Luo Yi stepped outside the tent and sighed softly. The most crucial part of contending for the realm was the choices made time and again. Whoever could always choose correctly would win the realm.
Many choices were neither better nor worse than others; only once the results emerged could anyone know whether they were right. Liu Bang's situation was just such a case. Retreating was indeed the safe course, and preserving the Han Army, at least, would pose no problem.
But Liu Bang had chosen to fight a great battle against Xiang Yu. If he won, he would naturally be the Child of the Mandate of Heaven. The histories would record how he had withstood the pressure at the critical moment, staked his life on one desperate gamble, and finally won the realm.
Countless people would work backward from the result to deduce all of Liu Bang's brilliant arrangements, proving that victory in this war had been inevitable.
Xiang Yu would become a cautionary example of someone who had overestimated himself. If Liu Bang added a few taunts about ambitions greater than his abilities and a fierce exterior concealing a weak heart, he could nail Xiang Yu to history's pillar of shame.
But only those involved, like Luo Yi, understood that war was never merely a list of figures on paper. There were simply too many unforeseen events.
If Liu Bang lost despite holding the advantage, he himself would become history's model of arrogance, of a man who grew smug after the slightest victory.
My king, I hope your choice is right.
Luo Yi thought this to himself, then returned to Han Xin's camp. Seeing his expression, Luo Cai said, "Brother.
"It seems the King of Han did not accept your suggestion. That is only natural. He has always been