Pang Tong’s Strategem
In the Liu Bei Army’s large tent, all of Liu Bei’s key figures were there. Zhang Fei, Pang Tong, Chen Dao, Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu were there. This was because Liu Bei had an important information in his hands.
“Is everyone here?” Liu Bei asked.
Pang Tong looked around. He nodded and said, “Milord. Everyone except General Liu Pi is here.” All the ones that should be present were there but Liu Pi could not be found.
“Liu Pi?” Liu Bei frowned. Liu Bei was grateful to Liu Pi for the Yuzhou Army. However, his gratitude had its limits. All this time, Liu Bei did not treat Liu Pi unfairly. Liu Bei did not touch the Yuzhou Army and even gave Liu Pi a high position to change Liu Pi from a bandit to an official. Not even Lu Bu, Liu Biao and Sun Ce have an official position of that rank.
However, Liu Bei eventually found Liu Pi becoming even more offensive. One of the reasons was that Liu Pi was a tyrant. Even if he became an official, his nature would not change so easily. Liu Pi oversteps his authority by personally dealing with the crimes of the citizens of Runan and the Yuzhou Army. Liu Bei did not bring this up as Liu Pi had a lot of provisions and half of Yuzhou. What Liu Bei could not stand was that the twenty thousand elites of the Yuzhou Army was not able to capture a small Guangzhou and even had thousands of casualties. When compared with Zhang Fei’s achievement, Liu Pi was stupid like a pig.
Actually, Liu Pi could not be blamed. He was actually quite skilled. Otherwise, he would not become of the three big leaders amongst the Yellow Turbans. However, his luck was bad to be compared to Chen Dao and Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei aside, Chen Dao should not be underestimated. In fact, he was even better than Zhang Fei. He did not appear in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms because many of his scenes were given to Zhao Yun. Chen Dao himself was as skilled as Zhao Yun and they were both handsome men. Both were also white armored soldiers. While Zhao Yun was commander of the heavy cavalry, Chen Dao was the commander of the heavy infantry.
If Chen Dao was incompetent, Liu Bei would not have given him command of the elite White Eared soldiers. Even in the original timeline, Liu Bei did not have Zhao Yun replace Chen Dao and had Zhao Yun stay as his bodyguard for many years. One can see Chen Dao’s strength from here. Besides that, Chen Dao was also a scholarly general that could use strategy. Zhang Fei relied on brute force to win Gushi but Chen Dao used persuasion to capture Anfeng.
Liu Pi should not have been compared to those two generals. Besides that, Liu Pi also had bad luck to face Hao Shao as his opponent. Hao Shao was not famous at this moment as he was part of the Wolf Cavalry. Zhang Liao and Lu Bu’s reputation were so high that Hao Shao’s name was concealed. Besides that, Hao Shao was more suitable at defense and yet he could still keep up with the Wolf Cavalry. This showed his strength. In the official history, his defenses caused Zhuge Liang no small amount of headache. His used an army with tens of thousands of soldiers to repel Zhuge Liang who had hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Zhuge Liang could only continue the Northern Expedition after Hao Shao’s death.
It would be even stranger if Liu Pi won. As a result, Liu Pi could only be labelled as incompetent by Liu Bei. He planned to have Liu Pi hold a civilian post after he captures Yangzhou and occupies the Central Plains. Liu Bei was already planning to take over military leadership from Liu Pi but he still planned to let Liu Pi live a glorious life.
Liu Bei was now frowning. He believed that Liu Pi was not satisfied to be moved to the frontlines. However, Liu Bei could not be blamed. If Liu Pi could not capture a small city with two thousand men, how was he going to protect his Lord?
“Where is Liu Pi? Did the messenger not give the message?” Liu Bei asked Pang Tong. Liu Pi was stationed at the front of the army and his camp was ten miles away. Liu Bei had Pang Tong send a message to Liu Pi to invite him.
“Milord. The messenger had returned saying that Liu Pi would arrive soon.”
“Let us wait for one stick of incense.” Liu Bei waved and then said, “General Yang Wu. I beg for your forgiveness.” Liu Bei’s ally Zhang Xiu was also present and so he had to be polite.
