Chapter 7 Chapter 6 The Day of the Dead

There are often fateful encounters in life. Your life would have been different if you hadn't met someone—it's happened to a lot of people. Some people find that their lives have undergone major changes because of a chance, while others don't realize that it was a fateful encounter until a long time later. The encounter between Zhang Liang and the old man Huangshi should belong to the former.Before getting the "Taigong Art of War", Zhang Liang had already felt a kind of power released from the old man Huangshi, which was about to greatly change his own destiny. Compared with this, the encounter with Xiang Bo should belong to the latter.

Zhang Liang followed Huangshi's advice and attempted to shake the world, and obtained a considerable amount of funds from the Langya alchemist Xu Fu. The first thing Zhang Liang had to do was to correct the way.At present, he only has two partners, one is Fan Fa, a famous iron ball thrower, and the other is just barely doing it—this matter is more about anger——Tazuki who made him an accomplice. "Recruiting colleagues is my specialty," said Taguchi. The man, who had shaved his beard, had been in the secret police many times in the past, and had seduced people for the purpose of setting him up.

He originally tried to lure Zhang Liang to take the bait, but he was fooled instead.After learning well, he became very smart so as not to fail again. They started by covering up the most wanted criminals. Not all wanted criminals are criminals.The law is getting stricter and stricter, and more and more people have to abscond because of accidental or negligent mistakes. Taguchi, who was born in the secret police, has a wide range of connections in this regard.Like an experienced fisherman, he knows exactly what kind of fish can be caught on which bank. "I caught a big fish today..." One day, Taguchi came back to report.

"What crime did he commit?" Zhang Liang asked. In order to shake the world, it is necessary to recruit various talents.At this time, of course, he couldn't do whatever he wanted in the selection of candidates, but Zhang Liang naturally had his personal likes and dislikes, and he didn't want to recruit people with poor character. "He's a murderer." Tian Tsutsu replied in a relaxed tone, not thinking disobediently.People who have worked in the secret police will be a little paralyzed by their ethics, right? "murderer?" Seeing Zhang Liang's rather displeased reaction, Tian Tong recalled the other party's temperament.Zhang Liang, who grew up in a wealthy family, really cares about ethics.

People with great ambitions should not be too rigid about the details!In this regard, Tazuki took a critical attitude.But the other party is his master now, so it's inconvenient for him to say it directly. "He killed the man by mistake," Taguchi added. Although the world has been unified, the time of peace has not lasted long, and the atmosphere of killing during the Warring States Period is still very strong.The willingness to resort to force remains a common occurrence. After the first emperor conquered the six kingdoms, he confiscated all the weapons in the world and used them to cast many bells and bronze statues.It is said that each seat weighs twenty or thirty tons.

Actually, "all" is just an adjective.At that time, especially in the south, there were still many people wearing swords.And the murder weapon is not just a sword or a gun, an ax or a sickle.It can also be used as a weapon at any time. When anger hits the heart, such things that are casually grabbed can be used as weapons.And once there is a quarrel, no one will show weakness, because this is the masculinity of the Warring States Period. When the murderer was being provoked unreasonably, he grabbed the ax casually and chopped off the opponent's head. "This man is quite brave! You said he was a big fish, what's his name?" Zhang Liang asked.

"His name is Xiang Bo." "What? Uncle Xiang from Chu State?" "yes!" "It's true that he's no ordinary person. What's he like?" "I've heard for a long time that he is a very loyal person. When we met and talked, he really lived up to his reputation." Tian Tsutsu replied. Xiang Bo is a member of the famous Xiang family in Chu State.The Xiang family served as the generals of the Chu State for generations, and Xiang Yan, Xiang Bo's uncle, was killed in a fight with the old general of the Qin State Wang Jian.Xiang's family took Xiang as their surname because their distant ancestors were entrusted with the land of Xiang for their martial arts, but their original family was a minister.Xiaxiang is the place downstream of Xiangshui, near present-day Suqian County, Jiangsu Province.This place is not far from Xiapi, where Zhang Liang was a stronghold to shake the world.

