In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

“…I’ll go with you, Sister Ahua.” Zihuai hesitated for a moment, then tugged at Zijuan’s clothes.

"Hmm... You can just stay outside the door then." Zijuan couldn't help but chuckle. "But I don't think it'll be a problem. General Liu, who saved you, is now a general in Western Chu. There shouldn't be any issues with the transmission of intelligence within the army, as long as it's not top-secret information."

After finding her younger brother, she finally softened a bit, and she really didn't want him to leave her sight again.

Zihuai's mood visibly improved, and he nodded.

The siblings made several turns on the street and arrived at the place where Xiang An was holding his meeting.

Xiang An was standing outside the door when he saw Zijuan walking over with her younger brother.

"General." Zijuan released Zihuai's hand and bowed to Xiang An.

"Well, it's good that you're here. Come on in." Xiang An looked at Zi Huai standing behind him, hesitated slightly, and finally shrugged. "Let... Xiao Wu come in too. It's not proper for him to be standing outside."

Zijuan's eyes lit up: "Yes!"

The three filed in. There was a sand table in the room and a simplified map on the wall.

Two people were already waiting in the room, and they nodded slightly when they saw the three of them enter.

They were Xiang An's mentors and generals, Xiang An's fourth uncle Xiang Lu, and his trusted confidant Han Xin.

"Let me tell you the orders I received today," Xiang An said, putting his helmet aside and looking at everyone. "We'll set off tomorrow morning to attack the East Sea."

"Donghai should be the strongest remaining force of the Qin remnants in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and Huai River." Xiang An tapped the table, his serious attitude exuding a powerful aura. "The garrison commander over there is named Li Zhan."

Zihuai sat in the corner of the room, her hands folded on her knees, looking obedient, but her eyes remained fixed on Xiang An, scrutinizing him intently.

Sister Ahua... calls this person "brother".

He, along with that older brother and that third brother, were all very good to Sister Ahua.

pretty good.

He suddenly lowered his head, grabbed his left arm, and trembled violently, trying his best to control something and not make a sound.

"Fourth Uncle, Little Fourth, you two, the left and right divisions, go ahead first." Xiang An looked at Xiang Lu and Zi Juan.

No one noticed Zihuai's reaction.

“Although we are aiming for a swift attack, this time we lack the intelligence advantage, and the timing and terrain are not on our side. Therefore, we must find a way to create the right timing and terrain.” Han Xin picked up where Xiang An left off, shaking his finger.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be that Xiao Si and I need to lure the snake out of its hole." Xiang Lu understood Xiang An and Han Xin's meaning, stroked his beard and smiled.

“That’s right.” Xiang An nodded, then looked at Zijuan, “Xiao Si, you and your fourth uncle will form the vanguard, rushing straight to Donghai City at top speed and attempting a surprise attack, but—”

Xiang An raised his voice and slightly raised the corners of his mouth: "Although you are the top, you have to act like the ultimate top."

"Make sure the show of force is huge! Then, when the battle is halfway through, make sure they look exhausted!" Xiang An tapped the table. "Then, lure their troops out of the city to meet them. You don't need to lure them too far, three miles is enough."

"Can you do it?" His eyes sharpened as he scanned Xiang Lu and Zijuan.

In the Xiang family's private settings, they were an amiable uncle and nephew, and a friendly brother and sister.

However, this is a military camp, a battlefield, where only military ranks and strict obedience to orders are permitted.

"Your subordinates obey orders!" Zijuan and Xiang Lu both straightened their faces and bowed to Xiang An.

"Go back and immediately prepare the troops. We will set off at sunrise tomorrow morning!"

"Yes!"

......

"Sister Ahua... what do you think of General Xiang An?" Zihuai asked suddenly, following behind Zijuan.

His forehead was covered in sweat, but there was no moonlight or starlight tonight, so no one could see him.

"You mean my second brother? He's probably the one I've spent the most time with out of my three brothers," Zijuan said with a smile as she walked. "It wasn't just after the uprising; it was like this even back in Kuaiji."

“Everyone here is a great person, but our eldest brother is a bit too authoritative. The people of Wuzhong are more afraid of our eldest brother than of his two brothers.” Zijuan said with a smile. “Our third brother prefers to be alone. Although he has never said it, I can sense that he probably keeps some things to himself because of his scars and visual impairment. He doesn’t like to communicate with others.”

"Only my second brother seems to understand the others the most."

Zijuan smiled and sighed.

"...A-Shu, I know what you're worried about." Zi-Juan slowly turned around and looked at Zi-Huai, "But..."

The Green Gourd Sword Immortal

"Some things can never be explained by words, can they?"

“I am your older sister, you are my younger brother, and they are my older brothers.” Zijuan gently stroked Zihuai’s forehead. “I will accept everything about you, so now that we have finally been able to reunite, please accept everything about your older sister, okay?”

Feeling the warmth emanating from Zijuan's fingertips, Zihuai pursed his lips.

So, my sister had already seen everything...

That me who thought I was a good disguise...

As he thought about it, his face turned red.

Zihuai nodded heavily, but still chose not to speak.

"Your second brother has already arranged a room for you, and General Liu has also sent someone to inform you. So, are you going to sleep in the villa here or go back to your place?"

"I... I'll just sleep here. I can go back by myself tomorrow morning." Zihua sighed and pursed her lips. "Sister Ahua, you... you're going to fight tomorrow, right?"

