After a long while, Xiang Yu still showed no sign of letting go. Yu Ji gently patted his back and whispered, "Your Majesty..." After calling several times, Xiang Yu finally straightened up, his expression still dreamlike. Even Xiao Huan's face was flushed; she had already fallen for Xiang Yu. The girl was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a round face and a few freckles on the side of her nose. Although she lacked some of Yu Ji's charm, she was still a standard beauty. In modern times, a girl like her would be more likely to become popular as the girl next door.
Xiang Yu placed his large hands on Yu Ji's shoulders, looked at her carefully for a few more moments, laughed heartily, and suddenly shouted, "Pass on my order! My brother has arrived today! Double happiness! The whole army shall celebrate and feast!" In his joy, he was somewhat incoherent, and the orders he gave were a little nonsensical. However, I later learned that at this time, Xiang Yu's army could only celebrate by eating meat; they were still in a difficult period, and drinking alcohol was out of the question.
Yu Ji blinked and asked, "Your Majesty, why is it a double celebration? What about the other one?"
Xiang Yu didn't explain, but said, "Ayu, go and prepare first. My brother Xiaoqiang and I have something to say."
Yu Ji obediently responded and took Xiao Huan's hand as they walked out.
I couldn't help but sigh, "There's a saying that bystanders see things more clearly, and it's absolutely true."
Xiang Yu asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
“Even if Zhang Bing looks exactly like her, you shouldn’t mistake her. Your sister-in-law’s appearance is something no ordinary person can fake.” While I said this partly to flatter Yu Ji, it was also the truth. Just a fleeting glance from Yu Ji left a deep impression on me. She was truly as still as a virgin and as swift as a rabbit, with those expressive eyes—a woman like that was an absolute enchantress, one in a thousand years. The difference was that this little enchantress, Yu Ji, only wanted to seduce Xiang Yu; no wonder Xiang Yu loved her to death. The reincarnated Zhang Bing, on the other hand, was much more rigid.
Xiang Yu paused and laughed, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I'll never have to be separated from A Yu again." As he said this, Xiang Yu shook me vigorously, saying, "Thank you, Xiao Qiang." I could see his eyes slowly changing, from disbelief and confusion at the beginning to boundless excitement and surprise.
Hearing this, I was also stunned. Xiang Yu now seems to have foresight in everything, so how is the Battle of Gaixia to be fought? Even for Yu Ji's sake, he won't be trapped by Liu Bang again. Then this trouble will still be mine. But this is a dead end; for the sake of the balance of the human realm, Xiang Yu can only die…
I said, "Brother Yu, what are you planning to do with Bangzi?"
Xiang Yu said, "Don't worry, I won't touch him until you give him the medicine. Besides, we're allies now, and I'm counting on him to help me fight the Qin army."
I was slightly relieved. If that's the case, Liu Bang still has a few more years of good fortune. There shouldn't be any problems during this time, because Xiang Yu is virtually invincible during this period, so he naturally won't take the initiative to change things.
I asked, "Where are we now? Didn't you say you just sold everything you owned?"
Xiang Yu laughed and said, "Our army is right behind the city of Julu of Zhao. Zhang Han's Qin army is currently stationed diagonally opposite us. I have to lead these bastards to wipe them out."
It turned out that the Battle of Julu had indeed already ended. Many feudal lords had come to Zhao's aid, but they had been terrified by the powerful Qin army. Had Xiang Yu not arrived in time with the Chu army and staged a decisive battle, the allied forces might have been defeated. After this battle, the feudal lords all followed Xiang Yu's lead, meaning that while this allied force couldn't all be called the Chu army, they were practically.
At this moment, someone reported: "The envoy of the King of Chu heard that the Duke of Lu (Xiang Yu's title at this time) has reunited with his brothers, so he came to congratulate him."
I asked curiously, "Who is the King of Chu?"
Xiang Yu said disdainfully, "Xiong Xin. Don't pay any attention to him. What do you mean by 'specially celebrating'? He's just using this as an excuse to urge me to return. That Xiong guy is a real bastard. He's always trying to restrain me. This time, he sent a guy named Song Yi to be a general to rescue Zhao, which almost caused us to miss our chance."
I hurriedly asked, "Aren't you the Supreme General?"
Xiang Yu said, "Yes, didn't I kill him?"
It's the coldest time of the year.
At this moment, the messenger entered, prostrating himself on the ground and saying, "Congratulations, Duke Lu..."
Xiang Yu raised his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, alright, get up. I'll say it again, we cannot return until the Qin army is defeated. If there's nothing else, get out."
The messenger was filled with fear and trepidation. Hearing Xiang Yu's words, he dared not say another word and backed away. Xiang Yu waved his hand and said, "Come back, I just remembered something."
The messenger quickly stood at attention.
