Chapter 128 Pacifying Nanjun, Mission to the Qin Court 40
Li Shiqi, of course, could not perform a face-changing act for Liu Bang on the spot. He exclaimed, "Prefect Liu is well-informed and even more like a local than I am."
Liu Bang smiled but remained silent. Even locals might not know such a thing. The fact that Li Shiqi used this information as a pledge of allegiance shows that it's not something just anyone could know.
But since 'Qin' was on his side, he really managed to pull it off.
"It's just some hearsay; we need to confirm it with locals."
The information Liu Bang obtained from studying the maps was naturally accurate. Saying this was simply to give Li Shiqi a way out, or to give him an excuse to continue speaking.
He didn't believe the old man had come to him with this as the only reason. If that was really the case, he should have politely said goodbye earlier instead of stubbornly staying there.
Li Shiqi: "It is true, of course. I have lived in Gaoyang for many years. I am quite familiar with the area, if not knowledgeable about it."
“If Prefect Liu needs me, I can go to Chenliu to act as an inside agent.”
He's a local; saying you know him well is an understatement.
However, he also knew that this suggestion alone, or going to act as an inside agent, was not enough to gain anything from Liu Bang, because Liu Bang already had plans to attack Chenliu. What use would it be if he repeated it? The credit would not go to him.
Liu Bang then took it seriously. He was tempted, but he didn't absolutely need Li Shiqi, so he still didn't make any concrete moves.
This old man seems like a decent persuader; seeing him easily brings to mind the strategists of the Seven Kingdoms period.
Li Shiqi added, “When the King of Chen raised his army, my good-for-nothing younger brother also gathered a group of young men to recruit soldiers everywhere. Although they already numbered several thousand, I did not have high hopes for them.”
“I watched him grow up. No one knows him better than me. He is a talented general, but that’s about it. Of all the armies that have been through Gaoyang, only Prefect Liu makes me feel that he is worth following.”
Liu Bang automatically filtered out the flattery, summarizing it simply as follows: the gatekeeper's younger brother wanted to join him, but didn't want to bring his troops directly, as that would seem cheap.
So the older brother first tried to probe him with information, but he directly interrupted the plan.
Now that Liu Bang had gained the upper hand, he wouldn't make any promises. He simply praised Li Shiqi's younger brother in a vague manner, readily offering flattering words and pleasantries.
But upon closer examination, there was no actual promise.
He simply said, "If such a hero were to meet your brother, I would certainly recruit him into my ranks and make the best use of him."
Specific position?
Sorry, no, we'll talk about it later.
The difference between a real post and a nominal post is significant. Liu Bang made no promises; his plan was to acquire the troops first. If the man named Li Shang proved to be talented, he would employ him normally; otherwise, one couldn't blame him for being ruthless.
Li Shiqi nodded, unaware that he should have succeeded or that he could have received a title. He simply attributed it to bad luck and had little to complain about.
Without mentioning himself to Liu Bang, he got up to take his leave, thinking only that he should go back and tell his younger brother to remember to perform well, and whether he could get a real position instead of just a nominal title would depend on how many days later.
Because of the changed circumstances, it took Li Shang two days to gather his men and return to Gaoyang. It was three days later that he was able to meet Liu Bang.
At this time, Liu Bang had already discussed the plan to launch a surprise attack on Chenliu with Fan Kuai and others. Li Shang's arrival with his men to seek refuge was more of a bonus than a timely help.
However, when Liu Bang saw the more than four thousand men and a rather good-looking young man leading them, his smile became much more genuine.
He sized up Li Shang, unsure of his actual strength, but he certainly seemed quite capable on the surface.
No wonder Li Shiqi was so confident when he heard that Liu Bang wanted to meet his brother first; Liu Bang already believed two or three parts of what Li Shiqi said about his brother.
Having just gathered four thousand men, he couldn't possibly come here and immediately try to intimidate them by sending his men to compete against him.
He then thought for a moment and suggested that Li Shang continue to lead the four thousand men, and that a formal ceremony be held to confer official titles after they had defeated Chenliu.
Let's keep things simple for now and just give him a verbal title.
