With just two or three casual words, Lu Bu put Zhang Er, the King of Changshan, on the tip of a knife, and the messenger was frightened so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
When Zhang Er sent him here, he only repeatedly urged him to persuade King Xiang to send troops to help as soon as possible, and he did not mention the matter of "reward" at all.
After all, in Zhang Er's view, the title of King of Changshan was conferred by Xiang Yu himself. Now someone sent troops to attack, which was tantamount to not obeying Xiang Yu's prestige. Then the Chu State, which was controlled by Xiang Yu, must be his ally and would send troops to help him. Why was he asking for compensation
Zhang Er once regarded this as a natural rescue, and it was also tacitly accepted by the Chu army.
But what Lu Bu said was indeed extremely inappropriate.
After thinking for a while, Xiang Yu really felt that the statement that "Zhang Er treated him as a subordinate and ordered him around at will" was quite credible.
If not, how could Zhang Er take it for granted that he should send troops to help
Xiang Yu frowned, and although he said nothing, there was murderous intent in his eyes.
The fierce and ferocious Chu generals also glared at the messenger unkindly.
The envoy's legs were already shaking, but he pretended to be calm and said, "General, you are joking. Your Majesty is definitely not a stingy person. If the Overlord is willing to recruit Chu's troops, Your Majesty will definitely reward you handsomely one day..."
Lu Bu raised his eyebrows with interest, looked at him meaningfully, and after a while he said "Oh".
Before the messenger could open his mouth to argue again, Xiang Yu had lost his patience.
He turned his head slightly and gave a slight signal with his eyes. The doctor who was serving on the side understood and came forward, and in a polite but firm manner, "invited" the envoy to leave.
Although the messenger did not achieve the purpose of asking for help and was unwilling to leave, after being frightened just now, how could he dare to ask for a reply in person
He could only worry about Zhang Er who was still fighting hard, and think about how to deal with this unexpected situation.
As soon as the messenger left, Xiang Yu looked at Lu Bu without hesitation and asked, "What do you think, Fengxian?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the field had a subtle look on their faces.
They didn't know whether they should be surprised that the always stubborn King Xiang was willing to ask for advice right away, or whether they should be surprised that the first person to be asked was not the strategist Fan Zeng who was respected as the King's father, but Lu Bu.
Zhongli Mei blinked and his gaze fell secretly on Lu Bu.
At that time, he was in the Central Plains. It was not until some time later that he vaguely heard about Wu Jian's incident that night from the soldiers in the camp.
In his heart, those who knew Lu Bu were all extraordinary. In the past, there was Ying Bu, who was always the champion, and later there came Lu Bu. Both of them possessed superb martial arts and won the favor of the Overlord.
But what was far superior to Ying Bu, who turned against the Overlord too quickly and incurred his dissatisfaction, was that Lu Bu was not only very secretive, but also, although he had just arrived, he had figured out the king's temper, which no one in the entire army could fathom.
He must have understood the Overlord's temperament and was confident in his own martial arts, otherwise who in this world would dare to do such a... act of martial remonstrance that would be tantamount to seeking death
Zhongli Mei, who was secretly observing Lu Bu, suddenly noticed the other party's suspicious gaze and quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.
Long Qie's thoughts were much more straightforward.
As early as when Xiang Yu started his army in Jiangdong, he had already joined his army and was loyal to him, obeying his orders and showing the utmost respect for him.
Having experienced countless battles, he had seen the Lord leading the troops, covered in blood but still fearless and brave, killing many enemies...
However, I have never seen a spectacle where the Lord was beaten black and blue, but the culprit was still alive and kicking, or even got promoted.
Damn it!
That was the peerless overlord who could massacre a city and kill people without hesitation! He just beat him up!
Just imagining the scene at that time made Long Qie shudder.
He originally had an ordinary impression of Lu Bu, and even because there was no one better in martial arts, he was quite dissatisfied with his rapid promotion, and was thinking of finding a fight with him someday.
After this incident, he completely gave up the idea and began to respect it.
