Conqueror Chapter 18

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Xiang Yu waited quietly for his response. Lü Bu, who had two… no, four eyes steadily staring at him, managed to suppress his shock and forced his brain to move quickly.

Damn, why am I so unlucky? he mourned. Since travelling to three hundred years in the past, he had to constantly search his guts and rack his brains in order to safely pass his trials.

He had been doing well these few days, why did this brainless overlord throw him a hot potato again?

Lü Bu was full of grief and indignation — in this short month’s time, why did he have to use his brain so much?

The thought he put into Xiang Yu’s affairs almost surpassed the sum he spent in his entire life!

With a crisis imminent, his mind whirled even as his face remained steady. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him like lightning, revealing everything to him.

His expression turned serious and his voice lowered as, instead of answering, he asked solemnly, “May I ask Your Excellency why you would abandon the fertile lands of Guanzhong in favour of returning to Pengcheng?”

As its name suggested, Guanzhong was a land surrounded by mountains with few paths through:¹Guanzhong consists of the words 关中 (guān zhōng), which together literally means ‘within the [mountain] passes’ Hangu Pass in the east, Wu Pass in the south, Dasan Pass in the west, and Xiao Pass in the north. With such terrain, even someone who had no knowledge of the art of war could easily see that it was a precious land that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In terms of military facilities, the former Qin dynasty built a solid foundation here; in terms of leisure, one only needed to look at the magnificent palaces built during Qin Shi Huang’s time.

Then look at Chu’s capital city, Pengcheng. It was surrounded by plains on all sides, and there was nowhere to build defences. With Guanzhong as an example right there, how could it be suitable to be a capital for the hegemon-king?

Lü Bu had only pondered for a short while and already thought up several tactics on how to restrain and harass any defenders within the city, as well as weaknesses to attack.

Xiang Yu lightly closed his eyes. “After being away for so many years, all the soldiers of Chu must miss their hometowns,” he replied in a deep voice.

No matter how magnificent or luxurious this Qin Palace was, it had all been built on a pile of human flesh and bones. No one from the six former kingdoms didn’t hate the Qin to their bones, how could they bear to live here? How could these dead, lifeless things be worth it? It could never compare to the longing wanderers had for their hometown.

As long as they took the objects away and set the palaces ablaze, they could return home in style.

Xiang Yu’s demeanour was profound, and as he said this, his figure was elongated by the sun, making it even more radiant.

Unfortunately, the only one present — Lü Bu — didn’t believe a word of it.

Bullshit!

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he mentally slandered this brainless king who only knew how to say beautiful but useless things.

He might have believed it, if he hadn’t remembered a sentence in the history books — this man was the one who personally said, “If you do not return to your hometowns when you obtain wealth and honour, it would be as if you wore brocade at night. Who would know of it?”²Refers to the idiom 锦衣夜行; when Xiang Yu wanted to return to Pengcheng, he said the above with the implication of showing off his success and killed the advisor who tried to persuade him to stay in Xianyang. Paradoxically, it now has a more positive connotation instead, i.e. exhorting people to be vigilant and keep a low profile in the face of success …Bah! He was so smart, how could he ever be deceived by such flimsy words?

But having said that, Lü Bu — aware of the man’s little thoughts of showing off with his tail raised — also knew that this truth could not be spoken.

However, during the short moment when he was silent, the usually quite slow Xiang Yu noticed something and took the initiative to ask, “What is Fengxian thinking of?”
I’m thinking that you’re an idiot! Lü Bu cursed secretly in his heart, but with a mischievous grin on his lips, he said something that directly pierced Xiang Yu’s heart. “Is it because of the incident in Xin’an that Your Excellency refuses to stay?”

As soon as these words came out, Xiang Yu’s pupils instantly shrank!

Because of the uncontrollable threat of rebellion, the lack of supplies, and having few loyal soldiers on hand, he ordered two hundred thousand Qin soldiers to be killed and buried at Xin’an.

Although he had been forced to do so, the blood debts still laid on his shoulders. Not only did he bear the infamy of having killed countless men, making it hard to do many things, it also made it difficult for him to stay in the former capital of the Qin, where many here hated him to the bone.

Seeing Xiang Yu’s expression suddenly change but still remaining silent, Lü Bu knew that he had hit the mark and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

…It was fortunate that he had always felt that Xiang Yu’s decisions were quite similar to that of his fledgling self, so he followed his own thoughts when he guessed, and he really got it right.

