Chapter 17: Beacon Smoke

The smoke of the past has rekindled, the weapons that were once destroyed have reappeared in the people's field of vision, and the bloody rain and corpses have become a common sight in the world again. No one will be able to survive this period, and innocent people must once again face the problem of choosing sides. They either assisted the Qin government in its fight against the mob or raised anti-Qin banners to overthrow the Qin government. No one can live in peace, waiting for the fate of the savior, can only hand over their fate to others.

The ranks of the Xiang group grew larger and larger, and they quickly became the core of the Chudi riot. In addition to Liu Ji's team in Pei County, other rebels also defected to the Xiang group. For example, Chen Ying's team in Dongyang County.

Chen Ying, a native of Dongyang County, Donghai County (now Xuyi County, Jiangsu), was originally a public official in the Dongyang County Government. Among so many anti-Qin teams, he was the most loyal, honest, peaceful, and filial leader. He didn't think about doing the big thing of rebellion, but the old folks in the county recommended him, so he reluctantly did it. He originally worked in the county government, had a decent job, had an elderly mother at home, and lived a peaceful and stable life. He didn't want anything to change.

However, the times were pressing, and he had to make a choice. The delinquent teenagers in the county killed the county order, the crowd was surging, the revolutionary enthusiasm was high, and the order became chaotic in an instant, and there was an urgent need for a respected elder to preside over the overall situation. After serving in the government for many years, he became everyone's expectation, and his parents and villagers obviously did not regard him as a representative of the Qin Dynasty government, but as their own.

From the initial thousands of people to 20,000, Chen Ying's team is getting bigger and bigger. His subordinates in the army advised him to set himself up as king, if not for himself, but for the sake of everyone. The loyal and honest Chen Ying hesitated, he didn't want to live up to everyone's high expectations, but he didn't dare to make such a big decision rashly.

The elderly mother began to become worried when she knew that her son was raising the banner of anti-Qin. Now that she heard that Chen Ying was going to establish herself as the king, she was even more worried. Riots are not a good thing in the first place, and too much exposure will lead to disaster.

"Ever since I married into your family, I have never heard of any nobles in your ancestors. It's not a good thing that you've suddenly gained such prestige now. It's better to take refuge in a powerful organization, and after the matter is completed, you can be a marquis, and if you fail, you can also get out and leave. The mother said to Chen Ying earnestly. (I am the wife of your family, and I have never heard of the noble people of your ancestors.) It's a big name now, ominous. It's better to belong, if you succeed, you have to be a marquis, and if you fail, you will die, and you will not be named by the world. ）

The filial Chen Ying did not dare to disobey the old mother's advice. He chose the most prestigious Xiang Group in Chu and became an indispensable force in the Xiang Group, and later made a lot of contributions to the Xiang Group. As her mother said, after the matter was completed, Chen Ying was also made a marquis.

The leader of the other thug who defected to the Xiang group was not as loyal and honest as Chen Ying. The chief's name was Yingbu, a native of the six counties of Jiujiang County (present-day Lu'an City, Anhui). He didn't have a proper job, and there were no kind elders in his family to tell him bitterly. He has been a master who is not afraid of death since he was a child, and he did not pay attention to the laws of the Qin Dynasty at all, and disturbed social order all day long. He is more restless and hateful than Liu Ji. In the eyes of his father and fellow villagers, Yingbu is the demon king of the mixed world who does all kinds of evil, and sooner or later he will make a big mistake and be sentenced to death.

However, someone once showed him a fortune teller and said that he was "a king who should be punished". This means that if you are sentenced to prison, you can become king. Upon hearing this, Yingbu was excited. For a long time after that, he deliberately committed a crime, hoping that this prophecy could be fulfilled as soon as possible. For him, imprisonment is just a daily routine, a necessary stage of his life.

Soon, Yingbu got his wish, walked into the Qin Dynasty prison cell of his dreams, and lived the prison life he wanted. Moreover, his not handsome face was tattooed with a conspicuous mark—the prisoner's tattoo. Since then, he has also had a new nickname - Tubu.

He was probably the happiest prisoner in history. The prisoners who were held in the same warehouse as Dubu might have been frightened by him - how could there be such a strange person, who was so happy to be in prison, he must be a madman.

