Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Jammu finally understood.

I do not desire fame or wealth, nor do I wish for high office or high rank. What I seek is to protect my life and property and to have a good end.

This is the ultimate ideal of a father.

Well, at a time when the Qin State is doomed to perish and the Cao Family is doomed to be destroyed, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty writing a letter to recruit them is a godsend opportunity.

I don't need you, Liu Bei, to give me a high position and promise me a rich life for the rest of my life. This is exactly what I want.

"I understand, son. It seems that submitting to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is indeed our wisest choice now."

Jia Mu understood his father's difficulties and naturally understood Jia Xu's decision.

Changing the subject, Jia Mu took a deep breath and bowed:

"Since my father has decided to surrender to the Han, I should obey and follow him."

"I will hand this letter to the Han envoy to show the Han emperor my father's loyalty."

Jia Xu stroked his half-white beard and nodded slightly. He was naturally very pleased that his son could understand his difficulties.

Just as Jia Mu was about to leave with the book in his hand, Jia Xu raised his hand again:

"Mu'er, go and prepare the carriage quickly. Remember, prepare it at the back door."

"Father will go there in person to meet Pang Lingming."

Pound?

Jia Mu stopped and looked back with confusion on his face:

"Father, why are you going to see Pound at this critical moment?"

Jia Xu looked deep in his eyes and asked meaningfully:
"If you want to accomplish something, you must have soldiers. As a father, I don't have any soldiers. How can I help the Emperor of the Han Dynasty to recapture Chang'an?"

Jia Mu suddenly realized.

My own father is trying to incite Pang De to rebel.

Pang De is an old subordinate of the Ma family, and Ma Chao is now a general under Liu Bei. With this relationship, there is a greater chance of persuading Pang De to rebel.

Pang De was also from Xiliang, and among the Xiliang generals, he was the one who commanded the most troops.

If Pang De could be persuaded to rebel, it would be equivalent to having an elite army in hand. If he launched a mutiny to support the Han army in retaking Chang'an, wouldn't he have a better chance of winning?
"If you persuade Pang De to rebel, you can indeed get some military power. However, although Pang De is an old subordinate of the Ma family, he seems to be extremely loyal to Cao Cao, the new master."

"Father, do you really have any hope of persuading this man to surrender to us?"

Although Jia Mu understood Jia Xu's intention, he still expressed his concerns.

"Pang De was loyal to Cao Gong before, but after what happened after the battle of Weishui, that may not be the case anymore."

There was a hint of weirdness in Jia Xu's eyes.

Jia Mu was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized.

He remembered that his father had mentioned to him that in the Battle of Weishui, Cao Zhen and Pang De failed in their attack on the Han army camp, and Pang De was defeated by Ma Chao and suffered countless casualties.

Afterwards, Zhang Song accused Pang De of secretly defecting to Liu Bei, so he intentionally let Ma Chao win in the battle, causing the Qin cavalry regiment to suffer heavy losses and leading to the Qin army's total defeat in the Battle of Weishui.

Cao Cao was suspicious by nature, and under the instigation of Zhang Song, he began to question Pang De in front of all his ministers.

Jia Xu was present at the time and witnessed the whole process with his own eyes.

With his experience, he could naturally see that although Pang De was not punished at the time, he was actually sad and angry, and must have resentful towards Cao Cao, and his loyalty had long been shaken.

This is the confidence that gave him the courage to instigate Pound to rebel.

"I understand, I'll go get the car ready now!"

Jia Mu no longer had any questions, his face showed joy, and he happily left.

...Half an hour later, a carriage quietly left the Jia Mansion's back door and quietly stopped at the Pang Mansion's backyard.

Jia Xu, wearing a bamboo hat, quietly entered Pang's house and sat in front of Pang De.

A quarter of an hour later, the two were already drinking and chatting.

The two of them are old friends.

