Xiang Yu was still quietly waiting for his response, and Lu Bu, who was eye to eye with him... and whose eyes met, managed to suppress the shock and disgust on his face, and was forced to think quickly.
Damn it, why was he so unlucky? Over the past three hundred years, he had to rack his brains and think hard every day to get through the ordeal.
He finally had a few days of relaxation, but why did this stupid bully throw another hot potato at him
Lu Bu was filled with grief and indignation - why did he have to rack his brain day and night in just the past month
The time and effort I have put into Xiang Yu is almost as much as that I have put into my entire lifetime!
The crisis was imminent. After a period of thinking hard with a calm appearance and frantic thinking in his mind, suddenly, like a flash of lightning, inspiration came to him and illuminated the whole world.
Lü Bu's expression became solemn, his voice lowered slightly, and he asked a question in a serious tone: "May I ask why the king abandoned the fertile land of Guanzhong and returned to Pengcheng?"
As the name suggests, Guanzhong is a place surrounded by mountains on all sides: Hangu Pass in the east, Wu Pass in the south, Dasan Pass in the west, and Xiao Pass in the north. With such a terrain, even people who are not familiar with military tactics can easily see that it is a treasure land that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
In terms of military facilities, it had a solid foundation laid by the Former Qin Dynasty. As for enjoyment, just look at these magnificent palaces, which were built not long ago by the First Emperor.
Let’s look at the Chu capital Pengcheng. It is surrounded by plains on all sides and has no strategic location to defend. With the Guanzhong area as a pearl in front of it, where else could it be suitable to be the capital of a hegemon
After only a short while of thinking, Lu Bu already had several strategies on how to contain and harass the main forces in the city and attack their weak points.
Xiang Yu lowered his eyes slightly and replied in a deep voice: "After being away from home for several years, all the soldiers of Chu miss their hometown."
No matter how magnificent and luxurious this Qin Palace is, it is just a dead thing made of human flesh and blood, and full of sins. People from the old six kingdoms all hated the Former Qin to the core, so how could they live in it? And how could a cold and dead thing compare to the nostalgia for one's hometown
All they had to do was take their valuables away and burn the rest of the palace, then they could return home in glory.
Xiang Yu had a solemn expression, and his words made his figure, elongated by the sun, look even more majestic and glorious.
Unfortunately, Lu Bu, the only person present, didn't believe a word of it.
-fart!
The corner of Lu Bu's mouth twitched slightly, and he secretly complained that this foolish king who was too obsessed with his reputation actually spoke beautifully.
If he hadn't happened to remember the words in the history books that the other party had said, "If you don't return home when you are rich and powerful, it's like wearing embroidered clothes and walking at night. Who would know it?", he would have been fooled by this... Bah! He is so wise and intelligent, how could he be fooled by such superficial words
Having said that, Lu Bu, who could see through the other party's intention to show off, also knew that the truth could not be told.
However, during the short moment of his silence, Xiang Yu, who was usually slow-witted, noticed something and asked, "What is Fengxian thinking about?"
—I think you are a fool!
Lü Bu cursed inwardly, but the corners of his mouth curled up in a scoundrelly manner, and he spoke a sentence that hit Xiang Yu straight in the heart: "In my opinion, the king is unwilling to stay, is it because of the Xin'an incident?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Xiang Yu's pupils suddenly shrank!
Because he had difficulty in suppressing the rebellion of the surrendered soldiers, and because he had little food and fodder and a small number of troops, he ordered his subordinates to kill 200,000 Qin soldiers in Xin'an.
Although he was forced to do it, he was indeed heavily indebted for blood. He was not only accused of countless murders, which made it difficult for him to move forward, but he was also destined to have difficulty staying in the capital of the Former Qin Dynasty, where the people hated him the most.
When Lu Bu saw Xiang Yu's expression suddenly change but he remained silent, he knew that he had hit the nail on the head on what the other party was thinking and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
… Fortunately, he had always seen that Xiang Yu's decision-making was quite similar to that of himself when he was just starting out, so he followed his own thoughts and guessed, and he actually guessed right.
After confirming this guess, Lu Bu's confidence was completely restored. He then asked: "Your Majesty, you first appointed Zhang Han as the King of Yong. Is this your plan to rule Qin with Qin?"
Xiang Yu looked at Lu Bu with a complicated expression, and suddenly said, "Not bad."
Lu Bu said bluntly: "The Qin people hate the king for his cruelty, and they hate Zhang Han even more for his brutality. The people have abandoned him. I'm afraid that within three days, King Yong will become King Yong!" Within three months, he will become King Bian!
Lu Bu had personally experienced the power of public opinion turning against him, and it was a lesson that he would never forget.
It seems difficult to see the outcome at first, but once the storm is over, it will be like a sharp blade hanging over your head.
He and the old man Wang Yun were stationed in Luoyang at first. With the prestige of Wang Yun, the prime minister, in the court, and the deterrence of his unparalleled military force, he was finally defeated by Li and Guo's army, which was composed of a group of vagrant soldiers and even ordinary people with broken copper and iron.
Although there was a reason that he had too few troops, the main fault was that old man Wang Yun, who executed Cai Yong for a trivial reason. He neither did any good things nor commanded him to do good things, which made him lose the support of the people and gave the two mad dogs Li and Guo an opportunity to take advantage of him.
Xiang Yu did not comment, and after a while he asked, "What do you think should be done to divide the fiefs?"
If Fan Zeng heard this, he would be shocked: Xiang Yu was completely stubborn and self-willed, and would never listen to anyone who was not named Xiang unless it was necessary.
Even if he was politely addressed as "Uncle", the words were often ignored.
Who would have thought that there would be a time when Xiang Yu would personally ask his generals for their opinions? !
