Chapter Thirty-One: New Temptation

  The night is as black as ink.

  Temporarily obscured human desire and struggle.

  After getting slightly drunk and older, Liu Bang scolded and cursed for a while before finally venting out and falling asleep, also letting his generals and ministers see his true temperament, and this kind of joking and scolding tactic has become a symbol of Liu Bang's gentle and warm style.

  The play is over, and the various lords also have 70 or 80% of the intention to drink, shouting and returning to their campsite in a deep and shallow manner. For these lords who took "anti-Qin" as their slogan, they had gate guests and troops to go to the front line to kill the enemy. Their task was to engage in grand discussions, make friends with famous scholars, compare with each other, and seek benefits.

  "Marquis of Pei, he is indeed a magnanimous and broad-minded man!"

  "Lord Pei is a man who gets along well with others. If we have to choose a commander-in-chief for the allied army, Lord Pei would be the obvious choice."

  "Whoever wants to have a falling out with Lord Guan is having a falling out with our Chen region's heroes!"

  It has to be admitted that in terms of interpersonal relationships and understanding people's minds, Liu Bang's ability is unmatched, Xiang Yu is far behind, and young Li Yuan can't compare with Liu Bang either.

  Liu Bang, also known as Emperor Gaozu of Han, is the founder of the Thick Black Theory. His name is synonymous with authenticity.

  ——。

  White Horse Crossing, from bustle to serenity.

  Liu Bang and Li Yuan never met again on the battlefield of White Horse, the existence of the dark night left both sides in a state of confusion, guessing intentions was only an auxiliary means of combat, when facing unconventional thinking opponents, guessing also lost all its meaning.

  Li Yuan learned from Gu Yun that the Gan and Zhou troops had all died in battle, so he knew it was pointless to continue searching the battlefield. Although there were still some scattered Qin soldiers fighting on, most of them were under Yang Xiong's command and Li Yuan was not familiar with them. It was no longer necessary for him to stay on the battlefield, as the over 7,000 Qin troops who had broken through the encirclement needed his leadership and stability to prevent further attacks from the allied army's pursuit troops.

  The Battle of White Horse started from the end of October and ended on the 25th, lasting only four or five days. From the development of the battle, it can be divided into two stages. In the first stage, Liu Bang and Yang Xiong engaged in a decisive battle, and Liu Bang won a great victory without a doubt. Yang Xiong not only suffered two consecutive defeats but also had his arm cut off. At the same time, the land west of Dingtao County, east of Sanchuan County, and south of the Great River was officially declared to be under the control of the anti-Qin forces.

  In the second phase, Liu Bang and Li Yuan's duel, Lao Liu seemingly gained victory on the surface but actually paid the price of losing two Wei generals, Huang Xin and Fu Kuan, as well as nearly 5,000 soldiers' deaths, without even hurting a single hair on Li Yuan.

  Huang Xin, Fu Kuan and others. Although they were the men of Wei Wang Ji, they had always been close to Liu Bang. For this kind of friendly general from another system, Liu Bang was confident that he could win them over to his side in the near future. Of course, this needed opportunity and time. Originally, this battle against the Qin army at White Horse was a good opportunity. Fu Kuan and other Wei generals responded to Liu Bang's call and came, originally with the intention of joining Liu Bang if Wei Ji didn't work out.

  In short, Liu Bang won the battle, but after sobering up, he learned that more than 7,000 Qin soldiers had escaped. If it weren't for the many friendly princes who came to his aid, he would have jumped up and cursed again.

  White Horse, Western City, Headquarters of the Allied Forces.

  The Grand Duke of Chu Wu An, the governor of Dan County, and the Marquis of Pei Liu Bang hosted a banquet for the various lords who came to reinforce. This was a celebration of victory, but also a meeting to divide the spoils after the great victory of the anti-Qin coalition army. As expected, it was a contentious meeting with much bickering and haggling over prices. In this setting, brave generals such as Cao Shen, Xiahou Ying, and Guan Ying were relegated to the sidelines, replaced by Xiao He, who had long been quietly supporting Liu Bang behind the scenes.

