Chapter 217 A genius comparable to Wolong! Old Liu doesn't choose talents based on appearance! To race against time, we must come up with a surprise attack!
Black scribe?

Disciple of Shui Jing?

A strategy to quickly capture Huainan?

Just hearing these few words lifted Liu Bei's spirits and he couldn't help showing a surprised look on his face.

"Mr. Shuijing's disciple?"

"That must be Xu Yuanzhi's classmate. Who is he and why is he in Jinling?"

Old Liu was surprised, but also a little suspicious.

After he captured Xiangyang, he basically recruited all of Mr. Shuijing's disciples.

For example, Xu Shu, Cui Zhouping, Shi Guangyuan and others are currently serving in prefectures and counties.

Xu Shu was entrusted with an important task and went to Wancheng to assist Wei Yan, shouldering the heavy responsibility of resisting Cao Cao.

Old Liu really couldn't think of any "slippery fish" that had not been recruited by him.

"My lord, if I'm not mistaken, it should be the second-ranked person under Mr. Shui Jing who has arrived."

"This person's talent and background are comparable to Ah Liang's, and he is also a man who can assist the king."

Xiao Fang smiled slightly, but he had already guessed who the visitor was.

Old Liu was very surprised.

He knew very well what kind of talent Zhuge Liang had. It was a genius at the level of a king's assistant.

One day, his strategy will be fully mastered and he may even become a genius who can catch up with Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang actually claimed that this mysterious Shui Jing disciple had talent and background comparable to Zhuge Liang, which made him extremely surprised.

"Quick, please invite that strange man to come and meet us!"

Liu Bei shouted without thinking.

The Bai Li Guards received the order and withdrew.

Liu Bei was full of anticipation and asked Xiao Fang:

"Jinglue, I don't know the name of this disciple of Shuijing. Why didn't you mention him when we were in Xiangyang?"

Xiao Fang took a sip of tea and said slowly:
"This man's surname is Pang, his given name is Tong, and his courtesy name is Shiyuan. He is a descendant of the Pang family of Xiangyang and the nephew of Lord Pang De."

"My lord, don't you remember? In fact, Lord Pang De also mentioned it before, saying that Pang Tong has extraordinary talent and can be used by my lord."

"But this Pang Tong, after completing his studies, traveled around Jianghuai and has not returned home for many years."

Liu Bei's thoughts turned and he suddenly realized. He then remembered that he had indeed heard Pang Degong mention it when he was in Xiangyang before.

However, he had never imagined that this nephew mentioned casually by Pang Degong was actually regarded by Xiao Fang as a rare talent in the world who could be compared with Zhuge Liang.

"I was careless for a moment and didn't ask Mr. Pang in detail, so I missed such a great talent."

Liu Bei first blamed himself, then smiled bitterly and said:

"Jinglue, you know all the heroes and talents of Jingxiang by heart. Since you knew that Pang Shiyuan was a man who could assist the king, why didn't you recommend him earlier in the past few years?"

"If you had recommended me earlier, I would have asked Mr. Pang to come forward and recruit Pang Shiyuan to serve under me no matter what."

Old Liu loves talents as if their life were his. Naturally, he felt very sorry for having missed Pang Tong for so many years.

Xiao Fang smiled and said calmly:
"Since ancient times, many geniuses have been arrogant, and Pang Shiyuan is no exception. He has a very high vision and will not easily choose a master."

"This kind of person who is arrogant and proud of his talent will only be willing to serve you when he believes that you are the real hero of the world and worth his life."

"Although the lord rose to prominence and captured Xiangyang and even the entire Jingzhou, it was not enough to impress Pang Shiyuan."

"Even if Xiang recommended him to the lord at that time, and the lord asked Pang Gong to recruit him, it was expected that Pang Shiyuan would not come."

Xiao Fang explained the reason.

This evaluation of Pang Tong is objective and fair.

Pang Tong in history was indeed a proud and conceited man. He only defected to Liu Bei after Liu Bei conquered the four counties of southern Jing and borrowed Nan County.

Moreover, he was initially angry because Lao Liu did not use him in a relevant position and only gave him the position of a county magistrate. After taking office, he lay back and did nothing, and was almost punished by Lao Liu.

