My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 71 Rough and Tough
Xiang Chang was kneeling at the table, smiling as he watched his father chatting with the high-ranking generals and ministers of the Great Chu. Suddenly, the General of the Rear Army, Qu Fu, hurried over, bent down and whispered something in his ear.

Xiang Chang frowned and his face darkened. Seeing that the generals and ministers were chatting and laughing happily with his father and no one was paying attention to him, he quietly got up and left the table, returning to Gaixia City.

Ding Gu, who came from a noble family of the Great Chu, held the position of General of the Central Army and was the uncle of the current Right General Ji Bu, stared at the breakfast brought by the soldiers with wide eyes and a look of disbelief.

"I am a great Lieutenant General, and you want me to eat such coarse food that even pigs and dogs wouldn't eat? Asshole! Who arranged this? I'm going to chop him up!"

Considering Ding Gu's family background and his current military position, it is no exaggeration to say that he is in a high position of power. In the past, his diet was Diaohu rice and Lukui soup, which were exclusively provided for the generals of the Great Chu. Deer meat, mutton and chicken were indispensable. But now, what was placed in front of him was a bowl of smelly salted fish soup, a bowl of brown rice mixed with rice and millet, and a few black pieces of unknown roasted meat on wooden sticks. How could he not be angry?
Especially when he heard that this was not only today's diet but would be like this every day in the future, Ding Gu thought he was being targeted and became furious.

"This is the king's military order! From the king down, all generals will eat these twice a day from now on, without any special exceptions. The king is hosting a banquet today, and all generals will eat these as well." The soldier reported carefully with his hands down.

"How can the great Chu treat its generals who have fought bravely and risked their lives so harshly? Could such food and drink buy the generals' lives?" Ding Gu said angrily, and then slammed the table. "It's ok that the food and drink are so crude, but where's the wine? Why isn't there a bottle of wine?"

"The king has also issued a ban on alcohol. All generals in the military camp are not allowed to drink alcohol until Liu Bang is defeated."

"What kind of bullshit military order is this? Liu Bang's army didn't ban alcohol, and they still defeated the Chu army. I've never heard that banning alcohol can lead to victory. The food is crude, and there is no wine. What's the point of fighting? Just disband and go home. Humph, no, I'm determined to drink this wine today. Don't we still have a lot of it in the kitchen of the right army? Bring me a can."

"No, no more! They were all taken away by General Xiang Xi, who was sent by General Xiang Chang." The soldier stuttered in a low voice.

"That wine was looted by our Right Army after they entered Gaixia City. It was the private property of the Right Army! What right did he have to take it away? Xiang Xi was born a lowly person, but was given the surname Xiang by Master Xiang Chang. Now he is using chicken feathers as a token of authority. How arrogant! Where did he store the looted wine?"

Ding Gu rushed out of the tent. His attendant led the horse over, and he jumped on it. With a whip, he galloped towards the center of Gaixia City with his guards. Soon they arrived at a row of rough and spacious houses built with huge stones.

The poor food was not enough to annoy Ding Gu to such an extent. What really made him angry was that he was born into a noble family of the Great Chu, and had followed the Overlord through life and death, and had fought bloody battles for many years, but he was still only a Lieutenant Colonel. In comparison, that bastard Hei Shi, who was born into a peasant family, was promoted from a low-level officer to a Lieutenant Colonel in just a few days, and was equal to him!
Is there still justice in this world? Is there still law in this world?
The most infuriating thing is that he was actually allowed to attend today's banquet! A noble like him was excluded. How can people not be angry when such a piece of shit gets such an honor? It's so unfair.

This large stone building is where the Chu army's military supplies warehouse is located. Food, weapons, armor, uniforms, etc. are all stored here. The reason why they are stored in the stone building is to prevent fire.

The fine wine that had just been collected from the entire Chu army was also stored here.

Rushing to one of the warehouses, Ding Gu waved his hand with a cold face, and the guards behind him rushed forward, pushed the screaming guard aside, and then rushed into the warehouse to carry out more than a dozen large jars of wine, two people carrying one, and turned around and left.

Coming and going like the wind, quick and decisive, precise in attack, tyrannical and overbearing!
In fact, it is no wonder that Ding Gu has such a rough and tough style. The Ding family, from which he was born, was a noble family of the old Chu State. Together with his nephew Ji Bu's Ji family, they were a force that could not be underestimated and could even be called a decisive political force even in the central court of the Western Chu Empire.

The Ding and Ji families actually controlled more than a dozen cities in the Great Chu. It was no exaggeration to call them powerful local tyrants. During the war between the King of Western Chu and the Han camp, they delivered a large number of soldiers, food, weapons, and equipment. Therefore, for these powerful noble families with their own territories and armed forces, the Great Chu Empire nominally belonged to the King of Western Chu, but in fact, their families also had a share.

So, what's wrong with him going into the storehouse to take a few jars of wine? Everything is his own!

