War of Divination

Second update...

"Given Princess Huating's status, she could never be a concubine, but she could be an equal wife! Besides, we aren't strong enough to deal with King Wuhuan alone. We'd be better off allying with Liu Bang to bolster our strength and deterrence, perhaps even bringing in the Great Qin Empire. More importantly, Liu Bang's condition for marrying the Bai Clan widow is avenging the Bai Clan. Add his grudge against King Wuhuan, which runs far deeper than ours, and this would kill several birds with one stone for him. However you look at it, Liu Bang has no reason to refuse!"

As soon as Ying Bu finished, Fan Zeng picked up the thread. After a pause, he continued confidently:

"As for whether the Great Qin Empire would agree, there's even less need to worry. Its chief enemy is the Zhangchu State; we may not even be worth its attention. Liu Bang could offer a marriage alliance and nominal submission to the Great Qin Empire. That would let Great Qin claim his allegiance before the world and give it a way to save face. After all, the Great Qin Empire's desire to destroy King Wuhuan is scarcely weaker than ours or Liu Bang's!"

"Liu Bang may have a poor reputation, but surely he wouldn't do that? He's the leader of a rebel army, after all. Submitting to the Great Qin Empire would mean forfeiting his chance to contend for supremacy!"

Ying Bu nodded slowly, conceding Fan Zeng's point, though he still voiced his doubts.

"Has Liu Bang not feigned submission often enough? First he submitted to Lord Huang Xie, then he publicly submitted to King Wuhuan at the Bolang Sands. He doesn't care about that sort of thing. Besides, he's only using the title Lord of the True