He was thus able to establish a relationship with the Wumen Xiang family who had great power in the fertile area between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River in the south of the Central Plains. It was rare for Zhang Liang to show excitement, and of course he readily agreed to protect Uncle Xiang. However, Zhang Liang's expectation of establishing friendship with the Xiang family seems to have come to nothing. There are quite a lot of bold and upright people in the Xiang family, and among them, Xiang Bo is a rare honest gentleman. "Thanks to the rescue, this kindness and affection will never be forgotten in my life." Xiang Bo thanked repeatedly.

"Brother Xiang, don't say that." Zhang Liang said, "It's my honor that you are a dignified descendant of Xiangmen, but you are willing to take refuge in me, a humble person!" "I can't rely on Mrs. Xiang. I can't let the dignified Xiangmen get involved because of me." Uncle Xiang spoke so honestly. Zhang Liang smiled wryly.When a wanted criminal is found harboring, he will definitely be implicated.Because Xiang Bo didn't want to hurt the reputation of Xiang's family, he didn't take refuge in any clansman; this matter, in turn, means that he is not afraid of hurting Zhang Liang, doesn't it?

Therefore, during the period of lurking in Zhang Liang's place, Xiang Bo did not have any contact with people from Xiang's family.Zhang Liang's idea of ​​contacting Xiangmen through Xiang Bo completely fell through. I should take a long-term view... Zhang Liang said to himself, and protect Uncle Xiang with all his heart. "I will definitely repay you in the future." Xiang Bo said to Zhang Liang many times.The upright Xiang Bo, of course, said this from the bottom of his heart. "In the Xiang family, who speaks the most weight?" Zhang Liang asked.Although he could not contact Xiangmen, at least he could know the detailed inside information of Xiangmen through Xiang Bo.Once the world is in turmoil, Xiang's movements will definitely have a huge influence.Therefore, it is very important to understand the status of its internal forces.

