saying that he was a classmate of Zhuge Lingjun. His appearance... was... a little ugly..."

Everyone was shocked and looked at Zhuge Liang in unison.

Zhuge Liang's eyes turned, and a hint of joy suddenly flashed across his face, as if he had guessed who it was.

Before he could speak, Xiao He smiled and said:
"General, it should be the Phoenix Child who is as famous as Crouching Dragon, Pang Tong Pang Shiyuan who has appeared."

"Congratulations, General, you have gained another great man to assist the king."

Pang Tong!

When Liu Bei heard this name, he was overjoyed.

Zhuge Liang once mentioned to him that many of the disciples of his mentor, Mr. Shuijing Sima Hui, were people of extraordinary talent and wisdom.

In addition to Xu Shu, there are also people like Cui Zhouping, Shi Guangyuan and others, all of whom are talented county magistrates.

However, the only one who truly possessed the talent to assist the king was Pang Tong, a descendant of the Pang family in Xiangyang.

Later, Xiao He also commented that Pang Tong was a man of extraordinary talent, and his wisdom and strategies were comparable to those of Guo Jia.

Now that he heard that Pang Tong was coming to visit him, how could Liu Bei not be overjoyed?

"Bowen's guess is probably correct. The person coming should be Pang Shiyuan."

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and agreed with Xiao He's guess.

Liu Bei was overjoyed and shouted:
"What are you waiting for? Invite Pang Shiyuan into the mansion!"

The guards hurriedly took the order and left.

After the joy, Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang with confusion:
"Kong Ming, this Pang Shiyuan is a descendant of the Pang family. I have taken Jingzhou for many years, but why haven't I seen him come to seek refuge with me, let alone heard any news from him?"

Zhuge Liang was about to answer when he suddenly became excited and asked with a smile:
"Bo Wen, you know everything about the people and affairs of the world. Do you know why Pang Shiyuan hasn't come to join the general yet?"

Xiao He rolled his eyes a few times before smiling:
"Throughout history, those with extraordinary talent have often been extremely self-righteous."

"Since this young phoenix is ​​as famous as Brother Kong Ming and possesses the talent to assist the king, he will definitely choose a master to rely on and will not join anyone's army casually."

"And as far as I know, although Pang Shiyuan is from Jingzhou, he has traveled around Jianghuai in recent years. He should have some friendship with Zhou Yu and other officials of the Sun family."

"After Jingzhou changed its owner, this person was reluctant to come and join the general. I guess this is also the reason."

"Now Jiangdong has changed its ruler, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu have both been executed. The general now dominates half of Jiangnan, serving the emperor to suppress rebellion. Everyone in the world has seen that the general is a great leader, with the style of Emperor Guangwu."

"At this moment, it is only natural and logical for Pang Shiyuan to come and join the general."

Xiao He's evaluation clearly analyzed Pang Tong's temperament and thoughts.

His comments were not groundless.

Although Pang Tong is as famous as Zhuge Liang, he is somewhat inferior to Zhuge Liang in his ability to judge people.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang could come out to assist Liu Bei when he was in trouble, but Pang Tong only chose to surrender after the Battle of Chibi, when Liu Bei borrowed Nanjun and had most of Jingzhou in his hands.

As Xiao He said, Pang Tong was extremely arrogant. At the beginning, he felt that the county magistrate position given by Liu Bei was too low, so he just lay back and drank and slept all day long, ignoring government affairs. He was almost chopped to death by Liu Bei who was passing by in anger.

That is to say, Liu Bei was kind and magnanimous. After listening to Zhuge Liang's explanation that Pang Tong was a talent who could assist the king and that it would be a waste of talent for him to be a county magistrate, Liu Bei immediately entrusted him with the important task.

Such a talented person, cautious in choosing his master and extremely self-confident, would naturally not come to Liu Bei for surrender when he had just obtained Jingzhou and the future was still unclear.

Today, Pang Tong came to surrender, obviously well prepared. He wanted to offer a strategy to seize Huainan and make a big splash to gain Liu Bei's respect.

After hearing Xiao He's evaluation of Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but sigh:

"Liang and Shiyuan have been classmates for many years, and his understanding of Shiyuan's character is not much better than Bowen's. It seems that everyone in the world is under Bowen's control."

Lu Su's eyes lit up and he said:

"When Pang Shiyuan was traveling in Jiangdong, Zhou Yu did treat him well and even invited him to serve under Sun Quan in Jiangdong."

"Pang Shiyuan declined many times. When he said goodbye to Zhou Yu, he also promised that as long as Zhou Yu was still in Jiangdong, he would never become his enemy!"

After listening to Xiao He's inference and Zhuge Liang and Lu Su's sighs, Liu Bei finally understood.

"Those who have great talents in ancient times are bound to have some arrogance, which is not surprising."

"In that case, I must personally go out to greet him. I must not neglect him."

Liu Bei immediately stood up and went outside the mansion to greet him personally with a group of counselors and generals.

As the group arrived at the gate of the mansion, a scholar in black robes, led by his personal guards, walked in with a swagger and his head held high.

That style must be Pang Tong's.

But that appearance made everyone's eyes light up:
Short beard, gray face, horizontal eyebrows, upturned nose, short stature and long face...

With this look, it’s no wonder that the personal guard just said that the newcomer looked a little ugly.

No, Pang Tong’s appearance cannot be described as ugly, but weird!
Everyone's eyes couldn't help but glance at Zhuge Liang.

They are all disciples of Mr. Shuijing, and are known as Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick. Look at Zhuge Liang, he has a tall crown and a long sword, and is very handsome.

Look at Pang Tong again...

