Qin Official

"Brother, why did you only remove Lu Ze from his post as county magistrate, but spare his life?"

After the guests and county officials dispersed, Xiang Bo asked Xiang Liang with some confusion.

Xiang Liang said thoughtfully: "This person cannot be killed for the time being."

This was the first time he met Lu Ze. Lu Ze was nearly forty years old, but because he was a young boy with a head full of white hair, he was called "Sai Li Xin".

Not only was he good at riding, he was also a good bowman, capable of firing an arrow within fifty paces, and he was also forthright. Qin Shi was a well-known hero in Pei County, and in response to Xiang Ji's move, he killed the magistrate of Pei County. , and everyone in Pei was convinced of him and elected him as the Duke of Pei, which was well deserved.

But when he saw it today, Xiang Liang realized that it was more than that.

Faced with the reports and accusations, Lu Ze refuted them one by one with reasonable grounds. He insisted that he and Hei Fu were strangers and must be gangsters who wanted to alienate Chu State through rumors.

In addition, he had a wide circle of friends, and many county officials, such as Fu Kuan, Duke of Hengyang, and Wang Ling, Duke of Xiayi, rushed to hear the news and stood up to speak for him, willing to vouch for Lu Ze with their lives.

And when Xiang Liang asked him: "Even if Hei Fu deliberately provoked the incident at the Hongmen Banquet a few months ago, why did Pengcheng ask for the families of Xiao He and Cao Shen in Peixian County, but they were so late in arriving?"

At this time, Lu Ze's words became a little pale: "We have sent people to escort us south to Pengcheng, but we were robbed by Ze bandits halfway..."

"Your family names are Manliang and Chu. You used to be Fengfei's biggest thief. Who dares to rob your fleet?"

This statement was not believed by Xiang Liang. Just when he was about to capture him, an accident happened. However, Fan Kuai, a close confidant of Lu Ze and a native of Pei, entered the army gate with a sword and a shield. He turned his shield against him, and the guard fell to the ground and entered with a bang, breaking the interrogation.

"Today, I heard that Zuo Sima was summoned and arrived at starry night. If he heard the details, he wanted to kill the person who had contributed. This is the dead ear of the old Chu. He stole it because Zuo Sima did not take it! If Zuo Sima is determined to kill Pei Gong, please kill him. Fan Kuai, together with more than a thousand warriors from Pei County, killed them, sent them back to Pei, and told the people of Pei, what will happen if you obey the order?"

Neither humble nor arrogant, but also threatening: If you dare to touch Lu Ze, the remaining people in Pei County will dare to rebel against the Chu State!

At this time, Zhang Liang, a Korean disciple from Yingchuan, also interceded for Lu Ze. When Zhang Liang went from Langya west to Chen County, he passed by Pei County and had a relationship with Lu Ze, but his reason was not. Lu Ze is not guilty, but...

"Zuo Sima, this person is a rat-proof weapon. This person cannot be killed for the time being."

I don’t know whether it was Fan Kuai’s words that moved Xiang Liang, or whether Fu Kuan, Wang Ling, and Zhang Liang’s pleas made Xiang Liang hesitate. In the end, he did not take Lu Ze’s life, but just dismissed Lu Ze from his post as Duke of Pei and let him live in white in front of the army. The service is actually house arrest, and all its parts are handed over to Commander Zhou Wen...

"It would be great if strong men like Lu Ze and Fan Kuai could be put to use by my Xiang family as soon as possible."

After everyone went down, Xiang Liang couldn't help but sigh and complain:

"Ji'er should take those people into Xihe and let them be used as knives to slaughter the Qin people. As long as they are stained with blood and know that they will not be forgiven by Hei Fu, they can only fight to the death."

But now, although the 18th County Duke gathered in response to the order, bringing with him men ranging from a thousand to several thousand, plus the Huaibei Chu soldiers sent by Fan Zeng to support, there were actually 40,000 to 50,000 people.

But Xiang Liang knew very well that there were only a few people who were of the same mind as the Xiang family and would fight tooth and nail to defend Chu.

"This is the case for Zhou Wen and other Xiang's old subordinates. As for the others, it is just because some hostages are being held in Pengcheng and they are afraid that they will not come, so they have become the target of public criticism. Don't look at it here, everyone is shouting to defend Dachu. If Heifu comes, I'm afraid half of them will run away and only focus on preserving their strength, while the other half will surrender impatiently..."

Xiang Liang, who had experienced betrayal and exile, did not trust the loyalty of these county officials at all.

"For example, Lu Ze would be like this!"

"Then why not kill him as a warning to others?" Xiang Bo still didn't quite understand.

Xiang Liang shook his head: "Just like Zhang Liang secretly said to me, you should be wary of throwing a rat into a trap. Lu Ze has many friends, and the people who interceded for him today, including Fu Kuan and Wang Ling, are all his friends. I also heard that the Wei Dynasty who occupied Wanqu Chen Xi and Jin She also have a life-long friendship with Lu Ze. If they kill them brazenly, they will be dissatisfied. If one Lu Ze is killed, four more Lu Ze will be killed!"

Therefore, house arrest is more appropriate than execution, and keeping Lu Ze alive can lead the snake out of its hole...

"How can we fight against Hei Fu with this crowd?" Xiang Bo was a little pessimistic.

"The situation is already like this. It won't be cold in a day." Xiang Liang sighed:

"A few months ago, Ji'er's decision in Xihe was right. At that time, he should have fought to the death with Hei Fu instead of retreating."

As soon as they retreated, the feudal lords dispersed and each returned to their own country. It was no longer possible to form a fist and become an enemy of Heifu. This also led to a surprise attack on Hedong, and most of the main force of the Wei army was destroyed. The six kingdoms may not escape the fate of being defeated by each one. .

