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

"Okay." Zijuan nodded, not really resisting.

At least the earth wolf doesn't look strange; it didn't grow up to look like Ao Yin, who was clearly inedible.

......

Xiang An has been on his way for twenty days, and the war in the Central Plains is becoming increasingly urgent.

Han Xin's strategy of "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang" helped the Han state open up a route to the Central Plains, while the several states in the very center became restless, and the three Qi states further east were also poised to make a move under Peng Yue's control.

"We must find a way to contact Master Zifang." Liu Ji walked quickly through the military camp, with Fan Hui beside him. He said seriously, "Now that we have broken ties with Western Chu, the orders Xiang Yu gave us back then are no longer valid!"

"Master Zifang is a pillar of our Han Dynasty. If possible, please have him return from Korea as soon as possible!"

"Yes! But Your Majesty, what about the General?"

Liu Ji narrowed his eyes, pondering to himself.

There are not many soldiers available in Han now. Han Xin had previously taken 50,000 troops when he attacked Chencang. Now, by making up for the shortfall and recruiting some more soldiers from Bashu, Liu Ji has managed to gather another 30,000 troops.

The current strategy of the Han army is to divide its forces into two routes. One route, led by Han Xin, will head north to attack the states of Zhai and Sai. The other route, personally led by Liu Ji, will advance eastward from Chencang into the heart of the Central Plains.

Xiang Yu has already assembled his army and is reportedly preparing to attack Liu Ji, which is entirely expected.

Of the eighteen kings under heaven, even considering Liu Ji, whom Xiang Yu described as "lacking in courage," very few were truly capable of encompassing the entire realm.

The three Qi states were a bunch of scoundrels, the two Qin states were short-sighted, and the two Yan states were embroiled in fierce internal strife. The small states in the Central Plains couldn't even afford the resources to fight amongst themselves. King Gong'ao of Linjiang and King Wu Rui of Hengshan were indecisive and lacked ambition, respectively, making it difficult for them to achieve great things. King Ying Bu of Jiujiang, who had the courage to act, was a tattooed man. If someone with a tattoo on his face were to ascend to the throne, it would be too ridiculous for the world to be in such a state.

"There must be an emperor in this world. Since you are unwilling to be one, then I will be one!" Liu Ji snorted coldly. Although he was old, he still had a remarkable aura.

However, its imposing presence is still slightly inferior to that of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

"Issue my order: have Han Xin leave behind the soldiers guarding Chencang, and send 20,000 troops to join me in preparing to attack Linjiang!" Liu Ji pondered for a moment before issuing the order. "At the same time, send an envoy to contact Zhang Er, the King of Changshan, and have him—also begin his operation!"

"This subordinate obeys your command!" Fan Huiyi clasped his hands in a fist salute and withdrew, his face filled with excitement.

After declaring war, he launched an attack on three neighboring countries despite being short of troops. He seized the opportunity when the other side had not yet established a firm foothold and decisively abandoned the worthless land of Bashu. This courage... Liu Ji will surely have a place in the world!

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

Chapter 958 The Strategy of Winning Hearts and Minds

Night had fallen, and in the camp outside the Great Wall, soldiers were still sitting in twos and threes around the burning campfire. More than two hundred body bags lay not far away, but there were even more alien corpses lying on the other side.

"This is the first time we've faced such a monster. Although we were mentally prepared, it was still a bit rushed. Next time will be better," Zijuan patted Xiang An on the shoulder, offering a word of comfort.

Xiang An sighed, his eyes filled with sorrow: "There aren't many old soldiers left who came from Kuaiji with our family. I feel we shouldn't let them down after they've fought alongside us for so long. But now, with my elder brother like this, and me on the other side..."

Shaking his head, Xiang An rubbed his temples: "Xiao Si, I'm afraid of one thing. I'm afraid that when the world is unified, there won't be many of my old acquaintances left because of the war."

"If it turns out that way, what's the point of sitting on the throne as the supreme ruler?"

“I detest war. Every time I see people who should be living with smiles in this Central Plains holding weapons that can take each other’s lives, killing each other even though they have never met, I feel extremely heartbroken.”

"This land, which should have been thriving, has been turned into this by war..."

"Is this Second Brother's ideal and meaning?" Zijuan asked, sitting behind Xiang An.

