Chapter 379: Stalemate 02

  Soon after, Zhou Fu, a great general of the former Chen Dynasty, was brought in.

  "General Zhou Fu, under the command of King Chen, has come to pay his respects to General Yong Chi." As he spoke, Zhou Fu had already entered the main tent and bowed deeply to Yong Chi.

  "Oh, haha, haha, I've long heard of General Zhou Fu's great name. Please sit down quickly, General Zhou!" Yong Chi said with a smiling face to the arriving Zhou Fu. Anyway, this was also the first time that Yong Chi had received someone's visit since he debuted, so he was naturally extremely happy and his tone became very gentle.

  "Unaware of General Zhou's intentions this time, what teachings are there?" Yong Chi didn't beat around the bush either.

  "General Yong, I have come to visit you with a matter of great importance. You must be aware that this land of Feng has been the territory of Wei since ancient times, and King Wei will not give it up under any circumstances. Currently, King Wei has recovered a vast amount of lost land, including dozens of county cities, greatly increasing his power and momentum. Our King Wei's intention is that if General Yong can surrender to our kingdom of Wei, then we will still let you govern this land of Feng, and even grant you the title of Grand General, promoting your rank and position, ensuring that you will enjoy unending wealth and glory. However, if you do not recognize the situation, when our King Wei's great army arrives and breaks through the city gates, I'm sure you can imagine the consequences for yourself! I have no other intentions, but merely to report to you on behalf of King Wei, and I hope you will consider this carefully."

  After listening to Zhou Fu's words, Yong Chi's eyes rolled a few times. He first ordered Zhou Fu to go down and rest for a while, saying that he would consider it again before giving him an answer. After Zhou Fu went down, Yong Chi called out the gray-bearded old man who had been hiding in the next room, telling him all the words that Zhou Fu had just said. In fact, the old man had already heard what Zhou Fu had just said and naturally had his own thoughts.

  "Ming Bo, you tell me, how should we respond to that Zhou Fu?" Yong Chi had actually already figured out what he should do in his heart, but since he had invited Ming Bo over, naturally he still wanted to hear his thoughts, so as not to appear disrespectful.

  "General, isn't this just perfect? The general has been depressed about being under Liu Bang's command and unable to achieve his ambitions. Now that there is such an opportunity, isn't it heaven helping the general? Think about Liu Bang, he's just a leader of a mob of two or three thousand people, what can he accomplish? Is it worth risking your life for him? Since Wei Wang has intentions, why not take advantage of the situation and defect to him?" The old man with gray whiskers seemed to have a close relationship with Yong Chi, speaking very directly.

  "But when Liu Bang finds out, he will definitely send troops to punish me. What should I do at that time? You know, if we talk about military strength, the little military strength in my hands was given to me by Liu Bang himself before he left! With this little military strength, I am absolutely no match for Liu Bang!" Yōng Chǐ looked somewhat embarrassed.

  "Alas, General, you're worrying too much! What's the big deal? Firstly, although the number of soldiers in your hands isn't many, have you forgotten that we occupy the entire Fengxiang County? Although Liu Bang has taken away a large number of strong men from here, if you select a few hundred more, it would be an easy task! You are now the highest authority in this county, and as a prominent family in the local area, your rallying power is no less than that of Liu Bang. As long as you mobilize the soldiers and prepare a large number of rolling logs and stone catapults on the city walls, let him try to break through our well-prepared gates with his two or three thousand ragtag troops - it's just a pipe dream!" The old man with gray whiskers spoke in a gentle and persuasive tone, nodding his head repeatedly.

  Liu Shanhe led his troops of over 3,000 men, with Fan Kuai and Xia Houying as vanguard, to launch a surprise attack on the Sui Water Pavilion. He was still fuming about the pavilion's manager, who had secretly stabbed him in the back while he was busy with his mother's funeral. Liu Shanhe's heart burned with anger, and all he could think of was breaking into the pavilion, capturing the despicable manager, and making him suffer a thousand cuts to vent his hatred.

  "I think of Liu Shanhe, although his temperament has also become more open-minded over time, gradually becoming similar to that of Liu Bang in the past. However, no matter how broad one's heart is, one cannot be unclear about gratitude and resentment. A gentleman does not forget to repay kindness, a man does not forget to avenge grievances. That little kid from Sui Water Pavilion actually dares to take advantage of someone's misfortune, it's truly too unrighteous! If I don't eliminate him first, it will be hard to alleviate the hatred in my heart!" Liu Shanhe is determined to achieve his goal.

  Naturally, he also analyzed it through military strength comparison. If the opponent was a strong enemy, then Liu Shanhe wouldn't be foolish enough to clash head-on with them. Fortunately, the small city of Sui Water Pavilion wasn't very big, and its defenses weren't very strict either. Moreover, Liu Shanhe had been the pavilion master there for several years in the past, so he was very familiar with it. Therefore, the battle to capture Sui Water Pavilion ended quickly, and the 700-800 defenders all surrendered to Liu Shanhe after the city fell, increasing his troop numbers from over 3,000 to nearly 4,000. However, the pavilion master had guessed correctly and escaped early, leaving Liu Shanhe frustrated.

