Hongluan thoughtfully covered Qingnu's ears.
Qingnu looked at Liu Bang with a face full of disdain and said, "You’re so jumpy. I gave you Wuguan Pass and Hangu Pass for nothing? You still can't beat Xiang Yu with all that?"
Liu Bang stared at Qingnu with wide eyes.
If it were just Xiang Yu alone, now that Liu Bang occupied the land of Qin, he might actually have stood a chance. But Xiang Yu wasn't alone!
Liu Bang informed Qingnu about the allied feudal lords. The old rogue made his position clear, spreading his hands to Qingnu. "Brother Qingnu, I won't lie to you. They have the numbers, and I only have a handful of men. I really can't win!"
The feudal lords of the six states wanted nothing more than to swallow the King of Qin alive. They were all waiting to get a piece of the pie after Qin was destroyed!
Now that Liu Bang had taken the prize, how could those fellows be satisfied?
"What should we do about this? You have to make a decision, brother!"
Liu Bang threw up his hands and gave up. Even though he had become a lord, the old rogue still behaved like a common street thug.
Zi Ying was also extremely anxious upon hearing this. He turned to look at Qingnu, wanting to call her 'Master,' but remembering her previous instructions not to use that title, he hesitated. After a long moment of stammering, he whispered, "Jade Maiden!"
Qingnu wriggled in Hongluan's arms, finding a comfortable position, and said casually, "This is simple. Let them into Hangu Pass, find a place to host a banquet, have a meeting, and divide what needs to be divided. Zhang Zifang, you are close with Xiang Bo; you handle this."
Hosting a banquet and holding a meeting had always been the most efficient methods.
Zhang Liang, who had been silent the whole time, was stunned. He looked up at Qingnu. How did she know he was close with Xiang Bo?
Liu Bang, of course, had absolute trust in Qingnu. He turned to Zhang Liang with a serious expression. "Zifang, I'm leaving this to you!"
Zhang Liang withdrew his gaze from Qingnu, straightened his posture, and cupped his hands to Liu Bang.
"Since it is the Duke of Pei's request, I will certainly see it done!"
With Zhang Liang and Xiang Bo mediating, combined with Liu Bang leading his men out of Xianyang overnight to station his army at Bashang, Xiang Yu and the other lords truly couldn't find any fault with him.
The allied army of hundreds of thousands surrounded Xianyang. Inside the Qin palace, Zi Ying and the court officials looked distressed. Their only hope now rested on Liu Bang and Qingnu!
The allied forces did not enter the city. Instead, Xiang Yu hosted a banquet at Hongmen, outside the walls of Xianyang, inviting all the feudal lords. Liu Bang received an invitation as well.
When he arrived at Hongmen with his men, he saw the gates of Xianyang slowly opening. Qingnu and Afang emerged, leading a small party of palace attendants toward the allied camp.
"Hey, Brother Qingnu!"
Seeing Qingnu, Liu Bang was no longer afraid of anything. Surely his brother wouldn't fail to save him!
What? You say Xiang Yu is also his brother? Sorry, Yours Truly has no such brother!
Qingnu ignored Liu Bang and turned to the bird-shaped Hongluan on her shoulder. "Sister Bird, why won't you come down and carry me? You're clearly taller than me!"
"Who says? How big is a bird? How can a bird carry a snake? Walk yourself, you stupid snake! This bird isn't carrying you."
Hongluan huffed and turned her head away.
Walking ahead of them, Afang heard their conversation and looked back. "Master, we are almost at the camp. Be careful."
The old rogue didn't know the meaning of embarrassment. His skin had grown thicker than a city wall during his decades as a hoodlum; he wasn't bothered in the least by being ignored. Liu Bang simply waved to the men behind him. "Let's go! We're going in too."
Inside the camp, Qingnu saw Han Xin. He was there, but he hadn't become the great general he desired; he was merely a halberd-bearing attendant.
When the feudal lords saw Qingnu and her group arrive, they burst into laughter. Some even openly mocked them.
"It seems the brutal Qin truly deserves to fall! Does the Qin court have no men left? They sent a few women here?"
"Women of the Qin palace, stand aside! There is no place for you here!"
Afang's expression remained unchanged. The poise she had cultivated from managing the inner palace for decades was not something these fallen nobles, who had merely taken advantage of the chaos to rise up, could compare to.
"The First Emperor followed the Mandate of Heaven and unified the world!"
"The Second Emperor was benevolent; he revised the Qin laws and granted amnesty to the world! He began anew with the people."
"If not for the three years of drought, I fear you gentlemen would not be calling yourselves kings and lords today."
With just a few sentences, Afang made the faces of the lords in the tent turn red with rage. They began to curse. "Presumptuous! What arrogance! Truly a servant of the brutal Qin—to dare speak such words even now!"
Afang remained undaunted. She said in a deep voice, "Qin has lost its empire; we acknowledge this! Our King has already agreed with the King of Guanzhong—we only want the land of Yongcheng. As for the rest of the territory, the lords may do as they please!"
At those words, Qingnu's eyebrows twitched, and she glanced sideways at Afang. Afang's confidence came from Qingnu, but that one sentence had instantly made Liu Bang the target of everyone's ire!
"What a 'King of Guanzhong'!"
"How dare that Liu Ji!"
People shouted in anger.
Xiang Yu slammed his palm onto the table. At that exact moment, Liu Bang walked in, followed by Fan Kuai and Zhang Liang.
The lords in the tent all turned to look. In the flickering shadows, Liu Bang’s countenance possessed an indescribable dragon-like aura.
Seeing Liu Bang enter, Xiang Yu shifted his hand from the table to pick up a wine cup. His voice was cold.
"Ah... is the King of Guanzhong here?"
Liu Bang shuddered and immediately bowed. "I would not dare!"
Xiang Yu watched Liu Bang's nervous expression and remained silent. Liu Bang felt a crushing weight of pressure and lowered his posture even further. As stated before, to an old rogue, pride was useless. He wanted his life!
"Sit down first."
After a long while, Xiang Yu finally waved his hand. Once Liu Bang was seated, Xiang Yu looked at Qingnu and Afang and ordered his men to provide two more tables for them.
No one dared to question Xiang Yu's command. It was just two more tables; they were here to divide the land of Qin—what could two women do?
The lords began arguing fiercely over every commandery, every county, and even every village.
The snake girl didn't like noisy places; she slumped on the table and narrowed her eyes. Liu Bang, who was already the target of everyone's resentment, didn't dare say much. He could only wait for the lords to take their share and hope they would spare a bit for him.
In the back-and-forth, Guanzhong was gone. Out of the entire land of Qin, he was only given Hanzhong and Ba-Shu!
Once the world had been mostly carved up, someone brought up the fate of the King of Qin and the Ying clan.
"They must be exterminated, root and branch!"
Xiang Yu's gaze was cold as he said in a low voice, "The brutal Qin destroyed states without mercy and ruined our ancestral temples. Do we intend to let them go today? I will wipe out the Qin imperial clan and utterly destroy Xianyang and Yongcheng! King of Han, what do you say?"
Liu Bang lowered his head. "I shall follow the Hegemon-King’s decision!"
Afang clenched her fists, and just as she was about to speak, she saw Qingnu reach out, draw the sword from the guard beside her, and plunge it into the table.
The action stunned everyone into silence. Even Xiang Yu frowned.
"It was already said that Qin only wants Yongcheng. Are you all deaf?"
Qingnu's gaze swept over the crowd. The sword had pierced through the table and driven deep into the ground. A pampered woman of the Qin palace should not have such strength!
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