The envoy of the Western Chu army came one day earlier than Chen Hui expected, and the day after Chen Hui met with Yingbu, the envoy of the Western Chu army led thirty followers to Jiangling and lived in the post house set up by the Linjiang official.

According to the rules, after entering the city, the envoy of the Western Chu army ran to the gate of the Linjiang palace for the first time to ask for a meeting, hoping to meet with Yingbu to submit the national letter, but Yingbu knew very well that the envoy of the Western Chu army must have come to force himself to send troops to Xiang Yu as cannon fodder, so he asked Linjiang Dazai, who was in charge of internal affairs, to come forward, under the pretext that he was slightly unwell, and he would meet the envoy of the Western Chu army in a few days, and let the envoy sent by Xiang Yu go to the pavilion to rest first and wait for his summons.

After a while, Dazai returned to Yingbu's front to reply, saying that he had sent someone to arrange the envoy of the Western Chu Army to rest and wait at the pavilion, Yingbu nodded when he heard it, and remembered Chen Hui's reminder when he said goodbye, so he also had an extra heart, and ordered: "Be careful to block the news, don't let them know that the King of Han has also sent a messenger to contact us." Also, send more people to secretly keep an eye on every move of the envoy of Western Chu and his entourage to this king, and if there is any abnormal situation, immediately come and report to this king. ”

It turned out that Chen Hui's reminder was definitely not a no-brainer, and just after the evening of the second day, Dazai ran to Yingbu to report and said: "Great King, there is something wrong with the situation of the envoy of Western Chu, his entourage is moving around in Jiangling City today, asking everywhere about our contact with the Han King's army, as well as the recent movement and assembly of our army. ”

"Xiang Yu Pifu, I really can't believe this king!" Yingbu was furious when he heard this, knowing that the envoy of the Western Chu Army must have been secretly instructed by Xiang Yu to do this, and it was clear that he couldn't trust himself, and he was worried that he would secretly collude with the Han Army and do something unfavorable to the Western Chu Army.

"There is another strange thing, my lord." Dazai reported again: "The official in charge of the pavilion also reported to Weichen, saying that the envoy of the Western Chu Army inquired about him and asked the king if there is a Zhongjuan named Fuyue by your side?" (See chapter 311 of this book.) ）

"Ask if there is a Zhongjuan named Fu Yue around this king?" Yingbu was puzzled when he heard this, and said in his heart that there is no such person around me? Strange, Ying Bu hurriedly asked again, "Then how did our people answer?" ”

"Because our people don't know what's going on, they say he doesn't know either." Dazai replied truthfully, Yingbu groaned, but he couldn't understand why the envoy of the Western Chu army cared about the officials around him, so he could only order Dazai to continue to closely monitor every move of the envoy of the Western Chu army to see what tricks they could play.

In the next two days, there was no new report on the envoy of the Western Chu army, and on the third day, Chen Hui, the envoy of the Han army, suddenly ran to the gate of Yingbu's palace again to ask for a meeting, Yingbu did not make up his mind at all, and was afraid that the envoy of the Western Chu army knew that he also had dealings with the Han army, of course he flatly refused, and ordered his guards to take Chen Hui back to the pavilion for house arrest, and Chen Hui was not allowed to go out at will.

After a period of time, the pawn who rejected Chen Hui came to him again, and said tremblingly: "The king forgives the sin, the envoy of the king of Han still refuses to leave, and he must bring you a sentence from Weichen, saying that he not only has an important event today that he wants you to report in person, but this important event is also related to the king's life, please be sure to see him." He also said that after listening to his words after meeting, if you think he is alarmist, he is willing to apologize with death. ”

"What does it have to do with the king's life?" Yingbu was a little surprised, and after a little calculation, Yingbu made up his mind and said secretly: "Let's meet again, if the Han thief envoy is really here to be alarmist and intimidate this king, this king has just made up his mind to send troops to help the king of Western Chu." ”

It was only after this decision was made that Yingbu ordered to agree to summon him, and then after a while, Chen Hui was once again led in front of Yingbu, and as soon as they met, he bowed to Yingbu, and said in an extremely sincere tone: "Sinner Chen Hui, I specially came to ask King Linjiang for death." ”

"What do you mean, sir? Why did you ask this king for death as soon as they met? Yingbu asked in surprise.

"Because the sinner has deceived the king, and has not told the king the truth." Chen Hui bowed and replied, and then took the initiative to say, "King, you must know by now, right?" After the envoy of the king of Western Chu came to Jiangling, he immediately sent his retinue to inquire about the secret contacts between you and our Han army, and it was clear that he no longer trusted the king. The sinner did not dare to continue to deceive the king, in fact, all these things were caused by our Han army, and it was we who arranged a divisive plan to make the king of Western Chu suspicious of you, so there is what we are doing now. ”

"Is it because of the discord you arranged? How do you set up the discord meter? Yingbu asked in surprise.

