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

This was the first time Zijuan had commanded the entire Northern Chu army in battle as a general.

Unfortunately, this battle is the founding war of Northern Chu, and Zijuan must win.

It's impossible not to worry about Xiang An being unable to participate in the war, but now, all his worries and anxieties have vanished.

"Xiao Ye, notify everyone still in the camp to prepare for the march."

Xiang Anzhong stood up again and walked out of the tent with a relieved expression on his face, stroking his beard.

"From this day forward, Linzi will be the capital of Northern Chu!"

Liao Ye knelt behind Xiang An, his face also filled with excitement.

"Your Majesty, I obey your command!"

He walked out quickly, and looking at Liao Ye's back, Xiang An couldn't help but look westward.

After that, Northern Chu had finally gained a firm foothold...

...Xiang Yu, what are your thoughts?

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

Chapter 978 Hanging on the North City Wall

In 205 BC, on the sixth day of the sixth month, in the morning.

"Xiao Ye, take a few men and take down the plaque from the Qi King's Palace for me later," Xiang An instructed Liao Ye as he walked through the main gate of the hall.

"Yes!"

Xiao Ye went to find someone to remove the plaque, while Xiang An led several guards into the main hall, where Zi Juan stood to greet them.

"Your Majesty, all the Qi ministers who haven't escaped from the city are here." Zijuan clasped her hands in a fist salute and stood behind and beside Xiang An.

Xiang An stood at the entrance of the main hall and glanced inside. The first thing he saw was a group of Qi officials gathered together, most of them with expressions of fear on their faces. Some of them were tied up, while the few who were not tied up had fawning smiles on their faces.

Xiang An looked at Zi Juan with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, those who were tied up were the ones who resisted the arrest the most. Those who weren't tied up basically surrendered voluntarily," Zijuan replied.

Nodding, Xiang An indicated that he understood, and then asked, "What about Peng Yue? You didn't kill him, did you?"

"Not yet, it's right there." Zijuan gestured with her lips.

Xiang An looked in the direction Zi Juan pointed and saw an unconscious figure lying on the side of the main hall, with gauze wrapped around his wrists and ankles, and bloodstains on the ground.

Xiang An ignored the Qi Chens, who were either glaring at him or offering ingratiating smiles, and walked straight toward Peng Yue.

Peng Yue's tendons in his hands and feet have been severed by Zijuan, so he is destined to be unable to cause any trouble.

Xiang An looked down at Peng Yue, who was still unconscious, and just stared at him, lost in thought.

After a long while, Xiang An sighed, drew his long sword from his waist, grabbed Peng Yue by the hair, and lifted him up.

"Before this, I was always thinking about what to do when this thief fell into my hands, but now that it's really happened..."

Shaking his head, Xiang An placed the sword blade against Peng Yue's neck and, with a slight exertion, killed Peng Yue while he was unconscious.

Xiang An threw Peng Yue's head to the ground, kicked it, and looked at a guard: "Go, go hang this bastard's head on the north city wall, so that he faces north and looks in the direction of the Great Wall."

The guard carried Peng Yue's head away, and Peng Yue's headless body was also dragged away by others. Xiang An sighed with some melancholy, then swayed to the center of the hall and sat down.

"I will not kill you, at least not all of you." After Xiang An sat down, he took out the mechanical bird Zhi Xiang and slowly played with it. He looked at the group of Qi ministers who had been captured, his tone was deep and oppressive, making all the Qi ministers feel like they couldn't breathe.

"Hand over all your money, and you can temporarily secure an official position in my Northern Chu, though it will be a demotion." Xiang An simply sat there, looking at Qi Chen, using his imposing aura to intimidate them, without making any unnecessary movements.

"You, you thief—how could we—" Qi Chen, who had just been tied up, jumped up in a fit of rage, but before he could finish speaking...

No mistake

Peng——

Zijuan kicked Qi Chen in the face, sending him spinning around.

He struggled to turn over and stand up, but Zijuan forcefully stepped on the back of his head, and two long spears instantly pressed down on both sides of his head, scaring him so much that he dared not move.

"Don't mistake me for one of those sycophantic feudal lords. I'm different from them." Xiang An's expression remained unchanged. He simply sighed and tilted his head. "I'm more focused on efficiency, so I didn't intend to ask for your opinions."

"If you disagree, just die."

Xiang An made a gesture to Zi Juan, who nodded, drew her longsword, and stabbed it directly at the back of Qi Chen's head as he resisted.

"Wait—Pfft—"

Qi Chen was so terrified that he wet himself, but before he could even utter a word of begging for mercy, a long sword pierced his head, pinning him to the palace floor.

“The Northern Chu Kingdom has just been established, and I am short-handed.” Xiang An stood up and slowly walked towards Qi Chen. “That’s why I didn’t plan to kill you.”

Qi Chen, who had initially been filled with anger, became hesitant and fearful after witnessing the fate of the other Qi Chen. Only a few still wore expressions that suggested they wanted to devour Xiang An.

Xiang An narrowed his eyes slightly, chuckled, and continued speaking.

"If you are willing to submit, you can keep the money, but the grain... don't keep it."

"The eastern territory still needs to be consolidated. There will be many battles in the second half of the year, and I need supplies."