"No. The current Xiang family is like a piece of loose sand." Uncle Xiang shook his head with a look of distress on his face and said, "The pillar of the Xiang family is fleeing abroad at this moment." "Are you referring to yourself?" Zhang Liang asked. "How dare I call myself the pillar of the Xiang family?" "Besides you, is there anyone else in the Xiang family who has fled abroad?" "There is a man named Liang who is fleeing to Wu. He also fled because of murder." "Xiang Liang?" Zhang Liang thought it was necessary to remember this person's name.In fact, a few years later, Xiang Liang's name was known to everyone in Wu, and he couldn't forget it even if he wanted to. "Liang is my cousin, the last son of Yan." Xiang Bo said. General Xiang Yan of Chu State was the commander-in-chief during the war against Qin.He once defeated Li Xin, the general of the Qin State who led an army of 200,000, but was later defeated by Wang Jian, who had 600,000 troops, as mentioned above. Although he was a defeated general, he was once the highest leader of a country's army, and it is still the glory of his family. "Did your cousin die alone?" "Liang has a son of a deceased brother, a young man named Ji... This child lost his father when he was young, and we were taken care of by our clan. It's just that this child is very naughty and only listens to Liang. Therefore, when Liang was on the run, he took him by your side." "Naughty? This kid named Ji is probably the one who inherits the Xiang family's temperament the most?" "Cousin Liang also thinks so, so he trains with extra care. But this child not only doesn't like learning, but also hates learning swords. It's really worrying what kind of person he will become in the future. Generally speaking, a child who doesn't like learning, Everyone likes to learn swords. Isn't it very troublesome for him to love neither of them?" "I think the kid has a bright future." "He is just twice as strong... He said that it is enough to write his own name, and he will never read. Ask him to learn swords, but he said that swords can only knock down one person, and no matter how good swordsmanship is, it is useless. He said he What you need to learn is the art of one against ten thousand, don't you think this kid is very arrogant?" Uncle Xiang seemed to think that the boy named Ji was an outlier among his tribe, and when he was the topic of conversation, his expression was very sad. "Underground leader" Xiang Liang——so called Xiang Liang by Wu (Suzhou) people. The first emperor frequently carried out large-scale construction projects and frequently mobilized local residents, which was the so-called "corvette".Central officials only came to inspect the fortifications when they were completed, and the localities were responsible for everything on the fortifications. Matters related to the construction, such as personnel, material distribution, and supervision, are all decided by local powerful people through agreement, and this is not an easy task. Xiang Liang often volunteered to deal with such matters. He is a person who has a plan in his work, is good at employing people, and understands the essentials of the right person. When a dispute arises, he will listen to both sides in detail, and then decide the most effective solution.This "underground leader" soon became an indispensable figure in Wudi. When going out to work, Xiang Liang asked his nephew Ji to stay with him as much as possible. "It's the same as war. I assign work and stipulate work content for everyone, which is equivalent to making a battle plan. You should study hard!" Xiang Liang often said to his nephew. When there is a funeral in the family of a famous person in Wu, Xiang Liang will definitely be hired as the general director of the funeral. Zhang Liang went to Wu to visit Xiang Liang on his way to travel around the world. Unfortunately, Xiang Liang happened to be going to a remote place to serve as the director of the funeral at this time, and he would not return home until a few days later. Those who stay at home are Ji.At this time, Ji was no longer young, but a twenty-year-old youth. "I heard that my uncle Xiang Bo has received a lot of care from you." Yuanji had heard about Zhang Liang. "Oh, you are Xiang Yu's brother. Your uncle often mentions you!" Zhang Liang said. Xiang Ji Zi Yu.You can call the younger generation directly by their first name, but if you are more polite, you can call them by their words.Since "Yu" is more famous than "Ji" in history, the title of "Xiang Yu" is used throughout this book.I don't know why, but Han Gaozu, who later competed with him for hegemony, was known by the name "Liu Bang" far more than the word "Liu Ji". "Ha! He must speak ill of me!" The young Xiang Yu laughed. "No, he says you're a promising young man!" "It's just a nice word. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Xiang Yu is very smiling and seems to be a happy person. Zhang Liang stared at the young man's face.He is indeed a hero, but he is extremely indifferent.This person loves to laugh, but there is no warmth in his laughter.Is this because of the descendants of the famous family?Judging from his appearance, even if this person can coerce others, he can't convince others... Since Zhang Liang had to hurry, he left without waiting for Xiang Liang to come back. He went north from Wu to Langye, with the purpose of meeting Xu Fu. Xu Fu knocked a large sum of money from the first emperor.During the trip, he once heard such words.That being the case, you have to share the spoils with him. When he came to Langye, Zhang Liang was greatly astonished.It turns out that several giant ships are already under construction by the sea. "Brother Xu Fu, are you really going to Donghai now?" Zhang Liang asked. "Ha..." Xu Fu smiled treacherously, shrinking his neck and said, "I just went out to sea for a while...God knows if there really are fairy islands like Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou!" "Even you say such things... This is not a joke! There are three fairy islands, didn't you say that?" "That's right, I said it in a nonsensical manner. I didn't expect that people now believe that there are really three fairy islands in the East China Sea. I don't know what to do!" "Then... what are those ships for?" "I'm going to pick a calm season, take a boat out to sea for a day or two, and then turn back. I'm going to use the excuse of 'I was attacked by a large group of sharks when I was approaching Donghai Xiandao' as an excuse to pretend that I was forced to return..." "Ha! Ha! You were pushed too hard by Emperor Shihuang, so you must do this?" "I'm used to being urged. However, it seems that Emperor Shihuang is going to personally supervise this time. He may be getting impatient... I think he will come next year, right?" "You built these giant ships to prove that you are actively preparing?" "That's right. So I can't knock him a lot of money this time." "I can understand this, and I can't blame you." "I want to say, you should quickly prepare to shake the world." "Have you got any information?" "The emperor forced me to look for the elixir of immortality, and the pressure was very tight... Doesn't this prove that he is not sure about his own health?" A trembling tone is a rare phenomenon for Xu Fu.This means that the physical weakness of the first emperor will be a major national event.