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 been closed to visitors 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"Military advisor, we just received news that all Sun Quan's troops have withdrawn to Jiangdong!"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 serious.

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But at this juncture, he has withdrawn all his troops.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 can see, there are only two possibilities."

Zhao Yun spoke slowly and said softly,

"First, Sun Quan and Liu Bei had a conspiracy, deliberately pretending to withdraw their troops, setting up an ambush, and attracting 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 his troops back."

Zhao Yun said.

Pang Tong stroked the beard on his chin and fell into deep thought.

Compared with the first type, the possibility of the second type is very small.

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 big worry, Taishi Ci, who held military power and divided the country, died young in the end, which 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?"

"What's 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 all the time?

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, and raided Ruxukou, thereby threatening 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's troops are not many, and now Sun Quan has returned to the army to rescue."

"Is the general in danger? Should we go to support him?"

After he reminded him like this, everyone also 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 his own plan 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!"

When everyone heard this, they all looked confused.

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 at 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."

After Zhuge Liang heard this, he was also a little stunned.

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."
To be continued...