Lu Bu seemed to have been shaken out of his wits by the devastating news. For the next three days, he sat there stiffly like a puppet, and showed no response no matter how Han Xin called out to him.
Xiang Yu had just begun to appease the people in Guanzhong and win back the hearts of the people. Naturally, he encountered countless unexpected obstacles and was inevitably overwhelmed. He had no time to ask about him.
It was not until the princes set out for their home countries that Lu Bu was forced to painfully accept this fact.
There was no way to refuse it... He had racked his brains and tried to come up with another plan, but in the end, apart from sneaking into Bashu alone to assassinate Liu Bang, a foolish man who risked his life, there was really no better way.
Of course, there was no way Lu Bu would be willing to give up his hard-earned life.
If he really wanted to kill that old man Liu Bang at all costs, why did he wait until he fled to Bashu, where he was unfamiliar with the place? He could just kill him in the Qin Palace.
Lu Bu crushed the bronze jar expressionlessly.
—It was all that stupid Ying Bu’s fault for not doing his job well. He failed to catch the escaped thief Liu, and ended up bringing disaster upon me!
Lu Bu's eyes were spitting fire and he roared angrily.
—I really don’t know how many wisps of smoke came out of the ancestral grave of the stupid Wang family to be able to take such a big advantage of him. He has to work hard for others for several years before he can get what he wants!
That day, Lu Bu, who had finally figured it out, called Han Xin over listlessly. After asking him to sit next to him, he sat down himself and pretended to have a long conversation. He was the first to speak: "I was rude that day, I hope you won't blame me, brother."
Han Xin smiled faintly: "My dear brother, you are eager to seek revenge. It is natural for human beings. How can I not understand that? I only wish I could find a better strategy to shorten the time and let my dear brother get revenge as soon as possible."
Lu Bu sighed, his tiger eyes filled with hatred as he said, "God doesn't grant my wishes!"
Han Xin felt guilty and was about to persuade him again, but Lu Bu's expression changed as if turning over a book.
After he finished sighing, he straightened his face suddenly, swept away the resentment and dejection on his face, and said with a sharp look: "Fortunately, the king has a good way of enfeoffment. Once the kings have fought among themselves, we can defeat them one by one and reap the benefits."
Judging from his own experience, Lu Bu naturally tended to think that Xiang Yu did it on purpose when he saw that Xiang Yu deliberately divided the original seven kingdoms into twenty kingdoms, split the original territory into two or three parts, and there were also rulers and ministers.
After all, the territories of each king were smaller, so the number of soldiers they could maintain and the amount of food they could obtain naturally decreased. Also, two or even three kings emerged from the original country, and they had a relationship between monarch and minister, so naturally conflicts were inevitable.
After Lu Bu calmed down completely and carefully savored Xiang Yu's distribution, he thought there were countless mysteries in it: most of the time the lords were weak and the ministers were strong, and most of the lords lived in small places, while most of the ministers lived in fertile land.
Think about it, the king used to be high and mighty, but now he has let his subjects, who used to obey his orders, take away more than half of his territory. How could anyone with a sense of pride be willing to accept this
The minister risked his life and death to make friends with the Xiang family just to gain fertile land. He must be an ambitious and rebellious person. How could a capable and rebellious person be willing to let his former king, who did not contribute anything, share the spoils of war by virtue of his noble bloodline
Within a few years, the friction between the two sides will continue and war will surely break out again. At that time, the Overlord Xiang Yu, who was enfeoffed with the land, will be able to intervene generously and swallow up both places on the grounds of upholding justice or pacifying the suffering people.
Moreover, Xiang Yu deliberately changed the title of Wei Wang Bao to the King of Western Wei in order to occupy part of Liangdi, and forced people to leave their homes in the Hedong area...
Lu Bu thought, even if the foolish king was stupid, he wouldn't be so stupid as to think that the other party would not fight back even if he was bullied like this, right
It must have been done on purpose - deliberately forcing the other side to rebel so that they could have a pretext for launching an expedition in the future!
As Lu Bu told Han Xin his rough guess, he felt more and more that he saw a glimmer of hope for accelerating the progress of revenge. He also had a new respect for the black-hearted Xiang Yu who showed some long-term calculations.
Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, he said to Han Xin, "I never thought that the foolish king, who was always reckless, would have such a far-sighted vision one day!"
Han Xin listened attentively. At first he nodded from time to time to show his agreement, but his expression soon turned subtle.
When Lu Bu was speaking excitedly and praising Xiang Yu endlessly, he hesitated several times and finally fell completely silent.
According to his understanding of King Xiang, the first half of your idea should be correct and coincide with his views, but the second half... He intuitively felt that it was a huge misunderstanding.
According to King Xiang's usual behavior, he was already satisfied with allowing Chu to own the largest territory in the world, and he should have never planned to unify the world.
If he really had this ambition, let alone dividing the land in this way, he would not have needed to divide the land and enfeoff kings from the very beginning.
My dear brother, what you said is correct, but Xiang Yu made such an arrangement probably simply for the purpose of checks and balances.