“Don’t mind it. Xuande is overanxious. Perhaps Liu Pi is occupied with something.” Zhang Xiu was also polite with Liu Bei. Liu Bei was now like the big leader of Zhang Xiu’s Army. Zhang Xiu only needed to open his mouth to be fed. He would not push away this foolish spender.
If Zhang Xiu knew what Liu Bei was really planning, he would not think so. Liu Bei had planned to swallow up Zhang Xiu’s Army and become like its adoptive father. Since it was his own son, he did not hesitate to spend.
Time passed and there was still no sign of Liu Pi. Liu Bei then thought to himself. What does Liu Pi want? Does he want me to go and fetch him in person?
“Dispatch another person to ask!” Liu Bei waved his hand to Pang Tong. However, Pang Tong simply went to Liu Bei and said, “Milord, I had already sent messengers earlier. Liu Pi’s bodyguards said that Liu Pi had left camp and haven’t return.”
“What is this? A bandit is always a bandit. My brother invited him over and he dares to be late! Watch me go and pick him up!” Zhang Fei was hot tempered and already wanted to go and find trouble with Liu Pi.
“Third Brother. Come back!” Although Liu Bei had his own opinions on Liu Pi, he was still unable to allow Zhang Fei to go and directly find Liu Pi. Zhang Fei’s actions were not important. However, it would be troublesome if Liu Pi was beaten to death or became a cripple.
Chen Dao saw that Zhang Fei was not listening to Liu Bei and stopped him. “Third General. The Lord is calling you.”
“Shuzhi. Do not stop me.” Zhang Fei wanted to push Chen Dao away but Chen Dao was not weaker than Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei would not be able to leave unless he turned hostile.
“Enough. Come back!” Liu Bei was a bit angry. This is not only because of Zhang Fei but also because of Liu Pi. Liu Pi was a general. Where else could he be but with his army? Liu Bei believes that this was Liu Pi’s excuse to vent his dissatisfaction.
“General Yang Wu. We have made you ridicule us.” Although Liu Bei was angry, he still greeted Zhang Xiu with a smile. “The General does not know courtesy. Since he is not here, let us discuss first.” Liu Bei could not wait for Liu Pi forever as the information he had was very important.
“Xuande. Perhaps this General Liu Pi is really busy with something.” Zhang Xiu remembered that his own subordinate Hu Che Er did not join him because of this reason. However, before he could say anything more, he heard Liu Bei gave a cold snort. Zhang Xiu gulped when he saw Liu Bei’s cold expression. These were matters of the Liu Bei’s Army. Although he and Liu Bei were in a honeymoon period, he was still unable to intervene with Liu Bei’s military affairs. Otherwise, he and Liu Bei would have misgivings.
“Alright. Shi Yuan. Tell us what information we got!” Liu Bei said to Pang Tong. Pang Tong nodded and stood up. The moment he opened his mouth, he dropped a huge bomb. “Generals. Milord. Our scouts at Wan Cheng had given us report that Lu Bu and his five thousand Wolf Cavalry had already left Lujiang. Their destination is Yangzhou, that is us.” Pang Tong spoke indifferently.
“What? Lu Bu’s Wolf Cavalry is coming for us?” The people in the camp were not calm.
There was need to be anxious. “Milord. Once Lu Bu’s Army arrives, we would no longer be able to capture Shou Chun. If the defenders and the reinforcements make simultaneous attacks, we would need to return the cities we captured. On top of that, Yuzhou may also be captured.” If Lu Bu’s Army arrived, capturing Shouchun would be a joke. If they were to attack simultaneously, Liu Bei would lose all the cities he captured along with Yuzhou. At that time, Liu Bei’s Army would be finished.
Zhang Fei the fighting maniac then said, “Brother. Did the Slave of Three Surnames come again?” He licked his lips. “Watch me give him a taste of my Serpent Spear. This time, I will sent him back to Xuzhou with seventeen holes!”
“Yes, yes! If Lu Bu’s Army dares to come, they would need to pay the price even if they do not go back!” These words were shouted out by the military commanders. Naturally, they wanted to build their careers, their chances would be higher the more enemies there were.