"You, like Fan Kuai and the others, are worthy of being called a general!"
Li Shang had no objections. When his elder brother said the situation had changed, he had already guessed this possibility. He had nothing to complain about. He trusted his elder brother's judgment, followed Liu Bang's arrangements, and participated in the following meeting with the others.
During the meeting, Liu Bang made a point of observing the newcomer, Li Shang. Putting aside his actual abilities, his demeanor alone was quite impressive.
He wanted to test the other party, so he arranged some tasks for him in the plan to attack Chenliu.
However, he also made arrangements for a backup plan. Liu Bang put Meng Tian, who was temporarily idle, in his place, so that he could be rescued when needed.
Meng Tian: ...
It's truly amazing to experience raising children again now that I'm over fifty.
Nothing unexpected happened afterward; Meng Tian was just coasting along when Chenliu County was captured.
Li Shiqi made a significant contribution by voluntarily acting as an inside agent, for which Liu Bang specially promised him a reward.
Liu Bang thought that although he was not a feudal lord now, he might need a persuader like Li Shiqi in the future, so it wouldn't be a loss to bring him along. It would be even better if both brothers were under his control.
After the battle at Chenliu, Liu Bang gave Li Shang a simple seal as proof of his appointment as a general.
Whether Li Shang was dissatisfied or not is unknown, but Liu Bang had already said in advance: "When you are fighting a war, everything should be simple. This is also a bit simple. I will make you a better one when we return victorious."
I've already told you beforehand that I don't want to say anything, so you can't say it again. (jpg)
What could Li Shang say? Of course, he would do whatever his boss said!
Who would have thought that the boss actually had a much worse plan: if someone couldn't get back on the way, they could save money when they returned...
Liu Bang banished this thought. Of course, he hoped that all his men would return with him intact, because that would mean they had won many battles and that every one of them was a fierce general!
----
Having gathered enough troops, Liu Bang's heart was already set on Xianyang. If he weren't afraid of being surrounded by the Qin army if he tried to bypass them, he would have wanted to go straight to Xianyang without stopping, ignoring the cities along the way.
Even if he conquers these cities, he cannot rightfully declare himself king.
However, he remained rational, and before the idea of taking a detour even had a chance to arise, Liu Bang was already considering the route westward.
We cannot ignore the Qin army on the road. If we don't cripple them, we will still be threatened by the Qin army behind us even after we enter Xianyang.
Xiang Yu's army is still stationed to the north; he cannot be too hasty...
He had defeated Zhao Ben a few days ago, and the enemy had retreated to Kaifeng. He led his men to besiege the city, but failed to capture it on the first attack.
After a moment's thought, Liu Bang decided to take a detour westward. It wasn't that he couldn't win, but he simply felt it was unnecessary. Zhao Ben had suffered a major defeat and was no longer a threat, and Kaifeng could not be captured in a short time. After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Bang decided to continue westward.
The battles against the Qin army went even more smoothly afterward. The new Qin general Yang Xiong was no match for Zhao Ben, and defeating him was effortless.
When they arrived at the former territory of Han, Zhang Liang was still by their side. King Han himself had not conquered much territory, which led to Zhang Liang's disappointment and departure. But Liu Bang was not King Han.
He marched south to capture Yingyang County, and before attacking the city, he still tied 'threatening letters' to arrows and shot them into the city.
However, this time was different; he discovered that 'Qin,' who rarely came to the battlefield, had arrived.
He had never seen 'Qin' during the battles before. He forced himself to think from Guo Ling's perspective that they probably didn't like to come because they found it annoying to watch their children fighting amongst themselves.
He thought about it, when was the last time, and the only time, that he and another person faced each other in direct combat?
The last one seems to have been Xiang Yu massacring a city...
Liu Bang: ?
Liu Bang looked at 'Qin' with an innocent expression, but his heart ached. Although it wasn't certain, the feeling of being suspected was terrible.
But doesn't this also show that the people inside the city are putting up a stubborn resistance...?
Liu Bang stroked his beard. With ample intelligence, they had actually made quite thorough preparations before the attack, so it shouldn't take too long.
