The batch of ancient books that Lü Bu asked for in order to curry favor with his elder brother unexpectedly solved the urgent needs of the officials of all ranks in the Chu State who were struggling with the internal affairs of Guanzhong.
The problem, which seemed very difficult due to the lack of knowledge about the number of registered households and the financial expenditure, was thus solved.
Not only Han Xin could see the importance of this batch of information at a glance, but the staff of the Chu camp also regarded it as a treasure and knew it was indispensable.
Compared with the civil officials who were overjoyed and praised General Lu for his wisdom and strategy, Xiang Yu had a gloomy expression and did not comment.
No one could see that the King of Chu had fallen into deep thought, worrying about how to reward his beloved general Fengxian.
Fengxian was devoted to Chu. He did not want the throne, the fertile land, or any rewards. He even went to the remote and poor area of Bashu.
Any monarch who has a little sympathy for loyalty and integrity would definitely stop it.
Xiang Yu had a stern face and deep eyes, but he didn't know what to do.
He originally wanted to prevent Fengxian from being unwilling to give up and bringing up the old matter again in the future, so he granted him the generous reward of allowing him to enter the treasury in person to receive the reward.
However, Fengxian was honest and incorruptible. He did not even look at the gold, silver and jewelry. He just took away the old book that no one wanted. He also found out the important secrets of the Former Qin Dynasty that the traitor named Liu had deliberately hidden in it.
The reward has not been given yet, but he has made another great achievement. How should I reward him now
While Xiang Yu was still worrying about how to compensate and reward his beloved general, something strange happened outside the Great Wall.
—When the three powers united to rebel against Chu, the former Chu general, now King of Jiujiang, Ying Bu, who had always turned a blind eye to the Overlord's edict, and his father-in-law, King of Hengshan, Wu Rui, suddenly launched an attack on Chu.
Jiujiang and Hengshan were originally adjacent to the Chu territory, and the Chu people mostly regarded these two countries as allies, so the cities were not defended at all.
As a result, the two of them launched an attack suddenly and defeated the Chu army without any defense. They were so unstoppable that they captured eight cities in one night.
Ying Bu knew that he had once been a general under the King of Chu. If he betrayed his former master so openly without a suitable excuse, he would surely give people a chance to criticize him.
Therefore, he decided to take the initiative. Before sending troops, he prepared a book of charges on silk, which listed Xiang Yu's eight major crimes, true or false. Every time he captured a city, he would summon the local elders and read the manifesto aloud in public.
The nine major crimes listed in the letter were: Xiang Yu disobeyed the order of the former King of Chu Xiong Xin and beheaded the noble champion Song Yi; then he brutally killed 200,000 Qin soldiers in Xin'an; then he led the armies of the princes to enter the pass and despised his former master; he was greedy for power and as a minister, he ordered people to assassinate the monarch, took power alone, and put the blame on the innocent Han King Liu Bang; he seized the former Qin capital Xianyang as the new capital, plundered treasures and beauties, and took all the data for himself; he divided the fiefdoms unevenly, moved the monarch of the old country to a poor place, and let his ministers occupy fertile land, in order to incite disputes; he took advantage of the rebellion of Tian Rong of Qi to occupy the land of the three Qis; he took advantage of Zang Tu's regicide to occupy the two countries of Yan and Liaodong; he took advantage of the danger to force Zhang Er, the King of Changshan, to give up the throne, and took Changshan...
In the eyes of the princes, it is obvious that even if the first six items are added together, they are not as powerful as any one of the last three items.
Ying Bu read this manifesto with the intention of destroying Xiang Yu's reputation, but he overlooked one thing.
If he issued such a document in the Guanzhong region where the people's hearts were still unstable, the elders of the Former Qin Dynasty who were still resentful of the massacre of surrendered soldiers in Xin'an would surely respond.
However, the people he was listing Xiang Yu's crimes against were the most loyal people of Chu.
Because of their carelessness at that moment, they trusted the old general of the Chu army, which led to the capture of their city and looting, which made the people of Chu feel angry.
Now they heard that this traitor was still so proud of himself, throwing dirty water on the king they revered to confess his crimes. How could they be willing to listen to his crazy words? They only became more contemptuous and angry!
