The children of the Xiang family finally did not rely on Xiang Yu and Xiang Kang to fight for themselves this time, although Liu Laosan repeatedly inquired, Xiang Zhuang and Xiang Han and others still tacitly kept their mouths shut together, and did not tell Liu Laosan, the culprit of the Hanguguan incident, what the old man of Shangshan Zhou Shu said to them, and insisted that Zhou Shu was just persuading them with some nonsense that did not kill each other, and then also issued a gag order to other people present at the time, not to leak the slightest rumor.

Not to mention, because in addition to Xiang Kang, the scum, who is treacherous and cunning, that is, Xiang You, the baby son of Master Xiang Boxiang, is more slippery, and the other children of the Xiang family are usually honest and rectal, plus the courtesy letter of Uncle Zhou brought by Zhou Shu, there is no mention of asking Xiang Zhuang and others to investigate the truth of the Hanguguan incident on their own, so this time even Liu Laosan was rarely deceived by Xiang Zhuang and others, and he didn't have any suspicions, and he just cried and died in battle. The gambling curse vows to avenge Xiang Sheng.

Of course, Liu Laosan is just talking about revenge, after the breakout battle was hit hard, the remnants of the Chuji coalition army that finally fled back to Boyang totaled less than 18,000 people, even if they were replenished by thousands of troops in Boyang City, the capital of Jibei Province, the total strength was only about one-tenth of the northern line army of the Han army, and the strength was so weak that there was no hope of even holding Boyang, of course, let alone a Jedi counterattack, defeating the northern army of the Han army to avenge Xiang Sheng.

Because of this, on the night of Xiang Sheng's coffin, it was basically confirmed that there could be no more remnants of the army to flee back to Boyang and return to the team, under Liu Laosan's strong advocacy, the remaining high-level civil and military forces of the Chuji coalition army got together and held a meeting to discuss the next countermeasures.

After the meeting began, Liu Laosan was the first to speak, and said straight to the point: "Zuo Sima, King Jibei, and the generals, in my opinion, with our current situation, there is no hope of holding Boyang, and because the amount of water in Wenshui is far less than that of the big river Jishui, it is basically impossible to rely on Wenshui to stop the Han thieves, so I think that we had better be prepared to take the initiative to abandon Boyang as soon as possible, and withdraw to the battlefield that is favorable to us to regroup and wait for reinforcements." ”

Out of duty, Xiang Zhuang temporarily put aside the words of Zhou Shu, the old man of Shangshan, and asked, "Then where do we retreat?" ”

"Two choices." Liu Laosan, who had already carefully considered this, immediately replied: "First, retreat westward to the saltless area of Zhangxian in the north of Juyeze, take advantage of the complex terrain where there are many rivers to confront the Han thieves, and wait for our Western Chu King to return from Puyang for reinforcements. The second is to retreat directly south to the hinterland of Xue County, lengthen the supply line of the Han thieves, exchange space for time, wait for our king to return to the division from Chidao for reinforcements, and shorten the northward distance of other reinforcements in our Western Chu rear. ”

"It must not be withdrawn to Zhangxian without salt." Han Xin said quietly: "If we retreat west to Zhangxian Wuyan, Uncle Zhou will immediately understand that we are hoping to join forces with the King of Western Chu in the north of Juyeze, and we will definitely seize the opportunity to decisively enter the army to pursue, and then Xiang Kang's traitors will definitely take the opportunity to lead the army to pursue, join forces with Uncle Zhou to attack us and the army of the King of Western Chu, and directly launch a decisive battle between Han and Chu." ”

"In the decisive battle in the northern part of Junozawa, all the circumstances are not in our favor." Han Xin added: "First of all, our grain route cannot be guaranteed, although the salt-free area of Zhangxian County is connected with our Dingtao Town, but there is a giant Yeze in the middle that is the lair of the Peng Yue thief army, with the ability of the Peng Yue thief army, after getting the assistance of the Han thief, it is easy to cut off our water grain route." On the contrary, the Han thieves can send an inexhaustible supply to the front line from Licheng through the Jishui waterway, and they will not have to worry about the grain route like we do. ”

"In addition, the northern part of Juyeze is far away from our Western Chu hinterland, and our follow-up reinforcements are easy to be surrounded by Han thieves to send reinforcements and break through each one, so if we join forces with the King of Western Chu in the Wuyan area of Zhangxian County, not only will there be no hope of turning the tables, but even the army personally led by the King of Western Chu will be in danger of being annihilated by the Han thieves."

