The queen must start from the head

Chapter 268 The Feast of Hongmen
Under the night sky, an invisible confrontation took place between the Chu army camp and Liu Bang's army camp.

In the night, a huge black shadow stood above the camp of the Chu army, and traces of black air lingered around this pitch-black shadow.

Mu Lian, who was hiding in the sky above Liu Bang's barracks, smelled a familiar smell from the black air.

She seemed to have felt this kind of power from darkness before in the eldest son of the Underworld Sect in Tianji District.

At this moment, this black energy silently rushed towards Liu Bang's military camp.

Does the other party want to use the power of darkness to control people's hearts?

Mu Lian thought for a while, and took out an exquisite pagoda from her sleeve.Then there are nine golden lights, which shoot out from the tower body on each floor.

In each bright golden light, a small golden blade appeared, piercing the spreading black air.

Under the shroud of golden light, in the barracks below Mu Lian, Liu Bang was telling Uncle Xiang that he had no ambition to be king, and that he had a pair of children under his knees, and wanted to make an appointment with the other party as a family.

Xiang Bo doubted whether Liu Bang really had no ambition to become king.

Liu Bang explained earnestly, "Brother, think about it, if Liu Ji really wanted to be rich, why would he not take any money after entering the customs? The reason why I sent people to seal the palace and register the officials and people in the city was all for General Xiang. Get ready when you arrive! Also, I sent people to guard Hangu Pass to prevent thieves from sneaking into Xiancheng, stealing treasures and making trouble!"

"The days when I fought side by side with General Xiang in the past are still vivid in my mind, and I dare not forget each other. How could I, Liu Ji, do such a thing as betraying General Xiang? Brother, please take me to tell you about this matter. General Xiang, please be sure to tell him that I have not forgotten his kindness to this day! As long as General Xiang gives an order, I will stand up for him at any time!"

After listening to Liu Bang's heartfelt words, Xiang Bo was moved, but still had some doubts.

But at this moment, a trace of golden light invisible to the naked eye stirred the power of destiny in the destiny column above Liu Bang's head, and then flew into Xiang Bo's eyes.

After the latter shook his head, when he looked at Liu Bang again, he felt that this man looked so kind.

Thinking back to what the other party said just now, he nodded again and again and said, "Okay, since Pei Gong is still loyal to General Xiang, then I will pass this on for you. But I see that he is very angry today, you It’s best to prepare some gifts tomorrow morning and come to the barracks to apologize to General Xiang.”

When Liu Bang saw Uncle Xiang agree to the matter, he quickly agreed, "Ji must go to visit General Xiang tomorrow morning."

After the two parties finished talking, Zhang Liang sent Xiang Bo away.

At this time, a battle in the air was coming to an end.

The nine-story exquisite tower in Mu Lian's hand finally suppressed the opponent's black energy.

The other party was hiding in Xiang Yu's army, and he was a disciple of Mingzong from the upper realm.

When he saw Mu Lian taking out a pagoda, he thought that the other party was a Buddhist.

Thinking of those bald donkeys' mana from the most rigid to the yang, which happened to restrain his own mana from the most yin to evil, but it would be a disadvantage to fight against this person, so he withdrew his magical powers and turned to hide again.

However, he thought in his heart that his family had spent a lot of effort for the Chu army tonight, and he should get some compensation from that Xiang Yu.

You must know that the immortals in the upper realm are not allowed to live in the lower realm.If the true body comes, you need to proclaim your magic power to the early stage of enlightenment or the level of sainthood.Once you start fighting with someone, it will consume a lot of mana in your body.

Therefore, this disciple of the Underworld Sect quietly absorbed some of the opponent's luck from the golden purple luck on the top of the feather with a secret method after he hibernated again.

In Fan Zeng's tent, Fan Zeng, who noticed the change in Xiang Yu's luck, suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

At this time, Xiang Bo, who returned to the army, went to see Xiang Yu as promised.

After he told Xiang Yu the ins and outs of what he learned from Liu Bangjun, as well as the relationship between his family and Zhang Liang, he persuaded him, "Yu'er, according to uncle, that Pei Gong is really not easy. Yes. He fought to the death to win this pass for us, isn’t he still paving the way for you?”

"You always said that meritorious deeds must be rewarded. Now that Pei Gong has made meritorious service for you, even if you don't reward him, it's fine. If you still lead troops to attack him, this is a breach of faith!"

Xiang Yu thought for a while and said, "Uncle, are you sure that Liu Bang will definitely come tomorrow?"

Uncle Xiang nodded, "Yes, I believe he will definitely come."

"If he really comes to apologize to me, then I will let him go."

Uncle Xiang continued, "At that time, we can bring him under his command and make him a support for Yu'er to achieve your great cause."

