When Liu Zhang heard that Liu Qi had pacified Bazhong and eliminated two major threats, he was holding a banquet with his officials to celebrate and discuss how to exchange Bazhong for Yizhou.
Zhang Song proposed to exchange Jiangzhou for Bazhong to save him from having to go back and forth to ask for territory. However, Huang Quan and others strongly opposed it.
Wang Lei offered a suggestion that Liu Qi was lustful and greedy for money, so it would be best to exchange money, food and beautiful women for land. Hanzhong had already been lost, and Jiangzhou must not be allowed to be controlled by Liu Qi again.
As they were arguing, urgent news suddenly arrived that Li Yi, in order to win merit, led an army to attack Hanchang, but was killed by Zhang Fei. He then took advantage of the situation to attack Langzhong and forced Pang Xi to surrender.
Liu Zhang cursed loudly, "Li Yi, you bastard, you have been arrogant for many years and now you have caused such a disaster."
Wang Lei, an official at the court, was worried and said, "This must be Liu Qi's trick. He has long been planning to take over Baxi and control Ba County, and spy on Shuzhong."
Liu Zhang asked, "How can we rescue the governor Pang, who has been captured?"
Huang Quan sighed, "My lord, you don't have to worry about Lord Pang. I am worried that Liu Qi will make a fuss and take the opportunity to send troops."
"That... may not be the case?" Liu Zhang said in astonishment, "Liu Qi and I are from the same clan. It was Li Yi who started the rebellion. He has taken the city, which is enough to vent his anger. At worst... I can give him the Baxi County as well."
Huang Quan frowned and said, "Liu Qi has taken over all of Badi. There is no place left in Shu to defend. He will never give up. My lord, you must be prepared early and send more troops to the important roads to be prepared for any eventuality."
Liu Zhang disagreed and told Zhang Song: "Please ask my deputy to go to Langzhong again and give Jiangzhou to him in exchange for Pang Xi. Then we can jointly rule Bashu and make peace."
He originally wanted to persuade Liu Zhang to surrender, but he held back the words when they came to his lips. Liu Qi had reminded him in advance that when he arrived in Chengdu he could only secretly add fuel to the fire and not provoke Liu Zhang, and he was not allowed to exchange letters with him to avoid bringing disaster upon himself.
At this time, he was anxious to know the situation in the army, so he gladly accepted the order, prepared the official documents and seals, and prepared to set off the next day.
When he returned home, a confidant brought him a secret letter. Zhang Song let out a long sigh and sneered, "All those ignorant people who don't know the current situation deserve to die!"
The next day, he went to Liu Zhang's mansion to get the letter and saw Huang Quan and Wang Lei were there again. They must be advising Liu Zhang not to cede land.
Zhang Song did not urge him and just waited for Liu Zhang to write the letter. Suddenly, a scout came to report that Yan Yan had attacked Zhang Fei's food supplies in Dianjiang, but was captured by Zhang He's troops and lost Dianjiang.
Liu Zhang was so shocked that he dropped the pen in his hand to the ground: "How...how could this happen?"
Zhang Song sneered, "Yan Yan didn't allow Zhang Fei's troops to enter the city before. He must have a grudge against me and did it on purpose. This move has angered everyone in Jingzhou. A disaster is imminent!"
Wang Lei said anxiously, "Although General Yan is impatient and upright, he would never do such a stupid thing. I'm afraid this is another trick of Liu Qi."
Liu Zhang's face turned pale, and he said dejectedly: "It seems that Liu Qi really wants to seize my foundation. What should I do?"
Zhang Song sighed, "We are helpless against Zhang Lu alone. Now that Pang Gong is captured, who can stand up to him? Why not... why not send an envoy to apologize and cede land to seek peace?"
Liu Zhang said helplessly: "We have already given up all the land of Ba, how can we have more land? How about adding some money, food and beauties?"
Zhang Song shook his head and said, "Liu Qi came to help in the battle, but was killed by the generals. I am afraid that money and silk will not be enough to appease his hatred. The only way is to cede Guanghan or Qianwei..."
Before he finished speaking, Wang Lei scolded him harshly: "Zhang Biejia, what you are doing is just adding fuel to the fire. How is this different from selling out your master for fame?"
