Although Liu Bang was far less powerful than Xiang Yu, as a man born as a gangster, he was definitely much more glorious than his unlucky great-grandson Liu Bei, who sold straw mats for dozens of generations: he took advantage of entering the pass first, and according to the covenant with the loyal King of Chu, he could be the King of Guanzhong. He also had a solid army of 100,000 under his command, and a group of loyal and capable ministers and brothers to help him.
Lu Bu wanted revenge, not death.
He had thought about pretending to join the Han camp, competing for merits to get close to Liu Bang, and then waiting for an opportunity to act.
But he had finally been reborn, so just for the momentary happiness of chopping off his enemy's head, he had to endure the bloody battles and life-and-death struggles for several years for his ancestors' blood feud
What a joke!
Besides, Lu Bu had some self-knowledge - he was a man who could bend and stretch himself, far from being like the treacherous Liu the Big Ear who was pretentious, sweet-mouthed, and treacherous, and who made sworn brothers everywhere.
If he were to be forced to suffer for years and pretend to be loyal to deceive a bunch of smart people, that would not only be a huge sacrifice, but would also be asking too much.
If someone finds out and kills me in secret, wouldn't that be a loss without gaining anything
Therefore, in order to ensure that the ultimate goal of killing Liu Bang could be achieved, Lu Bu had to make careful plans for the first time.
This was also a helpless move - he was so unlucky that he was alone until three hundred years ago, and became a complete lone commander. Those who could give him advice and suggestions were nowhere to be found. Wasn't he forced to do things on his own
In the past, he thought Chen Gongtai was annoying because he kept buzzing in his ears and yelling "this can't be done" and "that can't be done". He also didn't want to pay attention to Gao Fuyi, who didn't know how to say nice things and couldn't even fart when kicked. He just worked hard and was boring...
But when he was really alone and didn't know what to do and was willing to listen to their nagging, they were gone.
Anyway, he has been killed by the big-eared thief's words. I hope those two nagging people can realize the current situation, stop being so stubborn, and surrender to Cao Cao as soon as possible.
Given Cao Cao's love for talent, he would never make things difficult for them no matter how much they nag.
… But don’t be so stupid as to lose your life.
Thinking about it, even Lu Bu, who was always heartless, couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable.
He absentmindedly picked up a branch, squatted in front of a sandy ground, and drew a picture for a while. Then he quickly set his sights on the camp of the Overlord of Western Chu, whose name resounded in history books, especially the Hongmen Banquet.
In his early years, he was able to work as a clerk under Ding Yuan, which obviously meant he was not the illiterate and reckless man as some people believed.
However, books were precious and rare: when he was young and still willing to study, he could not get many books due to his poor family. When he became successful, he was not interested in reading at all, but countless books were delivered to his door from the Luoyang Palace.
However, he has always been more interested in military books, and most of the books he read are about military operations and warfare. He seldom touches history books, and never touches the Book of Songs.
Thanks to the famous historical records about the struggle between the King of Western Chu and King of Han, Liu Bang, he was able to read it whole and read it several times. But when asked to give specific details, he could only stare blankly.
—But even if one has a bad memory, he will never forget the Hongmen Banquet.
If he remembered correctly, Liu Bang only brought more than a hundred followers and four generals to the banquet.
For him, this is a godsend!
Thinking of this, Lu Bu's eyes lit up and he rubbed his hands excitedly.
Don't miss this opportunity!
After figuring this out, Lu Bu knew that the next problem he needed to solve was how to… join the Chu camp, and preferably get a position to attend the Hongmen Banquet.
However, he was once the leader of a powerful faction, and he knew that the leaders were very suspicious.
He was a man of unknown origin. Even though he had great martial arts skills, he had no family background or friends to recommend him. Even if he joined the army as a warrior, he could only start as an ordinary soldier and climb up step by step based on his seniority.
By the time he climbed to the level where he could attend the Hongmen Banquet, it was obviously too late.