Liu Laosan nodded, and then said: "That's no way, we just need to retreat to the hinterland of Xue County, the last choice, Zuo Sima, what do you think?" ”

After hesitating for a moment, Xiang Zhuang nodded and said, "It's okay, if it is confirmed that the Han thieves continue to attack Boyang in the south, we will quickly retreat south to the hinterland of Xue County." ”

Seeing that Xiang Zhuang approved Liu Laosan's suggestion, Wang Tianda of Jibei, who had always had a complicated expression before, hesitated again and again, but couldn't help but ask: "Zuo Sima, Pei Gong, what about Boyang?" Boyang is the capital of our Jibei. ”

"King Jibei, the ministers know that you are reluctant." Liu Laosan said with a wry smile: "But there is no way, the situation is here, sticking to Boyang is definitely a dead end, leaving the green mountains in order to have firewood, so King Jibei, you can only endure the pain this time, not only have to take the initiative to give up Boyang, but also try to transfer the grain and grass in Boyang City to the south, and all the ones that can't be taken away must be burned, otherwise, the Han thieves will definitely use these military supplies and grass to continue the pursuit, and not give us a chance to breathe." ”

Tian Da twisted his face in pain, but Tian Liu, the prime minister of Jibei, refused to give up, and said: "Zuo Sima, Pei Gong, can't you think of other ways?" Boyang is the capital of our northern Jibei, the city is high and the moat is deep and the fortifications are strong, if you stick to it with all your might, there may not be no hope to hold it? ”

"I can't hold it." Liu Laosan shook his head painfully and said, "No matter how strong Boyang City is, can it be as strong as Julu Puyang, a famous city in the world?" Even Julu and Puyang can't stop the weird trebuchet of the Han thief, let alone Boyang. ”

I have seen the scene of the Han army using a counterweight trebuchet to break through Licheng on Jinji Ridge, of course, Tian Da, the king of Jibei, also understands that Liu Laosan's words are definitely not an exaggeration, after gritting his teeth, Tian Da simply said: "This king can take the initiative to give up Boyang, but Zuo Sima, Pei Gong, this king still has a problem, if the Han thief takes Boyang or refuses to give up, and continues to pursue south, what should we do?" It's not like retreating again and again, retreating to Pengcheng, then retreating to Huainan, and then retreating to Jiangdong, right? ”

Liu Laosan was completely speechless, and only replied after a while: "I can only take one step at a time, first try to lengthen the supply and grain route of the Han thieves, and gain time to meet with the main force of our king, and then we can discuss how to go next." ”

Tian Da sneered helplessly, and was very disdainful of Liu Laosan's perfunctory answer, and then Tian Liu had a whim, and suddenly said: "King, Zuo Sima, since you all think that you should take the initiative to give up Boyang, then why don't we use this to make some articles and try to plot against Uncle Zhou's puppet?" ”

"Is Tian Xiang joking?" Liu Laosan laughed directly and said: "Let's not say that Uncle Zhou's puppet is already the general of the Han thief, and there are more than 10,000 people under one person in the Han thief army, just based on the current situation, how can Uncle Zhou's puppet throw ...... us, huh?" ”

Speaking of this with a wry smile, Liu Laosan's heart suddenly moved, and he suddenly burst out in surprise, and changed his words: "How did I forget this method?" In the current situation, it is impossible for Uncle Zhou's puppet to surrender to us, but we can rebel against him and persuade him to establish himself as king? As long as he covets the throne and betrays Xiang Kang, that traitor, not only can our current crisis be resolved immediately, but the war situation in the entire world will be completely reversed? ”

"That's what I meant." Tian Liu nodded and said: "Since the king and Zuo Sima both think that you should take the initiative to give up Boyang, then we might as well make the favor bigger, take the initiative to send someone to contact Uncle Zhou's puppet, and take the opportunity to persuade Uncle Zhou's puppet to betray Xiang Kang's traitor and take the army under his command to establish himself as the king of Qidi, as long as he moves his heart, in order to win the recognition and help of the king of Western Chu, he will definitely not kill us, and then we can not only get a chance to breathe, It can also seriously weaken the overall strength of the Han thieves and completely reverse our current increasingly passive strategic situation. ”

After saying that, after glancing at his master Tian Da, Tian Liu hurriedly added: "Of course, as compensation, we have to ask the king of Western Chu to take out a piece of land from other places and seal it to our king to make up for the losses of our Jibei army." ”

Hearing this, Tian Da also immediately understood what Tian Liu meant, considering that he couldn't keep the land of Jibei no matter what, and was about to send people to live on the leftovers of the Western Chu army under the fence, Tian Da immediately said after a little calculation: "Zuo Sima, Pei Gong, as long as the king of Western Chu promises to make up for the losses of our Jibei army, then the king can not only take the initiative to cede the entire territory of Jibei, but also use the power of our Tian clan to help Zhou Shupifu establish himself as king in Qidi, in exchange for Zhou Shupifu betraying the Han thief army and reversing the situation in the world." ”

