Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Chapter 31 An Exorbitant Demand

Liu Ying's sudden intervention shocked everyone.

"Whose child is this? So ill-mannered! Don't your parents know anything?" Hu Zhe took a while to come to his senses. He looked at Liu Ying, curled his lip, and scolded her sternly.

"Hu Zhe, how dare you insult us like that?" Liu Bang was already annoyed with Hu Zhe, and upon hearing this, he immediately flew into a rage.

"King of Han, what business is it of yours if I train such a wild child?" Hu Zhe looked completely bewildered.

"Who is the wild child? Who is the wild child?" Liu Bang gritted his teeth. "When did my son become a wild child? You, explain yourself clearly!"

"The son of the King of Han?" Hu Zhe's eyes nearly popped out as he stared intently at Liu Ying, completely forgetting him.

"My son Ying'er is here. Why don't you pay your respects?" Liu Bang coldly rebuked.

"Liu Ying? I have a vague recollection of him. Let me think." As Peng Yue's confidant, Hu Zhe knew something about Liu Bang's family background and seemed to have heard of Liu Ying, though his memory was somewhat hazy. After a while, he finally remembered that Liu Bang had a son in his hometown of Zhongyangli in Pei County, and it seemed that his name was Liu Ying: "What a wild child!"

Liu Ying was a rural child, and in Hu Zhe's eyes, he was no different from a wild child.

Of course, this cannot be said out loud; it can only be thought in one's heart.

With hands clasped in a fist and a deep bow, Hu Zhe apologized to Liu Ying, saying, "I was blind and did not recognize the prince. I have offended you greatly, and I beg your forgiveness."

"Offending me is a small matter, but bringing trouble upon Peng Yue is a much bigger one." Liu Ying, mounted on his horse, waved his right hand and shouted in a deep voice, "Go back immediately and tell Peng Yue to send the generous gifts I promised, not a single coin less!"

Liu Bang glared at Liu Ying, wishing he could sew his mouth shut.

It would be unwise to provoke Peng Yue at this time.

Xiahou Ying and Lü Ze shared the same thoughts, but because Hu Zhe was there, they couldn't afford to lose face, so they held back and didn't say anything.

"Your Highness has quite the nerve," Hu Zhe sneered, "The King of Han has just suffered a defeat at Pengcheng and should treat the Prime Minister with courtesy. Your angering the Prime Minister at this time is extremely detrimental to the King of Han. Aren't you afraid the Prime Minister will defect to Xiang Yu?"

Liu Bang suffered a major defeat at Pengcheng, was relentlessly pursued by Xiang Yu, and nearly captured alive. He reached Xiayi and received the army led by Lü Ze, which slightly boosted his morale. In such a weakened state, he should have sought to win over Peng Yue, rather than making exorbitant demands.

Liu Bang glanced at Liu Ying and thought to himself, "Once this matter is over, I will definitely give Liu Ying a good beating and teach him a lesson so he won't act recklessly."

Lu Ze decided to give Liu Ying a good scolding, but of course he would wait until Hu Zhe left before doing so.

Xiahou Ying shared the same thought.

"To surrender to Xiang Yu? If Peng Yue dares to surrender to Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu will dare to boil him alive." Liu Ying didn't care at all and sneered, "Does Peng Yue dare to surrender to Xiang Yu?"

"What is there to be afraid of?" Hu Zhecai did not believe Liu Ying's words.

Liu Bang nodded slightly, agreeing with Hu Zhe's words.

The same applies to Lü Ze and Xiahou Ying.

"The loss of Pengcheng was a great humiliation for Xiang Yu. Anyone associated with the King of Han was his mortal enemy, and he wanted to cook them alive." Liu Ying mocked Hu Zhe: "Peng Yue was appointed Prime Minister of Wei by the King of Han. If he surrenders to Xiang Yu now, he will be walking into a trap."

Hu Zhe: "..."

"Great! Excellent!" Liu Bang exclaimed in surprise, cheering.

"Great! Lucky!" Lu Ze clapped his hands heavily.

"Great! Excellent!" Xiahou Ying's eyes gleamed with excitement.

The Battle of Pengcheng ended in a great victory for Xiang Yu. However, before this, Pengcheng had been captured by Liu Bang, and Xiang Yu could not help but consider this a great humiliation. Anyone associated with Liu Bang who fell into Xiang Yu's hands would not have a good end.

Not to mention, Peng Yue was appointed by Liu Bang as the Chancellor of Wei, and he also gave Liu Bang 30,000 troops and conquered the Liang region.

Liang was Xiang Yu's fiefdom.

Could Xiang Yu have tolerated this?

Even if Peng Yue wanted to surrender to Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu would not accept him.

