Now, Han Xin is almost no longer even a king of Chu without military power. Liu Ji would have targeted him even when he had military power, and he would have targeted him even more when he didn't.
However, Han Xin now had the assistance of Zhongli Mei, so Liu Ji might not be able to win if he directly sent troops to attack.
Then came the second major event: the Han emperor, who had been emperor for less than a year, was going on a hunting trip to the Yunmeng region.
In fact, this was a treacherous scheme devised by Chen Ping for Liu Ji. Under the guise of hunting in Yunmeng, they invited all the surrounding feudal lords to a meeting in Chen, including King Han Xin of Chu.
Han Xin was blindly loyal, but not stupid. After learning that someone had accused him of treason, he was worried that Liu Ji would punish him, and he also understood that going to Chen for the meeting might be fraught with danger.
However, Han Xin still harbored illusions about Liu Ji. He believed that Liu Ji was being deceived by villains, and that as long as he could resolve Liu Ji's 'misunderstanding' of him, he could continue to be the King of Chu.
After all, Liu Ji had promised him three things: not to kill him, and had successively enfeoffed him as the King of Qi and the King of Chu, showing him boundless favor.
Therefore, Han Xin personally went to Chen to attend the meeting and show his loyalty, while also doing something disgusting to please Liu Ji.
That means they offered Zhongli Mei's head to Liu Ji!
Chapter 138 The Second Dimension
Hao Jiu knew that Han Xin was captured and the King of Chu was deposed at this gathering in Chen. Historical records indicate that the meeting in Chen took place in December, but the specific date is not recorded.
The distance from Xiapi, the capital of Chu, to Chen County is more than 500 li. Han Xin needs to be given enough time to travel, in case the meeting in Chen is in early December.
Therefore, Zhongli Mei would likely be killed around mid-November. How could Xiang Yu stand by and watch him die? Even if it was Zhongli Mei from a different dimension, he couldn't just let him die like that.
Hao Jiu shares the same view as Xiang Yu on this issue: Zhongli Mei's main body is in the main plane, while his clone is in the branch plane. They can be merged in the future. If the two Zhongli Meis are combined into one, their strength can be expected to increase.
In short, based on the timeline of this plane, they have about a week to deal with matters in other planes before heading to Xiapi in this plane to rescue Zhongli Mei.
Then there's another person, whom Hao Jiu also plans to ask Xiang Yu to rescue.
Besides the two events concerning Han Xin mentioned above, another major event occurred in the early years of the sixth year of the Han Dynasty: Liu Ji eliminated another major threat.
This person is Wu Rui, the King of Changsha, who stood firmly on Liu Ji's side from the beginning of Liu Ji's rebellion against Chu and helped Liu Ji achieve final victory.
Wu Rui was a descendant of the King of Wu. He was a very virtuous man and deeply loved by the people. However, he did not escape Liu Ji's great deception and diligently helped Liu Ji fight against Xiang Yu.
Once Liu Ji gained control of the country and revealed his true colors, how could Wu Rui, as a king of a different surname, remain unscathed?
Therefore, Wu Rui, knowing that his military strength was inferior to Liu Ji's, followed Zhang Liang's example and also sought to protect himself wisely.
Zhang Liang was a man of great talent. He was able to help Liu Ji gain the throne, but he misjudged Liu Ji's character. Despite his best efforts to assist Liu Ji, he only received the title of Marquis of Liu.
After Liu Ji became emperor, many of his military officers held important positions such as prime minister, but the talented Zhang Liang never received any such position.
Of course, this was the result of Zhang Liang's prudent self-preservation; if he hadn't done so, he probably wouldn't have survived.
The reason behind this is quite obvious: when conquering the country, Liu Ji favored capable people like Zhang Liang, but when maintaining the country, he preferred people with relatively simple minds.
Zhang Liang could easily see through Liu Ji's thoughts, but it was too late; his only option was to save his own life.
