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

Although Cao Hong's intelligence was limited, as the situation had developed to this point, no matter how stupid he was, he should have figured out the reason.

The Pang De in front of him was defeated by Ma Chao because of the defeat in the Battle of Weishui. He was accused by Zhang Song of secretly colluding with Liu Bei and deliberately losing to Ma Chao. He was also resentful of Cao Cao for publicly suspecting him.

That is why Pang De summoned Li Kan, Cheng Yin and other Xiliang generals when Liu Bei launched a large-scale attack on the city today, hoping to take advantage of the situation to rebel and help Liu Bei break through Chang'an with internal and external support.

Moreover, Pang De’s rebellion was not a simple attempt to seize the gate, but to cut off the source of the fire and attack the granary directly!

At this time, there were only a thousand soldiers guarding the granary. How could they possibly withstand the sudden attack of the six or seven thousand strong Xiliang Legion? It was almost certain that they would be lost.

Those hundreds of thousands of hu of grain and fodder were transported and stored by Cao Cao from Longxi and Yizhou over a long distance just to defend Chang'an.

If this was burned by Pang De, there would be no time to transport and replenish it.

Ninety thousand soldiers were about to run out of food that day. It would be strange if their morale didn't collapse instantly!
Thinking of this, Cao Hong broke out in a cold sweat and asked anxiously:
"Pang De, His Majesty has treated you well, how dare you betray the Qin Dynasty and be disloyal and unjust!"

Cao Hong did not dare to act impulsively and wanted to suppress Pang De with his loyalty and righteousness.

Pang De, however, showed no shame on his face, and said in a deep voice:
"I, Pang De, was originally a general of the Ma family. When Cao Gong killed Ma Gong's entire family, I, Pang De, formed a life-and-death feud with Cao Gong."

"If Zhang Lu had not surrendered without a fight in the Battle of Hanzhong, I would have been left with nowhere to go and was forced to surrender to Qin. I was also treated with respect and courtesy by Cao Gong. Why would I, Pang De, fight for your Qin State?"

"Cao Gong has lost his former wisdom and has listened to the slander of Zhang Song, a villain. He suspects that I have a secret connection with the Han emperor and is trying to strip me of my military power and my subordinates. Sooner or later, he will put me to death."

"Cao Gong treats me like this. The relationship between me, Pang De and him as his master and subject is severed from now on!"

"Today, I, Pang De, will fight for myself and find a way out for the thousands of Xiliang men!"

Pang De spoke sternly and frankly, expressing his true feelings.

Cao Hong's face turned red, but he was speechless in rebuttal.

There's nothing we can do about it, since everything Pound said is true.

During the Battle of Weishui, Cao Cao publicly suspected Pang De without any solid evidence, based solely on Zhang Song's one-sided statement. If we put aside Cao Cao's status as an emperor, this move itself was wrong.

Not to mention that Pang De was a surrendered general from a different family, even Cao Hong, a relative of the Cao family, had to admit in his heart that Cao Cao's treatment was unfair.

It’s just that Cao Cao is in the wrong, and you, Pang De, want to destroy our Cao Qin kingdom just because you have been wronged. No matter how big your grievance is, how can I tolerate it!
"Cheng Yin, Li Kan!"

"The emperor treats you well, and often praises you in front of me as loyal and righteous people, and the pillars of our Qin Dynasty."

"I believe that you two will never follow the traitor Pang De to cause chaos. I now order you two to capture this thief and follow me to ask for credit from the emperor!"

Cao Hong did not have the confidence to engage in a verbal dispute with Pang De, so he had to place his hopes on Li Kan and Cheng Yin, hoping that he could persuade them with reason and benefits and convince them to turn against him in the battle.

Li Kan and Cheng Yin looked at each other, and both of them raised their lips in a sarcastic sneer at the same time.

"Cao Hong, it's already this late, and you still want to use your achievements to paint a rosy picture for us?"

"Now it's a matter of life and death for our Xiliang people. Do you think we will still care about any merits?"