Chen Hui did not continue to conceal Yingbu, and told Yingbu the details of the matter very frankly, admitting that it was the decision-making level of the Han army who sent someone to pretend to be Yingbu's envoy to the Han army, deliberately attracting Xiang Yu's attention, and when Xiang Yu sent someone to pretend to negotiate with the Han army camp to listen to the news, the messenger claimed that Yingbu had abandoned Chu and returned to the Han army, and turned to the Han army, so the envoy of the Western Chu army only went around to inquire about the news after arriving in Jiangling to find out the truth of the matter.

Needless to say, after learning the truth of the matter, Yingbu was of course so angry that he roared directly, and before Chen Hui could continue to plead guilty, Yingbu had already kicked him in the chest, kicked him directly to the sky, and then roared: "Come on, take this puppet down!" ”

The left and right guards sang a promise, and immediately stepped forward to arrest Chen Hui, Chen Hui, who had long been determined to die, did not struggle, but said loudly: "King, please listen to the sinner's words, our Han army is planning to harm you, it is indeed wrong!" But have you considered a question, if the king of Western Chu really trusts you, how can he fall for our scheme? How could he ask his messenger to go around for news in case you suddenly stab him in the back?! ”

"It's not you guys who hurt it!" Yingbu replied with a roar.

"We didn't deny that we framed you, the king?" Chen Hui said quickly: "How can a sinner confess now, not only took the initiative to tell you the truth, but also took the initiative to come to you to ask for death, which can be regarded as being extremely open and honest, right?" On the contrary, how did the envoy of Western Chu treat you, and why hasn't he taken the initiative to come to you until now, explain the truth to you, and still dig holes in the mountains to listen to the news, in case the king is just a false snake with them, ready to stab them in the back at any time? ”

"King Mingjian, the king of Western Chu treats you like this, doesn't it mean that he has never trusted you? Are you always guarding against the king, you betray him? The king of Western Chu is suspicious of the king to this point, do you dare to trust his life and army to him with confidence, and send troops to help him attack our Han army? ”

Yingbu was stunned, and only then did he realize that the Western Chu Army went around to inquire about the truth about his secret collusion with the Han army, although it was just a normal reaction, it also meant that Xiang Yu had never trusted himself, and he was always guarding against himself from suddenly stabbing him in the back - since Xiang Yu was suspicious of himself to this point, if he still sent troops to help him and obeyed his orders, wouldn't he send his head to Xiang Yu's knife and let him cut him if he wanted?

Seeing that his words had moved Yingbu, Chen Hui hurriedly said again: "Also, the king, the sinner also heard an important news, this time the envoy of the Western Chu army originally only brought twenty followers to the south, but when he went south to the territory of Yingchuan, the king of Western Chu sent another ten followers to catch up with him and go south with him!" For no reason, why did the king of Western Chu send him an additional retinue? What did these ten entourages plan to do when they went south with the envoys of Western Chu? ”

"What are you going to do?" Yingbu subconsciously asked rhetorically.

"King, you should have heard the story of Jing Ke and Zhu Hai, right?"

Chen Hui only used one sentence, which made Yingbu's face completely change, and after a little calculation, Yingbu immediately shouted and ordered, and sent someone to the pavilion post to inquire carefully about the news, and inquire about the entourage of the envoys of the Western Chu army, whether there were ten entourages who joined the envoy group later? The guards sang their promises and left, and Chen Hui took the opportunity to say again: "King, now you should know who the King of Western Chu is, right?" Not only did he never trust you, but he also made up his mind early on that he would take off your head as soon as he noticed the slightest rebellion against you! Do you dare to continue to entrust your life to such a person? You charged for him, born and died for so many years, in exchange for such an end, are you willing, king? ”

Yingbu's face was pale, and he gritted his teeth and pondered for a long time, and only after a while did he instruct the guards: "Take him down, lock him up in the palace for the time being, and then send him away when the king has made up his mind." Today's incident, no one is allowed to leak a word of the ban. ”

The matter is related to Chen Hui's own life, of course Chen Hui did not dare to lie to Yingbu, in the afternoon, the guards who went to inquire about the news came back to report, confirming that Chen Hui's whistleblowing was true, and among the envoys of the Western Chu army, there were indeed ten entourages who joined the Western Chu army envoys who joined later - of course, they were all heroic and extraordinary, with thick shoulders and round waists, and they knew at a glance that they were carefully selected warriors in the army.

After confirming this situation, although Yingbu was very angry, he still did not make up his mind immediately, and after thinking about it repeatedly, Yingbu also summoned the envoy of the Western Chu army in the evening of the same day to understand Xiang Yu's attitude towards winning him over. However, what made Yingbu angry was that after the meeting, the envoy of the Western Chu Army not only still did not explain the truth of the matter to him, but also urged him to send troops north and directly join the battlefield of Sanchuan County. At the same time, what made Yingbu sneer was that the conditions for entrapment offered by the envoy of the Western Chu Army on behalf of Xiang Yu were really only the two remote mountainous areas of Ba County and Shu County.

