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

"What's the use of killing him now? Zhang Han and Wang Li are attacking Yan, Zhao, and Qi together. Tian Rong won't last long," Xiang Yu replied calmly to Xiang An.

"It doesn't matter. He's a traitor who stole the country and should be killed no matter what." Xiang An shook his head and chuckled, not knowing who he was laughing at. "And there's one thing I think you're right about: no matter what happened before, in the current situation, there's no benefit in trying to please Tian Rong. On the contrary, Tian Rong might take the initiative to try to please us."

"So, I threw Tian Jia's head into the Wen River. As for his body, it's probably been eaten clean by wild dogs."

“Next time you do something like this, tell me first,” Xiang Yu said, looking at Xiang An. “You’re too emotional. There are some things we have to deal with rationally.”

"Don't forget who we really are, Xiang An."

"Aren't we human?" Xiang An raised his head and stared blankly at Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu was taken aback and frowned.

He looked at Xiang An's slightly trembling Tong Kong and sighed.

"Probably so."

“I believe I am, absolutely, no matter what I was before.”

The generals behind him were completely bewildered, but out of respect for the two brothers, and especially because of Xiang Yu's authority in the army, none of them spoke.

Everyone fell silent.

The retreat continued in an orderly manner.

Upon arriving at Fengyi, Liu Ji and Xiang Yu's armies, who had previously gone northeast to attack Dong'e, successfully reunited. In the meeting room, the three generals were somewhat silent.

"Lord Pei, your army will be responsible for holding the line. We are now within Chu territory, so we don't need to worry about the enemy. The key is to take care of our internal morale." Xiang Yu sat in the head seat without any politeness, calmly looked at Liu Ji, and shrugged.

"Yes, I know." Liu Ji pinched the bridge of his nose. It was frustrating that something like this happened so soon after he joined the Chu side. However, he wasn't the kind of person who liked to betray his promises. The chivalrous spirit he had as a child still lingered in this fifty-year-old man. He knew what his job was.

Xiang An had no objection to Xiang Yu sitting in the main seat. He knew that Xiang Yu's emotional module was mainly rational, and he must have had some purpose in sitting in that seat.

He was Xiang An's older brother, the person Xiang An trusted and relied on most, without exception.

"The king's order has also arrived. It should be to summon all the generals to the Chu King's Palace in Xutai for a meeting." Xiang An looked at Liu Ji and said with a slightly tired expression, "The conscription order for Chu has also been issued, but the number of troops that can be gathered is probably extremely limited."

“After all, there aren’t many able-bodied men left in Chu right now,” Liu Ji sighed. He wasn’t a prince or nobleman, but he was a native of Chu who had risen from the bottom, so he naturally had a say in matters concerning the common people. “The garrison troops in various places, plus the troops in our hands, and General Chen’s troops, can probably only muster a little over 100,000 men. But to think that all of them could be put into the battlefield is just wishful thinking.”

Xiang Yu narrowed his eyes and tapped the table with his finger.

"All Your Majesty can do is reorganize the army." Xiang Yu shook his head. "Now that the Battle of Dingtao is over, there are only about 60,000 troops left that can actually be taken out to fight. Even if General Chen's troops are transferred over, it won't make much more."

"In the battles of Linji and Dingtao, we lost at least 50,000 soldiers, and General Xiang Yu and General Song Yi have also been executed." Xiang Yu looked in the direction of Le Xiang'an and nodded slightly. "Let's rest for a bit and then continue on our way. Don't keep the King waiting too long."

Xiang An blinked, paused slightly, and then quickly nodded.

Xiang Yu seemed to want to say something to him alone.

The three walked out of the direction and headed towards their respective military camps.

"The King will probably be thinking of reducing our influence in the Chu army," Xiang Yu said as he walked.

Xiang An pursed his lips, recalling Xiong Xin's youthful face.

"Although I think Your Majesty might not be the kind of person to make such a decision, let alone Your Majesty, even I would probably make the same decision at this time." Xiang An shook his head and sighed dejectedly.

For Xiong Xin, this is currently the best, and only, opportunity to weaken the influence of the Xiang clan in Western Chu.

