novelSusiti Chapter 51 The Hegemon of Western Chu
Chapter 51 The Hegemon of Western Chu
Pengcheng.
On the drill ground.
Tens of thousands of Chu soldiers assembled, clad in iron armor, their helmets gleaming, forming a neat and orderly formation, their imposing presence overwhelming and their presence truly oppressive.
Xiang Yu was eight feet three inches tall, which is about 1.9 meters. He had a slender build and did not have the imposing stature of someone who could not withstand ten thousand men. Instead, he gave people a sense of powerful beauty.
He wore a set of gilded armor, gleaming with golden light, looking majestic and awe-inspiring, like a god descending to earth.
His black horse, Wuzhui, stood nearly two meters tall at the shoulder and was almost three meters long. It was exceptionally strong and clearly a rare and precious steed. Only such a horse could support Xiang Yu's weight.
Xiang Yu gripped a long iron halberd in his right hand, the weapon later known as the "Overlord Halberd," and controlled the reins with his left hand as he rode his horse forward.
Behind him were two tall carriages: one on the right was the personal carriage of Fan Zeng, the "Father of the State," and the other on the left was the personal carriage of Yu Ji. The two carriages followed closely behind Xiang Yu.
Behind the two tall chariots were generals such as Long Ju, Ji Bu, Yu Ziqi, Zhongli Mo, Xiao Gongjiao, Xiang Sheng, Xiang Bo, and Xiang Zhuang, all dressed in gleaming silver armor that shone brightly, mirroring the golden armor of Xiang Yu.
"Xiang Yu is mighty!"
"Xiang Yu is mighty!"
When Xiang Yu appeared, the Chu soldiers were filled with fervor, raising their arms and shouting, their voices soaring to the heavens. Even the floating clouds in the sky could not withstand his murderous aura and trembled in fear.
Xiang Yu rode his black horse, Wuzhui, through the ranks of his troops. He listened to the cheers of the Chu soldiers, his face remaining calm, showing no further reaction.
However, wherever he went, the fervor in the eyes of the Chu army intensified to an unbearable degree.
Xiang Yu loved charging into battle and fighting on the front lines, which Liu Bang looked down upon, dismissing as mere bravado. However, in the eyes of the Chu soldiers, this was what a hero should do, and therefore they admired and revered Xiang Yu from the bottom of their hearts.
They were willing to die for Xiang Yu at his command.
They wouldn't even flinch if it meant going through fire and water.
The stunningly beautiful Yu Ji stood atop the chariot, listening to the cheers of the soldiers and gazing at the majestic figure before her. She puffed out her magnificent chest, her beautiful eyes filled with satisfaction.
For her, having such a heroic and remarkable husband was enough to make her life complete.
Fan Zeng, whose hair and beard were both white, saw this and his face was full of kindness.
Fan Zeng was an old widower with no children, but he treated Xiang Yu as his own son and loved him from the bottom of his heart.
Arriving at the very center of the army formation, Xiang Yu slightly exerted force with his legs, and his intelligent black horse, Wuzhui, immediately stopped, snorting loudly like thunder.
This was the rhythm of Xiang Yu's address. The Chu soldiers stopped shouting in unison, as if their voices had been cut off with scissors. They stopped abruptly and in perfect unison.
"Warriors of Great Chu: The traitor Tian Rong rebelled against Great Chu in Qi. I led my army north, leaving our rear vulnerable. The dog Liu Bang seized the opportunity to occupy Pengcheng. This is an unbearable disgrace!" Xiang Yu's voice boomed like a bell, carrying far and wide: "After occupying Pengcheng, the dog Liu Bang allowed his troops to plunder, kill our relatives, and humiliate our wives and mothers. This hatred is irreconcilable!"
"We are mortal enemies!"
"We won't share them!"
The Chu soldiers roared like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down, their eyes blazing with hatred and fury.
"I swear to kill the traitor Liu Bang!" Xiang Yu raised his Overlord Halberd high in his right hand, the blade gleaming coldly, bursting with dazzling brilliance under the blazing sun, which was quite terrifying.
"We swear to kill that treacherous Liu Bang!"
"We swear to kill that treacherous Liu Bang!"
The hatred among the Chu soldiers had grown so intense that it was irreconcilable.
After Liu Bang captured Pengcheng, he ruined what was once a prosperous city.
He accepted Xiang Yu's beauties and treasures with a smile, as a way of avenging the humiliation of not being able to die of exhaustion in the Xianyang Palace the previous year.
Last year, when Liu Bang entered Xianyang, he saw countless beauties in the Qin Dynasty palace and wished he could die of exhaustion there. Xiao He and the others tried their best to dissuade him, but to no avail. They could only use Xiang Yu to frighten Liu Bang, and only then did Liu Bang become afraid, and he had no choice but to seal the treasury and leave the Qin Dynasty palace.
For Liu Bang, a man driven by his lower body, this was an utter disgrace.
Therefore, after he captured Pengcheng, how could he not take advantage of the beauties that Xiang Yu had left in Pengcheng?
He himself was so engrossed in women that he practically died of exhaustion; it's not hard to imagine what his soldiers would do. Consequently, the entire city of Pengcheng suffered, and few women escaped unscathed.
This angered Xiang Yu, who then sent Zhongli Mo to Pei County to arrest Liu Bang's family.
Xiang Yu had been withdrawing from Guanzhong to Pengcheng for over a year, and Liu Bang's family was in his fiefdom. If Xiang Yu wanted to make a move, he would have done so long ago. The reason he didn't act until after the Battle of Pengcheng was because Liu Bang's actions in Pengcheng had thoroughly enraged Xiang Yu.