Looking further forward, Xiang Yu also made many mistakes. He should not follow his inner obsession and march westward into Qin, but should immediately launch an attack on Nanyang to cut off Heifu's retreat and gain the upper hand. On the other hand, Heifu probably asked Jiangdong to attack Huainan immediately when he entered Wuguan, right?

This is the difference between the two.

Going further, when Wang Ben dies, the Chu State should adjust its strategy in time, no longer taking revenge on Qin as its main goal, but maintaining the balance of power in the world so that Chu can survive forever...

It's a pity that his nephew is first-class in tactics but a mess in strategy. He is also stubborn and unwilling to listen to others' advice.

For example, two months ago, when Xiang Ji expelled Jiangdong soldiers from Huainan, the central government of Chu had a dispute over how to use troops in the future.

At that time, Xiang Liang proposed to go north to attack Jiaodong, pull out this nail, and wait for an opportunity to obtain the ships of merchants in Qi, giving Chu State an additional retreat.

But the elders were thinking about retreat, but the young people were only thinking about how to fight bravely. Xiang Ji felt deeply that Jiangdong and Huainan were like thorns in his back, and he might attack Huainan again at any time, so he actually proposed to attack Hengshan and use the move of attacking Heifu's hometown to attract Confederate regiments fought against him.

"Black husband is not you."

Xiang Liang had a big quarrel with his nephew, but his attitude was of no use. Hengshan and Jiangdong posed a greater threat to the Chu State. Most people in the central committee supported Xiang Ji and wanted to solve the trouble before the war in the Central Plains!

But two months have passed, and as far as Xiang Liang knows, this western expedition has not achieved much results. I heard that Hengshan avoided fighting and abandoned Zhu County to flee to the south of the Yangtze River. Jiangdong also ignored it. Instead, Vietnamese soldiers frequently appeared in Donghai County and harassed the counties.

What is even more worrying is that after Xiang Ji's army penetrated deep into Hengshan County, no news was sent back for ten consecutive days. The road from Huainan to Hengshan was also blocked by the Zhou division and Danyang soldiers.

"With Ji'er's ability, even if the battle is unfavorable, it is impossible to overthrow him."

Xiang Liang could only describe Xiang Ji's western expedition as an epic victory, including conquering Zhu County and Anlu, and burning Heifu's hometown, in order to inspire people.

But the more publicized the illusory victory, the less confident he felt. Now any strategy would be of no use. Xiang Liang could only be the beam that supported the survival of the Chu State. Standing in the Central Plains, whatever he could do would be temporary.

Then, with confidence in my nephew, I hope he can really create some miracles...

Caressing his ears that were frozen off in Saibei, Xiang Liang thought:

"Ji'er feels that I have let him down and proposed the strategy of joining the Xiongnu in the north, which has brought shame on the Xiang family."

"But I firmly believe that Ji'er will not let down the Chu State or let down the Xiang family ancestors..."

Although the situation is not good, the outcome is far from certain, and Chu cannot give up hope.

"Heifu only had the Dongmen Leopard Army in Henan, and Han Xin in Hedong was restrained by Li Zuoche from Taiyuan, Zhang Er from Shangdang, and Sima Mao from Hanoi. It was difficult for him to break through Taihang easily."

"It seems that the war will not begin until three months later. Before that, I will first put all the county officials who have dissident ideas under house arrest one by one and collect their troops."

Xiang Liang is going to centralize power, although it is a bit late...

He arranged for Xiang Bo to say: "Put Lu Ze under house arrest, note those who ask to visit him, and then send people to eavesdrop secretly."

"The two people interceding for Lu Ze today, Hengyang Gong Fu Kuan, Xia Yi Gong Wang Ling, and Zhang Liang, must watch carefully. I suspect that there are black spies in the camp, and we must investigate carefully. Now Lu Ze If they are arrested, the spy will take the opportunity to visit the three of them to encourage their dissatisfaction, so you have to send someone to watch them closely!"

Xiang Bo accepted the order and said: "Zifang is not necessary. He and I are close friends. My brother also said that today's plea for Lu Ze is for the sake of the overall situation, not for Lu Ze. I can guarantee it with my life." , the ovary will never be detrimental to the Xiang family."

"This is natural." Xiang Liang smiled, but he didn't quite trust his brother's opinion:

"Zhang Liang was invited by me this time, and it concerns Yingchuan's fate. My brother, Ji'er has made many mistakes in dealing with South Korea. Now you and I must make up for it and try to make Zhang Zifang and South Korea continue to stand on the side of Chu. This way, we are dead set!”

…

As for Chen Liugong's Li Shang Office, Li Shiqi was ready to go out after listening to him talk about the good show during the day.

"Brother, are you going to visit Lu Ze?"

Li Shiqi sneered: "Silly, Lu Ze is under surveillance, what should I do, throw myself into a trap?"

Li Shang scratched his head: "Are you going to visit Fu Kuan and Wang Ling? They are Lu Ze's friends. They will definitely be indignant at Lu Ze being relieved of military power. I know them well and can introduce them to my brother."

Li Shiqi still shook his head: "No, these two people are openly interceding for Lu Ze. At this time, it is too conspicuous, as if they are afraid that others will know that I am a Qin spy."

Li Shang was surprised: "Who do you want to visit, brother?"

Li Shiqi stroked his gray beard and said with a smile: "I'm going to meet a smart man who is just like you, sitting on the sidelines today!"

"A famous hero from Sishui County first surrendered to Peng Yue, and then returned to Chu's wall."

"Feng Gong, Yong Chi!"

…

ps: There will be another chapter tonight.