At that time, Jia Xu served as a counselor under Ma Teng for three years. During that time, he offered advice to Ma Teng, killed Han Sui, and defeated the generals in Guanzhong, becoming the largest force in Guanzhong for a time.

Pang De was convinced by Jia Xu's wisdom and naturally had great respect for Jia Xu as a person.

Afterwards, the Ma family underwent a dramatic change, and the two men successively surrendered to Cao Cao. Although they served in the same dynasty, they rarely interacted with each other in private to avoid suspicion.

Having less contact doesn't mean the friendship has faded.

Therefore, when Jia Xu came to his house today, Pang De was very happy and immediately entertained him with fine wine and delicious food.

After a few pots of wine, seeing that Pang De was a little drunk, Jia Xu calmly mentioned that after the Battle of Weishui, Zhang Song attacked Pang De for secretly communicating with Liu Bei.

Pang De was already holding a lot of resentment, and at this moment he was like a barrel of explosives. With just a little spark from Jia Xu, Pang De was instantly ignited, and all the resentment in his heart exploded.

"Zhang Song, that villain, was clearly the one who made the wrong plan, but he threw all the dirty water on me. How hateful!"

"To be honest, Mr. Wenhe, I did fight with Ma Mengqi in the battle at Weishui that day. He did want to persuade me to surrender to the Han Dynasty, but I sternly refused at that time!"

"I was thinking that the emperor treated me well and didn't look down on me because I was a former general of the Ma family. He entrusted me with an important task, so I should repay him with my death."

"But I didn't expect that Zhang Song just fanned the flames and the emperor became suspicious of me."

"Mr. Wenhe, I am so heartbroken——"

Pang De was a military man with a straightforward personality. He said whatever he wanted to say and was completely open to Jia Xu, expressing his disappointment with Cao Cao.

Hearing Pang De personally admit that he was disappointed and dissatisfied with Cao Cao, Jia Xu's eyes moved slightly, and he felt more confident.

After a light sigh, Jia Xu said with a look of regret:

"Lingming, don't you see that our emperor is a suspicious person? The reason why he trusted you and used you before was simply because he wanted to rely on you and our Xiliang Iron Cavalry to help him resist the Han emperor."

"The Han army has already reached Chang'an, and Guanzhong and Liangzhou are about to be lost. In his eyes, you and the people of Xiliang have gradually lost their usefulness."

"If he loses Liangzhou and Guanzhong and retreats to Yizhou in the future, the emperor will have no choice but to rely on the people of Shu to fight for him. Between trusting you and Zhang Song, a Shu man, he will naturally choose the latter."

After Jia Xu's advice, Pang De suddenly understood. He slammed his wine glass on the table and said angrily:

"I, Pang De, fought for the Qin Dynasty and my Xiliang soldiers sacrificed countless lives for the emperor. How could the emperor be so cold and indifferent? How could this be the bearing of a great leader?"

Jia Xu sighed again, and said helplessly:

"Our emperor has always been like this. The only people who can truly gain his trust are the relatives and generals of the Cao and Xiahou families."

"Lingming, do you think that he is really as magnanimous as the Han emperor, trusting everyone he employs, and that even surrendered generals from enemy countries can all hold high positions under his command?"

Jia Xu took the opportunity to mention Liu Bei, subtly comparing Liu Bei with Cao Cao, and quietly guided Pang De.

After a moment of silence, Pound nodded and sighed:

"As Mr. Wenhe said, the Emperor of Han is indeed better in terms of magnanimity and employing people."

"It seems that many of his generals were once enemy generals, but they were all able to be used by him and were entrusted with important tasks."

"What a pity! Our emperor doesn't have such magnanimity!"

There is no harm without comparison. After Pang De made this comparison, he became even more disappointed and dissatisfied with Cao Cao.

Seeing that the groundwork was almost done, Jia Xu lowered his voice and said:
"In this case, Lingming, why don't we abandon Qin and return to Han, and surrender to the Han emperor?" (End of this chapter)