He uses prison as the best social platform, and he tries his best to make friends with the most vicious and vicious inmates in the prison. They stay together all day and study how to commit crimes. They secretly left their contact information, and agreed that after they were released from prison, they would make a big deal.

Subsequently, he was sent to Lishan to serve his sentence, and his daily task was to build the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, where hundreds of thousands of prisoners were already held. If it were someone else, he would definitely be frightened by the bitterness in front of him and cry bitterly, lamenting his ill-fated fate. But on the contrary, he felt extremely excited, as if his eyes were open to the world. In the eyes of Duo Bu, there are many capable people in society here, and those who can be imprisoned here are some murderers with serious crimes. Usually I can't find contact information if I want to get to know them, but now it's good, I don't need to send invitations, it's all here. If there are business cards, he would like to send them one by one.

After being released from prison, he and his fellow inmates soon formed a professional criminal syndicate to rob homes and houses. Upon hearing the news of Chen Sheng's rebellion, Dubu felt that the time had finally come, and he and his gang had gathered thousands of outlaws to begin their big deal.

Increasingly, he felt that the fortune teller's prophecy was accurate. It seems that the time has really come, and even the respected Pojun Wu Rui has thrown an olive branch to him. Wu Rui is a descendant of the royal family of the late Wu State, and after the country was broken, he fell to Poyi and settled, and was later elected as the Poyang County Commander of the Qin Dynasty. But Wu Rui's heart never regarded himself as a public official of the Qin Dynasty government, and he was always thinking about reviving the Wu state. In this anti-Qin wave, Wu Rui was the first Qin official to respond.

Wu Rui was willing to make friends with all anti-Qin people. He took a fancy to the black force of Tubu, so he couldn't wait to combine with it. Wu Rui gave his daughter as a meeting gift and promised to give it to Tu Bu. (In the eyes of politicians, wives and daughters are nothing more than pawns.) ）

After receiving Wu Rui's help, Duo Bu's power became more and more uncontrollable, and he immediately turned from an underworld member to an anti-Qin revolutionary righteous person. At this time, Duo Bu also heard about the prestige of the Xiang Group, so he led the team to surrender to the Xiang Group.

After surrendering, Duo Bu immediately showed his strength and made the first contribution in the battle to annihilate Jingju's camp. Later, it also became the most important backbone of the Xiang Group.

Although many forces came to surrender one after another, the Xiang group still felt that its prestige was not enough, after all, it was not an authentic child of the Chu royal family. Princes and generals do not have to be "kind", but the throne must be "kind". Almost all the anti-Qin forces respected the children of the late royal family as their leaders. Even the original Chen Sheng and Wu Guang had to be in the name of the prince Fusu.

The first to raise this major political issue was a 70-year-old staff officer in the Xiang clique. His name is Fan Zeng, and he has just come to join the Xiang Group.

Fan Zeng, a native of Juyan County, Lujiang County (now Tongcheng City, Anhui). He has experienced more than half a century of ups and downs, and is accustomed to the cruelty of the annexation war, the darkness and filth of the political arena, and the evil and conspiracy of human nature. He lived most of his life during the Warring States period, and the unification of the Qin Dynasty was only a very short part of his life.

After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, he has been studying at home, thinking that this is the end of his life. But he didn't expect the fireworks of war to burn again, and the dream in his heart was also rekindled. For the first 70 years of his life, he didn't have the opportunity to use his talents. He hopes to grasp the last moments of his life and create his own career.

"Time is running out for myself and I have to take my chances."

He took refuge in the most powerful Xiang group in Chu and became the most important strategist. Xiang Liang treated him with great courtesy, asked for his opinion on everything, and respected his opinion. Xiang Yu regarded him as his elder and honored him as "Father".

