It can be said that with the death of Empress Lü, Liu Ji's direct bloodline was wiped out.
Of course, when Empress Lü was alive, most of Liu Ji's collateral bloodlines had also died, so the number of Liu Ji's descendants who died tragically was among the highest in history.
According to historical records, there is an 80% chance that Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, who unexpectedly inherited the throne, was not Liu Ji's biological son.
Historical records clearly state that after Liu Ji seized Wei Bao's wife, Bo Ji, he did not touch her for one or two years. Later, when Liu Ji was favoring other concubines, he heard Bo Ji's name from one of them and then remembered to go see her.
When Liu Ji arrived, Bo Ji told him that she had dreamt of a dragon coiled around her stomach.
Liu Ji was overjoyed upon hearing this and said he would help Bo Ji make the matter happen. So, after a night of lovemaking, Bo Ji coincidentally became pregnant. Intriguingly, Liu Ji went off to work with other women after that night and never favored Bo Ji again.
If this historical record is true, then combined with modern medical knowledge, we can draw an interesting conclusion: the probability that Liu Heng was Liu Ji's biological son is exactly the same as the probability of a first pregnancy, which is about 20%.
It's important to know that Liu Ji was already over fifty years old when he favored Bo Ji. How strong could he be? Moreover, it also depends on whether Bo Ji was ovulating when she was favored.
Some people say that Liu Ji was so wise and capable, how could he not keep an eye on his wife and let other men take advantage of her?
But in fact, Liu Ji's first wife, Lü Zhi, had already put a huge green hat on Liu Ji. Moreover, there were no eunuchs in the palace when Liu Ji was emperor; eunuchs only appeared during the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The guards in the inner palace were all men. Chen Ping had served in a position similar to that of a palace guard leader. It's terrifying to think about.
Of course, many things recorded in historical books are unreliable and cannot be completely believed.
"Hehe." Hao Jiu chuckled wickedly.
"Why is the God of Wine laughing?" Xiang Yu asked, puzzled.
"Xiang Yu, do you think Empress Lü will take the initiative to eliminate Liu Ji's descendants?" Hao Jiu was very curious about how Empress Lü would treat her own flesh and blood.
Xiang Yu was slightly taken aback, then coldly replied, "What does it have to do with me!"
"Haha! What King Xiang said is absolutely right! Then let's hurry up and go to the sixth plane! Let's go~ let's go raise pigs~" Hao Jiu laughed.
"Isn't it about raising dragons?" Xiang Yu asked, puzzled.
"Then let's raise dragon pigs!"
Chapter 168 Xiao He's Peril
The sixth branch plane.
The last time Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu came was in the seventh month of autumn in the eleventh year of Emperor Gaozu of Han, but now it was already winter.
After some investigation, Hao Jiu and Xiang Yu confirmed many things, the most important of which was that the black dragon in this plane did not show any signs of escaping for the time being.
As long as the black dragon doesn't run away, the pigs can continue to be raised, and they can still be raised naturally in a free-range manner.
Many important events also occurred during this period. After Ying Bu raised his army, Liu Ji established Liu Chang as the King of Huainan. He then mobilized 30,000 cavalry from Shangjun, Beidi, Longxi, Bashu, and the Imperial Guard to protect the Crown Prince and station them at Bashang to prepare for the event.
Meanwhile, Ying Bu attacked and killed King Liu Jia of Jing in the east, forced King Liu Jia's troops to surrender, crossed the Huai River to attack Chu, and King Liu Jiao of Chu retreated to Xue. It was a completely unstoppable momentum.
This battle strategy wasn't necessarily wrong, but it gave Liu Ji enough time to react and prepare, allowing him to calmly mobilize troops to encircle and suppress the enemy.
More importantly, Xue Gong, under Liu Ji's command, had anticipated this situation in advance, meaning that Ying Bu's military deployment strategy was entirely under the control of the Han army.
Following Xue Gong's advice, Liu Ji pardoned prisoners of all crimes punishable by death and below, allowing them to join the army. At the same time, he mobilized troops from various vassal states and personally led an expedition against Ying Bu.
Under such circumstances, Ingbu's chances of ultimately winning are very slim.
But in Hao Jiu’s opinion, these are not the most difficult things for Ying Bu. The most difficult thing is that Liu Ji in this world has the Black Dragon System. If Xiang Yu doesn’t take action, how can Ying Bu win?
Hao Jiu asked Xiang Yu for his opinion, but Xiang Yu did not intend to help Ying Bu. Hao Jiu was even less likely to do so, as he still wanted to raise pigs, preferably until Liu Ji passed away.
Of course, it's unknown whether Liu Ji in this world, after acquiring the system, will still reign for eight years before dying as he did in history.