It’s incredible, incomparable.
He was quite self-aware: he was only capable of being pinned to the ground and beaten black and blue by the Overlord, how could he be a match for this godly general who had beaten the Overlord black and blue
Only Fan Zeng remained calm, showing no displeasure at being ignored. He also looked at Lu Bu with an encouraging smile on his face.
Why ask him
Lu Bu frowned, looking serious.
—He had long forgotten his previous self-proclaimed title of "wise man", and only cursed inwardly the foolish king for having nothing better to do and blindly seeking advice from a military general like him.
What is this stupid king doing
Lu Bu's eyes turned slightly and fell on Fan Zeng who was at ease.
Old man Fan is sitting there just fine, why don't you go and ask him
Being stared at intently by several pairs of eyes, even though he prided himself on being thick-skinned, he still felt uncomfortable.
I began to regret from the bottom of my heart why I said a few more words just now just because I saw that the fool seemed to be taken advantage of by the King of Changshan again.
Anyway, it was that idiot himself who was stupid, so he asked others to be his subordinates and run around for him. It was none of his business!
but…
Lu Bu thought again and felt something was wrong.
Zhang Er is a close friend of Liu Haozi, and they may have been in cahoots with each other in private.
If this fool suffers a loss today, won't that Liu Haozi get the advantage tomorrow
—That won’t do!
Lu Bu's eyes flashed, he crossed one leg and began to think hard.
Since Xiang Yu dared to ask, why shouldn't he dare to answer
After all, there is Fan Zeng watching from the side, so even if he accidentally comes up with a bad idea, he can always talk it back.
In the eyes of all the generals, General Lu, who was asked by King Xiang first, pondered for a long time with an unfathomable look on his face, then raised his head and answered confidently: "In my opinion, Zhang Er is incompetent and cannot defend the royal city, protect the royal coast, or the people. He is no match for Chen Yu, and is obviously not worthy of the throne of Changshan. Since he did not ask for help from his former minister Shen Yang, but asked the king to send troops, I am afraid he knows his own limitations and wants to give the throne to a hero like the king! If he is willing to sign an agreement to give up the throne and send an envoy, it is not impossible to send the troops."
After hearing all these words in a roundabout way to flatter Zhang Er, Zhongli Mei and Long Qie, who had been listening with their ears perked up, opened their eyes wide.
He thought that this guy looked innocent but actually had a very dark heart, and actually distorted Zhang Er's intentions to such an extent.
Xiang Yu's eyes were deep and thoughtful.
After a moment of stunned silence, Fan Zeng's eyes suddenly lit up.
—What Fengxian said seemed like a ridiculous bunch of nonsense at first glance.
But if you think about it carefully, it is a bold strategy that is completely feasible!
Although Zhang Er, King of Changshan, and Chen Yu were once close friends, they became suspicious of each other due to the Battle of Julu, which led to Chen Yu abandoning his seal and leaving, becoming a wanderer.
Later, because Chen Yu persuaded Zhang Han to surrender with a letter, he felt that his achievements were not inferior to Zhang Er, but he was only granted the title of Marquis of a city, which made him extremely unwilling.
Fang hated Zhang Er so much that he would rather borrow troops from Qi than send troops to attack, which led to the current situation of a fight to the death.
Since it was an irreconcilable mortal feud, if Zhang Er was defeated and fell into Chen Yu's hands, he would surely die.
Even if he managed to escape by chance, Zhang Er would be filled with resentment to see his fiefdom, which he had not even sat on yet, fall into the hands of his enemies, and he would never let Chen Yu get his wish.
—If this is the case, why can't we do as Fengxian said and make Zhang Er admit that he is too weak to be king and retreat to the position of minister in exchange for the dispatch of the Chu army
Otherwise, just driving Chen Yu away for Zhang Er and stabilizing the situation for him would only be a waste of the Chu people's energy without seeing any benefit.
Thinking of this, Fan Zeng's heart began to vibrate violently.