Xiang Yu nodded when he heard the words, obviously moved by what Xiang Bo said.

At this time, he didn't know that when the disciple of the Underworld Sect was extracting his luck, there was a little black energy left around his pillar of luck.

This black energy had begun to interfere with some of his judgments.

The next day, before dawn, Liu Bang got up early and gathered a team of hundreds of people, and drove a carriage to Hongmen where Xiang Yu's army was stationed.

After hearing the news that Liu Bang had arrived early in the morning, Uncle Xiang was relieved, and Xiang Yu believed ninety percent of what his uncle said last night.

As soon as the two sides met in the camp, Liu Bang quickly bowed to Xiang Yu and apologized.

"General Xiang, I haven't seen you for a long time, but you are still so heroic!"

"I think back then, the general and I worked together to defeat the Qin Dynasty. The general was fighting on the north of the Tongtian River, and I was on the south bank of the Tongtian River. Even I didn't expect that I would enter Guanzhong first! But I never expected that I would be able to do so today. I see you here today, General!"

"It's hateful that there is a villain who made troubles, spread rumors and hurt me in front of the general, and caused a misunderstanding between you and me! Ji is really heartbroken by this!"

When Liu Bang said this, there were faint tears in his eyes, and he looked at Xiang Yu with incomparable sincerity.

It was as if he had already admired Xiang Yu in his heart, and coming here today was like meeting the great hero in his heart.

Seeing that Liu Bang's expression did not seem to be fake, Xiang Yu changed the subject unnaturally, "Actually, if someone else made a rumor, I would not believe it easily. But this was told by your own Zuo Sima Cao Wushang. Mine. How could I be angry if it wasn't for that?"

Hearing this, Liu Bang echoed Xiang Yu with a respectful face, but at this moment his heart was already murderous towards Cao Wushang.

After playing for a long time, it turned out that the people around him betrayed him.

This damned Cao Wushang!Eat what's inside and out!

Let's see how he will deal with Zuo Sima after he returns to the camp!

After chatting with Liu Bang for a while, Xiang Yu invited him to stay for dinner and drink at noon.

In the barracks tent, the four seats surrounded by screens were quickly set up.

Xiang Yu and Xiang Bo faced east, and Yafu Fan Zeng faced south, facing Xiang Yu.

Liu Bang was a guest, and he sat facing east. As an accompanying guest, Zhang Liang had status, so he sat face to face with Liu Bang, facing west.

After the host and guest are seated, the banquet begins.

At the banquet, Kabuki entered the venue first, warming up the atmosphere of the banquet.

However, Liu Bang had no intention of watching any singing and dancing performances at this time.

He knew that he was a sheep in a tiger's mouth today. Whether he could escape with his life or not was a matter of doubt!

There is another person who also can't look down on the performance, and that is Fan Zeng.

In Fan Zeng's opinion, today is a good time to kill Liu Bang.

Liu Bang's fortune is also strong, and he also has the appearance of being a king. If he doesn't get rid of it, it will definitely be a big obstacle for Yu'er on the way to becoming a king and emperor in the future.

So during the dinner, he kept winking at Xiang Yu, and even repeatedly raised a jade jue he deliberately placed on the table to hint to him that it was time to make a decision, and it was time to execute Pei Gong!

But Xiang Yu didn't seem to see these hints from him, he was still watching the singing and dancing attentively.

At this moment, the black air on his pillar of luck had settled down and turned into a small ring, surrounding his pillar of luck.

But the golden light on the outermost layer of the pillar of luck is slowly eroding the black air.

Fan Zeng repeatedly signaled Xiang Yu to do it, but the latter remained unmoved.

In desperation, Fan Zeng got up and left the banquet, went to the dark place and sent someone to summon a person he could trust——Xiang Zhuang.

Xiang Zhuang, who was summoned, still didn't know why Yafu called him.

Fan Zeng said in a deep voice, "The Duke of Pei is at the banquet now. If you don't kill this son, it will cause serious trouble in the future. We will all become his prisoners! It's a pity that Yu'er is too kind to lose face. You Go to the banquet later, toast your lord first, and then ask for a sword dance to add to the fun, and you must kill Liu Bang here! You must not let him go!"

When Xiang Zhuang heard this, he also understood the importance of this matter.

He took off the saber in his hand, tied a cloth scarf on his head, and took a glass of wine from outside the tent and entered it.

After entering, he knelt down on one knee to salute Xiang Yu, raised his wine glass and said loudly, "Subordinate Xiang Zhuang, pay homage to the lord! I wish the lord good health!"

After he finished speaking, he drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

"it is good!"

Xiang Yu praised him with a smile, picked up the wine glass on the table, and drank a glass of wine.

