Volume 3 Chapter 45: Liu Sange's Style

  In the second year of Qin II, Wu Guang's army was defeated at Xingyang and he was killed. Zhang Han's great army attacked Chen, and King Chen Sheng of Zhang Chu could not resist, so he retreated to Chengfu, his fate unknown.

  After the news came out, the minister Qin Jia was appointed as the Grand Marshal, and Jing Jue, a noble of the Chu State, was enthroned as the King of Chu in Pengcheng. The various righteous armies rose up to condemn them. Xiang Liang, son of Xiang Yan, the great general who had pacified Jiangdong, received the edict from Chen Wang, was appointed as the Supreme Pillar of State, with Xiahou Ying, Yin Tong and Yu Ziqi as deputy generals, led an army of 200,000 men from Kuaiji to cross the Yangtze River and march northwards, condemning the rebels Jing Jue and Qin Jia.

  The news spread and many responded. The number of troops coming forward to surrender was countless, with Chen Yin's arrival being the most prominent.

  Chen Yin, who served as the history of Dongyang County, was also an official under the command of the county magistrate. He had always been cautious and trustworthy, earning him respect from others as a senior figure. After the uprising in Daze Township, young people in Dongyang County killed the county magistrate and rose up, but without a leader, they asked Chen Yin to take charge.

  Chen Yin's mother was a woman with some insight, and she said to Chen Yin: "Since I married into your family, I have never heard that your ancestors had high-ranking officials. Now, suddenly getting such great fame is probably inauspicious. You'd better follow someone else and do things. If the matter succeeds, you can get rewards; if it fails, you won't be the leader, and the disaster won't be big."

  The old man's love for his son is evident in every word. Chen Yin thought about it and felt that he was indeed right, so he listened to his mother's advice. At this time, the news of Chen Wang's death was confusing, and the rebellion of Jing Ju and Qin Jia broke out one after another. Later, the news of Xiang Liang's march northward arrived. Chen Yin did not hesitate at all, leading two thousand soldiers under him to surrender to Xiang Liang. The total number of troops increased to 40,000, and the momentum was greatly boosted.

  Yin Xu accompanied him all the way, feeling very relaxed. As for Jing Ju and Qin Jia, he didn't have too many memories of them and wasn't clear about their actual strength or weakness. However, the development of Xiang Liang's family had always been good, so it could be inferred that they were just a group of mediocre people, therefore the difficulty of winning this battle was not great.

  This is the first battle following Xiang Liang, and we must seize the opportunity to win beautifully. We need to show enough strength to occupy a place in the Item family camp where famous generals emerge, so that people like Long Que won't dare underestimate us again.

  Yin Xu never thought that Jing Ju and Qin Jia, although unknown, had someone under their command who was not ordinary. If Yin Xu heard this person's name, he would definitely be shocked!

  Pengcheng, also known as Pengcheng Township or Pengcheng County. It was once the ancient capital of Zhuolu, which is now Xuzhou City in Jiangsu Province. Pengcheng Township has a long history, and over 4,000 to 5,000 years ago it was already the capital of emperors. According to the pre-Qin classic "Shiben", "Zhuolu is in Pengcheng, where Huangdi built his capital." During Emperor Yao's time, the Great Peng State was established. When Yu of Xia controlled the floods, he divided the national territory into nine states, with Xuzhou being one of them. After Qin unified the six states and implemented the prefecture-county system, Pengcheng Township was changed to Pengcheng County.

  At present, Peng City is temporarily the capital of the fake King Chu Jingju. At this time, a large number of people gathered in the "Wang Gong" hall on the top floor of the Taishoufu, which was rebuilt from the governor's mansion. Jingju sat upright on the throne, with his head bowed and his spirit not good.

  The first seat below the throne was Grand Marshal Qin Jia. Upon receiving news of Xiang Liang's northern expedition, he was shocked. He had not expected such a situation to arise. Originally, he thought that Chen Wang would die and take advantage of the opportunity to divide the land and become king. Jing Ju was at least a noble of Chu State, and being established as King of Chu could be accepted by the people of Chu State. If he were to receive support, he could also gather the old forces of Chen Sheng and expand his power.

  Anyway, at present, there are not a few generals under Chen Sheng's command who have split the land and become kings. The title of King of Chu is extraordinary. As soon as Qin Jiahe received the news that Chen Sheng's whereabouts were unknown, he was sure that he was dead, so he hurriedly pulled Jing Ju to be the King of Chu. He was afraid that someone would rush to grab this "trademark" first, but unfortunately, this title did not bring him any benefits.

  Contrary to expectations, the number of people who surrendered was extremely small, and curses and condemnations poured in from all sides. What's even more worrying is that Xiang Liang from Jiangdong led his army northward with the title of General-in-Chief, claiming to punish these rebels.

