Wandering the Heavens

"King of Han, the situation is over for us!" Zhang Liang used up all his strength to say this.

"I don't believe it, I don't accept it! I will fight to the death with Lu Zhi, yes! I must fight to the death!" Liu Bang grabbed the railing with trembling hands and left the corner tower tremblingly.

"My fellow generals, I believe you have already found a good job with Empress Lü!" Seeing that Liu Bang had already walked far away, Zhang Liang no longer hesitated to ask the generals who had climbed up to the corner tower together.

"Military advisor, we follow the King of Han with a sincere heart, which can be witnessed by the sun and the moon!" Lu Guan was the first to express his opinion.

"Military advisor, do you think that we are as shameless as Ying Bu?" Han Wangxin was very dissatisfied.

"Military advisor, with a powerful enemy at the doorstep, you are trying to sow discord between the generals and the King of Han. In my opinion, you are the one who serves Lu Zhi!" Peng Yue turned the tables.

"Military advisor, we have followed the King of Han for a long time and have worked hard. We have never been negligent in fulfilling the King of Han's expectations. I don't know why you have misunderstood us?" This was said by Chen Ping, who has always been very low-key.

After seeing this, what else did Zhang Liang not understand? Among the senior generals present, more than half were Lu Zhi's men, but it was difficult to distinguish the real ones from the fake ones.

"I, Zhang Liang, have seen countless people, but I was blind here. I deserve this disaster!" Zhang Liang was very angry.

After Zhang Liang finished speaking, he turned away from the corner tower, leaving the generals looking at each other in bewilderment.

The sun soon set, and the Han soldiers learned that they were surrounded. Unrest and panic gradually enveloped the Han camp.

What is retribution in this life? More than two months ago, the Han army surrounded Xiang Yu's army. In order to persuade him to surrender, they sent soldiers to sing songs of Chu loudly at night, which undermined the morale of Xiang Yu's army.

Now, it was Liu Bang's turn to experience Xiang Yu's feelings.

"Han soldiers! Don't fight for Liu Bang anymore. He made you climb dangerous cliffs time and time again in order to become the emperor. Think about the comrades who were supporting each other the moment before, and fell off the cliff and died without a complete body the next moment. They were not recorded as military merits, and even their names were not worthy of being recorded. Think about your fellow countrymen who joined the Han King with you. How many of them are still alive?"

"Liu Bang is not worth following. Think about how he was defeated by King Xiang. He even abandoned his wife and children in order to escape, and pushed them off the speeding chariot. What's more, you soldiers who have no relatives or friends with him!"

Because of Yu Xian's intervention, there is no Liu Ying in this world, but there is still Liu Ruyi. Yes, he met Concubine Qi during a defeat, and the two gave birth to Liu Ruyi.

"Han soldiers, you have been away from home following Liu Bang in battle for many years. Has he ever thought about you? You also have a home you want to return to. Your parents and wife are waiting for you to return. There are also graves of your ancestors in your hometown waiting for you to visit and sweep during festivals."

"But Liu Bang doesn't care about these. He only wants you to fight for his wealth!"

"Han soldiers, Liu Bang doesn't care whose sons, husbands, or fathers you are!"

"Han soldiers, the King of Qin promises you that as long as you lay down your weapons, take off your armor and leave the camp, you will be allowed to go home, a piece of land will be allocated to you, and your children will be allowed to go to school to read and write!"

"Han soldiers..."

In the big tent, Liu Bang listened to the faint crying of the soldiers coming from the tent, and his teeth were about to break.

"I am not wrong! What have I done wrong? This throne was given to me by God, and I will fight for it. What's wrong with that? I will distribute land to those soldiers who follow me to fight, and I will make those generals a king. This world should belong to me. Yes, the throne belongs to me!" Liu Bang muttered to himself while holding a spear.

"King of Han, you must not lose your composure at this moment!" Zhang Liang admonished the possessed Liu Bang.

"Haha, military advisor, this was the mood that Xiang Yu had when he listened to the Han army singing Chu songs in the big tent that day?" Liu Bang looked at the brazier outside the tent with some confusion.

Zhang Liang remained silent. Except Wu Qi, no other general seemed to think about what the soldiers were thinking. In Zhang Liang's view, these soldiers only needed to be obedient. They should not have desires such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. They should be emotionless killing machines. Only such soldiers were qualified soldiers and could be invincible on the battlefield.

Furthermore, human nature is to seek profit and avoid harm. The Qin army's strategy of winning over the hearts and minds of the Han army did not mention what official position, title, or amount of reward to offer to the high-ranking Han army officers. They did not even mention these things.

