After all, he still held high the banner of "promoting justice and killing the rebels". Even though Liu Bang fled westward without any resistance, Xiang Yu still sent Zhongli Mei with 30,000 cavalry to chase after him in order to wipe out the rebels completely.
Although Zhongli Mei delayed for half a day before setting out again, the Han army was unfamiliar with the Bashu area and got lost several times on the rugged mountain roads. The tail end of the army was taken care of and sheltered by the Chu army led by Zhongli Mei.
As a result, more than a thousand of these five thousand carefully selected elite soldiers were annihilated by the ferocious Chu army.
Liu Bang naturally fled first, and although Zhongli Mei chased him relentlessly to the gate to Ba County, he still failed to catch him.
And because the Han army had completely disappeared in the vast mountain road in front of him, he considered and decided to follow Xiang Yu's military order of "stop when sufficient" in advance, stabilize the soldiers, and begin to return in an orderly manner.
Zhongli Mei's cautious behavior was soon rewarded - seeing the Chu army returning in the direction they came from, Zhongli Mei, who was personally in charge of the rear army, encountered a thousand cavalry led by Guan Ying just after they walked three miles.
It turned out that Liu Bang had been chased by this group of jackals all the way and had lost more than a thousand of his personal soldiers. He was so full of hatred that he wanted to take advantage of the gap when the Chu army gave up the pursuit and withdrew, so he ordered his most trusted cavalry general Guan Ying to lead his men to counterattack.
In his early years, Guan Ying made a living by selling cloth and traveled between counties. This not only enabled him to develop good riding skills, but also cultivated the habit of being alert and cautious.
He first sent out a dozen cavalrymen to test the situation, and seeing that they all went without returning, he guessed that there must be a strong general in the rear army, and there was an 80% chance that it was Zhongli Mei himself.
“What a pity.”
Guan Ying muttered to himself.
Since Zhongli Mei is on guard, we won't be able to take much advantage of him.
Guan Ying knew that the Han army was not as strong as before, and it would not be easy to gain a foothold in the completely unfamiliar Bashu.
It doesn’t matter whether Liu Bang can vent his anger or not. What’s important is that they can’t afford to lose any more soldiers.
Although he returned empty-handed, Guan Ying knew that his third elder brother would never act without considering the severity of the situation just to gain a momentary advantage, so he was not worried about being blamed.
He made a prompt decision and led the thousand cavalrymen back to Ba County to meet Liu Bang before Zhongli Mei could react.
Although he did not have much hope for the ability of Zhongli Mei, whom he did not even know, after waiting patiently in the Former Qin Palace for half a month, Lu Bu finally received the bad news that Liu Bang had successfully escaped. He felt both expected and disappointed.
Because he was in an extremely bad mood, he was determined to make things difficult for Xiang Bo in order to comfort him.
—If he is unhappy, he must make Xiang Bo even more unhappy.
Xiang Bo naturally didn't know that he had been targeted by a black-hearted cloth tiger. He received the news that Liu Bang had successfully escaped the pursuit and entered Shu according to the plan, just one step later than the people in the main hall. He breathed a sigh of relief on the spot.
Fortunately, fortunately.
Xiang Bo felt extremely ashamed when he thought about how he had almost failed to save Zhang Liang from the murderous Xiang Yu, and how he had allowed Lu Bu to stir up trouble and cause trouble for Liu Bang even though he had clearly sensed that the other party had bad intentions.
Fortunately, Liu Bang has escaped danger, so everything can still be done slowly.
As for Liu Bang being trapped in Bashu, he could wait until Xiang Yu's anger subsided before trying to mediate; as for Zhang Liang being imprisoned, it would not be difficult for him to take care of him and he could wait until the storm was over and then release him secretly.
If handled properly, when letting Zhang Liang go, he could put the blame of dereliction of duty on Lu Bu, so that Xiang Yu would not value him so much.
