Chapter 127 Interesting Things = Repairing Public Toilets 39
Meng Tian added, "There are too many subordinate generals; it's impossible to observe and understand each one carefully."
Most importantly, changes in fighting styles are perfectly normal. Wang Li was not yet fully formed back then, so what he said was unlikely to be of much use.
Anyway, he told Liu Bang everything he knew, so whether or not they could win was up to Liu Bang.
He also wanted to see Liu Bang's abilities.
Wang Li is a decent testing ground.
Meng Tian: "Although I can't say I know the other party very well, Wang Li knows me, and after that I stopped showing myself."
Liu Bang nodded. He hadn't planned to use Meng Tian at this time. He intended to wait until they entered Xianyang and then have Meng Tian appease the old people there.
Of course, he couldn't expose him here, and Liu Bang didn't think he was no match for Wang Li.
Heavens... no, 'Qin' is on his side. How is that any different from the Mandate of Heaven being with him?
----
Mid-December
Liu Bang led his army, including Cao Can and Fan Kuai, to fight against Wang Li's army. They won the battle and successfully advanced further west.
In Changyi, he encountered Peng Yue's army. Just when everything seemed to be on his side, he joined forces with Peng Yue's troops to attack Changyi, but the attack failed.
This was a bit awkward, as the two were not familiar with each other. In a final tacit agreement, Peng Yue led his troops to stay in Juye, while Liu Bang led his army to the other side.
The brief alliance ended there. Liu Bang saw that the man and thought he was a talented person, but he couldn't persuade him to join him. So he asked Qin what he thought of the man.
Qin thought for a moment and said vaguely, "At this moment, I have no intention of becoming king."
Liu Bang pondered over a long time what this simple sentence meant: whether it didn't exist now but would exist later, or something more.
Later he discovered that there was no way to guess what Guo Ling was thinking; no matter how hard you tried, you could never figure it out.
After studying the map, Liu Bang decided to go to Li County, where the troops were marked. He led his army to annex the garrison there and then recounted the numbers. This time, the army had increased by more than four thousand.
The map shows that there are also the armies of Wei generals Huang Xin and Shen Tu Wu Pu nearby, and there should be a chance for them to launch another joint attack on Changyi.
Before joining forces with the two targets, Liu Bang sent someone to invite Peng Yue to attack Changyi again, but for reasons unknown, Peng Yue did not agree.
"As expected, we're not on the same wavelength."
“No,” Qin objected, “he just felt there was no chance of winning this battle.”
Liu Bang's urge to consult fortune-tellers returned, and he turned to look at 'Qin', asking excitedly, "Then do you think we can win this battle?"
Qin turned the pages of his book, picked up a pen and wrote something on it. Without even looking at Liu Bang, he replied in a calm voice, "Fate is determined by Heaven, but success depends on human effort."
Translation: She didn't know either.
This was as good as saying nothing. Liu Bang then said, "Ancestor, I have read the Book of Changes."
However, the Book of Changes says that fate is determined by heaven, but fortune is created by oneself. Our ancestors said that everything depends on human effort.
"Hmm? Then why are you asking me?" She turned to another page and wrote a line on it: "Read more books and consult fortune tellers less."
Liu Bang thought to himself, "After all, consulting you is useless; you haven't told me a single truthful word."
Sigh, he's having such a hard time.
----
So, was the attack on Changyi successful? Of course not. When besieging a city, what matters is not the strength of individual soldiers, but the siege equipment. These men were called prefects, generals, and military commanders, but they didn't have many siege weapons. Liu Bang wanted to save them for later.
Those two Wei generals probably thought the same thing. Although they had joined forces, their combat effectiveness hadn't improved much. After one failed attempt, the allied cooperation fell through again.
Liu Bang packed his bags and left. He decided not to attack Changyi anymore. Rather than fighting to the death at Changyi, he decided to continue westward and get to Xianyang as soon as possible.
Entering the pass was the closest he ever got to being made a king.
When Liu Bang led his army westward, he couldn't help but admire Peng Yue's insightful observations. He wasn't praising Peng Yue as a brilliant strategist, but simply remarked, "He understands people's hearts so well."
Qin sneered at this: "Whether he understands people's hearts or not is another matter, but he understands you too well. Think about what you did with the map before?"
Liu Bang coughed once and then chose to mute himself.
That area was still under Qin's control before, and the map was even real-time. You could zoom in and see through the walls to see what was inside. He just found a few skilled men to raid the allied forces at night. It wasn't that shameless.
They themselves hid things without assigning anyone to guard them so their subordinates wouldn't find out, so how can you blame them?
However, a normal person wouldn't think that someone would hide valuables in such a remote and hidden place, except for someone like him who has cheat codes.
Liu Bang declared righteously, "I did not send anyone to steal from Peng Yue. He must have had a keen sense of the war situation to refrain from sending troops to attack Changyi."
"Besides, I took those things openly and honestly."
"hehe."
Liu Bang always felt that Qin's laughter was not a good thing, but at least it was laughter and not crying, which was good.
Ignoring the slight reason why Qin looked down on him, he was still an upright and honest good person whom Qin liked.
Liu Bang: Pretty good jpg·
----
February
Liu Bang passed through Gaoyang County to the west and rested there temporarily. He finally had time to find out what Zhang Liang and Wei Shengjiujiu had been talking about.
