Chapter 67: To Fight Or To Defend

  Wu Ban drew out his treasured sword with great force, and Pang Meng's blood gushed out wildly as he stared at Wu Ban in disbelief.

  "Give me... Kill him." Pang Meng shouted with his last strength.

  Two swordsmen immediately rushed up, Wu Ban's back was so fierce that he suddenly jumped out, and with a loud cry, the two hundred-pound hammers opened and closed, and the heads of the two swordsmen were smashed to pieces. In the middle, Pang Ming was falling down, and the fierce one was much shorter than him, the hammer closing in on his head.

  In Pong Miao's terrified eyes, his head was smashed by two large hammers, like a ball being crushed, and burst open like a watermelon. In an instant, the entire hall was filled with blood, and the stench of yellow and white matter spread to every corner.

  The tragic scene even stunned Wu Ban for a moment, and the other generals had not yet reacted to the killing of Pang Tong, and now they were completely stunned.

  Wu Ban stepped up to the commander's desk, looked down at the assembled generals and held up the tiger-headed plaque, shouting: "Pang Xi colluded with Zhang Lu, intending to rebel. The governor led 600,000 troops to personally conquer him and has already arrived outside Balin Pass. The generals of Balin abandoned their dark ways and surrendered, but then resisted again. Pang Ming will be your fate."

  The crowd of generals either lowered their heads or looked at Wu Ban, unable to make a decision. The first general had an expression of discontent on his face and was about to stand up and say something when Wu Ban gave him a fierce look. The general immediately jumped up and rushed towards Wu Ban, but before he could even hum a sound, he fell into a pool of blood, his head a bloody mess.

  Just as the generals were hesitating, a soldier rushed in and was about to speak when he suddenly saw the blood flowing in the great hall, his face turned deathly pale.

  "What's the matter, speak." Wu Ban shouted.

  "Outside, outside the city gate, there is a large army called Guan, beating drums and gongs, flags and banners are flying high, it's hard to estimate their numbers."

  The generals were all shocked, and Wu Ban coldly asked the crowd of military officers: "Have you thought it through?"

  The generals looked at each other, the enemy had an army of 600,000, while they only had 5,000 at Baling Pass, and their commander was already dead. Who would still dare to oppose the Governor of Yizhou appointed by the imperial court? They all bowed down and said: "We are willing to follow the orders of the Governor, and join forces to attack the rebel Pang Xi."

  Wu Ban nodded and finally let out a sigh of relief in his heart.

  Wu Ban led the leaders of Balin to see Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang took a look at the big hammer that was still dripping with blood and scanned the leaders of Balin who were kneeling on the ground in fear, then said to Wei Yan: "Wu Ban has taken Balin without spilling a drop of blood, this is already the first achievement in pacifying Bazhou. Are you daring enough to lead the surrendered soldiers of Balin to attack Jiameng Pass?"

  Liu Zhang had only 10,000 troops and the task of dealing with Huang Yue was clearly unexpected. To quickly pacify Pang Xi, these 10,000 troops were already stretched thin and could not be divided. Moreover, commanding newly surrendered soldiers was an extremely difficult and dangerous task. How could he possibly complete it?

  Wei Yan heard Liu Zhang's order and was overjoyed, saying loudly: "What dare I not do? My lord need only pacify Bazhou and then come to Jiameng Pass for a cup of tea."

  "Alright, if you can take down Jiameng Pass and hold off Zhang Lu until I arrive, you will be the first to achieve meritorious service in pacifying Hanzhong. At that time, my 60,000-strong army and Yan Yan's 20,000-strong army will converge on Jiameng, and we will conquer Hanzhong in one fell swoop." Liu Zhang said loudly, his voice entering the ears of the many generals at Bazheng, all of whom were shocked.

  "Yes."

  Liu Zhang turned to the surrendered generals of Baling and said: "Are you willing to follow General Wei?"

  Many generals secretly calculated that now Ma Chao had only over 10,000 troops in Bashu, while Liu Zhang had a large army of 60,000. It would not take long to conquer Bashu, and within several days, Zhang Lu could not arrive at Jiameng Pass. This trip to Jiameng Pass can be said to have merit without danger, what can't go, and also express loyalty to Liu Zhang.

  After careful consideration, all the surrendered generals bowed together and said: "We are willing to go."

  Liu Zhang and Zhang Ren entered the Balin Pass, directing the Eastern State troops to take over the defense of Balin City. Fa Zheng called Wei Yan, who was about to go and discipline the surrendered soldiers, to one side and asked: "Does General Wei know that this expedition is perilous? Does he have a strategy in mind?"