Thinking of the past feelings, Yingbu gave Xiang Yu one last chance, and deliberately asked tentatively: "Why does the king of Western Chu have to send troops to Sanchuan?" If this king sends troops to fight against the Han thieves, it is more convenient to directly enter Bashu from Nanjun? Also, if the Han thief is destroyed, how does the king of Western Chu of Hanzhong County plan to deal with it? ”

"The king, it is the decision of our king of Western Chu to take that road to march to fight against the Han thieves, and the foreign ministers have no right to ask, so they can only ask the king to follow the order." The envoy of the Western Chu army replied very arrogantly, and said: "As for the ownership of Hanzhong County, it can only be decided by our Western Chu King Qiangang, and the foreign ministers dare not ask. ”

After that, the envoy of the Western Chu army also added, "But the little envoy thinks that the king should also think about your allies, the king of Nanyang is also a righteous teacher who crusades against Han thieves, of course our king of Western Chu will not let him work in vain, geographically speaking, Hanzhong County should belong to the king of Nanyang." ”

Yingbu's face was a little gloomy, and he said after a while: "Sir, let's go back to the pavilion to rest first, and wait for this king to discuss with the ministers, and give you a satisfactory answer as soon as possible." ”

The envoy of the Western Chu army agreed, and left with the guards with some arrogance, while Yingbu pondered for a long time with a gloomy face, and suddenly ordered: "Invite the envoy of the King of Han." ”

Chen Hui is a smart person, just saw the guard's attitude politely invited himself back to Yingbu, Chen Hui guessed that Yingbu must have found out the accurate news, so just saw Yingbu, Chen Hui immediately saluted respectfully, and said sincerely: "King, I think you should also know that the foreign minister did not lie to you, the foreign minister deceived the king first, and did not dare to force the king to obey the persuasion of the foreign minister, if the king must continue to attack Han from Chu, the foreign minister did not dare to object, and was willing to let the king immediately push the foreign minister out of the palace and behead him, Use the head of the foreign minister to prove the king's determination to attack Han from Chu. ”

What answered Chen Hui was Yingbu's silence for a long time, or after a long time, Yingbu suddenly said, "Someone is coming, ......." ”

No one wants to die, even if Chen Hui has already made up his mind to die, at this critical moment to decide whether his head will fall to the ground, Chen Hui still raised his heart to his throat, but fortunately, Yingbu's next words were, "Set up a seat for the envoy of the King of Han." ”

With a long sigh of relief, he put his heart back in his stomach, Chen Hui first thanked Yingbu for giving him a seat, and then immediately said: "King, things have come to this point, you have to make up your mind, the king of Western Chu ordered you to send troops north to attack our Han army, if you don't obey the order, it is a betrayal, and the king of Western Chu will definitely not let you go!" If you obey the order and lead the army to the front line, the king of Western Chu will definitely force you and your army to charge ahead, weaken our Han army with your hand, and get rid of you with the hand of our Han army! Sending troops is death, and not sending troops is also death, in this case, why don't you immediately make up your mind to abandon Chu and return to Han to help us crusade against the Western Chu army? ”

"Please rest assured, our King of Han will never ask you to fight head-on with the main force of the Western Chu Thief Army, we only need you to attack Nanyang and help us cut off Liu Ji, a henchman of the Western Chu Thief Army, as the king! As for the reward, the little envoy can promise you for the King of Han now, in addition to giving you the Nanyang County, he will also seal the land of Yingchuan, which is currently ownerless, to you, so that you can set the capital in the Central Plains, and you no longer have to live in the miasma land of Nanjun! ”

After saying it quickly, Chen Hui arched his hand and said: "King, the reputation of our Han King, no one must know better than you, the Huaisi foundation laid by our Han King himself was handed away, and you are not only the party, but also the person you have seen!" We, the King of Han, attach great importance to moral credibility, what else do you have to worry about? ”

The stupid thing that Xiang Kang did at the beginning played a crucial role at this moment, considering Xiang Kang's reputation and the price he offered himself, Yingbu suddenly slapped the table in front of him and shouted: "Come on, go to the pavilion immediately, take down all the envoys of Western Chu and his entourage, and behead them immediately!" ”

Yingbu's order not only asked the heads of the 31 envoys of Western Chu, but also the lives of many Yingbu soldiers, who had been quietly guarding against Yingbu, and found that the situation was not right, of course, the Western Chu envoys immediately responded and resisted by force, and also tried to escape from Jiangling City to report the news. What made Yingbu even more angry was that afterwards, his guards also found an edict stamped with Xiang Yu's seal from the luggage of the Western Chu envoys - an edict for Li Ting, an important general of the Yingbu army, to take over as the king of Linjiang!

After ordering the execution of Li Ting, who had a secret collusion with the Western Chu Army, without hesitation, Yingbu shouted with red eyes: "Xiang Yupifu, since you are unkind, don't blame me for Yingbu's injustice!" Immediately send troops and go north to attack Nanyang County and crusade against Liu Ji, a henchman of the Western Chu Thief Army! ”

Wu Lao Wolf said

My back hurt as if it was broken, and I sweated directly......