However, some people reacted quickly and, regardless of what His Majesty was singing, just led the applause and cheers.
Snap snap snap...
"Excellent! Just hearing Your Majesty's first line, I knew it was a fine poem, and it's so easy to understand that I memorized it after only hearing it once." The old man from Pei County clapped enthusiastically, praising the poem to the best of his ability.
Liu Ji raised an eyebrow at Lu Jia triumphantly, feeling incredibly pleased with Lu Jia's astonished expression. What audacity! How dare he take the opportunity to insult me, calling me a beast! Heh heh, I used a little trick to change the word 'beast' to 'scholar,' instantly defusing the awkward situation.
Lu Jia looked at Liu Ji's expression with complete bewilderment. Did His Majesty think he wrote it better? Was he trying to provoke him?
What a terrible poem! A scholar with two eggs, and he's talking to him about it. Lu Jia is increasingly confused. What does he have to do with eggs? Where did these eggs come from?
"Hahaha...that's hilarious!" Hao Jiu laughed so hard he almost fell over.
Xiang Yu couldn't contain himself either, and the smile on his face grew wider and wider. This was probably the happiest he had been since arriving in this world.
Liu Ji chuckled, "I knew you all liked it. Now listen to the next line, and learn it well."
"Yes, sir." The crowd responded happily.
Liu Ji struck the zither again, glanced at the three beauties serving beside him, and recited:
"Three beauties... six breasts~"
"Oh dear! Your Majesty, you're so annoying~~"
"Hahaha..." Liu Ji laughed uncontrollably.
"Hehehe..." Everyone laughed awkwardly.
The old man from Pei County racked his brains but couldn't think of a way to praise Liu Ji's poem. It was quite easy to understand and remember, and also very fitting for the occasion.
Lu Jia's face darkened. After hearing the second line, he could easily understand the meaning of the first line. He was about to advise Liu Ji that it was inappropriate to sing such a vulgar song in this setting, but before he could speak, Liu Ji's next line came.
"Two eggs...three legs!" Liu Ji looked at Lu Jia again, then at the beauty beside him, "Six breasts...six mouths~~"
The entire audience covered their faces in embarrassment...
"Hahaha... Come on, everyone, sing along with me. Oops... Wait, wait, I need to use the restroom first. You all practice on your own." Liu Ji slowly stood up, swayed a few times, and was helped by Guo Meng to walk towards the restroom.
Lu Jia immediately got up and followed, listening to the rushing water outside the latrine.
A moment later, Liu Ji emerged, supported by Guo Meng.
"Your Majesty!" Lu Jia bowed deeply.
"Oh, it's Old Lu. How was my poem recitation? Hehe." Liu Ji was much more awake now.
Lu Jia sighed, "Your Majesty, may I speak with you in private?"
"Old Guo, go ahead and wait for me." Liu Ji waved his hand, and Guo Meng bowed and left.
Lu Jia said with great distress, "Why doesn't Your Majesty use my advice? You should know that this will be recorded in the history books; it's an insult to scholarship!"
Liu Ji's smile vanished, and he snorted coldly as he pulled the silk scroll from his robes. "Isn't this the one you gave me? I merely changed 'beast' to 'Confucian scholar,' how is that an insult to scholarship?"
"Huh?" Lu Jia took the silk book with a bewildered look, and his expression changed drastically.
...
After a while, Liu Ji returned to the meeting place with the help of Guo Meng and Lu Jia.
"Uh, gentlemen, I was a little tipsy just now, so I played a little joke on you all. It's good to share some fun with the people, and talking about matters of the heart is fitting. Now, I'm going to show off my skills and sing you a song from 'The Song of the Great Wind,' hiccup..."
Clang...
As soon as the zither music began, Liu Ji started singing along with the melody:
"A strong wind rises...and the clouds fly high!"
With power and influence throughout the land... I long to return to my homeland.
Township, uh…
Lu Jia whispered a reminder from beside him, "Sharing joy with the people while lamenting one's own sorrow, where can one find brave warriors to guard the four directions?"
However, Liu Ji was now under the influence of alcohol and his hearing was not very good. He only heard the second half of the sentence, so he spoke up:
"Where can I find brave warriors... to guard the four directions!"
Lu Jia grinned and led the applause. Fine, three sentences it is. Although the last sentence followed by the second sentence is a bit abrupt, it can't be appreciated without careful reading.