They only said that they should go home to see their aging parents, to support their wives, and to pay homage to their ancestors' lonely graves under the moonlight. As long as they surrendered to the King of Qin, they could go home and live a life without war.

But it was precisely these words that made the Han soldiers depressed and collapsed, and they lost their morale to fight.

It was another difficult night. Liu Bang, with his panda eyes, watched the Han army shoot the deserters who escaped from the camp.

"King of Han, I have two plans." Chen Ping finally found what he thought was an opportunity.

"Please speak, sir." Liu Bang seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw.

"What Lu Zhi was aiming for was nothing more than to rule the world, but since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, there has only been one story in which a woman ascended the throne. One plan was for the King of Han to bribe her subordinates with a large sum of money, pretend to surrender, and support Lu Zhi to become the emperor. After gaining a chance, she secretly accumulated strength. It was thought that Lu Zhi, as a woman, would not be able to stabilize the situation. When there were changes in the world, the King of Han would respond to the will of heaven and raise an army again. The supreme throne would be within his grasp!" Chen Ping said proudly, stroking his mustache.

"How about another plan?" Liu Bang still wanted to know what Chen Ping thought.

"Another strategy is that since Lu Zhi is still single and has not married, the King of Han can send an envoy to explain the power of a female ruler, so that Lu Zhi will give up. The King of Han can take the opportunity to propose marriage to her, and the country will also be inherited by the Liu family!" Chen Ping became more and more excited as he spoke.

"What do you think?" Liu Bang was a little tempted.

"King of Han, let's try Mr. Chen's plan! It can be used as a delaying tactic. At the same time, send your trusted aides to contact Mr. Xiao He and General Zhou Bo, and ask them to lead their troops to come. With the help of internal and external forces, the crisis can be resolved, and then we can turn defeat into victory!" Zhang Liang came out to express his opinion.

But what's the use in the Han army camp that is as leaky as a sieve? They can only hope that Xiao He will be brave enough. They don't ask to defeat the Qin army, but just to escape from the predicament.

Liu Bang believed in Chen Ping's eloquence, so he sent him to the Qin army camp to meet with Lu Zhi.

After Chen Ping, who was full of confidence, entered the Qin army tent, his face turned pale.

"Chen Ping, a native of Yangwu, after Chen Sheng and Wu Guang started the uprising in the first year of the reign of Qin II, you defected to Wei Wang Jiu to fight against Qin. When Liu Bang attacked Guanzhong, you surrendered to Liu Bang and was trusted and valued. You were appointed as a captain, accompanied the emperor on the carriage, and was in charge of the guard. You have served as the second-in-command and the lieutenant of the guard. Am I right?" Lu Zhi muttered to herself while holding a piece of paper.

"The King of Qin is wise. Chen Ping admires him." Chen Ping could only bow his head and salute.

"Back when Liu Bang was still Liu Ji, he spread rumors in Pei County to ruin my reputation, which caused my father to fall ill and eventually pass away. At this time, what reason can you use to convince me to let Liu Bang go?" Lu Zhi looked at the person in front of her.

For some reason, she really disliked this short, sharp-looking strategist in front of her.

"King of Qin, you know that from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the present day, there has never been a story of a woman ascending the throne. Chen Ping wants to know how the King of Qin can stop the people from gossiping about it?" Chen Ping's professionalism came up again.

"The gossips? Who exactly are they?" Lu Zhi didn't care at all and wiped the Taia sword in her hand casually.

"They are the historians who write history books, the scholar-officials who guard the land, and the inheritors of the various schools of thought!" Chen Ping became proud.

"Historians? Scholar-officials? Inheritors of the various schools of thought? How many soldiers do they have?" Lu Zhi stared at Chen Ping coldly.

"Does the King of Qin not care about his reputation after his death?" Chen Ping felt that the heroine's ideas were too unorthodox.

"This world is not just made up of historians, literati and inheritors of various schools of thought, but also of farmers working in the fields, soldiers working day and night on the border, craftsmen sweating on the construction sites, and merchants coming and going on the straight roads. In comparison, are there more people over there?" asked Lu Zhi.

"King of Qin, are you going to overthrow this world?" Chen Ping couldn't bear it any longer. How could someone be so indifferent?

"Hasn't this world been overturned by you? Chen Sheng and Wu Guang started the uprising, the old nobles of the six kingdoms swarmed up, Liu Bang launched a surprise attack on Wuguan and captured Xianyang, and then it was King Xiang who divided the kingdoms. The ink on the edict of division hadn't even dried yet when Liu Bang sent out his troops from Hanzhong, and the fighting has been going on for almost five years until today. You have turned this world upside down. Don't you care about your reputation after death like me?" Lu Zhi asked coldly.