If this injury was sustained after a great victory, Lu Bu would not care at all and would have probably been showing off a long time ago.
Although he had the great advantage of striking first, he was subdued by the opponent's unreasonable brute force in the blink of an eye. In the end, both sides were injured and he did not gain any advantage at all.
Think of his name, Lu Fengxian. Who didn't know him in his previous life
Those who dare to fight him alone can be counted on one hand!
Those who can fight him on equal terms are rare.
There is no one who can make him admit defeat!
As a result, when he came to this place several hundred years ago, he was frustrated everywhere. His most proud martial arts were broken by a stupid and reckless man with his natural strength...
One can imagine how depressed Lu Bu was at this moment.
Although he was aware of the foolish king's scorching gaze on the back of his head, Lu Bu was too lazy to move at all.
Until I heard the slight sound of clothes rubbing against each other, and my side felt heavy, and the sound of Xiang Yu's breathing was close to my ears.
Without opening his eyes, Lu Bu could easily figure out that this strange-minded idiot had sat next to him for some reason.
Xiang Yu somehow found himself sitting down next to his beloved general who seemed listless for some unknown reason. His mind was still filled with countless emotions, but he didn't know where to start.
He was still pondering, and didn't speak for a long time. Lu Bu, who was in a bad mood, could hold back even more than him. He just lay there lifelessly, motionless, like a clay statue.
In the end, it was Xiang Yu who thought it through first. He took the initiative to break the silence in the room and promised: "If Fengxian wants to be the king of Qi, it is also possible."
If Long Ju or Zhongli Mei had heard this promise, they would have been ecstatic.
However, Lu Bu, who was in the Chu camp and had his eyes on Liu Bang, felt that the more he explained, the worse it got.
He could no longer bear it, and he turned his head with his dead eyes wide open, staring at the stern Xiang Yu with a face full of anger, and said indignantly: "Bu followed the king with all his strength, is it for some kind of reward based on merit, fiefdom or title?"
What use are the king's useless Yan and Qi lands to him
He worked himself to death, running around everywhere, all for the sake of killing his old enemy's ancestor!
Seeing Xiang Yu's bewildered look, Lu Bu's momentum became even more fierce. He sat up suddenly, not even caring about the stinging pain on his body. His eyes were almost spitting fire. He said sarcastically: "When Ying Bu served under the king, he was the bravest of the three armies and was extremely heroic. He was willing to go through fire and water for him. But since he has become king and dominated a region, can the king still touch him?"
Xiang Yu was hit in a sore spot and his face suddenly turned gloomy.
Before Fengxian, the general of the Chu army who was most valued by him was Ying Bu.
Because Ying Bu followed him in his conquests across the country, led the troops by example and made outstanding military achievements, he was never treated badly when he was divided into kingdoms.
Not only did he not fail to take into account the achievements of his father-in-law and his wife, he also included the fertile land in the south, which served as a barrier to the Chu territory, into his territory and divided it among the two of them. His trust and respect for them was obvious.
Unfortunately, only a few months after the enfeoffment, Qi, Changshan and Liang rebelled one after another. He ordered Ying Bu to send troops to attack Chen Yu, but he found an excuse that he was ill and sent a mere general with a few thousand soldiers to deal with the matter perfunctorily.
Lu Bu's mentality was half that of a rogue who had thrown in the towel, and half that of a subconscious feeling of being fearless.
After all, even though he had beaten the other party so badly last night that his dignity was greatly damaged, he was not punished and was even crowned king.
—This rough guy has a very magnanimous demeanor, apart from other things.
After keenly realizing Xiang Yu's extraordinary tolerance towards him, although Lu Bu couldn't understand the reason, he readily let go of some of his arrogant nature. How could he be scared by Xiang Yu's stinky face
He narrowed his eyes slightly, raised the corners of his lips, and revealed a full of sarcasm: "The wandering scholars in the world left their homes and hometowns, all for the sake of getting a reward. However, the king fulfilled the wishes of some people and divided the land. The world is destined to be not a problem of scarcity but inequality, which made more people leave empty-handed and frustrated. Besides, those wandering scholars all returned to their own countries to serve their respective masters. Who would still take the king seriously? Let's not talk about others. For example, Ying Bu, who had been humble for many years, was once proud and became the king of the fertile land. He was no different from the princes who watched the battle of Julu from the sidelines. He repeatedly shirked the king's orders and ignored them. How can he repay the king? He will not be willing to return to the king's command and obey his orders and shout at you!"
Xiang Yu pursed his thin lips, knitted his thick brows tightly, and said nothing.
Lu Bu was speaking happily when he suddenly noticed that Xiang Yu's face became more and more terrifying, as if he was going to draw his sword and kill someone in the next moment. He thought to himself that something was wrong.
