Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1164 Fear of Xiliang's Secret Plan

Pang Tong's gaze swept over the crowd, and he said in a deep voice, "Let's put aside Ma Chao's personal morality and whether he deserves his punishment for now, and just talk about his current power—I wonder if any of you have considered this?"

Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "This King of Liang, in terms of power, is indeed one of the top figures among the warlords of the land. He controls the vast territory of Yong and Liang, and holds a commanding position in the important city of Chang'an. His sights have long been set on the Central Plains. Furthermore, it is said that Gongsun Zan of Bing Province was able to secure Bing Province back then because of his concession. Gongsun Zan has always been grateful to him and would likely be willing to obey his orders. Not to mention Jiangdong, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce were sworn brothers with him. Although Sun Ce has passed away, Zhou Yu wields considerable power in Jiangdong. Given their friendship, the land of Jiangdong could probably be used by him as well. His arrival from Jiangdong this time is enough to confirm this relationship."

Pang Tong nodded upon hearing this, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes: "Kongming's words are exactly what I was thinking." He then changed the subject, his expression becoming even more solemn, "Consider this, everyone. Ma Chao's power today is several times stronger than it was back then. Back then, he only controlled Xiliang, yet the emperor was already wary of him; now, his foundation is solid, surrounded by allies, and his strength is incomparable. My lord has always aspired to conquer the world. If you wish to achieve your great cause, Ma Chao will undoubtedly be a formidable enemy you cannot avoid in the future."

Everyone in the tent listened, their expressions hardening. Zhang Fei, though impatient, had now grasped the gravity of the situation and muttered, "So, this kid is even more troublesome than before?" Zhao Yun also frowned slightly, clearly agreeing with Pang Tong's assessment. The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became heavy; everyone understood that this meant the road ahead would likely be even more difficult.

Seeing the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, Pang Tong clearly understood the deeper meaning of his words. He stepped forward, his voice suddenly turning sharp: "Have you all considered this? If this man were in Chang'an, with the fortified city as his support and his old subordinates surrounding him, even with a thousand schemes, we would find it difficult to act. But now that he has voluntarily stepped into Jingzhou, he has walked right into our trap! On our territory, the streets and alleys are our eyes and ears, and the soldiers and civilians are our support. Even if he possesses extraordinary abilities, he will still be bound by the laws of Jingzhou—if we don't act now, when will we?"

His gaze swept over Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, both of whom tensed up. Zhang Fei gripped his eighteen-foot spear tightly, his knuckles turning white: "Mr. Pang Tong is right! Such a person is a major threat if left alive. We should take advantage of his unstable foothold and wipe him out in one fell swoop!" Zhao Yun also nodded slightly, twirling his silver spear halfway in his hand: "We are familiar with the terrain of Jingzhou. If we set up an ambush, we are seventy percent certain of success."

Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan, his brows furrowed: "That's true, but don't you all know our lord's temperament? As soon as he heard that the Prince of Liang was coming, he wanted to go to Jiangxia to welcome him personally. If we act in secret, wouldn't that go against our lord's wishes? What will we do when he finds out?"

"How do you handle this?" A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Pang Tong's eyes, and his tone was resolute. "Our lord is benevolent and has always cherished old friendships, but we are his subjects! The duty of subjects is to clear obstacles for our lord, not to watch him be held back by sentimentality! If we let this man go today, it will be too late for our lord to regret it when Ma Chao controls Xiliang and besieges the city!"

He stepped forward, almost face to face with Zhuge Liang: "Kongming, you have always been cautious, but excessive caution is cowardice! We have both witnessed the might of the Xiliang cavalry. If we miss this opportunity today, and they recuperate and march south, how many times can our small territory in Jingzhou withstand such turmoil? At that time, let alone dominating the world, it is uncertain whether we can even hold onto this small piece of land!"

"But what about our lord..." Zhuge Liang hesitated, his feather fan hovering in mid-air.

"If my lord is to blame someone, blame me, Pang Tong!" Pang Tong slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups on it rattle. "I guarantee with my life that if this succeeds, my lord will understand our good intentions in the future! If it fails, I will request to be punished according to military law, and I will not implicate any of you!"