"Attack Guanzhong!" Xiang Yu raised his Overlord Halberd and shook it vigorously.
"Attack and release Guanzhong!"
"Conquer Guanzhong!"
The Chu soldiers erupted in a thunderous shout.
"Kill that traitor Liu Bang!" Xiang Yu's eyes blazed with hatred.
"Kill the traitor Liu Bang!"
"Kill the traitor Liu Bang!"
The hatred in the eyes of the Chu soldiers was like a raging fire, almost igniting the air.
The women of the city were humiliated, including their wives and mothers. How could they not hate Liu Bang to death?
"Let's go!" Xiang Yu swung his halberd down heavily in his right hand, like a thunderbolt, his voice terrifying.
dong dong dong...
As the war drums sounded, the Chu army set out from the training grounds and marched westward in a great offensive, determined to destroy Liu Bang.
"Reporting to King Xiang..." Just then, a Chu cavalryman rode in on his warhorse, charging straight into the army formation like the wind.
"Take him down!" Fan Zeng, seeing this, was furious and shouted in a deep voice.
The nearest soldiers stepped forward and surrounded the cavalry.
"Make way! Make way! I have an urgent military report to report to King Xiang!" The cavalryman was very anxious and showed no intention of stopping.
"With the army mobilized, how dare you charge forward? This is a capital offense, kill him!" Fan Zeng was extremely strict in his military discipline, and this cavalryman's violation of military orders was a serious crime punishable by death.
"Father, I have some extremely urgent military intelligence!" the cavalryman said anxiously.
Fan Zeng's face darkened, and he was about to enforce military law when Xiang Yu waved his right hand to stop him: "Uncle, I don't think he's faking it. Let him come over and report."
"Yu'er..." Fan Zeng said with dissatisfaction.
"If there is truly an urgent military situation, killing him now would be a grave mistake. If there is no urgent military situation, it is not too late to kill him then," Xiang Yu insisted.
Fan Zeng was somewhat dissatisfied, but said nothing more.
The Chu army surrounding the cavalrymen parted, and the cavalrymen charged forward. Reaching Xiang Yu, they dismounted, knelt on one knee before him, and paid their respects with the highest military salute: "I dare to inform King Xiang: Ying Bu has rebelled!"
"Ying Bu is here? Excellent! He didn't come with me to the northern expedition against Tian Rong last time, so his arrival this time is a great joy." Xiang Yu was overjoyed.
"He knows what's good for him." Fan Zeng stroked his white beard with his left hand, quite satisfied.
"Uh..." The cavalryman made a series of strange noises, like a rooster being choked, and it took him a while to come to his senses before repeating, "Report to King Xiang: Ying Bu has 'rebelled'."
To remind Xiang Yu, he emphasized the word "rebel".
"Ying Bu... what did you say? Ying Bu has rebelled?" Xiang Yu's huge eyes almost popped out.
"Impossible!" Fan Zeng exclaimed in disbelief, glaring at the cavalryman. "I should have killed you sooner!"
Long Ju and his generals glared at the cavalrymen, and everyone thought he deserved to die.
No one believed that Ying Bu would rebel.
Ying Bu was dedicated to doing shady things for Xiang Yu, and he was also very skilled in battle, surpassing all other generals in merit. He was a trusted confidant of Xiang Yu. Who would believe that he would rebel? Only a fool would.
"King Xiang, Grand Tutor, how dare I speak carelessly about such an important matter?" The cavalryman was extremely aggrieved.
"No way..." Xiang Yu still didn't believe it.
"Good!" Fan Zeng suddenly realized that if he wanted to lie, he could have used something else. Using Ying Bu's rebellion as a pretext was suicide. If the cavalry dared to report it publicly, then it must be true.
"Father, don't listen to his nonsense." Xiang Yu looked at Fan Zeng with great dissatisfaction.
"Yu'er, whether this is true or false, we only need to wait a moment." Fan Zeng was very confident: "If it is true, someone else will surely come to report it."
"Report to Xiang Yu: Ying Bu has rebelled!" Fan Zeng had barely finished speaking when more cavalrymen galloped in, shouting from afar.
"Report to King Xiang..." Cavalrymen kept rushing in to report.
Ying Bu's rebellion was an absolutely major event, so much so that it could be said to have caused a major upheaval, and as a result, many people came to report it.
"Ying Bu, you scoundrel! I have treated you well, why have you betrayed me?" Xiang Yu was furious, gripping his Overlord Halberd tightly, wanting to chop Ying Bu into mincemeat.
"Yu'er, things have come to this point, we must quell the rebellion." Fan Zeng was quick-witted and soon came up with a solution: "We should divide our troops into two groups, one to quell Ying Bu's rebellion and the other to attack Dang County, in preparation for advancing westward to destroy the treacherous Liu Bang."
Xiang Yu was eager to march west immediately, attack Guanzhong, and kill Liu Bang. However, he also knew that suppressing Ying Bu's rebellion was the top priority, so he had no choice but to agree: "Xiang Sheng and Long Ju, you lead the army to quell the rebellion! I will personally lead the expedition to Dang County."
Note:
The Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Xiang Yu, states: "In the fourth month, the Han forces had all entered Pengcheng, seized its treasures and beauties, and held daily banquets and feasts."
The Book of Han, Biography of Xiang Ji, records: "The King of Han had already captured Pengcheng, seized its goods and beauties, and held lavish banquets every day."
You all understand what "collecting treasures and beauties, and holding lavish banquets every day" means, right?