Chapter 54 Part 2

Once they exchanged courtesy names, they immediately felt a sense of closeness. Han Guang also smiled. "I am forty-six this year. I must be a few years older than you. If the King of Yu does not mind, I will take the liberty of addressing you as Xiafang!"

Liu Yuan: "To be addressed as such by my elder brother is my good fortune!"

Han Guang laughed heartily. "Excellent! Excellent! For the two of us to share a character in our names, it must be fate!"

Liu Yuan: "As the saying goes, fate brings people together even if they are a thousand li apart. I was originally planning to visit you in Liaodong myself, my elder brother. If not for today, it would have been difficult for us to meet!"

Han Guang: "If you have the time, Xiafang, you should come visit Liaodong. I will surely sweep the mats to welcome you!"

Liu Yuan: "Definitely, definitely!"

...

The two men, each with their own ulterior motives, instantly set aside their previous animosities now that they had a common interest and goal. They smiled so warmly at each other that they might as well have held hands, beheaded a chicken, burned yellow paper, and become sworn brothers.

After visiting Han Guang, Liu Yuan went on to several other camps. It was not until the eastern sky began to whiten that he, accompanied by his attendants, quietly returned to the city.

And Xiang Yu's side only learned of all this when King Zhao Xie of Dai and the others came to bid him farewell.

The vassal kings had come following Xiang Yu. Out of courtesy, they had to inform him if they were withdrawing their troops. But in reality, they were not seeking his approval, but merely notifying him.

Xiang Yu never would have imagined that just the day before he had clearly held a winning hand, only to wake up and find the situation completely changed.

After the last vassal king who had come to take his leave departed, an enraged Xiang Yu swept everything off his desk and spat out a name through gritted teeth, word by word: "Liu... Yuan!"

Ji Ping sighed, "I never expected Liu Yuan would be willing to divide all the wealth of the Qin Royal Palace among the vassal kings. It's no wonder they were moved!"

Fan Zeng's expression was solemn. "Sacrificing the small to gain the large. This man's schemes run deep. We must be on guard against him!"

Xiang Yu sneered, "I don't care what he's plotting, I'll make sure he never returns from this! Those people are blinded by money. If they want to retreat, let them retreat. I don't need them anyway. To deal with Liu Yuan, my army of four hundred thousand is more than enough!"

Hearing that Xiang Yu still wanted to go it alone, Fan Zeng quickly said, "Your Majesty, calm your anger! Now that the wealth of the Qin Royal Palace has been divided up by Liu Yuan, even if we breach the city, we will gain no benefit. Not to mention, Liu Yuan has also prepared a share of the wealth for His Highness the Emperor and for you, Your Majesty. I hear it is far more generous than what the other vassal kings received. If Your Majesty raises troops to attack Liu Yuan, I fear public opinion throughout the world will not be on your side!"

He was already being very tactful. In reality, once the vassal kings withdrew their troops, Xiang Yu no longer held the advantage at all. Although he claimed to have an army of four hundred thousand, one had to remember that this was a siege, not a pitched battle between two armies. In siege warfare, the attacking side is always at a disadvantage. Xianyang, as the capital of the Qin State, had been fortified over generations and now had strong walls and solid defenses. It would be very difficult to conquer it with minimal losses. Furthermore, there was the problem of supplying grain and fodder for this four-hundred-thousand-strong army.

"Your Majesty, what Sir Fan says is absolutely right! The Emperor of Chu's word came first. Liu Yuan's occupation of Xianyang, though not what we wished for, is still logical and beyond reproach. Now that all the other lords have retreated, if the Chu army advances alone, I'm afraid others will say Your Majesty is harsh and ungrateful, eager to fight amongst brothers as soon as the Qin Dynasty has fallen!"

Ji Ping was Ji Ci's second uncle. Ever since he left the family to join Xiang Yu, he had been bent on achieving meritorious deeds to win the admiration of his father and elder brother. Therefore, he often encouraged Xiang Yu to be aggressive and enterprising. But now that Xiang Yu wanted to sideline the vassal kings and attack Liu Yuan alone, a move that had neither popular support nor geographical advantage, he really couldn't see any chance of victory and hurriedly joined Fan Zeng in persuading him.

Xiang Yu grew annoyed by the two men's persuasion. He thought of the seemingly deferential but actually ill-intentioned expression of the envoy Liu Yuan had sent earlier and couldn't help but roar, "Liu Yuan is a despicable villain! Are you saying we know we've fallen into his trap but can do nothing about it?!"

