Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 985 A Night Banquet

"Hahahaha... Mr. Pang De, I've heard of your great name for a long time..."

Cai Mao bowed and knelt from a distance, showing great courtesy.

He instructed the deputy general beside him: "Hurry up and set up a table for the feast. We have a distinguished guest. I want to drink a lot tonight."

"Yes." The deputy general took the order and withdrew.

Pang Degong looks to be nearly fifty years old. Although he is thin, he is in good spirits. Even though his temples are gray, he does not look old at all.

He also went to greet Cai Mao: "I haven't seen Degui for many days. This time he led the troops to the battle and held the power alone. It can be said that he is in great glory."

Cai Mao benefited greatly from his short words.

You should know that Pang Degong is one of the top celebrities in Jingzhou, as famous as Sima Decao and Huang Chengyan. Not only is his talent and learning famous far and wide, his family is also deeply rooted in Jingxiang. Moreover, these three people are notoriously aloof and arrogant. Although many of their disciples and younger generations in the family are working as officials outside the country, they just don't like to interact with people in officialdom. They usually stay in a small courtyard in the mountains, playing the piano, reading, and raising cranes. Cao Cao repeatedly sent Cai Mao and others to invite them, but none of these three people gave him this face. Sima Hui even turned Cai Mao away and refused to see him, which made Cai Mao very embarrassed.

Now not only did Pang Degong come to see him in person, but he also seemed to admire him very much. In Cai Mao's eyes, this was even more gratifying than a long drought finally ending in a downpour.

"Mr. Boliang, you are too kind. Please come in quickly and let's talk inside the tent."

Cai Mao personally led Pang Degong towards his own tent.

Soon, fine wine and delicious food were served.

When Cai Mao was about to propose a toast, he discovered that there were several people sitting next to Pang Degong.

"Oh, just now I learned that Lord Pang De was coming, and I was so excited that I didn't even notice these young talents. Could they be his sons and nephews?"

Lord Pang De stroked his beard and pointed at the person closest to him: "I almost forgot to introduce you. Come, you juniors, it is a great honor to meet General Cai Mao, who is famous in Jingxiang today. Why don't you show your courtesy?"

Several young men stood up together: "Meet General Cai."

"Okay, okay, no need to be so polite." Cai Mao was in a good mood. He thought that Pang Degong not only came to visit the military camp in person, but also brought his own disciples and nephews. He must want to recommend these people to serve in the army.

In this way, I have made a great contribution in front of my lord.

Thinking of this, his expression when he looked at those young men became very kind.

At this time, Pang Degong said, "General Cai, I am here to introduce you to these four people. These four people are all my new disciples. This one is the second son of the Zhuge family of Langya, Zhuge Liang."

"Oh? Langya Zhuge?" Cai Mao was a little surprised: "Zhuge Liang... I have heard of this name many times. I heard that you are a rare young talent in Xuzhou. Now your uncle is assisting Liu Bei and is an ally of our army. Moreover, you can come from afar to study with Lord Pang De. It is really fate that we meet today."

Zhuge Liang smiled elegantly: "Thank you for your praise, General. I am young and inexperienced. I will need your guidance in the future in Jingzhou."

When Cai Mao heard the words "in Jingzhou in the future", he was more certain of what he was thinking, and his face was full of smiles: "Haha, no problem, no problem. In my life, I am the best at supporting the younger generation."

After Zhuge Liang returned to his seat, Pang Degong pointed to another person and said, "This person's surname is Liu, his name is Zheng, he is from Bingzhou, his father and I knew each other in our early years, although his life span is not limited, he is extremely talented and has both civil and military skills. This child has a lot of his father's style, he is proficient in both civil and military strategies."

"Greetings, General Cai." Liu Zheng saluted with his fists clasped.

Cai Mao took a look at this man and immediately liked him: "Oh, this young man is so handsome. If he could join the army, he would definitely achieve great success."

"In that case, I would like to thank the general for his kindness in advance."

"And this one..." Pang Degong continued to introduce: "This man is called Guan Ping, he is good at swordsmanship, and he has loved classics such as "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Zuo Zhuan" since he was a child. I also like him very much."

"Greetings, General Cai." Guan Ping also saluted respectfully.

"Okay, please take a seat." Cai Mao looked at these young talents and felt happier the more he looked.

"As for this one, he is the youngest. His surname is Chen and his name is Yang. His halberd skills are not perfect, but they are rare among young people."

"Meet General Cai."

