To the late Qin Dynasty famous Confucian brother Li Shiqi disgraced, although he was raised in the company of his brother who read poetry and books, the Han army general Li Shang not only had little interest in studying and studying, and did not care about governing the family and making a living, but also like Xiang Kang and Liu Laosan in the past, he liked to wander around with nothing to do all day long, eating and drinking everywhere, and was a typical rural gangster, and even a daughter-in-law was difficult to find in the Taiping years.

It's also quite strange, in the chaotic times at the end of the Qin Dynasty, it was this kind of person who could mix the best in the wind and water, not to mention the children of the Xiang family and Liu Laosan and his Peixian friends, and the same is true of Li Shang, relying on his brother's great name, not only mixed a good messenger under Xiang Kang, but also was entrusted with a heavy task by Xiang Kang, and led an army into Guanzhong Bashu alone, which was very eye-catching and got the opportunity to be alone.

Li Shang finally did not disgrace his brother Li Shiqi in the war, nor did he disappoint Xiang Kang, with a lone army, Li Shang Leng was to take the important land of Hanzhong, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, as well as the Sichuan Basin, the country of abundance, although a large part of the reason is that Qin Ting ordered the counties of Bashu in Hanzhong to surrender voluntarily, but no one can erase the credit of Li Shang, plus no one among the generals of the Han army is more familiar with the situation of Hanzhong Bashu than Li Shang, so in the case of continuous crisis on the southern front, Xiang Kang has also always asked Li Shang to guard the land of Bashu in Hanzhong for himself, giving Li Shang considerable autonomy.

Power is the easiest to corrupt people, Li Shang is no exception, after the power in hand, Li Shang's diet and daily life inevitably began to be luxurious, in addition to the beauty of flowers, there are also more sycophantic villains, and the mind is inevitably a little fluttering, although these are not enough for Li Shang's gratitude and loyalty to Xiang Kang, but also let Li Shang really taste the taste of power.

When Xiang Yu's secret envoy Han Sheng quietly came to Hanzhong and secretly asked him to meet, Li Shang not only did not arrange for Xiang Kang to inform his civilian deputy of this important situation at the first time, but also because Xiang Yu's envoy Han Sheng said that he had brought the news of Li Shiqi, Li Shang did not think about it, and immediately summoned Han Sheng in the lobby of his house.

Li Shang did have a deep brotherly relationship with Li Shiqi, and he was extremely concerned about Li Shiqi's current situation, and he was not polite after meeting, and immediately asked Han Sheng: "Where is my brother now?" Are you okay? Is there a letter he gave me? ”

"Please rest assured, Mr. Li's condition is very good." Han Sheng replied: "Old man, of course he is in Pengcheng now, although he insists on refusing to surrender to our King of Western Chu, but out of respect for him, our King of Western Chu has always treated him with courtesy, and specially arranged reliable people to serve his diet and daily life, and treat him as a guest. As for Mr. Li's letters....... ”

Speaking of this, Han Sheng paused deliberately, and then said: "Don't dare to deceive the general, before coming, the little envoy did meet with Mr. Li and asked him if he had any letters to bring to the general, but Mr. Li refused to write a book, just asked the little envoy to bring a word to the general, and asked the general not to worry about his safety, just serve the king of Han with his heart, and don't delay the big thing of the king of Han because of him." ”

I never expected that Xiang Yu's envoy Han Sheng would bring such a message to him, Li Shang first took a prune, and then said with a proud smile: "That's right, this is indeed my brother's style of speaking, even if you are smart, you didn't fabricate any nonsense to deceive General Ben, otherwise, General Ben guarantees that you won't be able to get out of this gate today." ”

"The general has said it." Han Sheng smiled and said: "Mr. Li's loyalty and integrity, no one in the world knows about it, and who doesn't know it?" The little envoy just ate the bear's heart and leopard gall, of course, he didn't dare to fabricate and change the word and half of Mr. Li's message, otherwise not only would he never be able to hide your letter from Chengjun, but he would inevitably be laughed at by the Confucians in the world. ”

Although he knew that Han Sheng was deliberately saying sweet words to make himself happy, but after listening to Han Sheng's flattery and compliment to Li Shiqi, Li Shang was still quite useful, and said with a smile: "For the sake of you bringing me my brother's message, sit down and tell me your intentions, but this general has a word first, if Xiang Yu wants to use my brother's threat to lure me, it is a pipe dream, if I will be moved by his threat, my brother will not agree to it first." ”

