Jiangling.
After Pang Tong finished handling the affairs in the city, he came to Yangling's courtyard as usual.
"Military advisor, the general is still resting and sees no outsiders."
Zhou Cang shook his head.
Speaking of which, Yang Ling has not seen guests behind closed doors for nearly a month.
Pang Tong had long been used to it and was not disappointed.
He nodded and was about to turn around and leave when he saw Zhao Yun coming over in a hurry.
"Military advisor, we just received news that all Sun Quan's troops have withdrawn to Jiangdong!"
"oh?"
Pang Tong was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned solemn.
Sun Quan finally captured the two counties of Jiangxia and Changsha. It was time to deploy and control his troops to prevent Cao's army from counterattacking.
But at this juncture, he has withdrawn all his troops. Maybe there is something wrong here!
"Let's go back and discuss matters!"
Pang Tong glanced at the yard behind him and led Zhao Yun towards the front hall.
Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Ma Chao and others have received the news and are waiting in the hall.
After sitting down, Pang Tong asked directly,
"What do you think about this matter?"
"From what I will see, there are only two possibilities."
Zhao Yun spoke slowly and said softly,
"First, Sun Quan and Liu Bei had a conspiracy. They deliberately made it look like they were withdrawing their troops, setting up an ambush to attract our troops to take the initiative, in order to plot against Jiangling!"
After hearing this, everyone nodded.
This possibility is not impossible. Previously, Zhou Yu pretended to attack Jiangling, but secretly set up an ambush and severely damaged Cao Ren's troops.
"What about the second possibility?"
Pang Tong asked.
"Then something happened in Jiangdong, forcing Sun Quan to send troops back."
Zhao Yun said.
Pang Tong touched the beard on his chin and fell into deep thought.
Compared to the first, the second is less likely.
After all, Jiangdong is Sun Quan's rear area. After so many years of development, it is not an exaggeration to describe it as impregnable.
Through Sun Quan's various methods, he finally reached cooperation with the major families in Jiangdong.
His biggest worry, Taishi Ci, who held military power and separatist power, eventually died young and put an end to his worries.
Shanyue, which was constantly rebelling in the south, was no longer a threat after being attacked repeatedly by Sun Quan's men.
So what is the reason?
Pang Tong thought hard for a while, but couldn't think of a reason.
If the general were here, with his wisdom, he would be able to guess Sun Quan's intentions.
By the way, General?
Pang Tong's eyes lit up, and he suddenly remembered that Yang Ling asked Zhou Cang to give him a tip bag!
When I said when the time is right, could I be referring to now? !
Without any further hesitation, he took out the brocade bag from his sleeve, opened it, and was stunned on the spot.
Seeing Pang Tong's surprised expression, Zhao Yun couldn't help but said,
"Military advisor, what's wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong with it, it's so perfect!"
Pang Tong came back to his senses and laughed and said,
"Actually, Sun Quan's withdrawal of troops was a strategy used by the general!"
As soon as these words came out, all the generals present were stunned.
The strategy used by the general?
Wasn't he seriously ill and bedridden?
Seeing everyone's confused expressions, Pang Tong smiled and said,
"You may not know, but the general is not recuperating, but is heading to Hefei!"
"Why is the general going to Hefei?"
Ma Chao said doubtfully.
"The general secretly went to Hefei, joined forces with two generals, Wenyuan and Hansheng, to raid Ruxukou and then threaten Jianye."
"Jianye is the foundation of Sun Quan. When it is threatened, Sun Quan naturally cannot sit still and must return his troops to rescue it."
"This is a plan to attack the east and attack the west!"
I see!
Only then did everyone suddenly realize that Yang Ling, who hadn't shown up for so long, had gone to sneak attack Sun Quan's lair!
"Although the general's plan was clever, it caught Sun Quan by surprise."
Zhao Yun frowned and said,
"But over in Hefei, General Wenyuan doesn't have many troops, and now Sun Quan has returned to rescue."
"Is the general in danger? Should we go to support him?"
After his reminder, everyone reacted.
"Yeah, we can't just sit here, right?"
"Gotta think of a way!"
Pang Tong placed the note Yang Ling left in the brocade bag on the table.
"The general said he has a way to escape, so we don't need to worry."
"He has something else that we need to do."
"What the general is using this time is a series of tactics. In addition to attacking in the east and attacking in the west, there is another trick called looking back and digging!"
Everyone looked confused when they heard this.
They don't remember that one of the thirty-six strategies is called turning back and digging.
…
The dock at Youjiangkou.
As soon as Liu Bei and his party landed on the shore, they saw Zhuge Liang leading people to greet them.
"I've met my lord!"
Zhuge Liang bowed and then said doubtfully,
"Didn't Sun Quan invite my lord to go and discuss the marriage? Why did he come back so soon?"
"Kong Ming doesn't know something."
Liu Bei smiled bitterly and told the whole story.
"I see, no wonder the master came back so early."
Zhuge Liang was also a little stunned after hearing this.
He had to sigh that Yang Ling's courage and vision were truly extraordinary!
"Okay, don't stand here anymore, go back and talk."
Liu Bei led everyone towards the public security city and asked,
"Did anything happen during the two days I was away?"
"Reporting to my lord, the situation in Jiangling is calm and Cao's army has been standing still. However, Liu Zhang, the shepherd of Yizhou, sent a messenger."
Liu Bei's steps faltered slightly and he said in surprise,
"Why did he send the messenger here?"
Zhuge Liang lowered his voice and explained,
"I heard that Cao Pi sent an envoy to persuade Zhang Lu. Zhang Lu seemed to intend to surrender."
Liu Bei suddenly realized.
Zhang Lu occupies Hanzhong, the gateway to Yizhou. If he surrenders to Cao Pi, Cao Wei's army can take Yizhou directly in the next step.
Moreover, Liu Zhang was weak and incompetent, and rebellions broke out repeatedly in Shu.
In this case, there was only one possibility for Zhang Lu to send an envoy, and that was to ask Liu Bei for help!
"Lord, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Zhuge Liang's voice also revealed uncontrollable excitement.
The Longzhong plan he proposed to Liu Bei back then was to occupy the two states of Jing and Yi, and then gradually develop.
Now that they occupy one-third of Jingzhou, Liu Zhang took the initiative to invite them there. The realization of Longzhong's strategic intentions can be said to be just around the corner!
"Go back and talk!"
Liu Bei held Zhuge Liang's arm and was also quite happy.
But when they returned to the public security city and just sat down in the lobby, before they had time to talk about business, they saw Ma Su rushing in in a panic.
"My lord, military advisor, something bad has happened. Cao Jun has crossed the river!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was shocked.
"What? How could Cao Jun cross the river?"
Liu Bei lost his voice.
"My subordinates don't know that at dawn today, Cao Jun suddenly built a pontoon bridge on the Yangtze River and rushed over!"
Ma Su said with a sad face.