  Wei Yan said, "The end will naturally be known. This trip has three difficulties: First, the danger of Jiameng; Second, Zhang Lu's army is numerous; Third, the surrendered generals of Balin are unstable in their hearts and have been waiting for a long time without the arrival of the lord, or they may discover that the lord's troops are few, which may cause the military to become restless.

  However, Wei's army was not afraid of danger, and the soldiers were not afraid of risk. The surrendered soldiers and generals at Jiaomen Pass had an 80% chance of winning without bloodshed.

  "If those surrendered Wei troops cannot be subdued, how can I, with my loyalty to the lord, deal with Zhang Lu? As for me, I have not yet experienced the Han Zhong army, and can only adapt when the time comes. However, with danger at hand, even a low-ranking general like myself is not afraid of Zhang Lu's 100,000 local militiamen. Master Fa, you can rest assured."

  Fa Zheng secretly admired the lord's ability to govern, Wei Yan was still bold and unrestrained, but his tone was much more respectful, smiling and saying: "The army is not afraid of evil, the soldiers are not afraid of danger, General Wei has a good temperament, but the lord leads 10,000 troops to attack Bazhou, without siege equipment, it may take a short time to capture, or even have to wait for Yan Yan to lead the main force from Chengdu, during which time is long and protracted, Zhang Lu's 100,000-strong army is approaching the pass, must not be careless.

  I have a plan that may help General Wei, and I'd like to present it to you. After General Wei takes over Jiameng Pass, all of his subordinates will be former generals under Pang Xi who have surrendered. Without raising the flag of the provincial governor, they can continue to pretend to be loyal to Zhang Lu as before, which may delay Zhang Lu's attack on the city.

  "I, Wei, humbly record the words of the teacher."

  Wei Yan dispersed the surrendered soldiers and reorganized them, leading 5,000 of them to attack Jiameng Pass. Meanwhile, Liu Zhang no longer concealed his actions and led 10,000 Eastern Chu troops to march towards Bazhou with great fanfare. At the same time, Yan Yan also led 30,000 troops from Chengdu to march towards Bazhou.

  Liu Zhang suddenly arrived at the city gate, and the temperature in Bazhou plummeted. Pang Xi and various tribes were all on high alert, as if facing a great enemy. Since deciding to rebel, Pang Xi had used the tribe's money to recruit soldiers and buy horses. Now, within the city of Bazhou, there were no longer just over 10,000 troops, but rather more than 30,000.

  But even with so many troops, the literati and military leaders in the city were still debating whether or not to go to war.

  "My lord, Liu Zhang claims to have an army of 60,000, but according to the scouts' reports, his troops are definitely less than 20,000, and may even be as few as 10,000. How could an army of 60,000 march from Chengdu to Baling without making a sound?"

  "My lord, in my humble opinion, Liu Zhang is deceitful and the 60,000 troops are just a bluff to intimidate us. It's actually Liu Zhang covering up his weakness and fearing that we will attack him. We should lead our troops into battle and annihilate them in one fell swoop. If we can kill Liu Zhang, Western Shu can be settled with just a flick of the finger."

  A burly general with a red face, eager to lead the troops out immediately, made an impassioned speech, which drew many generals into chorus.

  Another young and white general stood up, shaking his head: "General She Zong's words Deng Zhi dare not agree with. Since you know that Liu Zhang is treacherous, how can you be sure that he did not intentionally expose the 20,000 troops to our scouts? Moreover, even if it were 20,000, the Eastern State soldiers are the three auxiliary refugees recruited by Liu Yan, and their combat effectiveness is strong."

  "On the other hand, our 30,000-strong army is mostly composed of new recruits, and it's not necessarily a match for the Eastern State troops in a head-on battle. I think we'd better defend the city tightly and wait for Zhang Lu's main force to arrive, then Liu Zhang will surely be defeated."

  Deng Zhi's words also sparked a chorus of agreement, but mostly from the civil officials. These civil officials represented the interests of the aristocratic families and although they hated Liu Zhang, they were also afraid of him. If Liu Zhang really defeated Pang Xi and attacked the city, they would be powerless against his military might. They only hoped to stand on safe ground, with the army attacking outside while they accumulated wealth within.

  "Deng's plan can ensure complete safety, I beg your lordship to consider it thrice." All the officials bowed in unison.

  Pang Tong sat in the main seat, watching the dispute without a conclusion. He waved his hand and said: "Let General return to consider whether to fight or defend, and talk about it again tomorrow."

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