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

"Let's have a competition and see who gets into Guanzhong first." Xiang Yu tilted his chin outwards, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Liu Ji's face showed a hint of astonishment. He was somewhat confused about what Xiang Yu wanted to say, but Xiang Yu's meaning was already very clear.

"Peng Yue, you can go out first." Liu Ji waved his hand, indicating that Peng Yue should go out first.

Although Peng Yue had some doubts, he was still willing to obey Liu Ji's orders. He cupped his hands in greeting and left the tent.

"Brother Xiang, now you can explain things more clearly, or should we ask your brother to leave as well?" After Peng Yue left, Liu Ji became much more relaxed, tapping the table with his index finger and glancing at Xiang An.

Xiang An frowned, and Xiang Yu stretched out a hand, signaling Xiang An to calm down: "No need, we brothers have always been together, and this time will be no exception."

"I just want to ask Brother Liu... if you have any resentment towards Xiong Xin?" Xiang Yu said this calmly, without even changing his expression, only the corner of his mouth slightly raised.

Liu Ji was stunned, and Xiang An was also stunned.

"Brother Xiang, what...what do you mean by this?" Liu Ji's expression turned serious. "Are you...going to rebel?"

"Big brother, you—" Xiang An stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with disbelief, about to ask.

"Xiang An! Calm down." Xiang Yu's expression turned cold, and he sternly stopped Xiang An. "I have my own plans!"

Xiang An froze on the spot, opened his mouth, took a few deep breaths, gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh, and finally sat down.

Once Xiang An calmed down, Xiang Yu's gaze returned to Liu Ji.

"Brother Liu, you jest. Of the three people in this room, tell me, which one didn't rise to power through rebellion?" Xiang Yu shrugged and asked Liu Ji, "Besides, wasn't Xiong Xin originally a puppet king whom he supported?"

"Where are we going to fight?" Xiang Yu continued before Liu Ji could object.

Xianyang.

"Wealth, troops, and food can all be obtained in Xianyang, can't they?"

Liu Ji shifted his gaze from Xiang Yu's face to the ground, lost in thought, pondering Xiang Yu's words.

"If Brother Liu is willing, I, Xiang Yu, will make a deal with you right here." Xiang Yu stood up and walked to Liu Ji's side. "Whoever enters Guanzhong first will be king."

"Do you dare to answer, Liu Ji?" Xiang Yu stood behind Liu Ji, and the powerful aura emanating from him made Liu Ji break out in a cold sweat.

Feeling the pressure from Xiang Yu, Liu Ji couldn't help but smile.

"dare!"

"Why wouldn't I dare!"

He stood up, turned around and looked at Xiang Yu: "General Xiang, did you say these words? Then I dare to say them!"

"Good!" Xiang Yu shouted, laughing heartily.

"This is exactly what Brother Liu has been waiting for!"

"In that case, how about we become sworn brothers? Not for the sake of mutual support, but simply to bear witness to today's covenant," Xiang Yu said, grabbing Liu Ji's shoulder and laughing loudly.

Xiang An: ?

Xiang An tilted his head, his mouth half-open, and stared in utter shock as his older brother and the old man spoke in a language he couldn't understand.

I'm thinking, Dad returned the memories he had sealed away to us so that you could find me another older brother?

Xiang An couldn't take it anymore. He rushed out of Liu Ji's tent, took a deep breath of the cool late summer evening air, and slapped himself to free himself from the eerie atmosphere.

Since Xiang Yu's memories were awakened, his behavior and thought patterns have become increasingly incomprehensible to Xiang An.

If you had to describe it in two words, Xiang Anyuan would call it outrageous; if you had to describe it in three words, Xiang Anyuan would call it extremely outrageous.

"What...what is my brother thinking?" Xiang An felt a throbbing pain in his temples and was completely baffled as to what Xiang Yu was doing.

While the idea that "whoever enters Guanzhong first becomes king" could be attributed to Xiang Yu's dissatisfaction with Xiong Xin, Xiang An truly couldn't understand why Xiang Yu later wanted to become sworn brothers with Liu Ji.

Without greeting Peng Yuefan and the other generals in Liu Ji's army, Xiang An walked back to his camp in a daze.

"Second brother, you're back. Where's eldest brother?" Zijuan looked a little listless, but when she saw Xiang An approaching, she forced herself to wave.

"Big brother, big brother he..." Xiang An scratched the back of his head, his expression contorted in a grimace, looking at Zi Juan with a questioning look on his face.

"What happened to my brother?" Zijuan's lips twitched.

"My brother... he's becoming sworn brothers with an old man... or something?" Xiang An walked past Zi Juan with a look of disgust and discomfort.

"......ha?"

"Wait until your brother comes back and ask him yourself. I really can't stand it anymore. What is he thinking all day long..." Xiang An sighed deeply, as if he were about to exhale his soul, and walked towards the stable, leaving Zijuan standing there, bewildered, trying to process what Xiang An had just said.

"Big brother, old man, sworn brotherhood?" Zijuan repeated these three words.

"What exactly does that mean?"

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

Chapter 914 The Complete Elimination of "Humanity"

Xiang An rode the swift horse, his face showing an expression of utter disbelief.

With Xiang Liang's death, the seals on the two brothers were broken, and their traits from before they were sealed were restored.

Xiang An's situation is easy to understand. Although he is a machine, his feelings are genuine.

However, after Xiang Yu's memories were sealed, he actually gained so-called "humanity" through the emotional module, but now the seal has been broken...

His extreme "rationality" almost completely destroyed Xiang Yu's humanity. If Xiang An hadn't been constantly by Xiang Yu's side reminding him, Xiang Yu probably would have lost all affection for his family even in the end.