Hearing this, Zhang Fei's blood boiled, and he roared, "Good! Mr. Shiyuan, you've got guts! I, Old Zhang, will follow you! I'll talk to the lord later! At worst, I'll get a scolding, which is better than losing my head!"

Zhuge Liang gazed at the resolute expressions on the three men's faces, and recalled the barely concealed expectation in his lord's eyes when he mentioned the King of Liang. He was torn between his own thoughts and his own. He knew that Pang Tong's words were true; the threat from Xiliang was like a thorn in his side. But disobeying his lord's orders was ultimately a risky move.

Silence fell over the tent for a moment, with only the candlelight flickering in the wind, reflecting the different expressions on everyone's faces—Pang Tong's eyes were burning, Zhang Fei's eyes were wide with anger, Zhao Yun was calm and solemn, and Zhuge Liang's feather fan finally fell slowly, his fingertips trembling slightly.

"Very well." Zhuge Liang sighed softly, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness, but more so of a resolute determination. "The ambush must be carefully planned. Let us consider it thoroughly."

Upon hearing this, Pang Tong immediately perked up, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "Kongming, I have a general plan in mind! If our lord welcomes Ma Chao into Xiangyang, he will surely bring a large army. However, since it's inconvenient for the army to enter the city, they will definitely camp outside. At that time, the troops outside the city will be held back by Generals Huang Zhong and Wen Ping; as for the city, our lord will certainly host a banquet, and Yide and Zilong will definitely be present. Others may not be able to arrange troops in the city lord's mansion, but Yide can use the banquet as an excuse to secretly place axemen on both sides. At that time, with a single order, we can capture Ma Chao at the banquet! Even if the troops outside the city cannot deal with him for the time being, as long as Ma Chao is in our hands, the soldiers outside the city will definitely be hesitant to act—at that time, his life, death, honor, and disgrace will be in our hands!"

As Pang Tong spoke, his face betrayed his excitement. Unlike Zhuge Liang's cautious and principled approach, he preferred risky tactics and seeking victory through danger. Now, as he discussed this plan, he felt his blood boiling.

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang frowned slightly: "It would be inappropriate to make a move at the banquet without a pretext. How about this: General Yide invites the Prince of Liang to a martial arts contest. If he agrees, Yide will seize the opportunity to capture him; if he refuses..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Fei, who was standing to the side, suddenly blushed and interjected in a muffled voice, "It would be extremely difficult for me, Old Zhang, to defeat him through a contest."

Zhuge Liang was taken aback—he had always known that Zhang Fei was arrogant and never admitted defeat in martial arts, so why was he showing fear today? He asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Is General Yide not confident?"

Zhang Fei's face turned even redder, and he scratched his head, saying, "To be honest, that kid Ma Chao's martial arts are superb, and I, Old Zhang, am really not entirely confident that I can defeat him."

"What's so difficult about that?" Zhuge Liang said. "We also have General Zilong here. If things don't go smoothly, the two of you can fight Ma Chao together. To put it another way, if he refuses to fight, the Third General can use this as an excuse to get angry, smash a cup as a signal, and the axemen on both sides will rush out and take him down without any problem."

Pang Tong chimed in, his tone fierce: "Since Ma Chao's martial arts are so formidable, we should leave only General Wen Ping outside the city to contain his troops, and also bring General Huang into the city. Although General Huang is old, his martial arts skills have not diminished at all. With him by our side, we will have a better chance of winning."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei immediately perked up: "With General Huang's help, plus Zilong, we're all set! I'll go and inform General Huang right away!"

Zhuge Liang raised his hand to stop him: "This matter must be kept secret and not leaked. I will personally speak with General Huang." He looked at Pang Tong, "As for the deployment outside the city, we still need to discuss it in detail—what is the strength of General Wenping's troops? What is the combat strength of Ma Chao's troops? We must find out these things and never underestimate the enemy."

