Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1009 Where I’m Going
As soon as Pang Tong said these words, Xu Shu's eyes suddenly lit up and he agreed: "Shi Yuan came up with three strategies at the beginning. Now that I think about it, I am still amazed."

"Compared to that time, the situation in Jingzhou is much more corrupt now, but for my lord, it is not necessarily a bad thing!"

"Because with the fierce tiger pulling away the main forces of Cao Cao and Sun Quan, the Lord's situation is now getting better!"

Pang Tong nodded and said: "Yuan Zhi is right. This opportunity came so suddenly that even I didn't expect it. We must think carefully and grasp it."

"I thought before that Cao Cao hated his lord very much. Before he captured Xiangyang and destroyed his lord, he shouldn't have turned around and attacked the fierce tiger."

"There must be some unknown change that made the fierce tiger more important in Cao Cao's heart than the lord."

"Except for the possibility of Cao Cao setting a trap, this is one of the few flaws he has had in recent years, which is enough for my lord to find another way!"

"Of course, Cao Cao may have been so bold because he knew that the master's strength could not threaten him."

After hearing this, Guan Yu snorted coldly: "Although Cao Cao is cunning, he is not invulnerable, nor has he ever been defeated!"

"As long as the eldest brother gives the order, Yu only needs five thousand soldiers and horses, and he will definitely wipe out Cao's army!"

Liu Bei spoke up: "Then tell me, second brother, where is the right place to fight?"

Guan Yu was startled, and then said: "I will fight wherever brother tells me to fight."

Liu Bei said: "This time I want to hear what my second brother thinks."

Guan Yu hesitated, and then said: "Yu dare not miss big brother's important event."

Liu Bei knew that Guan Yu had concerns, so he turned to Pang Tong and said: "I still clearly remember the three strategies of the military advisor."

"Rely on Jingnan, go down the river, take Yuzhang first, and then Luling, gradually encroaching on the Jiandong territory. Whether you attack Jiangdong from the east or Jiaozhou from the south, there is a way forward. This is the best strategy."

"Counterattack Xinye Wancheng, directly attack Xu County, seize the emperor, use the emperor's name to obtain Hanzhong Sili, and annex Liangzhou. This is the middle strategy."

"Abandoning Xiangyang, pretending to surrender to Liu Zhang, and then leading troops all the way to the city of Chengdu, attacking the city by surprise and capturing Yizhou, is a bad strategy."

"Three strategies to exhaust all options are the words of gold and jade."

Pang Tong hurriedly said: "With your lord's ability, as long as you break the predicament, the situation will be brighter. The only person who is difficult to deal with in Cao's camp is Cao Cao. Now that Cao Cao is not here, it is a great opportunity. If you miss it, you don't know how long it will be." !”

Everyone agreed, and Liu Bei said: "It's difficult to choose between three strategies. I want to ask you what you think first."

He looked at Xu Shu. Hearing the words, Xu Shu said: "The lower official chooses the best policy."

Liu Bei said: "Oh?"

"What's the reason?"

Xu Shu replied: "This is the safest plan."

"By seizing Jingnan, we can interact with the fierce tiger. Now the lord and the fierce tiger can support each other and take care of each other, and the Jiangdong facing Jiaozhou is far easier to deal with than Cao Cao. Now the lord urgently needs a few years to stabilize the situation and consolidate the foundation. ah."

Liu Bei turned to Pang Tong and said, "What do the military advisors think?"

Pang Tong said without hesitation: "My subordinates choose the next strategy."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was very surprised. Pang Tong offered three strategies, but now he actually chose the next one?
Liu Bei said: "Why?"

Pang Tong said: "Tong feels that this step in Xiangyang can only restrict the lord to death and make wedding clothes for Liu Biao's second son in vain, so we must change the place as soon as possible."

"Liu Jingsheng is true to his kindness to his lord, but to be honest, he also has his own thoughts. In his heart, the lord is not as good as his second son."

"So the most urgent task is to cut off the strong man's wrist and abandon Xiangyang. In this way, we can only choose two strategies: upper and lower."

"Although the best strategy is good, there is a prerequisite, that is, the fierce tiger can defend Shouchun."

"Now it seems that facing the coalition forces of Cao and Sun at the same time, it is almost impossible for Fierce Tiger to win this battle. The strength difference between the two sides is too big."

"The combined forces of Cao and Sun are likely to exceed 200,000 people. Even if there are 200,000 pigs, the fierce tigers may not be able to defeat them, right?"

Everyone listened with solemn expressions. Indeed, as Pang Tong said, the prospect of the fierce tiger this time is really not optimistic, and Cao Cao is personally holding the battle. How can we win?
Pang Tong continued: "So it will take at least two years for the lord to take Jiaozhou, and the fierce tiger may not even be able to survive this half a year."

"If Jiang Huai is lost, Cao and Sun will definitely join forces to attack the lord. Does the lord think he can stop them?"

Everyone agreed that Liu Bei now had at most 20,000 soldiers. If he faced the combined forces of Cao and Sun, he would not last more than two months!
Pang Tong continued: "But the best strategy is the most suitable for the current situation. As long as we capture Yizhou, we only need to defend two roads, Hanzhong Road in the back and Qishan Road in the east. Both roads are narrow and difficult to walk, making it difficult to use large armies. On the contrary, it is extremely beneficial to the Lord!"

"At that time, Cao's army will only be able to send tens of thousands of troops, and the journey is far away and supplies will be difficult. It will be almost impossible to force their way in!"

"At that time, my lord will be able to rest easy. Even if the fierce tiger is destroyed, he can still take advantage of it. This is the best way to protect himself!"