Although they were quite far apart, he was still curious about what it was that even Guo Ling found interesting.
When he found the two, he saw two upright and honest people, one gentle and the other aloof, having a serious discussion.
Listen carefully, the topic of discussion is quite important, isn't it? It's about "the importance of building public toilets in the city..."
Oh, he knows that. It is said that the raw materials for fertilizer come from public toilets. Many have been built in Pei County. He has also followed Lü Zhi's example and built many public toilets in the territories he conquered.
Liu Bang calmly joined the discussion, and even discussed with Zhang Liang how far apart they should be to build a public toilet.
"But wasn't this already decided in Pei County? Why is it being brought up again now?"
Zhang Liang paused for two seconds and then said, "Ninety-nine suggests that after occupying a city, a public toilet should be built, and all the materials obtained should be sent elsewhere to be made into fertilizer and then sent out again."
What's the point of having so much fertilizer for a war?
Liu Bang was puzzled. Even if they were to send it, they should have sent it to Pei County to be stored first. Why send it to the army? Did they think they could launch a manure attack during a siege?
"These are the words of the celestial music in my dream."
After not seeing him for many days, his subordinates were still as sparing with words as ever, so much so that he would have to elaborate on the sentences and analyze them for them after hearing them.
However, the implication of this statement is too obvious. If it is true, then it can only be 'Qin' who appeared in a dream but only succeeded halfway.
Why do we say it was only half successful? Because he genuinely couldn't understand why war would require excrement.
Liu Bang subconsciously glanced at the 'Qin' who was kneeling quietly to the side. She seemed to have been following him around lately, as if she was waiting for something to happen.
Is something big about to happen that he doesn't know about? Perhaps she herself doesn't even know what this big event is.
But if it involves MicroLife 99, it must be no small matter.
Liu Bang didn't see any extra expression on Qin's face. She simply said lightly, "I recently read 'Yanzi Chunqiu' but I can't remember it clearly. Do you know the second half of the saying, 'Oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges, but those grown north of the Huai River are trifoliate oranges'?"
The leaves may look similar, but the taste is actually different. *1
Liu Bang silently added to himself, "I've read Yanzi Chunqiu too. I can't remember everything, but I do remember this famous passage and a sentence."
So what is she implying? That this fertilizer is very useful, but not for farming?
Or perhaps it means that the content of his dream was completely different from what Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu remembered, and that he shouldn't think the wrong way.
After all, he wasn't the only one who had experienced a discrepancy between his dream and his memory upon waking. 'Qin' herself had said that she would never use such an unreliable method as dreaming again.
Why is this time an exception...?
Liu Bang vaguely felt that this was related to his livelihood, but he couldn't really make that connection. However, this suspicion alone was enough for him to agree to build public toilets.
In any case, in last year's letter, fertilizer was indeed effective for farming. It didn't double the results as dramatically as some people say, but there was enough profit to motivate him to do so.
He returned to his room that evening and sat on the bed lost in thought, while a maid washed his feet.
I think I heard someone say that if you want to overthrow the tyrannical Qin dynasty, you can't just sit and meet with your elders.
Who is this person? Can't you see he's thinking about something?
"What is Prefect Liu thinking?"
"Repair public toilets."
There's nothing wrong with talking about this; it's not a big deal. Besides, word will get out sooner or later that someone will come to fix it. He is indeed thinking about fixing the public toilet.
Liu Bang then looked up and saw an old man standing there. He must be the gatekeeper from Gaoyang who had come to see him. The old man looked like he had just stood up after bowing.
He coughed, straightened his clothes, stood up, and dismissed the two maids before saying, "Excuse me, I was just thinking about this year's planting."
"Agriculture and sericulture are of paramount importance. The prefect is so concerned about people's livelihood that there is no need to apologize. But I wonder what the purpose of this public toilet is?"
Liu Bang explained briefly, then asked, "I wonder what brings this old gentleman to me?"
"I dare not presume to offer my guidance," Li Shiqi said, bowing again. "I have seen many armies pass through Gaoyang, but... only you have such a heart for the people."
Liu Bang accepted the praise without hesitation, but remained modest and polite, saying, "It was just my duty, nothing to mention."
Li Shiqi shook his head: "Even if it is a matter of duty, few people can do it. Prefect Liu, you don't need to belittle yourself."
He paused for a moment before revealing his true purpose. If he didn't say anything useful, no matter how nice his words were, Liu Bang would probably throw him out anyway.
Li Shiqi was very clear about what was most important right now.
He said, "Your army is large, but having many men is both good and bad."
He paused for a moment, as if waiting for Liu Bang to ask first, but Liu Bang remained unmoved. He probably knew what the old man wanted to say to him after hearing this.
So he didn't ask what was wrong with it, but went along with what he said: "Indeed, having more people is both good and bad. The good thing is that you have a lot of power, but the bad thing is that it costs a lot to feed and feed the people."
"However, I have heard that there are Qin troops stockpiling grain in Chenliu County. If we launch a surprise attack, it will surely alleviate the situation to some extent."
Li Shiqi: Ah, you've said what I wanted to say. So what should I say?
Originally, Li Shiqi planned to take the path of a strategist, offer advice to Liu Bang, seek some benefits, and speak well of his younger brother.
Unexpectedly, Liu Bang followed his path, leaving him with nowhere to go!
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