In 2 1 1 year, Fa Zheng went to Jingzhou on the orders of Liu Zhang, a priest in Yizhou, to welcome Liu Bei into Yizhou and refuse Zhang Lu. Fa Zheng privately offered Liu Bei a plan and asked Liu Bei to take the opportunity to make profits. Liu Bei hesitated, unable to make up his mind.
Zhuge Liang was mainly in charge of internal affairs at that time. Militarily, Liu Bei listened to Pang Tong, so he went to talk to Pang Tong about his views on this matter. Pang Tong said to Liu Bei, "Jingzhou is barren and ruined, and all the people are lost. Moreover, with Sun Quan in the east and Cao Cao in the north, it is difficult to make great progress. Yizhou has millions of families with fertile land and rich products. If you can really capture this place, you can achieve great things. "
But Liu Bei was still very worried: "What is different from me now is Cao Cao. When Cao Cao is anxious, I will be generous. Cao Cao is bullying, so I am kind. Cao Cao is cunning, so I am loyal. Everything is against him, and today's achievements are made. Now, for the sake of profit, you have broken your promise, can you? "
Pang Tong said: "In troubled times, we can't stick to the rules, we should improvise. What's more, it is what the ancients paid attention to, annexing the weak, attacking the darkness, obeying orders, and repaying kindness with righteousness. As long as the matter is settled and a piece of land is returned to him, who can say that you have broken your promise? If we don't attack Yizhou now, others will take the lead. "
Liu Bei thought that Pang Tong was right and decided to leave Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu to guard Jingzhou, while himself led Pang Tong and tens of thousands of soldiers into Yizhou. Liu Zhang, a shepherd from Yizhou, met Liu Bei in Fucheng. Pang Tong suggested that Liu Bei hold Liu Zhang hostage at the banquet, but Liu Bei refused because his thank-you letter to Zhong Shu was invalid.
Liu Zhang gave a grand reception to Liu Bei and his men, allocated a lot of troops, grain and munitions to Liu Bei, and even handed him the white water of the strategic pass, ordering him to lead the troops to attack Zhang Lu. Liu Zhang confessed and returned to Chengdu, while Liu Bei came to Jiameng Pass.
In the second year, Pang Tong put forward three secret plans to Liu Bei on strategic issues: "Choosing elite soldiers and attacking Chengdu day and night can be decided at one stroke, which is the best policy;" Yang Huai and Gao Pei are famous generals in Shu, with elite troops under their command, and they are at a critical juncture. We can pretend to go back to Jingzhou and bring them here, but we can kill them alive and then enter Chengdu. This is a recruit; Back to Bai Di, even lead Jingzhou, slowly into the soil profit, this is the next step. If you hesitate, you will be in great trouble. You can't stay here for long. "
Liu Bei thought this move was very reasonable and acted according to the plan. Cut Yang and Pei, and lead troops to Chengdu. All the way, like bamboo, was successfully conquered, and soon arrived in Fucheng.
At this point, however, all the layers in Shu have already reacted. Under the resistance of layers, Liu Bei Group is advancing very slowly. As a last resort, in 2 14 AD, Liu Bei adjusted his strategy to speed up the progress. He transferred Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others from Jingzhou to prepare several armies to besiege Shu.
At this point, Liu Bei has surrounded Luocheng. Pang Tong, as a strategist, personally led the troops to attack the city, but he was killed by an arrow. There is a little curiosity here. According to the normal point of view, shouldn't all strategists and counselors be like Sean, strategizing and traveling thousands of miles away? Why did Pang Tong take command personally like a general? There are many historical sayings here, so let's not talk about conspiracy theories. Now I'll list a few points.
First: self-pressure.
After several years of not occupying Shu, Liu Bei also transferred Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun from Jingzhou. In fact, he said that there was something wrong with Pang Tong's plan in disguise; I am eager to prove myself, no less than Zhuge Liang, so Pang Cai is so eager to capture Luocheng.
Second: prove yourself.
This is related to what happened to Pang Tong in his early years. Pang Tong followed Zhou Yu in his early years. Zhou Yu is essentially a strategist, but he is also brave and good at fighting. At least when Zhou Yu was still alive, Zhou Yu's fame far exceeded Zhuge Liang and others. Pang Tong pretends to be a scholar in Wang Zuo, so he also wants to be a Confucian general like Zhou Yu, not just a strategist who advises his master.
Third: own ability
In fact, before the Song Dynasty, most of the literati were proficient in rites and music, archery, imperial examinations, calligraphy, mathematics and so on. Confucius is an archer, so is Xu Shu. Pang Tong was born good at riding and shooting, but he died before Pang Tong became a figure like Sima Yi.
Of course, there are many other reasons, so I won't list them one by one. Now it seems that Liu Bei's greatest loss is Xu Shu's departure and Pang Tong's early death. If these two men can grow up, they will certainly be able to control a handsome talent, which is completely different from Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's concept. In fact, what Liu Bei Group lacks most is talents like Zhou Yu and Coss. Originally, Guan Yu had a great possibility, but he failed to complete the transformation after all.