"Back in Pengcheng, I promised that if the King of Han conquered Guanzhong, I would enfeoff you as the King of Guanzhong. However, the Guanzhong region is of great importance. If I were to grant all of it to the King of Han, it would surely displease the other feudal lords."
Roy spoke slowly. Although he had no interest in ruling the realm himself—only wanting Liu Ji to establish the Han Dynasty as history dictated—some things couldn't be rushed. To contend for the empire required not just military strength but also legitimacy. A throne seized improperly might last only two generations before collapsing. What Roy was offering now was precisely that legitimacy.
'Here it comes!'
Zhang Liang's heart stirred, thinking Roy was finally showing his true colors, seeking to take back the Guanzhong lands that rightfully belonged to the King of Han under some pretext.
He glanced at Liu Ji, silently hoping the King of Han would keep his composure and not provoke the Overlord of Western Chu at this critical juncture. For Liu Ji, retreating a step now would mean broader horizons ahead.
Liu Ji, however, lacked Zhang Liang's overthinking. She simply smiled warmly, her eyes shimmering with affection as she gazed at Roy, waiting to see how he would arrange things for her.
"King Yong, Zhang Han, surrendered with the Qin army and has rendered great service! As a native of Guanzhong, he yearns for his homeland. I propose dividing Guanzhong into two halves, to be ruled separately by the King of Han and King Yong. To compensate the King of Han, I'm willing to grant the lands of Ba and Shu as additional fiefdoms. What does the King of Han think?"
As Roy finished speaking, Zhang Liang was utterly stunned.
Not because the proposal was terrifying, but because it seemed incredibly foolish from Roy's perspective!
On the surface, dividing Guanzhong between two rulers and using Zhang Han to contain Liu Ji might have worked—if this were the Zhang Han of old, who might even have found opportunities to eliminate Liu Ji. But the current Zhang Han was incapable of such feats. Roy was essentially handing Guanzhong to the King of Han in another form.
Was the Overlord of Western Chu truly this stupid? Zhang Liang's mind raced through Roy's actions since rising in rebellion—seemingly reckless, yet every decision was calculated, always bringing him immense benefits. He was no fool; on the contrary, he was exceptionally shrewd.
So why would he make such an inexplicable decision now?
Zhang Liang was intelligent, a true strategist. After brief reflection, he realized his earlier wariness might have been misplaced. The relationship between the Overlord and the King of Han was far more complex than he'd imagined. Recalling how Xiao He always glossed over discussions about the two, he now understood his own misjudgment stemmed from incomplete information.
Though proud, Zhang Liang was humble enough to recognize flawed reasoning. Once aware his assumptions were wrong, he stopped overthinking and offering unsolicited advice, instead quietly observing the dynamic between the Overlord and the King of Han.
The more he watched, the stranger it seemed. This didn't resemble negotiations between rival warlords, but rather an intimate conversation between two close companions—especially with the way the King of Han was gazing at Roy, like a lovestruck maiden!
Liu Ji was no fool either. From Roy's simple statement, she immediately grasped his intentions.
And at last, she understood why Roy had previously orchestrated the massacre of those three hundred thousand Qin soldiers.
Those three hundred thousand were the elite of Qin, mostly from the Guanzhong region. These sons of Guanzhong had been led by Zhang Han to suppress the rebellious lords, yet not a single one returned. It could be said that Zhang Han was now universally despised in Guanzhong, blamed for the deaths of their husbands and sons.
Dividing the governance of Guanzhong between Zhang Han and Liu Ji, splitting it in two—one was the sworn enemy who had killed their sons and husbands, the other was the benevolent King of Han who had liberated them from the tyranny of Qin, enforcing the Three Articles of Law without taking a single coin from the people. The contrast between the two was stark.
Moreover, Liu Ji now commanded over a hundred thousand strong soldiers, while Zhang Han had nothing left under his command. It could be said that the entire Guanzhong region was effectively under Liu Ji's control.
Once the time was right, she could kill Zhang Han, rally the people of Guanzhong to her cause, and with Roy's earlier promise that whoever entered Guanzhong would become its king—a promise he had "broken"—she even had the perfect justification for rebellion.
Thus, the King of Han could seize the strategic advantage of Guanzhong and Bashu, replicating Qin's conquest of the six states to eliminate all rival lords, legitimizing her claim to the throne. It was this legitimacy that would allow her to establish an empire lasting a thousand years!
If the Qianlong Emperor's greatest legacy to Jiaqing was Heshen, then Roy's greatest gift to Liu Ji was this "legitimacy." The Yong King Zhang Han was the trigger left for the King of Han to raise her banner in revolt.
'What exactly are you trying to do? I must find out today.'
Liu Ji remained unmoved by Roy's machinations. What she wanted to know now was why he had done all this—why he had gone to such lengths to hand her the empire.
This was the question that haunted her day and night, leaving her restless.
She felt that here at Hongmen might be her best chance to uncover Roy's true intentions. If she missed this opportunity, she had a premonition that she might never learn from Roy's lips what he truly sought.
'Liu Ji, oh Liu Ji, you're becoming less and less like yourself.'
Liu Ji sighed inwardly, reflecting on how the past few years felt like a lifetime ago.
She was no longer the lazy troublemaker from the streets of Pei County, idling away her days as a petty village official. Now, she carried the weight of a nation in her heart, the concept of the world itself.
She was no longer the rogue who pretended to be a man but had gradually rediscovered the delicate sensibilities of a woman. Had she known years ago that she might one day rule the world like the First Emperor, she would have laughed in her sleep. But now, compared to the allure of the empire, she found herself more desperate to understand the true thoughts of the man before her.
'Compared to this vast empire, in Ji's heart, it is you who I truly wish to possess.'
Liu Ji sighed again in silence.
Roy clapped his hands and laughed heartily at Liu Ji. "Since the King of Han mentioned beauties earlier, I shall have one perform a dance for you. It has been months since we last met, and I've missed you dearly. A single meal is far too short—why not stay at Hongmen tonight? We can talk by candlelight, share a bed, and recount our time apart. I, too, would like to hear of your journey from Pengcheng to Guanzhong."
Liu Ji was taken aback at first, then immediately flushed with embarrassment. The phrase "talk by candlelight and sleep side by side" had led her thoughts astray, yet her heart swelled with nothing but joy.
Suppressing her excitement to avoid revealing too much, she maintained a composed demeanor and said, "...Since that is the case, how could Ji dare refuse?"
Zhang Liang remained silent now. He was somewhat baffled by the relationship between these two. Had it been before, he would have surely signaled the King of Han with his eyes, urging him not to agree—staying overnight in the Chu army's camp would be like placing one's life in another's hands.
But now, Zhang Liang had only one thought: Since you two wish to have a heart-to-heart talk, then embrace each other and chat slowly through the night!