Fan Zeng's suggestion to the Xiang group at this time was that the descendants of the Chu royal family should be kings. With his rich life experience and profound reading experience, he analyzed the current revolutionary situation. He believes that the reason why Chen Sheng failed was because he did not establish the descendants of the Chu State as kings, but established himself as kings. He said that he had lived for more than half a century, and he had never seen such a strange thing, and that no monarch could set himself up as king. (Today, Chen Sheng's first matter, not standing on his own after Chu, his momentum is not long.) ）

"The state of Qin annexed the six countries, and the state of Chu was the most innocent. The Xiang family raised troops in Jiangdong, and the people of Chu rushed to join them, because they took a fancy to you as the descendants of the generals of the Chu State, and looked forward to your revival of the Chu State. Fan Zeng said as he spoke, and the green tendons on his face were exposed. Xiang Liang was really worried that he would faint on the ground because he was too emotional.

Fan Zeng threw out this major political issue at this time, and Xiang Liang certainly did not dare to make a rash decision. In the depths of Xiang Liang's heart, he was extremely reluctant to accept this decision. Because welcoming the descendants of the Chu royal family as kings will inevitably lead to the restriction of their own power and the restriction of everything. However, he did not know whether his prestige was enough.

As a result, Xiang Liang organized an internal high-level meeting in Xueyi to discuss the most urgent issue at the moment - whether it was necessary to support the descendants of the Chu royal family. Attending the meeting were the leaders of many camps such as Chen Ying, Duo Bu, and Liu Ji, who had recently taken refuge. But to Xiang Liang's surprise, they all agreed with Fan Zeng's opinion.

This makes Xiang Liang have to respect the opinion of the majority. After all, they are all powerful camps in their own group, and although they are currently under their command, they are actually not fully controlled by themselves. As Fan Zeng said, if he does not support a descendant of the Chu royal family in time, and when others do, it is likely that the people of Chu will compete to attach themselves to them, and another Jingju group will appear at that time.

In fact, it is very inappropriate to raise such a major political issue at this time. Because according to the current situation, although Xiang Liang's prestige is not enough to be called the king, he is already the most prestigious general in Chu, and the people of Chu have come to surrender is the best example. As long as the others do not appoint the descendants of the Chu State as kings, no one will be able to shake Xiang Liang's position. When someone raises the banner of the Chu royal family, it is not too late to make plans. As long as Xiang Liang accumulates enough military exploits, then he will have the prestige and ability to be the king. At that time, when this political issue is thrown, it is estimated that no one will agree to establish the descendants of the Chu royal family as kings, and the forces that support Xiang Liang to establish himself as king will become the mainstream.

At this time when his career was just starting, the introduction of a descendant of the Chu royal family meant that all future decisions would be made under his leadership, which would only increase his prestige and weaken his own authority, and there would be no way to control it at that time.

In the final analysis, Fan Zeng did not look at this problem from Xiang Liang's point of view, but from the perspective of Chu State. He thinks he is doing the public good, not the selfish.

Xiang Liang was helpless.

There is no way, now that the issue has been thrown, Xiang Liang has to react to this, and can only take one step at a time.

The question that should be considered now is, who will be appointed as the king of Chu?

Jingju is definitely impossible, they have already been annihilated. Moreover, Jingju's power has been cultivated, even if he is alive, it is impossible to set him up. If you want to do it, you must appoint a descendant who has no power and is in misery.

Luckily, they found the perfect fit. He is the grandson of King Chu Huai - Xiong Xin. Xiong Xin is the most authentic descendant of the Chu royal family, and the bloodline is definitely fine. What's more, Xiong Xin has no power, and he can't even solve his own food and clothing. After the collapse of the country, Xiong Xin fell to the people and became a herdsman, living by herding sheep. Accompanied by the sheep all day long, he seems to have forgotten the glory of the past, and thought that he would live like this for the rest of his life.

But I didn't expect that the world was unpredictable, the dawn reappeared, and I became the king of the Chu people again.

Finally, I have to say that in the team that defected to the Xiang Group, there was a lonely figure. He also wanted to join Xiang Liang's command, hoping to make a difference. He thought that he was so capable and talented that he would be able to perform miracles.

He hailed himself as the god of war.

However, in the end, he was not reused by the Xiang group, and only obtained a lowly position in Langzhong, that is, an ordinary retinue in the army. This fell far short of his expectations. He worked hard to show himself and took the lead in the barracks, but he failed to attract the attention of the top management of the Xiang Group. There's no way, everyone else is coming with tens of millions of troops, and you want to be the leader of the group single-handedly.

This lonely lonely figure is named Han Xin.