"Please believe in this point Chengjun with a hundred hearts, how noble is our King of Western Chu, how could he do such a despicable thing as threatening the general with hostages?" Han Sheng replied with a smile, sat down under the guidance of the Li Shang guard, and then said: "But the little envoy is indeed here for Xin Chengjun, and the little envoy knows that Xin Chengjun will be in a big disaster soon, and he will even have to worry about his life, so he worked tirelessly and traveled thousands of miles to rescue Xin Chengjun." ”

Li Shang shook his eyes again, and then sneered: "Don't come and be shocked first and then caress this set, such a lobbyist trick, you don't deserve to give my brother shoes." ”

"Xin Chengjun thinks the envoy is alarmist?" Han Sheng asked in surprise, and asked again, "Could it be that Xin Chengjun really didn't hear any rumors at all?" ”

"What wind do I hear?" Li Shang asked suspiciously.

After deliberately looking at Li Shang carefully for a moment, Han Sheng nodded and said: "It seems that Xin Chengjun really doesn't know, and he doesn't dare to deceive Xin Chengjun, after our Western Chu Imperial Court received the news that Chai Wu was killed by the King of Han, someone made a suggestion to our King of Western Chu at that time, persuading us that the King of Western Chu should change your name to the King of Hanzhong, and take over from Chai Wu to lead the land of Hanzhong and Bashu." ”

Li Shang's face changed suddenly, Han Sheng observed his words, and immediately said: "Our Western Chu courtiers made such a statement, of course, in order to divide the relationship between the King of Han and you Xin Chengjun, so that the King of Han will be suspicious of Xin Chengjun, in order to achieve this purpose, our Western Chu Imperial Court also deliberately made this news public, so that the fine work sent by the King of Han to Pengcheng heard the news and reported it to the King of Han truthfully. ”

Li Shang's face turned pale, and he immediately said viciously: "Despicable villain, do you think that our Han King will be involved in your shameless tricks? ”

"Why wouldn't King Han fall for the scheme?" Han Sheng immediately asked rhetorically, and said: "Please Xin Chengjun put yourself in your shoes, if you are in the position of the King of Han, hear this news, and know that Xin Chengjun and your brother are being taken hostage by our King of Western Chu, will you be suspicious and strengthen your precautions against Xin Chengjun?" ”

Li Shang was speechless, and had to admit that if he was Xiang Kang, he would definitely have doubts, Han Sheng struck while the iron was hot, and said: "Of course, with the ability of the King of Han, he will definitely understand immediately, this is just a divisive plan of our Western Chu Imperial Court, but I don't know if Xin Chengjun has heard the story of Zeng Shen's murder?" Someone suddenly told Zengzi's mother that Zengzi had killed someone, but Zeng's mother didn't believe it, and the second person told Zeng's mother that Zengzi had killed someone, but Zeng's mother still didn't believe it, but after the third person said that Zengzi had killed someone, Zeng's mother was so frightened that she walked over the wall. ”

"Xin Chengjun, please think about it again, how many people will say that you killed someone in front of King Han?" Han Sheng asked again, and then said: "Xin Chengjun, you are not the old Huaisi of the Han King, although you have the trust and reuse of the Han King, and have been entrusted with the important task of guarding Hanzhong Bashu, but those Huaisi old generals who followed the Han King to raise troops as early as the time of Huaisi, and who is the one who does not believe in Chengjun's current powerful position?" Seeing that there is an opportunity to take advantage of and a loophole to exploit, how could they be willing to miss the opportunity to replace you with Xinchengjun? When the three of them become tigers, no matter how wise King Han is, how can it be impossible for you to be suspicious and precautionary against Xin Chengjun? ”

It was not easy to rely on Kuaiche's recommendation to get reused Xiang Yu's strategist Han Sheng, who was full of firepower, and every word was directed at human instinct, so that Li Shang could refute everything, so he could only sneer and say: "So what? Will the King of Han kill me indiscriminately because of your despicable discord? ”

"Who can guarantee that there is no such possibility?" Han Sheng immediately asked rhetorically and said: "The King of Han is suspicious of you, and is worried that you will suddenly rebel, in addition to directly executing you once and for all, there is another choice is to take away the general's military power, and transfer the general back to Guanzhong to monitor the nearest neighborhood, if he does this, how can he not worry about the general, you are dissatisfied in your heart, and you will have hatred for him, and become a hidden danger within the Han Kingdom?" When the time comes, as long as you act and speak a little badly, or the despicable villain who is jealous of the general's merits and power will slander a few words at will, how can the king of Han not have murderous intentions? ”

