Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1101 A way out
Beside the Xiang River, Liu Bei and Pang Tong were fishing and talking in low voices.

Zhang Fei, who was in the distance, was wearing a straw hat and holding the fishing rod impatiently. He asked Guan Yu beside him the same question as Yuan Xi.

"The emperor has issued an edict, why hasn't my elder brother established a country yet?"

Guan Yu listened and said calmly: "Why don't you go ask your brother yourself?"

Zhang Fei muttered, "I won't ask. If I ask, won't it seem like I'm in a hurry to get an official position?"

Guan Yu smiled, "Over the years, my temper has calmed down a lot. After my sister-in-law gave birth to a daughter, I haven't been sour these days."

Zhang Fei rubbed his head and laughed, "Second brother, you know what, my daughter is fair-skinned, plump, and not at all as ugly as me, Zhang. I'm so happy!"

Guan Yu's face froze, and just as he was about to speak out a reminder, he heard Zhang Fei say mysteriously: "Isn't it the same for the second brother?"

"The daughter that Madam Zou gave birth to my second brother is even fairer. If she has a red face like my second brother, she won't look good when she grows up, right?"

A drop of sweat fell from Guan Yu's face. He calmly took off the green hat on his head, flicked it over his face, and said, "The weather is a bit hot."

Zhang Fei agreed, "Indeed, the weather in the south is hot and humid. I'm used to living in Youzhou, so I'm not used to the miasma here!"

"Second brother asked, when can we return to Youzhou?"

Guan Yu remained calm, "Youzhou is the territory of the King of Jin, what are you going back for?"

Zhang Fei was indignant when he heard this. "This fierce tiger is really not kind!"

"The more we fight, the smaller our territory becomes, while the more we fight, the larger his territory becomes!"

"And he may seem like our ally, but if Big Brother wants to restore the Han Dynasty, he will have to fight against him sooner or later, right?"

Guan Yu sighed, "Third brother, tell me, if we are the only two families left in the world, can we defeat the fierce tiger?"

Zhang Fei was dumbfounded. "This, can we just not fight if we can't win?"

Guan Yu looked at Liu Bei's back and said, "That depends on what Big Brother thinks."

Over there, Liu Bei was discussing with Pang Tong the future direction of policy.

Pang Tong said with regret: "My lord, are you really not going to take advantage of the situation to seize Xichuan?"

"If we send troops now and travel light, we may still be able to reach Chengdu in time."

"Then we can negotiate with Liu Zhang and offer him half of Xichuan to help resist Cao's army. He will most likely agree."

Liu Bei thought about it, shook his head and said, "Taking advantage of others' misfortune will lead to criticism from the world, which I will not do."

"What's more, I am now fighting Cao Cao in the north and Sun Quan in the east. I don't have much manpower to spare. The rest are all navy. I don't have much confidence in entering Sichuan."

Pang Tong was silent. Liu Bei was right. Changsha County was located between three rivers and four waters, making it extremely suitable for training navy. After Liu Bei arrived, he also focused on letting Guan Yu train the navy for future use in plotting against Yuzhang County of Wu State. However, there were not enough soldiers available for land warfare when entering Sichuan.

But Pang Tong was still a little unwilling. After all, Xichuan was too good to be a rear base. It would be a pity to give it up like this. So he said, "Now that Sun Quan is seeking peace and promising marriage, please stop fighting. If this is true, Jiangdong will be free of threats for at least a few years."

"Plus there are other additional conditions, which is considered to be quite sincere. What do you think of this, my lord?"

Liu Bei also hesitated and said, "The conditions in Jiangdong do seem good. Cao's army puts a lot of pressure on me. If I become the enemy of Jiangdong again, I will be overwhelmed."

"My biggest problem now is that I don't have much territory and the situation is unstable. This is why even though I have the Emperor's edict in my hand, it is not suitable for me to establish a country right away."

"My territory only has two counties. I have no idea where to set up my capital and what to call my country. Compared to the other three kingdoms, wouldn't it be a joke to claim to be the king at this time?"

After hearing this, Pang Tong said, "This is because I failed in my duty as a military advisor. There really isn't much land left in the world now."

Liu Bei quickly comforted him, "Military advisor, that's not right. It's all my fault for being stubborn. The military advisor clearly had a brilliant plan, but I didn't adopt it. It's really my fault."

Over the past two years, Pang Tong had gotten to know Liu Bei's temper. He was very particular about doing things and was quite resistant to his strategies of deceiving his allies. He would never betray his allies unless he was forced into a desperate situation.

This approach can be considered benevolent at best and pedantic at worst. Pang Tong initially resented Liu Bei's approach, but as they spent more time together, he slowly discovered that this was exactly what made Liu Bei different from others, and why so many scholars in the world were willing to join Liu Bei.

In fact, Liu Bei does not lack talents under his command. In the past six months, countless scholars from Jing, Yi, and even Jiangdong have come to surrender to him. In Pang Tong's opinion, it is a pity that they are confined to the two counties of Jingzhou.

Pang Tong said, "Let's not talk about the Cao army in the north. The lord's retreat to Xiangyang is actually a blessing in disguise. It has revitalized the situation."

"Now, there is great potential in the other three directions."

"Wu in the east, Jiaozhou in the south, and parts of Yizhou and Jingzhou in the west can all be attacked."

"It depends on what the lord chooses."

Liu Bei asked: "Which direction do you think is the most suitable?"

Pang Tong said: "The easiest ones are, of course, the south and the west."

