However, if Lü Ze cannot return to the pass in time, this matter may not be so certain.
Furthermore, if Lü Ze still dared to fight Xiang Yu to the death at this time, then even if Xiang Yu did not target the Han army's supply lines, Guanzhong could cut off their supplies at any time, using them as a tool to kill.
Therefore, under these circumstances, it would be extremely unwise for Lü Ze to renege on his promise to Xiang Yu. As long as he could preserve some strength and return to Guanzhong as soon as possible, all other conditions would be negotiable.
Even if Xiang Yu's demands were truly excessive, Lü Ze would still agree to them, as long as he still had 50,000 troops. Returning to Guanzhong should ensure Liu Ying's succession.
Liu Ying is a kind-hearted child, but perhaps because he was frightened by being pushed off the carriage earlier, he always gives people the feeling of being timid and easily bullied, unlike his father Liu Ji at all.
Liu Ying's ascension to the throne meant that the Lü family controlled Guanzhong. With the foundation of their imperial enterprise in Guanzhong, why would they worry about not being able to conquer the world in the future?
Even if all else fails, heavily guarding Hangu Pass and Wu Pass can still ensure that Guanzhong is not lost.
"Since it's not excessive, let's proceed according to the agreement. I have had a contract written. If General Lü has no objections, please sign it and affix your fingerprint to make it seem more formal." After saying this, Xiang Yu waved his hand, and Xiang Guan, who was not far behind him, came to Lü Ze with a tray containing a silk scroll and writing materials.
When Lü Ze took it and looked at it, the corner of his mouth twitched violently a few times. It seemed that Xiang Yu had no intention of discussing it with him at all, and had simply followed Xiang Yu's requirements word for word.
Fortunately, he was pragmatic and agreed to all of Xiang Yu's conditions; otherwise, he would have been humiliated and would have had to sign the document in the end.
After quickly reading it through, Lü Ze signed his name on the contract and pressed his palm print on it.
"King Xiang, now that the treaty is concluded, I wonder if you would be willing to hand over the body of the King of Han to me?"
"Of course. However, I can only entrust the body to you now. As for Liu Ji's head, I handed it over to General Guan Ying last night. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be able to return to Guanzhong in a while," Xiang Yu said expressionlessly.
Although Lü Ze had heard about Liu Ji's beheading last night, he still found it hard to accept after hearing that Liu Ji's body had been separated from his head. After all, he was the King of Han, how could he not even be given a complete body?
They have absolutely no respect. Aren't they afraid of getting their comeuppance later?
However, no matter how unhappy Lü Ze was, he dared not show it in front of Xiang Yu. After all, his own life was more important. Liu Ji was dismembered, but at least the body was separated and not cut into eight pieces.
Moreover, from Xiang Yu's words, Lü Ze learned two other things.
One is that Guan Ying is still alive, and he left first with Liu Ji's head.
Another reason is Xiang Yu's sincerity in stopping the fighting; otherwise, he wouldn't have let Guan Ying go.
“Very well, I thank King Xiang.” Lü Ze bowed deeply.
"No need for thanks. In that case, General Lü, please return to your camp as soon as possible to make arrangements. I hope you will not break the agreement," Xiang Yu said solemnly.
"King Xiang is benevolent. It is already a great fortune that I was able to lead the Guanzhong army back to Guanzhong safely. How could I break the agreement?" Lü Ze said, cupping his hands.
Xiang Yu added, "Well, I will also assign someone to your army to oversee this matter. I hope General Lü will not make things difficult for him."
"King Xiang is joking. How could I dare to make things difficult for King Xiang's envoy?" Lü Ze said with a wry smile.
"Give Liu Ji to him," Xiang Yu waved his hand.
Two Chu soldiers immediately carried the headless corpse over and handed it over to the two guards brought by Lü Ze.
The body was covered with burlap, but Lü Ze didn't bother to uncover it to check its authenticity. He simply waved for his men to carry it onto the bridge.
Although they would have to cross the river again on this bridge in a while, it wouldn't be right to leave Liu Ji's body here alone.
"Thank you, King Xiang. I shall take my leave." Lü Ze bowed again and then slowly retreated.
The Chu army generously handed over complete control of the pontoon bridge to the Han army, leaving only a few scouts to monitor it, while the rest returned to Juchao to rest and recuperate.
After returning to the army, Lü Ze immediately announced the results of his negotiations with Xiang Yu to the generals, and then relayed the information down the ranks, bringing joy to the entire army.
Compared to escaping death in a desperate situation, giving up the wealth plundered from the State of Chu was a minor matter. Moreover, people who originally belonged to the six states would be allowed to stay, and they would not have to hand over their wealth.
Shen Tu Jia was in charge of supervising this matter, and he was overjoyed. If this matter was handled well, it would be a great achievement.
After arriving at the army, Shen Tu Jia first contacted the generals in Lü Ze's army who were willing to stay and join Xiang Yu. After all, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter, and the generals who originally followed Liu Ji were eager to change sides.