Lü Bu, who had received this special honor, had no idea how precious it was. When Xiang Yu asked him, he cunningly revealed his true thoughts: "Zhang Han is used to being a minister and has some ability, but he is not suitable to live in Qin and be the King of Yong. Why don't you grant him the position of Sima and bring him to your side? I believe he would be very willing to do so."
Zhang Han had surrendered to the Chu army, and because of the murder of his surrendered soldiers, he had no choice but to rely on Xiang Yu. Being able to stay by Xiang Yu's side and become a high-ranking official in the Chu State was more reassuring than being a king in the much-hated Qin territory.
Xiang Yu had no idea that he had been completely fooled by Lu Bu's scheme.
It was also because he was very proud of himself and had the power of the Chu army sweeping across the world, he would never have thought that there would be a day when his position as Zuo Sima would be despised by others.
Hearing this, he concentrated on thinking for a moment and felt that there was indeed some truth in it. He actually followed Lu Bu's words and continued to ask: "Then according to Fengxian, who should be enfeoffed as the capital of Qin?"
Good! I got fooled!
Lü Bu was overjoyed, and began to tell lies and sweet words without stopping, using the same skill that made him kneel before the thief Dong: "The capital of the Former Qin, a land surrounded by mountains, has the potential to be a king. How can we allow others to sleep in such an important place? The one who can suppress the power of the dragon here must be the king."
Xiang Yu frowned when he heard him repeat the same old tune, and said simply, "Not appropriate."
Hearing this categorical rejection, Lu Bu remained calm.
—It is not surprising that Xiang Yu opposed it. If he could be easily persuaded by me and really gave up Pengcheng and moved the king to Xianyang, it would be like red rain from the sky!
However, will Xiang Yu foolishly return to Pengcheng in the east and continue to make Pengcheng the capital of Chu; or will he suddenly come to his senses and decide to stay in Guanzhong to win over the hearts of the people, resolve hatred, and gradually occupy this fertile land... What does it have to do with Lu Fengxian
He didn't care about the fate of the Chu State or whether it was easy to defend. He only knew that the most important thing now was to deceive Xiang Yu so that he could replace the hot seat of Zuo Sima with Zhang Han, and then let him stay inside the pass naturally. That would be the right thing to do!
In order to arouse Xiang Yu's suspicion, Lu Bu, who had ulterior motives, began to talk nonsense, all of which were the same old things he had heard from Chen Gongtai but never bothered to do: "Although the hatred of Xin'an is deep, it can still be attributed to the difficulties of the war. The soldiers were levied and extorted violently. As the country of Former Qin, life and death were unpredictable once they went to the battlefield. Those who surrendered put their lives and property in the hands of others." At this point, Lu Bu, who accidentally poked at his own pain, gritted his teeth in hatred and continued to talk nonsense with twisted logic: "It's really a shame to kill him. Most of the time, I can only blame myself for my bad luck... If I were a soldier's family, the one I would hate the most would be the Former Qin officials who levied soldiers so recklessly."
Xiang Yu was listening intently, and when he saw that Lu Bu had suddenly listened, he urged him, "Go on."
—Haven’t heard enough
Lu Bu talked a lot of nonsense, but he didn't expect that he would be forced to continue making up stories, and he was dumbfounded.
But the Overlord was still listening with a sharp gaze. He had to take advantage of his dry mouth and drink a few sips of tea. Then, under the silent urging of Xiang Yu, he continued to make up stories with a deep hatred: "… Therefore, the matter of Xin'an is not completely without room for maneuver. Everything should be relieved rather than blocked. Instead of ignoring it or throwing it to the jurisdiction of others, it is better for the king to come forward in person to appease the people of Qin. For example, exempt the rent and labor service in Qin for a few years, and allocate some small favors to bribe… reward the three elders, so as to coax them to loyally assist the newly sent Chu officials and help guide the people's customs. The families of the surrendered soldiers in Xin'an should also be properly settled. Regardless of whether they appreciate it or not, it is enough to give the favor beautifully and openly."
Having said this in a dull manner, Lu Bu couldn't remember what Chen Gongtai had been talking about before. So before he started to stutter, he stopped stealthily and stole a glance at Xiang Yu's expression.
Fortunately, when Xiang Yu heard this, he fell into deep thought again. The divine light in his pupils had drifted away, and he finally stopped talking nonsense.
Glancing at that deep and handsome face as carved in stone, Lu Bu couldn't help but complain that this Overlord was becoming more and more difficult to serve. He sighed, took a few sips of water, and slowly recovered from the long phone call that had exhausted him and made him feel dry and thirsty.
It's just that he set out suddenly, and the water bag he brought with him was the small one that Han Xin had lent him before. He had just taken a few gulps from it, so the water bag was empty after just a few gulps.
Lu Bu licked his lower lip, which was still a little dry. He was too lazy to look for water, so he just hung the empty water bag back on the horse.
When he turned around again, he was almost hit in the face by a valuable water bag bordered by gold threads and inlaid with gems, which had silently extended behind him at some point.
The owner of this water bag was Xiang Yu.
Seeing Lu Bu taking it in a daze, Xiang Yu withdrew his hand expressionlessly and was the first to climb onto the horse.
He bowed his head slightly, probably to appear less condescending, and spoke in a light and euphemistic tone, but he admitted that he had been persuaded: "What Fengxian just said does make some sense."
-What
Lu Bu looked confused.
—What’s the reason
Because he was standing with his back to the light, and Xiang Yu was preoccupied, he did not notice the blank expression on his face. He only said slowly, "It is of great importance. We must return to the city first and call people to discuss before making a decision... I will go ahead. After Fengxian has had enough to drink, you can follow me quickly."
Lu Bu: “… … … …”