“Yes, let the war stop! Let the Central Plains return to the peace it deserves.” Xiang An nodded. “The reason why my elder brother and I were named ‘Savior Machines’ is because Father and the First Emperor, the two people who created us, gave us the meaning of ensuring the continuation of the Central Plains. Therefore, all our actions are for the purpose of ensuring the better survival of the Central Plains.”

"We should march west beyond the Great Wall to exterminate the foreign tribes and return to the Central Plains to quell the war. This is what we should do." Xiang An smiled, but there was no sign of happiness. "That's how it should be. But now, I can't understand what my elder brother really wants to do."

"However... the fact that we can have disagreements is perhaps proof that we are human. But... I still think he's mentally ill."

"I think that's partly true," Zijuan said listlessly, poking the fire with a stick and resting her chin on her hand. "Big brother is a smart man, how could he make such a foolish mistake here?"

"I don't know." Shaking his head, Xiang An puffed out his cheeks and blew hard into the fire, extinguishing it. "Go to sleep early, we have to get up early tomorrow to search for the alien tribes."

......

The alien tribes were easy to find, but they were too scattered. Xiang An led a team of more than two thousand people to wander outside the Great Wall. Whenever he found any two or three alien tribes, he would kill them all. These things were complete pests and should not exist.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. The northern land was covered with a layer of white, while the Central Plains were in complete chaos.

Liu Ji and his cronies dragged all the states in the Central Plains into the conflict, and unsurprisingly, war broke out again.

Linjiang, which Liu Ji chose to attack first, did not choose to fight to the death with Liu Ji. Instead, it withdrew its borders far back, leaving enough land for Liu Ji, or rather for the other lords, to wage war, while it remained on the sidelines, clearly showing that it did not want to participate in the war.

Xiang Yu led his army westward to attack Han, but the three Qi states and Changshan states to the north, under Liu Ji's instructions, relentlessly harassed Xiang Yu's army, causing them great annoyance. Meanwhile, Han Xin led a portion of his army to fight against the Zhai and Sai states. These two states were not very strong to begin with, and they suffered greatly under Han Xin's various schemes. They had no choice but to request reinforcements from King Bao of Wei behind them, but King Bao of Wei completely ignored Dong Yi and Sima Xin.

King Bao of Wei was a shrewd man. He had been observing the general trend of the world and knew that Wei's military strength was insufficient. He would definitely need to find a powerful ally to rely on. However, he was still considering whether to ally with Chu or Han. In any case, he would definitely not support the states of Zhai and Sai. Everyone knew that Dong Yi and Sima Xin were short-sighted, and no matter how many promises they made, they would not help them.

Xiang Yu, having suffered a setback in his campaign against the Han, then ordered the three kings to provide reinforcements to the south, but...

King Gong'ao of Linjiang was like a salted fish; the orders sent by Xiang Yu disappeared without a trace. Ying Bu claimed to be unwell and unable to provide support, while Wu Rui also made various excuses and refused to provide support.

While interfering with the Western Chu's campaign against Han, Zhang Liang and Zhang Er also made contact and conspired to jointly destroy several surrounding small states.

Everything is trending toward madness.

Meanwhile, beneath the majestic northern pass, a general riding a white horse had already returned, his footsteps treading through the snow.

When Xiang An left the pass, he led 3,000 soldiers and 3,000 warhorses.

There are now 1,200 soldiers and 1,500 warhorses remaining.

The remaining 1,700-plus body bags were buried at the foot of the Great Wall.

The remaining 1,200 soldiers were all wounded, and dozens of them were seriously injured or disabled.

However, the foreign tribes of Northern Buyeo have been completely wiped out.

Xiang An exhaled a breath of hot air and brushed the snow off Tuan Chi's head.

"I came back before the snow stopped." Xiang An turned around, looked up at the majestic Great Wall, and sighed.

"Go, go back!"

Xiang An was extremely anxious and wished he could return to Pengcheng immediately to see if his elder brother had done anything outrageous.

As the weather turned cold, the war seemed to freeze as well, with all sides slowing down their actions, perhaps partly due to the approaching Lunar New Year.

The Yan Kingdom and Liaodong were engaged in internal strife, so Xiang An chose a route that would not attract attention from either side and led a thousand soldiers to slip away.

Xiang An's priority now is to get back to Pengcheng as soon as possible.

but......

Half a month later, in the territory of Sanqi.