After endlessly slandering Xiang Kang's ability to control his subordinates, Han Sheng continued: "Take 10,000 steps back and say, even if the Han King is wise and martial and insists on ignoring the instigation of others, but general, will you still have a bright future in the future?" After taking back the general's military power and shelving it, no matter how wise and powerful the King of Han is, he will never dare to reuse the general again, right? When the time comes, the general will be depressed and unable to achieve his will, he will be unable to comfort his grievances, and he will not be able to save his relatives, what kind of painful situation will it be? ”

The discord scheme is always the most disgusting trick, even if he knows that Han Sheng is alarmist, but considering the instinct of human nature, Li Shang still has a drum in his heart, and he has to hear Han Sheng's words in his heart. Han Sheng seized the opportunity, took out a copy of the yellow silk edict, got up and held it in front of Li Shang, and said: "Xin Chengjun doesn't have to worry, as long as you accept this gift from the King of Western Chu, not only will there be no more dangers, but my brother and Mr. Li will soon be able to return to Hanzhong and reunite with your brother." ”

Li Shang was quite rational and did not reach out to receive the edict, but just glanced at the edict that had been spread out by Han Sheng, and saw that the edict was written by Emperor Xiong Xin, the lord of the world who was respected by the princes outside the Guanwai, and directly canonized himself as the king, and also understood that the land of Bashu in Hanzhong was sealed to himself as a land, and it was also stamped with the seal of Emperor Chu Yi.

Human nature, in the face of the temptation of the throne and more power, it is absolutely false to say that Li Shang will not be moved at all, but fortunately, Li Shang is just moved in his heart, and then immediately beat the edict that has been held in front of him, and shouted: "Don't come to this set!" The King of Han is as kind to me as a mountain, and I will never betray the unrighteous deeds of the Lord's ingratitude! ”

"Why is the king still obsessed?" Han Sheng said bitterly, "Does the king dare to make a bet with the little envoy?" In a few days, the king of Han will at least send more people to closely monitor your every move of the king, and if the most important thing is to directly order the king to be recalled to Guanzhong, and take care of it nearby, if you refuse to obey, you will be killed immediately. ”

Glaring at Han Sheng fiercely, Li Shang suddenly showed a cruel smile and said, "If you don't say it, General Ben almost forgot!" Someone came, immediately take down this horseman, put it into the prisoner car, and escort it to Xianyang to ask the King of Han to send it down, and use this horseman's head to prove the innocence of General Ben! ”

The hall guard agreed, and immediately stepped forward to hold Han Sheng down, Han Sheng didn't resist, just smiled and said: "King, the little envoy dared to take the initiative to come to the door to ask for death, of course, he was also prepared to never go back." However, the little envoy must remind the king that when the news of the little envoy's death came back to Pengcheng, it was also the day when Brother Ling was killed, and there was no second possibility! ”

"You!"

Li Shang's face began to darken, but Han Sheng was not afraid, and said: "King, this is definitely not a coercion from a small envoy, you will know as soon as you think about it, if you reject the kindness of our King of Western Chu, then what is the use of our King of Western Chu leaving Brother Ling behind?" Isn't it just a one-shot kill, so that everyone in the world knows the fate of following King Han with all his heart? ”

After all, he is not as rogue as Liu Laosan, and he can't say the cruel words of cooking his brother and asking for a piece of the pie, Li Shang suddenly hesitated, and Han Sheng took the opportunity to say: "The king also rest assured, our King of Xichu still has an explanation, if the little envoy can go back safely, whether the king is willing to accept his kindness or not, he will continue to treat Mr. Li with courtesy, and give the king a chance to reunite with your brother in the future." ”

"You're ......!" Li Shang gritted his teeth, and soon understood Xiang Yu's vicious intentions, and said, "Let you go back, will I be able to make it clear in front of King Han in the future?" ”

"What's not clear?" Han Sheng asked rhetorically again and said, "Isn't it the king's most trusted confidant and confidant who can serve you here, the king, and you still need to worry about them leaking the news?" After the envoy left here, before leaving the land of the Han Kingdom, would he still kill himself, take the initiative to expose his identity, and run to confess (surrender) to the people of the King of Han, and take my own life in order to frame you? ”