After Xiang Zhuang stood up, he asked, "My lord is drinking with Pei Gong today, but there is really nothing for fun in this army. I am willing to dance with the sword to entertain you, and I hope your lord will agree!"

"Okay!" Xiang Yu clapped his hands and applauded.

So Xiang Zhuang pulled out the saber in his hand, handed the scabbard to the person standing beside him, and began to dance the sword.

The man's strong body wielded a sharp sword, and the sword could move in all directions.

During the banquet, Liu Bang saw the silver cold light above the blade refracted on his face from time to time, and he already felt frightened.

Seeing Xiang Zhuang dancing with his sword, he was aiming at Pei Gong. Sensing that something was wrong, Xiang Bo also got up and danced with his sword.

Xiang Bo laughed loudly and said, "It's a bit weak for you to dance the sword alone, so I'm here to help! Join in the fun!"

For his uncle's request, Xiang Yu has nothing to do with it.

The banquet soon turned into two people dancing swords, and Xiang Zhuang's sword was the main attack, always wanting to assassinate Liu Bang.

However, Xiang Bo, who had already seen through his intentions, opened his arms and danced his sword, blocking the whole body in front of Pei Gong, making it impossible for Xiang Zhuang to complete the assassination.

When the two eyes met, Xiang Zhuang said angrily with his eyes, why did you stop me from killing this person?

Xiang Bo looked back at him and said, as long as I am here, you will never even think about killing this man!
In the midst of the back-and-forth confrontation between the two sides, Zhang Liang quietly left the table and walked quickly to the entrance of the military camp.

The hundred or so people brought by Liu Bang stayed outside, including Fan Kuai.

Seeing that Zhang Liang came in a hurry with a different expression, Fan Kui asked, "How's the matter today? Is the situation at the banquet all right?"

Zhang Liang shook his head and said, "No, it's not good at all. The situation now can be said to be very critical. A man named Xiang Zhuang used his sword dance to entertain, but during the banquet his sword was pointed in the direction of Pei Gong. This person clearly wants to kill Pei Gong at the table!"

As soon as Fan Kui heard this, he knew how bad the situation was.

This person is already blatantly planning to assassinate his brother-in-law during the banquet, is that okay?
"No, this situation is too critical. Can I go in too? Even if I die today, I will die with him, Liu Bang!"

He and Liu Bang are not only fellow villagers and brother-in-law, but also good brothers who have had a life-and-death acquaintance.

Now that his brother is suffering, how can he just ignore it?

Zhang Liang thought for a while, then whispered to him, "You can enter, but if you bring a weapon, you will definitely be blocked by these soldiers outside. So I will go back to the banquet venue first, and you can see where I am. Come all the way quickly, and don't be stopped by anyone."

Fan Kui nodded heavily, and a serious look appeared on his bearded face.

When Zhang Liang turned around and went back to the banquet venue, Fan Kui knew it was time to act when he was about to reach the place.

So he held the sword in one hand and the shield in the other, and rushed in directly from the gate of the barracks.

The guards guarding the gate didn't even have time to react, they saw a rough figure blowing past everyone's eyes like a black whirlwind.

But even if Fan Kui passed the gate of the barracks, there were still heavy guards outside the banquet venue, after all General Xiang was inside.

When these soldiers saw Fan Kuai approaching, they immediately crossed their halberds and blocked his way.

However, Fan Kuai did not use a sword. Instead, he supported the shield with his left arm and aimed it at their lower bodies, knocking them to the ground.

Everyone fell to the ground, so naturally no one could stop him.

So Fan Kui successfully rushed all the way into the banquet hall.

When he first appeared, everyone present was startled.

Everyone saw a thick man with thick beard and hair, lifting the curtain of the tent and standing facing the west.

This man was holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. His hair was standing straight up in the air, and he was staring at Xiang Yu with a pair of protective eyes. Because his eyes were so hard, the corners of his eyes were cracked, and traces of blood seeped out.

His appearance made Xiang Yu very vigilant.

The latter stood up immediately with his sword in his hand, and asked Fan Kui loudly, "Who are you?"

At this time Zhang Liang stood up and made a rescue.

"Returning to General Xiang, this person is Fan Kuai, who is under Pei Gong's command."

Xiang Yu thought in his heart, is he riding?
Isn't that the person responsible for guarding Pei Gong during the battle?
It can't be seen that a timid person like Liu Bang can have such a warrior under his command.

Thinking of this, he looked at Fan Kuai with appreciative eyes, "Strong man! Come, give him a glass of wine!"

The person standing aside immediately brought a large glass of wine. The wine was so full that it almost overflowed the rim of the glass.

Seeing that the other party gave him wine, Fan Kui thanked the other party, then stood up, picked up the wine glass and drank the wine in one gulp.