When Xiang Bo thought of how Lu Bu smugly lied and slandered others in the hall, which had brought Liu Bang to such an embarrassing state and caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Han soldiers, he felt a tightness in his chest and became more and more suffocated.
Compared to the time when Lu Bu brought Liu Bang to disgrace, his little revenge was really justified.
Xiang Bo, who had made up his mind, had a gloomy look in his eyes. He paced back and forth in the tent for a while, killing time which seemed very long in his eyes. Then, when Xiang Yu summoned his ministers to discuss matters, he found an excuse and went to the prison where Zhang Liang was imprisoned.
As early as when rebellions broke out everywhere and the Qin army was short of soldiers, Shaofu Zhang Han was appointed as a general. When he recruited soldiers from the Guanzhong area to form the Central Army, he used prisoners in prison.
As the Qin Palace was taken over by the Han army and later by the Chu army, people's attention was paid to the gold, silver, and jewelry in the treasury, those shining dead objects, while the other prisoners in the prison who were old, weak, sick, and disabled and were not sent to the army were completely ignored and starved to death.
They were worthless and were already rotten and smelly when they were found. They were simply dragged out with their noses pinched, wrapped in a tattered mat, and thrown into a mass grave.
At this point, Zhang Liang became the only prisoner in the Qin Palace.
Although Xiang Yu did not torture him deliberately, nor did he severely punish him or force him to answer questions about Liu Bang, Zhang Liang lost weight rapidly after spending several days in prison.
But he had a strong character and remained calm in the face of adversity. Even if he had not bathed or had enough food, he was still radiant.
His haggard appearance made Xiang Bo cry on the spot.
Zhang Liang was resting with his eyes closed. When he heard footsteps approaching, he stopped and did not raise his eyes. Only when he heard the faint sobbing did he open his eyes and said in surprise, "Brother Xiang."
"I am incompetent and have made you suffer." Xiang Bo's mouth was full of bitterness. He wanted to wait a little longer before making plans, but seeing how thin Zhang Liang was, he couldn't wait any longer: "Brother Liu has successfully entered Shu, wait-"
Zhang Liang did not let him continue, but quickly gestured and said softly: "The wall has ears, so we cannot talk."
"Don't worry, my dear brother." Xiang Bo sighed and said, "Although I am not as successful as that villain, I am not so powerful that I can't even control this prison guard."
Before he entered the prison, he had his trusted followers bribe the greedy jailer with pearls to guard the prison.
Moreover, although the enemy soldiers present had been silenced and threatened, the fact that Lu Bu had murdered the king could not be concealed from the senior officials of the Chu army.
Those who reacted most strongly were Chen Ying, who had followed Xiang Liang in his early years and was later promoted by the King of Chu and personally named Shang Zhuguo, as well as the father and son pair of Ling Yin Lu Qing and Situ Lu Chen, who were also promoted by the King of Chu.
After being valued by the King of Chu, they had already decided to loyally support the young king. After hearing the bad news, although they did not curse Xiang Yu loudly, they quietly left their seals and left with their families, expressing their break with the king through their actions.
Xiang Yu was always loyal and righteous, so although he was a little unhappy about their departure, he did not speak to stop them. However, filling the vacancies left by these people's sudden departure still gave him a headache, so he naturally had no time to monitor the movements in the prison.
Zhang Liang always felt that Xiang Bo's visit to the prison was too high-profile. He shook his head, not satisfying Xiang Bo's wish to open up to him and reveal all the secrets: "Brother Xiang, it is not appropriate to come here. Please go back quickly."
Xiang Bo looked dull, but after Zhang Liang finished speaking, he closed his eyes again. He couldn't force a conversation with him, so he had to go back in dismay.
Since Zhang Liang objected, he couldn't do it on his own, so he temporarily bribed the jailer with pearls and ordered him to keep his mouth shut and take good care of Zhang Liang before leaving dejectedly.