Zhang Song raised his eyebrows and glanced at Wang Lei, saying calmly: "If Wang Congshi has a good plan, why not go to Langzhong and persuade Liu Qi to withdraw his troops?"
Wang Lei's face flushed. What Zhang Song said today, just like the cession of Jiangzhou in the past, seemed reasonable, but in fact it was aiding the enemy.
"Humph, we are loyal to our Lord. We will die, but we will never cede land or surrender!"
Zhang Song sneered, "You have no plan to repel the enemy, and you only talk big and claim to be loyal, but in fact you are asking for trouble. Even if you are not afraid of death, it is really stupid to bring disaster to the lord and the officials, and even the people of Shu."
“You…” Wang Lei was so angry that his veins popped out, and he cursed: “How can you be so self-righteous as to betray your master?”
Zhang Song said disdainfully: "If you want to die, then die, but don't bring trouble to the lord."
Liu Zhang was horrified when he heard this. He stroked his forehead with his hand and sighed, "What should I do?"
Huang Quan said, "Since Liu Qi entered Sichuan, he has been trying to win people's hearts everywhere. His intentions are not good. Now that we have lost Ba, we have let a tiger in. If we cede Shu, it will be like giving wings to the tiger. I hope you will think twice."
Wang Lei was so anxious that he knelt down and made an appeal. Zhang Song asked in return who could repel the enemy. Neither of them had any good generals to recommend, so Liu Zhang was hesitant.
At this time, a family general brought a letter from Pang Xi. Liu Zhang hurriedly opened it and was furious after reading it: "How dare Governor Pang do this? I have never treated him badly, but he actually gave away my father's foundation to someone else. How can this be possible!"
He thought Liu Qi put forward some conditions and asked Pang Xi to act as a middleman, but he didn't expect that he would persuade him to surrender and give up Yizhou.
It would have been fine if others had advised Liu Zhang to surrender, but Pang Xi, who was a minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor and also a relative of Liu Qi, was the first to surrender to Liu Qi. This made Liu Zhang feel the crisis of being deserted by his friends and relatives, and he was filled with grief and indignation.
Huang Quan took the opportunity to persuade him, "Liu Qi's evil ambitions are obvious. We should act without delay. We should send troops to guard the important places of Jiange and Jiangyang and not allow the troops from Jingzhou to enter."
Liu Zhang looked at the half-written letter and turned to Zhang Song: "What do you think, my dear?"
Zhang Song sighed, "Since Governor Pang has surrendered, it is useless to negotiate peace. My lord, quickly gather the civil and military officials to discuss matters and send capable warriors to various places to protect Xichuan."
"Uh..." Liu Zhang was stunned, and even a little disappointed: "No other good ideas?"
Zhang Song stood up and clasped his fists, saying, "Everyone blames me for letting the wolf in and betraying my master for glory. But who knows that I am sincere and dedicated to the Han Dynasty? I have taken great pains to mediate and try my best to bring the lord and Liu Qi together, so that we can defeat the usurper and rectify the court as soon as possible, and live up to the expectations of the emperor."
Liu Zhang said helplessly: "Liu Qi is so aggressive and wants to seize my foundation. Who can help me solve my problem?"
"You can't have your cake and eat it too. Since you two want to fight, you should prepare early. I will go and prepare money and food immediately!" Zhang Song bowed and said goodbye. As he left, he shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that fighting among the same clan will only make Cao thieves secretly happy. The emperor will suffer. The day of serving the king is far away!"
Liu Zhang looked at Zhang Song's back without saying a word for a long time. In fact, deep in his heart, he was vaguely expecting Zhang Song to persuade him to surrender. He urgently needed someone to help him make up his mind.
Huang Quan and Wang Lei were also stunned. Zhang Song suddenly changed his attitude and advocated fighting with all his strength. The righteous words he had just said made them feel a little ashamed.
Wang Lei hurriedly said, "My lord, reinforcements are needed to put out a fire. Liu Qi is coming. We cannot hesitate any longer. We should quickly summon all the civil and military officials to come and discuss a strategy to repel the enemy."
"Right, right..." Liu Zhang came back to his senses and hurriedly ordered: "Order the government to hold a meeting!"
Huang Quan walked out of the mansion in silence, feeling a little dazed. Zhang Song had clearly hinted to Liu Zhang to surrender several times yesterday, but he seemed like a different person overnight. Could it be that he had really misjudged him before