Of course, more people chose to follow Lü Ze, and most of them were famous generals in the army.
Shen Tu Jia managed to recruit mostly relatively unknown deputy generals and captains, but with their help, the recruitment process went smoothly, and over 100,000 people joined the Chu army directly.
In addition, nearly 50,000 people, although unwilling to join the Chu army, also chose to withdraw from the Han army.
As a result, Lü Ze's army of 200,000 was reduced to only 50,000, which greatly frightened Lü Ze.
The reason for this is that many soldiers recruited from Guanzhong and other places are unwilling to return to Guanzhong, because the reason they joined the army in the first place was that the people of Guanzhong could no longer survive.
When bandits don't know who to rob, they can only join the army and rob other countries!
Chapter 106 Kill! Kill! Kill!
Liu Ji did not launch his rebellion after first developing production and strengthening the country. Instead, he blindly expanded his army, like a gambler, and when his army lacked food, he would plunder from places like Chu.
As for the people in the country, they'll have to figure out how to survive on their own. All the seeds have been used as military rations, so what else can they eat?
This was the harsh reality at the time; many things were shady and couldn't be brought to light.
The worse the people's lives became, the more people joined the army, and that's how Liu Ji's military strength recovered so quickly.
Of course, this resulted in a problem: the army's combat effectiveness was extremely poor, with little cohesion and execution. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for Xiang Yu to repeatedly defeat them with fewer troops.
No matter how strong Xiang Yu was or how incompetent the enemy generals were, if the quality of both armies was roughly the same, it would have been impossible for them to achieve such a legendary victory of 30,000 against 560,000.
Even though Liu Ji gained some advantages against the Chu army after Peng Yue and Han Xin joined the battle, it was because the Chu army's supply lines were cut off, they couldn't get enough food, and their fighting strength declined.
At this time, most of Liu Jijun's elite troops came from Hebei, while the troops recruited later from Guanzhong, Hanzhong, and Chu were mostly used as cannon fodder, with those new recruits risking their lives for a bite to eat.
It was perfectly normal for such an army to disperse or surrender after learning of Liu Ji's death.
Of course, Lü Ze had cultivated his influence within the Han army for many years and had a considerable number of confidants and followers; otherwise, he wouldn't have even managed to retain a quarter of his troops.
The fewer troops there are, the less safe it is. Fortunately, Lü Ze knows Xiang Yu's character well and he is unlikely to break his promise and ambush him halfway.
However, under such urgent circumstances, Lü Ze dared not linger in Chu. He marched day and night at full speed to retreat back to Guanzhong. At the same time, he sent many messengers to inform the Han troops still in various cities in Chu that they should also only take the troops from Guanzhong and return the cities to Chu.
The whole process went very smoothly, because the news of Liu Ji being killed by Xiang Yu had already spread throughout the Chu region.
Those people who had been fooled by the rumors about Zhang Liang's Five Stars Gathering in Kui also woke up one after another, realizing that it was all nonsense about a chosen one of heaven and a sage descending to earth!
As time went by, the news of Liu Ji's execution spread further and further, gradually shocking the entire world.
When Xiang Zhuang, Ji Bu, Zhongli Mei, and the people of Lu heard the news, they celebrated greatly. Moreover, people admired Xiang Yu's decision to stop the fighting, and people all over the world hoped for an end to the war so that they could recuperate and rebuild their lives.
Guan Ying lived up to Xiang Yu's expectations, bringing Liu Ji's head to Han Xin as promised, and proposed the deal: exchange the head for four counties.
Han Xin weighed his own strength and then looked at Liu Ji's head. In the end, he decided to listen to Li Zuoche's advice and grit his teeth to make a change!
While the world was shocked, it also breathed a sigh of relief. King Han Xin of Qi made such a concession and returned the land he had seized from Chu, which finally averted a major war.
The Chu officials, including Xiang Ta, who had been forced to surrender, took this opportunity to return to Chu. Since Xiang Yu needed capable people, he did not punish them, but instead let them atone for their crimes by performing meritorious service.
In fact, after Lü Ze's army entered Guanzhong, Xiang Yu led 30,000 cavalry to Pengcheng. After the Qi army retreated, he took over the city. It can be said that the timing was quite precise.
Even if Han Xin refused the trade of exchanging heads for land, Xiang Yu would still fight his way up, because he could no longer allow Xiang Zhuang, Ji Bu, Zhongli Mei, and others to be isolated in Lu.
The original intention behind proposing the exchange of heads for land was to establish a connection between Jiangdong and Lu. Han Xin naturally understood this, so refusing the exchange would be tantamount to starting a war with Xiang Yu.
However, agreeing to the deal with Xiang Yu also had its advantages for Han Xin, namely, it gave him time to thoroughly consolidate his rule over the State of Qi. Xiang Yu always kept his promises, and if he said he would stop the fighting and allow the people to recuperate, he would definitely do so.
