Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Chapter 13: Further Training

"Really?" Liu Bang sat up abruptly, his eyes wide, staring at Liu Ying. He then slapped his right cheek with his right hand and laughed self-deprecatingly, "How foolish of me to believe the nonsense of a mere child!"

"Good!" Xiahou Ying was initially full of hope, but then disbelieving and agreed with Liu Bang's words.

"I'm telling the truth, and you don't believe me." Liu Ying was speechless.

Liu Bang lay back down, looking down at Liu Ying with disdain: "I started my rebellion in Pei, and have roamed the world for years, experiencing countless battles. Even I couldn't solve it, so how could you?"

"Good!" Xiahou Ying echoed.

They would believe it if you said Liu Ying was skilled at archery, but they would absolutely not believe it if you said Liu Ying had a way to hold off Xiang Yu.

"I really have a way!" Liu Ying patted her small chest with her right hand.

"Hehe! Then tell me, what's the plan?" Liu Bang's mouth was practically stretched to his ears.

Xiahou Ying shook his head, not wanting to ask anymore.

"Let Ying Bu rebel against Xiang Yu," Liu Ying suggested.

"Haha!" Liu Bang laughed wildly, his laughter full of mockery.

"Hehe." Xiahou Ying shook his head fiercely.

"Tell me," Liu Ying pressed, "if Ying Bu rebels, can he hold off Xiang Yu?"

"Ying Bu does dirty work and shady dealings for Xiang Yu, which is why Xiang Yu trusts him so much and considers him a confidant. He even enfeoffed him in Jiujiang Commandery as his eastern bulwark. If Ying Bu were to rebel, it would be like stabbing Xiang Yu in the stomach. No matter how much Xiang Yu hates me or how much he wants to destroy me, he will stop and go to quell Ying Bu." Liu Bang's face was filled with undisguised sarcasm: "The problem is, Ying Bu is unlikely to rebel against Xiang Yu."

"Excellent!" Xiahou Ying echoed, looking at Liu Ying: "Liu Ying, you don't know this, Ying Bu not only did dirty work for King Xiang, but he's also very capable in battle, the most meritorious among King Xiang's generals. How could such a trusted confidant betray King Xiang?"

"This is the only way to hold Xiang Yu back," Liu Ying said.

"That may be true, but if even a mere postmaster doesn't think highly of me, how can a hero like Ying Bu be expected to serve me?" Liu Bang shook his head: "Ying Bu has absolutely no reason to submit to me; let's not discuss this matter further!"

"Good!" Xiahou Ying agreed.

"If Ying Bu is unwilling to submit to you, you can force him to rebel," Liu Ying said, making a startling statement.

"Force them to rebel?" Liu Bang's eyes lit up. He sat up again, opened his eyes wide, looked at Liu Ying, and asked, "How do we force them?"

"Force them to rebel? Impossible!" Xiahou Ying didn't believe it at all.

"Didn't you also say that Tian Rong rebelled in Qi, and Xiang Yu ordered Ying Bu to join the army? Ying Bu pretended to be sick and refused to go, which displeased Xiang Yu and caused a rift between them. If Xiang Yu knew that Ying Bu was flirting with us, what would he think?" Liu Ying asked Liu Bang.

"It's not feasible." Xiahou Ying shook his head: "Even if Xiang Yu wanted to deal with Ying Bu, Fan Zeng would stop him. Fan Zeng is Xiang Yu's mentor, he's resourceful and wise, he'll definitely see through it."

"Then let's find a way to make it impossible for Fan Zeng to stop it," Liu Ying said again.

"You're so young, don't think such things. There aren't that many solutions." Xiahou Ying was not optimistic at all.

"Great! Excellent!" Liu Bang jumped up from the couch, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "There really is a way to accomplish this!"

"Uh..." Xiahou Ying looked at Liu Bang, quite dissatisfied: "Liu Ji, Liu Ying is just talking nonsense at such a young age. How old are you? How dare you believe him?"

"I have a way! I have a way! I have a way!" Liu Bang clapped his hands repeatedly, saying it three times.

"Is there really a way?" Xiahou Ying asked in disbelief.

"It's true!" Liu Bang jumped off the couch, not even bothering to put on his boots, and hopped around barefoot on the ground, extremely excited: "Xiang Yu will definitely send someone to recruit soldiers from Ying Bu in order to attack me this time. Knowing Ying Bu as I do, he will definitely drag his feet and refuse to give them to me, which gives me an opportunity."

"What opportunity?" Xiahou Ying didn't understand.

"If the Chu envoy dies on Ying Bu's territory, Ying Bu will have no choice but to rebel!" Liu Ying blurted out.