Even so, Xiang Yu's behavior and thoughts seemed strange to Xiang An.

Strange.

A month has passed since then, and Xiang An still can't understand why Xiang Yu would become sworn brothers with that old man Liu Ji. The most crucial point is that after becoming sworn brothers, the two didn't have much contact. On the contrary, things became even more awkward.

Today is the day to set off again.

After leaving the training ground, Xiang An followed behind Xiang Yu and let out a long sigh.

The battle situation was almost exactly as Liu Ji had predicted: Xiang Yu would lead a portion of his forces north to attack Zhang Han, and then attempt to advance from Hangu Pass towards Xianyang.

As for Liu Ji, he should find another route south of the Huai River to attack Xianyang.

During this period, the army was patched up and repaired. A portion of the troops were drawn from Chen Ying's garrison in various places, and the last batch of able-bodied men were conscripted from the old Chu territory. This gave Liu Ji and Xiang Yu a total of 40,000 men before they set off.

This battle was a desperate gamble; if they lost, there would be no able-bodied men left in the Chu region.

Standing on the city wall of Xutai, Xiong Xin watched Liu Jijun and Xiang Yujun depart in two different directions. Recalling that Xiang An had barely paid any attention to him for more than a month, he breathed a sigh of relief.

At least I don't have to be under Xiang An's gaze all day anymore.

Escaping is shameful, but it's useful. Besides, he was genuinely worried that Xiang An might just get angry and draw his sword at him. They were all too familiar with armed coups and such; they were absolutely capable of doing it again.

"Can...we win? We should be able to win...right?" He muttered to himself, a hint of fear in his voice, as he watched the departing army.

vertex

......

The earlier prediction when the Chu army retreated was correct; the Qi state could not withstand Zhang Han's attack, especially now that Zhang Han had Wang Li's assistance, making him even more formidable.

Therefore, the State of Qi was destroyed, and it didn't even have the chance to ask the State of Chu for help. It was directly crushed by Zhang Han.

As for the neighboring states of Yan and Zhao, these two states are too busy to help themselves, so how could they possibly spare troops to aid Qi?

North of the chaotic river, the states of Yan and Zhao, who were being surrounded and prepared to be slaughtered by Qin generals Zhang Han and Wang Li, made the most correct decision after receiving news of Chu's renewed military intervention.

Ask for help.

"Xiang An, you lead your army and advance from Xiayi towards Waihuang." Xiang Yu summoned his generals to his tent for a meeting, and solemnly gave this order to his younger brother.

"Why? Isn't this avoiding the main battlefield?" Xiang An frowned.

Waihuang is very close to Kaifeng and Linji, and it's in the direction of the attack towards Hangu Pass, but... that's not the main battlefield at all.

"Could it be that you, elder brother, intend to emulate Liu Ji and bypass the main battlefield to launch a surprise attack on Hangu Pass?" Zijuan, as a subordinate general, also had some insights of her own, but there were some things she couldn't understand. "But if that's the case... wouldn't it be enough for Zhang Han to turn around and complete the encirclement of Second Brother?"

“We’ll hold him off.” Xiang Yu tapped the table and looked at Zijuan seriously. “I have a plan. We can win.”

Zijuan frowned: "If you have any plans, just say them. You are our general and my brother. What are you worried about?"

She was somewhat uncomfortable with Xiang Yu's recent behavior, feeling that he was a completely different person from before. Most importantly, he was no longer used to talking to Xiang An, Xiang Jing, or Zi Juan about anything, let alone discussing things with them, acting as if he wanted to take on everything.

Xiang An remained silent, sitting there quietly, feeling a tightness in his chest.

"The plan is simple: take advantage of Zhang Han's all-out attack on Zhao, launch a surprise attack from the flank, and divide the front and rear armies." Xiang Yu didn't intend to hide anything, but he didn't plan to tell Zijuan unless she asked.

"After the Battle of Dingtao, the idea that the State of Chu is half-destroyed is definitely already in Zhang Han's mind." He rested his hands on the table and looked at the generals. "We are going to take advantage of the fact that the other side underestimates us to attack Zhang Han's weak point."

"The victor is bound to be arrogant, and even Zhang Han could not escape this law, except that he became arrogant relatively late."

“There isn’t a single army north of the river to defend against us; we must take advantage of that.”

"Any other comments? If not, let's reorganize the military."

Xiang An left Xiang Yu's command tent without saying a word.

"General!"

She turned her head slightly and found that it was Han Xin who had chased after her.

Han Xin's face showed a hint of confusion and doubt.

"What's wrong?" Xiang An asked sullenly without turning his head.

"General, I'm asking... what should we do next?" Han Xin swallowed hard, cupped his hands in greeting, lowered his head, and asked through gritted teeth.

"How is it? The order to march is to advance westward," Xiang An said, turning to Han Xin.

"General, do you... really want to obey this absurd order?" Han Xin gritted his teeth, hesitated for a long time, and finally asked in a low voice.

Xiang An paused for a moment, looked at the sweat on Han Xin's temples, and sighed deeply.

"Let's talk about it when we get back. I'm leaving now."

Turning around, Xiang An walked towards his own tent.

Han Xin turned his head and glanced at Xiang Yu's command tent, then stamped his foot and chased after him.

Having walked a considerable distance, far from Xiang Yu's command tent, Xiang An stopped and sighed softly.

"Old Han, just say what you want to say." Xiang An looked distressed and extremely unhappy.

Han Xin looked around and, after confirming that no one was around, gritted his teeth.