Chapter 121 Curiosity Leads to Insomnia 33
Zhu Qing'ai wanted to say that this was simply speaking to people in a human language and to spirits in a spirit language, being too adaptable.
However, it must be admitted that Liu Bang's words made a lot of sense. It was quite surprising to hear such reasonable rather than fallacious arguments coming from his mouth.
In Liu Bang's eyes, Qin's expression did not change. She only frowned and said, "Just say what you want to say."
"You are truly a prophet. Actually, I just wanted to ask where would be the best place to attack next, and if you could tell me whether the next move will be auspicious or inauspicious..." Liu Bang stopped speaking midway.
Obediently kneeling in place (jpg)
Qin was speechless; it turned out Liu Bang was asking her about metaphysics.
Superstition is unacceptable, so Qin gave him the answer: "Believe in science, not in fate, and you can change your fate."
Feeling pleased with herself for once again being the riddle master, Zhu Qing'ai added a few more words: "Xiang, there will be retribution."
Liu Bang immediately perked up. This news was very important. He could roughly guess that Ling had a vague premonition about the future. This was the second time that Ling had made such an accurate prediction about someone.
The first prophecy said he was Qin Er Shi (the Second Emperor of Qin), but this has been proven false. However, the benefits he received were real, so he no longer cared much about it.
The second time is now, but this sounds like a curse born of anger, and it doesn't specify who in the Xiang family it refers to.
Liu Bang stroked his chin. He probably couldn't directly eliminate someone, otherwise, how could the person on that grudge list still be alive?
Therefore, what He just said—that he would die if Chu Ling were there—was a lie; He was just trying to scare him.
If he were to die on the spot because of this, perhaps only King Huai of Chu or Xiang Liang would be able to see his spirit.
Perhaps it was because 'Qin' deliberately controlled the Chu Ling he had eaten, keeping her barely alive in his stomach, that no new Chu Ling was born!
Liu Bang once again marveled at Qin's ingenious methods, marveling at how they were the only ones among the seven kingdoms to survive.
After waiting for a long time, Qin's figure began to fade, and she showed no intention of continuing. Liu Bang grew anxious and forced a question in his voice: "What is this retribution?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin's figure vanished completely, leaving him without an answer.
That night, Liu Bang couldn't sleep, desperately wanting to know what the retribution would be.
During the day, I unconsciously pay attention to all the Xiang family members around me, especially those related to Xiang Yu.
Because of the momentous matter of supporting King Huai of Chu, almost all the generals were summoned back. The training ground was bustling with activity, and Liu Bang was observing the crowd there.
Most of the people on the field were practicing martial arts on their own, and there weren't many sparring matches. This was probably because the people who came to seek refuge were diverse and they weren't very familiar with each other.
Liu Bang felt that it was unlikely that Xiang Yu would die because of retribution. If it were him directly, he would have said so at the time. Giving a vague single word made it seem like someone else was the unlucky one.
Xiang Yu, with his keen senses, quickly noticed Liu Bang's subtle observation of him.
He noticed and walked straight over: "Why are you looking at me?"
Liu Bang was surprised that his subtle observation had been discovered, and immediately said frankly, "I admire your bravery, General, and I couldn't help but glance at you a few more times..."
Regardless of the perspective, it's always good to say nice things. They're colleagues, so he wouldn't do anything to him, would he?
Xiang Yu thought this seemingly ordinary person spoke quite pleasantly, so he nodded: "If you want to see, look openly and honestly, there's no need to sneak around."
After saying that, he continued practicing martial arts.
Liu Bang stroked his chin. After getting up close, he realized that this person was no ordinary person. It was as if a fierce tiger was standing in front of him, making him feel fear.
After spending some time in the training ground, Liu Bang left; he had no intention of participating.
I heard that a martial arts competition later took place in the training ground, and basically everyone else was just there to make Xiang Yu look good. He felt that his decision was absolutely correct, and he was glad that he had slipped away beforehand.
In the afternoon, an order came that in order to support King Huai of Chu, it was impossible for everyone to stay here forever. After receiving the order, Liu Bang found that after the division of troops, Xiang Liang led a part of the army north to rescue Qi and Wei, while he himself was ordered to fight against Zhang Han's chariot and cavalry troops.
Liu Bang had no intention of slacking off in the battle; he honestly led Cao Can, Zhou Bo, and others to Mengyi and other places.
While fighting the Qin army, he also kept an eye on Xiang Liang's situation, wondering if Xiang Liang was the one who was going to suffer.
However, after he pacified the Wei cities occupied by a large number of Qin troops, no bad news came from Xiang Liang's side.
Instead, another order came: Xiang Liang ordered him and Xiang Yu to lead troops to attack Chengyang.
When Liu Bang first cooperated with Xiang Yu, he was still curious to see what kind of person Xiang Yu was and also wanted to see who could be ranked third on the list of people hated by Qin, second only to Zhao Gao and Huhai. Therefore, he did not go all out when fighting.
Because of his personality, Xiang Yu never suspected that Liu Bang was just going through the motions. He simply scoffed inwardly, thinking that Liu Bang was all talk and no action.
Liu Bang was enjoying his leisurely stroll, but he was also alarmed by Xiang Yu's strength and had to admit that this man was indeed a skilled and incredibly brave warrior.
