Chapter 34 3. Scapegoat

After sitting down, Liu Bang said to Xiang Yu: "It's a fluke that I can meet the king here alive! I was ambushed by a group of people on the way here, but luckily I was repelled by my guards. You are already a person from two worlds!" Liu Bang sighed as he spoke, expressing deep emotion.However, after hearing these words, other people present all turned their attention to Xiang Yu. Under the current situation, Xiang Yu could not get rid of the suspicion of assassinating Liu Bang anyway. Xiang Yu was in a hurry, he really couldn't bear the suspicious eyes of everyone.He is not ashamed of putting a sniper in the back, so how can he be willing to bear the charge of assassinating his allies and brothers.Xiang Yu stood up with his sword, and said sharply: "Who is so bold, dare to harm my brother, the hero of the anti-Qin!"

Liu Bang knew that the mastermind behind the ambush was unlikely to be Xiang Yu. He said this just to increase the sympathy of the princes for him and force Xiang Yu to express his opinion.Xiang Yu had already expressed his determination in public that he would not harm himself, so Liu Bang continued: "At first I suspected that Ziying did it..." "Ziying..." Xiang Yu and everyone present were a little surprised. "Yes. Your Majesty and the princes from all walks of life may not know that this Ziying is not simple. Although he surrendered the city on the surface, he has been secretly planning to restore the country and drive our anti-Qin coalition forces out of the pass. It is said that he is outside the pass. One hundred thousand Qin troops have been summoned, ready to counterattack at any time."

As soon as Liu Bang's words came out, there was a "buzzing" discussion in the big tent.Xiang Yu asked in surprise: "Surely there is such a thing?" "I heard it from hearsay, and I haven't verified it yet. However, Ziying ambushed a group of dead soldiers in Xianyang City, waiting for the opportunity to stir up disputes between you and me, but the evidence is convincing." Liu Bang paused again at this point , Seeing Xiang Yu's reaction, he wanted to break the news little by little, to anger Xiang Yu step by step, and let him turn the direction of attack to Ziying.

"What evidence is there?" Xiang Yu's appetite was suspended, and Liu Bang led him away.Seeing that Liu Bang was in control of the situation, Fan Zeng was anxious but helpless. Liu Bang was not in a hurry to throw out the most weighty evidence, but continued to lay the groundwork: "Your Majesty should have heard about Ziying's visit to Bashang to see me. From the very beginning, I could see that he was harboring ulterior motives. The misunderstanding of me and the princes from all walks of life made you misunderstand that I was in collusion with him to fight against the king and the princes from all walks of life. So I played a trick of playing hard to get and agreed to meet him to see what tricks he played. As I expected, He blatantly persuaded me to become king at the banquet, but I pretended to be the king of Guanzhong, so I worshiped him as the prime minister. This was done entirely to confuse him and make him think that his treacherous scheme had succeeded. I don’t want to, this matter spread to the Your Majesty's place still caused a misunderstanding between us brothers."

Liu Bang shifted the responsibility to Ziying. While washing himself away, he completely denied an important reason for Xiang Yu to crusade against him. On the contrary, it seemed that he was far-sighted. In order to deal with the common enemy and defend the great cause of anti-Qin, he did not hesitate to be misunderstood by everyone. The risk of dealing with the enemy. Hearing what he said, Xiang Yu felt embarrassed, waved his hand and said, "Don't mention this matter again, it's because that villain Cao Wushang was resentful because you punished him before, deliberately falsely accused and framed him, and I'm also to blame for being too impulsive You hand over Cao Wushang to me, and I will make him regret his actions! There is also this Ziying, who has destroyed the Qin Dynasty, and he is still ruthless. My brothers are killing each other, I want to kill his whole family, the whole clan, and wipe out the roots. Otherwise, the Tyrant Qin might resurface."

Liu Bang sneered in his heart, and said to himself, "Why would I hand Cao Wushang over to you, and give him another chance to betray me?" However, Xiang Yu's hatred for Ziying had already been ignited, Qin Guo and Xiang Yu had a deep hatred, He already had a grudge against this subjugated king, but now that Liu Bang has fanned the flames, he is even more eager to take revenge. On the issue of dealing with Liu Bang, the princes and Xiang Yu have different positions, but Ziying is everyone's common enemy. It is the common wish of all princes to eliminate the remnants of the perishing Qin Dynasty and consolidate the achievements of the revolution.Therefore, all the princes behaved righteously and impassionedly, echoing Xiang Yu's statement, and wanted to kill Ziying and his people.