Therefore, Zhang Liang not only refused Liu Ji's ill-intentioned offer of a marquisate with 30,000 households, but also pretended to be sick at home, rarely participated in the planning, and always avoided Liu Ji.
If Zhang Liang had chosen to follow Xiang Yu, given Xiang Yu's character, he would never have done something like "killing the dog after the rabbit is caught." Liu Ji was afraid of his merits overshadowing his lord, but whose merits could surpass Xiang Yu's?
Since he had chosen this way to save his life, it was impossible for Zhang Liang to take up an important position in the court. Liu Ji was just worried about not having a reason to give Zhang Liang a sinecure, so Zhang Liang considerately fell seriously ill.
Since Zhang Liang was so prudent in protecting himself, Liu Ji didn't need to break ties with him anymore. After all, there were still so many people who could threaten Liu Ji's throne. Solving problems required prioritizing, and even Xiao He and Fan Kuai had to be put ahead of the prudent Zhang Liang.
Some might ask, how serious was Zhang Liang's illness? Was it a real illness, or was he faking it?
Who knows? Anyway, Zhang Liang was ill for more than ten years after Liu Ji became emperor, but he didn't die. He even went to Changsha to visit Wu Rui once.
However, people like Zhang Liang, who suffer from mental illness, are destined not to live long.
They worked themselves to the bone to conquer the world, but in the end, all their credit was used to save their lives. They didn't even dare to accept any rewards. What was the point?
Anyone would feel incredibly frustrated in that situation.
But Zhang Liang did live to be over sixty years old, and his strategy of protecting himself was quite successful.
In contrast, Wu Rui, despite his best efforts to protect himself, died young in the second year after Liu Ji became emperor, his death shrouded in mystery.
How did Wu Rui manage to protect himself? He followed Zhang Liang's advice and gave the army and territory to Liu Ji and his sons, leaving only a small amount for himself and his descendants.
It can be said that the King of Changsha has already crippled himself and is not much different from an ordinary marquis.
But even so, it's not enough. As long as Wu Rui is alive, someone's heart will never be at peace.
Wu Rui's prestige was simply too high, and he was deeply loved by the people. His situation was actually more similar to that of Xiao He.
If he had used Xiao He's method, he might have been able to save his life, but he would have lost his title as King of Changsha and his lifelong reputation.
Perhaps Wu Rui also knew this outcome, so he chose to leave a hereditary throne to his descendants and refused to tarnish his own reputation.
Liu Ji truly feared only Wu Rui, the King of Changsha. As for Wu Rui's sons, they lacked prestige, popular support, and military achievements. If they were to rebel, few would respond, and they wouldn't have the guts.
Therefore, Liu Ji was happy to leave behind a very reliable, inexperienced King of Changsha to maintain appearances.
Otherwise, if all the kings of different surnames are wiped out, who will dare to surrender to him in the future?
Even if they were all charged with treason, it would be too much of a coincidence. One by one, they would rebel, even though they were weak, they would jump out to their deaths. Who would believe that?
More importantly, when this group of people recommended Liu Ji as emperor, they valued his kind and generous character. If they all turned against him one after another, does that mean that Liu Ji's character was not so great after all?
Even if it's because the ambitions of the kings of different surnames have swelled, it can't be all of them. Moreover, some of these kings have already crippled themselves, and others were easily captured by Liu Ji. Could a real rebellion be like this?
Han Xin went so far as to offer the head of his greatest friend and confidant to Liu Ji to prove his innocence, yet he was still deposed as King of Chu. Liu Ji's behavior was truly appalling.
"God of Wine, let's go to the next plane." Because of Zhongli Mei's matter, Xiang Yu was digging the cave much faster than before.
"Okay." Hao Jiu used the teleportation device as he spoke.
Then.
Snap! Rumble...
The wind and clouds swirled, and a flash of white light appeared, disappearing in the night sky in an instant.
The winter thunder startled many people who went to bed early.
The familiar way he made her entrance made Hao Jiu grit her teeth in anger. Couldn't he have been a little more discreet?
