Chapter 139 What are you afraid of? 51
Zhu Qingai thought, "If only he could still think like this after the war is over. The Xiongnu chieftain Maodun in the north is not someone to be trifled with."
She soon remembered the gunpowder incident and roughly understood where Liu Bang's confidence came from.
However, Qin showed little emotion, and instead smiled and said, "I'm afraid that's not possible."
Liu Bang only thought that 'Qin' was questioning his abilities, and incidentally, the abilities of his descendants, without considering anything else. But she casually remarked, "After all, it doesn't matter where you live, and it saves me the time of killing a second time..."
These words seemed to have been spoken unintentionally, conveying a sense of complete control and nonchalance, as if they were being addressed to him.
But when Liu Bang observed her closely from a hidden perspective, he discovered that she didn't care.
Yes, there are very few things she cares about. The thing she cares about most is human life, but she doesn't care about it particularly much. It's a very contradictory attitude.
She would show rare anger at the massacre of an entire city, yet she would not stop herself from leading her troops to conquer the world.
In reality, the death toll was roughly the same for both sides, with the number of deaths even higher during the war.
Liu Bang seemed to be deep in thought, as if she wouldn't stop the children from fighting, but was very disgusted by one-sided massacres.
She is not afraid of war, but also yearns for peace, desires strength, and hopes for stability.
Liu Bang came to a conclusion, and as he pondered these random thoughts, he became somewhat distracted.
This state of mind naturally led to losing game after game to Qin. In the end, Liu Bang was completely numb. Was he really that bad?
Since that's the case... farewell, he's not playing anymore. As long as he doesn't play chess with her, he won't lose.
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After several days of protracted negotiations, tensions between the two sides escalated to a point where they were on the verge of exchanging blows.
As previously agreed, whoever enters Guanzhong first will be king, and Liu Bang is in the right.
Moreover, during the negotiations, Liu Bang did not refuse Xiang Yu's request to bring people into the city, but only limited the number of people the other party could bring into the city, and demanded that his 400,000 troops stationed at Hongmen immediately withdraw.
Liu Bang wanted to set an impossible condition first and then slowly negotiate, but Xiang Yu did not give him that opportunity.
Xiang Yu was not one to be subservient to others, and he had no intention of indulging Liu Bang's lack of understanding.
Of the group of advisors under his command, apart from a few who mentioned that Liu Bang had entered Guanzhong first, the rest wholeheartedly supported attacking Xianyang.
If you win, isn't it easy to come up with a reason?
As for how it's recorded in history books, that's even less important...
After Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu brought out a group of craftsmen, they successfully created the simplest version of the cannon, which was not very good. After witnessing the power of these cannons, the most respected people in the former Xianyang City became obedient.
The members of the Ying clan even secretly went to see Ziying to inquire whether it was true that Liu Bang had said he wanted to appoint him as prime minister.
Ziying only gave some ambiguous answers to this, without giving a direct affirmation.
The people in the city were appeased, and there was no large-scale riot. The villagers scattered in the countryside outside Xianyang had been gathered up and settled in the outer city a few days earlier.
Liu Bang's 100,000-strong army was divided into two parts: one part entered Xianyang City, and the other part remained stationed at Ba Shang.
When Xiang Yu's 400,000 troops arrived not far from the city, the entire city of Xianyang was under martial law. No one was allowed to enter or leave, and even the movement of people between the outer and inner cities was reduced to a minimum.
At this time, Liu Bang was not in Xianyang Palace, but was standing with Qin on the high outer city wall. The passageway above the city gate was wide, and the two were accompanied by many people.
Apart from Zhang Liang and Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu, who remained relatively calm, the others around them had various expressions. They should have had all sorts of guesses, since it was almost impossible for the beautiful woman who appeared beside Liu Bang to have any other kind of relationship with him.
Rationally, they could clearly sense that something was wrong with this situation, but emotionally, they felt there was nothing wrong with it; a person of her integrity deserved to stand at the top.
Yes, they've already figured it out: 'she' is in the main position, and Liu Bang is just an extra.
Liu Bang did not introduce her identity to any of them, but none of them stepped forward to question her, as if she deserved to stand there, in the most prominent position.
'Qin' raised her hand, her jade-white fingertips resting on the gray bricks. Liu Bang frowned, wanting to remind her that the stones on the city wall must be dirty from sun and rain, and it wouldn't be good if her fingertips got dusty.
She calmly surveyed the area below. The road that once served as a thoroughfare for pedestrians was now deserted, and further into the distance, she could vaguely see the camps of Xiang Yu's army.
Liu Bang resisted the urge to speak and chose not to disturb him.
Today, as the two armies clashed, surprisingly, he did not experience the usual fiery passion of leading his troops. Instead, he calmly followed 'Qin' and looked down at the vast army below.
Four hundred thousand! In the past, he would have run away immediately upon hearing that amount, but at this moment, he didn't feel anything. It was as if he had been infected by her.
As the army below approached, Liu Bang waved his hand, and a group of craftsmen who had followed him up the city wall took their positions under the command of Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu.
Each of them was accompanied by two soldiers who helped them and also protected their safety.
Zhang Liang suddenly spoke up: "Lord Pei, although this city wall is high, it is not absolutely safe. Xiang Yu is incredibly strong, and his archery skills are probably no less than anyone else's."
Liu Bang understood what Zhang Liang was trying to say; he simply felt the city wall was unsafe. Coincidentally, Liu Bang thought the same thing. As someone who valued his life, Liu Bang immediately wanted to lead his men down first and wait for both sides to test each other before discussing anything else.
Although it was a pity that I couldn't personally witness the use of this brand-new cannon, my own life was definitely more important.
"No need,"
'Qin' finally spoke his first words of the day. Zhang Liang, who had offered his advice, immediately fell silent, waiting for him to continue. The others also held their breath, preparing to see what this unusual 'person' would say.
A woman dressed in a dark blue robe with a light-colored folded hem slowly turned her head, her pure black eyes looking at them. The pure blackness that no human could possess made everyone present gasp.
Then came an overwhelming, subtle fear, spreading densely throughout my heart.
She was very human-like; apart from being excessively beautiful, she seemed to be a human being.
But those eyes didn't say that. Clear, bright eyes—which should have been a compliment—felt something unsettling about them.
"Destiny is in your hands, what are you afraid of?"
If Qin hadn't spoken so sincerely, Liu Bang would have suspected that she was trying to trick him into staying so that he could perish with Xiang Yu, and then she could find someone from the Ying clan to train.
There's no need to even look; Qin Ziying is a very good choice.
After all, she is now in the public eye.
These words are tantamount to flattery, but others don't think she's flattering at all; they just think she's telling the truth. The person being praised is even seriously considering the possibility of being tricked.
Even so, Liu Bang paused in his tracks.
Those who were giving pre-battle speeches didn't care about any of that; their work wouldn't stop for anything, as that was also a requirement from above.
They stood in a row, cleared their throats, and picked up the bamboo horns that the craftsman next door had kindly provided. Although they didn't understand why these things could amplify their voices, as long as they worked, that was fine!
Several people deliberately spoke at the same time, shouting through megaphones: "Liu Bang rose up in rebellion during the war to save the people from suffering, and now he is even more so..."
Even Liu Bang, who was thick-skinned, couldn't help but blush inwardly.
Zhang Liang listened with a smile. Liu Bang didn't move, and neither did he. He was more concerned about the other side turning back, as if they were listening intently to the shouts of 'Qin'.
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