"Haha, good, come and sit down." Cai Mao was so happy at this time that he couldn't stop smiling.

He immediately picked up the wine jar and said, "Come, Mr. Pang De and the others have come to visit us today. I have nothing to show my respect to you, so I will drink first."

He tilted his head back and drank the wine in the jug in one gulp.

Pang Degong and Zhuge Liang and others looked at each other, and then several of them raised their wine bottles in response.

After drinking a bottle of wine, Cai Mao couldn't help his excitement and eagerness, so he went straight to the point.

"Lord Pang De has many disciples, all of whom are talented people. My master is respectful to the wise and values ​​talents, and has long wanted to invite you to come out of seclusion. Now you are here with your disciples late at night, is it for this matter?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Degong laughed: "Ha ha ha, General Cai, we have just finished a bottle of wine and we are not yet satisfied. It would be a bit disappointing to talk about official business now, isn't it?"

When Cai Mao heard this, he was stunned, but he quickly understood.

"Hey, this old fellow, he wants to recommend his students to serve in the government, but he doesn't want to lose face and be accused of being inconsistent. Why is he pretending to be noble in front of me? You guys, the famous scholars, others don't know this, but don't I, Cai Mao, know this?"

However, no matter what he was thinking, Cai Mao's expression was still very respectful.

"Not bad, not bad. Cai said something wrong, so I will drink a bottle of wine as punishment. We will not talk about business tonight. We will not talk about business, haha."

He drank another bottle of wine.

"Come, let me also toast to the general." Zhuge Liang stood up first, picked up the wine jar and toasted to Cai Mao.

"Well, seeing you, a mere scholar, have such heroic spirit, it suits my appetite. Come, drink."

Cai Mao was delighted and drank the wine again.

Immediately afterwards, the other three people also stood up and toasted him. Cai Mao accepted all the toasts and drank for every one they received.

After drinking like this for a while, Cai Mao's face turned slightly red.

"Come... come, keep drinking..."

Pang Degong and the four people looked at each other, and they all smiled.

At this time, Zhuge Liang asked: "General Cai, I am not very knowledgeable and have a question. I wonder if you can answer it?" "Yes, you can ask it. I will tell you everything I know."

Cai Mao said this while looking a little drunk.

Zhuge Liang asked, "I have heard that you are the best general in Jingzhou and you are unrivaled in naval battles. But I don't know why you were defeated by an unknown person when you attacked Chaisang. I am curious about what is so special about Zhou Yu. Please tell me clearly, General."

They were drinking just now and enjoying themselves, but suddenly Zhuge Liang asked such a question, which made Cai Mao's smile freeze on his face instantly, and then quickly turned into displeasure.

He was already a little drunk, and now listening to Zhuge Liang bringing up old stories and revealing the great defeat that he was ashamed of his entire life, how could he not be annoyed?

When Cai Mao was about to lose his temper, Pang Degong was the first to scold him.

"Nonsense! How can you interfere in such an important matter? Why don't you leave?"

Zhuge Liang smiled apologetically and returned to his seat again: "I am reckless, please forgive me, General."

The two of them sang in unison, and Cai Mao's unhappiness instantly dissipated a lot.

He forced a smile and said, "Alas, it doesn't matter. If I lose, I lose. Is Cai really someone who can't afford to lose?"

"The general is full of lofty ideals. We admire him very much." Liu Zheng gave a thumbs up and praised him. This sentence made Cai Mao suppress the remaining anger.

"Hey, General, you are magnanimous. That is the virtue of a general. Since I have accepted them as my disciples, it is natural for me to answer their questions."

"Oh? If you are willing to give me some advice, Cai is all ears."

Cai Mao's words were not false. Normally, there were countless people who would try their best to listen to Pang Degong's lecture on Confucian classics. Now, they could listen to the lecture at such a close distance, which was a rare opportunity.

Pang Degong coughed twice and said, "When Chaisang was defeated, if we look closely, the root cause was not General Cai."

Cai Mao's eyes lit up, as if he had found a soulmate, and he wanted to rush over to thank Pang Degong.

"Please explain clearly, teacher." Zhuge Liang and others asked.

Pang Degong said: "The Jingxiang Navy has been under the command of General Cai for many years. It has been well trained and has a good command of advance and retreat. It can be regarded as the best navy in the world. How could it panic and lose to an unknown person in the face of such a small matter?"

Cai Mao felt a strong resonance and leaned forward unconsciously.

Pang Degong continued, "If we use this elite navy to fight head-on, Sun Jian's army will definitely be defeated in one battle. There is no chance of winning at all."

