HLnovel Chapter 463 So, I, the Emperor, have been willful this time, wanting to give her a brilliant ending.
Chapter 463 So, I, the Emperor, have been willful this time, wanting to give her a brilliant ending.
I don’t know if he will be pleased, but I do know that I have disappointed the Prime Minister.
Jiang Wei gave a bitter smile and closed his eyes, awaiting death.
However, after a short while, the expected pain did not come; instead, the whole body felt relaxed.
"What does this mean? I've already said, I'd rather die than surrender."
Jiang Wei was now puzzled.
Dude, you finally caught me, what's this all about?
"As I said, the reason I arranged to meet you and capture you was simply to ask you a few questions in a calm manner. Now that I've asked all the questions, I'm naturally going to release you."
"Any questions?"
"You don't really think I'm some kind of despicable villain, do you?"
Ignoring the strange look Zhang Liang was giving him, Liu Bang continued speaking to himself.
He knew, of course, that doing this was simply making the challenge more difficult, but that's exactly what he wanted to do.
The goal is to allow Jiang Wei to bring his Han Dynasty to a perfect end, just as it was in history.
"you……"
Now it was Jiang Wei's turn to feel ashamed.
He truly hadn't expected things to develop this way.
So, was setting up an ambush and capturing him really just so they could have a heart-to-heart talk?
"Won't you regret it? If I leave, and the Han army retreats to Chang'an, it won't be so easy for them to drive us back to Shu!"
he asked curiously.
Liu Bang simply smiled at this.
"I never regret the decisions I make. But Boyue, if I capture you again on the battlefield, will you surrender to me?"
Jiang Wei was about to say it was impossible.
But then he thought of what Emperor Wei had done during this period, and his skillful methods that were astonishing.
It's not impossible at all!
"Perhaps Your Majesty Wei is skilled, but no matter how many times I am captured, I will never surrender again. Even if I am defeated and die, I will die on the road to realizing the ideals of the Prime Minister."
After saying this, he cupped his hands in greeting, turned around, and left with his men, revealing his back to Liu Bang.
Seeing that he was completely unprepared, Zhang Liang tried several times to raise his hand to signal the army behind him to fire arrows, but Liu Bang held him down firmly each time.
Only after the Han army had marched several hundred paces and their figures had completely disappeared into the darkness did Zhang Liang finally manage a bitter laugh.
"Your Majesty, do you know what you are doing?"
"After what has happened here, if we let Jiang Wei go back alive, the first thing he will do will definitely be to withdraw his troops!"
"When the threat of the Han army is gone, the gentry in the city will immediately turn against us, and our army will not be able to spare any troops to stop Jiang Wei from retreating back to Chang'an in a short period of time."
"A promising situation, ruined in an instant!"
Zhang Liang knew perfectly well that he either wouldn't see Jiang Wei tonight, or if he did, he had to guarantee that he could keep this great Han general alive or dead.
If Jiang Wei were allowed to leave alive, it would be a single wrong step that would wipe out all the advantages.
The Han army can withdraw, but not now!
Because he knew perfectly well that Guanqiu Jian had other missions and it was impossible for him to come back in time to help deter the powerful clans in the capital!
An emperor without military power is no different from a toothless tiger!
"I know it's wrong to do this, but after all, this is the great Han Dynasty that I and you created together, so I'm being willful this time and want to give it a brilliant ending."
"Zifang, if all else fails, we can start over, okay?"
Just as Zhang Liang was about to jump up in frustration, Liu Bang turned to look at him with unusual calm.
It's just starting over.
Back when he was at his lowest point, he could only sit on a stool at the village entrance every day watching stray dogs fight.
Even if his willfulness worsens the situation now, it won't be any worse than it was then.
Zhang Liang: “…”
This is probably what Liu Bang was like.
Sometimes he looks like a scoundrel, and other times he's despicable and shameless.
But more often than not, he is loyal and righteous, and knows how to win people's hearts and persuade others to support his ideas.
Just at this time.
The phrase "This is the great Han Dynasty that I and you have created together, and I wish to enrich its glorious end" left Zhang Liang speechless.
What else could he say?
Then let the Han Dynasty fade into obscurity amidst its splendor!
"Your Majesty, you still have the ability to see through people's hearts as always, including mine."
Zhang Liang considered himself a man without desires or ambitions; if Liu Bang hadn't asked him to, he wouldn't have bothered participating in the challenge.
I seek neither fame nor fortune, nor do I desire to live long.
The only thing that could resonate with him was probably the Han Dynasty, which had taken the place of his former country after the fall of Han.
"Of course, if I couldn't understand you, how could I dare to use you?"
Liu Bang smiled.
Both Zhang Liang and Han Xin possess extraordinary talent, and both harbor varying degrees of ambition. If one truly couldn't see through them, even he wouldn't dare to casually appoint them to important positions.
"Zifang, what do you think we should do now to minimize the damage in this situation?"
"Didn't His Majesty already say we should start over?"
Zhang Liang's eyes looked strange.
"You said those words, but you wouldn't really leave your father nothing at all, would you?"
Liu Bang blinked, and the two looked at each other, both completely bewildered.
"Your Majesty, have you thought this through? If you stay, it will be tantamount to going from being Sima Shi's puppet to becoming the puppet of the entire gentry of the capital."
"At that time, it will truly be a life-or-death situation. The slightest mistake could lead to the worst possible outcome."
Zhang Liang seemed to have guessed what Liu Bang was planning to do and quickly tried to dissuade him.
In their original plan, after Jiang Wei withdrew his troops, Guanqiu Jian had to lead his army to the capital within three days in order to have a chance to take over the threat from the Han army and suppress the ambitions of the aristocratic clans.
But now, Jiang Wei is about to withdraw his troops in the next two days, while Guanqiu Jian is still near Xudu.
In any case, there is not enough time.
"If we really have to start from scratch, where should I go?"
After considering it for a moment, Liu Bang asked.
"Chang'an!"
By abandoning the capital and heading to Chang'an, as long as Guanqiu Jian can capture Xuchang next, they can form a pincer movement and look towards the capital. Although it will not be as good as their original plan, it will not be drastically different.
"...You mean, we should attack Chang'an before Jiang Wei does?"
Liu Bang thought about it and realized that with only a few thousand old, weak, sick, and disabled people at his disposal, it would be somewhat difficult to accomplish this task.
He couldn't possibly expect that old man Chen Tai to be the first to break through the enemy lines for him, could he?
"This leads to some good news we received today."
"Wen Yang wrote that he had blocked the enemy in one battle, burned countless enemy supplies, and captured more than two thousand enemy soldiers. Now, his troops have not only not decreased, but have reached three thousand."
Liu Bang: “…”
"How did this kid do it?"
"Even if Xiang Ji were alive today, he wouldn't be any better than this, would he?"
Xiang Yu outside the sky: "?"
"Whom does this despicable person look down on?"