In addition, Xiang Yu's bargaining chips were not only Liu Ji's head, but also the wealth that the Qi army had plundered from the Chu state and the Qi troops under Cao Can's command.
Xiang Yu demanded that Lü Ze's army leave behind the spoils plundered from the State of Chu, but this was not mentioned in the deal with Han Xin, which meant that it was assumed that these spoils belonged to Han Xin.
As for Cao Shen's troops, Cao Shen's army did not reach the State of Qi until Xiang Yu arrived at Pengcheng. Xiang Yu watched from afar without attacking, and his intention was quite clear.
In fact, after Liu Ji's death, Cao Shen also considered returning to Guanzhong. After all, he was originally placed in Qi by Liu Ji, so it was understandable that he would bring these troops back to Guanzhong.
However, after learning of the agreement reached between Xiang Yu and Lü Ze, Cao Can changed his mind. According to the agreement, Cao Can would have to consider himself a member of the Han army, which meant that all his troops would have to remain in the Chu state.
Therefore, after much hesitation, Cao Shen simply led his army back to Qi. With his troops, Han Xin would definitely try his best to win him over, which was much better than going back to Guanzhong and getting involved in that mess.
This was tantamount to Xiang Yu forcing Cao Can to side with Han Xin, which could be considered a great gift. In exchange for four commanderies, it was truly a worthwhile deal.
Moreover, there's Liu Ji's head. No matter who you ask whether Liu Ji's head is worth four counties, the answer will always be yes.
If Han Xin really wanted to sell Liu Ji's head, at least Liu Ji's four sons would surely be willing to pay a high price to buy it back; not buying it would be unfilial.
Of course, if Han Xin really used Liu Ji's head to exchange for benefits, the people of the world would definitely look down on him. Even Guan Ying, who was determined to join Han Xin, would immediately turn away, or he might even join forces with Cao Can to rebel against Han Xin.
On the contrary, Han Xin generously sent Liu Ji's head back to Guanzhong, which not only earned him the loyalty of Guan Ying and Cao Can, but also garnered him goodwill in the eyes of the world.
After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Han Xin had exchanged four counties for Liu Ji's head, which could be considered as repaying Liu Ji's kindness in bestowing upon him the title of king.
The war between Qi and Chu has ended, and the war between Chu and Han has ceased. King Wu Rui of Hengshan suffered heavy losses in the battle of Jiangdong. The states of Zhao and Yan are far away in Hebei. Of those who participated in the siege of Xiang Yu, only King Peng Yue of Liang remains undealt with.
After Xiang Yu and Ji Bu joined forces at Boyang, they sent a letter to Peng Yue, who assumed it was also about ending the war.
When they opened it, it turned out to be an extremely domineering letter of surrender!
Xiang Yu only said one sentence in the letter: Peng Yue must surrender within three days, or he will be killed without mercy!
Peng Yue had originally planned to negotiate with Xiang Yu, but he did not expect Xiang Yu to treat him this way, which was completely different from how he treated Lü Ze and Han Xin.
If Xiang Yu simply wanted to pick on the weak, then his first target should have been Wu Rui, at least taking over Hengshan County wouldn't have been difficult.
However, Xiang Yu chose Peng Yue as his target, and he used the recapture of the four counties occupied by Qi as a cover for his military intentions.
This was the result of Xiang Yu's discussion with his strategist Hao Jiu: six time-splitting planes awaited their rescue, as it would be too late to go after unifying the world.
However, Xiang Yu was uneasy about going to split up the planes without making any arrangements.
Besides appeasing Lü Ze and Han Xin, establishing authority is also essential. Defeating Wu Rui would be too easy, and after defeating Wu Rui, they would have to confront Gong Ao.
In comparison, Peng Yue was a much more suitable candidate for the position of King of Liang. Moreover, during the crucial moment of the Chu-Han Contention, if Peng Yue hadn't frequently intervened to cut off Xiang Yu's supply lines, Liu Ji would have been driven back to Guanzhong by Xiang Yu long ago.
Moreover, Peng Yue was recruited by Tian Rong of Qi after Xiang Yu enfeoffed him. He had been an enemy of Xiang Yu for a long time, but Xiang Yu had never had time to deal with him.
Now, Xiang Yu finally has time to meet this pioneer of guerrilla warfare.
"The three-day deadline has passed. March out!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Chapter 107 The Seven-Day Pact
The State of Liang was a new vassal state, as new as it could possibly be.
In the same year as the Battle of Gaixia, Liu Ji invited Peng Yue to send troops to attack Xiang Yu, and enfeoffed Peng Yue as the King of Liang, establishing his kingdom in the lands of Dong and Dang commanderies.
Peng Yue lived up to Liu Ji's high expectations and lived up to the rewards bestowed upon him by the King of Liang. He used the advantageous terrain, such as Daye Marsh, to wage guerrilla warfare against the Chu army.