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

Xiao He was confident and clearly had a well-thought-out plan in mind.

At this moment, Zhang Fei, with his straightforward nature, could not suppress his curiosity and asked:

"Bowen, what brilliant plan do you have to quickly capture Pingxiang City?"

Xiao He remained calm, took a leisurely sip of wine, and then slowly said:
"The key to quickly capturing Pingxiang City lies in finding one person."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Xiao He with suspicion.

Xiao He spoke again, uttering a name:
"Liang Xing".

"Liang Xing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei's face was filled with bewilderment.

He was naturally aware of Liang Xing.

Liang Xing was from Xiliang and was one of the Ten Generals of Guanzhong, and was quite famous.

But Zhang Fei really couldn't understand what the swift capture of Pingxiang City had to do with Liang Xing.

At this moment, the meticulous Ma Su quickly deduced Xiao He's next plan based solely on the name Xiao He mentioned.

Then, with a hint of excitement, he said:
"Could it be that the Grand Marshal intends to persuade Liang Xing to surrender, so that Pingxiang City will fall without a fight?"

After listening, Xiao He nodded slightly and said:

"Yes, that's exactly it."

Then, Xiao explained in detail:

"At present, the Wei Kingdom has stationed 7,000 troops in Pingxiang City, half of which are Liangzhou soldiers, and the commander of these Liangzhou soldiers is Liang Xing."

"Liang Xing is originally from Xiliang and is not a loyal follower of Cao Pi. If we can successfully persuade Liang Xing to surrender, then Pingxiang City will surely fall without a fight. This is the best strategy."

As soon as Xiao He finished speaking, a flurry of discussion broke out inside the tent.

"Now that our army has entered Longyou, Cao Pi will surely find it difficult to hold on. It seems that it is only a matter of time before Longyou and even the entire Liangzhou submit to our Han Dynasty. There is no doubt about it."

"Moreover, many heroes from Liangzhou have already submitted to our Han Dynasty, so it is only natural for Liang Xing to seek a way out for himself."

Ma Su was the first to nod in agreement, then his gaze fell upon Ma Chao:
"However, Liang Xing was once one of the Ten Generals of Guanzhong, and he fought alongside General Mengqi against Cao Cao. Yet, in the end, he had no choice but to surrender to Cao Wei. I am truly worried..."

Ma Su stopped there, not finishing his sentence.

But Ma Chao had already understood the deeper meaning behind Ma Su's words.

Ma Su was implying that Liang Xing feared he would retaliate against him for surrendering to Cao Wei years ago, so he might not dare to surrender to the Han army.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei frowned slightly and turned to look at Xiao He:

"Bowen, how confident are you in persuading Liang Xing to surrender?"

After hearing this, Xiao He smiled slightly and then looked at Ma Chao:

"Liang Xing surrendered to Cao Wei in the first place only to protect himself. General Mengqi is a hero of his time, with a broad mind. He shouldn't be so intolerant of Liang Xing because of this, right?"

Xiao He's words were clearly meant to comfort and enlighten Ma Chao.

After all, only if Ma Chao was magnanimous and forgave Liang Xing for past grievances would Liang Xing feel at ease to come and surrender.

Upon hearing Xiao He's words, Ma Chao naturally dared not disregard the overall situation.

He laughed heartily and said happily:
“Am I, Ma Chao, a narrow-minded person? Liang Xing surrendered to Cao Wei out of necessity, so I will not hold it against him. If the Grand Marshal agrees, I am willing to personally write a letter to persuade Liang Xing to surrender and put his concerns aside.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao He smiled with satisfaction.

This was what he was waiting for.

So Xiao He smiled and praised:

"General Mengqi's ability to prioritize the overall situation truly makes him a great man!"

Seeing this, Zhang Fei had no more worries and laughed heartily:

"Alright! Then Meng Qi will write a letter to persuade Liang Xing to surrender!"