Upon confirming his conjecture, Lü Bu’s confidence completely returned. “Your Excellency conferred the title of King of Yong upon Zhang Han, was it in order to use Qin to rule Qin?” he asked.

“Not bad,” Xiang Yu said as he looked at Lü Bu with a complicated expression.

“The people of Qin hate Your Excellency for being cruel but they despise Zhang Han for his brutality more,” Lü Bu said bluntly. “The people’s hearts have long become exhausted. I fear that it will only take three days for him to become insignificant!” And three months to be buried!

Lü Bu had personally experienced the people’s strong support, it was an unforgettable memory.

Nothing would happen when the result was still in question, but once the chaos calmed, it would become a sharp blade hanging above their heads.

Back then, he and that old man Wang Yun were settled nicely in Chang’an; Wang Yun, the Excellency over the Masses,³司徒 (sītú) was one of the three most important official posts during the Han/Three Kingdoms period, which together were referred to as the Three Excellencies had his prestige in court and he had his unparalleled martial vigour, but in the end, they were somehow defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si’s tattered, half-baked army who were equipped with broken copper and rusted iron and hardly had any real soldiers among them.

Although he did lack troops, the main reason was that old man Wang Yun beheaded Cai Yong for trivial reasons. He neither did good things nor ordered others to do good things, so he lost the hearts of the people and gave Li Jue and Guo Si, those two mad dogs, an opportunity to bite.

Xiang Yu was noncommittal. After a while, he asked, “Then how does Fengxian think the land should be divided?”

If Fan Zeng heard this, he would surely be shocked, because Xiang Yu was very stubborn. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not listen to anyone who didn’t have the surname Xiang.

Even he, whom Xiang Yu politely called ‘Yafu’, was usually only listened to and not obeyed.

Who knew that there would be a time when Xiang Yu personally asked a general for their opinion?!

The one who was granted this honour had no idea how valuable it was. When Xiang Yu asked him, he slyly revealed his true thoughts. “Zhang Han is experienced as a minister and quite capable, but he is not suitable to rule the Qin as the King of Yong. Your Excellency, why don’t you give him a marshal’s rank and keep him with you? I think he would be willing.”

Zhang Han had surrendered to Chu, and had no way out because his soldiers were part of those who were buried alive. He could only rely on Xiang Yu. For him, it would be more reassuring to serve as a high-ranking Chu official next to Xiang Yu than to rule over the Qin people who all hated him.

Xiang Yu had no idea that he had already been roped into Lü Bu’s conspiracy.

It was also due to his high self-esteem and the power of the Chu army as it swept the world that he never imagined that there would be someone who looked down on being a left marshal.

Upon hearing Lü Bu’s words, he pondered for a moment and felt that it did make some sense. Then he actually followed the topic and continued to ask, “Then in Fengxian’s opinion, who should be given control over the Qin capital?”

Yes! He’s hooked!

Lü Bu, suppressing his joy, immediately let a stream of sweet flattery flow out of his mouth, fully showcasing his ability to kneel which he used to great effect during his time with Dong Zhuo. “The capital of the former Qin dynasty is a land surrounded by four fortresses and possesses untold wealth; for such an important place, how can it be handed over to just anyone? The only one who can suppress the draconic power of this place is none other than you, Your Excellency.”

Xiang Yu couldn’t help frowning when he heard him repeat this old argument. “Inappropriate,” he stated concisely.

Although Lü Bu received a blatant rejection, his expression remained unchanged.

It wasn’t strange that Xiang Yu objected. If he really could be so easily persuaded to abandon Pengcheng and move the capital to Xianyang, then the sky must be raining red!

However, whether Xiang Yu would foolishly return eastward and continue to use Pengcheng as the Chu capital, or suddenly realise that he should stay in Guanzhong, soften the people’s hearts, resolve their hatred, and slowly put down roots in this fertile land… what did it have to do with him, Lü Fengxian?

He didn’t care about the fate of the Chu kingdom, nor if it was weak to attack. He only knew that he needed to befuddle Xiang Yu into giving Zhang Han that useless Left Marshal position, which would naturally allow him to stay in Guanzhong. That was the important thing!