Although Lu Bu, who lived a new life, wanted revenge, he would not be so unscrupulous as to not care about his reputation. If it were him a dozen years ago, he would probably have resorted to the same old tricks. At most, he would shamelessly recognize a cheap adoptive father to quickly gain trust.
It would be best to convince Xiang Yu to take advantage of his strong power and destroy that bastard named Liu as soon as possible!
Lu Bu had no idea that convincing Xiang Yu on this point would be extremely difficult. He looked slightly grim as he thought of something.
How old was Xiang Yu at this time? Early twenties
… Even though he was only twenty years old, he couldn't be so shameless as to call a kid who had just grown hair "father".
Neither this nor that works. After much thought, Lu Bu decided to imitate the style of the chivalrous and fierce bandit and try to make a token of his allegiance before going.
—From that moment on, Lu Bu had been coveting the head of King Ziying of the Former Qin Dynasty.
Leaning against a big tree stump, Lu Bu thought about the past, but when it was late at night and time to go to bed, he was not vague at all.
He picked some herbs to repel insects and snakes in advance and sprinkled them around him. After turning off the fire, he slept comfortably that night.
It was not until the dawn that he opened his energetic eyes.
After getting enough rest, he rinsed his mouth with the remaining water in his water bag in the dim morning light, and then used the dew to tidy up his appearance.
After looking leisurely in the direction of Hangu Pass for a while, he mounted his horse and headed towards the Chu camp.
Compared to Lu Bu, who was broad-minded and could sleep soundly with a head in his arms, Xiang Yu, who became famous in the world for the Battle of Julu and the commander of the coalition forces that all the princes admired, had a gloomy face and was full of anger these days. He did not have the spirited spirit that he should have after winning a great battle.
Ever since his uncle Xiang Liang died in battle, he had been suppressed and backstabbed at every turn by the King of Chu, who was supported by the Xiang family. Now it had reached a point that he could no longer tolerate.
First, he made an inexplicable agreement that "whoever conquers Guanzhong first will be king of it", and then with sinister intentions, he forced him to go north to rescue Zhao and fight against the main force of the Qin army, but left Guanzhong with an empty military force to Liu Bang.
He burned his boats and crossed the river, and after surviving many dangers, he finally annihilated the main force of the Qin army. All the princes surrendered, but because of this, he arrived at the Qin capital two months later than Liu Bang's army, which was taking advantage of the weak, and was even blocked outside the Qin capital by the other side in a rude and arrogant manner!
Xiang Yu suppressed his anger and immediately reported Liu Bang's despicable behavior to the King of Chu. However, he did not expect that King Huai not only did not reprimand Liu Bang, but instead replied lightly with "as promised".
As promised? Ridiculous, whether he is Xiong Xin or Liu Bang, neither of them works or puts in any effort, but instead wants to pick the biggest peach!
On what basis
Xiang Yu was invincible on the battlefield with his unparalleled martial arts and now held a high position, but he was treated unfairly time and time again. How could he swallow this humiliation
When he received a secret report from Cao Wushang, the left Sima under Liu Bang, saying that "the Duke of Pei wants to be the king of Guanzhong, make Ziying the prime minister, and take all the treasures", he was furious and made the important decision on the spot to "feast the soldiers tomorrow to defeat the Duke of Pei's army"!
When Xiang Bo heard this, he was shocked.
When his tactful persuasion to Xiang Yu failed, he had no choice but to take a risk and meet his close friend Zhang Liang in private at night...
In order to get around the heavy Han troops guarding Hangu Pass, Lu Bu had to spend a few more days on his journey. When he finally arrived at the Chu camp, he was stuck at an awkward time point, not sure whether it was fortunate or unfortunate.