It was Zhuge Liang's strong recommendation that finally made Liu Bei realize that Pang Tong was indeed a talent to assist the king, and he then appointed him as a military advisor.

Come to think of it, it's just that Liu Bei has a good temper and is good at controlling arrogant geniuses like Pang Tong. If he had met Cao Cao, he would have been killed with a single blow.

"I see. After hearing what you said, Jinglue, it makes sense that Pang Shiyuan didn't come to Bei to surrender."

Liu Bei suddenly realized and immediately stood up and said:

"Since the military advisor said that Pang Shiyuan is a man of great talent and has the pride and arrogance of a great talent, we must not neglect him and should go to the gate of the mansion to welcome him in person."

So Old Liu immediately put aside the military discussion and went to the gate of the mansion to greet Pang Tong in person.

Huang Zhong, Lu Su and other counselors and generals also followed with great curiosity, wanting to see what kind of demeanor this extraordinary person who was praised so highly by Xiao Fang was like.

A moment later, Liu Bei and everyone else were standing outside the mansion gate.

A carriage came slowly and stopped in front of the provincial government. A scholar in black got off the carriage calmly.

Needless to say, the one who came was the disciple of Shui Jing.

But this man's appearance made everyone's eyes widen.

Thick eyebrows, a raised nose, a dark face, short beard, a big head and a long face... His appearance cannot be said to be ugly, but it is also extremely strange.

This description of appearance is completely different from Zhuge Liang's handsome face, delicate and elegant appearance.

Just by looking at his appearance at first glance, it was hard for people to imagine that this was the man Xiao Fang described as a genius whose talent could rival that of Zhuge Liang.

"Jing Lue..."

Liu Bei was also surprised and looked at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang coughed a few times, looking a little embarrassed. Previously, he was only concerned with praising Pang Tong's talent and ability, but forgot to tell Lao Liu that Pang Tong's advantage was mainly his knowledge, as for his appearance... it's better not to mention it.

"Please inform General Zuo that Pang Tong from Xiangyang is here to visit!"

The black-robed scholar was very confident. He took a few steps forward slowly, raised his head and shouted loudly.

Everyone was shocked and looked at Xiao Fang with admiration.

Although the appearance and demeanor of this visitor were very different from what everyone imagined, as Xiao Fang expected, the visitor was indeed Pang Tong from Xiangyang.

And judging from his aura, even a blind man could tell that this man was a proud and conceited person.

"As the military advisor said, Pang Shiyuan is a conceited person..."

Liu Bei smiled inwardly, straightened his clothes, walked down the steps, and bowed, saying:

"I am Liu Bei. I have long heard that Pang Shiyuan from Xiangyang is a man of extraordinary wisdom and strategy, and a rare talent who can assist the king. Today, I finally get to see you, Shiyuan. It is true that your reputation is well-deserved!"

Old Liu loves talent, not looks. He was just a little surprised at first, but he did not look down on Pang Tong because of his strange appearance.

At that moment, he still treated Pang Tong with respect and showed him enough respect.

Pang Tong, who had been holding his head high, suddenly changed his expression and his half-opened eyes suddenly opened.

The look in his eyes when he looked at Liu Bei clearly showed surprise. He obviously had not expected that the famous Uncle Liu would come out of the palace in advance to greet a commoner like him.

"Tong...Tong meets General Zuo."

Pang Tong, who was originally calm and confident, was now a little flattered and was not so calm in his response.

"Shi Yuan, the mansion has prepared a welcome drink, let's drink and talk about the world!"

Liu Bei laughed and pulled Pang Tong into the mansion.

Pang Tong knew that Liu Bei was courteous to wise men, but he did not expect that the Left General would be so approachable. He was not at all shy when they met for the first time and pulled him in to have a drink.

By the time he recovered from his surprise, he was already sitting in the main hall of the provincial government, with the wine glass in his hand filled by Liu Bei himself.

"Military Advisor Yan Shiyuan, you are a man who can assist the king and have the talent to rule the world!"

"Shi Yuan, you actually figured out that Bei was planning to cross the river and head north to attack Lu Bu and capture Huainan, but you chose to teach Bei how to quickly capture Huainan at this time."

"It seems that the military advisor is right. I wonder if Shi Yuan has any good ideas. Please enlighten me."

