The 4th Volume of Chu Military will see Chapter 66: Xūyī Sees the Emperor

  Pei County, a sweltering summer day, it has been a long time without rain, the hot people are restless in their seats and beds, sweat dripping like rolling pearls.

  In the hall by the water, a breeze carrying moisture blew through, exceptionally cool and refreshing, making it an ideal place to escape the heat. Emperor Gaozu of Han Liu Bang was leaning comfortably on a bamboo couch, leisurely soaking his feet. His trousers and robes were rolled up high, revealing a rather pale long leg outside, with a string of large black moles particularly eye-catching, totaling seventy-two, said to be an omen of imperial aura.

  "Madam, this medicine is indeed effective, I feel extremely comfortable!" Liu Bang laughed heartily with great satisfaction.

  A beautiful woman stood on one side, smiling and chatting, in her early twenties, elegant and refined, with a gentle and lovely gaze, charming but not vulgar. Her eyes revealed a sharp and clever look, which was Liu Bang's wife, Lü Zhi.

  Lü Cuī was originally from Dān Fù County, but his father Lü Gōng had moved to Pèi County many years ago to avoid a feud. One day, Lü Gōng hosted a banquet and invited the county magistrate and other local dignitaries, who all brought gifts. Xiāo Hé, the county's chief administrative officer, was in charge of receiving the gifts. Liú Bāng, the head of the Sì Shuǐ Pavilion, was notorious for his ability to swindle food and drink from others, so he naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. He came to Lü Gōng's mansion, claiming "a gift of 10,000 coins", which shocked everyone present. Xiāo Hé knew it was a lie, but since he was already familiar with Liú Bāng's ways and didn't want to expose him, he let it pass.

  Liu Bang, due to his high "congratulatory money", attracted the attention of many people. Lü Gong, who was good at physiognomy, noticed that Liu Bang's facial features and demeanor were extraordinary, with a prominent nose and dragon-like face, indicating a noble and auspicious appearance. He was greatly shocked by this discovery. Later, he also found out that Liu Bang's "ten thousand congratulatory money" was just a boastful lie, but Liu Bang himself remained calm and composed, chatting and laughing freely, which showed his excellent mental quality.

  Lü Gong not only didn't get angry, but instead greatly appreciated Liu Bang, thinking he was a man who could do great things. It has to be said that Lü Gong was a far-sighted and bold investor, willing to take high risks. On the same day, he made a decision to marry his daughter off to Liu Bang. His wife, Lü Zhi, still quarreled with him over this, but Lü Gong remained resolute, giving his daughter Lü Yu to Liu Bang as his wife. Even though Liu Bang had previously had women and had a son named Liu Fei; even though Liu Bang was already over 40 years old, while Lü Yu was only in her early 20s - none of this mattered, for he had made up his mind about this son-in-law.

  Liu Bang was overjoyed, and his happiness knew no bounds. Not only did he get to enjoy a sumptuous feast, but he also received a beautiful wife as a bonus, a blessing that made others envy him. After the marriage, he treated his young wife with tenderness and affection, and they lived in harmony, having already had a son and a daughter.

  "The lord has been training troops for days and is tired, it's time to take a good rest and take care of his body." Lü Zhi spoke with a smile, with the demeanor of a virtuous wife and good mother. In fact, when she first married Liu Bang, she was not happy about it. At the tender age of 19, she had to marry a man over 40 years old who was a good-for-nothing. For this, Lü Zhi had shed many tears. But her father's orders were hard to defy, so she had to follow the saying "if you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, follow the dog". As for the rumors that Liu Bang had a destiny of wealth and nobility, she never quite believed it - what could a good-for-nothing like him possibly achieve? Could he really become rich and noble?

  It's hard to predict the future, and since Liu Bang led the uprising against the serpent last year, he has become a somewhat famous rebel leader. Lu Zhi began to believe that maybe her father was right. So she helped her husband come up with ideas, and they created the name "Red Emperor's Son". More and more people flocked to their side, gradually gathering thousands of soldiers. Now Liu Bang has also obtained the title of "Marquis of Pei", becoming a true rebel leader, which makes Lu Zhi extremely happy.

  She remembered that many years ago, when she was working in the fields with her two children, a passing old man asked for water to drink and said that the three of them had an air of nobility about them. It seemed that what he said was not wrong. Her fundamental attitude towards Liu Bang also underwent a fundamental change, becoming more gentle and considerate towards her husband, caring for him with attention. For example, every day she personally prepared the medicinal water for his foot bath, and at night she waited on him in bed, making Liu Bang feel extremely comfortable.

  Liu Pei's recent life has been full of vigor and vitality, displaying his heroic spirit. Taking advantage of Lü Bu's push from behind, he swept his lovely wife into his arms, his large hands already kneading her jade-like breasts. Lü Bu let out a soft cry, her pretty face flushing red, as she half-heartedly pushed against her husband while sitting in his lap, scolding: "It's broad daylight, don't let others see."

  Liu Bang burst out laughing: "Don't worry, no one will disturb us here." As he spoke, his large hand had already slipped into Lü Zhi's thin silk skirt, feeling the snow-white thighs and the small, delicate buttocks. The sensation was incredibly good. Lü Zhi's face turned bright red as she twisted her body in embarrassment, arousing Liu Bang's desires. Although they had been married for many years, his little wife had never been so obedient and proactive like this before. As the saying goes, "food, sex, and sleep are the three basic human needs," and even Han Gaozu couldn't resist doing it under the window on a windy day.