Ying Bu had listened to the advice of his advisers and copied them accordingly. However, instead of influencing public opinion, he aroused public outrage. The people of Chu were all fiery and cursed Ying Bu without caring about their own lives.
He could barely bear it at first, but when he reached the eighth city and it was still the same, he, with his violent temper and bloodlust, could no longer hold back his anger. He flew into a rage on the spot and ordered his soldiers to massacre all the elders in the city as a warning to others!
By the time Xiang Yu, who was stationed in the new capital of Guanzhong, received this military report, half of the old territory of Chu had fallen into the hands of Ying Bu and Wu Rui who launched a sudden attack. Five cities were even massacred by Ying Bu because of their fierce resistance.
Xiang Yu was not good at speaking, and although he felt angry when he heard the content of the manifesto, he held it back.
When he learned that his former general was not only ungrateful and rebelled without reason, but was also so despicable and cold-blooded that he brutally slaughtered all his beloved subjects...
Xiang Yu's chest was filled with anger, his thin lips were tightly pursed, and his pupils seemed to be spewing fire.
He clenched his fists, veins popped out on the back of his hands, and they made crackling sounds.
Not only Overlord Xiang Yu, but all the officials of Chu State were shocked and furious when they heard this.
As for Ying Bu, who not only betrayed his master without reason but also slandered him and was worse than a beast, he hated it so much that he could drink his blood, eat his flesh and sleep on his skin!
Previously, Tian Rong and his allied forces rebelled against Chu, but they were actually creating chaos within the country. How could they be so arrogant as to attack Chu’s territory and even massacre the people of Chu!
Such behavior is more than just a blatant provocation. It is like wantonly trampling on the power of the Overlord!
If I don't eliminate the rebellion in Mount Li and avenge the elders of my hometown, I will be unworthy of being a man!
The Chu army was united in hatred of the enemy and was filled with rage. They could not endure for a moment longer and were ready to march out immediately to relieve the danger in Eastern Chu and suppress the rebellion of Ying Bu and Wu Rui.
Faced with the angry ministers, Xiang Yu took a deep breath, sneered, and forced himself to restrain himself.
He summoned all the generals and explained the situation. Before they could start to curse Ying Bu and Wu Rui in indignation, he gave a low and cold order: "Zhou Yin will take over the affairs of Xianyang. Zhang Han will be in charge of the imperial guards and will remain in the city. Fengxian will lead the Guanzhong army and stay there to respond to changes. The rest of the generals will follow me and lead 50,000 men to set out tonight, return to Dongchu, and defeat the rebels!"
The generals were already eager for revenge and filled with anger, so when the king ordered to send troops overnight, they responded loudly.
There were 250,000 troops stationed in Xianyang. Although Xiang Yu was extremely angry, he did not lose his mind. He selected elite soldiers and horses and only prepared to take away the 50,000 most mobile ones. He also left 150,000 defenders and Lu Bu's 50,000 Guanzhong troops to guard Xianyang, which should be more than enough.
As for the battlefield in the east, there are Zhao County under the rule of Zhongli Mei, Qi County under the rule of Long Ju, Yan County temporarily led by Li Zuoche, and Linjiang King Gong Ao. With the support of the coalition forces from four directions, Ying Bu and Wu Rui will inevitably be defeated under the siege.
But the incident happened so suddenly, and the outcome seemed so clear, that Fan Zeng, who had remained silent the entire time, keenly sensed that something was wrong.
According to his intuition, this matter was definitely not masterminded by Ying Bu and Wu Rui, but by someone else.
The Chu State had a powerful army that was invincible. Ying Bu, who had once been a general of the Chu State, must have been well aware of how powerful it was.
Even if they joined forces with his father-in-law Wu Rui, they could only gather 150,000 soldiers at most. How could they be a match for the powerful Chu army led by the Overlord himself
Although Ying Bu was by no means a wise man, he was good at judging the situation and was by no means a fool who blindly tried to fight against a rock with an egg. How could he be the first to stand out for no reason, provoke the Overlord's wrath, and fight a battle that he had no chance of winning
The more Fan Zeng thought about it, the more he felt that there was something fishy about the matter, and his vision was hazy and unclear.