Ji Ping smiled. "Now that Liu Yuan has divided the treasures of the Qin Royal Palace, Xianyang is nothing special besides being a fortified city. There's no harm in letting him have it. But he thinks that by occupying Xianyang, all his troubles are over. We might as well play along and let him have a taste of a mute eating bitter herbs!"

Xiang Yu raised an eyebrow. "What brilliant plan do you have? Out with it!"

Ji Ping explained his idea. Xiang Yu's anger turned to joy, and he clapped his hands and laughed. "A brilliant plan indeed!"

Looking at Fan Zeng, he too was smiling and nodding in approval.

——————

As for Madam Zhang and the others, they only knew that Liu Yuan had occupied Xianyang. The things Liu Zhen had worried about did not happen. From the news brought by Xu Zhongfang, the various lords had already left one after another, returning to their own territories. Even the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, Xiang Yu, did not make things difficult for Liu Yuan in the end. The crisis in Xianyang was resolved, and the capital of the world was waiting for them.

At this time, Madam Zhang and her group were already halfway there.

It seemed Liu Yuan was preparing to station himself in Xianyang for the long term and make it his seat of governance; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought to bring his family over. The road from Xianyang to Nanyang had been cleared, so there were basically no obstacles along the way.

However, this migration journey was much more troublesome than the previous one from Yingchuan Commandery to Hengshan. That was why Liu Xin, Liu Chi, and the others were still left in Hengshan. Liu Yuan's intention was to bring Madam Zhang and Liu Zhen over first, and the rest would follow slowly.

Of course, Song Xie, An Zheng, and others were also accompanying them. To Liu Yuan, these people were even more important than Madam Zhang and the others.

Xu Zhongfang and Liu Nan were tasked with escorting them, but their pace was much slower than they had imagined. This was not only because the group consisted mostly of women and young children, but also included the pregnant Madam Tao.

That's right. Madam Zhang had not brought any of Liu Yuan's other concubines, only Madam Tao, whom Liu Yuan regarded with special favor.

Madam Tao was more than six months pregnant and had difficulty moving. Sometimes, even walking a short distance would leave her drenched in sweat, so she could only stay in the carriage all day. The road was now rugged and uneven. To accommodate her, the carriage moved slower and slower, almost as if it were a snail inching along.

Even so, Madam Tao was still having a very hard time. She held her belly and leaned against the carriage wall. The stuffy weather made the carriage even more suffocating. Feeling the bumps beneath her, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and turn her head to the side.

Her handmaiden, Ah Xue, expertly held up a basin to her. Madam Tao retched a few times but couldn't bring anything up. Exhausted, she could only lean back, drowsy and wanting to sleep.

Ah Xue rubbed her back to soothe her breathing while complaining in a low voice, "My lady is clearly pregnant, yet the Matriarch insisted that my lady travel with them. This is really too difficult for you!"

Madam Tao opened her eyes and weakly chided her, "Don't speak nonsense. If someone hears you..."

Ah Xue quickly cut in, "Don't worry, my lady. Once we're out of this little carriage, I guarantee I won't say another word!"

Song Hong, Liu Jin, and the others shared a carriage. Because Madam Tao was pregnant, she had the privilege of riding in a carriage alone. And because it moved the slowest, it fell to the very back of the caravan.

A loud rumbling sounded from outside. Ah Xue poked her head out to look and exclaimed, "Aiyah! The sky has turned dark. I'm afraid there's going to be a downpour soon!"

The words had barely left her mouth when a pattering sound hammered against the carriage. The ox-cart stopped abruptly, and the driver outside started shouting, seemingly going to get a straw raincoat.

The heat was swept away by the sudden downpour. A cool breeze, accompanied by raindrops, gusted in. Ah Xue quickly closed the curtain to prevent the rain from getting the inside of the carriage wet and causing Madam Tao to catch a chill.

The weather turned cool, but a fine sweat still beaded on Madam Tao's face. She felt no relief. As time passed, her expression gradually became one of agony.

"My lady!" Ah Xue began to panic. She reached out to wipe the sweat from her face, only to find her hand was ice-cold. "My lady, what's wrong! Don't move, I'll go find the Matriarch!"

Madam Tao could no longer call out to her. She clutched her abdomen, her face deathly pale.

The rain was torrential, blurring all visible scenery. Rainwater landed on the yellow earth, creating one puddle after another. Ah Xue covered her hair with her sleeve and hastily got off the ox-cart. She went around to the front, intending to ask the driver to call for someone, but before the words could leave her mouth, she froze.

Not only had the driver at the front vanished, but the caravan that had been ahead of them had also disappeared at some point.

In the vast, white expanse of heaven and earth, it seemed as if only this solitary carriage remained.