—It was unfortunate because Xiang Bo had just met Zhang Liang the night before. Not only did he tell Xiang Yu everything about his plan, but he also used sweet words to coax Liu Bang into submission, and even verbally agreed to marry their children to each other. After returning to the camp, he exaggerated Liu Bang's "explanation" to Xiang Yu.
Since Xiang Liang's death, Xiang Bo has been the head of the Xiang clan, and he is always respected and trusted by Xiang Yu. He easily won the trust of Xiang Yu, who never doubted him, with the words "It is unjust to attack someone who has made great contributions", calmed the other's anger, and turned a war that would have brought disaster to Liu Bang into nothing.
—Luckily, after wasting a few days, Lu Bu finally arrived two hours before the Hongmen Banquet.
Fortunately, Lu Bu, who only read history books hastily, had no idea about many things that happened during his detour, so it was not his turn to beat his chest and stamp his feet in hatred.
When he finally arrived at the gate of Chu Camp after trudging all the way, the inferior horse that had followed him through the mountain roads for several days finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground with foam at the mouth.
"Who are you? Stop immediately!"
Lu Bu got off his horse, carrying only the bag containing his surrender letter, and stood there lazily, calmly replying to the Chu soldiers who were questioning him cautiously: "Now there are brave men who admire King Xiang's prestige and have come thousands of miles to surrender, but they are being scolded like this. Is this the way the Chu camp recruits people?"
He was tall, more than eight feet tall, with well-defined muscles. Even though he was wearing cloth, it did not diminish his pride and strength.
Even in front of the tall and strong Chu soldiers, he stood out from the crowd with his height. He was definitely worthy of the title of "warrior" he called himself.
The guards were intimidated by his aura for a moment, and it took them a while to come back to their senses. When they spoke again, their aura inevitably weakened a bit, and their tone became polite: "If you are really interested in meeting me, please tell me your name."
After gaining power, Lu Bu indulged himself and was rude and straightforward most of the time, but the hardships he experienced in his early years inevitably taught him to be a bit tactful.
His preemptive strike just now was somewhat underestimated, but after all, he came to offer his surrender letter, not to challenge the king. Seeing that the Chu soldiers' tone softened, he decided to stop while he was ahead and readily gave his name: "My surname is Lü, my given name is Bu, and my courtesy name is Fengxian. I have come to you with a surrender letter and request an audience with King Xiang."
After these words were spoken, the expressions on Chu Bing's faces became subtle again.
Due to years of war, the people were displaced. Not many could afford to go to school or speak elegantly, and even fewer could have a courtesy name.
However, the thing called "letter of surrender" is mostly used by shameless, shallow and unscrupulous heroes and bandits... This is somewhat contradictory to the impression given by the former.
What is even more incredible is that this unknown wanderer actually asked to see General Xiang right from the start
Even if he really has some ability, he is too frivolous.
Besides, what rare treasures could an unknown wanderer who could only ride a poor horse offer
If it were someone else, they would probably sneer at him on the spot and kick this ignorant person out.
—They didn’t know that if they really did that, they would be beaten on the spot by Lu Bu, who was just barely suppressing his violent temper.
Just looking at this person's stature, courage and aura, he seems extraordinary, so it's not easy to treat him normally.
Just when they were in a dilemma and didn't know who to report to, they caught a glimpse of a person passing by out of the corner of their eye. They were delighted and quickly stopped the person.
The man's surname was Han and he held the position of a doctor. Although he was tall and strong with an extraordinary appearance, he was a taciturn person who could not utter a word for a long time and was very aloof and taciturn.
The reason why they remembered him was because he was currently holding the halberd and was assigned the job of serving King Xiang.
The man named Han holding a spear was just passing by, but was stopped by them for no reason. He couldn't help but frown.
After listening to them, he raised his eyes and met Lu Bu's gaze, who was staring at them without any concealment.
The two looked at each other for a moment, Lu Bu raised his eyebrows and smiled, and Doctor Han was slightly stunned.
He didn't know why, but he nodded and let Lu Bu follow him.