Besides the rebellion of Ying Bu, something else happened that autumn that surprised everyone.
Xiao He, who had always enjoyed a high reputation and good standing, actually used his power to forcibly buy land from thousands of ordinary people at a low price, thus tarnishing his own reputation!
This story begins with the killing of Marquis of Huaiyin, Han Xin. After Xiao He secretly helped Liu Ji eliminate this major threat, Liu Ji was very pleased. So he bestowed a title upon Xiao He and sent a captain with 500 soldiers to protect him.
Not only was his fiefdom expanded, but he also had a massive force of five hundred guards in the capital, truly a sign of the Emperor's growing favor.
Xiao He was naturally very happy, feeling that the best decision he had ever made was helping Liu Ji conquer the world, and the pang of conscience he felt from killing the loyal minister Han Xin disappeared.
Many guests came to offer their congratulations, but just as Xiao He was in high spirits, a man named Zhao Ping came and asked to see Xiao He alone. This man was the Marquis of Dongling, who was appointed by Qin Shi Huang.
Xiao He assumed Zhao Ping, like the others, had come to congratulate him, and without much thought, he met with him. However, Zhao Ping's first words to him were, "Your misfortune has arrived."
Xiao He was puzzled, so he humbly asked for his explanation.
Zhao Ping then explained to Xiao He, "Don't you think about it? You're in the rear of Guanzhong. Who would attack you? What use are five hundred guards? It's because that overly suspicious emperor fears you'll rebel, so he sent them to monitor you. If even one person falsely accuses the prime minister of treason, His Majesty will deal with you the way he dealt with Han Xin."
Upon hearing this, Xiao He suddenly realized the truth and was terrified. He asked Zhao Ping what to do.
Zhao Ping then suggested that Xiao He decline all of Liu Ji's rewards and donate his own property to support the war against Chen Xi, and send his relatives to the front lines to fight. This would put Liu Ji at ease.
After Xiao He followed Zhao Ping's plan, Liu Ji was overjoyed and regained his trust in Xiao He.
But this was not the end of the matter. Not long after, Ying Bu rebelled against Liu Ji again because of Peng Yue's meat soup. Helpless, Liu Ji, who did not trust anyone, once again went on an expedition.
Therefore, Xiao He followed the same strategy as Zhao Ping had used before, diligently pacifying the people in Guanzhong and spending all his wealth to support the military.
Xiao He thought that Liu Ji would be very happy this time and continue to trust him, but Liu Ji often inquired about Xiao He's actions, even about some trivial matters in daily life.
At this moment, Zhao Ping arrived again, and his first words were, "Your entire clan will soon be exterminated!"
Why? Xiao He was puzzled. He had shown such loyalty, yet Liu Ji still suspected him of treason. How could that be!
Zhao Ping explained, 'Your position as Chancellor is unparalleled in merit. However, you were already very popular when you first entered Guanzhong, a position you held for over a decade. The people were already loyal to you, yet you continued to tirelessly strive to win their favor. The Emperor's repeated inquiries about you stem from his fear that you might seize the opportunity to destabilize Guanzhong while he is away.'
Xiao He then realized that what Liu Ji truly feared was his prestige among the people and the merits he had made in the past; in short, it was the idea that his achievements overshadowed the emperor.
The last time he donated his family property and asked to resign his reward, it was not much different from Han Xin handing over the military power of Qi to show his loyalty, or King Wu Rui of Changsha surrendering the city and his army. In fact, it was even worse. At most, it could only buy him temporary safety.
Or perhaps Chen Xi's rebellion indirectly saved Xiao He; otherwise, Liu Ji might have found a way to get rid of him if he had the chance. The best outcome would probably have been like Wu Rui's, where his offspring could inherit the title and continue the lineage.
Even if Xiao He understood these principles, what could he do now? He couldn't very well take this opportunity to seize Guanzhong for himself, could he?
Therefore, what Xiao He sought was to gain Liu Ji's trust as much as possible. After all, he was just a civil official, unlike Zhang Liang who had the ability to strategize and Han Xin who had the ability to command thousands of troops.
So Xiao He sought advice from Zhao Ping again.
Since Zhao Ping was able to come to Xiao He, he must have already prepared a countermeasure, which was the ingenious plan of forcibly buying land and property and tarnishing his own reputation.
Since Liu Ji fears Xiao He's prestige and reputation, let's destroy them. The more the people hate him, the safer he will be.
Only by defiling himself could he reassure Liu Ji.
If an emperor with such a thought process can be considered a wise ruler, then the standard for a wise ruler is far too low.
Of course, Liu Ji never claimed to be a wise ruler. The so-called wise ruler is just a halo that later generations imposed on the victor.