Lü Bu had his own ulterior motives. In order to make Xiang Yu less suspicious, he drew from everything he heard from Chen Gongtai’s nagging which he had never bothered to put into practice, and started talking nonsense. “Although the Xin’an people hold deep hatred, it can still be attributed to unavoidable losses due to military struggle. The former Qin dynasty themselves built their empire on violent conquests — life and death are uncertain once you step on the battlefield, and those who surrender thereby put their wealth and life in the hands of others,” he said. At this point, having inadvertently poked at his own sore spot, Lü Bu angrily gritted his teeth before continuing. “Even if they were killed, they could only count themselves unlucky… If I were a soldier’s family member, the person I would hate the most would be the Qin officials who recruited people randomly.”

Xiang Yu listened with rapt attention. Seeing Lü Bu suddenly stop, he couldn’t help but urge, “Keep talking.”

Haven’t heard enough?

Lü Bu had been saying whatever came to mind, he hadn’t thought that he would be forced to keep making things up. He was dumbfounded.

However, the hegemon-king was still staring at him with bright eyes. He could only drag out the time by taking a few sips of tea, all the while being urged by Xiang Yu’s shiny eyes, before bitterly continuing to spew bullshit. “…In conclusion, regarding Xin’an, it is not completely without room for manoeuvring. Instead of ignoring it or leaving things to the jurisdiction of others, it would be better for Your Excellency to personally come forward to appease the people of Qin. For example, exempting them from taxation and forced labour for a few years, doing them some small favours, and giving a few brib– gifts, to coax them into loyally assisting the new Chu officials and to guide the people’s thoughts. And the deceased soldiers’ families should also be accommodated. Regardless of whether they appreciate it or not, it would be enough to do it openly and generously.”

By the time Lü Bu dragged the topic here, he really couldn’t remember any more of what Chen Gongtai said, so he tactfully stopped before he began stuttering and took a secret glimpse at Xiang Yu’s face.

Fortunately, Xiang Yu had fallen into deep thought again. The attentive glimmer in his double pupil eyes drifted away, and he finally stopped making him prattle on.

As his eyes skimmed over the deep and handsome face which resembled a stone carving, Lü Bu couldn’t help complaining that this overlord was getting more and more difficult to serve. He let out a breath and drank a few more sips of water. That conversation was too long, too exhausting, his mouth was parched.

It’s just that he had departed too suddenly, the waterskin he brought was the small one he borrowed from Han Xin before. He had already drank from it before, so it didn’t take more than a few gulps before it became empty.

Lü Bu licked his still-dry lower lip, but couldn’t be bothered to search for a spring, so he just hung the empty waterskin back on his horse.

When he turned around again, he was almost hit in the face by a gold-trimmed, gem-embedded, obviously expensive waterskin that had silently been held out behind him at some point.

The owner of this waterskin was, of course, Xiang Yu.

Only after Lü Bu unconsciously took it did Xiang Yu expressionlessly withdraw his hand and flip onto his horse.

He lowered his head slightly, probably in order to not appear too condescending, as he spoke. “What Fengxian said just now does have some truth,” he frankly admitted in a light yet tactful tone.

What?

Lü Bu blanked out.

What truth?

Because he stood with his back towards the light and he was preoccupied with his thoughts, Xiang Yu did not notice his confusion and only continued slowly, “However, it is a very important matter, we still need to go back to the city and summon everyone to discuss it before making a decision… I will go first. Fengxian, after you’ve drank your fill, follow quickly.”

Lü Bu: “…………”

Translator:
I’ll be dropping this after c20, may pick it up again next year if no one else does before then. My next project is National Teacher Returns at Warp Speed by 素长天, planning to translate 22 chapters.

#1: It’s like the second to worst student tutoring the worst student

#2: And the point is he actually understood it lmao

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• 1
  Guanzhong consists of the words 关中 (guān zhōng), which together literally means ‘within the [mountain] passes’
• 2
  Refers to the idiom 锦衣夜行; when Xiang Yu wanted to return to Pengcheng, he said the above with the implication of showing off his success and killed the advisor who tried to persuade him to stay in Xianyang. Paradoxically, it now has a more positive connotation instead, i.e. exhorting people to be vigilant and keep a low profile in the face of success
• 3
  司徒 (sītú) was one of the three most important official posts during the Han/Three Kingdoms period, which together were referred to as the Three Excellencies