newbobooks Chapter 408 Liu Bei invites Pang Tong to come out of seclusion? Su Yu: Don't get involved!
Chapter 408 Liu Bei invites Pang Tong to come out of seclusion? Su Yu: Don't get involved!
"I am Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan."
"I have come today to pay a special visit to Mr. Fengchu."
Liu Bei revealed his lineage: a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan.
Pang Tong waved his hand dismissively:
"I've heard of you."
"If I'm not mistaken, you're trying to gain the support of powerful families."
"If that's the case, I need to apologize to you."
“I am just a concubine’s son of the Pang family. You should be looking for the Pang family patriarch or my cousin Pang Shanmin.”
Liu Bei quickly cupped his hands and said:
"That is not what I intended."
"I have some doubts in my heart and would like to ask Mr. Fengchu to help me resolve them."
"Go, go, go back to where you came from."
"Solve your worries? I haven't even solved my own worries yet, where would I find the time to help you?"
Pang Tong ordered him to leave.
Liu Bei, unwilling to give up, gritted his teeth and said:
“If Mr. Fengchu insists on this, I will stand here today until Mr. Fengchu is willing to see me again.”
"you……"
Pang Tong was annoyed by the harassment, but he was genuinely moved.
Liu Bei's persistence suited his taste quite well.
Although Pang Tong's talent had already been revealed, and his patriarch Pang Degong was willing to give him strong support.
But Pang Tong still refused to stay in the Pang family.
If Liu Bei hadn't come here today, Pang Tong would have gone to Jiangdong in a few days to serve as an official under Zhou Yu.
The novel says that Pang Tong was a good friend of Zhou Yu, and when Zhou Yu passed away, Pang Tong personally went to Jiangdong to offer condolences.
However, the novel doesn't explain how Zhou Yu, a native of Jiangdong, became good friends with Pang Tong, a native of Jingzhou.
In fact, the first person Pang Tong served under was Zhou Yu!
His relationship with Zhou Yu was based on shared interests and mutual respect.
Meanwhile, Pang Tong had always performed very well under Zhou Yu's command.
When Zhou Yu attacked Nan Commandery, Pang Tong also offered him advice and strategies, which led to the capture of Yiling, Xiping and other branch cities of Nan Commandery.
All of this is recorded in the Book of Wu.
But before the Battle of Nan Commandery was over, Zhou Yu "suddenly" fell seriously ill.
After falling ill, he died on the way back to Jiangdong before he even had a chance to return.
After Zhou Yu's death, Pang Tong switched allegiance to Liu Bei's camp and served as a military advisor during Liu Bei's campaign to conquer Shu.
To be precise, Pang Tong's first lord was Zhou Yu, and his second lord was Liu Bei.
As for Sun Quan, Pang Tong didn't take him seriously at all.
Otherwise, according to convention, Pang Tong should have switched allegiance to Sun Quan after Zhou Yu's death.
But in reality, he did not; instead, he transformed himself into a member of Liu Bei's camp.
At this moment, Pang Tong saw that Liu Bei really intended to stand at the door, so he had no choice but to invite him into the thatched hut.
Despite his intelligence, Pang Tong lacked practical experience in society.
Liu Bei, a man with skin as thick as a city wall, should be made to stand outside a little longer, preferably with some wind and rain.
Upon entering the thatched hut, Liu Bei glanced around and solemnly addressed Pang Tong:
"I deeply admire your poverty."
Pang Tong sneered:
"Poverty?"
"I also want to live a good life."
"But the Pang family's assets are ultimately not mine."
"But you, who served as the governor of Xuzhou for a period of time, how come after more than ten years, you're doing worse than before?"
Pang Tong's frankness caused Liu Bei to blush, a rare occurrence for him.
What nonsense are you talking about?
Besides, haven't I been trying to struggle for the past ten years or so?
Unfortunately, our opponents were too strong, and the advantage was not with us.
But Liu Bei certainly couldn't say that out loud.
He shook his head and sighed:
"Bei also wanted to do something spectacular."
"But now the Han dynasty is in decline, and warlords are rising up everywhere. Cao Cao in the north is a traitor to the Han dynasty in name only!"
"This man has already unified the north and may launch a southern expedition against Jingzhou at any time."
"I was filled with fear and anxiety, and I couldn't sleep at night."
"Thanks to Mr. Shui Jing's introduction, I would like to ask him to help me resolve my worries."
"Where in this world should one go?"
Seeing that Liu Bei's expression was sincere and not pretentious, Pang Tong smiled and said:
"If we want to revive the Han Dynasty, we must go to Yizhou and conquer Hanzhong again."
"Close the doors and windows, store up grain, and delay declaring yourself king."
"At the same time, they will move north or east to occupy Liangzhou or Jingzhou."
"Otherwise, there will be no place for you to live in the world."
What Pang Tong said was actually quite similar to the Longzhong Plan.
In reality, almost all the most brilliant minds of the time could see Liu Bei's way of breaking the deadlock at this moment.
There is no other reason.
Where else could Liu Bei go besides Yizhou?
Whether Yizhou itself is powerful or not is only a secondary factor.
The main reason is that Liu Bei can't go to either the north or Jiangdong!
To put it bluntly, Liu Zhang, being an honest man, was the easiest to bully.
Before Cao Cao or Sun Quan occupy Yizhou, seize it quickly!
Liu Bei looked grateful and bowed several times to Pang Tong.
After chatting for a while, Liu Bei bid farewell to Pang Tong.
This made Pang Tong somewhat puzzled.
Wasn't this guy here to ask me to come out of retirement?
Is that not the purpose? Is it really just to clarify things?
Pang Tong, who lacked social experience, was unaware that Liu Bei was playing a game of feigned indifference.
pity.
What neither of them expected was...
Change always comes much faster than plans!
……
When the night is deep and quiet
Several intelligence officers from Cao Cao's camp appeared near Pang Tong's thatched hut on the outskirts of Xiangyang.
The leader, with a resolute face yet a refined demeanor, was none other than Li Dian, the intelligence chief of Cao Cao's camp!
Although Li Dian has not fought on the front lines in recent years, he has still earned all the merits and titles he deserves.
Besides, Li Dian was an important member of Cao Cao's early team and was deeply trusted by Cao Cao and Su Yu.
This position was much higher than that of most of the generals in Cao Cao's camp.
At this moment, Li Dian is carrying out a top-secret S-level mission: to kidnap Pang Tong!
Most of the other scholars in Xiangyang lived in the city, and many of them had loyal followers in their homes.
If intelligence agents are dispatched rashly, they risk certain death and destruction.
But Pang Tong moved out of his family home and lived alone in a thatched hut in the suburbs. No wonder Li Dian wanted to take action against him!
"on!"
At Li Dian's command, dozens of intelligence guards rushed toward the thatched hut.
Hearing the commotion, Pang Tong, who was inside the house, gripped his sword and prepared to wreak havoc.
But just as the door was kicked open, several black nets fell from the sky and bound Pang Tong tightly!
Then, Pang Tong's vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
What a joke! Don't they even know who Cao Cao's intelligence corps is affiliated with?
The longer one stays in Cao Cao's camp, the more deeply one is influenced by certain of the sixth brother.
People like Li Dian are almost being grouped with certain "old sixth men" (a derogatory term for certain individuals).
Who in their right mind would rush into a house with a sword?
If one net isn't enough, then we'll use several more!
Still not enough? Lime powder, tripwire, whatever you can find!
The carriage sped away.
A few days later, Liu Bei came to Pang Tong's thatched hut again.
Looking at the empty thatched hut, Liu Bei fell silent.
……