Chapter 25 4. Tension

Lu Gong took Liu Bang's token and entered Xianyang City.When they came to the door of the restaurant in the alley, the attendants knocked on the door, and the sound of knocking on the door echoed in the night sky.The owner of the restaurant opened the door, saw that it was Lu Gong, and knew that he must have something very urgent to come late at night, so he quickly let Lu Gong and his followers into the shop.Before the boss could speak, Lu Gong said bluntly: "Xiang Yu's beloved wife, Yu Ji, was robbed from Liu Ji. You must mobilize all the people to find Yu Ji, and she must be found intact. Otherwise , I am afraid that the land in Guanzhong is about to flow into rivers of blood!"

The boss nodded, turned around and left without saying a word.Lu Gong asked his attendants to boil the wine for himself, went to the kitchen to get some side dishes to accompany the wine, and poured himself a drink while waiting for the boss' reply.The followers were on guard all around, all of them looked dignified. The owner of the restaurant walked out of the alley, came to the gate of the nearby Lifang, and said a few words to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper called out a dozen people from the Lifang, and everyone split up.In less than half an hour, in the night of Xianyang City, there were countless figures shuttling back and forth silently, the quiet streets and alleys, the undercurrents were surging, swords were on the verge of breaking out, and a vicious fight might break out at any time.The owner of the restaurant was waiting for the news in a courtyard, and people from all walks of life came back one after another to report the results to him. Among them were the community leaders in Lifang - "elders", the tycoons in the rivers and lakes - "heroes", as well as Qin officials, traders, Artisans, tramps... all kinds of people.However, the news they brought back was disappointing.

The boss's face became more and more ugly. At this moment, everyone's eyes were attracted by a person who just walked in.This woman in red with gorgeous makeup walked up to the boss with a seductive smile on her face, and with a shallow bow, her voice was enough to take away the man's soul, "My lord, one of my guests told me that when he went out at night, Suddenly he heard noises in the courtyard next door, he looked over the wall, and saw a luxurious carriage and some men in black with weapons..." "Where is the person?" Before she could finish speaking, the boss interrupted her and asked eagerly.

"I've already brought it!" A blindfolded man with his hands tied behind his back was carried in by two strong men, one on the left and one on the right.Judging by his attire, he should be a businessman from a wealthy family.The woman stepped forward gracefully and pulled out the sackcloth stuffed in his mouth. The man stammered: "Forgive me, please take all the money you have on me, don't kill me!" Wu, with a frosty face, stretched out his hand and gave him a loud slap across the face, and said viciously: "Be honest, take us there, if you dare to play tricks, I will castrate you!" However, this woman's method still opened their eyes.

The woman took off the cloth covering the man's eyes and let him lead the way.The owner of the restaurant stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, I'll go and tell the Lord." He walked out of the courtyard, returned to the restaurant as quickly as possible, and informed Lu Gong.Lu Gong put down his wine bowl, thought for a while, and said, "I'll go with you!" Lu Gong and the owner of the restaurant led hundreds of warriors to the suspicious courtyard under the guidance of the businessman.The warriors surrounded the courtyard from different directions, and the woman in red ordered the businessman to knock on the door. The businessman knocked on the courtyard door tremblingly, and shouted inside: "Wang Da, are you at home?" Finally, there was a response from the yard, and someone asked, "Who is it?"

"I'm Song Xiang from next door! I came back late, and my wife won't open the door. I want to make do with your house for a while. Can I make it easier?" The courtyard door opened, and a strong man appeared at the door. Just as he was about to greet the businessman, he suddenly noticed that there were no less than thirty or forty warriors hiding on both sides of the courtyard door, and hurriedly backed away, trying to close the door again.The samurai rushed forward and kicked him to the ground, and the people behind rushed in. Seeing that both sides were fighting, the businessman turned around and wanted to run away. The woman in red drew out the dagger from her waist and wiped him on the neck. Blood gurgled out from under the throat, and the corpse fell to the ground.Lu Gong happened to see this scene nearby, and was very surprised at the woman's clean killing method. The woman smiled and rushed into the courtyard with several of her warriors.