Previously, he had been almost completely sidelined by Xiang Liang, and no matter how much he tried to convince himself, he couldn't change the fact that he was unhappy.

Now that Xiang Liang is dead, all Xiong Xin can do is seize this opportunity, and even if he does, he won't lose anything.

In any case, the State of Chu has already been half-destroyed by Zhang Han at Dingtao.

Xiang Yu stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"Never mind all that, let's go back first." Xiang An's eyes flashed with a cold light. "No matter what the king says, Zhang Han must be eliminated, from whatever angle."

“If the dominant Qin dynasty still brought great benefits to the Central Plains, then the Qin dynasty under Qin Er Shi (Ying Huhai) is nothing short of a tyrannical Qin.” Xiang An narrowed his eyes, cracking his knuckles as he flexed his fingers. “The tyrannical Qin will only bring suffering to the Central Plains. Therefore, for the sake of the Central Plains, although this Qin is the dominant one, it must be eliminated.”

Xiang Yu stood behind Xiang An, his eyes unreadable. (Please remember: Free, fastest updates, no anti-theft measures)

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Chapter 909 Reorganizing the Army, Let's Do It Again

Xiang Yu and Xiang An guessed correctly; Xiong Xin was indeed planning to take this opportunity to weaken the Xiang family's influence in the Chu army.

There are some things that you might never know you could be so daring if you hadn't experienced them.

"We still have 60,000 troops available, which is enough to form two armies," Xiong Xin said, sitting in his bedroom, his eyes slightly narrowed, licking his lips.

“Although the number is small, it’s definitely not enough to appoint a great general.” He sighed, put the brush in his hand on the inkstone next to him, propped one hand on his knee and the other on his chin, and pondered, “If we still only appoint one great general, it will almost certainly be Xiang Yu, the eldest son of the Xiang family.”

“If we’re talking about reputation and achievements, the other one is almost certainly Liu Bang.” Xiong Xin rubbed his fingers and chin together slightly. “When they return to Xutai, we’ll have to talk to Liu Bang.”

Until his death, Xiang Liang was the backbone of Western Chu. Everyone stood by his side without question, even King Huai of Chu, Xiong Xin.

But now that Xiang Liang is dead, the various powerful figures who previously relied on him should naturally reconsider their own positions.

Whether it's one's own perspective, another's perspective, or the pros and cons and benefits.

Xiong Xin stood up, walked to the window, looked at the overcast sky, took a deep breath, and then let out a long sigh.

He may have had a good relationship with Xiang An before, but now, for his own sake, he has to resort to certain methods.

This is for the sake of a voice, and also to get rid of the seemingly glamorous but actually shameful and ugly identity of a mascot.

"Now I finally don't have to convince myself anymore. Being a mascot isn't so bad," he said, an uncontrollable smile spreading across his face. Tong Kong trembled with excitement and joy. "The mountain weighing on my head is finally gone!"

"I am finally the true King Huai of this country, this Western Chu!" he said loudly and cheerfully, completely ignoring the strange looks from his servants and palace maids.

More than a month later, the armies of Xiang Yu, Xiang An, Liu Ji and others finally crossed the Huai River and returned to Xutai.

After stationing their troops outside the city, the generals headed towards the Chu King's Palace.

There were three generals: Xiang Yu, Xiang An, and Liu Ji.

The seven leaders were Xiang Lu, Zijuan, Jiang Chun, Liang Ning, Wei Hao, Fan Hui, and Peng Yue.

There were also a number of other generals, such as Xiang Ta, Xiang Zhuang, and several other members of the Xiang family's collateral relatives, as well as Long Ju, Ren Ao, Chen Ping, Ying Bu, Lu Wan, and others.

There are also several strategists and trusted advisors who are currently serving Xiang Yu, such as Fan Zeng, who serves Xiang An, Han Xin, and Xiao He, who serve Liu Ji.

These are the remaining military leaders of Western Chu.

King Huai, Xiong Xin, sat on his high throne, looking down at Zhong Jiang. Even though he had made up his mind, a few drops of cold sweat still involuntarily seeped out from his forehead.