Ma Chao immediately picked up a pen and wrote a letter of persuasion to surrender on the spot.

After the letter was written, the next problem was how to get it into Liang Xing's hands.

Under normal circumstances, one could simply send someone to sneak into Pingxiang City to secretly meet Liang Xing.

But the current situation is special; Pingxiang City is completely covered in ice, making it virtually impossible to sneak into the city undetected. Just as everyone was discussing and racking their brains for a way to send the message, Xiao He slowly said:
“I have someone who can openly and legitimately order the city gates to be opened to deliver a message.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and turned their gazes to Xiao He.

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up, and he asked curiously:
"Bowen, who is this person who dares to enter Pingxiang City so openly?"

Xiao smiled and explained unhurriedly:
"This man is Liang Xing's son, Liang Xun. Liang Xun was originally a hostage in Chang'an. When we captured Chang'an, he fell into our army."

"It was only when I was looking through the list of prisoners that I learned that this person was actually Liang Xing's son. Now I can use Liang Xun to persuade his father to surrender."

A chorus of delighted exclamations erupted inside the tent.

Zhang Fei suddenly realized what was happening and couldn't help but exclaim:

"Bowen, I am relieved to see your profound wisdom and foresight!"

Having said that, he laughed heartily and said with delight:
"As Bowen suggested, let us summon Liang Xun."

...

Three days later, on the city wall of Pingxiang's east gate, Liang Xing, clad in armor and holding a long sword, solemnly surveyed the city wall.

He looked into the distance and saw that in the Han camp outside the city, there were crisscrossing trenches and earthen walls, with multiple layers of encirclement tightly connected, like an invisible net trapping Pingxiang City where he was.

"Am I, Liang Xing, really destined to be trapped and die in Pingxiang City with Xu Zhi and the others?"

Liang Xing was filled with resentment. He was unwilling to just sit and wait for his death, but he couldn't think of a better way for the time being.

Just then, a soldier next to him suddenly shouted:
"General, a Han cavalryman is approaching from outside the city!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Xing immediately became alert and hurriedly looked into the distance. Sure enough, he saw a rider from the Han camp breaking through the encirclement and galloping towards the city gate.

A look of doubt appeared in Liang Xing's eyes as he pondered in his heart what the Han cavalry's intentions were.

In a short while, the rider arrived at the city walls and shouted:

"I am Liang Xun, son of your General Liang Xing. Go and inform him immediately!"

A look of surprise instantly appeared on Liang Xing's face.

That familiar face, that familiar voice—who else could it be but Liang Xun?

So Liang Xing rushed forward and shouted excitedly:

"It's my son Liang Xun! Quickly, open the city gates!"

After saying this, Liang Xing turned and ran down the city wall.

As the city gates slowly opened and the drawbridge gently lowered, Liang Xun rode his horse smoothly into the city.

"Cuckoo, cuckoo!"

Liang Xing was overjoyed and shouted Liang Xun's name as he rushed to greet him.

"Father!"

With tears welling up in his eyes, Liang Xun dismounted and knelt down at Liang Xing's feet.

The father and son were reunited, embracing each other and weeping, their tears soaking their clothes.

"Xun'er, I thought you had died in Chang'an!"

Liang Xing asked while crying:
How did you get out of the Han camp?

After bursting into tears of joy, Liang Xing gradually calmed down. He sensed that something seemed amiss, so he asked Liang Xun to speak to him privately.

Liang Xing took his son's hand and returned to his tent.

Liang Xun sat down and then slowly said:

“After the fall of Chang’an, the Han army did not kill me, but treated me with courtesy. That is why I was able to come to see you alive. Today I am here on the orders of the Grand Marshal of Han to deliver a message to you.”

As he spoke, Liang Xun took out two letters from his bosom and presented one of them to Liang Xing.

Liang Xing was stunned for a moment before slowly taking the letter and unfolding it with a sense of speculation.

He guessed correctly.

That letter was indeed a letter urging surrender. (End of Chapter)