To prevent the Overlord from getting angry and taking it out on him, Lu Bu rolled his eyes, softened his tone, and cleverly changed the subject: "It's a pity that the king was so determined to grant fiefs. He wanted to show the world that the Chu State was strong and civil, and that he didn't want to use troops to fight, but wanted to give the people a place to rest and recuperate. He was willing to grant fiefs to generals because he loved talents, was generous to his subordinates, and was willing to generously share the fertile land with them. But he was ungrateful and failed to live up to the kindness."
Lu Bu sighed heavily.
He took the opportunity to pause, quietly brewing his emotions, and then continued to narrate with great sorrow: "Rather than giving the seal to those who are shameless, disloyal and unjust, Bu would rather see an unparalleled hero like the king rule the world, so that the people can rely on him and submit to him. Before that day comes, Bu is willing to serve you loyally until death, so how could he be greedy for a mere throne?"
At this point, with the actual example of refusing to accept the fiefdom, even if Xiang Yu had a heart of stone, he could not help but be moved by the loyalty and earnest expectations of the emperor.
The anger that had just been ignited by Lu Bu's provocation of Ying Bu also slowly dissipated.
Lu Bu stopped talking and just closed his eyes to rest, thinking about how to continue to trick this fool into dominating the world.
Xiang Yu, with mixed emotions, silently watched Lu Bu, who worked hard for him and fought all over the place. It was unknown what he was thinking.
After a long silence, he suddenly stood up and walked out of the tent without looking back.
Lu Bu glanced at his back out of the corner of his eye, and only sighed dejectedly after he completely disappeared.
If I had known this would happen, I would not have thought that cheap brother Han was nagging like Gao Shun, and would have sent people to chase away Peng Yue, the bandit leader.
If Brother Han were here, he would still have someone trustworthy to discuss countermeasures with. Why would he have to work so hard and rack his brains like he does now, and feel disappointed with this stupid King of Western Chu all day long
The more Lu Bu thought about it, the more he regretted his decision.
His injuries were not serious, but he had broken some bones and muscles and needed to be well taken care of.
Anyway, the Chu army is strong, Tian Rong has already been killed, and there are brave generals Long Ju, Zhongli Mei and Xiang Yu who is good at leading by example. There is no chance for him to take the field for a while.
Lu Bu was not destined to be a hard worker. He was happy to have some free time so that he could rest his brain which had been overworked recently.
Following Xiang Yu's order, Fan Zeng could finally let go and act. In order to prevent the fickle and capricious Overlord from changing his mind again, he didn't even dare to sleep too much, just wanted to make Mu Chengzhou as soon as possible.
So while the people of Pingyang were waiting in fear, the ferocious Chu army not only did not force its way in, but only sent a smiling debater into the city. After meeting the county magistrate, the magistrate, who knew he was no match for the Chu army because of his lenient policy, immediately realized the situation and opened the city to surrender.
The army was still stationed outside the city. Only Long Ju led 3,000 Chu soldiers into the city for a patrol. He left a group of soldiers behind, but did not plunder the city at will. Instead, he helped maintain order, so that the city, which had been somewhat turbulent, became orderly from then on.
Although Xiang Yu was full of impatience, he still summoned the elders and people in the plain area under Fan Zeng's earnest persuasion and publicly announced that in addition to taking some food, he would release tens of thousands of captives and would not allow the Chu soldiers to invade and plunder the people, just to eliminate violence and maintain peace.
When the news came out, the people of Qi were dumbfounded rather than overjoyed.
It is as incredible as seeing a ferocious tiger suddenly become a vegetarian, or seeing a villain showing a kind face, and showing kindness and giving them food.
Xiang Yu said this with a stern face, looked around, and saw that the elders of Qi had dazed expressions, and he couldn't help but frown.
Everyone was horrified by the sharp and captivating gaze, and they all thanked him and left as if they were sleepwalking.
Even with Xiang Yu's words in front of them, the people of Qi were still trembling with fear and did not dare to believe it completely.
Until the Chu army stationed outside the city quickly left and continued to move towards the Jiaodong area where Tian Heng was; the remaining Chu army really did not do anything wrong, but only helped to maintain order; and in addition to the additional Chu chief, the familiar officials in the city also performed their duties as usual...
Only then did they gradually let down their guard and dared to believe that the King of Chu, who was rumored to be notorious for murder and ruthless, was actually so reasonable, generous and kind.
Xiang Yu was patient and used clumsy means to appease the people of Qi, but he did effectively stabilize the turbulent situation.
In sharp contrast to this, Tian Heng was in a dilemma where he had to impose heavy taxes and levies in order to prepare for the Chu army that might attack at any time, which caused the people to lose confidence and complain.
Tian Heng was from Tian Rong's hometown. He was usually kind and had a good reputation.