This was also the reason why he had the confidence to criticize the Overlord’s military order just now.

Of course, this was from his perspective. For the generals guarding the warehouse, it was another matter.

"Stop! You dare to rob the military supply warehouse? Military law can't punish you? Who gave you the courage!" Xiang Xi, who was busy in a warehouse nearby with a silly look on his face, ran out after receiving the report from the soldiers, tilted his head, blew his beard and glared, and cursed.

Ding Gu saw that this guy was dressed in the same attire as himself, so he didn't dare to act rashly. The guard came over and whispered a few words to him. Then he knew that he was Xiang Xi, a lowly general from the Zhou Yin army. When Xiang Chang lobbied Zhou Yin, he joined Xiang Chang and was promoted to the position of Zhonglang General. He immediately felt sick. He didn't even bother to look at him, as if talking to him would lower his status. He pretended not to hear him, urged his horse and rode away.

Xiang Xi was also stunned. Seeing these guys robbing the wine and running away, even robbers were not so arrogant. Without saying a word, he stepped forward and grabbed Ding Gu's mount.

"A good dog doesn't block the road, get out of here!" Ding Gu glared, unable to suppress the anger in his heart any longer. He felt that the dark and stubborn face in front of him was extremely disgusting. He raised his hand and whipped the dog on the head unconsciously.

With a "click" sound, a glaring and vivid bloodstain appeared on Xiang Xi's face.

Ding Gu was being very polite because he was the newly promoted General of the Central Army. In the past, if a lowly person dared to speak to him like that, he would have been whipped to pieces.

"What a jerk! He even started to beat me up."

Xiang Xi's eyes widened. He was a stubborn man to begin with, so how could he tolerate such an insult? He grabbed Ding Gu's armor and clamped his arm around the neck of Ding Gu's warhorse. His muscles throbbed violently and he exerted all his strength. With a loud "bang", he knocked Ding Gu and the warhorse under him to the ground, smashing them heavily. Dust flew up in the air.

Ding Gu was caught off guard and was knocked unconscious. With the help of the guards who rushed over in a hurry, he climbed up in a miserable state.

At this time, all the officers and soldiers around were alarmed and gathered around. They saw that two powerful generals were fighting. They didn't know what was going on and were afraid of being splashed with blood. For the sake of caution, they didn't dare to get close. They stood at a distance, stretched their heads to look, pointing and muttering something.

Ding Gu was so angry that he lost such a big man in public. His face turned pale and he shouted at the guards: "This beast dared to attack me, arrest him!"

The guards put down their wine jars and rushed forward to surround Xiang Xi.

Xiang Xi's subordinates, including the soldiers guarding the warehouse, were timid and did not dare to step forward.

Xiang Xi was promoted from the bottom to the position of leader of a thousand soldiers entirely by virtue of his military achievements in bloody battles. The reason why he entered the Zhou Yin military camp as a cavalry Sima was also because Zhou Yin promoted him because of his bravery in battle.

He faced dozens of Ding Gu's guards alone, and he was not afraid. He knew that he had no armor, no warhorse, and no weapons, and he could not defeat so many of them with his bare hands. However, he had only one thought in his mind: the general had appointed him to guard the storehouse, so no one could take the things in the storehouse without the order of the Overlord and the general!
Xiang Xi was like a vigorous dragon, charging left and right, punching and kicking, extremely brave. The guards paid the price of five or six of them being knocked down before they managed to restrain him and pin him to the ground.

"Okay, okay, you beast, you really have some brute force! You want wine, right? Then I'll give it to you, and you can drink as much as you want!" Ding Gu became even more furious, and ordered the guards decisively: "Fill me with wine!"

The guards were also very annoyed. When they heard Ding Gu's order, they thought it was exactly what they wanted. They pressed the man's hands and feet, strangled his neck, and then one guard forced his mouth open, while another guard picked up a jar of wine with a grim smile and poured it down at the man.

Xiang Xi struggled desperately and cursed non-stop. Born in a commoner family, he had a stubborn temper since childhood and had no idea what it meant to surrender or beg for mercy.

Ding Gu became even angrier. He was not satisfied after pouring one can, so he poured five or six cans in a row. Xiang Xi choked and drank, his stomach swelled, and he was exhausted and collapsed on the ground like mud. His whole body was dripping with wine and he was completely soaked, like a drowned chicken.

"You lowly beast, don't think you can do anything just because you are a General of the Imperial Guard. In front of us nobles, you will always be a lowly slave. Remember your identity. If you dare to be so rude again, I, Ding Gu, will teach you a lesson every minute."

Ding Gu raised his head and laughed "Hahahaha", feeling extremely happy. He then glanced with contempt at the soldiers guarding the warehouse who were cowering and watching, as well as Xiang Xi's attendants and guards, and then he rushed away surrounded by the guards carrying the remaining wine.

(End of this chapter)