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

"Wei is gone, now we can advance westward." Xiang Liang's voice was cold. "Continue the advance according to the previous plan!"

“Once the defenses are in place, he can’t break through!” Xiang Liang snorted and tapped the table again. “Instead of thinking about how to avoid Zhang Han, you should think more about how to survive if you really face Zhang Han!”

"Do you really think you can avoid it? Or are you hoping that Zhang Han will accept the surrendered soldiers?"

"Humph!"

Xiang Liang said no more, stood up and left the room, leaving behind a group of generals who were either thinking or silent.

.......

Unlike the Western Chu's reflective and proactive approach, the capital of Qi was in complete chaos.

The fundamental situations of Qi and Chu were different. Chu only lost a general, while King Huai of Chu, who was merely a figurehead, and the real leader, General Xiang Liang, were both alive and well. Qi, on the other hand, lost its king in Linji.

In the ensuing chaos, the officials of Qi, in order to avoid a situation of leaderlessness, chose to establish a new king.

Therefore, before the seventh day after King Tian Dan of Qi's death had even passed, the new King Tian Jia of Qi ascended the throne.

However, Tian Rong, the younger brother of the former King Tian Dan of Qi, who escaped the Battle of Linji and was on his way back with the remaining Qi army, was unaware of all this.

He was returning to Linzi, the capital of Qi, with a heart full of sorrow and anger, preparing to gather his army and launch his revenge against Zhang Han.

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

Chapter 898 Ashu, the pitiful Ashu

Xiang An sat up from the bed frame and opened his eyes.

He sighed, but then involuntarily froze.

Why did I sigh?

He shook his head, got out of bed, put on his armor, walked out of the tent and looked east, but it was still dark.

Xiang An's eyes were the only bright spot in the darkness of dawn.

Now, King Huai of Wei, Xiong Xin, has established his capital in Xutai, and the meeting in Xue County has ended hastily. The next step is to figure out how to resist Zhang Han after the fall of Wei.

The night raid on Linji resulted in the death of King Wei of Qi, with one killed and the other committing suicide. Of the more than 10,000 Chu troops sent to aid Wei, only 3,000 escaped. Zhang Han's imposing presence proclaimed Qin's strength and invincibility to the Central Plains, causing widespread panic among the various feudal lords.

Xiang An narrowed his eyes.

It's truly pathetic that such a general served such an emperor.

While deep in thought, Xiang An heard what sounded like the waving of weapons.

Following the sound of the wind, they found Zijuan doing her morning exercise.

A long spear was swung around, creating a whooshing sound and raising several ounces of sand.

Zijuan's younger brother, Zihuai, stood not far away, silently watching his sister's sweeping spear movements, his hands rubbing together awkwardly.

Since none of the generals have left Xue County yet, Zihuai is still staying by Zijuan's side. However, Xiang An heard from Zijuan that Zihuai seems to still want to follow Liu Ji.

"How was it? Was your sister's spear dance beautiful?" Xiang An stood next to Zi Huai and asked with a smile.

Xiang An is over 1.9 meters tall, while Zi Huai is less than 1.7 meters tall.

“…Hmm.” Zihuai mumbled, nodding but not replying.

Xiang An shrugged. He knew the child didn't like him, and might even hate him.

He wasn't going to try to win him over; he was already in a pretty bad mood.

Sitting to one side, watching Zijuan practice her spear technique, Xiang An pondered his next strategy.

The Western Chu army is currently located in Xue County, east of the Si River. Huling, the largest city east of the Si River, was originally Xiang Liang's first target. However, Huling has been captured by Liu Ji, who has surrendered to Xiang Liang, when he passed by. Therefore, the next battle center will naturally have to move westward.

West of the Si River are several large cities, including Kangfu, Changyi, and Chengwu, which were originally the territory of the Wei Kingdom. Now that the Wei Kingdom is gone, Xiang Liang will naturally not be polite to these cities. Further west of these cities is the Wen River, a tributary of the Si River. Dingtao, Chengyang, and Xiangcheng, which Xiang Liang previously said he would use to build a defense line against Zhang Han, are located on the west bank of the Wen River.

"Phew—" Zijuan put the spear aside, finished her morning exercise, and grabbed a burlap towel lying next to her to wipe the sweat from her face.

She patted Zihuai's head, then looked at Xiang An: "Where to attack next, Second Brother?"

She licked her slightly dry lips, her expression revealing a hint of weariness.

Xiang An noticed the weariness and lowered his eyes slightly.

Not only was Zijuan tired, but he was also tired, and all the veterans in the army were exhausted.

Since the start of the war, none of them had any free time. Marching, fighting, marching, fighting became the main theme of their lives.

Even when their academic teacher, Wu Ju, whom they originally "hated," died in Linji, they didn't have time to grieve. Instead, the first thing they had to ask each other when they opened their eyes was, "Where do we go next?"