However, the reputation he had worked so hard to build up naturally seemed vulnerable under the powerful threat of the Chu cavalry.
If Xiang Yu was tyrannical and massacred cities and killed prisoners at will, the people of Qi would be forced to rebel and fight to the death, and choose to support Tian Heng to fight against Xiang Yu.
However, Xiang Yu acted contrary to his usual behavior. Not only did he not allow his soldiers to carry out a massacre to serve as a warning to others, but he also, for the first time in history, appeased the people and actively sought their surrender.
When the people of Qi learned that submitting to the Chu army would not only save their lives but also allow them to keep most of their property, how could they be willing to join Tian Heng in a desperate struggle
With Fan Zeng's deliberate propaganda, the Chu army marched eastward. Nine out of ten counties and prefectures in Qi took advantage of Xiang Yu's change to be more tolerant and surrendered, allowing them to march eastward unimpeded.
Xiang Yu had no idea that his appeasement would be so effective. Faced with all the cities that had opened their doors to surrender, he could easily send people to take over, which made him feel complicated.
He had fought in more than 30 battles since he followed his uncle in starting an uprising. In every battle, he had fought with a small number of troops against a large one, and with the weak defeating the strong. Every time, he suffered heavy casualties.
He and his subordinates were as close as brothers, and the more casualties he saw, the more furious he became.
In order to commemorate the generals, avenge his grievances, and also to intimidate the enemies and force them to be terrified and dare not to be the enemy, he began to kill the surrendered soldiers and suppress dissidents with harsh means.
Wherever he went, he saw the enemy fighting desperately. How could he have experienced the ease of the people's willingness to submit and show respect
Xiang Yu was shocked and couldn't help but think about something.
Fan Zeng was well aware that part of the credit for this success should be attributed to Tian Rong and Tian Heng.
Not to mention that Xiang Yu was notorious for massacring 200,000 surrendered soldiers in Xin'an, the fact that Chengyang stubbornly resisted the Chu army when it was still under the rule of the Former Qin Dynasty completely angered Xiang Yu, causing him to go on a killing spree in a rage, with rivers of blood flowing.
The lesson of Chengyang is clear in front of us. If there is any other way to survive, Qi Min will definitely not believe it.
However, not only were Tian Rong and Tian Heng no match for the Chu army, they also never showed favor to the people of Qi. Instead, they just kept demanding things, making the people of Qi's life miserable long beforehand.
It is difficult to survive by serving a jackal, so the only option is to serve a tiger.
The people of Qi were certainly afraid of Xiang Yu's capricious moods and his frequent changes of orders, but compared to the Tian brothers who could see their dead end at a glance, Xiang Yu, except for the battles between the two armies, did not kill a single civilian since entering Qi, and he also released tens of thousands of prisoners.
After all, there is still some hope.
The reason why they surrendered to the Chu army so readily was that they were faced with wolves in front and tigers behind, and they had no choice but to choose the easier of the two.
But seeing that the bloodthirsty Xiang Yu was obviously deeply shocked and often fell into deep thought, Fan Zeng was happy to see it happen. He was eager to help keep it secret, so how could he be so tactless as to expose it
The Chu army sang triumphant songs all the way and soon approached Jiaodong.
Tian Heng watched as people's hearts were divided, the Jiaodong city he had defended so hard became an isolated city, and the soldiers from top to bottom were in panic. He couldn't help feeling sad.
It was late autumn, and it was rainy all the time. On this day, Tian Heng was looking into the distance from the top of the city wall, and suddenly he saw a mass of cavalry approaching from afar, with several general flags hoisted in the middle, with white characters on a black background, and a huge "Xiang" character that was shocking.
It was Xiang Yu himself who came!
Tian Heng knew that the situation was hopeless and that he was no match for the Chu army with only the few thousand soldiers under his command.
He sighed deeply, then resolutely drew his sword and committed suicide.
At this point, the Sanqi Rebellion was completely put down.
Whether it was the three kings of Qi appointed by Xiang Yu, or Tian Rong and Tian Heng who instigated the rebellion, they all died.
Xiang Yu silently looked at the governor of Jiaodong County who presented Tian Heng's head and begged for surrender tremblingly for a while. After he sternly said "bury him properly", he left behind only a thousand Chu soldiers and one Chu official, just like he did when he visited the surrendered cities along the way.
Now that Qi had been conquered, the next target of the Chu army's attacks was Changshan.
This powerful Chu army was advancing towards the northwest with great confidence, but no one knew that shortly after they left, a rumor that was so detailed and accurate spread in Qi that many people believed it.
It is said that the reason why the bloodthirsty General Xiang, contrary to his usual behavior, comforted the people with benevolence and righteousness was because a loyal and compassionate General Lu died in a military remonstrance, taking the blame for the people of Qi...