Lu Gong walked into the gate of the courtyard and stood on the steps to observe the situation in the courtyard.The carriage was parked in the middle of the courtyard. There were several main rooms facing the courtyard gate, and five or six side rooms on both sides.Some of the samurai he brought broke through the door, and some climbed over the wall. Dozens of people rushed into the small yard at once, which seemed a bit crowded.The owner of the restaurant checked the carriage and shook his head to Lu Gong, indicating that the carriage was empty.At this time, warriors also appeared on the roof, opened their bows and crossbows, and aimed at the closed door.

There was a dead silence in the yard, and it seemed that people's nervous heartbeats could be heard.The two sides confronted each other openly and secretly, and no one dared to act rashly.The owner of the restaurant lost his composure, approached Duke Lu and said, "My lord, rush in! If you're so exhausted, I'm afraid something will happen!" Lu Gong shook his head, "Calm down, a tiger in a cage won't last long!" Sure enough, the people ambushing in the room finally couldn't hold back anymore, opened the doors and windows, and jumped into the yard one after another.The crossbowmen on the roof mercilessly shot the men in black who were showing their heads. Before the two sides could meet, half of the men in black fell down.The samurai occupying the yard rushed forward and started fighting with the men in black who had escaped the rain of arrows. After a while, they wiped out these survivors.

Lu Gong cast his eyes on a door in the main room that had not been opened.The warriors also noticed the strangeness in that room, and surrounded the room after killing all the men in black.The door of the room was opened suddenly, and a man in black came out holding Yu Ji hostage. Yu Ji still looked drowsy, she seemed to be a little bit conscious, but still not fully awake.The man in black supported her with one hand, and pressed the dagger against her chest with the other.Neither of them spoke. The man in black took Yu Ji as a shield and walked out step by step.When he walked to the middle of the courtyard, the owner of the restaurant raised his fist to the crossbowman on the roof of the main room. A sharp arrow aimed at the back of the man in black's head, and the sharp arrow shot right into the neck of his cervical spine. joints.Before the man in black had time to snort, he collapsed to the ground.Yu Ji lost the support of the man in black and almost fell, but was supported by the warrior next to her.

Seeing the success of the operation, the stone in Lu Gong's heart fell to the ground. He asked the owner of the restaurant to lead some people to clean up the scene and find out the identities of these men in black. The others accompanied him to escort Yu Ji back to Bashang.Lu Gong and Yu Ji took two carriages and went out of the city under the escort of dozens of warriors.When approaching the gate of the city, the owner of the restaurant chased after him, approached Duke Lu's carriage, and said in a low voice: "My lord, the identities of those people have been found out, they are the imperial guards of the palace."

