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

After that, there's not much to say. The Jibei Army surrendered incredibly quickly after losing its leader, but the 20,000 Changshan Army soldiers who came to their aid gave Xiang An a lot of trouble.

“Twenty thousand is not a small number, and that old codger Zhang Er still needs to be mobilized.” Xiang An sat on the throne of the King of Jibei, sneered, and played with the mechanical bird Zhi Xiang, which had long lost all its functions. “The open conspiracy has succeeded. Now we just need to see if my elder brother can find a gap in the defense between Han and Changshan. If I’m not mistaken, it should be the Dingtao area.”

"...Dingtao, huh..." Zijuan, who had been the star of the siege, had no smile on her face. Instead, she sighed with a hint of sorrow.

Xiang An remained silent for a moment, then tapped on the table, attracting the attention of the generals.

"That Liu Laosan is not good at offense, but he is very strong at defense. Moreover, I have a bad feeling about the three guys in the south... We must be prepared to fight them."

“Then we have to continue heading northeast, or east.” Zijuan found a place to sit down, leaned her blood-stained spear against the side, and looked thoughtful. “If the three kingdoms in the south really betray us, they might cooperate with Zhang Er and the likes of the Three Qi to trap us in the center of the Central Plains. Then it will be difficult for you and our brother to break out.”

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I've heard that the Xiongnu in the north have come south to plunder the two Qin states. If it weren't for the Xiongnu helping us to restrain Han Xin's northward advance, the current situation would be even more difficult," Wei Hao said, shaking his head and crossing his legs.

Liang Ning, the lowest-ranking officer in the military, was outside organizing the troops.

"Second Brother, what about the remaining 10,000-plus Changshan soldiers?" Zijuan raised her head and looked towards the corner of the palace.

In a corner of the main hall, several palace maids from the Jibei King's Palace huddled together, trembling, not daring to look in the direction of Xiang An and the others.

Xiang An followed Zi Juan's gaze and glanced at the palace maid in the corner, who seemed to be thinking about something.

"Kill them all." Xiang An stood up, his body exuding a chilling, bloody aura, his tone resolute. "We need to establish our authority in Sanqi and attract more attention. These ten thousand soldiers from Changshan are the best targets for establishing our authority."

"Don't leak the information. Tomorrow morning, we'll massacre the Changshan soldiers."

"...Yes, Your subordinate obeys." Zijuan nodded in agreement after a moment of silence.

......

The two Qin states were where Han Xin was stationed.

"General, the Xiongnu in the north are too agile. We can't contact them at all. Now, the Xiongnu have plundered almost all the resources in northern Zhai Kingdom." A general bowed and reported to Han Xin with a serious expression.

"General, in my opinion, we should prioritize protecting our resources." An old man stroked his beard and looked at Han Xin seriously from the side. "Now, the Qin region is covered in snow, and the grain that can be sent from the south is too little. If this continues, I'm afraid we will run out of food sooner or later and be left with nothing to eat."

His name was Kuai Tong, and he assisted Han Xin in all military activities in the Qin region.

"I know, don't worry." Han Xin simply sat by the stove, warming himself by the fire, quietly observing the sand table, but his mind was filled with thoughts of things in the east.

Although he was attacking the two Qin states, he was still keeping a close eye on intelligence in the central plains. After all, it was his suggestion to Liu Ji to provoke Xiang Yu, and his activities in the north depended on Liu Ji's solid defenses in the central plains. Changes in the situation in the central plains would have a huge impact on his next move.

Of all these, what interested him most was Xiang An's movements.

Xiang An's previous trip through Yan to the Great Wall was not intended to be secretive. Han Xin was somewhat confused as to why Xiang An would take several thousand men to tour the Great Wall, but now that he had returned to the Central Plains, it would definitely have a huge impact on the current situation. As it turned out, Han Xin's guess was correct.

"The Three Qi cannot hold out for long. We need to speed up our northward advance. Lord Kuai, have your good-for-nothing son go and persuade Wei Bao again. We will gather the troops in Zhai Sai and head east." Han Xin walked to the entrance of the command tent, pulled back the curtain, looked at the swirling snow outside, and said to Kuai Tong.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his laughter was devoid of warmth: "Head east... to fight Wei Bao."