Just as Xiang Yu was about to jump off his horse, Wuzhui, he suddenly stopped. "God of Wine, this is not Ying Bu's palace, nor is this the Six Counties!"
Hao Jiu sensed something was wrong. "Does King Xiang know where this is?"
"I have never been here before, but judging from this building, it must be a royal palace." Xiang Yu looked around.
"Then let's go down and investigate... Wait! Sigh." Hao Jiu vaguely guessed the reason why he had transmigrated to this place.
Bang! Crash...
"What else, God of Wine?" Xiang Yu stomped on the roof of the palace below, shattering it once more.
"It's alright. Quickly check if your sword is in this palace." Hao Jiu felt that this place should be a storeroom-like place.
Xiang Yu looked around and saw that the place was a bit messy, with a lot of weapons and even more boxes. How was he supposed to find what he was looking for?
"Is Dionysus sure there's my sword here?" Xiang Yu casually opened a few boxes and rummaged through them.
Just then, someone rushed in from outside.
"You audacious thief! How dare you trespass into the forbidden area of the treasure vault! Seize him!" The head guard waved his hand, and several guards beside him immediately pounced on him.
Xiang Yu slowly turned around, casually picked up a long halberd from the side, and then...
Snap snap snap...
"ah!"
"Ouch..."
"Spare me, brave warrior..."
"Hiss..." The captain of the guard gasped, then calmly waved his hand again, "Surround them!"
Suddenly, all the ambushing soldiers outside sprang into action.
Xiang Yu, "..."
Hao Jiu's lips twitched violently. "Who the hell is this palace? There are so many hidden soldiers here!"
Chapter 139 Trading a Sword for a Life
Just as Xiang Yu was preparing to launch a major attack, a loud shout suddenly came from outside.
"stop!"
"This voice sounds familiar," Xiang Yu thought to himself.
"Oh? Who is it?" Hao Jiu had just asked when the crowd outside automatically parted and a strong adult in golden armor walked over from a distance.
Xiang Yu snorted coldly, "It is King Zang Tu of Yan."
"Then be careful later, don't let him recognize you for now, and don't kill him either. I believe it won't be long before Liu Ji leads his army to attack him," Hao Jiu reminded him.
"Now that I have the Heavenly Horse, killing Liu Ji shouldn't be difficult, right? There's no need to rely on others, is there?" Xiang Yu knew that strategists like Hao Jiu loved the idea of the fisherman reaping the benefits, but sometimes victory didn't have to be so complicated.
Hao Jiu was slightly taken aback. "Uh, that's true. If Xiang Yu wants to kill him, then let him kill him. Doesn't Xiang Yu want to subdue Zang Tu as well?"
"Let's wait and see." Xiang Yu didn't really hate Zang Tu that much; he was just a fence-sitter.
At this moment, Zang Tu finally arrived at the door.
"May I ask, brave warrior, what brings you into my warehouse?" Zang Tu asked, clasping his hands in greeting.
"Take the sword," Xiang Yu said in a deep voice.
"Hahaha, what skill you have, brave warrior! You managed to sneak in unnoticed despite the heavy defenses. I admire people as brave and extraordinary as you the most. I would like to be your friend. Take whatever sword you want. I dare not boast about anything else, but when it comes to collecting fine swords, I am quite confident."
Zang Tu had previously felt that this person was not an assassin, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to sneak into the palace only to end up in the warehouse. Upon hearing that the other party had come to retrieve a sword, he immediately had the idea of winning him over.
"There are too many swords, I can't find them," Xiang Yu said truthfully.
"Can't find it? What kind of sword are you looking for, sir? Tell me. Whether it's a peerless weapon that can cut through iron like mud, an ancient sword used by historical figures, or even a golden sword, I have one," Zang Tu said generously.
"What I'm looking for is the sword of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King!" Xiang Yu's words were astonishing.
"Hiss..." Zang Tu gasped. He had never told anyone outside the fact that Xiang Yu's sword was in his possession; those who knew about it had all been dealt with in secret.