"People from Ziying!" Lu Gong's voice was a little strange, and after a while, he warned: "Don't say this matter for now!" Ziying started to act, which means that the conflict between him and Liu Bang and Xiang Yu is now over. Leveling up, once it comes to the point of life and death, Lu Gong must make his own choice. At the same time, Xiang Yu, who was in the Hongmen barracks, was furious about Yu Ji's disappearance.He grabbed Yu Ji's maid in front of him, grabbed her by the collar and asked, "Tell me, where did Yu Ji go? Why hasn't she come back so late?" The maid turned pale with fright, and was suffocated by the collar that tightened her neck.Xiang Yu let go, and the maid hurriedly lay down on the ground and said, "Report to Your Majesty, at noon, Pei Gong's wife, Lu Zhi, came to see her, and then the two of them went out in an ox cart, and have not returned until now! " Xiang Yu heard that Concubine Yu was picked up by Lu Zhi, he felt relieved a little, and asked, "Where did they go?" "This slave doesn't know." The guard came in and reported, "Your Majesty, Cao Wushang, the left Sima of the Duke of Pei, has sent a letter!" Xiang Yu was stunned for a moment, not thinking of Cao Wushang, and the guard reminded: "General, it is at Hangu Pass The person who blocked us!" Xiang Yu suddenly realized, took the silk scroll from the guard, and went to watch it under the lamp. The guards and maids in the tent could only see Xiang Yu's back, but not his expression.Xiang Yu's body was trembling slightly, the guard and the maid looked at each other puzzledly, when Xiang Yu turned around, the guard opened his mouth wide in fright, his expression froze, and the timid maid screamed, Terrified, he hid behind the curtain.Xiang Yu looked like an angry tiger, his eyes were blood red, he was panting heavily, blowing the beard on his lips, the veins on his forehead were bulging, and the blood vessels seemed to burst. He didn't seem to see the guards and maids, and strode out of the sleeping tent, and went straight to the big tent where he gathered everyone to discuss matters - the general headquarters of the coalition of princes.After Xiang Yu entered the big tent, the guards got busy and rushed to inform the main generals and princes in the army.After receiving the urgent notice from Xiang Yu, Fan Zeng, Xiang Bo, Xiang Zhuang, Ying Bu, Ji Bu, Huan Chu, Long Qi, Zhong Li Mei and other advisers and generals, as well as various princes rushed to the big tent, and everyone discussed on the road. , I don't know what happened. Xiang Yu turned around like a tiger in a cage, and he couldn't hear the people who came in saying hello to him.Seeing Xiang Yu's appearance, the hearts of the princes rose to their throats, and they had a premonition that something was wrong.Some people with ghosts in their hearts are even more worried, worrying that their secrets will be discovered by Xiang Yu, and catastrophe will be imminent.In the end, it was Yafu Fan Zeng who spoke first and asked, "Yu'er, what happened?" Xiang Yu didn't speak, but threw the silk book in his hand to Fan Zeng forcefully.Xiang Yu's rude behavior made Fan Zeng a little unhappy. Although Xiang Yu has a bad temper and is very arrogant in front of others, he has always respected him.It can be seen that the situation is indeed very serious.Fan Zeng unfolded Cao Wushang's secret letter and read it carefully. In the secret letter, Cao Wushang told Xiang Yu: "Liu Ji was very ambitious and always wanted to claim the title of king according to relevant sources, so after he entered the customs, he took all the food, treasures, and palaces of Qin State as his own. He sent troops to guard Hangu. Guan was also all his idea, and I was just a temporary scapegoat thrown out. Now, he still wants to worship Ziying as a chancellor, win over the forces of the perishing Qin, fight against the king and all the princes, and try to dominate Guanzhong. I received Secretly reported that the king’s beloved wife, Yu Ji, was hijacked by Liu Ji and his wife, Lu Zhi, and taken to the army. I guess they wanted to use this to threaten the general and force you to leave Guanzhong.” At the end of the letter, Cao Wushang suggested that Xiang Yu Immediately send troops to destroy Liu Bang and take Yu Ji back. He himself is willing to be an internal response. The information provided by Cao Wushang is a blockbuster, and there is a reasonable explanation for Xiang Yu's reaction.This secret letter was in Fan Zeng's arms. As soon as he entered Guanzhong, he persuaded Xiang Yu to eliminate Liu Bang and dominate the world.However, Xiang