"...What? But—" Kuai Tong was stunned, his face paled, and he stood up abruptly.

"It's alright!" Han Xin suddenly turned his head, his eyes burning, and interrupted Kuai Tong's words in a loud voice, "The situation in the east will soon change dramatically, and we need more victories to stabilize the north."

"At this point, an ally is no longer as valuable as we imagined. In pursuit of efficiency, we..."

"Using the pretext of an alliance, let's directly attack the State of Wei!"

Looking at Han Xin's face, at that calm yet frenzied expression, Kuai Tong felt somewhat...

shudder.

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

Chapter 967 A Terrifying Object Not Belonging to Humanity

Xiang An arranged for people to dig a pit outside Boyang City and bury 20,000 Changshan soldiers in it.

This is a gesture; Xiang An is intimidating Zhang Er, Zhang Liang, and others, telling them not to meddle in the affairs of the Three Qi, or he will kill as many of their reinforcements as they send.

While we should strive for a change on the main battlefield, the situation in the Three Qi regions should not be too significantly impacted. Since Xiang An was able to exploit a loophole and directly attack Jibei, Peng Yue, Tian Bing, and others also had reason and opportunity to find a loophole in Xiang An's strategy.

It's a process of mutual competition, where it's all about who can better capitalize on the other's mistakes.

Kneeling beside Xiang An was Tian An, the Prince of Jibei, who had been captured alive by Zijuan in the Jibei Palace yesterday.

He was trembling uncontrollably, his face was pale, and his hands were tied behind his back, but he did not struggle.

“Your Majesty, I think I can still call you that now?” Xiang An squatted down and looked at Tian An’s face.

“...You won’t get any information from me.” Tian An lowered his head, frantically avoiding Xiang An’s gaze, even though his shoulders were trembling like a sieve.

"It doesn't matter. I never intended to get anything out of you in the first place. Having Xiao Si capture you was just to vent my anger." Xiang An smiled indifferently, stood up, and reached for the hilt of his eight-sided bronze sword.

"We've been at each other's throats for ages."

Xiang An's voice was devoid of any warmth.

The reputation of him and his three thousand veteran soldiers as "villains" was spread by the Three Qi.

Xiang An drew his bronze sword and placed it against Tian An's neck.

"Thus, Jibei perished..." Xiang An explained softly, and with a slight twist of his wrist, Tian An's head fell to the ground with a "thud," still bearing the expression of terror and hatred, rolling to the side.

Zijuan and Liao Ye stood not far from Xiang An, silently watching this scene.

Xiang An kicked the somewhat horrifying head aside, walked coldly down to the city walls, and instructed Zijuan, "Xiao Si, quickly reorganize the army, let them rest for a day, and set off on time tomorrow morning to continue eastward. Now is the best time to control the situation on the peninsula, and we cannot let it slip by."

"Yes."

......

At this moment in the Central Plains, Han Xin destroyed the Di tribe and was also entangled in battles with the Sai and the Xiongnu. Xiang An was attacking the Three Qi states, and Xiang Yu was attacking the Han state. At the same time, the military forces of several vassal states were tied up in the Central Plains.

At this moment, Liu Ji was arranging for several people to cross the Linjiang River in the middle and reach the territory of Hengshan and Jiujiang.

"Your Majesty, you should know how violent Xiang Yu's temper is. If such a person is allowed to control the world for a long time, then our fate will be..." The Han envoy, Sui He, sat below Ying Bu and earnestly spoke to Ying Bu.

Ying Bu held his wine glass, motionless like a statue, his eyes fixed on the wine in the glass.

The wine, with a slight ripple.

"Ah..." He nodded unconsciously, seemingly in response to Sui He, but...

Xiang Yu, King of Western Chu; Xiang An, Grand General of Western Chu, and Pillar of State.

Those two figures, seemingly like ghosts and gods, appeared as if they were right in front of Yingbu.

With a sudden grit of his teeth, Ying Bu drank the contents of his cup in one gulp, but choked and coughed violently.