As expected, the people inside the city put up a stubborn resistance, which hindered his attack to some extent, but did not cause too much damage.
Seeing that Qin was still staring at him, Liu Bang quickly ordered people to arrange for the surrender of the soldiers, which should put his mind at ease.
He doesn't kill those who surrender, so how could he possibly massacre an entire city?
While Liu Bang was giving orders, he kept a close eye on Qin's actions out of the corner of his eye. Only when Liu Bang arranged for someone to take over the affairs of the city did Qin pick up a pen and write something on the scroll.
He was a little unsure whether he had drawn a line or quickly scribbled something.
His eyes were practically bulging from all the rolling.
After realizing that Qin had made no further moves, Liu Bang stopped paying special attention to it and instead focused on building public toilets. The reason he hadn't considered this matter in Wei was mainly because the people there were complicated and difficult to manage.
But right now there is a great opportunity. King Han is a complete failure... well, to put it bluntly, he is a good-for-nothing and easy to manipulate.
Without much planning, Liu Bang sent Zhang Liang to communicate with King Han Cheng, while he himself led his troops to pacify the former territory of Han.
His intention was to have King Cheng of Han remain in the old capital of Yangdi and take care of his affairs there.
This guy even had to lead the army to recover lost territory to restore the country, so he's not going to amount to much. In the future, he'll be the one calling the shots.
There are downsides too. If a powerful enemy attacks, King Han Cheng will definitely listen to the enemy.
It didn't matter anyway. Liu Bang didn't plan to invest anything here; he just wanted to build some public toilets. If a powerful enemy came, would they rob public toilets instead of valuables?
He wasn't afraid at all.
When Zhang Liang returned, he brought the news he wanted to hear. King Han agreed and promised to send it to him as soon as there was any progress.
The King of Han couldn't understand why Liu Bang wanted this, but since it wasn't his life, he gave it to him.
----
Zhu Qing'ai is the only one who knows about Wei Sheng's progress. She originally said she didn't want to use gunpowder on her own turf, but now she's been proven wrong very quickly.
Fortunately, Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu didn't mention that she had broken her promise, nor did she ask why. She simply followed her request and changed the original plan.
Charcoal was provided by the military for use in winter heating, so it wouldn't be a big deal if he asked for more; he could just say it was for making fertilizer.
Sulfur was bought as a medicinal material; it's believed to have aphrodisiac properties, warm the spleen, and promote bowel movements. In short, buying some won't hurt.
The gunpowder formula can be found in the Zhu Qing'ai database. The key points are the various preparations before preparation and the control of the dosage.
Fortunately, Weisheng Jiujiu wasn't human before, so it can control the dosage like a machine. Even though it's a simple formula, the effect is still pretty good. It can't compare to the regular kind, but it's better than nothing.
Zhu Qing'ai sighed again, realizing that Jiujiu was truly the best host she had ever met in her life.
The best system is definitely hers!
Don't say she's just patting herself on the back; she swears that System Ninety-Nine is definitely the best among all the hosts, and she is also the best in the system.
Together, they are invincible. Is there any better combination?
She thought about it and realized that she couldn't change this position. Even if the system was easy to talk to like a 99-point system, she would still be very impatient if she had the whole system on her head. What about tasks and goals? Please, she really wanted to slack off and didn't want to do anything at all.
But when she sends tasks to the host system, it's a different story. Sure enough, humans are hypocritical.
Bamboo, Double Standard, and Green Mist set off an electronic firework visible only to Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu as encouragement, costing three energy points.
The light from the electronic fireworks reflected in Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu Ruo Han Xing's eyes, and he barely managed to suppress the urge to break his aloof persona.
His face remained expressionless, but in his mind, little devils were already setting off fireworks.
That's great!
A little person jumping around (jpg)
That's great!
The little figure swaying left and right (jpg)
very nice!
When Zhu Qing'ai saw Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu clutching his heart in a daze, she thought he had come up with some new ideas. She had always trusted him a lot when it came to tech.
So when Wei Sheng Jiu Jiu made that blank expression, she consciously left, leaving her great scientist a quiet enough environment!