Seeing Fan Kuai's boldness, Xiang Yu continued to speak loudly, "Come here, give him a pig's front leg."

The people on the left and right were ordered to bring up an undercooked pig front leg.

Fan Kuai took the pig's front leg, turned his shield upside down on the ground, and placed the pig's leg on the shield.

I saw him using the sharp sword in his hand to cut off the bloodshot pork while swallowing it.

Isn't this just raw pork?

When he slaughtered dogs back then, he ate raw blood and raw meat. How could a mere pig leg scare him away?
Seeing Fan Kuai gulping down the raw meat without changing his face, Xiang Yu couldn't help praising, "Strong man! Can you have another glass of wine?"

Hearing this, Fan Kui raised his head.

He looked at Xiang Yu with his dark eyes and said, "I'm not even afraid of death, so why would I be afraid of a glass of wine? Thinking back when the King of Qin conquered the world, he was like a tiger and wolf, and his methods were so cruel? To slaughter cities and countries at every turn, is it right?" The people in the world betrayed him. Previously, King Huai made an agreement with the princes, saying that 'the first to enter the pass will be the king'."

"Now Pei Gong advanced into Xiancheng, but he dared not move or take anything. He sealed off the palace and went back to Bashang, waiting for your arrival, General Xiang. He sent people to guard Hangu Pass. In order to prevent the reappearance of the enemy bandits and even the demons. Pei Gong worked so hard, but the result? What did he get?"

"He didn't get your approval, he didn't get any rewards, but General Xiang, you listened to the slander of the villain and wanted to kill the meritorious. How is this different from the dead Qin? Please forgive me. I really can't I agree with General Xiang for your actions!"

After Xiang Yu heard what he said, he responded silently.

In all fairness, he still wanted to kill Liu Bang.

But judging from what Xiang Bo said last night and Liu Bang's own performance today, he doesn't want to kill Liu Bang anymore.

Not not to kill him, but now is not the time to kill him.

Now Liu Bang keeps claiming that he has hard work without any merit, and also emphasizes that he is loyal to him. If he really kills the other party, what will the other princes think?
Those princes were all newly established after the restoration of the small countries in various places.

Some of these people are not at peace with him, nor are they at heart.

For him, taking over Xiancheng as soon as possible and dealing with these talents is a serious matter.

A grasshopper like Liu Bang who can only jump three inches high can be crushed to death at any time, so there is nothing to fear.

After a moment of silence, Xiang Yu pointed to the empty seat beside Zhang Liang, and said "sit" to Fan Kui.

Fan Kuai sat down next to Zhang Liang.

At this time, after Xiang Zhuang and Xiang Bo retreated, the singing and dancing that had stopped at the banquet started again.

After the two parties sat for a while, Liu Bang excused himself to go to the toilet, and then dragged Fan Kuai and left the banquet venue together.

After Liu Bang left, the black energy on Xiang Yu's luck pillar had completely dissipated.

With a thought in his heart, he sent his captain, Chen Ping, to call Liu Bang back.

Liu Bang, who was hiding near the toilet at this time, said to Fan Kuai with an uneasy look on his face, "We are coming out now, do we want to leave directly? But we haven't formally said goodbye to General Xiang yet. What should we do?"

Fan Kuai thought for a while and said: "The big business does not care about the details, and the big gifts do not refuse the small concessions. Now people are like the kitchen knives and chopping boards arranged, and we are like the fish and meat, what are we saying goodbye to?"

Together, the two finally decided to leave.

Because of Zhang Liang's special status, he would not be implicated, so Liu Bang asked him to stay and apologize to Xiang Yu on his behalf.

After Zhang Liang asked Liu Bang to take the gifts he had brought to Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng, he asked him to leave at ease, and he was responsible for conveying these things.Liu Bang estimated when he would return to the camp, and asked Zhang Liang to wait for him to return to the barracks before presenting gifts to the two.

At this time, there was a distance of forty miles between Hongmen and Bashang.

Liu Bang took a small road and escaped on horseback alone, leaving behind the carriage and entourage he had brought with him. He could ride back to the military camp about twenty miles away.

Fan Kui, Xia Houying and others who had been with him before left on foot.

This group of them quietly slipped away from Xiang Yu's barracks.

There were other princes' teams in the Chu army who saw this scene, but they didn't care at all.

These people come from Xiang Yu's army. Whether they are guests or enemies, they have nothing to do with them.

After returning to the camp, the first thing Liu Bang did was to have his Zuo Sima Cao Wushang beheaded who betrayed him.

　The content of this chapter is adapted from the plot of "Hongmen Banquet" in "Historical Records", with slight differences.

　　Considering that everyone doesn't necessarily like history, there are probably one or two chapters that will end the plot of the struggle between Chu and Han.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)