"Excellent! I never imagined Your Majesty possessed such literary talent! I simply don't know how to describe it!" the elder from Pei County exclaimed excitedly. So His Majesty had returned to his hometown to find brave warriors who could help him guard the four directions! Strange indeed, could it be that none of the many generals in His Majesty's army are worthy of being called brave warriors?
After a round of flattery, everyone started singing the "Great Wind Song," repeating the same three lines over and over again until it became incredibly tiresome.
After singing the song several times, Liu Ji disregarded his injuries and danced along, his voice filled with emotion and tears streaming down his face. He addressed his father and brothers in Pei:
“A traveler always longs for his hometown. Although I live in Guanzhong, even after I die, my soul will still yearn for my hometown of Pei. I recall how I was able to overthrow the tyrannical Qin Dynasty and eventually gain the world after I took up the post of Duke Pei.”
Therefore, I hereby grant Pei County as my personal fief, exempting its people from corvée labor, so that from this day forward, for generations to come, they will not have to pay taxes to the court!
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The elders and old friends of Pei County kowtowed one after another, and then offered them fine wine and meat. They drank and made merry for days, telling stories of the Emperor's past for amusement.
After drinking for more than ten days, Liu Ji's injuries worsened, and he bled profusely...
What can be done?
Chapter 183 Blocking the Road and Crying Out for Justice
What can be done?
Liu Ji didn't take it too seriously at first, but his injuries didn't improve and even worsened. If this continued, he probably wouldn't last three months before the imperial mausoleum was completed and he would die.
"My court is full of quacks! Get out of here!" Liu Ji grabbed a wine cup and smashed it at the imperial physician.
"Your Majesty, please calm down! I'll leave right away, I'll leave right away." The imperial physician lamented inwardly, "I've told His Majesty to drink less alcohol long ago, but His Majesty won't listen."
Looking at the imperial physician who had been driven out by Liu Ji, Xiang Yu murmured, "Shou Jun is indeed powerful. It seems that Liu Ji will not escape death this time."
Hao Jiu smiled slightly, "Is it because Shou Jun is powerful? It's because Liu Ji brought this upon himself, okay? He was so badly injured and kept drinking for days on end. It would be strange if the bleeding could stop."
In fact, Liu Ji should have realized long ago that drinking alcohol was harmful to his recovery, but the black dragon had deprived him of the pain, so he didn't notice the injury worsening in time.
By the time the bleeding stopped, it was too late. Even the imperial physicians were helpless, as Liu Ji had drunk far too much.
But Liu Ji had his own reasons. He had promised Heilong that he would not touch women, and he had indeed done so. But a person has to enjoy life, right? If he couldn't get close to women, it wouldn't be too much to drink a little wine, would it?
As an emperor, if you can't do this or that, what's the point of living?
Besides, he already knows he's going to die, so why bother caring so much?
As a result, the self-destructive progress was a bit too fast.
"Dragon God, please save me! My tomb isn't even finished yet, and it would be too early for me to die. Besides, I haven't even had a chance to offer sacrifices to the Dragon God!" Liu Ji had no choice but to plead with the black dragon again.
"Idiot! Who told you to drink so much!" Black Dragon was furious. He had been researching the secrets of the Immortal Sword and had hardly shown himself. He thought that cutting off Liu Ji's supply of blue pills would make Liu Ji quiet down for a while, but the guy had become a drunkard again.
Liu Ji lamented, "How could I have known that drinking would worsen my injuries? Dragon God, save me!"
"Alright, I'll give you some pills. You can crush them into powder and sprinkle them on your wound to stop the bleeding. But if you continue to drink heavily, don't come looking for me if you die!" After saying that, the black dragon poked its head out and spat a few small blue pills into Liu Ji's palm.
Liu Ji's eyes widened instantly, and he became inexplicably excited. "What does the Dragon God mean by this?"
"The effects of internal and external application are different. If you insist on internal use, hehe, you will die today!" The black dragon threw down these words and shrank back into Liu Ji's body.
Liu Ji looked at his bleeding wound, then at the small blue pill in his hand, and finally gritted his teeth and gave up the idea of taking it internally. He crushed the pill one by one and sprinkled it on the wound, which stopped the bleeding immediately, and he finished the medicine just in time.
"It seems there's no point in staying in Pei County any longer. Men! Pass on my order: the army must return to Guanzhong!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldier at the door replied and went to relay the order.
