Chen Cheng spoke eloquently, not showing any awkwardness even in front of Liu Bang.
Firstly, it was because he was 'possessing' his own ancestor's body, so he had some memories of Liu Bang. Secondly, Chen Cheng knew too well what kind of person Liu Bang was.
This succubus, Liu Bang, would not only not care about his 'composure,' but would instead see him as a talent because of it, and then begin to unreservedly promote him.
As expected.
When he first heard Chen Cheng's judgment, Liu Bang didn't take him seriously, merely leaning there obliquely, listening.
But as he listened...
Liu Bang grew interested.
He sat up straight, looking at Chen Cheng, who was speaking eloquently, without the slightest awkwardness, but instead appeared very dashing and composed. That feeling and intuition in his heart began to stir.
When Chen Cheng finished speaking, Liu Bang, without thinking, immediately stood up and walked to Chen Cheng, patting him on the shoulder and directly saying, "Good!"
"Look at this spirit of yours, you clearly look like a remarkable person!"
He did not turn to ask the attendants beside him, but instead looked directly into Chen Cheng's eyes, which gleamed with trust and high regard.
"What position do you hold under me now?"
Chen Cheng was delighted. He clearly knew in his heart that this was a prelude to Liu Bang's intention to greatly promote him.
He immediately bowed his head and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am currently a small soldier in the camp."
Liu Bang shook his head directly: "Too low, far too low."
He said straightforwardly, "With your abilities, I'd feel it's too little even for you to be a general for me, let alone just a small soldier?"
"This King said before that anyone who can provide the whereabouts of Xiang Yu's escape will have their salary increased by five hundred shi and be appointed as a Commandant General. Now that you have stepped forward, this should be your reward."
"But it's too little."
"How about this?"
Liu Bang did not hesitate at all, directly saying, "You will receive a salary of one thousand shi! How about being my Left General?"
"Once Xiang Yu is found, I will further enfeoff you with five hundred shi!"
"And bestow upon you the title of Marquis within the Passes!"
For truly appreciated talents, Liu Bang was never stingy with rewards, especially since this particular reward didn't even reach the level of a Marquis of Distinction.
Heroes emerge in troubled times!
Chen Cheng immediately rejoiced in his heart, and then said, "Your subordinate thanks Your Majesty!"
Only then did Liu Bang wave his hand, instructing the soldiers outside the main tent to prepare: "Transmit this King's order!"
"The army will prepare and proceed to Wu River!"
....
Inside the main tent.
Upon learning of Chen Cheng, or rather, 'Xi' being granted a marquisate, all the soldiers who had a good relationship with Xi in the past came to congratulate him, and the man who had woken Chen Cheng earlier looked on with admiration.
"I knew you were no ordinary person, but I didn't expect you to soar so quickly!"
His face showed an expression of envy.
"I wonder when I will be able to gain the King's appreciation?"
Chen Cheng comforted him, saying, "What's so difficult about that? With your abilities, it's just around the corner."
"Now Xiang Yu has been forced to the banks of the Wu River by the King. Given Xiang Yu's ambitious and arrogant nature, he will certainly not flee alone, nor does he have the face to flee, so he will inevitably make a desperate stand by the Wu River."
"The King is generous with rewards. As long as you can make a contribution during the encirclement and annihilation of Xiang Yu by the Wu River and seize a part of Xiang Yu's corpse, that credit will be enough for you to surpass me."
Chen Cheng's comforting words were not a lie, but the truth.
Because in the original history, there was indeed a person who seized a part of Xiang Yu's corpse, and Liu Bang indeed enfeoffed him, and his descendants even thrived for a thousand years, even becoming a powerful gentry family by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty!
The Yang family of Hongnong!
Their ancestor rose to prominence in this way.
Carrying the dream that his own family could also become the 'Chen Clan,' Chen Cheng lay down to rest in a trance. He was about to catch up with Xiang Yu, and he had to be prepared!
....
"Ding-a-ling—"
"Ding-a-ling—"
A series of alarm clocks woke Chen Cheng from his slumber. He sat up groggily and instinctively asked, "Is it time to go kill Xiang Yu?"
But no one answered him.
And after Chen Cheng's grogginess passed, he noticed something was amiss...
"No!"
He suddenly opened his eyes and looked around.
Where were the tents, and where were the ancient people?
This was clearly the small rented room he lived in!
Chen Cheng frowned slightly, with an incredulous look on his face: "How is this possible? Was it a dream?"
He couldn't help but pinch his own cheek, and then said, "But... if it was a dream, was it too real?"
Chen Cheng slowly stretched out his hand, yet he could feel that power that could travel through time and descend upon his 'ancestor'... it still existed.
Just then, the phone rang.
"Hello? Dad? What's wrong?"
"Oh, oh, Qingming ancestor worship, right."
"What?"
Chen Cheng's voice suddenly rose an octave: "You said our family's genealogy has been found, so this time we're opening the ancestral hall for a grand sacrifice?"
"Our ancestor was under Emperor Gaozu, who was still King of Han during the Chu-Han Contention."
"Because of military merit, he was enfeoffed as a Commandant General?"
"Okay, okay, Dad, I'll definitely go back then..."
After hanging up the phone, Chen Cheng sat on the bed in a daze, then pinched his cheek.
Did what he did in history really affect the present, and cause an impact on the present?
It's just that...
"Why is it a Commandant General?"
"Isn't that the title of my ancestor 'Xi' just before I came back? Did time just stop at that moment? Or is it... that the impact I caused was too small, only able to radiate this much?"
"So my family isn't rich yet?"
Chen Cheng pouted, a helpless look on his face: "I thought I could quickly become a rich second-generation! But..."
A brilliant smile appeared on his face.
"With this kind of ability, if I still can't turn myself into a wealthy nth-generation with no worries about food and drink, then I'd be too pathetic, wouldn't I?"
"Hehehe—"
"My ancestors of the Chen family! I'm coming!"
....
March thirteenth.
Chen Cheng got up early, packed and prepared everything, then slowly lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.
....
By the Wu River.
Inside the main tent.
Chen Cheng slowly opened his eyes, feeling the strength of this body, and slowly sat up, a slight smile gracing his face.
"It seems time is not static."
He muttered softly to himself, checking the changes in 'Xi' during this period.
Chen Cheng stood up, stretching, and thinking to himself, "There aren't many changes," just that he had become a bit more robust.
Outside the camp.
A few desolate and lingering sounds echoed in this wilderness, making it seem utterly bleak for a while.
Generally speaking, on such a night, in such a wilderness, the appearance of such sounds would be enough to make one fearful.
But Chen Cheng was not afraid.
Instead, his expression was a little strange.
"This..."
"Does this count as me witnessing history?"