Three Kingdoms, I'm really not a general!

Chapter 53 A God-given Opportunity
It was the end of the 13th year of Jian'an when Xing Daorong traveled through time.

Now, after resisting Liu Bei in Jingnan, following Liu Bei to get married, resisting Zhou Yu in Jiangling, and finally going to Jiangdong to pay tribute to Zhou Yu, more than a year has passed.

During this year, Xing Daorong was very busy and had no time to rest, and Cao Cao in the Central Plains was even more so.

After the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao found that the Liu-Sun alliance was unbreakable in front of him. If the two families resisted together, he would find it difficult to defeat them all in one go, so he made a strategic shift.

His gaze shifted from Jiangnan to Guanzhong.

At the beginning of the 15th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao and Xiahou Yuan to lead the army out of Hedong, attempting to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong through the territories of Liangzhou warlords such as Ma Chao.

The Guanxi warlords led by Ma Chao and Han Sui suspected that Cao Cao was going to attack and annex Liang Province.

Ma Chao believed that this was Cao Cao's plan to destroy Guo under the pretext of attacking Cao, so he joined forces with ten generals from Guanzhong, including Zhang Heng, Liang Xing, Yang Qiu from Anding, Hou Xuan from Hedong, Cheng Yin, Li Kan, Ma Wan, Cheng Yi, and a total of 100,000 troops to rise up against Cao.

Seeing that the enemy was powerful, Cao Cao could only order the vanguard troops not to act rashly and lead his troops to attack.

Xing Daorong knew that Cao Cao had fought very hard in this battle, and was even forced to cut off his beard and abandon his robe by Ma Chao.

However, Cao Cao has not yet defeated Ma Chao, and has nothing to do with Liu Zhang of Yizhou. This time Zhang Song came for Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.

This sounds strange.

With Yizhou as big as his own, would Liu Zhang still be afraid of Zhang Lu in Hanzhong?
Besides, Zhang Lu was originally placed in Hanzhong by Liu Zhang’s father Liu Yan to turn his Yizhou into a country within a country.

In a sense, they are our own talents.

The only thing to blame is Liu Zhang being so useless!
It has been almost fifteen years since Liu Yan died. In these fifteen years, Liu Zhang has done nothing. The only thing he did that can be recorded in history books is that because Zhang Lu was arrogant and disobeyed his orders, he killed Zhang Lu's mother and brother, and the two sides became enemies.

Liu Zhang then sent his general Pang Xi to attack Zhang Lu, but he was defeated.

From then on, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong broke away from Yizhou and became more like an independent force.

Now Cao Cao wanted to enter Hanzhong. Although he was blocked by the Xiliang warlords, Liu Zhang was still very panicked.

Asking Zhang Song to come to Jingzhou now is tantamount to inviting Liu Bei to enter Sichuan to fight against Cao Cao together.

...

It is impossible not to enter Sichuan, but if a real fight breaks out, it probably won’t happen so soon.

Xing Daorong remembered that when Liu Bei first entered Sichuan, it was indeed He and Liu Zhang who joined forces to fight against Cao.

But later, after Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao, he did not enter Shu, which caused awkwardness between Liu Bei and Liu Zhang.

It is easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away. In the end, somehow, the relationship was completely broken and Liu Bei officially attacked Xichuan.

However, in Xing Daorong's opinion, it took too long from the Battle of Chibi in the 13th year of Jian'an to the official entry into Chengdu in the 19th year of Jian'an.

If we can be faster, we can even capture Hanzhong before Zhang Lu of Hanzhong is conquered by Cao Cao!
As for how to deal with the situation of the Three Kingdoms in the future, we will talk about it when the time comes.
So when Xing Daorong heard that Zhang Song was coming, he became active again.

The person who shared the same idea with him was Pang Tong, who went to Jiangdong with him to pay tribute.

So after the two returned, they didn't even have time to go home and went straight to find Liu Bei.

...

However, Liu Bei was naturally happy to hear that Pang Tong and Xing Daorong had returned. He was just about to ask them about the situation in Jiangdong and no longer had any thoughts about Jingzhou. Unexpectedly, these two people were more anxious than himself.