Liu Bei raised his wine glass towards Pang Tong, with a look of humility and seeking advice on his face.

Pang Tong was shocked and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

He was proud of his extraordinary talent, but after all, he was still young and inexperienced, so he had not yet earned the nickname "Phoenix Young".

The so-called peerless talent was only appreciated by "insiders" such as Sima Hui and Pang Degong, but had not yet been recognized by the world.

So today when he came to visit Liu Bei, although his tone was very high, he was actually feeling guilty, fearing that a "little man" of unknown status like himself would not be taken seriously by Liu Bei.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei treated him with unexpected respect and attention, which made him feel flattered.

After hearing what Liu Bei said, it turned out that the legendary military advisor Xiao, who was known as a sage of strategy, also knew of his existence.

They even knew his wisdom and talent well, and could evaluate him as a man who could assist the king and had the talent to rule the world!

He couldn't help but secretly marvel at Xiao Fang's ability to judge people.

"This Xiao Jinglue is really as powerful as the rumors say. He even knows my name, Pang Tong?"

Pang Tong turned his gaze to the counselors, and his eyes immediately fell on the young scholar who was holding a feather fan and looked elegant and graceful.

With his sharp eyesight, he recognized at a glance that it was undoubtedly Xiao Fang.

"When I was traveling in Huainan, I had heard about Military Advisor Xiao's various ingenious strategies and calculations, and I have been fascinated by him for a long time."

"I didn't expect that Military Advisor Xiao also knew me, Pang Tong. I am really flattered."

"Military Advisor Xiao is a man of great foresight. He must have a plan to quickly capture Huainan. If you come here today, I'm afraid you will be a fool and make a fool of yourself."

Pang Tong hurriedly bowed to Xiao Fang and made a self-deprecating comment.

Although he was unruly and self-confident about his intelligence, he had to curb his arrogance in front of Xiao.

"Shi Yuan is exaggerating. If I were really like what you said, wouldn't I be an omnipotent god?"

Xiao Fang laughed at himself and said:

"We were just discussing how to quickly conquer Huainan. Shi Yuan, what good plan do you have? Why don't you share it with us?"

Pang Tong was no longer modest. He stood up, walked to the map, and pointed calmly:
"The heart of Huainan is Shouchun. If you want to take Huainan, you must take Shouchun."

"There are two ways to capture Shouchun. One is to send troops from Hefei, go up the Fei River, break through Chengde City and reach Shouchun."

"The other route is to go north via the Bishui River, first break through Lu'an and take Yangquan, and then advance to the city of Shouchun from the upper reaches of the Huai River."

"The route along the Fei River is the shortest and the preferred route to capture Shouchun. Therefore, when Tong left Huainan, Lu Bu was already building and reinforcing the walls of Chengde and transporting food and grass to the city in advance."

"Obviously, once General Zuo leads his army north from Hefei, Lu Bu will personally lead his army south to Chengde City to block them."

"Although General Zuo's army is powerful, if Lu Bu refuses to come out, General Zuo may not be able to quickly capture Chengde City, and the time for conquering Huainan will definitely be delayed."

"Now that Yuan Shao is about to march south, General Zuo must race against time to capture Huainan before the outcome of the battle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao is decided. It is naturally impossible for him to continue to stalemate with Lu Bu in Chengde City."

"So, the troops along the Feishui River can only be used as a feint to attract Lu Bu!"

Pang Tong gave an eloquent analysis, then slapped his hand on the map where Lu'an was located:
"Since the Feishui route is not feasible, we can only take the Bishui route."

"After Sun Quan surrendered to Lü Bu, Lü Bu not only recognized him as his adopted son, but also allocated him two thousand soldiers and ordered him to station in Liu'an to guard the route to the Bian River."

"After Sun Quan entered Lu'an, he was actively recruiting the old members of the Sun family from Huainan. Now he has recruited thousands of scattered soldiers and has become somewhat powerful."

"General Tong's strategy is that General Zuo will lead the main force to take the Feishui route to attract Lu Bu's main force to defend Chengde, while sending another surprise force to take the Bishui route to take advantage of Sun Quan's weakness of recruiting Sun's old subordinates, and in advance..."

(End of this chapter)