The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

People who navigate the officialdom are all shrewd and calculating; no one will believe empty words.

Especially for a fickle bandit like Pan Lin, if he wants to gain the trust of the Wu army, he must show sincerity that convinces the Wu army, such as killing Wang Tao, the envoy of Guan Xing.

When Zhou Xun pointed at Wang Tao, the Pan father and son were both stunned. They actually knew each other. What a mess this was.

Wang Tao was secretly overjoyed. He had only come to deal with the Pan family, and he never dreamed that he would meet Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke here. This was truly an unexpected delight.

But since we've encountered this opportunity, there's no reason not to accept it, right?

Wang Tao turned his head and shouted, "Dad, surrendering to Wu at this time is no different from surrendering to Yuan Shao after the Battle of Guandu. You should think this through."

father?

Now it was Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke's turn to be dumbfounded. The two looked at each other for a moment, then asked in unison, "Commander, is he your son?"

They're father and son? That's outrageous!

Pan Lin slapped his forehead and laughed heartily, "He's my biological son. He ran away from that Wushang Steel Plant and even took a few things with him when he came back. Take a look."

After speaking, he pointed to the hoe and shovel on the ground. Zhuge Ke went over, picked it up, and threw one to Zhou Xun. After the two of them tested the hoe and shovel, they picked up a saw and sawed Pan Lin's desk in half.

Looking at the saw blade and the cut surface of the table, he exclaimed in surprise, "What a sharp saw blade! Where did this come from? And what the hell is this Wushang Steel Plant?"

Wang Tao proudly said, "The blacksmith workshop was built after General Guan Xing let you go. The clay crucibles inside can directly melt iron ore into molten iron, making the blacksmithing speed dozens of times faster than before. In less than half a month, hundreds of such farm tools were made."

"In addition to these, General Guan Xing also created the curved plow, which is several times more efficient at tilling the land than the straight plow. General Guan Xing said that he would make sure that all the people in Wushang could use such agricultural tools within a year."

Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke stared wide-eyed at the farm tools in their hands, their faces filled with shock.

They naturally knew the importance of farm tools, but farm tools were made of iron.

Iron is a measure of a nation's strength. The limited iron production in Jiangdong was used to supply the army, leaving very little for civilians.

Let alone Jiangdong, even the prosperous Central Plains cannot provide everyone with a farming tool. What makes Guan Xing think he can?

"Wait a minute..." Zhou Xun suddenly grabbed something and asked in shock, "You just said that Guan Xing can directly melt iron ore into molten iron?"

"How could iron ore be melted directly into molten iron? Besides, even if it were melted, what would you use to hold it? Molten iron is hot enough to burn through everything."

Even if your iron furnace is made of iron, if the furnace is boiled into water, will the contents of the furnace still be there?

Wang Tao shook his head and said, "This involves the steel plant's core secrets. Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you, let alone not know."

"General Zhou, General Zhuge, I have only returned to pay respects at my mother's grave and visit my sister. Your affairs are none of my concern. Since you have already joined forces, there is no point in me staying here. Farewell."

After saying that, he pried Pan Ren's arm off and was about to leave, but Pan Ren grabbed his belt and said, "Come back here. You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself."

He had already witnessed the power of farm tools; if he could only see such a wonderful thing but not touch it, he wouldn't be able to sleep well.

Wang Tao struggled and said, "Let go! I will never betray General Guan Xing. You will not get a single word out of me."

Upon hearing this, Pan Ren looked at Pan Lin, while Pan Lin looked at Zhou Xun.

Zhou Xun frowned and said, "Wang Tao, since Guan Xing has such good skills, why does he only make farm tools and not weapons?"

Weapons are the most urgent task right now. To attack farm tools instead of weapons is putting the cart before the horse. Would Guan Xing be that stupid?

Wang Tao sneered, "Because we have enough weapons. Your Wu army contributed so much, and we haven't used it all yet."

Zhou Xun: "..."

Are you fucking insulting me?

He sternly rebuked, "Stop being sarcastic. Don't think we can't do anything to Guan Xing just because you don't say anything. Once we defeat Guan Xing, the steel mill will still be ours."

Wang Tao sneered, "General Zhou, you're overthinking it. During the last great battle, Wushang changed hands several times. Did you find anything you wanted in Wushang City?"

"I don't believe you can defeat General Guan Xing. Even if General Guan Xing is truly no match for you, he has enough time to burn down the steel mill and leave you with nothing."

"To be honest, General Guan Xing devised a detailed evacuation plan when he built the steel plant to ensure that even if we were defeated, the steel plant would not fall into your hands."

Zhou Xun laughed and said, "I believe Guan Xing has the ability, but so what? Our target this time is Guan Xing himself. Once we capture Guan Xing and his craftsmen, everything will be fine."

Wang Tao sneered, "Then why are you asking me? You can just go and ask General Guan himself later."

Zhou Xun looked at Pan Lin, who immediately said, "Boss, lock Lao Qi in the dungeon and don't let him out until the war is over. Also, order the leaders of each village to lead their elite troops to Black Dragon Ridge as soon as possible to be ready to come out of the mountains to deal with Guan Xing. General Zhou, what do you think of this arrangement?"

Zhou Xun smiled with satisfaction: "Let's do as Commander Qu says."

Pan Lin was overjoyed and said, "Bring the girls in, let's continue playing music and dancing. We must make sure the two generals have a good time today."

After the discussion, Pan Lin held a grand banquet to warmly welcome Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke.

However, the banquet had nothing to do with Wang Tao; he was thrown into a dark and damp dungeon.

Instead of panicking, Wang Tao revealed a smug smile.

His mission was to bewitch Pan Lin, so that Pan Lin would gather all the elite troops from the various mountain strongholds at Black Dragon Ridge, where Guan Xing would then wipe them out in one fell swoop.

The various villages of the Yue people are too scattered. If we want to resolve this quickly, we must first gather them together. Otherwise, if we pull them out one by one like pulling out nails, how long will it take?

Wang Tao originally thought that persuading Pan Lin would require some effort, but unexpectedly, Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke helped him complete the task, which was really great.

In the following days, the chieftains of various villages, who had received Pan Lin's orders, led their troops to assemble. These chieftains did not have many troops, with the fewest numbering no more than a hundred and the most only seven or eight hundred, but when they gathered together, it was quite a considerable force, with a total strength of nearly ten thousand.

Seven days passed quickly. Around 1 AM that night, Wang Tao saw that the guards were asleep. He slowly took off his shoes, took out a saw blade that was only the width of a finger and the length of a palm, which he had hidden in the sole of his shoes, and gently sawed at the cell bars.

Because today was the day he had agreed with Guan Xing to attack the mountain stronghold, he was afraid that Pan Lin would kill him in a fit of rage after realizing he had fallen into a trap.

Therefore, they must escape, and once outside, they must find a way to set fires and create chaos, thus creating an opportunity for Guan Xing.

The prison cells in the bandit's den were nothing like those in the government; most of them were built of bamboo, which was easy to saw, and Wang Tao finished them off with ease.

He then tucked the saw blade back into the sole of his shoe, turned sideways, and squeezed through the gap, quickly leaving the dungeon and disappearing into the night.

This is his home after all; it's easy for him to find a place to hide.