"We absolutely... have to win."

Zijuan was taken aback, then smiled and gave Zihuai a hard punch on the shoulder.

"Of course! You underestimated your sister!"

------------

Chapter 893 The Overly Explicit Use of the Stick and Dates

Before dawn, with only the first rays of sunlight appearing, Xiang An's army began to move.

Donghai City is located northeast of Xiapi. It would take about three days for the entire army to reach it at full speed.

The general guarding the East Sea was named Li Zhan. He was the largest remaining Qin army force still operating downstream of the river, but they were now at their last gasp.

From Donghai City all the way to the river mouth, the entire territory was under Li Zhan's control. However, Li Zhan was surrounded by Xiang Liang to the south and Tian Dan to the north, which directly cut off the supply of materials and trade. Moreover, this was the old Chu territory, and unless forced, they could not even get reinforcements of soldiers.

Even so, Li Zhan still stubbornly and restlessly resisted between Qi and Chu, making him arguably the biggest bomb in Qi and Chu's rear.

The phrase "a cornered beast fighting to the death" perfectly describes Li Zhan's current state. Although everyone knows he's nearing his end, his frenzied behavior makes everyone instinctively want to ignore him.

But now someone has to take charge.

Regardless of the circumstances, even if Li Zhan rarely takes the initiative and remains holed up in Donghai City, as long as he exists there, he is a thorn in Xiang Liang's side and must be removed, and the sooner the better.

Therefore, Xiang An and several of his generals donned their armor and set off on the expedition.

Two division commanders went first, heading straight for Donghai City, while Xiang An led the rest of the army to wait in the rear. When Zijuan and Xiang Lu lured out Li Zhan's main force, they launched a surprise attack from the rear and crushed Li Zhan's main force.

It's a very simple strategy, but it has a high chance of working.

This is Han Xin and Xiang An's strategy for the Battle of the East China Sea: if there is no favorable timing, location, and popular support, then we will create one!

If all else fails, just breach the city gates! Overwhelm them with the situation!

"Giddy up—full speed ahead! We'll reach Geng County by this evening!" Xiang An shouted, riding his swift steed ahead, ignoring the scenery rushing past on the roadside, and keeping a close eye on the army's situation.

Xiang Lu followed behind Xiang An and couldn't help but laugh.

This feeling truly made my blood boil.

Anno-sama... Due to various reasons, I must conceal my presence, so I apologize that I cannot stand by your side this time, but...

That's why the you who is now leading the way and leaving everyone else behind is the real you!

......

In a secluded courtyard in Xiapi, the thin young man opened his eyes.

"...No nightmare?" He sat on the bed, holding his forehead, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

He closed his eyes again, touched his chest, and the suffocating feeling as if a large rock was blocking his chest was gone.

Silently putting on her shoes and getting out of bed, Zihuai walked to the bedside and felt incredibly refreshed.

The urge to cut my own arm with a dagger was gone.

"Is it... my sister?" He touched his eyes and found that two lines of tears had appeared on his face without him noticing. He didn't know if they were from yawning or... for some other reason.

Zihuai licked her lips, silently wiped away the tears on her face, took off her pajamas, and planned to change her clothes to go and see Liu Ji's military camp.

Zijuan has gone out to fight in the war. Zihuai is still very rational, so he understands that he won't be able to see Zijuan for a while.

After taking off her white pajamas, scars were revealed beneath the clothes.

Many scars, countless scars.

From the upper arm all the way to the wrist, there are dense, numerous scars on both arms.

Despite the overlapping, deformed, and morbid scars, Zihuai appeared completely unfazed, nonchalantly putting on his robe, opening the door, basking in the sunlight, and letting out a faint smile.

My sister is still here... That's so good...

stop--

In the blink of an eye, Zihuai disappeared from the spot.

......

In Liu Ji's camp, he is currently cooperating with Xiang Yu to integrate the army. As for Chen Ying's side, because there are more people, Xiang Liang went there personally.

“Your military rank is general, the same as mine. If you earn military merit, the army is already quite large, and you might be able to become a general of the three armies directly.” Xiang Yu stood next to Liu Ji with a faint smile on his face.

"Then I'll take your kind words, Brother Xiang." Liu Ji was a very easy-going person. Although he was nearly fifty, he didn't look very old, only a little older than Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu turned his head and glanced at Liu Ji, seemingly somewhat surprised by Liu Ji's brotherly address, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

"I'll keep the original generals on my side, but do you need to bring in some more?" Liu Ji turned his head and met Xiang Yu's gaze, teasingly asking.

“No need. We are the legitimate successors of Chu. There’s no need for all this formality.” Xiang An shook his head. “Besides, you’ve just come to us. It’s good to be clear about things. We need your trust, so we won’t hesitate to delegate authority to you.”

"But you all need to understand your own position. The prerequisite for us to trust you is that you need our power." Xiang Yu became serious and looked at Liu Ji earnestly. Even though he was almost half the age of Liu Ji, his imposing presence made Liu Ji involuntarily break out in a cold sweat.

“Some things are beneficial to both sides, while others will only hurt you. You should know that.” Xiang Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly, causing Liu Ji to swallow hard.

But then, Xiang Yu's expression changed, and he relaxed again: "However, I still think highly of Brother Liu. From now on, we will be colleagues and look after each other on the battlefield."