Not only was Cheng Yin not persuaded, he also mocked Cao Hong.

Cao Hong's face turned red from being choked.

"Puban Pass was lost, Tong Pass was lost, Weishui was lost, hundreds of thousands of Han troops entered the Guanzhong Plain and reached the city of Chang'an!"

"Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Chang'an City cannot be defended, Guanzhong cannot be defended either, and Liangzhou will fall sooner or later."

"At worst, Lord Cao and you can just flee to Shu, where the emperor is far away and the mountains are high, and continue to be his emperor. But what about us?"

"Liangzhou is there and cannot be moved. We, the people of Xiliang, cannot follow him to Yizhou and live under the will of the Shu people. We are even less likely to fight to the death with the emperor of the Han Dynasty for him."

"If we Liangzhou people want to survive, the only choice is to betray Qin and Cao, return to the Han Dynasty, and continue to be its subjects!"

"So, Cao Hong, even if Pang Lingming hadn't taken the lead, all of us would have still turned to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!" Li Kan no longer hid his true feelings and spoke out on behalf of thousands of Liangzhou soldiers and the entire Liangzhou people.

"You, you—"

Cao Hong's face flushed, and he pointed at Cheng and Li with trembling hands. He wanted to scold them but didn't know where to start. He was anxious and angry.

Pang De no longer cared to argue, and with murderous intent on his face, he said in a deep voice:
"Cao Hong, considering that Lord Cao and I are master and subject, I will let you go and give you a chance to live."

"I won't kill you today, but you better get out of here right away. Go tell Cao Gong that you should either surrender to the Han emperor or abandon the city and flee."

"Whether he wants to live or die, tell him to take care of himself!"

Pound issued an ultimatum and then made way.

Cao Hong gripped his sword tightly, gnashing his teeth, wishing he could draw his sword immediately and fight Pang De.

But at the last moment, he gritted his teeth and resisted the urge.

Cao Hong knew very well how strong Pang De's martial arts were, and he was afraid that he would not be able to defeat him in ten rounds.

Besides, the entire camp is now full of people from Xiliang, most of whom only obey Pang De's orders, and he cannot command them at all.

Blindly fighting will only lead to death.

"I cannot die. I must report to His Majesty immediately. I must mobilize the remaining reserve troops to guard the granary..."

Cao Hong's thoughts raced, and he immediately weighed the pros and cons.

So he swallowed his anger, snorted coldly, glared at Pound fiercely, and then strode away.

"Brother Pang, this guy will definitely call for other reserve troops to rescue the granary. How can you let him go?"

Cheng Yin obviously disagreed with Pang De letting Cao Hong go.

"Yes, Brother Pang, why don't we just kill him with one blow? I'll chase him out and kill him now!"

Li Kan's eyes were bloodshot and he drew his sword.

"No need!"

Pang De waved his hand to interrupt the two of them and snorted coldly:
"We have served as ministers of the Qin State. Sparing Cao Hong's life now is our way of repaying the favor between the master and the minister."

"As for the reserve team, even if Cao Hong is not there, they will go to rescue the granary after hearing the news. What difference does it make?"

Cheng Yin and Li Kan were stunned. They looked at each other and thought about what Pang De said. It seemed to make sense.

"Zheng!"

Pang De drew his sword and said sternly:

"Now the arrow has been drawn, there is no need for us to waste time here. Quickly gather the soldiers from each camp, and we will set out immediately to take the granary south of the city!"

Cheng Yin and Li Kan were cheered up and immediately took the order and left.

A quarter of an hour later, more than 5,000 Xiliang soldiers gathered, including more than 1,000 cavalry.

Pang De immediately stood in front of the camp gate, raised his sword and shouted:
"My fellow men of Xiliang, today I, Pang De, will lead you to find a way out. Follow me to the granary and burn all the Qin army's food and grass!"

The five thousand Xiliang soldiers were so excited that they shouted loudly as if they were injected with chicken blood.

The camp gate burst open.

Five thousand Xiliang warriors rolled along the street toward the South City granary. (End of this chapter)