"I have summoned you generals for a meeting, and you all know why." He straightened up, took a few deep breaths, and his eyes became calm yet imposing.

The generals remained silent, waiting for Xiong Xin to continue.

“The Great General was a pillar of our nation, and now he has perished on the battlefield. I am heartbroken.” Xiong Xin sighed deeply, pressing his hand to his chest, his expression sorrowful, as if he were truly grieving. “But even though I am deeply saddened, my Chu nation must not fall because of the Great General’s death.”

"I believe that you generals should regroup and fight that tyrannical Qin again."

"Your Majesty is right." Seeing that no one spoke, Xiang Yu cupped his hands and took the lead in saying this.

"What Your Majesty says is true," Xiang Yu spoke, and the other generals echoed him, their voices scattered and lacking any real force.

Xiong Xin seemed somewhat surprised that Xiang Yu wouldn't embarrass him, but then he frowned.

No one answered his own words, but everyone echoed him when Xiang Yu spoke.

The prestige this family had accumulated in the military was truly considerable.

He glanced silently at Liu Ji, who was slacking off beside him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Liu Ji was completely bewildered. He blinked, touched his face—there was nothing dirty there. Then why was the King looking at him so strangely?

He coughed twice and took a deep breath.

While it's necessary to dilute the Xiang family's influence in the army, a complete breakdown in relations with them is absolutely unacceptable. Xiong Xin only became King Huai of Chu because of the Xiang family. Fighting for power is fine, but tearing apart their relationship would be pure ingratitude.

Xiong Xin tried his best not to look at Xiang An and Zi Juan, and looked down as he spoke.

"The premise is to fight that tyrannical Qin again. What we need to do is learn from the General's failure." He became serious. "I believe that although Zhang Han is strong, he can't fight against many opponents. The General's defeat at Dingtao was due to various unfavorable factors, but in the final analysis, it was because he completely bet on direct combat."

Upon hearing this, Xiang An, Xiang Lu, Zi Juan, and the others frowned, while Xiang Yu remained calm, seemingly unsurprised by Xiong Xin's words.

Xiang An looked at Xiang Yu, but Xiang Yu gently shook his head, signaling Xiang An not to speak.

Although Xiang An was somewhat puzzled, he kept his mouth shut and did not make a sound.

“Since we need to readjust our strategy, then now,” Xiong Xin clapped his hands, signaling the eunuch to bring up the military tally, “I hereby appoint Xiang Yu and Liu Ji as Grand Generals, to command two separate armies.”

"Xiang An was Xiang Yu's second-in-command, and Zi Juan was Xiang Yu's deputy general."

"Fan Hui was appointed as Liu Ji's deputy general, and Peng Yue was appointed as Liu Ji's assistant general."

With Xiong Xin's imperial decree, the newly made military tallies were distributed to the generals.

Xiang Yu's eyes showed no surprise, but Liu Ji seemed somewhat bewildered. After a moment's thought, he smiled knowingly and accepted the military tally.

This King Huai, Xiong Xin, is being rather presumptuous.

However, it was indeed Liu Ji who benefited, so Liu Ji didn't say anything.

A deep sense of disappointment filled Xiang An's eyes.

It was almost inevitable that Xiong Xin would do this, but Xiang An just felt a little uncomfortable.

With a sigh, Xiang An rubbed his temples in frustration, turned his face toward the entrance of the main hall, and stopped looking at Xiong Xin.

Xiong Xin took in everyone's expressions and actions, and sighed inwardly as he looked at Xiang An, who had turned his head away.

He also noticed Liu Ji's smugness, which was a reaction he had expected.

But

His gaze was fixed on Xiang Yu.

Xiang Yu remained expressionless, simply holding the military tally he had just acquired, examining it closely. His gaze remained fixed on the tally, ignoring Xiong Xin, the others, and unlike Xiang An, he did not turn his head to look outside.

Xiong Xin stared at Xiang Yu, involuntarily swallowing hard.

Xiang Yu, what are you thinking? Please remember: (Free, fastest updates, no anti-theft measures)

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Chapter 910 Denial? Or Avoidance?

After the meeting concluded, the officials and generals left the Chu King's palace.