Seeing that the time had come, Liu Bang decided to throw out Ziying's most important criminal evidence, and finally sentenced the king of subjugation to death.The only thing she can't bear is Ziying's beautiful queen, but now self-protection is the most important thing, and she has already ignored that beauty.Liu Bang didn't know that Queen Ziying had passed away. "Yesterday, Jiannei took Yu Ji over to talk about the old days. I was worried that Yu Ji would not return all night, which would make the king worry, so I sent someone to escort Yu Ji back to Hongmen. Unexpectedly, the convoy was attacked halfway. Fortunately, the guards I fought desperately to protect Yu Ji and returned to Bashang safely. Yu Ji was disturbed and needed to rest, and I was also worried about her safety, and I was afraid of further accidents if I went out at night, so I left her in the barracks. It gave the villain a chance to take advantage of the situation and tell stories. Let the king misunderstand that I hijacked Concubine Yu and threatened the general. If you don't pay attention, you will almost make a big mistake!"

When Xiang Yu heard that someone was kidnapping Yu Ji, he couldn't care about anything else, and asked, "Who dares to attack my beloved wife? Could it be Ziying?" The sound was like a thunderbolt, and everyone present shuddered.A volcano is about to erupt. "This reckless man is really on the road! Needless to say, he automatically pointed the finger at Ziying." Liu Bang was secretly happy, nodded and said, "It's Ziying. He wants to create conflicts between me and the king by robbing Concubine Yu. Concubine Yu is missing from my hands. Even if I have a thousand mouths, I can’t tell, and even ten thousand heads are not enough for the king to chop off! But fortunately, Concubine Yu is auspicious and safe and sound, otherwise, a big battle is inevitable Brothers killed each other, and hundreds of thousands of blood flowed into rivers, I am afraid after thinking about it!" Liu Bang's words were heartfelt and emotional, so he said it with emotion, making it impossible to doubt his sincerity.

"Ziying, Ziying..." Xiang Yu said Ziying's name, as if stuffing Ziying into his bloody mouth and chewing it to pieces. "Seeing that his plot failed, Ziying jumped over the wall in a hurry, mobilized the dead soldiers ambushing in Xianyang City, attacked the defenders I stationed in Xianyang, and tried to take his family and princes and nobles to escape outside the pass and join the remnants of the Qin army. But I I had already prepared, sent reinforcements, and wiped out his fellow party members, and now Ziying and others are locked in the prison in Xianyang, waiting for the king to deal with it." Speaking of this, Liu Bang was a little proud, feeling that he had made a big move and turned the tide. Successively foiled the restoration plots of the remnants of the Qin Dynasty, and made indelible contributions to the great cause of the anti-Qin Dynasty.

Xiang Yu raised the jade goblet in his hand, "Everyone, let's respect Peigong together. If he hadn't had insight into the details and dealt with it properly, the cause of anti-Qin might suffer serious setbacks, and the death of Qin would be in danger of restoration. The king deserves it!" Fan Zeng heard that Xiang Yu publicly expressed his support for Liu Bang as the king of Guanzhong, and it was too late to stop him. In front of everyone, Xiang Yu's words had already been spoken and could not be taken back. Liu Bang quickly picked up the jade goblet, saluted Xiang Yu and the princes, and drank it all in one gulp.Both Xiang Bo and Zhang Liang were very satisfied with Liu Bang's performance, and their words can be said to be interlocking and just right. They not only successfully shifted the focus of the conflict to Ziying, but also eliminated the misunderstanding with Xiang Yu, killing two birds with one stone. .