After dragging things out for a few days, Liu Bang dared not continue. To keep dragging things out would be going too far. Although he was doing it subtly and avoiding mistakes in his battles, dragging it out would not benefit him. Liu Bang still hoped to capture Chengyang as soon as possible.
Despite Liu Bang's best efforts, it still took them quite a while to capture Chengyang.
However, Liu Bang's smile soon faded.
"Wait, what did you say?"
"The reason we can't take the city after such a long siege is because of those people inside. I said we should kill them. What's your opinion, Liu Bang?"
Liu Bang: No, huh?
To be honest, he was partly to blame for not going all out in the first two days. He didn't feel guilty, but he had to stop the other side from massacring the city for the sake of his own interests!
After all, 'Qin' was already standing beside him, coldly watching Xiang Yu!
“This… isn’t quite right… it’s too cruel, and this place used to be…” This isn’t Qin territory, but after thinking about it, Liu Bang felt that this reason might not convince the other party, so he quickly changed it to, “The Minister of Rites said: Yao was buried in Chengyang, it’s really not good to do this kind of thing in front of his tomb.”
Enraged by the casualties and losses, Xiang Yu refused to listen to Liu Bang's advice. So what if the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were buried here? Even if gods were buried here, who would dare to stop him when he ordered the killing of everyone in the city?
There was one right in front of him. Thinking this, Xiang Yu's gaze toward Liu Bang grew even more sinister: "Do you intend to betray the King of Chu?"
Liu Bang: ?
What does this have to do with betraying the King of Chu? But he also knew that he couldn't persuade him otherwise. The Chu army would definitely listen to the Xiang family more. He was nothing but an outsider.
All Liu Bang could do was manage his men and prevent them from joining Xiang Yu's forces in burning, killing, and looting the city.
Liu Bang sighed and said nothing more, which Xiang Yu interpreted as tacit agreement. He snorted coldly and led his men away.
In reality, Liu Bang secretly glanced in the direction of 'Qin'. Ancestor! He tried his best, but he was forced to shut down; there was no saving him!
Zhu Qing'ai, who was disguised as Qin, was actually quite conflicted. As everyone knows, her system was legitimate and didn't even sell weapons in the store.
The system rules also clearly state that the system cannot kill people to prevent being ejected from the world. In the previous world, she was able to make an example of someone because she was already half of the "Qin" at that time. She made an example of someone in the identity of "Qin". But in this world...
Sorry, she is not the 'Qin' of this world, and the 'Han' has not yet been born. If you really want to attack her, you can only do so as System 99.
But watching the city being slaughtered and doing nothing really made her feel terrible.
So in Liu Bang's eyes, Xiang Yu had just taken a step when he suddenly clutched his head and cried out in pain.
Liu Bang knew that intervening with spirits was difficult now; even changing fate could only be done by calculating the infinite possibilities of the future. This opportunity was rare, so he still fearlessly spoke up to persuade him: "You see, Emperor Yao really disagrees..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiang Yu roared, "Shut up!"
As if his ferocity had been provoked, the pain did not make him abandon his previous decision, but only made him threaten Liu Bang: "If you say another word, I will kill you too."
Reason told Liu Bang that Xiang Yu wouldn't do that, but his inner self told him that this man really dared to do it.
He muted his microphone again; there was really no other way, he had tried his best once more.
So, Qin, did you see that? He's the better one; all those people outside are wicked.
Zhu Qing'ai did not kill him; she dared not. But even so, she received a warning from the main system.
A short message was enough to dissuade her from taking action again. Was it an automatic pop-up or an automatic reply, or had the main system noticed her?
The system rules do not explicitly prohibit altering history, but they do stipulate that the system can only exert physical influence on the world through the host, as if it is circumventing something.
The only person nearby who could barely be considered a half-host was Liu Bang. Coincidentally, Liu Bang had just tried to persuade him three times without success and had been forced to mute himself, no longer daring to speak.
Liu Bang acted directly, while she had access to historical records. Xiang Yu dared to kill even his superiors, let alone a mere colleague. Liu Bang's decision to give up was the right one.
She used to comfort herself by saying that people always die in wars, and besides, during the Warring States period of the last world, no one thought about massacring entire cities. The people she killed the most were aliens.
This was the first time I had ever seen a group of people rush into a city and kill unarmed civilians. Even though the city was engulfed in flames, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Liu Bang opened his mouth, but ultimately dared not offer any words of comfort to 'Qin' in front of so many people. He only instructed his men to inform all his subordinates that none of them were allowed to enter the city.
"Rebel army? Heh..."
Qin sneered: "Righteousness? You dare to ask?"
"It's dirty..."
Liu Bang felt a chill run down his spine. He was like this; Xiang Yu could disregard everything, but he had many more things to consider.
For example, how to appease 'Qin' later.
To be honest, he wasn't a good person either. At most, he would sigh for the people in the city, but it was impossible for him to actually risk his life.
If it weren't for Qin being here, he probably wouldn't have stood there blankly outside the city. After all, massacring cities had become a means of warfare in this era since Xiang Yu.
Nobody is a good person; perhaps only the spirit is good, not people.
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Author's Note: Historically, they were both involved, but the main blame lies with Xiang Yu, after all, he set a precedent... Before the Qin Dynasty, there was no such thing as massacring entire cities; at most, surrendered soldiers were killed. The earliest record is of Xiang Yu... He did it first. His earlier rhetoric was intimidation, but afterwards it became a tactic during the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the difference being the scope of the killings. A very bad start.
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