A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 138 Prelude to becoming emperor, the difficult Bai family
The fifth year of the Overlord of Western Chu and the fifth year of the Han Dynasty
New Year
The Han army fought with Chu in Gaixia. The overlord of Western Chu broke out towards Wujiang River and was besieged by the Han army on the west bank of Wujiang River. Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, committed suicide.

Many people in the Han army robbed King Xiang's body. Among them, Wang Yi, the Han Lang, got his head, Lu Matong, the Han cavalry commander, got his left arm, Yang Xi, the Han Lang, got his right arm, and Lu Sheng and Yang Wu, the Han Lang, each got their arms. The left and right legs of King Xiang's body were snatched away by the other soldiers.

According to the body he obtained, Liu Bang ordered Lu Matong to be named the Marquis of Zhongshui, Wang Yi to be the Marquis of Du Yan, Yang Xi to be the Marquis of Chiquan, Yang Wu to be the Marquis of Wu Fang, Lu Sheng to be the Marquis of Niyang, and the rest held The soldiers who were left with Xiang Yu's body were either promoted, given bounties, or granted land seals.

Shortly after the death of King Xiang, Gaixia fortress requested surrender, but he asked to surrender to the White Army. Although Liu Bang was unhappy, for the sake of the overall situation, he allowed the White Army to enter the barrier and accept its surrender.

Under the protection and custody of the White Army, the remaining 30,000 Chu troops successfully saved their lives, but were required to serve on the northern Great Wall for five years before being released home.

But when Liu Bang ordered people to count the number of people, it was discovered that the Chu army general Zhong Limei was missing. However, due to Bai Qing, Liu Bang could only issue a wanted order and could not question him face to face.

After most of the Chu army and Xiang Yu were destroyed, the Chu region was almost settled, but only Lu County still refused to surrender.

Liu Bang then led a large army to Lu County and asked the people in the city why he did not surrender. The people in Lu County said: "Lu County is the fiefdom of King Xiang. I am willing to die for the monarch."

It turns out that before Xiang Yu became the overlord of Western Chu, King Huai of Chu made Xiang Yu the Duke of Lu, and Lu County was his fief. When Liu Bang learned about it, he had Xiang Yu's head shown to the people of Lu County, and promised to bury him according to appropriate etiquette. , Kaicheng of Lu County surrendered.

Liu Bang followed the agreement and buried Xiang Yu in the east of Lu County with the courtesy of Lu Gong. He paid his condolences in person, shed a few tears and left.

However, Liu Bang did not kill any of the Xiang family members. Among them, Liu Bang granted Xiang Bo the title of Marquis of Sheyang and gave him the surname Liu. The Taohou, Pinggaohou, and Xuanwuhou were all Xiang surnames and were given the surname Liu. In order to prevent Liu Bang from retaliating, other Xiang surnames also changed their surnames. At this point, the Xiang family was almost extinct in Jiangdong.

After paying homage to Xiang Yu, that night, Liu Bang rode into Han Xin's military camp, summoned the generals, and with the help of Xia Houying, Cao Shen and other old Huaipei generals, he once again seized Han Xin's military power.

At this point, the coalition forces were 700,000, and Liu Bang alone commanded more than 400,000. In addition, Liu Bang occupied half of the world, and he had become the actual leader of the world.

When Han Xin returned to the military tent, his face was livid, and he said to counselor Li Zuochao, "This is the second time!"

Li Zuoche did not comfort Han Xin, but said: "The King of Han did not arrest the king on the spot. It seems that the King of Han still loves the king, but the third time may not be far away, and by then the king will definitely lose his freedom. .”

Han Xin was shocked and said: "Why did you say this, sir?"

Li Zuoche analyzed: "Now the King of Han owns half of the territory and taxes in the world, and has most of the military forces in the world. He has become the de facto common master of the world. However, the talent of the king is astonishing in ancient times and today, so why should the king of Han keep the king to become a hidden danger? What? I think I can’t think of any other reason besides asking you, Your Majesty, to take the initiative to elect him as the next Qin Shihuang.”

