Seeing that Liu Bei did not adopt his plan, Pang Tongyi was very helpless. Fortunately, he had expected it and said to Liu Bei:

"Lord, this is not my own plan. This is Fa Xiaozhi received Zhang Song's secret letter. Both of them also believe that it is not appropriate to delay and need to use extraordinary means to pacify Xichuan as soon as possible, so as to avoid the outbreak of war in Xichuan and the situation of people's miserable life."

As soon as Pang Tong finished speaking, the guards outside the tent came to report: Fa Zheng asked for a visit.

Fa Zheng originally made an appointment with Pang Tong, but because he had something to do, he came one step late. After coming in, he first met with Liu Bei, and did not beat around the bush. After clearly expressing his support for Pang Tong's plan, he presented the "topographic map of Western Shu" secretly sent by Zhang Song, and said to Liu Bei:

"Ming Gong, Zhang Song spent countless efforts to travel all over Xichuan and painted the "topographic map of Xishu" of the city. This map not only depicts the city passes and famous mountains and rivers of Xichuan, but also introduces the county magistrates of each prefecture and county, the locations, number of troops stationed in various places and the specialties of the chief generals. It is important intelligence information for Ming Gong to control Xichuan. Zhang Song and I did this not to be unfaithful to the ministers, but to be unable to assist Liu Zhang; it is not to be for his own fame and fortune, but to the foundation of Ming Gong and the Han Dynasty, and to the millions of people in Xichuan, to eliminate the wars caused by Zhang Lu and Cao Cao's attack on Xichuan, and to the destiny of the people, this is in accordance with the destiny!"

Liu Bei attached great importance to Fa Zheng's opinions. Although Fa Zheng expressed his desire to die to Liu Bei, he was still a military liaison officer sent by Liu Zhang. He had not yet served his subordinates, so he could speak out in a blunt manner!

Fa Zheng’s statement was very reasonable, but he violated Liu Bei’s code of conduct and he was not ready to agree. Because Fa Zheng’s status was quite special, Liu Bei gave him some face and did not veto it. Instead, he patiently explained to Fa Zheng:

"Liu Jiyu and I are relatives of the Han Dynasty. Now the government is controlled by Cao Cao. The government is in a state of decline. Your Majesty is shamed. We should support each other and support the Han Dynasty. Under Liu Zhang's rule, Xichuan has weak force, but he did not do evil during his governance of Xichuan. Instead, he has carried out benevolent policies. Compared with other places, Xichuan has a lot of food and the people live and work in peace and contentment. I really can't find a reason to attack Liu Zhang. The so-called "fair name will be unsatisfactory, so I have to let Ziqiao and Xiaozhi down. I have left this "topographic map of Xichuan". I may be able to fight against Zhang Lu and Cao Cao. I should write a letter to thank Ziqiao!"

Fa Zheng came here this time to convince Liu Bei to control Xichuan. Although Liu Bei stood at the height of righteousness and made Fa Zheng have almost no reason to speak, he still refused to stop. At least he had to express his sincerity and extraordinary talent. So he stood up and bowed respectfully before he persuaded Liu Bei:

"Mr. Ming Gong's words are wrong! Liu Jiyu lives in the forty-one states of Xichuan. He only knows how to sing and dance, drink, recite poems every day, but does not know how to be strong, regardless of the lives of the people. Moreover, he is not good at employing people, is nepotism, and does nothing. He is helpless against Zhang Lu, who has only one county in Hanzhong, and is defeated repeatedly. Not to mention Cao Cao, who is strong in his army, will sooner or later bring disaster to the millions of people in Xichuan. Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang have a grudge against Cao Cao, and he is afraid that Cao Cao will attack, and urgently needs to strengthen his own strength. Now Ma Chao leads his troops to surrender. Zhang Lu's strength has increased greatly and he will definitely come to attack Xichuan as a counterattack against Cao Cao.

