The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

Han Xin was speechless.

"He was able to do it back then, and now that he has been in a high position for many years, his control over people's hearts is even more precise."

"Although I hate to admit it, that villain is indeed better than me at subduing the enemy without fighting."

Even Xiang Yu himself didn't expect that at the time.

It was clearly his own desperate act that led to the defeat of the Qin army.

The subsequent offensive proceeded smoothly and effortlessly.

But in the end, Liu Bang entered Xianyang first.

After making inquiries, he learned that this villain had not fought a single decent battle from the start of his campaign until he took control of Xianyang.

Either the garrison commander surrendered upon hearing the news, or he persuaded the garrison commander to surrender by using his silver tongue and his former reputation for benevolence.

Even before he had governed the country, Liu Bang had already cultivated his reputation to such an extent.

After witnessing the glorious Han Dynasty established by Liu Bang, Xiang Yu was convinced that if Liu Bang were given the opportunity, he would surely be able to subdue the world's armies without a fight!

"Alright, now you are the King of Chu, you have the final say."

There was nothing Han Xin could do; Liu Bang had personally appointed him, making him a higher-ranking official, so he couldn't say anything more.

"In that case, Zhang Xianzhong, you may leave."

"Take your men and go back to Sichuan."

"However, I can ascertain that you will be back soon. If you return early, based on your achievements today, I might be able to keep you in a minor official position. If you return late, you will have nothing left."

Since Han Xin was no longer obstructing him, Xiang Yu simply waved his hand and said...

After a series of battles and a long march, he was no match for iron.

After deciding to let Zhang Xianzhong leave, he had no intention of reuniting with Liu Bang.

The battle has already progressed to this point, and there is no longer any need for him to continue charging into battle.

The Qing army leaders have all fled. Once this news gradually spreads to various battlefields, those scattered troops will completely give up resistance.

In any case, the only ones who would be killed after surrendering were the Qing soldiers, and some of them were former Ming soldiers.

Having already surrendered to Li Zicheng from the Ming army, and then to the Qing army from Li Zicheng, surrendering again now wouldn't put much psychological pressure on them.

Whose surrender is still a surrender?

They had absolutely no sense of belonging to the Manchus, and surrendering would not have caused them the slightest psychological pressure.

The battle was coming to an end with the sound of soldiers laying down their weapons and surrendering.

Liu Bang meticulously ordered a small number of Qing soldiers to be picked out and killed.

These Qing soldiers who were released into the pass were killed one by one, without any injustice done to them.

As for the remaining Shun army, those who did not have time to commit atrocities with the Qing army were either incorporated into the army if they wished to stay, or given some travel expenses and sent back to their hometowns to farm.

Even though the Southern Ming had not yet been pacified, Liu Bang did not force all the surrendered soldiers to stay in the army.

These people were able to surrender to the Qing in the past, and they may surrender to others in the future.

If too many soldiers are not firm in their beliefs, it may cause trouble.

"That's how it is. Xiang Ji insisted on letting Zhang Xianzhong return to Shu, and this battle ultimately left a flaw."

Even when he was complaining, Han Xin was quite indignant.

He didn't care about reputation, but he did care that the perfect battle he had built had been disrupted in this way.

What should have been a situation where three forces were simultaneously besieged, and one battle was enough to determine who would conquer the world, was instead turned into a situation where Xiang Yu managed to let Zhang Xianzhong escape.

"Let him be. My brother deserves great credit for defeating the Qing army, so it's no big deal for me to be willful this once."

Liu Bang was only momentarily taken aback before he understood.

This was indeed the Xiang Yu he knew.

On the contrary, if Xiang Yu were to truly exterminate Zhang Xianzhong today, then he would truly not recognize this Brother Xiang.

"But even without him, I can still defeat the Qing army!"

"It just takes a little more effort..."

"No, letting Zhang Xianzhong escape now might require even more effort."

"Your Majesty, should we immediately send troops to quell the rebellion?"

Han Xin no longer has any obsession with power; only the battlefield can satisfy him.

However, Liu Bang clearly had a different feeling towards Shu.

"Indeed, troops need to be sent to conquer it, but not Sichuan, but the Southern Ming."

"While relying solely on governance to attract the public is the best approach, it is too slow to yield results."

"Sichuan is a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Zhang Xianzhong also has the support of the people. Although we can recover it by force, our army will definitely suffer heavy losses."

"On the other hand, the Southern Ming Dynasty was already unpopular with the people, and its internal situation was also in chaos."

"Conquering them by force is clearly a better option than Zhang Xianzhong, isn't it?"

Han Xin: “…”

He naturally agreed with Liu Bang's words.

As a commander, he certainly has this sense of the big picture.

He just couldn't accept that someone had escaped from the trap he had set.

"This is just a challenge, and in this challenge, we have only one biggest enemy."

"Only that enemy needs to be dealt with swiftly; the remaining problems should indeed be handled with a slightly gentler approach."

"Don't forget, I was just one of the rebels back then. I know them well; they were just ordinary people who couldn't make a living and whose very survival was a luxury."

"If we can't even tolerate them, how can we govern the world?"

Liu Bang's understanding was always very clear.

He doesn't care what others think.

But for him, participating in this challenge with a near-luxurious all-star lineup was all about using swift and decisive measures to let the so-called Qing Dynasty know that their ability to gain power was nothing but a fluke!

It was only because no powerful ruler capable of sweeping across the land emerged in the Central Plains that they were able to reap the rewards.

If a powerful ruler like Liu Bang were to emerge, let alone allow the Manchus to take control of the Central Plains, even if they wanted to continue submitting, it would depend on whether he was willing to do so!

"I understand Your Majesty's meaning. However, we cannot consider this challenge complete until we have conquered Shu."

"We don't know how long we'll have to spend in this challenge."

Han Xin was an impatient person.

Especially when they could have ended the challenge much sooner, they deliberately dragged it out.

He said he couldn't understand it.

"I never intended to end this challenge as soon as possible."

Seeing Han Xin's impatient look, Liu Bang couldn't help but laugh.

He was going to use this challenge to conduct an experiment.

Only after he was certain of what he wanted could he make a complete change for his Han Dynasty when he returned!

"what?"

Now it was Han Xin's turn to be dumbfounded.

When it comes to military strategy and tactics, he was perfectly clear about what Liu Bang was thinking.

But at this point, he completely lost his understanding.

"There are some things I want to do, but I can't make up my mind."

"After all, if we don't do it, our Han Dynasty can at least continue for another four hundred years. If we do it, no one can know the consequences."

"It would be best to be able to test this out in the world during this challenge."

"Therefore, I am not in a hurry to end this challenge."