However, he subconsciously believed that although Ying Bu's move seemed reckless, there must be some hidden trick behind it.
He wanted to persuade them, but he knew there was no clear evidence. How could he stop these angry lions with just one person's guess
Fortunately, the king did not lose all his mind. When he deployed the generals, he did not forget to leave Fengxian behind.
With Fengxian here, he is worth thousands of troops. Even if there are villains who want to take advantage of the situation to cause chaos, they have to be wary of his power.
Fan Zeng sighed secretly, and after comforting himself in this way, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to Lu Bu, who had also been silent.
But Lu Bu's eyes were solemn and his expression was unpredictable, sometimes frowning, sometimes calm.
Although Lu Bu could not empathize with the massacre of the Chu people and was as furious as the other generals, he was extremely happy to see the incompetent Ying Bu and his father-in-law rebel.
Lu Bu kept a tense face, but he was very happy in his heart. He thought to himself what a mediocre man he was, incapable of accomplishing anything and betraying others so early!
If Ying Bu and Wu Rui had not rebelled, there would have been no excuse for attacking, and Jiujiang and Hengshan would have been doomed to be lost.
The Central Plains had not yet been unified, so how could Xiang Hanzi care about the tiny pieces of land in the remote corners of Bashu
Now you are really sleepy and someone gives you a pillow, but you are looking for death!
Lu Bu never expected that he was rubbing his hands together and eager to try, thinking of taking the opportunity to compete with the rag who had prevented him from realizing his revenge and delayed his plan until here, but the next moment he made this foolish king change his mind and stay here.
He frowned and was about to raise an objection, but suddenly an idea flashed in his mind, and he decisively shut up and chose to obey.
—Damn it, it’s true that bad company breeds badness. After hanging out with this idiot for so long, I’ve accidentally become infected with his idiotic nature!
Lu Bu was still frightened.
The group of Chu troops in front of him, whose lair had been attacked, rushed back in a hurry to rescue the people of the old capital and suppress the rebels, but they had nothing to do with Lu Fengxian who came hundreds of years later!
The only thing he had in mind was Liu Haozi's head.
Seeing the chaos outside, it is possible that Liu Haozi, who is still determined to steal, will not be able to hold back and will take advantage of the situation to fish in troubled waters and sneak out of his rat hole to stir up trouble.
He was guarding Xianyang and received an "improvisational" military order, which was exactly what he wanted.
Xianyang is on the only way for the Han army to go out of the pass. He leads the soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp, which can block Hanzhong if they advance or Guanzhong if they retreat. It is indeed a good job that is closely related to what he wants!
It was a rare opportunity that Xiang Hanzi hit upon the mark by accident and gained enlightenment, and was given a good job.
But he almost ruined it because of his quick words. It was really a close call.
Lu Bu's eyes rolled around a few times, trying to figure out what was going on. He was no longer angry but happy.
He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he inadvertently overlooked the deep look that Xiang Yu suddenly gave him, which was filled with confusion.
After the discussion was over, the main generals dispersed and returned to their camps to select elite soldiers and make preparations for tonight's expedition. However, Xiang Yu left Lu Bu alone.
Why leave him alone
Lu Bu was full of suspicion and stared at the foolish king with vigilance as he kept coming up with bad ideas.
Xiang Yu, however, was preoccupied with his thoughts and did not notice his impudent gaze. Instead, after pondering for a long time, he suddenly took off the sword Long Yuan from his waist and handed it to the confused Lu Bu.
Lü Bu was very surprised to get the Overlord's sword for no reason.
Without waiting for him to ask, Xiang Yu, with an indifferent look on his face, finally made up his mind.
He slightly raised his eyelids, stared at his beloved general who looked calm and composed, and solemnly instructed: "If there is chaos in the capital... Fengxian will use Longyuan as a token and take charge of the situation on my behalf, and do as I please."
Xiang Yu stared at his beloved general with wide eyes and a look of surprise. Miraculously, the hostility in his eyes gradually subsided and became gentle.
Even though Xiang Bo, Ying Bu and Wu Rui betrayed him one after another, he was still willing to believe in his ancestors.
—Also believe in Fengxian.