Lü Zhi forcefully suppressed the urge to cry for help. "Han Xin, don't do anything rash. You're a grown man, why are you arguing with a woman? Besides, those outside are all my men."
Han Xin snorted coldly and walked step by step toward Lü Zhi. "Just now, Han Xin begged for death but could not, so why would he be afraid of death now? With such divine power, how could any number of enemies stop King Xiang?"
Lü Zhi recalled how she had just treated Han Xin and suddenly realized that Han Xin would definitely not give her a quick death. Let alone a hundred spears, she couldn't even withstand one spear.
Thump!
Lü Zhi immediately knelt down before Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu was soft-hearted; he and his family had not been mistreated when they fell into his hands. Later, Yong Chi and others strongly recommended that Xiang Yu punish evildoers severely and use her and the Liu family's lives to force Liu Ji to negotiate peace for the sake of the common people and to end the war as soon as possible. Xiang Yu did not completely listen to them, insisting on not harming the hostages, and finally released them.
Therefore, under the current circumstances, the guards outside had no time to rescue her, and only by begging Xiang Yu could she have a chance of survival.
"King Xiang, can you bear to watch me be tortured to death by Han Xin here? If this gets out, it will inevitably tarnish your illustrious name! As for the suffering Han Xin has endured, I am willing to make amends in other ways. I beg you, King Xiang, to have mercy!" Lü Zhi kowtowed on the ground, trembling like a leaf.
Han Xin's eyes widened in fury, his teeth clenched, and he slowly pointed his bamboo spear at Lü Zhi. "You wicked woman, what right do you have to beg King Xiang for mercy? If I were to torture and kill you today to avenge myself, even if word got out, who would hold King Xiang responsible?"
Empress Lü waved her hands repeatedly, “No, no, Han Xin, you have already pledged allegiance to King Xiang. Whatever you do will be attributed to King Xiang. There are so many people outside, someone will surely recognize King Xiang. You are a subject, yet you have tarnished your lord’s reputation. Isn’t that repaying kindness with enmity?”
King Xiang! King Xiang has returned as a god! What I saw today was like a dream, incredibly wondrous. I dare not be your enemy any longer. I am willing to help you regain control of the world. I would even offer up the head of that heartless man!
And those who betrayed Xiang Yu in the past, secretly sabotaging his rule, such as Xiang Bo and Ying Bu—I am willing to torture them to death on Xiang Yu's behalf, ensuring they suffer a terrible end!
Han Xin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then snapped the bamboo spear in half and threw it on the ground. He turned around, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xiang Yu, saying, "My lord, please accept Han Xin's bow!"
Xiang Yu solemnly said, "Get up. Why did you let Lü Zhi go? Don't you want revenge? If I want to conquer this world, I will take it myself."
As for reputation, a single rumor or slander can ruin a lifetime of fame. Whether the world believes it or not, does it have anything to do with whether I, the king, have done it or not?
Some say rumors stop with the wise, but are there more wise people or mediocre people in this world? I, the King, have long since stopped caring about reputation; as long as I act with a clear conscience, that's enough.
Empress Lü Zhi tortured and killed Han Xin first, so why couldn't Han Xin retaliate? Was it simply because Empress Lü Zhi was a woman? In my opinion, Empress Lü Zhi was far more courageous than that guard who fainted from fright. Giving her a quick death was already more than enough!
Upon hearing this, Lü Zhi turned pale. It seemed that her request to Xiang Yu this time would only result in a quick death. If she wanted to live, it would depend on Han Xin's choice. If Han Xin insisted on revenge, she would surely die, and at most, she would only be able to take Han Xin with her to the grave.
With his overwhelming strength, breaking through the encirclement was no problem at all. Moreover, Xiang Yu now possessed godlike power, which allowed him to instantly heal the seriously injured Han Xin.
Who in this world could rival him? Liu Ji?
Han Xin clasped his hands and said, “My lord, I think it is beneficial for you to keep Lü Zhi alive. I also know that King Xiang would not stoop to killing a mere woman, so I let her go. If you want revenge, go find Liu Ji.”
Furthermore, I betrayed King Xiang and mistakenly took Liu Ji as a wise ruler, committing an unforgivable crime that deserves death. This is why I suffer this calamity today. Consider this pain of being pierced by a bamboo spear as my deserved punishment.
Xiang Yu nodded slightly. The reason Hao Jiu didn't want him to show up and rescue Han Xin sooner was that he wanted Han Xin to suffer more and receive the punishment he deserved. It seems that the effect is quite good now.
"In that case, I will grant your wish." Xiang Yu truly had no ill will towards Lü Zhi, nor could he say he harbored any great hatred for her.
Hao Jiu treated Lü Zhi the same way. Most of the evil deeds Lü Zhi committed in history were those that harmed Liu Ji. She killed two and a half of Liu Ji's sons and even cuckolded Liu Ji in a very vivid way.