Li Shang was shaken, and Han Sheng said lightly: "Wang, the brotherhood between you and Mr. Li, the little envoy has also heard of it, the king, your parents died early, it was Brother Ling who raised you, and you are called brothers, but they are really father and son, you are really ruthless, and use the life of the little envoy to exchange for your brother's life?" ”

The life of the dear brother hangs in the hands of others, no matter who is in the current position of Li Shang, he will definitely not be able to make up his mind, staring at Han Sheng with a hideous expression, Li Shang gritted his teeth and spoke, several times he wanted to drink the order to escort Han Sheng to Xianyang, but he couldn't give up his heart. Han Sheng understood Li Shang's thoughts, so he said: "King, I don't think there is any need to hesitate, for the safety of Brother Ling, let the little envoy go, today's matter, no one will know about it." ”

Li Shang's fists had already clenched his joints white, but for his own brother Li Shiqi, after his whole body trembled for a long time, Li Shang still sat down slowly, waved his hand weakly, and ordered in a hoarse voice: "Let him go." ”

The guards present were indeed Li Shang's confidants, and after listening to Li Shang's instructions, they immediately let go of the people, while Han Sheng quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and no longer dared to continue to stimulate Li Shang, so he arched his hand and left, leaving Li Shang to sit in the hall and be worried, with thousands of thoughts in his heart and mixed tastes.

Li Shang soon regretted his weak decision, and before it was evening, Li Shang found that it was too careless to let go of Xiang Yu's envoy Han Sheng, although the guards present at the time were all his cronies, and he also issued a ban order, but who dared to guarantee that they would really not leak out at all? Won't you covet glory and wealth and quietly tell Xiang Kang? For the sake of secrecy, do you want to kill all these guards?

Considering this danger, of course, Li Shang was so worried that he didn't sleep all night, but what made Li Shang even more frightened was still to come, and only a little more than a day had passed, and his housekeeper suddenly came to report to him, saying that someone was secretly asking his family for news, and to find out if he had seen a strange guest from outside the day before yesterday? Li Shang was shocked and frightened when he heard this, and hurriedly asked, "Do you know who secretly inquired about my news?" ”

"I don't know." The steward of the Fuzhong shook his head and replied, which made Li Shang even more frightened in his heart, and immediately guessed that the mastermind behind the scenes was likely to be the Han Chinese Wu loyal to Xiang Kang, and he regretted even more that he was forced to let go of the secret messenger sent by Xiang Yu for the sake of Li Yu's safety, so that he could not be cleared even if he wanted to jump into the Yellow River. In desperation, Li Shang was forced to strengthen the secrecy in his home, and be careful not to stare at his eyes.

In this way, of course, a vicious circle has been formed, the more careful Li Shang is to keep it secret, the more vigilant and suspicious he is when he stares at Li Shang's eyes secretly, and the more he stares Li Shang more closely in the dark.

Under such circumstances, if Xiang Kang also made some moves, either personally sent people to strengthen the surveillance of the Li Shang, or took away the military power of the Li Shang for the sake of safety, and transferred the Li Shang back to Guanzhong to monitor the nearest place, then needless to say, the desperate Li Shang is likely to be forced to make a painful choice, and there will definitely be a rebellion in the rear of the Han army, giving the enemy who is watching and delaying in the surrounding area an opportunity to take advantage of it, resulting in regretful consequences!

But fortunately, at this important moment of life and death, Xiang Kang's envoy Zhang Liang finally came to Hanzhong, but to Zhang Liang's surprise, he had just settled in the pavilion, and before he had time to change his clothes and bathe, he was about to visit Li Shang's residence, and the Han army spy arranged by Chen Ping for him came to report and said: "Zhang Situ, the villain has been in contact with our people, the situation is not right, Hanzhong County Shoucang has secretly kept an eye on General Li Shang." ”

"Why?" Zhang Liang asked quietly.

"Someone threw a letter into the courtyard of Cangjun Zun, telling that General Lishang had secretly met with the envoy of the king of Western Chu." The Han army spy replied in a low voice: "After our people heard the news, they also secretly strengthened the surveillance of General Li Shang. ”

Zhang Liang smiled bitterly and said: "It's really powerful, while secretly plotting rebellion, he took the initiative to tell the informant, and the overlord of Western Chu also learned badly from his cousin King Han." ”