Late at night, Liu Ji, Xiao He, and Han Xin sat in the gardens of the Han King's Palace, trading cups of wine.
Though it was called the Han King's Palace, it was in fact merely the city lord's residence in Nanzheng. Liu Ji had been enfeoffed as the Han King and made Nanzheng his capital, so the Nanzheng city lord's residence had been given the rather ill-fitting title of "Han King's Palace."
"Then, according to Mr. Han Xin, the King of Chu and General Xiang An are at odds?" Liu Ji held his wine cup, a glimmer flashing through his eyes. He took a light sip, but did not drink much.
Wine was for livening the mood, not for getting drunk. Liu Ji understood that perfectly well.
"But they are twin brothers. They grew up together from childhood. Now that the feudal lords are contending across the realm, why would Xiang An come into conflict with his elder brother?" Xiao He frowned slightly. The hand holding his wine cup had yet to move, and he made no effort to bring it to his lips.
Han Xin sat casually. He drained a cup of wine in two gulps, then began pouring himself another.
"Have there been few cases of blood brothers turning against each other throughout history?" Han Xin spoke as he drank, his gaze falling upon Liu Ji. "My King, in my view, there are only two men in all the realm capable of governing an age."
"One is Your Majesty. The other is Xiang An."
"The King of Chu lacks virtue, yet the realm is blind to it. The conflict first emerged during the enfeoffment of the realm, and afterward, the quarrels between those two became so fierce that they could have overturned Afang Palace."
Liu Ji stroked