While Wei Sheng Jiu Jiu was in a daze, he was actually noticing the abnormality in his heart rate for the first time and fell into thought.
By the time he came to his senses, his heart rate had returned to normal, and of course, the device that had caused the change in his heart rate was no longer in the room.
He wasn't completely unaware of this change; it's quite normal for two systems to be combined.
He had even seen some rather absurd cases where two systems with completely opposite mission directions were together and bound to the same host. The two systems were all lovey-dovey, while the host was constantly struggling with their conflicting demands.
He has never seen a human and a creature in harmony. Most importantly, humans themselves have said that different species cannot fall in love.
His situation was even more complicated. As a leader, he had neither the ability to lead nor the passion of a human being. What a useless person he was.
If only he were still the ruler... No, if he were still the ruler, Qing'ai would still be a person, and they would still not be the same species!
Most importantly, even if he is still the leader, he is still a useless leader!
Wei Sheng Ninety-Nine: QAQ.
With extreme self-awareness, Wei Sheng Jiu Jiu shed tears of inferiority.
----
Zhu Qing'ai was unaware of the complex thoughts of her favorite host. She was still paying attention to Xiang Yu. While Zhang Liang was urging Liu Bang to pacify Nanyang County, Xiang Yu had already met with Zhang Han at Yin Ruins.
She was feeling agitated. She hadn't felt this anxious when reading historical texts, but experiencing it firsthand and seeing the real people made her think:
Why didn't a bolt of lightning strike down and kill Xiang Yu? It's so annoying.
While she was studying why no lightning struck down from the sky, Zhang Han had already thrown his arrow.
Xiang Yu also accepted the surrendered soldiers, and even rewarded Zhang Han instead of killing him.
The previous claim that he was eager to avenge his uncle and insisted on attacking Qin was a joke. Xiang Liang was killed by Zhang Han, but Xiang Liang didn't do anything to Zhang Han.
Their actions and words are completely different.
She knew what would happen next without even watching. Originally, Xiang Yu planned to take the surrendered soldiers with him, but he panicked after hearing about Liu Bang's movements. Coupled with the problem of food supplies, he ultimately killed the surrendered soldiers.
However, Zhang Han, the commander without any troops, still stayed behind. He didn't seem to have any deep-seated hatred, but his calculations were quite clear.
She stopped watching after that. After watching it so much, she became somewhat numb to it. Habits are truly a terrible thing.
It was precisely because of this terrifying nature that she desperately wanted to kill Xiang Yu outside of Xianyang.
The chaos lasted only two or three years, and there have only been two instances that can truly be considered massacres of cities. If Xiang Yu were killed here, with her watching over things, at least Liu Bang wouldn't commit a massacre.
This so-called method of warfare ended here in this chaotic era. Will there be fewer people in later generations who would readily massacre entire cities?
Fortunately, she has a well-behaved and obedient host with super strong hands-on skills. Hand-made gunpowder is really hot!
----
Liu Bang's westward journey went smoothly, and his reputation grew even better because of the contrast with Xiang Yu.
When they reached the east side of Wuguan Pass, Liu Bang felt it was time and sent Ning Chang as an envoy to the Qin court.
Liu Bang knew the outcome before the messenger even returned.
It's obvious what happened; the only person in the imperial court capable of killing the emperor was Zhao Gao.
Hu Hai was supported by Zhao Gao to ascend the throne, and now he has died at Zhao Gao's hands. It's really... haha.
Liu Bang did not bother Qin with something he would find out sooner or later. After the envoy returned, he also learned about Zhao Gao's conditions.
Zhao Gao wanted to share Guanzhong with him, and killing Qin Er Shi (Ying Huhai) was his way of showing his sincerity.
But why should he agree?
Between a full Guanzhong region and half of it, even a fool knows which is better.
They've gone so far as to kill the emperor as a show of sincerity, so why would they be foolish enough to agree to divide Guanzhong equally?
Liu Bang immediately summoned Zhang Liang, wanting to hear his opinion.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 21:07:26 and 23:21:28 on August 7, 2024!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Yuyu (20 bottles); Ayuan (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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