The same sun as above Yinling Daze also shines on the dripping bricks of Bo Ji's courtyard at the back. The small courtyard is filled with a peaceful atmosphere of time.
The news of Gaixia's great victory had just come, and the city was in a state of excitement. Everyone knew that the protracted tug-of-war between Chu and Han was finally coming to an end.
Lu Yan remembered his sister's instructions before leaving and came to Bo Ji's residence every now and then to visit;
Although Bo Ji said that she would accept guests behind closed doors, she always made an exception to receive Lu Yan.
After all, she is Lu Fei's biological sister, the wife of General Fan Kuai, and a straightforward and brilliant girl.
Bo Ji was sitting outside the door of the inner courtyard, basking in the sun. She saw busy maids going back and forth in the corridor. She thought it was almost lunch time, and the aroma of food came from the east kitchen.
She put down the small soap-colored tiger head hat she was embroidering, squinted at the armored soldiers guarding the tower across the courtyard, and said to Lu Yan sitting opposite,
"It's still the same today. You can eat at my place. The small kitchen makes roasted mutton and fried fish, which are all your favorites."
Lu Yan was using a dogwood bag, teasing the little prince Liu Heng in his arms to reach out to grab it repeatedly. He nodded when he heard this, and suddenly thought of something.
"Have you heard that Brother Zhao Wang Zhang Er's health is getting worse day by day. Old injuries have recurred and he has been lingering on the bed all day long. It is probably only in the past few months."
Bo Ji was multitasking. The embroidery needle in her delicate hand was flying with yellow silk thread on the dark brocade. It was very beautiful. She replied leisurely,
"now it's right.
No wonder the maids I sent to visit the princess said that Prince Zhao Zhang Ao has been writing letters to Princess Lu Yuan more and more frequently these days. "
***
"Oh, I never expected that Brother Zhang Er, such an upright and honest man, would actually give birth to a son with a delicate belly."
Lu Yan was startled, then sighed.
She and Fan Kuai were married as a young boy, and they talked about everything on weekdays. The Zhang Er whom I heard from Fan Kuai was a good brother who was a brother-in-law with Liu Ji, the King of Han Dynasty, and a legendary hero who kept his word and was heroic.
Unexpectedly, the dragon gave birth to nine sons, each with different temperament and temperament.
"Yes, Zhang Ao has been particularly attentive these days. It seems that he is planning to take advantage of the world's peace and settle his share as soon as possible."
As Bo Ji spoke, she kept working. In just a moment, the left eye of the little tiger on the tiger head hat was already embroidered, lifelike and full of power.
Lu Yan hesitated in his words.
"Logically speaking, Zhang Ao is young and promising, and is a perfect match for Lu Yuan. The king also made an engagement for them early, but..."
"It's just that he is too smart, so smart that it makes people scared, right?" Bo Ji took over her words.
"Ahem, that's right. What's more, Zhang Ao is surrounded by ambitious old officials like Zhao Wu and Guan Gao.
If you look at Lu Yuan again, she is already a half-grown girl. She is still naive and is no match for them. "
"Maybe in a while, we will have to help her arrange her marriage to Zhang Ao."
"I don't know where King Zhao's vassal state will be in the future. If it is still in the north and the winter is dry and cold, silly girl Lu Yuan may not be able to get used to it after she goes there..."
Bo Ji tied the silk thread into a knot, bit it off with her thin white teeth, and admired her masterpiece with satisfaction.
“After the war is won, Zhang Ao is not the only one who is ready to take action.
A certain lady behind us has also been quite anxious in the past half month, shouting repeatedly to go to the front line and accompany the king through life and death. "
Unlike Bo Ji, who is as thoughtful as her hair, Lu Yan is an outspoken and carefree woman. She is usually most bothered by the quarrels between her family and her family, and is also extremely slow to care about worldly affairs and human feelings.
She frowned and thought for a long time, and finally understood what Bo Jiyan was referring to——
The person in the harem who is ready to move is none other than Liu Ruyi's mother, the great beauty Qi Ji.
"What is Mrs. Qi's intention? She doesn't want to charm the king and take the opportunity to become the queen, no, become the queen, right?"
***
Zhang Ao and Qi Ji each had ulterior motives, and Lu Pheasant, who was on the front line, had no idea;
Even if she knew, she had no time to pay attention to the trivial intrigues for the time being, because there were more pressing matters that needed to be dealt with right now.
After Xiang Yu and his party broke through, the Chu army in Gaixia City opened the city gates and surrendered.
Liu Ji calmly showed his attitude, and ordered Han Xin who went to receive him to strictly restrain his subordinates and make sure to appease the people just like when he entered Xianyang, and there would be no mistakes in Qiu;
And the Guan Ying detachment he sent to pursue Xiang Yu's remnant army also rode fast overnight to transport back all the fragments of Xiang Yu's body.
