After finally escaping the Chu Army's pursuit, Liu Bang's faction naturally had to apportion blame for this unprecedented defeat.
But the burden of blame was simply too great. Even the Han State faced the danger of collapse. Who would dare shoulder the responsibility?
Luo Yi drew a deep breath and said, "I am Your Majesty's deputy. This great defeat was my-"
"It was my fault!"
A ringing voice cut Luo Yi off. It was Liu Bang!
Everyone shifted their gaze from Luo Yi to Liu Bang. Guilt showed on Liu Bang's face, yet he still spoke with spirit. "It was my fault.
"Ziyu warned me to withdraw before this. I was too confident and thought I could defeat Xiang Yu. I never imagined we would suffer such an utter rout."
"Your Majesty!"
Luo Yi called out, but Liu Bang said firmly, "Ziyu, I am the one who has wronged you. If I let you share the blame for me, how could I still have the face to call myself a true man?
"I know you are taking responsibility for me because you fear I will never recover from this setback.
"But rest assured, Ziyu. I am over fifty and have weathered more setbacks than I can count. Even when I had accomplished nothing, I still harbored great ambitions. I will never fall here.
"Most of you are my original followers from Fengpei. We are ruler and subjects in name, but brothers in truth.
"I believe that even now, you are still willing to follow me.
"When we first raised our army to overthrow Qin, we had only a few thousand men. Together, we won this vast Han State.
"Now we still have Guanzhong and Ba-Shu, the very foundation from which the Qin State swallowed All Under Heaven. What have we