"So... what do you gentlemen think?"

......

Most of the Qi officials had submitted. In fact, Xiang An did not want to keep these unstable factors, but the biggest problem facing Northern Chu at the moment was too severe, which was the lack of people. Therefore, Xiang An had no choice but to keep these ministers who still held important positions in Qi and make them work for him.

Of course, there was a small group who did not choose to submit. Xiang An showed no mercy to these people, giving them the ending they desired.

Follow Qi, and die together.

The civil officials were acceptable, but the military officers were mostly brought by Xiang An himself.

"Wei Hao, the western defense line is temporarily in your hands."

Similar to the period of the Three Qi, after Xiang An established the Northern Chu, his first military consideration was the western defense line.

With Han, Changshan, and Liu Ji's henchmen all stationed in the western part of Northern Chu, Xiang An had no choice but to be on guard.

“Right now, Liu Ji’s focus won’t be on us, so you won’t be under too much pressure. You must hold on.” Xiang An looked at Wei Hao and solemnly gave his order.

"This subordinate obeys your command." Wei Hao knelt down and cupped his hands, without asking Liu Ji where his current focus was.

"Xiao Si, you lead the main force to the east." Xiang An's eyes moved and looked at Zi Juan. "The situation in Jiaodong is very chaotic right now. We must clean it up as soon as possible. The rear cannot be unstable."

"This subordinate obeys your command." Zijuan also bowed and presented Xiang An's order.

"Han Xin is currently attacking Wei in the north. Although it will take a considerable amount of time, if Wei is conquered by him, it will pose a serious threat to our north. Yan will not be able to hold out for long."

Xiang An sighed as he spoke.

Being a king was more difficult than he had imagined.

However, the most critical issue for Xiang An is that the flood season is approaching. Sanqi is located in a river system, and if it is not handled properly, it is very likely that next year's grain and fodder will not be replenished.

We still need to find a way to build water conservancy projects...

"Go, all of you, and carry out your respective tasks well." Xiang An tapped the table in front of him, looked at the officials sitting on both sides, and resumed his serious demeanor.

"Although I will surely control the world in the future, it is too early now. Resting and recuperating and stabilizing the situation are the things we need to do now."

"...Take your time."

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

Chapter 979 War Begins

A month after Xiang An had completely taken control of the Three Qi, something happened that caught him completely off guard.

Although Xiang An had instructed the officials of Northern Chu to take charge of the water conservancy project, there was a shortage of manpower and too little time, so it was difficult to see any results.

However, it happened to be July, the flood season, and a large amount of rainwater flowed into the river, causing the water to surge...

The dam has burst.

Not only did the dikes breach, but the river also changed course. The river, mixed with a large amount of silt, washed over the entire Sanqi region, submerging large tracts of land and causing a flood that directly covered nearly half of the farmland in northern Chu.

The locations where the river changed course and the dikes breached left Xiang An feeling somewhat helpless and at a loss for words.

The river was diverted from the section near Dongjun City.

Xiang An took out almost all the money and most of the grain from the Northern Chu royal palace to help the disaster-stricken people in various parts of Northern Chu with disaster relief and rebuilding their homes. As a result, the finances of the Northern Chu royal palace finally could not hold on any longer.

"We have to fight."

General Zijuan of Northern Chu, who had just returned to the Northern Chu Palace in Linzi, said this to his elder brother.

Today, Zijuan has been appointed by Xiang An as the Pillar of State of Northern Chu, granted the title of Duke and Minister, and given a fief of ten thousand households. Her fief is Langya Commandery.

Therefore, besides the title of Grand General, Zijuan is now more often referred to as "Lady of Langya".

This was not because Xiang An favored Zijuan and bestowed so many prestigious titles, ranks, and military positions upon her; rather, it was because Zijuan had personally earned these merits after becoming the Grand General of Northern Chu.

After Xiang An occupied Linzi, he nominally controlled the three Qi regions, and the Jiaodong Peninsula was naturally included in Xiang An's territory. However, in reality, Xiang An's control over Jiaodong was far less than that over the land a little to the west.

A large number of disbanded troops who broke away from the fallen Qi regime occupied cities in Jiaodong and refused to submit to Northern Chu. In order to ensure that the front line could receive sufficient support, stability in the rear was essential.

Xiang An was still recovering from serious injuries and had too many things to handle in the Linzi Palace, so the task of reclaiming Jiaodong naturally fell on Zijuan's shoulders.

Zijuan's shoulders are not broad, but they are enough to bear this burden.

"No." Facing the menacing Zijuan, Xiang An sternly interrupted her.

"Huh?" Her emotions were interrupted, and Zijuan was stunned, looking at Xiang An with surprise and confusion.

Xiang An took a few deep breaths and said helplessly, "Xiao Si, we can't fight right now."

“The manpower and money needed for disaster relief are too much; we can’t rush it.” Xiang An shook his head at Zijuan.

"That's even more appropriate." Zijuan frowned.

"Xiao Si, haven't you considered who we're fighting now?" Xiang An sighed slightly and stood up.

Northern Chu had four neighboring states: Western Chu to the south, Changshan and Han to the west, and Yan to the north.

Zijuan was taken aback again.

It seems like there's really no one who can beat them?