Little did he know that as soon as he left, the jailer, who had been fawning on him, changed his attitude and went to talk to Han Xin.
Han Xin took it in his hand for a while, then handed it to Lu Bu and praised him, "It is just as you said."
Lu Bu narrowed his eyes and confirmed that the pearl had the Qin Palace seal stamped on it. He was immediately satisfied: "Thank you, Brother Han, for your help!"
No matter how taciturn and unsociable Han Xin was, he had been working in the Chu army for two years and still had some connections.
Lu Bu asked him to help with something, not to take advantage of him for nothing, he had already made up his mind to help this cheap brother in everything in the future - if you become rich and powerful, don't forget your friend. After eating the wine and meat that Han Xin secretly hid for him who was unable to attend the banquet, he really regarded this honest military genius as a brother.
Thus, within a cup of tea, the pearls and gold given as bribes by Xiang Bo's confidants fell into Xiang Yu's hands.
Xiang Yu played with the pearl which was clearly engraved with the seal of the Qin Palace treasury, his face looking gloomy and uncertain.
The Chu army had taken over the Qin Palace for only half a month, but all the gold, silver and jewelry that Liu Bang had looted and counted were still left in the warehouse without being moved.
Where did Xiang Bo get these treasures from
—Only from Liu Bang.
How could Fan Zeng give up this opportunity to add insult to injury? Although he did not agree with Xiang Yu's decision to kill his king as a subject, he had long been disgusted with Xiang Bo's behavior of speaking righteously but actually betraying his master.
But just as he was about to speak, Lu Bu lazily took the lead and said hypocritically: "After all, he is Zuo Yin... This should be selfless love, right? Thinking back to when Bu protected the woman behind him, he was not so skillful, which really makes Bu feel ashamed."
Xiang Yu's face suddenly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Fan Zeng secretly broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that this strong man Lu was indeed an extraordinary person. He dared to say such words that hurt the general's reputation without saying anything.
However, Xiang Yu, whose face was hurt, did not get angry. He did not even say a word. He just stood up suddenly and walked out.
Fan Zeng did not get up to chase him - he had followed Xiang Yu for several years and was familiar with his temper. Although Xiang Yu was notoriously violent, he rarely got angry with his subordinates. Most of the time he was polite and would not punish them for offering unpleasant advice.
When he felt really annoyed and didn't know how to make a decision, he would ride his black horse outside the city and gallop wildly for a while to vent his anger.
However, Lu Bu did not know that Xiang Yu wanted to ride a horse to relieve stress. He thought that Xiang Yu was unwilling to accept the fact that Xiang Bo was a traitor, so he tried to deceive him.
But he had a second trap waiting for Xiang Bo to step into, which made him have no way of defending himself. How could he let Xiang Yu escape? He followed him out without saying a word.
Xiang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, pressed his right index finger and thumb against his thin lips, took a deep breath, and whistled a long and pleasant whistle.
Lu Bu couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Before long, a black horse with shiny black fur came running towards us with a proud and vigorous look on its snowy hooves, making a "clack clack" sound.
Xiang Yu waited quietly for a moment, and when Wuzhui was close to him, he held the horse's back and jumped on it.
Unexpectedly, Wuzhui, who had just been full of pride, suddenly brightened up his eyes when he saw Lu Bu standing beside him, looking guilty.
Without hesitation, it left its owner who was always visible to it and rubbed against Lu Bu affectionately. It stretched out its tongue and was about to lick Lu Bu's face like it did last time.
Xiang Yu: “…”
Lu Bu, whose face was being washed enthusiastically by Wuzhui's saliva, stood there woodenly.
He was a fearless man, but when he saw the word "surprise" written on Xiang Yu's face for the first time, even Xiang Yu, who had not shown any shock before the death of the King of Chu, his heart rarely sank when he saw it.
Damn it... He was just in high spirits and rode someone else's BMW for a while, but why is he feeling so guilty as if he had slept with the other person's woman