  Liu Bang was sitting with a smile, his long sleeves fluttering as he gestured, using the momentum to emphasize his points. He had always been skilled at this kind of occasion, where his warm and gentle demeanor, combined with his carefree and unconventional behavior, would put those who spoke with him at ease, making them unknowingly let their guard down. However, his good mood was soon ruined after the banquet began.

  "Marquis of Pei, let's not talk about merits, but only about hardships. Our great Wei army has lost two generals, Huang Xin and Fu Kuan, and thousands of soldiers were killed or injured in this battle. How can we just divide up the spoils based on this?" As the only surviving representative of the Wei army, General Wu Pu was the most active in arguing for their share, but there was no way around it - the Wei army had suffered a disastrous defeat!

  Wu Pu is a straightforward person, who values martial prowess and despises cunning schemes. This sets him apart from other Wei generals like Fu Kuan and Peng Yue. General Wu has never been too willing to submit to Liu Bang, and if it weren't for the orders of King Qi of Wei, he probably wouldn't have bothered coming to Sanchuan County.

  "Hmph, the Wei army has casualties, but didn't my bandits also suffer losses? On the battlefield, blades and guns have no eyes, each one is responsible for their own fate. As I, Peng Yue, see it, whoever beheads more enemy leaders and achieves greater merit will get a larger share." Peng Yue coldly snorted and said this. He had experienced countless instances of competing for credit and rewards, if they really followed Wu Pu's general idea, who would still dare to bravely fight the enemy?

  Not long ago, Peng Yue suffered a great loss in front of Li Yuan and had been lying low for a while. This time in the Battle of White Horse, Peng Yue has learned his lesson well. As soon as he sees Li Yuan's banner from afar, he quickly hides away. After all, there are many Qin soldiers on the battlefield, as long as Peng Yue doesn't slack off, there will be plenty of heads to collect.

  Two powerful warlords in Wei State are fighting each other, and many lords with different thoughts are watching the show with great interest. In this chaotic world where heroes are competing, what they are fighting for is not only the fame of winning battles, but also the practical benefits of food, grass and heavy loads. For Liu Bang, the Battle of White Horse was an important battle to establish his prestige, while for many lords who came to participate in the war, the distribution of spoils was more important than anything else.

  According to the true intentions of Wu Pu and other princes, the heads of Qin army officers are indeed glorious, but you'd better keep them for yourself! We came to rescue you with a sense of justice, due to the urgency of our journey, we didn't bring enough food and supplies, hoping that later on, you can take care of us a bit more.

  "Let the two generals calm down, we will follow Lord Pei's arrangement." Xiao He saw Wu Pu and Peng Yue arguing endlessly, so he hastily came out to mediate. In dealing with this kind of verbal sparring match, Xiao He had a lot of experience.

  Liu Bang raised his hand, drained the wine cup in one gulp, and scanned the crowd, saying: "Gentlemen, you are truly disappointing." After that, Liu Bang slammed the wine cup down heavily and didn't say another word.

  The banquet was in a moment of silence, and Liu Bang's words came suddenly, leaving some simple-minded people bewildered. Even those with intricate thoughts stopped speaking, secretly guessing what Liu Bang would say next.

  "Gentlemen, Yang Xiong's army has been defeated and fled to the west. The Qin army in Hangu Pass is weak and lacks morale. Why don't we take advantage of this opportunity to capture Hangu City and Changyi, to replenish our funds and boost our military prestige?" Liu Bang stood up with his sword drawn, speaking loudly with an air of authority. Having finally gathered the various forces with different affiliations together, Liu Bang would not let them go so easily.

  Since you've come, why not stay and follow orders? Xingyang... Wu Guang didn't take it down because he didn't know how to avoid the strong and attack the weak, and lure the enemy into abandoning their stronghold and engaging in a field battle. This was Wu Guang's foolishness, but Liu Bang is different. And then there's Changyi, which is a major granary established by Qin in Guandong. Taking this place down would provide enough food for all the lords to eat well for several months, no matter how it's distributed.

  The bait is right in front of you.

  Liu Bang believed that none of the vassals could resist temptation.