It's rare that the king has thought it through and is no longer obsessed with defending the hegemony of the State of Chu. Instead, he intends to emulate the Former Qin Dynasty and gradually unify the world... Faced with such a great opportunity that has come to his doorstep, how can he let it go!
No one spoke, except Fan Zeng, who had a sharp gaze and a clear mind.
After figuring out the key points, he couldn't help but cast his gaze on Lu Bu, who had cleared up the clouds and revealed the moon with just a few words, making the opportunity that was almost missed appear.
—He is truly a rare talent in the world.
Xiang Yu's scattered divine light suddenly gathered and shone towards Fan Zeng, who had remained silent the whole time, and asked politely, "What do you think, father?"
As Lü Bu looked on nonchalantly, Fan Zeng, with his white hair and beard, nodded slowly and said in a deep voice: "What Fengxian said is indeed reasonable. In my opinion, this plan is indeed feasible!"
Lu Bu: “…”
Xiang Yu nodded seriously. After careful consideration, he did not think there was anything wrong. Now that even his resourceful father-in-law agreed with him, he naturally had no doubts.
This development of events was completely beyond the expectations of Zhongli Mei and Long Qie.
They all had shocked expressions as if they had seen a ghost, and they all looked at Lu Bu, who had not shown much of a feeling just now but now showed his ingenuity and wisdom, and they were awe-inspiring.
Fortunately, when they just listened to it, they thought it was so ridiculous that they couldn't help laughing.
Who would have thought that it was such a sophisticated strategy that even the curious Yafu admired it highly!
Little did people know that although Lu Bu looked indifferent and solemn, he was actually in a trance.
He looked blankly at Fan Zeng, who was talking eloquently and planning carefully.
He then glanced woodenly at Xiang Yu, who was listening to his plan with a serious face.
Damn it, you even dare to adopt this
Is it this old man Fan who is crazy, or is it this stupid king who is crazy
Lu Bu murmured to himself.
—After all, he is not crazy.
They were so poor that they had to use even his casual suggestion. Lu Bu felt a tingling sensation on his back and a rare sense of fear from the bottom of his heart.
This Chu Camp...
I’m afraid it’s really hard to recover.
There was a hint of despair in Lu Bu's tiger eyes, and he missed his cheap brother Han Xin more than ever.
Even more desperate than Lu Bu at this time was Zhang Er, who had been struggling for a long time but had not received the expected reinforcements from the State of Chu. Only a few days later, he received a trembling edict from the Overlord presented to him by an envoy.
Upon learning that Xiang Ji was holding back his troops in order to raise the price and take advantage of the situation, Zhang Er could no longer hold back. He threw the shameless imperial edict in a rage and shouted, "Xiang Ji, a bastard, actually has such a mind!"
If he had known that this pretext was intended to annex Zhao's territory, why would he have waited until now and let him take it greedily? He would have sought help from his old minister Shen Yang long ago!
However, he underestimated Xiang Ji's ambition and delayed the opportunity to seek help.
Not to mention how much Shen Yang still remembered the old friendship, how much troops he was willing to allocate, and whether he could defeat Chen Yu... The fact that his fiefdom was far away in Henan, both in Luoyang, was doomed to be like distant water that could not quench immediate thirst.
Zhang Er's expression changed from dark to bright. For a moment, he didn't know whether he was hateful because Chen Yu, who had turned against him, was more hateful, or because Xiang Ji, who took advantage of his misfortune, was more despicable.
If he had rejected Xiang Ji, abandoned everything, and fled with only a thousand or so personal soldiers, he would definitely have been able to find a way to survive.
But as a result, he was forced to leave in disgrace and had no choice but to seek refuge with his former subordinates. Not only did he lose everything, he also lost all his face.
The throne and fiefdom that were left behind all went to his enemy Chen Yu.
He now deeply hates Chen Yu, so how could he want to see him succeed
And if he had agreed to Xiang Ji's request...
Zhang Er struggled for a long time, finally gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "I offer this huge Zhao land with both hands. No matter how bad Xiang Ji is, he won't make me lose even the title of Marquis!"