"But the only risk you need to take is how to sneak attack Liu Zhang. If it doesn't work, there will be no way out."

Everyone nodded, but Zhang Fei said happily: "This suits my taste, Lao Zhang. Isn't it just a sneak attack on Liu Zhang? I have been sneak attacked before, and I am good at this!"

"And I will be even better at guarding important roads in the future. No one from Cao's army can get in!"

"Brother, I also agree to take Xichuan, let's do it!"

Xu Shu said aloud: "But in this way, it is equivalent to giving up the fierce tiger. How can I explain to him?"

Pang Tong said resolutely: "Even if the fierce tiger loses Jianghuai and still has You Bing Qingxu, what does my lord have?"

"What my lord lacks most now is his own inheritance!" Xu Shu was also convinced and nodded repeatedly: "Shi Yuan is right."

Everyone looked at Liu Bei. Liu Bei looked around and found that except for Guan Yu, who lowered his head and said nothing, the other three people had expectant looks in their eyes.

He slowly raised his head, looked at the sky outside the window, and whispered: "The two military advisors are right. The best choice now is indeed to take Xichuan."

"Although this move is sorry for Liu Zhang, I, Liu Xuande, am not a saint. I also have to think about the tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of people under my command."

After hearing this, everyone held their breath and waited for Liu Bei to make a decision. However, Liu Bei's next words made everyone almost jump.

"But having said that, I want to make a choice."

Pang Tong lost his voice and said: "Attack Xudu?"

Everyone was in a daze. Is Liu Bei crazy?

""Cao Cao didn't go to Xiangyang, but Liu Bei wanted to attack Xudu?
Isn't he afraid that Cao Cao will return to the army and wipe out the last bit of Liu Bei's wealth?

Pang Tong stammered: "Lord, are you going to put all your efforts into this?"

"At this time, attacking Xudu is more risky than attacking Xichuan!"

Liu Bei stood up slowly, walked to the window, turned his back to everyone and said: "The sergeant is right, I know it, I have always known it."

He turned to face everyone, "But I also remember what banner I have been flying in the past few years."

"You should still remember."

Everyone was shocked, this slogan only had eight words.

Conquer Cao Ni and support the Han Dynasty!

Pang Tong was even more shocked. He originally thought that Liu Bei was here to recruit talents who wanted to be part of the Han Dynasty, but he didn't expect that Liu Bei was serious!
Liu Bei looked at the crowd and said, "It's been almost twenty years."

"When I was fifteen years old, I traveled to learn from Lu Ziqian (Lu Zhi). I completed my studies at the age of twenty and met Gongsun Zan. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion five years later, I met my second and third brothers and fought against the rebellion together. It has been seventeen years now."

"During this period, I have attached myself to Gongsun Zan, Tao Gongzu, Yuan Gongli, Yuan Benchu, and Liu Jingsheng, and there are five of them so far."

"Although I am a guest general and have an independent relationship with the lord, I have changed many families, no less than Lu Bu. I really have no right to laugh at him."

"The idea of ​​helping the Han Dynasty was not what I thought of at the beginning. When I was young and energetic at first, I just envied the scenery of wearing bright clothes and angry horses, and conquering the world."

"But along the way, Bei has seen the suffering of the people all over the world, and he often feels that a gentleman does something and does something he doesn't do. Although Bei is not talented, he does not want to be like Cao Cao no matter what!"

"If he wants to kill people, I will save them. If he holds the emperor hostage, I will support the Han Dynasty. There is no incompatibility between me and Cao Cao!"

"So no matter what Cao Cao shows me, I will never agree. If I let him win the world, I will never forgive myself!"

"But I really can't beat him!"

As soon as these words came out, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Xu Shu and Pang Tong all bowed down and said, "It's because my subordinates are incompetent!"

Liu Bei shook his head and said: "I don't blame you. I am indeed not as good as Cao Mengde in terms of fighting."

"If it hadn't been for your help, I would have been defeated and dead."

"I am already forty years old, and sometimes I often wonder whether I can still achieve my wishes in the rest of my life."

"Now the opportunity has come, and it's an opportunity I've never seen before."

"But it's not Xichuan, it's Xu Du."

"Xu Du is right in front of me."

"There is the emperor of the Han Dynasty who I want to help."

"If I don't go now, if I don't go this way, how can I have the face to mention the Han Dynasty again, and how can I stand before the people of the world!"

Pang Tong was shocked because he had been in contact with Liu Bei for a long time. He could see that Liu Bei's words were sincere!
Pang Tong had learned Gui Guzi's art of looking at people, and he was very confident in his own vision of people. He was very sure that Liu Bei was not deceiving people. If he could deceive him, then Liu Bei must be the biggest traitor in the world, even more treacherous than Cao Cao. Ten times that kind.

He prostrated himself on the ground, "Now and then, I know that my lord is righteous!"

"The president is willing to march forward for the Lord, even if he has to die!"

Liu Bei shook his head and said: "I also took too many risks in this plan at this time, but it was done in time. I didn't get much benefit. It was just an explanation to the world, the emperor, and Liu Jingsheng."

"Everyone guarding the city, I will only take my second and third brothers with me to Xudu!"

Guan Yu looked relieved and stood up suddenly, "Yu is just waiting for big brother's words!"

"Yu is willing to follow my eldest brother to support the Han Dynasty, even if I die!"

Zhang Fei quickly stood up and shouted: "Me too!"

Liu Bei returned the gift with his hand, and the three of them were excited for a moment. Thinking of the scene of the sworn friendship in Taoyuan, they all looked at each other and laughed out loud.

(End of this chapter)