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

Before long, Xiang An changed into a dignified long robe and led the entire team toward Mount Tai.

On the first day of the eighth month in 204 BC, Xiang An, accompanied by the officials of the Northern Chu, set up an altar on Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth. He ascended to offer sacrifices to Heaven and descended to offer sacrifices to Earth, praying that the Northern Chu and even the whole world would be united as soon as possible, and that the weather would be favorable and the coming year would be peaceful and free from disasters.

Later, a stone was carved outside the cave where the Northern King was to sleep, with an inscription of eight characters.

"We report to Heaven that those who have rendered meritorious service have done so, and we praise the virtues of Chu."

Temples were also built here.

When this news spread, the whole world was shocked.

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Chapter 983 War Maniac

"How dare he perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai before he has even become the ruler of the world?!"

Xiao He angrily threw the bamboo slip he was using to relay orders to the ground.

Xiao He was in charge of logistics, which included various ceremonial matters. Naturally, he knew what the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai represented, and he was also very clear about how audacious Xiang An was.

Does he perhaps think he already has the world under his control?!

Bang!

Xiao He slammed his fist on the table, and the atmosphere in the entire hall became somewhat somber.

Liu Ji sat in the head seat, trying his best to control his emotions and taking deep breaths.

Xiang An's Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai was tantamount to issuing a declaration of war to all the feudal lords in the world, and it was a direct challenge to his face.

Liu Ji accidentally plucked a gray beard hair and let out a long sigh of relief.

“Regardless, what’s done is done. Since Xiang An dared to set up an altar on Mount Tai, he should be prepared to be attacked by the masses.” Liu Ji’s eyes flashed with a fierce light as he looked at Zhang Liang. “We need to arrange the next phase of the operation as soon as possible.”

Recently, Liu Ji has been controlling small groups of troops to harass and contain Western Chu, intending to erode Western Chu's strength in a relatively peaceful way, so that he can eventually achieve victory in one battle and destroy Western Chu.

However, the plan has been slow to make progress.

To tie down Xiang Yu's troops and energy to the greatest extent possible, it is essential to leverage the Han state's greatest advantage at present—its large population.

Relying on their numerical advantage, the battle lines were stretched infinitely. Even though the individual strength of the Western Chu soldiers was very strong and they won almost every battle in some areas, they could not withstand the excessive length of the battle lines and the number of battles.

However, Liu Ji was never able to make contact with the long northern border of Western Chu.

The reason, of course, was Xiang Yu's younger brother, Xiang An, who broke away from Western Chu and established his own state, and became the King of Northern Chu.

After Xiang An broke away, Western Chu and Northern Chu had little contact. Western Chu occupied the land in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and Huai River and focused all its attention on the north.

"Han Xin has done his best; we cannot blame him," Zhang Liang shook his head, somewhat helplessly.

Han Xin's ability to successively destroy the three kingdoms of Zhai, Sai, and Wei in the north, without money, soldiers, or food, is already superhuman. To ask for more would make Liu Ji, the ruler, seem somewhat inhuman.

"But there's nothing we can do. The northern border is too important if we want to quickly resolve the issue with Western Chu." Liu Ji shook his head and sighed slightly.

Even though Xiang An performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai and forcefully issued a challenge to all the feudal lords, including Liu Ji, Liu Ji still couldn't consider Xiang An as his primary adversary.

After experiencing a period of emptiness and weakness last year, Northern Chu destroyed the Yan Kingdom this spring and accepted the surrender of the Liaodong Kingdom. Now, its morale is high, and it has no shortage of money, soldiers, or provisions. If Liu Ji were to rashly provoke Xiang An at this time, he would be in trouble.

“Actually, things are already pretty good.” Xiao He regained his composure and spread his hands, saying, “When Xiang An left, he took half of Xiang Yu’s elite troops with him; otherwise, the pressure we would face would have been even greater.”

The three of them regained their composure and began to analyze how to avoid fighting Xiang An, while keeping silent about the fact that Xiang An had killed Peng Yue.

They're all adults now. Peng Yue is dead, so be it. If Xiang An wants to perform the Fengshan ceremony, let him. Fighting Xiang An now is definitely not a good idea. The best option is to have Han Xin keep Xiang An's attention focused on the northern defense line.

Anger is one thing, calming down is another; it's about being tactful and not feeling cold-blooded.

“The State of Zhao probably won’t be able to hold out for much longer. I’m afraid King Zhao will ask Xiang An for help.” Zhang Liang pondered for a moment, then frowned and tapped the table.

"I should say something, but what I'm more worried about is our General," Xiao He sighed, picking up his teacup and taking a sip.

“Don’t worry about Han Xin, he won’t betray us.” Liu Ji seemed very confident. “In fact, he’ll be even more eager to play against Xiang An.”

“He’s a war maniac. He’s overjoyed whenever there’s a war, let alone when there’s an opponent like this.” Liu Ji had a confident smile on his face as he lightly rubbed his cup with his index finger. “As long as the war doesn’t end, we don’t need to worry about Han Xin betraying us.”

"Is that so? Your Majesty, you should handle it as you see fit." Xiao He shook his head and took another sip of tea.

"Next, we will continue with our plan." Liu Ji narrowed his eyes and looked eastward, towards the direction of Western Chu.

"We have to keep 'losing'."

Han Xin did not react much to Xiang An's Fengshan ceremony.

"What does this have to do with me? Am I some kind of feudal lord?" Han Xin looked at Kuai Tong and his son Kuai Ge with a blank expression and asked, tilting his head.

Kuai Ge glanced at Kuai Tong and gritted his teeth.

"General, there is something I have long wanted to tell you!"

Kuai Ge knelt on one knee, looked up at Han Xin, and his eyes were filled with determination.