However, the one who has any say were Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei. Zhang Xiu furrowed his brows. He did not expect Liu Bei to give him such a news. “When did Lu Bu’s Wolf Cavalry leave? Didn’t Sun Ce say that he would stall the Lu Bu’s Army at Lujiang? Why did Lu Bu’s reinforcements arrive at Yangzhou?” Zhang Xiu questioned in puzzlement. This was because Liu Bei, Zhang Xiu and Sun Ce had already discussed with each other. Sun Ce was supposed to stall Lu Bu and prevent Lu Bu from reaching Yangzhou. Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu would then get rid of Liu Mang Yangzhou. The three of them would then get rid of Lu Bu together. Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei were about to obtain Yangzhou. Only Shouchun and Lujiang were left. Once these places were captured, Liu Mang would be finished even if he broke into Yuzhou. He would not be able to escape.
However, before Shouchun and Lujiang were captured, Lu Bu had already sent reinforcements. Besides that, Lu Bu had many different troops in his army such as the Wolf Cavalry, Formation Breaker, Mountain Army and others. If all of them came, Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei could only be forced to retreat.
“General Yang Wu, do not be angry. Tong is the one that did not explain properly. Sun Ce’s Army is still confronting Lu Bu on the Yangtze River.” It would be unfair to say Sun Ce had let go of the burden he was carrying. Sun Ce planned to make Lu Bu procrastinate and unable to leave and save Liu Mang. In order to destroy Lu Bu, he had dispatched all of his elites.
“The ones coming out of Wancheng is just Lu Bu and the Wolf Cavalry.” Pang Tong explained. If Lu Bu had sent out the Formation Breaker, Wolf Cavalry and others, Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu could only retreat. Although they had captured many cities, they have not yet encountered Liu Mang’s main army. The results would be hard to predict Lu Bu’s Army arrives as well.
“Only the Wolf Cavalry?” Zhang Xiu thought it was strange. If it was just Liu Bei, the Wolf Cavalry could easily beat them as Liu Bei’s Army had no mobility. This was why Zhang Xiu was promised so many benefits. Zhang Xiu was needed to stop the Wolf Cavalry.
Twenty thousand of the Xiliang Cavalry and the White Armored soldiers was enough to defeat the Wolf Cavalry.
“Yes. Only the Wolf Cavalry! This was what our scouts at Wancheng had said.”
“What is the reason? There must be a reason.” Zhang Xiu was not an idiot. Even if he was smaller and even if the Wolf Cavalry was prouder and believed themselves best in the world, he would not dare to use five thousand to fight against fifty thousand. Besides that, Zhang Xiu also had twenty thousand Xiliang Cavalry.
If he comes, he would only seek death. Could it be a plan to stall for time?
“It is not a plan to stall for time.” Pang Tong could guess Zhang Xiu’s thoughts. “Our scouts at Shucheng discovered them and said that they were heading this way. The specific reasons are not known.”
“Five thousand Wolf Cavalry? Haha. Does Lu Bu not fear being completely routed?” Zhang Xiu’s eyes were cold. If it was not a plan to stall for time, that meant that Lu Bu was looking down on his Xiliang Cavalry. On top of that, he came as an isolated force to confront the Xiliang Cavalry of twenty thousand. This was looking down on Zhang Xiu. Although Zhang Xiu would admit that his Xiliang Cavalry would be no match against the Wolf Cavalry in a one against one battle, he had brought twenty thousand with him. This was four times the number of soldiers in the Wolf Cavalry. Lu Bu should have weighed that in. On top of that, Liu Bei had the White Armored soldiers.
“Haha. General Yang Wu is invited to this discussion is to discuss about how to make the Wolf Cavalry disappear from this world!” Pang Tong said with a warm smile. However, those that heard him felt cold. It was as though making the Wolf Cavalry disappear was a normal thing to Pang Tong.
TN: Mission failed. Lu Bu has plot armor. I am also wondering how the scouts could send the message faster then Lu Bu’s army of hack horses. Even if they could, Lu Bu should already have arrived by the time they were done waiting for Liu Pi.