Liu Zheng asked: "What is the reason?"

Pang Degong smiled slightly and said, "The reason is very simple. It's all about morale."

"Morale?" Everyone was confused.

"Yes, it is morale." Pang Degong affirmed: "Since General Cao took control of Jingzhou, he has incorporated many of his generals and soldiers into General Cai's command because he thought that most of his subordinates are from the north and are not good at naval warfare. He hoped that they could be well trained. But who knew..."

Cai Mao took over the topic herself, her face full of resentment and anger at the moment: "Who knew that those people would join my Jingzhou army, not only did they disobey my orders, but they also repeatedly provoked me. This general has been patient for the sake of the lord's overall interests, but I didn't expect them to go even further, and during the training, they pretended to obey my orders but actually disobeyed them."

"Well, it has been a taboo in military strategy since ancient times for soldiers to disobey their generals. It is extremely detrimental to morale and is more likely to cause misunderstandings among soldiers, which will make them unhappy."

Cai Mao agreed with Zhuge Liang's words: "That's right, that's the truth."

"That's not all." Pang Degong said, "These people don't practice well and are familiar with water. They also make sarcastic remarks and disrupt the training of others. The general wanted to punish them, but was stopped by General Xiahou Dun, who scolded you and said that you are making a fuss and relying on your status as a local rich family to deliberately harm the soldiers from Yanzhou and Yuzhou."

"And Xiahou Dun is General Cao's most trusted general. General Cai has no place to appeal for his grievances. Many Jingzhou soldiers are also indignant. This has affected the morale of the army. This is one of the reasons."

"Oh? There is another one?" Cai Mao asked.

"Of course." Pang Degong said proudly, "When the general went to Chaisang, many soldiers from Yuzhou and Yanzhou joined his army. Did the general ever think that these people not only vomited and had diarrhea after boarding the ship, but also did not make any contribution at all, and after the battle, they exaggerated all the crimes and went to complain to Xiahou Dun."

"Yes, it is true." Cai Mao thought of it again at this moment, and still felt angry: "Xiahou Dun relied on his master's confidant and looked down on me. Therefore, I secretly vowed to defeat a hero that they could not defeat, so as to prove that I am better than that Xiahou brother."

"General, you have great ambitions. I offer you a toast and hope your dreams will come true."

"Okay, drink, drink..."

Cai Mao drank another bottle of wine, then sighed: "Alas, fortunately, my lord is wise and intelligent. He promptly transferred those soldiers from Yanzhou and Yuzhou from my navy and entrusted all the affairs of the navy to me. I will never forget this great trust and kindness."

"Well, the general is both loyal and brave, and is truly an unparalleled national hero." Pang Degong praised.

"Yes, the general is truly an unparalleled national hero." Zhuge Liang and others echoed.

"Thank you, thank you. How can Cai be worthy of this? Haha."

Although he said this, the gloom on his face was gone and he was filled with a smile.

"Okay, I've said it all tonight. Let's not talk about official business. Let the worries of the past go with the Yangtze River. From now on, Cai will do his best to serve the lord."

After saying this, he looked at Zhuge Liang and the others, and said with a smile: "If you want to join the army, when you can come to Cai's army, Cai will definitely do his best to cultivate you."

"That's reasonable." Pang Degong took over his words: "We, the people of Jingzhou, should maintain the reputation of Jingzhou. How can we allow those outsiders to wantonly humiliate our Jingxiang celebrities? When there is a chance in the future, I hope the general will give these four people more guidance, so that they can benefit endlessly."

"Okay, okay, come on, drink more..."

After everyone finished drinking, it was already past midnight. Cai Mao was so happy and excited that he drank the most and was already drunk and unconscious.

"Someone, come and help the general to rest."

Pang Degong called two soldiers from outside the tent and brought them into the general's tent.

At this time, for some reason, he deliberately raised his voice and said, "Aiya, General Cai has such ambitions and aspirations for our Jingzhou and the people of Jingzhou. I really admire him very much."

"Yes, although we are young and inexperienced, we should follow the general closely, protect Jingzhou, and drive out those shameless people who bully the host one by one."

Zhuge Liang and others also shouted loudly, but Cai Mao was already drunk at this time, so he naturally could not hear what they said.

However, in a tent not far from the general's tent, a pair of eyes secretly looked over here. Then he returned to the tent, wrote a few words, called a soldier, handed it to him, and the soldier quickly ran out of the camp and headed east.

(End of this chapter)