Pang Tong nodded: "I will send someone to investigate the movements of Ma Chao's army and make sure to find out their numbers and combat strength."

The four of them chatted amongst themselves, and their initially vague plan gradually became clearer. The flickering candlelight illuminated Zhuge Liang's solemn face, Pang Tong's excited eyes, and Zhang Fei's eager expression. Zhao Yun also secretly resolved to capture Ma Chao this time.

However, Liu Bei was completely unaware of all this. Filled with excitement at the prospect of seeing his junior brother, he rode alongside Guan Yu at breakneck speed towards Jiangxia. Lu Su, still recovering from the long journey, only ate a simple meal before Liu Bei urged him to set off. Seeing Liu Bei's warm and genuine affection for his lord, Lu Su felt his fatigue lessen and gladly agreed to accompany him.

The group arrived in Jiangxia, but after resting at the inn for only half a day, a soldier reported that the Jiangdong fleet had arrived at Xiakou Water Fortress. Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately got up and, with Guan Yu, hurried to the dock, leaving only a few of his attendants behind.

On the ship's gunwale, Xu Huang, Zhang Xiu, and others were still trying to persuade Ma Chao, their expressions still showing some unease—after all, Liu Bei was now a warlord ruling over his own territory, and although many years had passed since the misunderstanding outside Chang'an, it might not be completely forgotten. Only Ma Chao stood at the bow, looking at the figure hurrying towards him on the shore, his face relaxed with a smile. He turned to Xu Huang and Zhang Xiu and said, "You two are overthinking things. I've known Brother Xuande for many years, and I know his character better than anyone."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liu Bei, standing on the shore, called out urgently. Ma Chao cupped his hands in greeting and said loudly, "Brother, I am deeply grateful for your presence!"

Liu Bei patted his horse's neck on the shore and called out repeatedly, "Junior brother! Junior brother! I heard you were coming, and I couldn't wait to come and meet you! Quick, get off the boat!" Before the boat had come to a complete stop and the gangplank had been set up, he had already walked quickly to the dock, his eyes fixed on the figure in silver armor at the bow of the boat.

As soon as Ma Chao stepped onto the springboard, Liu Bei grabbed his hand. A thousand words stuck in his throat, and before he could speak, tears streamed down his face. His voice choked with emotion: "Mengqi... Mengqi, I am so... so overjoyed that you could come!"

Ma Chao was moved by his enthusiasm, and his eyes welled up with tears. He patted the back of his hand and said with a smile, "Brother, please don't be like this. I was also overjoyed to hear that you have taken Jingzhou. I believe that under your rule, Jingzhou will be much more prosperous than it was under Liu Biao."

Liu Bei hurriedly wiped away his tears with his clothes, grabbed his hand and led him to the shore, as if afraid he would run away: "Quick, let's talk on the shore! I have prepared some wine, and we brothers must drink until we're drunk today and talk about the past few years!"

Behind Ma Chao, Dong Bai and the others gracefully disembarked. All of them were beautiful and elegant. Upon seeing Liu Bei, they all bowed and addressed him as "Senior Brother." Liu Bei glanced at them and laughed loudly, "Junior Brother, you are so lucky! Such a hero, and you are favored by such a beautiful woman. I am extremely envious."

Ma Chao laughed loudly and waved his hand, saying, "Senior brother is joking."

As they were talking, Xu Huang and Zhang Xiu stepped onto the dock. When Guan Yu saw Xu Huang, a warm feeling flashed in his eyes. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Gongming, it's been many years since we last met. You are still as dashing as ever."

To everyone's surprise, Xu Huang didn't even lift his eyelids, only let out a cold snort from his nose, and brushed past Guan Yu without even sparing him a glance.

Guan Yu's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. His already flushed face instantly turned purple. His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, but he ultimately said nothing more, only silently withdrawing his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Liu Bei quickly smoothed things over, pulling Ma Chao towards the inn: "Come on, junior brother, let's go back to Jiangxia City to rest first. We've been traveling a long way, we need to wash up properly." He then cupped his hands to Zhang Xiu and the others, "General Zhang, everyone, please come in."