Han Xin glanced at Kuai Ge, who looked completely bewildered beside him, and frowned.

"What are you two up to?"

"I dare to be so bold as to implore the General to break away from King Liu Ji of Han and establish himself as king!" Kuai Tong lowered his head and said loudly to Han Xin.

"What did you say?" Han Xin's wary expression turned to astonishment. "General Kuai, do you know what you're saying?"

“General, let me explain.” Kuai Ge walked to Kuai Tong’s side and knelt down.

"The Great General's military exploits and contributions to the Han Dynasty are known throughout the world, but how did King Liu Ji of Han treat him?"

"Everyone knows how scarce supplies are for the troops fighting in the north."

“Even at this level, General, you were still able to conquer three kingdoms in succession. I believe that the land of Han cannot contain your talent!” Kuai Tong raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on Han Xin. “General, why don’t you establish yourself as king here? We will serve as your subjects and assist you. With your abilities, you will surely be able to contend with the two Chu states and the Han state, and perhaps even one day control the entire world!”

"All right!"

Kuai Tong's eyes lit up, and he wanted to continue speaking, but Han Xin interrupted him directly.

Han Xin sighed as he looked at Kuai Tong, who was stunned by being interrupted.

"Hey, old Kuai, we're all on the same side, you know me well." Han Xin shook his head, stood up, walked to Kuai Tong's side, and patted Kuai Tong on the shoulder.

"I'm not cut out for this; I won't be a good king."

"Therefore, let's not talk about this anymore."

Han Xin patted Kuai Tong on the shoulder again and walked out of the tent.

Kuai Tong and his son Kuai Ge were left in the commander's tent, feeling lost and dejected.

"Me, king? How could that be?" Han Xin muttered as he stepped out of the tent, then chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"What kind of king is a madman who lives off war?"

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Leave of Absence Notice

I am the author's biological aunt, and I helped post the leave request at my nephew's request.

He is currently in a very dangerous condition and has just undergone emergency treatment. Fortunately, he has not left us, but updates to this book may be suspended for a few days. Please be aware of this.

Thank you for your understanding.

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Chapter 984 Zhao State Seeks Aid

"Zhao Xie has asked us for help. Gentlemen, what do you think?" Xiang An threw a piece of cloth onto the ground in front of the table and asked the assembled civil and military officials, his tone tinged with impatience.

The state of Zhao was in a desperate situation at this time.

To the north, they had retreated to the Great Wall; to the west and south, they were all under the Han state; and to the east, they were under the Northern Chu state.

Even the combined forces of Wei and Zhao couldn't defeat Han Xin. Now, only Zhao remains. Even if they manage to gather some of the remnants of Wei's army, what difference will it make?

Originally, Chen Yu and Zhang Er were Zhao Xie's right-hand men, but now Zhang Er has stood on the opposite side of Zhao Xie. Chen Yu is left to fend for himself alone. He has a chance to defeat Han Xin, but it is really difficult.

If they did not want to surrender, only two paths remained for the State of Zhao.

The first option is to head north, cross the Great Wall, withdraw from the Central Plains, and completely withdraw from this war for the right to rule the Central Plains.

The second option, naturally, was to plead with Xiang An, with whom they had a relatively better relationship and had previously acquainted during the Battle of Julu, in order to obtain support from Northern Chu.

It is clear that King Zhao Xie has now chosen the latter.

He was ultimately unwilling to accept it.

Zhang Han's 400,000 Qin troops survived back then, so are they really going to lose to a mere Han Xin here?

“Zhao Wang Xie is a man of great ambition but little talent.” Xiang Lu sat in his seat, his face calm, and said with his arms crossed, “If it weren’t for Zhang Er and Chen Yu, he wouldn’t have gone this far.”

"So, should we help or not?" Wei Hao looked at the seat at the head of his table, where Zijuan was sitting.

Wei Hao is now a man of high rank and great power. He sits beside Zijuan, commanding 80,000 soldiers. Together with Liang Ning, the second-in-command, he is stationed on the southern defense line of Northern Chu, guarding against harassment from the Han army along the Yellow River and Huai River.

“I don’t want to help.” Zijuan tilted her head slightly, glanced at Wei Hao, and said with a cold look in her eyes, “In fact, the best outcome would be to take this opportunity to annex the Zhao Kingdom into our territory.”

“But if we ignore the calls for help and instead choose to attack, wouldn’t that be a bit…?” Liang Ning asked, frowning as she sat in the back.

Although there are clear class distinctions in the military, it does not mean that mid-level generals like Liang Ning have no opportunity to express their opinions.

“Yes, General, doing this will damage the King’s reputation…” A civil official glanced cautiously at Xiang An, then looked at Zijuan, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said the obvious.

Xiang An shook his head: "I don't care about these things."

“If I really cared about my reputation, I wouldn’t have gone up Mount Tai.”

“However… it would indeed be inappropriate to attack Zhao at this time; we have no reason to do so.” Xiang An sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. “Xiao Si, please calm down.”

He discovered that three out of the four members of his Xiang family in this generation had served as generals, and that significant changes would occur in the lives of Xiang Yu, himself Xiang An, and Xiao Si Zijuan before and after they took up the position of general.

Perhaps it was because he now knew what it felt like to carry something on his shoulders that Xiang An felt that Zijuan... had become more and more like her former self during this time.

"Yes." Zijuan didn't have many thoughts on this, she simply nodded, and continued to ask, "So, Your Majesty, shall we go to support the Zhao Kingdom?"

Xiang An pinched his chin, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Yes, but…we have to have conditions.” Xiang An stroked his beard and said with a smile, “Mr. Jiang Ming, this time, I’m counting on you.”

"Yes, Your Majesty," a young civil official replied with a smile as he sat to the side.