  After capturing Xi Shui, according to Liu Shanhe's plan, taking advantage of the momentum of the small victory, they continued to advance to Hu Ling, then to Guang Yu, pulling out the two nails on both sides of Feng Xiangjun City, and then with one breath, took down Feng Xiang.

  The yellow sand is vast, the wind rolls up the red flag. Liu Shanhe led his four thousand righteous army, walking in the midst of that vast wilderness. At this time it was already after noon, the sunlight passing through the vast sky of yellow tips, shining on Liu Shanhe and those generals' bodies. The wind suddenly rose, but the surroundings were quiet, only the sound of Liu Shanhe's troops marching hastily, occasionally there would be a few neighs of horses.

  "Battlefields are indeed just like this!" Liu Shanhe couldn't help but sigh in his heart. In the 21st century, he had only experienced the grandeur of ancient battlefields through books, electronic games, and movies. He had been amazed by it, yearned for it, and even thought that if he could one day wear armor, wield a sharp sword, ride a warhorse, wear a steel helmet, and charge into battle with his whip cracking... That feeling, that experience was truly heroic, bold, free-spirited, and magnificent...

  Now, he has finally found himself in the midst of it all, and the role he's playing is quite an important one - Han Liu Bang. He can't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. Time-travel? Ha! This whole thing was already pretty absurd to begin with, but heaven had other plans, placing him in the body of Liu Bang from the Qin dynasty, giving him another chance at unifying the country and fulfilling his historical mission. This makes him feel both thrilled and pressured at the same time. He doesn't want to be a useless waste, yet he also doesn't want to follow exactly in Liu Bang's footsteps. He keeps thinking about whether it's possible to forge a completely different path from Liu Bang's imperial road, but it's really hard to make any breakthroughs. Later on, though, he thinks that even if he can just naturally follow Liu Bang's original path and eventually unify the country, that would be okay too! The question is, with his current abilities, can he handle such a huge historical mission?

  Although, since the successful crossing, his personality has changed a lot due to environmental factors, mainly because of the special nature of the role he crossed into. His ability has also been greatly improved. It seems that this environment shapes people, and it's really true! Moreover, with the strong spiritual energy in Liu Bang's body, now even if he wants to be stupid, it's already very difficult.

  Just as Liu Shanhe was advancing on horseback, a series of urgent hoofbeats suddenly came from behind, and immediately a fast horse arrived at Liu Shanhe's side, shouting: "Report to Lord Pei, report to Lord Pei! Something big has gone wrong! According to the scout's report, Yong Chi, who was left to guard Fengxiang, has betrayed us and defected to Wei State! Not only that, but he is also at odds with our righteous army!"

  "Is this true?" Liu Shanhe was stunned by the scout's words and didn't react for a long time. To think that when he was in Fengxiang attending his mother's funeral, the Qin army from Si River had launched a surprise attack on him, making him extremely angry. But now, his own subordinate had betrayed him, and what's more, it happened so suddenly, which made him feel even chillier!

  Actually, Liu Shanhe letting Yong Chi stay in Fengxiang wasn't as complicated as he thought. He just considered that after all, Yong Chi was a local noble family, and having him guard the place would make himself feel more at ease. Moreover, Yong Chi was from the same hometown as him, so from the perspective of loyalty, there shouldn't be any issues. However, he never expected things to turn out this way.

  In a fit of rage, Liu Shanhe ordered the three armies to turn back and march towards Fengxiang to punish that damned Yong Chi - damn it, that thing that eats inside and crawls outside is really too unrighteous, really too unrighteous!

  Not long after, Liu Shanhe led his troops to the city of Fengxiang, which was guarded by Yong Chi. Looking at the soldiers on the city wall who were busy transporting rolling logs and rocks, Liu Shanhe's lungs almost burst with anger. He thought back to when he led his army out of the city to attack the Qin army in Si River, how mighty and powerful he was! But now, this Fengxiang, which was originally his home base, had suddenly become someone else's territory! And that Yong Chi, whom he had placed infinite hope and trust in, had suddenly turned against him and defected to the Wei state, it was simply unbelievable!

  "It's hard to fathom human hearts and impossible to defy Heaven's will!" Liu Shanhe gazed at the city wall that seemed so unfamiliar, and couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

  "Third brother, what are you still dazing about? Quickly set up the cloud ladder and wait for me, Fan Qiang, to charge into the city and capture that little brat Yong Chi alive. I'll hand him over to you, third brother, and let you deal with him as you please! It's better than having you sigh endlessly, what's the use of that?!"