Yu was indecisive and did not adopt his suggestion.Now, this informant letter provides enough reasons for eradicating Liu Bang, how could Fan Zeng miss this opportunity?Before Xiang Yu could speak, he read the content of the informant letter aloud in front of all the princes.The princes stared wide-eyed, all dumbfounded, and had nothing to say.Under Xiang Yu's rage, who would dare to defend Liu Bang? Fan Zeng took the opportunity to say to Xiang Yu: "Yu'er, Liu Ji was originally a greedy and lustful person, but after he entered the customs, he sealed up the treasury and palace, appeased the people, made three chapters of the agreement, and committed no crimes in autumn, which shows that his ambition is not small! I once Let the warlock watch the cloud above his head, which looks like a dragon and is colorful, this is the spirit of the emperor! If you don’t get rid of this person in time, you and all the princes may become his prisoners in the future. Don’t do it this time He hesitated, he colluded with Ziying and tried to dominate Guanzhong, which is to betray the great cause of the Qin Dynasty, and we eradicate this traitor to do justice for the heavens, and it is justified." Afterwards, he approached Xiang Yu and said in a low voice: "If you miss the opportunity by looking forward and backward, I'm afraid Yu Ji's life will be lost! Now that Cao Wushang is the internal response, my 400,000 troops will fight there, and I will definitely wipe out the traitor Liu Ji in one fell swoop." !" Fan Zeng's words hit the most sensitive part of Xiang Yu's heart. In his eyes, the position of emperor is not as important as Yu Ji.If Concubine Yu had said a word at the beginning, he could even give up the great cause of restoring the country for Concubine Yu, return to the countryside, raise children, and enjoy the family happiness in peace.No matter who it is, if he dares to touch Yu Ji, Xiang Yu will wring his head off alive.Now my brother betrayed and deceived me, not to mention, but he also attacked his beloved wife, "You are unkind, don't blame me for being unrighteous!" Xiang Yu swore in his heart.He was about to speak, but Xiang Bo beat him to the front. Seeing Zhang Liang's affection, Uncle Xiang wanted to speak a few words of justice for Liu Bang, but the princes didn't dare to say anything, but he was Xiang Yu's uncle, so he didn't have too many scruples. "General (Fan Zeng), you just said that after Pei Gong entered the customs, Qiu did not commit any crimes, but Cao Wushang's secret letter said that Pei Gong took all the wealth accumulated by Qin as his own. This seems a bit contradictory! Cao Wushang made the decision without authorization. To prevent the allied forces from entering the customs, Pei Gong severely punished him last time, so he may hold a grudge, wait for an opportunity to retaliate, frame Pei Gong, and take the opportunity to provoke a conflict between Liu and Xiang in order to fulfill his selfish desires. Just relying on his one-sided words to go to war, It's really a bit reckless. I hope the king will think twice!" Xiang Yu said with a gloomy face: "Concubine Yu was indeed picked up by Lu Zhi and has not returned yet. How can this be explained?" Xiang Bo patiently reminded Xiang Yu: "The King and Pei Gong are brothers. Lu Zhi and Yu Ji used to get along very well, and they were like sisters. It is normal for Lu Zhi to come to Guanzhong to talk to Yu Ji about the past. How can we conclude on this basis? Peigong hijacked Concubine Yu and blackmailed the King?" Xiang Bo's analysis was reasonable, the princes nodded one after another, and Xiang Yu hesitated.Seeing that Xiang Yu was beginning to waver, Fan Zeng immediately said: "I have also received news about Liu Ji's worship of Ziying as his prime minister, and now it just confirms Cao Wushang's belief. This should be true!" General Ying Bu also said: "I've heard that too. This Liu Ji is too arrogant, he doesn't pay attention to the king and other princes at all." General Ji Bu said: "Your Majesty, let's send troops! When we come to the city, we will first force him to return Concubine Yu. If he can make it clear about worshiping Ziying as his prime minister, we will withdraw our troops; otherwise, we will flatten Bashang and destroy Liu Ji." .” Fan Zeng reminded Xiang Yu again: "Yu'er, Concubine Yu's safety is the most important thing, if you break it, you must break it, otherwise you may regret it!" Xiang Yu finally made up his mind, and said loudly: "Everyone, go back and mobilize the soldiers. Tomorrow morning, we will go to Bashang and attack the traitor Liu Ji!"