But Xiang Yu overlooked that, when the lord is weak and the minister is strong, it is like a rabbit and a tiger in the same cage. There is a huge difference in strength between them. The former will surely be eaten by the latter. How can there be any concept of mutual consumption
But seeing my brother so happy...
Han Xin, who still remembered clearly that Lu Bu had fainted from anger at the number "four years" a few days ago, sighed secretly and could not bear to expose it.
I could only pretend to be confused and pretend that I had never guessed it.
Lu Bu had no idea that this cheap brother chose not to say anything in order to save his own mood, and indirectly cheated him badly.
He praised the foolish queen for a few words, then quickly changed the subject and discussed with Han Xin what to do with the 50,000 soldiers and horses that were about to be obtained.
Lu Bu took the lead and said, "On the day of the military parade, I will only take 5,000 elite cavalry, and the remaining 45,000 will be handed over to Brother Han."
"Brother! How can this be done?"
Han Xin was shocked and speechless at first. When he saw that Lu Bu was really going to do so, he quickly stood up and hastily refused.
However, Lu Bu grabbed his hand and pulled him down carelessly. He also held down Han Xin's shoulder as he was trying to get up, and said seriously, "Brother Han, don't be too modest. I made a bold statement in front of the king, but it was not empty talk. I am sure that Brother Han has great talent. The world is in turmoil, and there is no shortage of opportunities. We also have a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Brother Han. What we lack is some soldiers to show our skills."
Han Xin's heart beat faster and he hesitated, "It's just..."
Lu Bu decisively stopped him from talking and said firmly: "To be honest, Brother Han, the more the better for you, but I think too many people will cause trouble, so I prefer to have fewer people than fewer! Besides, with a wise general like you who can command troops like a god in the rear, I can charge forward without distraction and don't need to worry about anything else!"
What a joke! If he was really asked to stay in the center of the army and be held back by those tens of thousands of people, how long would it take to catch Liu the thief who ran faster than a mouse
After some careful calculations, Lu Bu felt that this arrangement was perfect.
Most of the troops in the capital of the Former Qin Dynasty were cavalry. If he selected 5,000 elite soldiers from them and trained them carefully, he could create a strong cavalry that could come and go without a trace, and could definitely outrun Liu Bang's bastard and cut people into pieces.
He really couldn't trust the other stupid generals under Xiang Yu!
The brave and powerful Ying Bu and the experienced warrior Zhongli Mei were all slow in doing things and ran away right under Liu Bang's nose.
Damn it, I have to do it myself.
Lu Bu cursed inwardly. Even though he was not happy to do such hard work, he had to admit that being the vanguard and charging into battle did not require any thinking and was also the most convenient way to find Liu Bang.
And if Han Xin is in charge at the rear, he can help at the critical moment... It will save him countless worries!
The more Lu Bu thought about it, the more beautiful it became.
Anyway, he didn't care about the military merit, so he just gave it to Han Xin. He just had to wait until he could get through these few years and chop off Liu Haozi's head, and then he could quit and run away.
When the time comes, I can compensate the foolish King of Western Chu with a trained military fairy, and it won't be a waste of the other party's precious jade lion.
Han Xin had no idea of Lu Bu's evil plans.
Faced with this opportunity that he had always dreamed of, which was readily given to him by his younger brother, his eyes unconsciously became slightly hot.
Putting himself in his shoes, if he were in his brother's shoes, even though he admired and respected the other person, he would not be willing to ask for this.
He was confident that he was very talented, but after all he was just a nobody, and his suggestions were never adopted by Xiang Yu.
But my dear brother is willing to believe him.
Not only are we willing to trust him, but we are also willing to selflessly give up power and let him do what he wants.
He closed his eyes, not daring to say more, lest his choked voice be exposed. He accepted the trust in a deep voice, "Okay. Even if I die, I will never fail you, my dear brother."
Lu Bu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and patted Han Xin's shoulders with satisfaction.
As a result, he got excited and failed to control his strength well, and accidentally used 80% of his strength, knocking the unsuspecting Brother Han to the ground on the spot.
Han Xin: “…”
I was so moved that my heart was instantly overwhelmed by the feeling of being in tears and laughter.
Han Xin got up from the ground with a helpless look on his face. Lu Bu diligently helped him brush off the non-existent dust on his body, as if nothing had happened: "This is what a good brother should say!"
After getting Han Xin's agreement, Lu Bu knew the principle of striking while the iron was hot. In order to prevent the other party from regretting his decision, his next step was to decisively suggest raising the tent to review the troops as soon as possible.
He could select the 5,000 elite soldiers he needed and train them personally, and Han Xin could also formulate military laws and teach the soldiers how to arrange their battle formations in preparation for the upcoming war.
Han Xin had already personally agreed to take over the responsibility, so he would not hesitate on the details. Hearing this, he agreed deeply and said, "My dear brother, what you said is very true. The soldiers of the Lieutenant Army of the Former Qin Dynasty changed their masters several times. They either lost their fighting spirit or had grudges in their hearts. They followed the new master only to save their lives. If they are not trained, they will not be brave or skilled. I am afraid they will surrender at the sight of the enemy. How can they obey the order and fight to the death?"