"Attack Changyi, and then attack the other counties along the way as well," Xiang An replied. "We'll divide our forces into four routes, cross the Si River, and attack the Wen River as quickly as possible."

“Zhang Han has already recovered Linji, and the State of Wei has collapsed. His next target will definitely be either Qi or Chu. We must act quickly.”

Zijuan nodded and turned to look at Zihuai: "Ashu, are you coming with your sister?"

Zihuai was lost in thought when he saw Zijuan's expectant eyes. He instinctively shrank back and shook his head.

"I think I should go to General Liu's side..." He shook off Zijuan's hand, a slightly unnatural smile on his face.

Watching Zihuai run away, Zijuan stretched out a hand, as if she wanted to stop him.

"What's wrong with Ashu?" Xiang An asked, frowning.

Zijuan withdrew her hand and sighed, "I...I don't know. Lately, he seems to be avoiding me, but it's not that he wants to avoid me. It's just...it makes me feel like he wants to watch me, but doesn't want me to get close to him."

“…We’re about to leave, aren’t you going to go see him again?” Xiang An could see what Zijuan could see, “I can tell he doesn’t dislike you, he just has something on his mind.”

Zijuan turned her head and glanced to the east.

The sky was already mostly bright, and a red sun was about to rise from the horizon.

"No need." Zijuan shook her head. "We're about to march, aren't we? I'm going to muster the troops. If we hurry today, we should be able to cross the Si River."

Watching Zijuan's departing figure, and glancing twice in the direction Zihuai had gone, Xiang An shook his head.

"These siblings..."

After saying that, he walked towards his own tent.

Zijuan is right. Right now, marching is more important.

......

Zihuai squatted in his tent, holding his head and trembling.

What's wrong with me? What exactly is wrong with me?

Shouldn't I be missing my sister terribly and loving her dearly? But why, now—

Could it be like this?

I desperately want to be by my sister's side, desperately want to get close to her, but whenever my sister shows me concern, I feel fear, panic, want to run away, and tremble.

You might even feel like vomiting.

"Why, why did this happen... She's clearly my older sister, she's clearly my older sister..." Zihuai's body trembled violently, her voice filled with excruciating pain.

Why did all of this vanish after our reunion—the desire to care for and love my sister?

He swallowed hard and gritted his teeth.

A figure seemed to appear in front of him.

"See? That's all you're capable of." The figure seemed to be saying this with a strange smile.

"See? That's all your love for your sister is." The figure seemed to move closer.

"...Stop talking." Zihuai sobbed helplessly.

"Are you jealous?"

"I'm jealous that your sister has a better life than you."

"I'm jealous that your sister now has other people protecting and sheltering her."

"These were originally your privileges, weren't they? Don't you think so?"

"...Stop talking!" Zi Huai's angry voice was squeezed out from between her teeth.

"How pathetic, Ashu, how pathetic." The man leaned close to Zihuai's ear and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Compared to your sister, you, whom I adopted—"

"It's really, really sad."

"I fucking told you to shut up!"

! ”

Zheng—

The camp was reduced to fragments.

Zihuai, standing still, held two daggers in his hands, his eyes bloodshot, and was breathing heavily.

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

Chapter 899 The Absurd State of Qi

After sunrise, Xiang Liang's army began its march, splitting into four routes and crossing the Si River with great fanfare. They seemed to have no regard for Zhang Han, who had recently defeated Linji, and rushed westward in a frenzy.

Half a month later, Xiang Liang defeated Kangfu; a month later, Xiang Yu defeated Changyi; Xiang An defeated Chengwu; and Liu Ji subdued Peng Yue, a band of bandits who were roaming Juye Marsh.

The Western Chu front steadily advanced westward, while within the Qi state, a tremendous change was taking place.

King Tian Dan of Qi was killed by Zhang Han with a spear in the Battle of Linji. Without any pause, Qi immediately supported a new king named Tian Jia. The speed of this action left the other states speechless.

Brother, you can run so fast when the cafeteria opens, but the seventh day after the late king's death hasn't even arrived yet, and you're already in a hurry to establish a new king?

While Tian Dan's younger brother, Tian Rong, was still on the road mourning his older brother, the Qin state suddenly found a man named Tian Jia and made him king. When Tian Rong heard this news, he was so angry that his fists clenched until they bled.

The Battle of Linji ended in a crushing defeat, and his brother died there. Tian Rong roared in anger at the heartless Qi state that had abandoned him and his brother.

Thus, the State of Qi, which had just lost its ruler and had not yet fully recovered, was once again plunged into civil war.

However, because of this aid to Wei, the already deceased Tian Dan took almost all of Qi's main army with him, and a large part of them were lost in Linji. But even if there were not many left, they were Qi's last military force.

These military forces were in Tian Rong's hands.

Therefore, this so-called "civil war" ended very quickly, just as quickly as the State of Qi established a new king.