"The problem is definitely not big, with the wisdom and martial arts of the King of Western Chu, for the sake of the overall consideration, he will definitely not be stingy with the King of Jibei, you will definitely compensate." Liu Laosan immediately drew a big cake for the Jibei Army, then turned to Xiang Zhuang and said, "Zuo Sima, what do you think?" If you agree, we'll immediately discuss how to plot against Uncle Zhou's puppeteer. ”

It is still a matter of duty, although his heart has begun to waver, but after thinking about it repeatedly, Xiang Zhuang still said: "This matter is too big, we must report to the king first, and then act according to the king's decision." ”

"Zuo Sima, the opportunity must not be lost, and it will not come again." Liu Laosan hurriedly said: "Uncle Zhou's camp is only a little more than a day away from Boyang, and it is possible to come south to attack Boyang at any time. According to the general's opinion, it is best for us to send someone to explain the situation to the king, and at the same time start to plot against Uncle Zhou and set himself up as the king now! If this move can be successful, the situation in the world will definitely be reversed immediately, even if it can't be successful, we can also make Xiang Kang's traitor suspicious of Uncle Zhou, so that our king can personally take action after agreeing! ”

"And." Liu Laosan added: "According to the general's opinion, in terms of the current situation in the world, our king will definitely not oppose our plan, and after knowing the situation, he will only praise us for doing a good job and doing it right, and will definitely not blame us for making this decision for him." ”

Xiang Zhuang, who lacked assertiveness, was still a little hesitant, but he couldn't resist Liu Laosan's repeated persuasion, and Tian Da, who was about to send someone under the fence, hoped to compensate himself by doing a favor in exchange for Xiang Yu, and constantly helped persuade Xiang Zhuang to decide, Xiang Zhuang finally nodded reluctantly and said: "Okay, then you guys quickly discuss how to do it, and then we will act according to the plan." ”

When Liu Laosan and Tian Da and others heard the great joy, they hurriedly discussed, and soon decided to send a well-spoken debater as a messenger, carrying Xiang Zhuang's letter to Uncle Zhou to the north to contact Uncle Zhou, in exchange for taking the initiative to donate the entire territory of Qi and recognizing Uncle Zhou as the king of Qi, they tried their best to persuade Uncle Zhou to betray Xiang Kang and establish himself as king, and induce him to make other Han army civil and military forces report to Xiang Kang, and at the same time directly give up Boyang, which is impossible to hold, without making any resistance, and prove the sincerity of the Western Chu army willing to turn enemies into friends with Uncle Zhou. also induced Han Jun Wenwu and Xiang Kang to be more suspicious of Uncle Zhou.

Unable to resist Liu Laosan and Tian Da's repeated requests, Xiang Zhuang first personally wrote a letter to Uncle Zhou, and then wrote a letter to Xiang Yu, explaining to Xiang Yu what happened, asking Xiang Yu to forgive and support his decision to exceed his authority. However, just when Xiang Zhuang arranged for someone to deliver a letter to Xiang Yu, Han Xin next to him suddenly said: "Zuo Sima, wait a minute, ask a question, when the Han thief sent a messenger to send back the remains of General Xiang Sheng today, did you bring a letter written to you by Uncle Zhou's husband?" ”

"Brought one, the content is to comfort me not to be too sad, what?" Xiang Zhuang asked suspiciously.

"Great!" Liu Laosan, who was next to him, woke up, and hurriedly jumped up and said: "Zuo Sima, please send the letter written by Uncle Zhou to you, together with the letter you wrote just now, to the front line of Puyang and hand it over to our king!" ”

After all, it was someone who had spent a lot of time with Xiang Kang, a top bad seed, and Xiang Zhuang immediately understood what Liu Laosan and Han Xin meant, and said, "Pei Gong, what do you mean by asking our king to arrange for someone to imitate Uncle Zhou's handwriting seal and forge his letters to divide the Han thief and the monarch?" ”

"To be precise, it's to repay grievances directly!" Liu Laosan said with a cruel smile: "Xiang Kang's traitors have always liked to forge other people's letters to sow discord, and now it's our turn to use his means to clean him up, I don't believe it, he will really be absolutely at ease with Uncle Zhou, who commands more troops than him!" Then as long as he makes a little move on Uncle Zhou, our affairs will be much easier! ”

Xiang Zhuang thought about it, nodded, and first ordered the guards to find the letter from Uncle Zhou that Zhou Shu brought by the way today, and handed it to the messenger to send it to the front line in Puyang, and then said in his heart: "The sentence of repaying grievances with direct is what you said, and I will remember it." ”

"Uncle Zhou, don't blame me for harming you with despicable means." Han Xin also said in his heart: "It's you who are shameless first, and you will only rely on more to win when you fight with me, and I can only use this method to get rid of you, a troublesome opponent." As long as Xiang Kang's traitors take away your military power, even if we only have more than 20,000 troops left, I may not be able to win against your Han thieves' army of more than 200,000! ”