Xiang Bo asked: "Since Ziying's power has been wiped out by Peigong, who is the person who ambushed you halfway?" Liu Bang pretended to be contemplative, and finally said: "Now I conclude that it was Cao Wushang who did it. He saw that his plan of alienation had not succeeded, and was worried that he would be exposed, so he sent someone to intercept me halfway, and put the blame on the king, in an attempt to provoke me. There will be a conflict between the two sides. He is fishing in troubled waters!" Xiang Bo quickly reminded: "Then quickly send someone to report to Ba, and tell the people left behind to keep an eye on Cao Wushang, and beware of him jumping over the wall in a hurry." Zhang Liang interjected: "I have already arranged for someone to go back to report the letter. Brother Xiang, don't worry!" Liu Bang smiled knowingly at Zhang Liang.Just now, Xiang Yu took the initiative to reveal the news. After knowing that Cao Wushang was the inner ghost, Liu Bang made a gesture to Zhang Liang behind his back.The tacit understanding between the two people no longer needs extra words. Seeing this situation, Fan Zeng knew that Xiang Yu would not attack Liu Bang again.But he is still unwilling to give up and is making the last effort. "Pei Gong, when will Concubine Yu arrive? Bashang and Hongmen are so close, it shouldn't be too long, right?" Before Liu Bang could answer, Xiang Yu said impatiently: "Father Ya! Didn't my elder brother say it, and he'll be here soon! You're really getting old, and you like nagging more and more!" Fan Zeng choked when Xiang Yu said this. After taking a deep breath, he was so stuffy that he had no choice but to take a sip of wine and stop talking. Xiang Yu greeted: "Everyone, let go of your drinking today, don't get drunk and don't go home. Congratulations to Peigong and I for clearing up the misunderstanding. Brothers are reconciled as before, and a war disaster that killed people was avoided." Fan Zeng felt even more depressed when he saw the clinking of cups and cups in front of him, laughter and laughter, the atmosphere of the banquet was enthusiastic, climaxes were set off from time to time, and the guests shouted and shouted. "Is my plan going bankrupt just like that? Liu Bang, a dangerous opponent, is already a duck to his mouth, so let him fly like this? Killing one as an example, making an example of others, and the best opportunity to dominate the world is just missed?" Fan Zeng said in I kept asking myself in my heart.Because of drinking a lot of stuffy wine, Fan Zeng was a little drunk, the scene in front of him began to blur, and his eyes lingered on Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. The candlelight in the big tent projected the backs of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu on the tarpaulin. Fan Zeng could vaguely see Liu Bang's back like a winding dragon, and Xiang Yu's back like a majestic tiger. "Liu Ji is a dormant crouching dragon, and Xiang Yu is a sharp tiger. The dragon is the symbol of the emperor, and the tiger is the representative of the fierce general. The tiger is in power, and the crouching dragon hides its power and bides its time. Isn't this just a manifestation of the ebb and flow of power between the two? The emperor wants to own the world in the end, and the tiger either surrenders to the dragon or is swallowed by it. Could it be that this is a sign that Xiang Yu died in Liu Ji, is it God's will?" "No! Even if this is the destiny, I will fight against the sky! I must kill the dragon Liu Ji, and not let him eat the tiger Xiang Yu!" Jiu Jin made Fan Zeng's courage rise suddenly.He took off the jade ring on his body and held it up to Xiang Yu.Xiang Yu was only focused on drinking with everyone and didn't see Fan Zeng's movements.Fan Zeng lifted the jade ring higher and higher, his arms stretched forward continuously, his seat was very close to Xiang Yu, and he wished he could lift the jade ring up to Xiang Yu's face.Xiang Yu finally sensed the signal from Fan Zeng. He glanced at "Ya Fu" in disgust, and seeing his drunken appearance, he said to himself, "You must be drinking too much! Now I want to kill Liu Ji, why should I kill him?" ?” He deliberately turned his face away, not looking at Fan Zeng.Seeing Xiang Yu's attitude, Fan Zeng sat down on the mat, and the jade ring fell into the dirt. Both Fan Zeng's actions and Xiang Yu's reaction were caught by Zhang Liang.He laughed secretly, "It's a pity that Fan Zeng, a counselor, stayed by Xiang Yu's side! It's also his fault that he chose the wrong leader. If he turned to assist Pei Gong, he could still accomplish something!" Zhang Liang picked up the wine and walked to Fan Zeng's room. Before the banquet, pretending to be toasting him, taking the opportunity to feign surprise, he bent down to pick up the jade ring on the ground, and asked, "General, is this yours? What a beautiful piece of ancient jade!" Fan Zeng snatched it angrily and hung it on his waist.Zhang Liang didn't take it seriously, held up the jade goblet and said, "I have heard for a long time that the general is knowledgeable, full of economics, and has a far-sighted vision. Although Liang and Mr. Liang have had the honor to meet each other, they haven't had a close relationship. If there are opportunities in the future, I hope the general will have more Enlighten me! Peigong also admires you very much, if you don’t dislike him, you can take a trip to Bashang and have a chat with Peigong.” Knowing that Zhang Liang had seen through his intentions, Fan Zeng became furious, got up angrily and left the banquet, and walked out of the big tent.