When he heard that someone was coming from Yizhou, he hurriedly asked about his situation.

Seeing the two men's eagerness, Liu Bei knew that they were acting in the public interest, so he said in a friendly voice: "Liu Zhang of Yizhou heard that Cao Cao wanted to enter Hanzhong, so he asked us to go to Sichuan for help to fight Cao Cao together." Pang Tong secretly laughed at Liu Zhang's confusion, but said anxiously: "My lord, this is a chance given to us by God!"

"This time when we enter Sichuan, we can take advantage of the opportunity to launch an attack and go all the way to Chengdu, then we can accomplish great things!"

Liu Bei obviously didn't even think about it and just launched a surprise attack. He said in shock, "Liu Zhang originally asked for help. How can I take Yizhou? This is absolutely not allowed."

Pang Tong was anxious: "Yizhou is a land of abundance, and it cannot be inhabited without a ruler who can bring order and order. Now Liu Jiyu is unable to employ talented people, and this business will soon belong to someone else."

"I will give it to you today, General. You must not miss it. Haven't you heard the saying that whoever chases a rabbit catches it first?"

Liu Bei said nothing, but just shook his head.

Pang Tong was angry that he did not argue and said, "Those who do not make decisions when they should are fools. My lord is wise, why are you so suspicious?"

After saying this, he tried hard to wink at Xing Daorong.

When Xing Daorong saw Liu Bei's face, his previous "impulsiveness" immediately calmed down.

It is absolutely impossible to persuade Liu Bei to take the initiative to attack Yizhou now, so let's not waste our breath.

So when Xing Daorong saw the look in Pang Tong's eyes, he kindly shook his head, indicating that nothing could be done today.

Pang Tong expressed his incomprehension.

Xing Daorong clearly thought so when he came here, why did he change his mind at this moment?

Seeing that he didn't speak, Pang Tong asked directly: "General Xing, you said the same thing when you came here, so you should also persuade the lord."

Xing Daorong had no choice but to follow suit and advise: "Jingzhou has Sun Quan in the east and Cao Cao in the north, so it is difficult to achieve success. Yizhou has a population of one million, vast land and wealth, and can be used for great undertakings."

"Since Liu Zhang has invited us to leave today, we can take this opportunity to replace him."

From a grand strategic perspective, there is nothing wrong with what Xing Daorong said.

But from the perspective of human nature, Liu Bei still cannot be convinced.

As expected, Liu Xuande sighed and said, "The enemy I am now facing is Cao Cao. Cao is ruthless, I am lenient; Cao is violent, I am kind; Cao is cunning, I am loyal. I always do the opposite of Cao, and things can be accomplished. I cannot bear to lose my credibility and loyalty to the world for a small gain."

Pang Tong was quite disappointed when he saw that Liu Bei couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart.

Finally, he insisted, "Although what you said is in accordance with the principles of heaven, it is not the right way to use military force to fight for power in times of chaos. If you stick to common sense, you will not be able to move forward. You should make adjustments based on your circumstances. Moreover, attacking the weak and the ignorant, taking the advantage and defending the advantage are the ways of Tang and Wu. If you repay them with righteousness and make them a great country after the matter is settled, how can you break your promise? If you don't take it today, it will be taken by others in the end. Please think carefully about it, lord."

Such continuous persuasion was ultimately of some use.

Liu Bei finally gave up insisting and said, "We can still discuss it. Don't rush it."

Xing Daorong felt that he had said enough and it would be too much to continue.

He first held Pang Tong, and then said to Liu Bei: "My lord, please think twice. This matter really needs long-term planning. If we don't cooperate internally and externally to divide the various forces in Yizhou, I'm afraid it will not be easy to take Yizhou."

As he spoke, he looked at Pang Tong's somewhat "constipated" expression and whispered, "Enough is enough. The lord will have his own plans."

Pang Tong was slightly stunned when he heard this, but his expression finally got much better.

But I always feel that this is a godsend opportunity that cannot be missed, and my brows are still a little uneasy.

Xing Daorong saw this and said, "Come on, come on, follow me home to have a drink, let's take a break first."

(End of this chapter)