Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 857: Letter of Persuasion

When Zhao Kuangyin heard Cao Bin's plan, he pondered for a moment, nodded slightly, and thought that this plan was feasible.

If Pan Mei could be persuaded to switch sides and submit to the State of Song, it would be possible to inflict severe damage on the State of Wu, which would be the key to turning the tide and determining success or failure.

Even if Pan Mei could not be persuaded to return to the State of Song in the end, as long as he hesitated, kept his troops inactive, or was suspected by the State of Wu of collaborating with the enemy, then the strategy of sowing discord would have had the effect of estrangement.

When the Song Dynasty attacked the Southern Tang, it used this strategy to trick Li Yu into killing Lin Renzhao. This shows the power of the strategy of sowing discord.

Zhao Kuangyin felt that as long as Su Chen could transfer Pan Mei away and prevent him from continuing to serve as commander-in-chief, the pressure on the Song army would be reduced, and it would not be difficult to turn defeat into victory.

"Okay, I'll write this letter myself!"

Zhao Kuangyin had known Pan Mei for many years. He felt that he had treated Pan Mei well in the past and had never done anything unfair to him. If he used their old friendship and the righteousness of a monarch and his subjects to persuade him, he would still have some chance to win over this former famous general of the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Song Dynasty.

After all, he and Pan Mei have been friends for much longer than Pan Mei and Su Chen. He believes that new clothes are worse than old friends, and the relationship between old friends and monarchs and ministers still has weight!
So, Zhao Kuangyin began to write a personal letter in a very eloquent manner, expressing his concern for Pan Mei and persuading him to surrender.

Cao Bin said, "Your Majesty, you write your letter, and I will write one too. As an old friend, I will give him some good advice. Don't throw away your pearls. You have to stand on the side of Wu! Our Song Dynasty is the destiny of the Central Plains. Only the Song Dynasty has the opportunity to unify the world and stop the war. Wu is a southern dynasty and does not have this dragon vein destiny. He is going against the trend by helping Wu. It is really unwise."

"Besides, if you are not comfortable saying it, I can be more direct. I will let Pan Mei turn his back on the enemy and start a mutiny. He will surrender with 100,000 Wu soldiers. Then he can give us the firearms from the Wu army camp for us to study. With firearms, we will be more effective in dealing with Khitan cavalry. It will be just around the corner to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun and destroy the Northern Han."

I have to say that Cao Bin had a very beautiful idea and thought that Pan Mei would be persuaded. After all, the Song Dynasty had Pan Mei's ancestral home, as well as relatives and friends. Cao Bin felt that Pan Mei would definitely miss his homeland and that his heart was with the Han Dynasty even though he was in Cao's camp!
After hearing this, the other generals of the Song army also felt that it made sense and believed that Pan Mei would be persuaded, and thus the threat from the Wu army would be weakened.

After a while, Zhao Kuangyin and Cao Bin had finished writing the letters and were ready to send them to Pan Mei's camp.

Cao Bin nodded and said, "Sir, let my people handle this matter."

Zhao Kuangyin nodded. He was still confident in Cao Bin's work.

Cao Bin walked out of the camp, found a civil official and counselor, and said to him: "You will be the envoy to the Wu army camp to deliver a letter to Pan Mei! In addition, prepare some scouts and find a way to spread the news to the Wu army camp, saying that General Pan Mei misses his homeland and is communicating privately with the generals of the Song army, ready to surrender to the Song at any time. This will force Pan Mei to respond and alienate his relationship with the generals of the Wu army. Even if Pan Mei does not surrender, it will affect the unity of the Wu army and cause mutual suspicion. Once the army's morale is scattered, it will be defeated by our Song army!"

The strategist named was named Li Wenzhong, a military officer in charge of organizing military accounts, etc. At this time, he served as a messenger and went to the Wu army camp to deliver a letter.

Now that the Huai River was no longer an obstacle, the Wu army camp was only a hundred miles away from the Song army camp, and it would only take two hours to arrive by horseback.

The camp here is as stable as an iron barrel. Pan Mei is very good at marching and fighting. He is also very particular about setting up camp and arranging it carefully to guard against sneak attacks by the Song army.

Li Wen Zhong brought only a few followers with him and reported his purpose. As the saying goes, when two countries are at war, envoys will not be killed. Therefore, the guards found that these people were not a threat and took them to the central military tent under the custody of a group of guards.

"Meet General Pan!"

Li Wenzhong saw Pan Mei in the tent. He was the same as he was a few years ago, but his demeanor and majesty were even greater. Pan Mei glanced at him and asked, "Messenger of Song, what are you doing here?"

Li Wenzhong took out the letter from his bosom and said, "Come here and give it to General Pan. This is a handwritten letter from General Cao."

He did not mention Zhao Kuangyin's letter, fearing that Pan Mei would avoid reading it, so he only mentioned General Cao Bin. Because when two countries were at war, it was common for generals on both sides to write letters to ask for war, to squeeze and ridicule each other, and even to have verbal battles and debates, and Pan Mei did not find it strange.

Moreover, Pan Mei and Cao Bin were old friends, so it was understandable that he sent someone to deliver a letter. It was nothing more than some polite words, expressing his feelings about the fickleness of life, or topics such as persuading surrender.

"Show it to me!"

Pan Mei asked the guard to bring it to him. He took it, opened the envelope, and found two letters inside. He read the letter from Cao Bin first and just smiled. No matter what Cao Bin argued, advised, or tempted him, Pan Mei remained unmoved.

When I turned to the next page, I found that the letter was actually written by Zhao Kuangyin.

"This is?"

Pan Mei was shocked. Although he was no longer a minister of the Song Dynasty, he had worked under Zhao Kuangyin for more than ten years. He had been a subject of the monarch for ten years. As a Confucian general, Pan Mei still had some respect for his old master. After reading the contents of the letter, he was also touched.

Unfortunately, spilled water cannot be recovered, just like poured water cannot be taken back. Pan Mei has already surrendered to the Wu Kingdom and is so valued by Su Chen. Even though Su Chen is not a king for the time being, as long as he conquers Bian Jing, he can become the emperor and the real emperor of Wu and unify the north and the south.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

This was something that many generals and ministers of the Wu State knew very well, so Pan Mei was also waiting for that moment.

But now Zhao Kuangyin was trying to get close to him in the capacity of the Emperor of Song, reminiscing about the past, talking about feelings, and even promising him many gifts. It was indeed hard not to be tempted.

Pan Mei took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

If you take a wrong step, not only will your life be over, but your wife and children at home will also be in danger.

Moreover, Pan Mei surrendered to Wu because he had no other choice. He was captured and held captive until his family was safely brought back. Pan Mei chose to surrender because he had no choice. It was not against the greater good. Now asking him to betray Wu on his own initiative is completely different.

He used to be a general of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Both Song and Wu were new dynasties, and they were not foreign races. Therefore, Pan Mei felt that there was not much difference between being an official in Song and a general in Wu, which was different from joining a foreign race.

Therefore, Pan Mei had already accepted the identity of a general of the Wu State. In addition, Su Chen had a close relationship with him in recent years and had a great influence on him. Therefore, at this critical moment, Pan Mei still resisted the temptation.

"General Pan, please reply to the letter! My General Cao and the emperor are waiting for your reply." Li Wenzhong smiled slightly, as if he was waiting for good news.

When the surrounding Wu army generals heard the letter from General Cao Bin and Zhao Kuangyin, their expressions tensed and they began to look at Pan Mei strangely. Some of the Du Yuhou even reached out to press on the hilts of their swords.