"This..." Xiahou Ying's face was full of disbelief, then he was overjoyed: "If that's really the case, Ying Bu will definitely rebel! If Ying Bu rebels, King Xiang will be tied down! As long as King Xiang is tied down, we will have a chance to catch our breath, take the opportunity to gather our defeated troops, mobilize reinforcements, prepare provisions, and set up defenses. By the time King Xiang quells Ying Bu's rebellion and leads his army to attack, we will have already regrouped and stabilized our position."

Ying Bu was the King of Jiujiang Commandery, with the capital at Liu. His fiefdom was Jiujiang Commandery, which is the area from Lu'an in modern Anhui Province to Jiujiang City in Jiangxi Province, right in the heart of Xiang Yu's fiefdom.

If Ying Bu rebelled, Xiang Yu had to quell the rebellion, otherwise he would be unable to launch a westward attack on Liu Bang.

In this way, Liu Bang could buy himself extremely valuable time.

With this time, Liu Bang could recover, gather his defeated troops, mobilize reinforcements, prepare provisions, regroup, and stabilize his position.

By the time Xiang Yu had pacified Ying Bu and led his army to attack, Liu Bang had already passed his weakest stage and was fully capable of fighting Xiang Yu.

"This matter concerns life and death, and requires a capable person who is both brave and resourceful. Who do you intend to send?" Liu Ying asked Liu Bang.

"Chen Ping!" Xiahou Ying blurted out.

"Chen Ping!" Liu Bang exclaimed without hesitation.

Chen Ping was an exceptionally brilliant strategist who devised six ingenious plans throughout his life, making unparalleled contributions to the establishment of the Han Dynasty. In terms of strategy, he was no less capable than Zhang Liang. However, he served Liu Bang for a shorter period, not as early as Zhang Liang, and therefore his achievements were less significant.

"Where is Chen Ping?" Liu Ying had no objection to this choice.

If a strategist of equal caliber to Zhang Liang were to undertake this task, the chances of success would be extremely high.

"This..." Liu Bang was stunned: "I will send someone to find him."

After the defeat at Pengcheng, Chen Ping was also being hunted down and his whereabouts were unknown. Finding him would probably be difficult. Liu Ying reminded him, "This matter must be handled quickly. If we miss the opportunity, we will not succeed."

"I understand." Liu Bang was very excited: "Chen Ping was originally a general under Xiang Yu. Because I attacked Sima Ang, Chen Ping was implicated and had no choice but to abandon Chu and join me. He is very knowledgeable about the affairs of Chu. If he takes charge, we will surely succeed."

Chen Ping was originally a general under Xiang Yu. When Sima Ang, the King of Yin, rebelled against Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu ordered him to lead troops to quell the rebellion, which he successfully accomplished. Later, Liu Bang conquered Yin, and Xiang Yu was furious, believing that Chen Ping had failed in his duties, and wanted to kill him.

Chen Ping was frightened and fled the State of Chu to join Liu Bang.

Because of his exceptional talent and ingenious strategies, he was highly trusted by Liu Bang and regarded as a strategist second only to Zhang Liang.

"Furthermore, Chen Ping is skilled in intrigue and trickery. Forcing Ying Bu to rebel is one of Chen Ping's specialties." Xiahou Ying praised Chen Ping highly.

Chen Ping and Zhang Liang were Liu Bang's two most important strategists, and the two were a perfectly coordinated pair.

Zhang Liang was skilled in open strategies, and most of the plans he used in his life were open strategies, making people know that he was digging a pit, but they still had no choice but to jump into the pit.

Chen Ping is skilled in intrigue; scheming and trickery are his forte, making him difficult to guard against.

His two most famous schemes were: first, sowing discord between Xiang Yu and his son Fan Zeng, successfully getting Xiang Yu to drive Fan Zeng away; and second, the siege of Pingcheng, where he used the pretext of offering beautiful women from the Central Plains to persuade the Empress Dowager to convince Modu Chanyu to grant him a way out, allowing Liu Bang to escape.

The plot to force Ying Bu into rebellion was rife with intrigue and scheming, and it was the perfect opportunity for Chen Ping to demonstrate his abilities.

"Haha!" With things taking a turn for the better, Liu Bang was in high spirits. He patted his chest and boasted, "That mere Xiang Yu dares to dream of destroying me? I only have one plan, and it will surely prevent him from advancing westward immediately. Tell me, am I brilliant?"

"Tch!" Liu Ying rolled her eyes.

"Liu Ji, have some decency!" Xiahou Ying ruthlessly exposed, "Who was it just now who was crying their eyes out, completely helpless?"

"Who's crying? Tell him to come out, and I'll embarrass him to death!" Liu Bang said without batting an eye.

Such shamelessness was truly overwhelming, and Xiahou Ying was forced to retreat.

Liu Ying rolled his eyes at Liu Bang and ignored him.