  Rebellion, a big hat is not good to wear! It's just that, came and fought, but the various lords flocked to surrender, Chen Ying of Dongyang directly brought 20,000 people to defect. Our side had less than 20,000 miscellaneous troops, while the other side had 40,000 elite soldiers. Moreover, Xiang Liang was a famous general after Xiang Yan, with a high status and reputation, Jing Ju was also a noble of Chu State, but could he compare? The most deadly thing is that they were fighting under the banner of pursuing and killing rebels, occupying the moral high ground.

  What should I do now?

  The hall was packed with people, wanting to discuss a countermeasure!

  "Great King, shall we make peace with Xiang Liang?"

  "Make peace? Is Xiang Liang willing to make peace with us? Doesn't it seem like he's trying to intimidate us?"

  "It's not necessarily so. Chen Ying and Xiang Liang were defeated, and Zhang Han's power is great. At this time, jointly resisting Qin is the most urgent task. As long as we move him with emotions and persuade him with reason, Xiang Liang will listen."

  "Now it's time for the Emperor to abolish his imperial title and sincerely negotiate with the various rebel armies; reconciliation is not impossible."

  "After making peace, how should we behave? What about the Emperor and the Grand Marshal? Therefore, we cannot make peace!"

  "Right, are you afraid they won't make it? Let's just fight and be done with it. Who's afraid of whom is the question."

  The "temple" is filled with flying saliva, the sound of debate rises and falls, the question of whether to fight or make peace has extremely strong differences. For a time, it's also hard to have a result.

  In the corner, a man remained silent, not seeming to be listening intently. The man was about 40 or 50 years old, with a dignified appearance and a beautiful beard that was a symbol of beauty in this era. What was most peculiar was his nose, which was thick and straight, with a high bridge and no depression between the eyes. In physiognomy, this is called a Fuxi nose, indicating great nobility.

  Taking a closer look, this person exudes an air of something, with a somewhat rascal-like feeling. A pair of eyes, rolling around restlessly, giving people a sense of complex mind. The "hall" was in an uproar, but he seemed to be oblivious, just sitting silently in the corner, his face calm and unruffled, without any attitude.

  After half a day, the debate finally had a preliminary result, and under Qin Jia's insistence, the main station gained the upper hand. At this time, Jing Yu was asking for everyone's opinions one by one, and it was the turn of the middle-aged man. He stood up slowly, revealing his tall stature, and exuded an aura of grandeur.

  "Liu Ji, what do you think?"

  Liu Ji?

  If Yīn Xù were here, he would be greatly surprised. This man is none other than the famous Hàn Gāozǔ Liú Bāng. He is now weak and has no choice but to rely on others for support. His hometown of Péng Xiàn, where he started his uprising, is near Péng Chéng. After Jǐng Jiù declared himself king here, he had no choice but to bow his head under the eaves and lead his troops to surrender.

  Liu Ji bowed his hands and said loudly: "Please let the king and the Grand Marshal make a decision. As Liu Ji, being a subject, I should follow orders and do my best."

  "Hmm!"

  Bullshit! It's as if nothing was said, and yet you still don't forget to flatter at this time. A lot of disdainful glances floated around. Liu Bang sat back in his original position, extremely calm and unruffled, not taking it seriously at all, saying "You guys go ahead and say what you want, I have my own plans."

  Jing Ju asked around and then discussed with Qin Jia, finally deciding to lead the army to confront Xiang Liang. Everyone saw that the two leaders had made up their minds, whether they were flattering or forced, could only express support.

  It was settled, then, that Qin Jia began to deploy his troops. Liu Bang, because of his brilliant performance just now, was appointed to be in charge of the defense of the southwestern part of Pengcheng. The meeting came to an end, and a great battle loomed ahead.

  Liu Bang walked out of the "Wang Palace", a tall and strong man with a majestic aura, robust and powerful, came forward to greet him.

  "Third Brother, I heard that the King has put you in charge of defending Pengcheng's southwest. This time, let me, Fan Kuai, take the lead!" The speaker was none other than Liu Bang's fierce general, Fan Kuai!

  "What a head start, our troops took advantage of the darkness to return to Pei County."

  "Return to Pei County?" Fan Qiang said in surprise: "Third brother just didn't..."

  Liu Bang's eyes were firm, and he said solemnly: "Jing Ju and Qin Jia are strong on the outside but weak on the inside. They are not united in their internal struggles, whether it is war or peace. Can they defeat Xiang Liang? Do we want to follow these mediocre people to death?"

  Fan Kuai took a look at Liu Bang and suddenly understood what he meant. This was indeed the style of Liu San Ge!