Soon after, the elders of Pei County, who had learned of Liu Ji's departure, rushed over.
"Your Majesty! Please stay a few more days! We haven't heard enough about Your Majesty's glorious achievements!" the elder from Pei County exclaimed.
Liu Ji, clutching his wound, said, “I appreciate your kindness, but I am injured and it is really not appropriate for me to drink any more. Besides, I have many followers, and the elders of Pei County cannot provide for them all. If we continue to eat and drink, I am afraid we will empty Pei County. How can I be at ease?”
"Well... His Majesty is benevolent." Upon hearing this, the elder from Pei County knew that Liu Ji truly intended to leave, so he said, "Then let us see His Majesty off!"
"Good!" Liu Ji secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If he drank any more, he would have to call the Dragon God for help, and even then, the Dragon God might not care. It was better to just leave.
However, because the move to permanently reduce taxes was so popular, when the people of Pei County learned that Liu Ji was leaving, the entire city turned out to see him off, and they presented him with a large number of farewell gifts, following Liu Ji's army all the way.
Therefore, Liu Ji had no choice but to hold another banquet in the west of Pei County to thank the elders of Pei County.
Liu Ji felt something was amiss; the people were being far too enthusiastic. So he summoned an elder from Pei County and asked, "Sir, if you have something to say, please speak frankly. I cannot delay my journey any longer. What am I supposed to do with you all following me like this?"
The elder from Pei County knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, Pei County has been granted an exemption from taxes and corvée labor by imperial grace, but Feng County has not received such favor. We hope that Your Majesty will show leniency and care for Feng County.”
Liu Ji suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. Alas, Feng County is where I was born, and I will never forget it. It is only because Yong Chi rebelled against me here and returned to Wei, and the people supported him, that I no longer wish to take care of Feng County."
The elder from Pei County felt a chill run down his spine. Liu Ji truly harbored resentment over what happened back then. "Your Majesty! How could the people of Fengyi have controlled Yong Chi's betrayal back then? Besides, didn't Your Majesty successfully reclaim Fengyi later? The people were deceived by Yong Chi; they didn't intend to be your enemies. Your Majesty even pardoned and ennobled Yong Chi. So many years have passed; why can't you forgive the people of Fengyi?"
Liu Ji curled his lip and said, "Heh heh, who said I haven't forgiven the people of Fengdi? I forgave them long ago, otherwise I would have arrested them as rebels and made them work on my mausoleum! As for the tax exemption, it is my reward to you all. I will reward whomever I want, and I will not reward whomever I don't want!"
“Uh, this…” The elder from Pei County wiped his sweat, then his eyes lit up as he thought of something. “Your Majesty, the people of Fengyi have prepared fine wine and beautiful women to entertain you. We hope that Your Majesty will consider our fellow townsmen’s friendship and not refuse. The people of both Fengyi and Peiyi will be grateful for Your Majesty’s kindness for generations to come.”
Liu Ji shuddered. "What? More drinking? I'm in a hurry to get going, I don't have time! You should go back, what does the matter of Fengdi have to do with you?"
The old man from Pei County gritted his teeth and said, “Your Majesty! I have been entrusted with this task and I am doing my duty. The people of Fengdi have been kneeling in front of my door for three days. They are my fellow villagers, and I am willing to risk my old bones for them. I beg Your Majesty to grant the people of Fengdi a chance to admit their mistake.”
Liu Ji rubbed his chin, thinking that he would soon be leaving this world, so there was no need to make things difficult for the old man and the people of Fengdi. He should leave a good reputation, so that Lu Jia could write this matter in the "Chronicle of Chu and Han".
"In that case, I will grant you face and make the taxes of Feng County the same as those of Pei County. However, the banquet to express my gratitude is unnecessary. Go now."
The elder from Pei County was overjoyed upon hearing this, exclaiming, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"
The following day, Liu Ji's army set off again, and by then Ying Bu's rebellion had completely ended.
Without exchanging words, Liu Ji returned to the capital in triumph, entered the pass, and arrived in Chang'an.
Liu Ji's entourage was blocked by thousands of people as soon as they stepped into Chang'an.
"Waaaaah... Your Majesty, please do justice for this humble subject!"
Chapter 184 Xiao He Imprisoned
Chang'an, the Prime Minister's residence.
Xiao He unconsciously rubbed his hands, looking unusually absent-minded.