Han Xin said: "What if I don't do this?"

Li Zuoche shook his head and said: "Then I will go to hell with the king!"

Han Xin's expression changed again and again, but in the end he sighed and said: "That's all, that's all! The King of Han simply took me out of my humble position. He wanted to be the emperor, so why would it be difficult for me to fulfill him? The rest is just my vanity. It’s just your heart that’s causing trouble!”

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month

The army marched to Dingtao, and Liu Bang ordered to set up camp. Then he said nothing and just invited the ministers and princes to drink and have fun every day.

Han Xin knew that the time had come, so at a banquet, Han Xin stopped singing and dancing. When Liu Bang saw this, he pretended to be displeased and said: "King Qi, you must be drunk! Everyone is watching, what are you doing?"

Wang Yingbu of Jiujiang on the side also said: "That's right, this song and dance is so beautiful, it's really disappointing!" Then he turned around and ordered the dancers not to leave, and not to listen to Han Xin and continue to dance.

Just when the dancers were in a dilemma, Han Xin suddenly knelt down and worshiped: "Please proclaim yourself emperor!"

Liu Bang held the wine glass and hesitated: "This?"

At this time, Zhang Liang led a large number of Han ministers and generals to the center of the hall. He knelt down and said, "Please proclaim yourself emperor!"

Liu Bang was silent. At this time, Zhang Liang said: "Although the king was born in a poor family, he was able to lead the people to wipe out the violent Qin Dynasty, punish Xiang Yu's injustice, and stabilize the people of the world. His contribution has exceeded that of other kings. You are worthy of being called emperor."

At this time, except for Jiujiang Wang Yingbu, Jiancheng Hou Pengyue, Baiwang Baiqing, Handan Wang Baiwei and other ministers and generals who were still sitting in their original positions, the rest, including the dancers and attendants, knelt on the ground.

Yingbu didn't speak at this time, but looked straight at the wine glass, as if there was some peerless treasure in it. Peng Yue was lying on the table, looking drunk, and even snored from time to time, while Bai Qing was He closed his eyes and rested his mind, looking like he was asleep, while Bai Wei looked at everything on the field with interest, as if he had discovered something interesting.

Liu Bang looked around and saw the appearance of several princes. He heard Peng Yue's snoring and thought to himself: "Really or not, how long has the banquet been going on? How can you, a big wine vat, get so drunk? I'm just a man." I wonder how much you drink?"

Knowing that the time was not ripe, he pretended to be furious and said: "I am of the same rank as all the princes, why do you harm me?"

After saying that, he didn't even start the banquet, got up and walked away.

As soon as Liu Bang left, Peng Yue woke up and pretended to ask: "Why are you kneeling in the hall?"

Yingbu added: "You must be too drunk! Haha!"

After that, let the dancers and musicians continue to play music and dance.

On the second day, Zhang Liang entered Peng Yue's military tent and did not leave until the afternoon. Then he went to Yingbu Military Camp and returned to the Han Army Camp at night. All of this was discovered by Bai Qing's spies outside the military camp. .

Bai Qing and Bai Wei and their confidants gathered together. Bai Wei said: "Brother, what should we do? Just leave?"

Wang Zhang said at this time: "No, now the King of Han is in great power, and more than half of the coalition's military strength is in his hands. If we leave like this, within a few days, the King of Han will summon all the princes in the world to attack. "

Sun Tao said: "Then, participate in it like everyone else?"

A minister asked: "What if others don't agree?"

Finally, Bai Qing said conclusively: "Bai Guo is not that easy to control. Let's see how others react tomorrow. If everyone agrees, we can discuss it again!"

The next day, Liu Bang held the banquet again, and everything was as usual, but Bai Qing found that Yingbu and Peng Yue's expressions were no longer as relaxed as before.

Sure enough, not long after the banquet, Han Xin came out again and said: "Please proclaim yourself emperor!"