  "General Fan, please calm down for now and let me question Yōng Chǐ first!" Liu Bang raised his hand to signal a halt, then rode forward a few steps towards Yōng Chǐ, who was standing on the city wall. "Brother Yōng Chǐ, you are a noble son of a wealthy family with great reputation in this region! How could you do such a thing? Although I am just a commoner, we share the same hometown and have been nourished by the same water and soil since childhood. We are also comrades-in-arms under the same banner, fighting against the Qin dynasty. What is there to hide between us that we must resort to arms? Why do you not recognize our kinship? If I recall correctly, it has only been two days since we parted ways! As for what happened in these two days within the city of Fēngxiāng, I don't care to know. But one thing is certain: two days ago, I entrusted you with defending the city, but now you have betrayed me. Why?" Liu Bang knew that no matter how much he said, Yōng Chǐ would not surrender again. However, in war, it was essential to attack the enemy's morale first. If they could not be defeated ideologically, even if their own forces were stronger, their soldiers' morale would suffer when battle commenced. Therefore, listing the enemy's crimes before resolving the conflict through force was necessary.

  But then, Yong Chi was no longer buying Liu Bang's account. After listening to Liu Bang's previous words, he burst out laughing for a few moments before his face suddenly turned stern and he said coldly: "Liu Bang, you scoundrel! Who in all of Pei County doesn't know about your true nature? You were once a petty thief lurking in the markets, and now you dare to try to ride roughshod over me? That's truly the height of arrogance! I can tell you that you'd better not try to play tricks on me again. You're just a small-minded person who has gotten lucky, but your true nature hasn't changed. When we went out to battle, you abandoned me and left me behind. What were you thinking? Don't think that I don't see through you, the world isn't just as smart as you are! Do you think everyone else is a monkey for you to play with? If you have the ability, then explain this to me: what kind of logic is this?"

  Liu Shanhe thought to himself: This guy is really ungrateful! I clearly trusted him, but he doesn't know how to repay kindness and thinks he can just betray me. What a scoundrel! However, Liu Shanhe also tried his best to suppress his anger and not let it erupt. He calmly said: "Ah, General Yong Chi, General Yong Chi, why are you speaking like this? I, Liu Bang, thought of you as a member of a prestigious family in our hometown, with great influence in the local area, so I thought assigning you to guard Fengxiang would be the best choice. It was also because of this consideration that I let you defend Fengxiang, settle down in your hometown, and serve as the rear base and headquarters of our righteous army. I had high hopes for you! This way, you could also avoid some of the hardships of war and bloodshed. But instead, you repay kindness with resentment, are ungrateful, and don't understand right from wrong. You've committed a grave crime that deserves beheading, but because we shared food and drink in Fengxiang, I can let bygones be bygones and not pursue your past mistakes. I hope General Yong will quickly surrender and return to our righteous army's banner, join forces with us to destroy the cruel Qin dynasty, and achieve great things together. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I hope you'll wake up soon, or else I, Liu Bang, won't show any more mercy! Otherwise, when the city is breached, it will be your time to face a thousand cuts!"

  But, the Yang Zhi was not moved at all. Before Liu Bang's words were even finished, he looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, as if he had seen through Liu Bang's performance. Then, with a serious expression, he said: "Liu Bang, you shouldn't try to deceive me anymore! You still want to talk about returning to your righteous banner and working together for great things? That's just a foolish dream! With just these few thousand undisciplined troops, you think you can achieve great things? Even in your dreams, you couldn't have such a good dream. You really are overestimating yourself. Let me tell you clearly, Liu Bang! I advise you to follow me and go surrender to the King of Wei together, to work together for a great cause - that's the real way to achieve greatness! And also avoid suffering from the knife of the State of Wei in the future. What do you think? Hahahaha!"

  After saying this, Yong Chi felt a great sense of relief in his heart, as if all the resentment he had accumulated from being under Liu Bang's command for so many days had dissipated with these words. Especially seeing Liu Bang's red face and white forehead, Yong Chi was even more delighted. Heh heh, that's exactly the effect I wanted!

  Indeed, Yung Chi's words made Liu Shanhe so angry that he suddenly shouted loudly: "Shut up! You are a treacherous and ungrateful person! I originally let you guard Fengxiang because I trusted you, but my good intentions were misunderstood by you! A person like you who is disloyal and betrays kindness will not have a good ending! If I don't tear you apart, I swear I won't be human! Come on, attack the city! Capture the rebel Yung Chi to relieve my hatred!"

  At Liu Shanhe's command, the soldiers under him put up the prepared cloud ladders against the high city wall. Then one after another, the soldiers climbed up the ladders and swiftly ascended to the top of the city wall.

  Liu Shanhe stood shoulder to shoulder with Xiao He, Fan Kuai, Xia Houying and other generals on horseback, staring intently at the soldiers attacking this side. At the same time, Liu Shanhe also saw that despicable Yōng Chǐ, who had not retreated from the city wall, but was still standing there, glaring at him with a look of determination to fight to the end...