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, who would have thought that this was the Phoenix Cub, who was as famous as Crouching Dragon! Liu Bei was obviously not obsessed with looks, so he hurried forward a few steps and bowed:
"I have long admired Mr. Fengchu's name, and I never thought I would have the honor of meeting him today. I apologize for not welcoming you in person."

Pang Tong, who had been sitting with his hands behind his back and his head held high, looking very stylish, was immediately startled.

He had naturally heard about Liu Bei's courtesy to wise men and humble attitude towards others, and he believed it without a doubt.

Otherwise, he would not have dared to knock on the door of the general's mansion as a commoner and asked to meet Liu Bei.

But no matter how respectful Liu Bei was to the wise and humble, he was still a great general of the dynasty!

Not only did a great general come out to greet me personally, but he also bowed to me as soon as they met. What a great honor!
This is too much respect for Pang Tong, giving him face is really too high...

Pang Tong, who was originally arrogant, was caught off guard by Liu Bei and was at a loss for a moment.

"Shi Yuan, the general's position has been vacant for you for a long time. You're only here today, you're really late..."

Zhuge Liang standing by reminded his classmate with a smile.

Pang Tong suddenly came to his senses and bowed hurriedly:
"Pang Tong of Xiangyang, I pay my respects to the General."

"I am but a commoner, and I feel ashamed to accept such a generous gift from the General!"

Liu Bei hurriedly helped Pang Tong up and laughed:
"Shi Yuan, you are too modest. You are a classmate of Zhuge Liang and a man who is worthy of the king's help as described by Military Advisor Bo Wen. You are worthy of my respect!"

For example, Zhuge Liang was Pang Tong's classmate, so it's not surprising that he knew Pang Tong's strength.

When Liu Bei mentioned military advisor Bo Wen, Pang Tong was shocked.

Military Advisor Bo Wen... How could he not know the name of Xiao Bowen, the legendary god who descended to earth with extraordinary strategies and a great reputation throughout the country?

Such a legendary god, who had never met him before and had no connection with him, actually told Liu Bei that he was a talent who could assist the king?

Pang Tong glanced at the people behind Liu Bei and his eyes immediately fell on the handsome and elegant young scholar.

"Are you the legendary military advisor Xiao He, known for his meticulous planning?"

Pang Tong asked with curiosity.

Xiao He smiled faintly and said with a bow:
"It's me, Brother Shiyuan. I've heard a lot about you."

Pang Tong was shocked and quickly returned the greeting, sighing:
"Military Advisor Xiao emerged from nowhere in Fancheng, helping the general capture Jingzhou, pacify Jiangdong, and defeat Cao Cao. His various brilliant strategies and tactics have long been admired by everyone."

"I never thought that I, Pang Tong, a country scholar, would know me?"

Pang Tong's words clearly showed that he was flattered.

"If you can get one of the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix, you can pacify the world!"

"If you, Pang Shiyuan, were a country scholar, then everyone in the world would be illiterate."

Xiao He also understood Pang Tong's temperament, gave him enough face, and flattered him as much as he could.

Pang Tong was somewhat proud to receive such high praise from the world-famous Xiao Bowen, but he could not help but remain humble on the surface.

Liu Bei immediately took Pang Tong into his house, set out fine wine and delicious food to welcome him, and treated him as a guest of honor.

"Shi Yuan, I just heard from the guards that you are here to help the general capture Huainan."

"I wonder if you have any good ideas, Shiyuan? Why not present them to the general?"

After a few rounds of drinking, Zhuge Liang took the lead in bringing the topic to the point.

Liu Bei quickly put down his wine glass and said:
"If Shi Yuan has any good ideas, please teach me."

Pang Tong then put down his wine glass and asked:
"I'd like to speculate whether the General is already planning to capture Huainan. Cao Cao's army of over 100,000 is heading towards Wancheng, and the General, constrained by limited manpower, is struggling over whether to send more troops to Wancheng, and how many to send."

After these words were spoken, Liu Bei couldn't help but look at Xiao He.

As he said, Pang Tong was very intelligent and although he had not participated in the military discussion just now, he was able to guess the difficulties he was facing.

"To be honest, what Shi Yuan said is exactly what I am struggling with."

"If we divide our forces too little, it will not be enough to protect Wancheng. If we divide our forces too much, we will not have enough troops to capture Shouchun or even Huainan."

"Since Shi Yuan knows my predicament, he must have a plan that satisfies both sides."

Liu Bei did not hide anything and was honest with Pang Tong.

Pang Tong raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said slowly:

"According to Tong's plan, the general doesn't need to send any more soldiers to Wancheng. He can just mobilize all the troops in Jiangdong and march north to capture Shouchun!"

Liu Bei was shocked.

Guan Yu's ability is unquestionable. He is also equipped with wise generals and counselors such as Wei Yan and Xu Shu to assist him. The Jingzhou Legion can also be called an elite division.

However elite they were, their number was only over 40,000.

According to spies, the number of troops Cao Cao led southward was as many as 150,000.

After all, Wancheng is not Xiangfan. It has the natural barrier of the Han River and the advantage of the navy.

Forty thousand versus one hundred and fifty thousand, the disparity in military strength is too great.

It's a bit inappropriate not to send any reinforcements to Guan Yu...

Pang Tong naturally knew what Liu Bei was thinking, so he stood up and walked to the map, pointing northwest of Wancheng.
"The reason why Tong told the general not to send reinforcements to Wancheng is because Cao Cao's march south this time was a pretense of repairing the plank road while secretly attacking Chencang!"

"He intended to use the attack on Wancheng as a cover to enter Nanyang. He would use part of his forces to feint at Wancheng, but then use the main force to unexpectedly attack Guanzhong through Wuguan."

"Cao Cao's true intention is to wipe out Ma Han and other Xiliang generals, capture Guanlong in one fell swoop, and unify the north!"

(End of this chapter)