"We occupy the Xiang River and can enter Jiaozhou at any time. Shi Xie in Jiaozhou has a weak military force. We should be able to make Shi Xie surrender by fighting and negotiating. Then he can be used by our lord." This was also the plan Pang Tong gave to Liu Bei for retreat. By taking the two counties in advance, he occupied the entrance to Jiaozhou. If Sun Quan wanted to enter Jiaozhou from Yuzhang, there was a large swamp in the middle, which made it very difficult to pass.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, "Let's write a letter to Shi Xie first, and use courtesy before force. Now that I have the emperor's edict, it can be considered legitimate."

Pang Tong said: "Since the lord is not in a hurry to mobilize troops against Jiaozhou, we can make plans to attack the west at the same time."

"According to Tongzhi's idea, this road is very critical."

"The passage to Xichuan must be controlled. Even if Cao's army breaks through Chengdu and wants to advance eastward, we can stop them in the mountains and prevent them from entering Jingzhou."

Liu Bei sighed and said, "This is a good plan, but the exit is now in the hands of Lord Jingsheng. If we want to attack, we must get his permission, but..."

Pang Tong said, "My lord, you mean that Liu Jingsheng is in poor health, so he is hesitant and may not let us enter Sichuan, right?"

Seeing Liu Bei nod, Pang Tong said decisively: "Pardon me for what I said. Now Jingzhou is divided into four parts. Cao Cao has taken over the four counties of Nanyang, Nanxiang, Xiangyang and Nanjun. Although Huang Zu still occupies Jiangxia, he has actually already surrendered to the King of Jin."

"The Lord has occupied Changsha and Guiyang counties, while Liu Biao has occupied Yidu, Wuling and Lingling counties. Only four out of ten territories remain."

"Moreover, with Liu Biao's strength, I'm afraid he can't resist Cao's attack at all. Once Cao Cao takes over Xichuan, Liu Biao will be destroyed sooner or later. When Cao Cao attacks from two directions, how will you respond, my lord?"

"Besides, Liu Biao is seriously ill now and won't even last until Cao's army arrives!"

"What do you think, my lord?"

Liu Bei hesitated for a moment and said hesitantly: "What does the military advisor mean?"

Pang Tong said, "If you don't take what God has given you, you will suffer the consequences. Could it be that you, my lord, are still willing to be soft-hearted and give up Jingzhou?"

Liu Bei sighed, "But Liu Jingsheng helped me when I was down and out. If it weren't for him, I might have been left dead in the wilderness."

"How can we take advantage of someone's misfortune and add insult to injury?"

Pang Tong could not help but ask, "When the lord was defeated by Cao Cao in Yuzhou, why didn't you surrender to the King of Jin, but chose Liu Jingsheng instead?"

"Following him, at least it will be better than the life we ​​have now, right?"

Liu Bei did not expect Pang Tong to ask such a question. He was dumbfounded. He thought for a long time before he said, "The King of Jin has always had great ambitions. He does not need guest generals, but only subordinates."

"If I vote for him, my lifelong ambitions will never be realized."

Pang Tong laughed, "That's it!"

"My lord, you are too ambitious and unwilling to live under someone else's roof forever, right?"

"My lord, do you think that those officials who came to surrender to you are all because of your kindness and righteousness?"

"Many of them joined the lord because they saw his ambition and thought they could make a difference!"

"My Lord, can you bear to disappoint them?"

Liu Bei's lips trembled slightly, and it was obvious that he was not calm. Pang Tong saw that the time was almost right and added fuel to the fire.

"Now that the Wei and Jin dynasties are at war, if you are not strong enough and have no power to fight back, you will be sucked into the vortex and ground into dust sooner or later!"

"If the winner of the two families brings disaster to the world, will you just sit there and wait for death?"

"Both sides are in a fierce battle right now and are too busy to take care of themselves. If we don't take advantage of this good opportunity, there will be no more in the future!"

"Those who accomplish great things do not care about trivial matters. My lord, for the sake of your own ambitions and the Han court, you should make a decisive decision now!"

After hearing this, Liu Bei's brows gradually relaxed, and the worry on his face gradually disappeared. He bowed to Pang Tong solemnly and said, "Please give me some advice, military advisor!"

Pang Tong also straightened his body, bowed in return, and then said: "In my opinion, we should temporarily cease fire with Wu State, first take Jingzhou, block the passage to Yizhou, then take Jiaozhou, gather the manpower and material resources of the two states, and capture Jiangdong in one fell swoop!"

"Although Jiaozhou is full of malaria and the southern barbarians are unruly, this is our last chance. If we can destroy Wu and form a three-kingdoms situation, and then take advantage of the contradictions between Wei and Jin, it will be much easier to find a way to survive!"

"By then, the situation will be decided. Cao Cao will not dare to attack you at will, and Xionghu will not easily turn against you. When the two countries fight, and both are defeated, you may have a chance to seize the world!"

Liu Bei was stunned: "Isn't this the same path that Jiangdong took before?"

Pang Tong sighed: "I am not strong enough, so I have to do this. Only if I survive, I will be qualified to choose!"

Liu Bei had been persuaded. He looked to the west, "Liu Jingsheng's side..."

Pang Tong said: "If you can't bring yourself to do that, you can wait a few months and see. Liu Jingsheng is seriously ill and there is a high possibility that he will die."

"The two sons are not getting along, and Jingzhou will definitely change. My lord, you can prepare your troops and horses, and it is best to deal with it in advance."

"At that time, either the two brothers will fight among themselves or surrender to Cao Cao. Then my lord will have a legitimate excuse to send troops. Then we can seize the three counties with lightning speed and accomplish great things!"

(End of this chapter)