"Thank you, King Xiang! Thank you, General Han!" Lü Zhi never expected that Han Xin would turn around and plead for her, and that Xiang Yu would actually agree.
It seems that Xiang Yu never intended to kill her. Lü Zhi knew she had made the right gamble; if she had recklessly called for the guards outside to come in and rescue the emperor, her body would probably be cold by now.
The next question is how to help King Xiang kill that unfaithful man and those who betrayed him. If this is done well, will King Xiang reward him with an elixir?
"Lü Zhi, you'd better watch yourself. Han Xin, let's go." After saying this, Xiang Yu grabbed Han Xin and leaped upwards, while simultaneously sweeping his Overlord Halberd upwards.
Bang! Swoosh! The roof flew off.
The black horse swooped down and caught Xiang Yu precisely, then disappeared in a flash, while Han Xin was still being carried by Xiang Yu!
At this moment, a great commotion suddenly broke out outside the bell tower of Changle Palace.
"Run! The roof is collapsing!"
"Whoa! What is that?!"
"It looks like a horse, someone is riding a horse in the sky!"
"Hiss... Am I dreaming?"
...
Xiao He slapped himself hard across the face. "Did I just see a deity? By the way, where is the Empress? Is she alright?"
Empress Lü Zhi looked up at the direction Xiang Yu had left, her face filled with adoration, and murmured, "It's a pity that I'm old and my beauty has faded, and my daughter married young..."
With the cold wind blowing in his face, Han Xin stood like a quail, not daring to move an inch, for fear that he might accidentally fall from the sky.
And he was really cold, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, not wanting Xiang Yu to look down on him.
"King Xiang, where are we going?" Han Xin asked, mustering his courage.
"Dongyuan," Xiang Yu replied.
Han Xin's eyes lit up. "Is Xiang Yu going to kill Liu Ji?"
“That’s right. I can go alone. When I reach Zhao, I will leave you there. I will come back to pick you up after I kill Liu Ji.” Xiang Yu felt that he could go to Liu Ji’s camp at night and kill him without any problem, so there was no need to make things too complicated.
"Then why doesn't King Xiang place me in Dongyuan City? If Chen Xi is there, I am absolutely certain I can persuade him to submit to King Xiang, and I can also help him defend the city and draw the Han army's attention," Han Xin said, clasping his hands in a fist salute. Then he sneezed, but that was all.
"It seems the healing medicine is quite effective in enhancing physical strength. It heals injuries and strengthens the body even when there are no injuries." Hao Jiu had experienced the thrill of riding a motorcycle in the dead of winter when he was a man. Now that the black horse was flying in the sky, it was much more impressive than that. Han Xin was able to endure it for so long and even asked to sit until the end.
Xiang Yu nodded to himself, "Then why doesn't the God of Wine give me a little more..."
"Oh dear, King Xiang! In order to rescue Zhongli Mei as soon as possible, let's hurry up and deal with Liu Ji. Since Han Xin's body can still hold on, why don't we let the black horse go at full speed?" Hao Jiu suggested.
Xiang Yu was slightly taken aback. "The God of Wine is right. If we are going to kill Liu Ji, why wait until night?"
"drive!"
Whew~~~~
Whoosh!
Han Xin, “…”
Chapter 145 A God Descends to Earth (Happy New Year everyone!)
It would have been better if Hao Jiu hadn't mentioned Zhongli Mei; the moment he did, any pity or sympathy Xiang Yu had for Han Xin vanished.
Because Zhongli Mei in this dimension is already dead!
Han Xin was not a noble person, and his thought process was quite different from that of ordinary people.
For example, the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs was something that could have been avoided in many ways, but Han Xin actually did it.
There is also the story of the kindness of a single meal. After Han Xin became the King of Chu, he specially sought out the old woman who had given him a full meal years ago and rewarded her with a thousand pieces of gold to repay her kindness.
However, when Han Xin was down on his luck, a village headman helped him many times by giving him food. But because the village headman's wife later disliked him and stopped giving him food, Han Xin held a grudge and never gave the couple a single penny after he became the King of Chu.
Whether Han Xin actually betrayed Liu Ji and intended to rebel is an interesting question.
Historically, Chen Xi's rebellion was indeed influenced by Han Xin, but it wasn't Marquis of Huaiyin Han Xin, but King Han Xin!
When Han Xin was forced to relocate to Dai to guard against the Xiongnu, he was so angry that he did not fight the Xiongnu. Instead, he joined forces with the Xiongnu to fight Liu Ji. At the same time, he sent his subordinate Wang Huang to persuade Chen Xi to rebel against Liu Ji.
Therefore, Marquis Han Xin of Huaiyin was truly wronged. He was a loyal minister who was killed on trumped-up charges simply because his merits overshadowed his lord.
Of course, Chen Xi was a student of Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin. Han Xin had suffered repeated injustices, and Chen Xi had long seen through Liu Ji's character. It would be strange if he didn't rebel.