Lu Bu and Han Xin hit it off on the issue of training troops as quickly as possible.
So two days later, Lu Bu and Han Xin, wearing the robes of general and lieutenant general respectively, holding the official seals, and bringing more than a hundred elite soldiers specially assigned by Xiang Yu, rushed to the camp of the former lieutenant's army outside the city to go up to the platform and give a speech.
It was just past noon in early autumn, and the sun was scorching in the sky. When the soldiers heard that the general had arrived, they still looked listless and uninterested. Only because they were afraid of the strict military orders, they followed the drum beats and, led by low-ranking generals, gathered in an orderly manner on the high platform.
Lu Bu and Han Xin, who were standing on a high place, saw that although their spirits were generally low, their drums and shengs were in tune, their ranks were not in disorder, their steps were steady, and they were tall and strong. They could not help but look at each other and nodded slightly.
After all, they are the elite troops of the once invincible Qin. Even though they have lost their lords many times and their morale has been greatly reduced, they are fundamentally no match for the roving soldiers.
In the eyes of the officers and soldiers, the new General Lu and Deputy General Han looked young, much younger than most of them, so they could not help but look down on them.
But if you look more carefully, you will see that Lu Bu, who is standing in the front and wearing the general's uniform, is not only much more majestic and powerful than an ordinary person, with vigorous and handsome eyebrows, but also has a heroic spirit. What makes people feel a chill is the self-evident murderous aura.
They were stationed in the capital area, and although their military supplies did not move to many places like the northern and central routes, they had also experienced many battles and were by no means weaklings who could be easily fooled.
But how come they know nothing about when this General Lu became famous
Everyone was in confusion and confusion, but Lu Bu had already ordered people to hang a large flag on the side of the stage.
The flags fluttered in the wind, and he and Han Xin, one in front and one behind, wearing iron armor, shone brightly against the scorching sun, looking even more imposing.
The two men walked to the front of the stage and stood facing north indifferently.
As soon as they stood still, the musicians arranged by Han Xin in advance understood what he meant and started playing passionate military music, beating drums. For a moment, the drums sounded like thunder, deafening.
The incident happened suddenly, and the soldiers, who looked rather careless, were all startled by the scene.
Even so, their formation remained intact, only their expressions changed slightly.
Lu Bu felt even more satisfied, so he waved his hand casually, and the passionate music gradually turned melodious.
Lu Bu coughed lightly and cleared his throat. He no longer needed King Xiang to order his soldiers to read out his identity. He suddenly straightened his expression and shouted in a deep voice: "All the generals, listen to my orders!"
As soon as the words fell, the soldiers, who had just looked absent-minded and confused, instinctively stood still and listened carefully to the military orders - this was obedience engraved in their bones.
Lu Bu is most annoyed by long-winded and empty nonsense, especially when the target is a stupid soldier who can barely read
He introduced himself briefly, pushed Han Xin a step forward, and raised his voice a little, his words loud and clear: "Except for the 5,000 troops, the rest are led by General Han. General Han should live up to my expectations, sympathize with the soldiers, obey the military orders and the king's orders, deploy troops and battle formations, attack the strong and defeat the enemy. Anyone who dares to disrespect General Han and openly disobey his orders will be punished by military law and will not be tolerated!"
Han Xin's heart was burning with anger. He calmly faced the shocked gazes of the crowd, bowed and saluted, saying, "I will obey your orders! I will do my best to live up to the general's trust!"
"good!"
Lu Bu nodded readily and quickly removed the black cloth on the low table beside him.
When the black cloth fell to the ground, revealing the true appearance of the object underneath, all the soldiers widened their eyes in disbelief!
As the sun was shining brightly, the thing on the table that made everyone stare in amazement was none other than the gold and pearls that Xiang Yu had given to Lu Bu a while ago!
When he made this decision, he did not discuss it with Han Xin beforehand, so Han Xin was shocked and unbelievable at this time.
Lu Bu knew very well that in order to make soldiers fight for their lives willingly, in addition to severely punishing those who disobeyed orders, he must also reward those who obeyed orders generously.
In his previous life in the Luoyang Palace, he had seen countless national treasures and worldly rarities. As the adopted son of Dong the thief who depended on his life, although he was treated with contempt by the other party, he also possessed countless treasures.
Therefore, the gold and pearls given by Xiang Yu were not as pleasing to him as cutting off one of Liu Bang's legs, so naturally he was not reluctant to give them up.
With the intention of getting his soldiers to follow him and kill Liu Bang as soon as possible, Lü Bu spent a huge amount of money to take out all the treasures Xiang Yu had given him. He shouted to the soldiers who were staring at the dazzling treasures, "Did you see it all?"
It was very quiet.
Not knowing the new commander's intentions and temper, no one dared to speak casually and could only swallow their saliva involuntarily.
"You are all rough people, I won't use those nice words to fool you." Lu Bu didn't even bother to look at the pile of gold, and smiled proudly: "Just remember, listen to me and charge when you should, retreat when you should, and don't grab when you are not allowed to... You will definitely get your share of these things."