The ministers also went out to pay their respects, but Yingbu kept hesitating, but Peng Yue followed him and said: "Your Majesty cleans up the inner world and eliminates injustice. All the people in the world see it. Only your Majesty can proclaim himself emperor, and all the people in the world will see it." Only then can you be at peace.”

Liu Bang said: "That's not good!" But he kept staring at Yingbu. Yingbu was furious at the sight. Seeing that Peng Yue had relented, he also said: "What Marquis Jiancheng said is absolutely true, and I also agree with the king's title." emperor."

Liu Bang saw that only the Bai family did not move, and knew that the last step was just around the corner. He said anxiously: "Even so, I still think that this matter is a big one and cannot be decided easily. It's better to take it slow!"

After saying that, he stood up and walked out. His attitude was very relaxed compared to last time.

At the end of the banquet that night, Liu Bang asked Zhang Liang for advice on how to deal with Bai Guo.

Liu Bang asked: "The Bai family is a descendant of the Six Kingdoms, and is the most orthodox bloodline in the world today. Qin Shihuang couldn't conquer them with violence, so how can I conquer them?"

Zhang Liangdao: "Your Majesty, you don't know. Although the Bai family is after the Six Kingdoms, they are fundamentally different from other countries. They are not people who value the country more than life, but people who value family more than the country. They In order to ensure the circulation of the family, we will not cling to the country and title.

But the premise of everything is whether that person is someone they resist and hate, and the king is not that kind of person! "

Liu Bang asked curiously: "Why?"

Zhang Liang asked in return: "Since your Majesty's rebellion, have you massacred any city or killed any surrendered soldiers?"

Liu Bang said: "No, I am a humble person, and I know that killing those people is the most useless."

"Has your Majesty's administration ever been righteous, cruel and wanton?"

"No, because of Xiao He's presence, I have hardly been involved in political affairs, but in my opinion, except when a war is needed, at other times, we are relatively relaxed!"

"This is the advantage of your Majesty! Looking at the behavior of the Bai family, as long as it is beneficial to the people of the world and the inheritance of the Xia, they are very happy to complete it, because they believe that this is the basis for the survival of the Bai family. foundation.

And this is indeed the case. It is precisely because the Bai family knows how to safeguard the interests of the bottom that even though they have gone through hundreds of years and continue to rise and fall, they will not become extinct, and will even rise again at the right time.

The king also saw that Bao Qin wanted to annihilate the Bai family so much that he mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to search the Taihang Mountains day and night. He still allowed them to escape under the cover of the people, and even preserved countless inherited classics. This sometimes Even I can't help but feel admiration. "

Liu Bang listened to Zhang Liang's narration, thought about it and said: "It seems that such a family cannot be retained!"

Zhang Liang was shocked and said: "Your Majesty, you must not have such an idea!"

Liu Bang looked at Zhang Liang suspiciously and said, "Why?"

"After hundreds of years of development, the Bai family has the most powerful hiding method in the world. Even if it suffers a heavy blow for a while, it will recover quickly.

By then, we will be under constant attack from the Bai family, which is not limited to military divisions, but also includes assassinations, evidence subversion, and local disruption.

We will put a lot of energy into them. By then, will we still be able to resist foreign enemies amid the constant civil strife? "

"Why is Bai so difficult to deal with?"

"This is the foundation of their establishment as I just told the king. After hundreds of years of development, the name and reputation of the Bai family have spread throughout most of Hebei. Unless Hebei is blocked and then all the people are slaughtered, otherwise The Bai family will not perish.

This is because I have entered the Valley of Bai's Book Collection and learned a few words from thousands of books. I even speculate that even if I do what I did just now, I will not be able to completely destroy the Bai's. "

Liu Bang said helplessly: "I didn't expect that the little Bai family would be so difficult to deal with. What should I do?"

Zhang Liang smiled and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to be discouraged. This is just the disadvantage of going against the Bai family, but there are still many benefits to cooperating with the Bai family."

Liu Bang became interested and said, "Oh? Please tell me in detail."

(End of this chapter)