Dongyuan City, the county seat of Dongyuan County, was originally the capital of Zhang Er, the King of Hengshan. Its location is roughly in the present-day Donggucheng Village of Shijiazhuang City.
Now, the city has been occupied by Chen Xi, and Liu Ji has personally led his army to quell the rebellion.
The Han army adopted a strategy of encircling three sides while leaving one side undefended, stationing its main force in the east, south, and west directions, leaving only the north side undefended.
In reality, Guan Ying's cavalry had already circled around to the north and captured Quni (Xishunping County, Baoding). As long as the garrison inside the city dared to break out, they could be annihilated in one fell swoop.
After Chen Xi raised an army in rebellion, many cities in Dai and Zhao responded. Unfortunately, he had no capable generals and the rebellion was quelled after only about a year.
Grand Commandant Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai led their troops to attack Taiyuan and Dai Commandery, while Liu Ji, Cao Can, and Guan Ying attacked the State of Zhao.
Cao Shen defeated the army of Chen Xi's general Zhang Chun at Liaocheng, capturing more than 10,000 people, while Liu Ji and Guan Ying's army was blocked at Zhangshui.
Liu Ji then recalled the strategy Zhang Liang had offered when attacking Wuguan and Yaoguan: to bribe enemy generals with a large sum of money. It proved effective, and they successfully crossed the Zhang River and captured cities such as Handan and Julu.
Then Guan Ying led a portion of his troops to attack Qu Ni, while Liu Ji led his army north to attack Dong Yuan.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty is of inestimable strength, how can you personally attack the city?" Zhao Xiang Zhou Chang earnestly advised.
"Lord Zhou is absolutely right..." Everyone echoed, thinking to themselves, "Don't we know our own limitations? Everyone has their own expertise; can't we just focus on being the emperor?"
He insisted on personally commanding an army of 560,000 in Pengcheng, but was defeated by Xiang Yu's 30,000 Chu troops.
Then, in the Battle of Baideng, he became so confident that he abandoned his main force and led tens of thousands of men to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu. He was eventually besieged on Baideng Mountain for seven days and seven nights, without water or food. Finally, thanks to some secret plan by Chen Ping, he persuaded Modu Chanyu to secretly open a gap in the defense line and let Liu Ji leave.
Although Liu Ji and Chen Ping both kept quiet, judging from the fact that they released the people secretly, it was definitely not because Maodun was afraid of the Han army; he must have promised some benefits.
After that, Liu Ji adopted a policy of marriage alliance with the Xiongnu, and from then on never mentioned the parts of Jiuyuan, Beidi and Shangjun that the Xiongnu had seized. Who knows if there was any connection between them?
Now, Liu Ji is itching to show off his skills again and insists on personally commanding the siege. Isn't he just playing with the lives of the soldiers?
Liu Ji curled his lip. "I know you all disagree with my military abilities. That's true, I have suffered several major defeats in the past, but I have also won quite a few, such as... well, I won't go into details, too many, it's a waste of time. You need to understand that I am the ruler of this land, and I decide who attacks the city! I'll send myself, so what?"
Zhou Chang's lips twitched violently. There were quite a few victories, but they were all won by others. Liu Ji was just a figurehead. Usually, with Zhang Liang and a large group of famous generals by his side, how could he possibly command personally?
In other words, the advantage was too great during the Battle of Pengcheng, and everyone thought that Liu Ji could not possibly defeat him even if he were given a free fight at that time, right?
And they really did lose, and they lost miserably!
Not to mention the Siege of Baideng. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Liu Ji intended to eliminate those ministers who had overshadowed him. They all fled as far away as possible. With fewer people around, there was no way to stop Liu Ji from indulging in his own way.
An emperor who insists on competing with military generals for credit is truly baffling.
Of course, everyone knew in their hearts that Liu Ji was increasingly distrustful of those who had fought alongside him to conquer the world, and was unwilling to relinquish military power.
The mighty Han Dynasty had countless famous generals, but Liu Ji had no one he could rely on. This "person" refers to someone Liu Ji could completely trust!
The crowd looked at each other, realizing that even the Emperor was resorting to shameless tactics; how could they possibly persuade him otherwise? They figured they could just suffer another defeat.
Fortunately, there aren't many troops in the city, and there's no one like Xiang Yu leading the army. So, we should be able to achieve a great victory this time.
Therefore, Liu Ji 'persuaded' the generals and personally led the army to attack the city.
Golden helmet, golden armor, golden sword, golden chariot! Liu Ji had been preparing this outfit for a long time, and now it could finally be put to use!
"All troops, listen up! Begin the siege!" Liu Ji drew his golden sword and swung it forward, striking the chariot with a clang.
Although they were all wrapped in gold leather, they were still quite heavy. The key issue was that Liu Ji was very weak, even though he was already in his fifties or sixties.
"Charge! Kill!" Han soldiers, carrying long ladders and shields, charged towards Dongyuan City.
Then.
"Fire!" Zhao Li, the garrison commander of Dongyuan, gave the order.