“Your Majesty, since that’s the case, then you—” Sui He was still saying something when Ying Bu raised his hand, stopping Sui He from continuing.

"Alright!" Ying Bu's voice carried a hint of weakness. He lowered his hand, not looking at Sui He, but simply waved it off. "I know why you've come... I need to consider it further..."

Sui He paused for a moment, exchanged glances with the other envoys, and, feeling somewhat helpless, could only take his leave for the time being.

Yingbu was left alone behind the counter, and he poured himself another glass of wine.

He was terrified of Xiang Yu and Xiang An, so terrified that his bones trembled.

On that day at the Battle of Julu, he was a general of the vanguard army and witnessed Xiang Yu and Xiang An unleash a power that was absolutely inhuman, killing each other until they were covered in blood, like ghosts and gods.

Ying Bu still remembers that when he was standing at the front of the army, he and Xiang Yu, who was standing in the enemy camp bathed in blood, exchanged a glance.

That look carried no murderous intent whatsoever; it was... absolute ruthlessness.

So terrifying, so terrifying, absolutely terrifying, it drove Yingbu to madness with fear.

That one glance has kept Ying Bu from getting a single night's sleep since the Battle of Julu.

Every time Ying Bu closed his eyes, it was as if he had returned to the battlefield of Julu, where Xiang Yu, bathed in blood, stood there, watching him.

Yingbu knew that the terror was not directed at him; it was a disregard for all life. But... wasn't that enough to terrify him?

From that moment on, Yingbu confirmed a fact.

Xiang Yu and his younger brother Xiang An were the most terrifying beings, not of human origin.

After being assigned to Jiujiang by Xiang Yu and enfeoffed as the King of Jiujiang, Ying Bu never left Jiujiang again. He did not want to see Xiang Yu or Xiang An again, nor did he want to recall the terrifying eyes on the battlefield of Julu. Therefore, he hesitated and refused Xiang Yu's repeated requests for help. His father-in-law, Wu Rui, the King of Hengshan, had always preferred Liu Ji's methods and disliked Xiang Yu's tyranny. Influenced by Ying Bu's attitude, he did not send troops to aid Chu.

but......

Am I, Yingbu, destined to live in the shadow of that monster for the rest of my life?

Ying Bu gripped the wine glass with tremendous force, veins bulging, eyes wide with rage, his body trembling for some unknown reason.

He kept using illness as an excuse, but that monster must have sensed something was wrong long ago. He didn't ascend the throne back then so he could kill more easily! That's why he divided the land, returning it to the Warring States period. Now, with his brother's help, the rear is stable. Liu Ji's army won't hold out in Yongqiu for long; sooner or later, Xiang Yu will breach the city. Then—

Xiang Yu would never let Ying Bu, the King of Jiujiang, get away with not coming to his aid.

But if he were to defect and follow Liu Jigan, could the defenses of the Yellow River and Huai River basin hold out? Moreover, if he were to defect and lead his troops to the front lines, he would have to confront that monster head-on, and Ying Bu did not want to see Xiang Yu even once more.

What to do? What to do?

Ying Bu poured himself another glass of wine and then fell silent.

After an unknown amount of time, darkness fell outside. Yingbu suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes, drank the wine viciously, and then smashed the wine glass to the ground.

"Damn it—the rebellion!"

! ”

......

January has passed.

The weather had just begun to warm up, and Peng Yue and Tian Bing had gathered the troops of the three Qi states and set up a strong defensive line between the Ji River and the Zi River to protect the land of Qi. Xiang An was looking for an opportunity to attack.

After conquering the Di, Han Xin, with the help of supplies transported from the rear of the Han state, destroyed the Sai state, killed Sima Xin, drove out the Xiongnu, and led a Han army eastward.

And Xiang Yu...

He slaughtered everyone in Dingtao.

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

Chapter 968 Unable to Trust Anymore, the Chu Army Retreats West

It was February of 205 BC.

All in all, a year had passed since Xiang Yu divided the land among himself.

Before the spring thunder had even arrived, a roar resembling thunder could be heard from the camps outside the Linzi defense line.

"What the hell did you say?!"