The capital of the capital, the war in Xichuan is right in front of you. Ming Gong traveled far away to the mountains and rivers and drove his soldiers and horses. Since he came here, wasn’t it just to stop the war in Xichuan? The Ming Gong army was only 50,000. If he could not decide Hanzhong in one battle, he could make full use of Xichuan resources, pacify Zhang Lu, and fight against Cao Cao. Now it is difficult to advance, and if he advances, he will be of no use. If he holds suspiciousness, he will be delayed for a long time, and he will be a big mistake and will be calculated by others. It would be better to take advantage of the time when heaven and man come back, and control Liu Zhang, so that he can make Yizhou want to establish a foundation early, which is the best strategy."

Liu Bei valued his reputation for integrity very much. Although Xichuan was the foundation for his future resignation, he still refused to ruin his reputation as "great benevolence and righteousness", so he said to Fazheng:

"I first entered Shu, but my kindness and trust were not established, and the people's hearts were not attached. Even if Liu Zhang was willing to give up Xichuan, I would not have the face to accept it. Not to mention forcing him to give up Xichuan to me, this matter would never be feasible."

Fa Zheng and Pang Tong repeatedly persuaded him, but Liu Bei just refused to follow.

The next day, Liu Bei asked Liu Zhang to go to the banquet in the city, and he talked about the songs in detail, just like his own brothers.

After drinking halfway, Pang Tong found a reason to come out and discussed with Fa Zheng:

"Xiaozhi, Liu Zhang came here to welcome his lord because he was afraid that his lord would enter Chengdu. In a few days, the lord would separate from Liu Zhang and lead his troops to Jiameng Pass to fight against Zhang Lu. He had to take Liu Zhang down! This matter was indeed as Kong Ming expected. The lord would never agree to take action during the meal. Now that the matter has come to this, he cannot let the lord go."

It turned out that before Liu Bei sent troops, Pang Tong asked Kong Ming for advice and sought Xichuan's plan.

Kong Ming had long expected that Liu Bei could not bear to rob Liu Zhang's foundation, so he suggested that Pang Tong set up a Hongmen banquet when Liu Zhang came to greet him, and killed Liu Zhang at the banquet. He also recommended Wei Yan, who had "rebellious bones behind his head", to dance with swords.

Pang Tong was already helpless, so he took out Kong Ming's plan and taught Wei Yan to dance the sword, asking him to take advantage of the opportunity to kill Liu Zhang.

Wei Yan didn't know that it was Kong Ming's plan and was eager to make contributions, so he drew his sword and asked Liu Bei for his order:

"I can't enjoy it during the banquet, I'd like to dance my sword to cheer you up."

Liu Bei thought Wei Yan was competitive and wanted to perform his strong martial arts in front of the generals of Xichuan, and happily agreed.

Pang Tong quietly arranged warriors outside the hall, and just waited for Wei Yan to kill Liu Zhang to rush in and control the officials under Liu Zhang.

Zhang Ren, the general under Liu Zhang, saw Wei Yan's sword dance banquet, and his move was like lightning. His sword skills were so powerful that he slowly moved towards Liu Zhang's position. There were chaotic footsteps outside. I knew that the situation was different, so he also pulled the sword forward, blocked Liu Zhang, and said to Liu Zhang:

"Lord, there must be a right sword dance. I am willing to dance with General Wei." Liu Zhang thought that Zhang Ren was going to compete with Wei Yan for sword skills, so he nodded and agreed, and the two danced in front of the banquet.

Wei Yan was entangled by Zhang Ren, and even if he could repel him, he would have no time to attack Liu Zhang and look at Liu Feng standing behind Liu Bei.

Although Liu Feng was deeply loved by Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu agreed that he was an obstacle for Liu Chan to inherit Liu Bei's foundation and were deliberately removed. Pang Tong saw the mystery and arranged Liu Feng to Wei Yan as an assistant, so he could take the blame together after the matter was completed.

Liu Feng had already made preparations. When he saw Wei Yan's gesture, he drew his sword and helped Wei Yan with him. So Liu Zhang's subordinates, Liu Xun, Ling Bao and Deng Xian, drew their swords and joined the sword dance ranks, and said:

"As such a grand event, we are dancing in groups to help us smile."