Liu Bang and his men only thought of Liu Bang's great defeat at Pengcheng and his weakened state, and did not consider this aspect. At this moment, after being reminded by Liu Ying, they all agreed with Liu Ying's words.

"Hu Zhe, hurry back and tell Peng Yue to bring what Ying'er demanded, not a single penny less." Liu Bang realized what was happening, and became smug, his right hand on the hilt of his sword, exuding a strong sense of pressure, as if he had seen through Peng Yue's bluster.

"Great!" Lu Ze was worried that the food supplies were running out. If he could get a batch of food supplies from Peng Yue, it would solve the immediate problem.

"Good!" Xiahou Ying echoed.

"King of Han, you dare to push your luck!" Hu Zhe roared. "Even if the Prime Minister refuses to side with Xiang Yu and doesn't help you, what can you do about it?"

"Peng Yue is an ungrateful scoundrel who has already stopped helping me. What else can I do?" Liu Bang was furious.

"What can you do if I don't give you anything?" Hu Zhe showed no intention of backing down.

Liu Bang: "..."

Lü Ze: "..."

Xiahou Ying: "..."

Peng Yue was determined not to give it up, so what could Liu Bang do to Peng Yue?

"If you don't give it to us, we won't take it ourselves?" Liu Ying sneered. "We have an army and the people. It's harvest season now. As long as the King of Han gives the order, all the crops in Liang will belong to the King of Han."

Hu Zhe glanced over and saw the people in the fields, busy harvesting crops, glancing at them from the side.

"Good! Great!" Liu Bang nodded heavily. "Brother, arrange for people to harvest the crops."

"Yes!" Lu Ze was overjoyed.

Crops are everywhere; you can take them yourself. Why do we need Peng Yue's permission?

"King of Han, do you think the Prime Minister has no army?" Hu Zhe roared in anger.

"You want an army?" Liu Bang grinned, completely unconcerned. "You think you're the only one who wants an army, and I don't have one?"

Liu Ying rallied more than 30,000 defeated soldiers. After reorganization, the defeated army had regained some fighting strength. Together with the Han army in Xiayi, they were barely able to put up a fight.

"If you want to fight, then fight! Who's afraid of who!" Hu Zhe responded forcefully.

"This..." Liu Bang was in a dilemma.

"The battlefield is set up in Liang. With the ravages of war, I wonder if Liang can still be preserved?" Liu Ying asked Hu Zhe.

Hu Zhe: "..."

The battlefield was set up in Liangdi. Regardless of who won or lost, Peng Yue had already lost this battle.

Liangdi is Peng Yue's territory. If a war were to break out here, it would surely be destroyed, which is not something Peng Yue wants to see.

"Anyway, I suffered a crushing defeat in Pengcheng and have nothing left to lose. I might as well fight a battle in Liang. If I don't fare well, Peng Yue won't have an easy time either." Liu Bang's rogue nature came out.

"You... that's just common street behavior." Hu Zhe was speechless. Liu Bang was an old rogue, and when he started acting like a scoundrel, no one could stop him.

"Just tell me, will you give it to me or not?" Liu Bang said coldly.

"King Han, there are simply too many; we can't produce them all," Hu Zhe said, his tone softening.

"If you think it's too much, we can talk about it." Liu Ying was asking for an exorbitant price, and Peng Yue was unlikely to give that much. The price was negotiable, and Liu Bang's tone softened.

Hu Zhe softened his stance, and Liu Bang was willing to lower the price, so the deal was negotiable.

Of course, Liu Ying wouldn't get involved in this matter, because he didn't know Peng Yue.

Who understood Peng Yue best? Liu Bang, of course.

Therefore, Liu Bang personally discussed this matter with Hu Zhe.

The two engaged in a fierce verbal battle, exchanging barbs and spittle, behaving like common street urchins.

"King Han, there are really too many." Hu Zhe said with a mournful face.

"Not much, not much," Liu Bang said with a smile. "To ensure Peng Yue could successfully conquer Liangdi, I took Wei Bao with me. If I hadn't taken Wei Bao, Peng Yue would have been under Wei Bao's control. How could he have conquered Liangdi?"

Wei Bao was the King of Wei, a title bestowed upon him by Xiang Yu. Liu Bang appointed Peng Yue as the Chancellor of Wei, making him Wei Bao's chancellor. In return for Peng Yue's favor, Liu Bang brought Wei Bao to Pengcheng. With no one to restrain him, Peng Yue was able to act freely and successfully establish his own power base.

The deal was eventually struck. Peng Yue gave Liu Bang 50,000 shi of grain, 10,000 jin of gold, 2,000 warhorses, 30,000 longswords, 30,000 bows, 1 million arrows, 20,000 sets of armor, and 50,000 pieces of brown clothing.