The reason why the body is fragmented is because Xiang Yu was cut into pieces by five soldiers;
And these five people have one thing in common -
They are all from Guanzhong and are soldiers of the old Qin army.
The elites of the old Qin army under Guan Ying lived up to expectations. They took the lead and blocked Xiang Yu and dozens of remnants of the army who had escaped from Yinling Daze with a narrow escape at the Wujiang ferry.
Faced with an unprecedented defeat, the arrogant Xiang Yu could not face the collapse of his heart. He refused to cross the river and committed suicide with a sword.
Then, the soldiers swarmed forward, and the knight, Wang Yi, chopped off Xiang Yu's head with all his strength. The remaining four, Yang Xi, Lu Matong and others, each grabbed a part of Xiang Yu's body.
The wind howled and the horses' hoofs thundered. The sword that Xiang Yu wielded against Zhang Han's surrender in Xin'an five years ago finally struck him hard on the neck.
In this way, under the careful arrangements of Han Xin and Liu Ji, a generation of powerful Overlord of Western Chu completed his life.
***
"I heard that before Xiang Yu died, he shouted to the sky, 'It is not a crime of war to kill me.'
It's so ridiculous that when the time comes, you actually blame God. "
Liu Ji approached the bundle wrapping Xiang Yu's head, twirled his two fingers, lifted a corner of the blood-stained cloth, and glanced coldly, unable to hide the sarcasm in his words.
"As early as when Xin'an killed and surrendered, your end was doomed.
Xiang Yu, you died by your own hands. "
He threw down the cover as if he was disgusted, waved his hand with satisfaction, and ordered people to take away the messy body parts.
Zhang Liang reminded softly, "Your Majesty, wait a minute, there is still Lu County."
Xiang Yu was the King of Lu personally conferred by King Huai of Chu, and his fiefdom was in Lu County;
Since the pre-Qin Dynasty, Lu County has been the old capital of Lu State, the hometown of Confucius, and the birthplace of Confucian culture. The local people abide by etiquette and have quite ancient customs.
Therefore, after the Battle of Gaixia, all the counties under the original jurisdiction of Chu State surrendered one after another, but Lu County was the only one still holding on for Xiang Yu, the feudal lord.
"The whole world belongs to me, it's just a county, what's the big deal," Liu Ji said with disapproval on his face.
"At worst, it would be easier to attack them by force and slaughter them all. Or, we could simply surround them for three months and starve them all to death, which would be clean."
He was wearing a brand-new purple-brown dark coat, and the fingers that had just touched the furoshiki couldn't help but rub on the front, as if to wipe away the faint traces of Xiang Yu's blood on it.
Lu Zhi's calm voice suddenly came,
"If your Majesty uses force against Lu County, wouldn't you be afraid of chilling the hearts of the people with lofty ideals in the world?"
Liu Ji's face suddenly changed color, anger welled up in his heart, but he was speechless for a moment.
Zhang Liang hurriedly explained,
"The war is about to end, and the king will soon unify the world.
Governance is different from troubled times. If the king wants to sit firmly in the world, he must let his people know that from now on, being loyal to the country is the most commendable virtue. "
Their words awakened the dreamer, and Liu Ji suddenly realized:
You can conquer the world on horseback, but you cannot rule the world on horseback.
When the emperor pays attention to obeying the destiny and obeying the destiny, the rules of conduct in the jungle society in troubled times will no longer apply in the future.
Even at the beginning of the Chu-Han War, when Liu Ji launched an army to rebel against Chu, he did so with great fanfare on the pretext of "mourning for the Righteous Emperor" and called on the princes to attack Xiang Yu who had killed the Righteous Emperor.
What's more, now is the final step in the war of unification, and it is even more important to make the division famous and the world to focus.
"Lu County insisted on holding on for the sake of the lord Xiang Yu, for the sake of ancient etiquette and righteousness, and also because the news of his death was not yet known.
I am willing to go to Lu County in person as your king's envoy, have a good discussion with them, and gain the support of loyal and righteous people in the world for your king. "
Zhang Liang took the initiative to ask for orders, and his words were sincere and sincere.
"Zifang, you are old and have been working hard and thinking very hard recently. I'm afraid it won't be right to go to Lu County alone again."
Liu Ji's eyes flashed. Although his words were gentle and caring, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Zhang Liang felt miserable. The king's suspicion became more and more serious, and he didn't know whether his future plan could be successfully realized.
Without thinking, Lu Pheasant stood up and said softly to Liu Ji,
"I would like to go to Lu County with Brother Zhang Liang to win over the people of the world for your Majesty."