  Liu Bang's hand was about to untie his wife's clothes when the guard outside reported that Fan Kuai and Cao Shen, two generals, had urgent matters to discuss.

  The husband and wife were interrupted in their intimate moment, Liu Bang was furious, but military affairs took precedence. Lu Zhi was clever and reasonable, got up to tidy her hair, clothes, and with a shy smile, she threw a glance at him and left with the washbasin. As she walked out, she happened to meet Fan Kuai and Cao Shen, and quickened her pace, not even hearing their greetings.

  The two of them couldn't help but feel strange, Liu Bang saw the situation and hurriedly came to his wife's rescue, asking: "What's the urgent matter?"

  Cao Shen was taken aback, and after regaining his composure, he hastily reported: "Lord of Pei, Xiang Liang has led a large army south to Xuancheng!"

  "What's wrong?"

  "Yes, I heard that Yin Xu found the legitimate grandson of Emperor Wu and temporarily settled in Guangling. They rushed to pay their respects. Zhong Li Mei and Ji Bu were left to guard Pengcheng."

  Liu Bang wiped the water stains on his feet, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, he said: "Hurry up and summon Mr. Zi Fang, Xiao He, Zhou Bo and others to come over and discuss matters."

  As soon as they heard that Marquis of Liu was summoning them, everyone rushed to arrive in no time, except for Zhou Bo who had not yet arrived.

  Liu Bang didn't mind, and said loudly: "Please sit down! I've received news that Yin Xu has found Prince Hui of Chu, and temporarily settled in Xuyi. Xiang Liang has already led people to pay their respects. Let's discuss our plan of action!"

  It wasn't until then that Zhou Bo hastily arrived and apologized: "Lord Pei, please forgive me, I, Zhou Bo, have come late."

  "It's all right, sit down quickly. Look at you, sweating profusely, why are you in such a hurry?" Liu Bang was very easy-going, perhaps it was precisely because of this reason that the elites from Pei County were willing to follow him.

  Zhou Bo wiped his sweat and said: "I also heard the news of Xiang Liang's southern expedition, went to Pengcheng to understand the situation carefully, just came back."

  Liu Bang was overjoyed and praised: "You've really worked hard, on such a hot day!" Zhang Liang also nodded secretly, his eyes of admiration and approval wandering between Liu Bang and Zhou Bo.

  "What's the specific situation?" Zhang Liang asked first, Cao Shen and Fan Qie's words were too brief, and Mr. Zifang didn't get much useful information.

  Zhou Bo said: "This time, Xiang Liang may have some trouble?"

  "Oh?" A brief sentence suddenly attracted everyone's interest.

  "Yin Xu and Chen Ping found the legitimate grandson of Emperor Wu, but unexpectedly Song Yi intervened at the last minute and took the prince to Xuyi. This time, Xiang Liang had a bit of an 'unsuccessful theft' feeling,"

  "What's going on?" Fan Kuai was a rough and uneducated warrior, and he didn't understand what was happening.

  Xiahou Yan said, "Song Yi was originally the commander of Chu State. After the state's downfall, he had been hiding among the people. Last year, he started recruiting troops in the Jiangxia area and is said to have gathered tens of thousands of men and horses, with considerable strength."

  "Yes! Xiang Liang originally wanted to keep the crown prince by his side, but unexpectedly he was snatched away by Song Yi."

  Fan Zeng said: "Would Xiang Liang be willing? Take it back and that's all?"

  Zhou Bo shook his head: "No, Yin Xu only brought 300 people this time. Song Yi led a large army of 5,000 to capture Ming by surprise. In order not to let the prince fall into Song Yi's hands alone, he fought desperately with Song Yi's first swordsman and finally got the opportunity to get close to the prince and protect him. It can also be considered as a repayment to Xiang Liang."

  Liu Bang nodded secretly, and had a few more points of attention for Yin Xu, who was already curious.

  Xiao He smiled: "Song Yi is good at choosing a location, Gusu is the hub of north-south traffic, occupying that place, Xiang Liang's in Kuaiji, and the vast territory of Donghai was cut off. I'm afraid the transportation of grain and forage will be greatly affected. Xiang Liang may not let it go easily!" He was a master of logistics and supplies, so he saw the problem at once.

  Xiahou Yuan said: "Song Yi is not a thrifty lamp, this time there will be a good show."

  Liu Bang said leisurely, "What I'm afraid of is that we've all overdone it and benefited others instead." As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to think of something and hastily added, "Now that Zhang He hasn't been defeated yet, we're already infighting like this - the situation doesn't look good!" His words had a hint of trying to cover up his own intentions, but the others didn't notice, while Zhang Liang heard it clearly and smiled without saying anything.

  "After a moment of silence, he said: 'With great enemies before us, we must unite against our common foe. Whoever commits foolish mistakes will bring about their own downfall.'"

  "What did the master say? How should we act?" Liu Bang seemed to ask everyone, but his eyes glanced at Zhang Liang intentionally or unintentionally.

  Zhang Liang understood and smiled lightly: "The crown prince has already been found, the coronation ceremony won't be long, doesn't Lord Pei plan to pay his respects?"