The man returned to report, "There is a large snake blocking the road ahead. We should go back."
Liu Bang, drunk, said, "Brave men walk without fear!"
So he advanced to explore and indeed saw a snake.
At that time, the sky was dark and the earth was gloomy, with fierce winds and torrential rains, the four regions were silent and the heavens and earth were silent.
The great snake suddenly appeared, its body stretching over eight hundred li long, with its head and tail resembling mountains, eyes like copper bells, spewing flames from its mouth, and breathing in the rivers and mountains.
Liu Bang laughed.
He hadn't seen such a big snake in his life.
Is there really such a big snake in the mountains and rivers?
He stood with his sword, his expression unchanged, staring furiously, and was awe-inspiring.
Drink a pot of pure wine, step lightly and sneakily, swing the sword and decapitate.
The snake was cut into two halves, and the path was cleared.
The people behind him were all surprised. This big snake always appeared fierce and malevolent to anyone, but why did it not even resist when it saw Liu Bang?
Liu Bang had walked several li when he was drunk.
The people who came later didn't hear any noise and worried about Liu Bang's safety, so they went forward.
They saw an old woman crying at night on the road.
People asked her why she cried, and the old woman said, "Someone killed my son, so I cry."
People asked, "Why was your son killed?"
The old woman said, "My son is the son of the White Emperor, but he has transformed into a snake to block the road. Now he has been killed by the son of the Red Emperor, so I cry."
People thought the old woman was not honest and wanted to denounce her, but she suddenly disappeared.
The people behind caught up, and Liu Bang also woke up.
The people behind told Liu Bang this matter, and Liu Bang was secretly pleased and more confident.
"Isn't this exactly what heaven is telling me that I should go to inherit the heavenly command?"
The people who followed him grew more and more reverent towards him.
The sorcerer of Emperor Qin Shi Huang often said in his mouth that "there is the aura of a king in the southeast."
This is actually why Emperor Qin Shi Huang often traveled around; he wanted to suppress and find this aura.
Later, after searching many times without finding it, Qin Shi Huang thought it was just Master Zhao who had hidden here.
Han Xin also often disappeared in the mountains during his hunting activities. Lü Zhi and others often searched for him and could find him.
The Emperor felt puzzled and asked Lü Zhi.
Lü Zhi said, "Your place often has clouds in the sky, so following the clouds can lead you to find you."
Liu Bang felt happy in his heart, "These are all very auspicious signs!"
After hearing the news, many young men in Pei County wanted to attach themselves to the Marquis.
In the autumn of the first year of Qin Shi Huang, Chen Sheng and others rose up in Qi County and reached Chen County to become king, styling himself "Zhāng Chǔ."
Each county and district killed their local leaders to respond to Chen Sheng.
The county magistrate of Pei County became afraid and wanted Pei County to respond to Chen Sheng.
The county officials Xiao He and Cao Can proposed, "You are an official of the Qin Dynasty, and now you want to betray the Qin Dynasty. Leading the young people of Pei County, they may not listen to you. We suggest you gather those who have fled abroad, they can get hundreds of people, use them to threaten others, and others will dare not not listen."
The magistrate of Pei County was not a great evil person, very weak and changeable.
Upon hearing Xiao He and Cao Can's proposal, he thought it made sense, so he sent Fan Qi to gather Liu Ji.
At this moment, Liu Bang had hundreds of people.
Thus Fan Qi followed Liu Ji to Pei County.
Upon seeing Liu Bang with so many people, the county magistrate of Pei County immediately regretted his decision, fearing that things might turn sour. He closed the city gates for defense and wanted to kill Xiao He and Cao Can.
Xiao He and Cao Can were afraid, so they climbed over the city walls to join Liu Ji.
Liu Ji then wrote a letter on silk, shooting it onto the city wall, and told the people of Pei County:
"The people of the world have been suffering under the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty for a long time."
"Now you are defending Pei County on behalf of the county magistrate, but the feudal states have all risen up against the Qin Dynasty. If they capture Pei County, you will all suffer."
"Now, if you all kill the county magistrate and choose a capable person from among the young men to be their leader, and respond to the feudal states, then your families will be saved."
"Otherwise, both father and son will be difficult to escape the butchery. This is not helpful."
The fathers and elders led their sons and young men to kill the magistrate of Pei County, open the city gates to welcome Liu Ji, and wanted him to serve as the magistrate of Pei County.
Liu Ji said, "Now the world is in chaos, and feudal states are rising. If the general is not chosen properly, once defeated, the whole army could be wiped out. It's not that I love myself; it's that I worry that my abilities are insufficient to protect my father, brothers, and nephews. This is a great matter, and I hope everyone else chooses an appropriate person."
Xiao He, Cao Can and others were all officials. They were afraid that the event would fail and the Qin Dynasty would annihilate their families, so they all made excuses to let Liu Ji take over.
The elders all said, "We have often heard about Liu Ji's many strange occurrences. He should be dignified, and according to the divination results, no one is more auspicious than Liu Ji."
"Moreover, Liu Ji was friends with Zhao long ago. Through this relationship, he even received an award from Qin Shi Huang, although Qin Shi Huang was not respected by the feudal lords and even regarded as an enemy by some, but Zhao was highly respected. He could definitely rely on this relationship to support himself."
Liu Ji repeatedly declined, but everyone else were too afraid to take the position, so they made Liu Ji the Marquis of Pei County.
They worshipped Huangdi and Qiuyou in the courtyard of Pei County, performing a blood sacrifice with drums and banners, all of which were red.
Because the snake that Liu Ji killed was the son of the White Emperor, and the one who killed the snake was the son of the Red Emperor, so he was titled "Prince of Red."
Therefore, young and talented officials such as Xiao He, Cao Can, Fan Qi and others recruited the people of Pei County, gaining more than 2,000 people. They attacked Hu ling and Fang Yu, then returned to defend Fengyi.
Liu Bang led the rebel forces from various places and looked at the world, feeling that there was much to be done.
In the same year, Xiang Liang gathered the rebellion of all the world at Xue County, and Liu Bang responded.
Xiang Liang sent Marquis of Pei County and Xiang Yu to attack the city of Yingyang. Yingyang was wiped out.
Xiang Liang continued to advance westward, defeated the Qin army east of Pu Yang, and the Qin army retreated to defend Pu Yang.
Therefore, Marquis of Pei and Xiang Yu went to attack Dingyao.
Marquis of Pei County and Xiang Yu did not succeed in capturing Dingtao and left instead, advancing westward to conquer territory until Yongqi. There they soundly defeated the Qin army, killing Li You.
Upon returning to attack Wei Huang, it was not conquered.
Xiang Liang started from Dong 'a and moved west to Defen. They defeated the Qin army again, and Xiang Yu and others slayed Li You.
Xiang Yu began to gradually disdain the Qin Dynasty and became arrogant.
The situation in the world today is probably that the two feudal states of Qi and Zhao, the two self-proclaimed feudal states overthrown by farmers, the rebel forces are united under Chu, and the four major powers of close Qu Zhi Zhao.
Peace reigned, and three years passed. There were some conflicts, but not much trouble.
In the year 205 BC, Qin Shi Huang launched an unexpected attack on Sizhou and quickly defeated it.