Liu Zhang thought that the generals under his command were competing with Liu Bei's subordinates for martial arts, so he didn't care and watched them with great interest.

Liu Bei himself was a master of swordsmanship. After watching for a while, he already knew the purpose of Wei Yan and Liu Feng. He knew that this was Pang Tong's plan, which was not easy to break.

Now that he saw Liu Zhang's generals joining, his side was at a disadvantage. He was afraid that the situation would be out of control, so he didn't care about saving face for his generals. He pulled out the sword he wore on his waist, jumped up, jumped to the table and shouted:

"I have no doubt about my brothers meeting each other. It's not at the Hongmen meeting, so why use a sword dancing? Those who do not abandon the sword will be killed immediately!"

Liu Zhang also cursed at the generals:

"Why should we brothers draw our swords together? Let us retreat!"

Liu Bei was afraid that Pang Tong would do anything else, so he ordered the guards and generals in the tent to wear swords.

Seeing that Liu Zhang's generals looked embarrassed, Liu Bei asked the waiter to pour wine for them, raise a glass to toast them, and said:

"We brothers are of the same clan and we discuss major events at the banquet, and we have no different intentions. Don't be suspicious!" All the generals thanked.

The banquet continued, Liu Zhang was small in size and had already become 80% drunk. He grabbed Liu Bei's hands and cried:

"My brother travels thousands of miles to help me resist Zhang Lu. I will never forget my brother's kindness!"

The two drank happily until late and left. Liu Bei returned to the village and blamed Pang Tong:

"Why do military advisors want to be injustice? Don't do this in the future." Pang Tong sighed and retreated.

Liu Zhang returned to the camp to rest, and Liu Xun and other generals said:

"Would the lord see the scene at the banquet today? Why not go back to Chengdu early to avoid any trouble after birth."

Liu Zhang replied: "My brother Liu Xuande is not as good as others, and he has no intention of harming me! He is about to lead the army to Jiameng Pass to fight Zhang Lu. If he doesn't go first, there is no reason why I will go first!"

All the generals advised: "Lord, although Liu Bei has no such intention, his subordinates all want to annex Xichuan to seek wealth and prosperity, and they will inevitably do unexpected things."

Liu Zhang was suspicious and had an independent opinion after drinking today, scolding his generals and said:

"Don't disagree with our brothers' feelings."

Liu Zhang did not listen to the advice of the generals, and asked Liu Bei to drink and have a chat every day.

A few days later, Liu Bei was rectifying his military and horses, and his generals were counting food and grass, preparing to go to Jiameng Pass.

Liu Zhang was reluctant to leave and wanted to stay Liu Bei for a few more days. Pang Xi suddenly reported that Ma Chao was very anxious to attack, and Jiameng Pass was almost lost!

Liu Zhang had no choice but to ask Liu Bei to go to Jiameng Pass to fight the enemy.

Liu Bei met Liu Zhang here, and he was a little worried every day, afraid that Pang Tong, so Fa Zheng used a trick to kill Liu Zhang, which ruined his reputation. He had long wanted to attack Zhang Lu, and he was glad to win the promise.

In the afternoon of that day, Liu Bei sent Zhong as the vanguard and led his troops to look up at Jiameng Pass.

The generals advised Liu Zhang to send generals to guard Jiameng Pass and go to various passes in Chengdu to prevent Liu Bei from mutiny.

At the beginning, Liu Zhang refused to follow, afraid that Liu Bei would be too concerned and would cause his brother to turn against him.

But as there were too many people talking, Liu Zhang had a personality that followed the crowd. Seeing that Liu Bei's army was so powerful that it was not comparable to the Xichuan army, he was a little scared. After hesitating, he ordered the Baishui Governor Yang Huai and Gao Pei to lead 5,000 troops to guard the Fushui Pass just in case.
Chapter completed!