Xiang Yu, resting his chin on his hand, said, "It won't be long before the world is pacified. Our Chu Kingdom has contributed the most, so Your Majesty should declare yourself emperor."
This was, after all, a good thing. Upon hearing this, the envoy was overjoyed and prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "We depend on Duke Lu for everything."
Xiang Yu nodded and said, "I think we should call ourselves Emperor Yi. Go and tell His Majesty that I have given myself the title of Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and have him proclaim it to the world. Go."
After the envoy left, Xiang Yu looked at me, who was glaring at him, and said, "It was only a few days ago. After dealing with Zhang Han, he should have been made a king."
I said, "You're being way too rude to your boss!"
Xiang Yu scoffed, "What boss? It's like doing business; the one with money is the boss. My company is already listed on the stock exchange, so I don't need him as a front anymore. If he's smart, he should get out of here as soon as possible, and I can even leave him a board seat." He then laughed, "Look at me, talking nonsense now. I was just about to say, 'How can I have a home if the Qin army isn't destroyed?' Then I remembered that's a line from Huo Qubing." In fact, if Xiang Yu had deliberately changed history from this point on, who knows if Huo Qubing would have existed in the future. This shows that after living as a modern person for a year, Xiang Yu had begun to accept established history as a matter of course.
"By the way, Brother Yu, since you haven't become a tyrant yet, why does your sister-in-law call you 'King'?"
Xiang Yu said tenderly, "She always calls me that in private. When we first met, she was still a child and thought it was impressive to call me that." Xiang Yu suddenly nudged me and said, "Hey, do you have a cigarette? This medicine has really gotten me hooked on cigarettes since I got used to it at your place."
I handed him the half-box of cigarettes from the car, half-laughing and half-crying. Xiang Yu pulled one out, put it in his mouth, and looked at me. I shrugged and said, "No light." He took the flint and candlestick, fiddled with it for a while, and finally lit the cigarette. He took a puff and said, "You have one too."
“I’ll smoke some more when I get back—you’ll have to quit after you finish this half-pack, you can’t bring this stuff with you.”
Xiang Yu rummaged through all the things I brought, then picked up my car keys, his eyes lighting up, and said, "I'll drive around a bit after it cools down; my hands are itching."
"...You can go up and sit down. There's not much oil left."
At this moment, Yu Ji entered with her head bowed. Seeing Xiang Yu holding a small paper stick and blowing smoke into it, she asked curiously, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"
Xiang Yu hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette. I didn't react for a moment and said, "Doesn't your sister-in-law allow you to smoke either? Baozi won't let me smoke at home after she got pregnant."
Xiang Yu beckoned and said, "Ayu, come here. Let me formally introduce you. This is my brother Xiao Qiang. You can just call him Xiao Qiang."
Yu Ji chuckled and said, "What an interesting name. When did you two meet? I've never seen you before, nor have I ever heard the King mention you."
I took Yu Ji's hand and shook it, saying, "Sister-in-law, I've truly heard so much about you—oh, we're from the same generation, and my wife's surname is also Xiang."
Yu Ji awkwardly withdrew her hand, not angry at all, and scratched her head, looking at Xiang Yu with a puzzled expression. Xiang Yu laughed heartily, pulled her close around her slender waist, and said, "Ah Yu, I'm so happy!"
"That line sounds so familiar," I said tactfully. "Um... I should excuse myself. I'm going to take a walk around. This is actually my first time visiting a military base."
As I stepped outside, two patrolmen hurriedly bowed to me, addressing me as "General Xiao."
Hey, I'm so happy! Our Xiaoqiang is a general now! Back in our student military training days, our platoon leader specifically mentioned that I was lucky I didn't join the army, otherwise I'd definitely be a coward. Taking his good wishes, if I'm going to be a soldier, I'll be a general right away!
Being a general is tiring, though. Take this armor for example; it probably weighs at least 30 pounds, and that's without weapons and a helmet. Wearing this gear, if you lose a battle, you can't go anywhere without a horse. Is this some kind of trick that forces people to fight desperately?
Fearing I would get lost, I walked around the central command tent a few times. Every soldier who saw me was respectful yet warm, for I was their king's brother, and thanks to me, they would have meat to eat tonight—this is the famous saying in history, "Follow me and I'll have meat to eat."
I found an old buddy behind the main tent: Rabbit! It was casually munching on the grass, without a bridle or saddle, its glossy black fur gleaming, looking as relaxed as some old man. I went over and touched its nose, saying, "Do you still recognize me?" The beast actually nodded elegantly, then nuzzled my hand affectionately. I chuckled, holding its long face, "Hehe, then I'll still call you Rabbit." This really hit a nerve with Rabbit; it snorted at me, gave me a disdainful look, and then ignored me completely.