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

Guan Xing was genuinely shocked when he received the news that Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke had been captured.

Although he had long guessed that Zhang Cheng would send someone to contact Pan Lin, he did not expect that it would be these two gentlemen, and he did not expect that he would catch them red-handed.

Isn't this just a coincidence that his mother opened the door for him, and he arrived home by chance?

Guan Xing led Wang Tao into the brick house, raised his hand to stop Deng Hong from speaking, and walked up to the two of them with a smile: "Brother Zhou, Brother Zhuge, it's only been a few days since we parted, how come we meet again? Are the three of us brothers so destined?"

Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke looked at each other, feeling utterly ashamed and wishing they could disappear into the ground.

It's not that they don't want to see Guan Xing, it's just that they don't want to see him in this way.

They would be very happy if they could switch places, allowing the victor to capture Guan Xing and then stand before him as the victor.

Unfortunately, the gap between reality and ideals is too great, so great that it is simply unacceptable.

Unable to endure Guan Xing's ridicule, Zhou Xun turned his gaze to Wang Tao and said through gritted teeth, "You really are a spy sent by Guan Xing. But I don't understand, how could you still contact Guan Xing when you're locked up in the dungeon? Are you not the only spy in the stronghold?"

This shouldn't be the case. Guan Xing has only been in Wushang for a few days and has been busy fighting against the Wu army. He has even less free time. In such a short time, there simply isn't enough time to plant too many spies among the Shanyue.

Guan Xing turned to look at Wang Tao, signaling him to answer.

Wang Tao never expected to have the opportunity to show off in front of others, so he immediately perked up and said, "Because my task is not as complicated as you think. It is simply to persuade Pan Lin to gather all the mountain tribes together so that General Guan can wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

"As for the basic situation of the Shanyue people and the topographical map around Heilongling, I reported it to General Guan before I came here."

"I originally thought it would take a lot of effort to persuade Pan Lin to gather the various villages, so I used the steel mill as bait. Who knew that before I could even take action, you two had already helped me gather the various villages of the Yue tribes. I feel unworthy of this favor!"

Guan Xing suddenly looked enlightened, grabbed the two men's hands, and said with a mixture of excitement and gratitude, "So you two are the number one heroes in capturing Pan Lin and annihilating the Shanyue. How can I ever repay you? I...I..."

"I won't say anything more. Rest assured, you two, I will report the truth to General Guan Yu and the King of Hanzhong and ask them to reward you both. I will never let your hard work go to waste. We can't let heroes shed blood and tears at the same time."

"Fuck you..." The two were speechless after being teased, and could only glare angrily at Guan Xing, wishing they could tear him to pieces with their eyes.

That's incredibly disrespectful.

Guan Xing, seemingly unaware of how unpopular he was, instructed Deng Hong, "Brother Deng, I'm entrusting these two to you. You must take good care of them for me and make sure they don't run away. Each of them is worth 200,000 shi of grain."

Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke's anger flared up again. "Are you never going to stop?"

Guan Xing, fearing they would go berserk, didn't dare to provoke them further. He gave them a few instructions and left with Wang Tao.

Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged a glance, and went to bed to continue sleeping.

Things have already come to this point, and escaping from Guan Xing is almost impossible. So why bother struggling? Just go to sleep and die in your sleep.

Once outside the room, Guan Xing asked Wang Tao, "What do you plan to do with your father and your brothers?"

There's a saying that goes something like this: lucky people spend their lives being healed by their childhood, while unlucky people spend their lives healing from their childhood.

Wang Tao is one of those unlucky guys who suffered childhood trauma. The trauma from his family of origin has become an obsession for him, and Guan Xing felt it was necessary to help him resolve it.

Upon hearing this, Wang Tao was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you, General. Pan Lin has been plundering for decades and must have amassed a lot of gold and silver treasures. I plan to take these gold and silver and present them to you as military supplies."

Although Pan Lin's main target for robbery was grain, he wouldn't let go of gold and silver jewelry if he encountered them, since gold and silver are also very tempting.

More importantly, Pan Lin was doing business with no initial investment. He had nowhere to spend the gold and silver he robbed. For decades, he only took in money and never gave it out, accumulating a wealth that was absolutely astronomical.

Guan Xing patted his shoulder excitedly and said, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Let's do it your way. After it's over, select elite Shanyue tribesmen as soldiers, and you will serve as the captain."

The number of captured Shanyue tribesmen was close to 10,000. Even if half of them were eliminated, there would still be 5,000. With so many people, a trustworthy person had to be assigned to lead them. Guan Xing's first thought was Wang Tao.

Although Wang Tao was inexperienced and lacked seniority, he had an advantage that no one else possessed: he was Pan Lin's son and the young master of the Shanyue tribe. The Shanyue people were more likely to accept him as their leader.

Although he was not Pan Lin's eldest son, nor was he Pan Lin's designated heir, what did it matter? As long as he was Pan Lin's son, that was enough.

Wang Tao was overjoyed, but said with concern, "I'm afraid I don't have that ability."

Guan Xing patted his shoulder and laughed, "What are you afraid of with me here? Abilities can be developed gradually. I'll send a few experienced people over to help you later. Go ahead and finish this as soon as possible. We still have to go back to Wushang."

“Yes…” Wang Tao clasped his hands in a bow, turned around and shouted, “Take Pan Lin and his sons to the dungeon. I will be there shortly.”

After finishing his sentence, he went back to his room, took a shower, borrowed a set of well-fitting armor, and dressed himself up to look dashing before heading to the dungeon with the personal guards sent by Guan Xing, strode with an air of utter indifference.

At this moment, Pan Lin and his four sons were all locked in a cell. Wang Tao walked to the front of the cell and stood there. Looking at his father and brothers, who were slumped on the ground as if they had lost their parents, a sense of relief welled up inside him. He coughed twice and asked in a pretentious manner, "Dad, are you getting used to living here?"

Startled awake by the shouts, the group looked up and were immediately enraged to see Wang Tao dressed so smartly. Pan Ren was the first to lose his temper and angrily cursed, "Pan Tao, you bastard, how dare you betray your father and your family!"

He was about to pounce and fight when Pan Lin kicked him away.

Pan Lin ran up to him and said, "Seventh brother, you are actually a general in the Han army! This is truly a great joy to bring glory to our ancestors and our family. I knew long ago that you were the smartest of the brothers, and you have indeed not disappointed me."

Who is Pan Lin? He's a shrewd man who can talk to anyone, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to roam freely in a bandit's den for so many years.

The greatest advantage of a shrewd person is that they can quickly recognize reality. They know that the most important thing now is to survive, rather than getting into a fight with that fool Pan Ren out of spite.

Wang Tao listened with obvious satisfaction, then paused for a long time in a deliberately profound manner before saying sarcastically, "But you have disappointed me greatly as a father."

"To be clear, General Guan Xing has appointed me as a colonel, in charge of the various mountain tribes. As long as I make new contributions and help the King of Hanzhong successfully restore the Han Dynasty, being ennobled and appointed as a prime minister is not a dream."

"Father, my achievements are also an honor for the Pan family. As a member of the Pan family, shouldn't you lend me a hand and make some contribution to the family within your power?"

Pan Lin's heart skipped a beat, and he cautiously probed, "What contribution do you want your father to make?"

Wang Tao grinned and said, "Father, you should understand that if I want to continue to earn merit, I need to train soldiers, and training soldiers requires money, so..."

"Where have you hidden all the gold and silver you've plundered over the years? Give it all to me."