Historical records show that Zhou Chang once accused Liu Ji of being a tyrant, which was quite reasonable. Liu Ji was indeed a tyrant, otherwise he would not have chopped Peng Yue into mincemeat and distributed it to the feudal lords.
But a tyrant is not the same as a foolish ruler. Liu Ji had only one goal: to eliminate anyone who could threaten his rule, one by one.
The ruthless and merciless nature of turning against someone perfectly illustrates the mindset of an emperor and consolidates his rule.
However, in this process, it is inevitable that many talented people will be lost, and a truly wise ruler can manage these talented people well, just like Liu Ji did before he became emperor.
Unfortunately, you can only fool people for a short time. It's too difficult to fool them forever. Not only might the deceived person realize what's going on, but the swindler himself also can't stand it. Usually, once he gets what he wants, he starts to turn his back on them.
After Liu Ji became emperor, his true nature was gradually revealed. Most of the talented people who had been deceived by Liu Ji's disguise as a wise ruler suffered, while those who did not have much real ability were given important positions by Liu Ji.
Hao Jiu smiled slightly after learning that Xiao He had defamed himself, because both Xiao He and Zhao Ping had underestimated Liu Ji's ruthlessness. To save their lives, defamation alone was far from enough.
"King Xiang, do you want Xiao He?"
"I want a loyal Xiao He, not one who is terrified by the might of the gods," Xiang Yu replied.
“No problem. After Liu Ji defeats Ying Bu and returns to Chang’an, there will be a good opportunity to recruit Xiao He.” Hao Jiu smiled slightly.
"Oh, the decisive battle between the two sides is about to begin."
Boom boom boom... The war drums sound!
Chapter 169 Green Brothers
Southwest of Pengcheng, within the territory of Huizhou (present-day Suzhou City), a major battle is about to break out.
On one side was the Nationalist army led by Liu Ji, and on the other side was the rebel army led by Ying Bu.
Strangely, compared to the other side, Ying Bu's rebel army was more elite. Not only was their military appearance well-organized, but they also formed the formation that Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, used to frequently employ.
Liu Ji's Nationalist army was disorganized and resembled prisoners and bandits, with almost no formation, simply arranged in a square formation, but they had the advantage of having more people.
However, these people were all prisoners granted amnesty by Liu Ji and miscellaneous troops from various warlords, so he wouldn't care if they all died.
Liu Ji initially lost every battle against Xiang Yu with his regular army, but later he sent the elderly, weak, women and children from Guanzhong to the battlefield to attack Xiang Yu, which surprisingly yielded excellent results.
Therefore, the power of this cannon fodder tactic should not be underestimated.
Standing atop the carriage, Liu Ji was full of vigor. He waved his hand and shouted, "Charge! Rout the rebels in one fell swoop! Kill them!"
"Kill!" the Nationalist soldiers shouted, and then surged towards Ying Bu's army like a tidal wave.
Ying Bu snorted coldly, "They're all just chickens and dogs. Without Zhang, Han, Peng, Lü, and the others, Liu Ji is nothing to fear. Archers, prepare yourselves, unleash your full power, fire!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Arrows rose like locusts, then fell like rain!
Liu Ji's army suffered heavy casualties in an instant, and before they could even reach Ying Bu's army, they turned back and fled in defeat.
"Cavalry, pursue!" Ying Bu ordered again.
"Charge! Kill!" Ten thousand horses galloped, as if the sky were collapsing!
Liu Ji's expression changed slightly. "Immediately issue the order! Have Guan Ying's cavalry meet the enemy!"
However, Guan Ying's cavalry had only charged a short distance when they were blocked by their own routed troops, and their formation immediately fell into chaos.
At this time, Ying Bu's main force also launched an attack. The two sides fought fiercely, and Guan Ying's cavalry and Ying Bu's cavalry were evenly matched. However, the infantry suffered heavy losses, and Guan Ying's cavalry alone was powerless to turn the tide. In the end, Liu Ji's national army suffered a crushing defeat, and the generals carried Liu Ji into the fortified walls of Yongcheng.
"Release me! I will personally charge into battle and kill that brat Ying Bu! I am invincible!" Liu Ji struggled all the way, insisting on fighting personally.
"Your Majesty! Ying Bu's formation is just like Xiang Yu's back then, it's really formidable. Let's take cover for now and wait for reinforcements!" Chen Ping thought to himself, "You old fool, you still want to charge into battle yourself? Do you think you're Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King?"
"Your Majesty, please take good care of your health and do not put yourself in any danger!" Lu Jia was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet. Back when Zhang Liang was around, there were still people who could deal with Liu Ji, but now there was really no one who could handle him.