Passing through a county town, Xiang An wanted to purchase some supplies. After revealing his identity, the soldiers guarding the town...

fo

They immediately closed the city gates and shouted for Xiang An to get out of the way.

After encountering this situation three times in a row, Xiang An finally couldn't bear it any longer when he saw the hungry old soldiers of Kuaiji. Together with Zijuan, he used a large spear to break open the city gate and dragged out the general guarding the city.

After questioning him, Xiang An received an answer that... was beyond his expectations.

"Am I a heartless bastard who kills without blinking an eye? Everyone has the right to kill me?" Xiang An frowned and looked at Zi Juan.

"...This must be Peng Yue's doing." Zijuan sneered, pointing her spear at Qi Jiang's face. "Tell me! Where did this rumor come from!?"

"I, I don't know either, I just heard it from others... but this rumor is true—no! It's so true it's almost unbelievable. It's winter now, and everyone is scared, so..." The general looked at the sharp blade that was about to be pressed against his face and was as scared as a quail.

"...Put him down, Xiao Si." Xiang An sighed as if he had thought of something. "This is a psychological tactic."

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

Chapter 959 Called a Villain

"A psychological warfare tactic?" Zijuan asked, puzzled.

Xiang An pondered for a moment, then suddenly opened his mouth and exhaled.

"I led my army to fight against foreign tribes outside the Great Wall, and I protected this bunch of bastards." Veins bulged on Xiang An's forehead, his eyes trembled, his chest heaved violently, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Then what about my comrades who died at the hands of these aliens!?"

The Great Wall buried a thousand pieces of armor, but earned him a notorious reputation and was condemned by heaven.

"Second Brother—" Zijuan couldn't help but take a step back.

Xiang An grabbed the general's head, ignoring the man's screams and cries. With a slight exertion, the skullcap couldn't withstand the immense pressure and was crushed by Xiang An, staining his hands with red and white blood.

The headless corpse fell to the ground, twitching eerily. Xiang An, with his back to Zijuan, was still breathing heavily, making Zijuan feel suffocated and unable to speak.

"Good, very good." Xiang An's eyes were bloodshot and he didn't show much emotion, but it was enough to terrify anyone.

"If you're planning to piss me off, you've succeeded, Peng Yue."

Xiang Yu may not have intended to become emperor, but he was definitely the biggest obstacle on the path of all those who aspired to be emperor.

The fulcrum of this stubborn rock was Xiang Yu's younger brother, Xiang An, who was also famous throughout the world. This reputation was supported by the two brothers together.

Therefore, to shatter this stubborn rock, we must first eliminate Xiang An.

After Xiang Yu divided the land among himself, rumors of discord between the two brothers had already circulated. Taking advantage of this opportunity, whether it was killing Xiang An, forcing Xiang An away from Xiang Yu, or turning Xiang An against him, this was what everyone in the world wanted to do. Peng Yue clearly chose the first option.

Peng Yue's strategy was very simple: to ruin Xiang An's reputation.

Several months ago, Xiang An went to the Great Wall via the Yan State. Although it was unknown what he was going to do, it was obviously the best opportunity. Therefore, Peng Yue, together with Tian Bing and Tian An, decisively carried out the plan, spreading some unfounded rumors to make the uninformed people outside Chu believe that Xiang An was really that kind of person.

Xiang An was a very capable thinker and quickly figured it all out. But the more he understood the implications, the angrier he became.

"Sanqi, Pengyue..."

Glancing at the slightly trembling Zijuan, Xiang An did his best to suppress his anger and momentum, and exhaled a long breath through his nose.

"Xiao Si, go find the grain officer, open the granary, and let the brothers have a good meal." Xiang An tried his best to keep his tone normal, spat out a mouthful of saliva, and strode out. "After the meal, set off immediately back to Pengcheng!"

"I'll go find someone else and ask them what has been happening in the world during this period."

"...This subordinate obeys orders..." It took Zijuan several seconds to break free from Xiang An's imposing aura. She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and answered.

About half an hour later, at the camp at the foot of the city wall.

"Are they all here? Where are the wounded?" Zijuan dismounted from Zaoji and asked Liao Ye.

“They’ve gone into the tents to rest. Two of them might not make it…” Liao Ye said sadly, following behind Zijuan.

Zijuan's walking posture stiffened slightly for a moment, then she sighed: "The food will be here soon. Go and tell him that we can go back to Pengcheng soon!"

"Yes!"