Although the captured military supplies were not many, and a large number of weapons and baggage that could not be taken away were forced to be abandoned and burned, but they actually rescued more than 16,000 Chu army prisoners, plus Li Youshi also incorporated a part of the prisoners of the Sanchuan Qin army, so unconsciously, the main force of the young marshal army, which was once deliberately split and weakened by Xiang Liang, broke through the 40,000 mark again, and basically withdrew to Suiyang with Xiang Kang. On the road there is little loss.

The surge in troops made Xiang Kang no longer overstretched in terms of distribution, and the young marshal generals such as Zhou Shu, Zhong Liwu, Long and Li Shang, who had to be overused, were finally able to command the army that matched their achievements and identities, and the other young marshal army ranks were also supplemented with enough soldiers, and the complete establishment was restored, and the old and weak soldiers who were eliminated were also organized into an army separately to help with some logistics work and try to share the pressure for the main soldiers.

After helping Xiang Kang quickly complete the reorganization of the army, Zhou Zeng, the first deputy of the civilian staff, sighed heartily and said: "After turning around, we are back in place, if nothing else, our army must be the army with the most strength and strength among the armies of Chu State." ”

Of course, Zhou Zeng's words are not arrogant boasting, although the young marshal's army has not yet contacted the remnants of the Chu army who fled south from Dingtao and mastered the strength of other Chu army troops, but Xiang Kang's directly subordinate army was originally the largest number among the Chu army's various units, and now it has directly doubled, even if the remnants of the Chu army fleeing south have no losses on the road, the number of troops is absolutely impossible to match the young marshal's army. However, what Zhou Zeng didn't expect was that after he said such a sentence casually, Xiang Kang, who was already in good condition, didn't know what evil he had fallen into, and his condition worsened again, and he had to give up his planned plan to withdraw to Pengcheng as soon as possible.

Xiang Kang's flowery intestines are also Zhou Zeng, who can deceive and deceive people, and he can't hide Chen Ping, who is also full of bad water, so after inquiring about Xiang Kang's physical condition, Chen Ping made a suggestion and said: "General Right, since your condition has not healed and you can no longer suffer from the fatigue of traveling and traveling, then our main force might as well be temporarily stationed in Suiyang, and then lead the troops back to Pengcheng after your health improves." But the general's body must be laid to rest as soon as possible, otherwise, let the subordinate lead a team of men and horses to escort the general's body back to Pengcheng first, and hand it over to Cao Sima and General Xiang Yu for burial as soon as possible, and also casually find out the current situation in Pengcheng for you. ”

Glancing at Chen Ping, seeing that he had already understood his thoughts, Xiang Kang was not polite, nodded and said: "So there is Mr. Lao, but the road from Suiyang to Pengcheng is far away, the road is treacherous, sir, you are a civilian, and you will lead the army to escort your uncle's body back to Pengcheng, I am afraid that accidents will occur on the road." In this case, I will let Brother Xiang Guan lead an army and escort my uncle's coffin back to Pengcheng with you. ”

"The right general is really cautious." Chen Pingyu smiled with a pun and said, "Okay, then ask General Right to arrange it for you." ”

Xiang Kang agreed, and immediately called Xiang Guan, and asked him to lead an infantry cavalry army to protect the remains of Chen Ping and Xiang Liang to return to Pengcheng first, Xiang Guan agreed, according to Xiang Kang's arrangement, first temporarily handed over the cavalry of the young marshal army to the commander of the baby, and then led two thousand cavalry to set off with Chen Ping, protecting Xiang Liang's coffin and returning to Pengcheng first.

The road was indeed not close, and it was difficult to travel in heavy rain along the way, so even if Xiang Guan and Chen Ping did not encounter any twists and turns on the road, it still took nine days to return to Pengcheng from Suiyang. At the same time, the remnants of the Chu army who fled south in embarrassment had already withdrawn to Pengcheng, and when they heard that Xiang Guan and Chen Ping escorted Xiang Liang's coffin back, Cao Zhi who stayed in Pengcheng and Xiang Yu, who had finally escaped back to Pengcheng, did not dare to slack off, and immediately went out of the city to kneel to welcome Xiang Liang's coffin, and cried bitterly in front of Xiang Liang's body.

Xiang Kang's deliberate arrangement for Xiang Guan to return to Pengcheng ahead of schedule was also reflected at this moment, without Chen Ping, an outsider, opening his mouth, Xiang Guan had already introduced Xiang Yu and Xiang Zhuang and other Xiang family disciples in detail with tears before and after the young marshal's army recaptured Xiang Liang's body, and also explained the reason why Xiang Kang did not return to Pengcheng immediately. I also had to pretend to care about Xiang Kang's condition for a few words.

It was also taken this opportunity that Chen Ping, who returned to Pengcheng with a vote of spies of the Young Marshal Army, also quickly figured out the current situation of the remnants of the Chu army, including the Cao Zhi Department who stayed in Pengcheng, the total strength of the remnants of the Chu Army was less than 30,000 people, of which the direct troops of Xiang Yu, Xiang Kang's biggest competitor, were only more than 7,000 people. At the same time, the remnants of the Chu army have not had time to re-elect Xiang Liang's successor, and they are in a chaotic stage without a leader.

But fortunately, affected by the heavy rain, the main force of the Qin army, which had difficulty in transporting grain and grass, had been forced to withdraw to Dingtao for grain, and there was no strength to launch a southern expedition for the time being, and the remnants of the Chu army were not in much danger for the time being, and there was still time to reorganize and survive the chaotic period after Xiang Liang's death.

To Chen Ping's surprise, the first to mention the issue of Xiang Liang's successor was Xiang Bo, who had never won the military power from beginning to end, after Xiang Liang's mourning hall was built in Pengcheng City, he prostrated in front of Xiang Liang's coffin, in front of many Chu army civil and military personnel, Xiang Bo actually cried like this: "...... Brother, rest assured, your big revenge and little brother will definitely take revenge, and the younger brother will definitely inherit your legacy, lead our Xiang family children to reorganize the soldiers and horses for you, rebuild the army of Chu State, and go north to capture and kill Zhang Han to avenge your blood hatred! Brother! ”

Crying loudly, Uncle Xiang also put up an elder stand again, and ordered the children of the Xiang family present: "Children, in front of your second uncle, make a vow to me now, and in the future, we must work together to avenge your second uncle under my command!" ”

Xiang Bo's tricks were a little rough, except for Xiang You, who was lucky enough to rush across the Jishui pontoon bridge to escape for his life, and promised loudly that he swore in front of the spirit according to Xiang Bo's request, the other Xiang family disciples almost didn't move, and the old man Fan, who crossed the river with Xiang Yu first, was still unceremoniously, and immediately said: "Master Xiang, please pay attention to your words, when did the general say before his death that if he encountered misfortune, he would let you take over from him to lead the army of Chu?" What do you mean by forcing the major generals to swear to follow you before the spirit? ”

"You're ......!" Xiang Bo's forehead was a little bruised, and he said angrily: "My brother didn't say anything about letting me take over his command of the army before his death, but as the master of Chu State and my brother's only younger brother, it is justifiable to lead the children of the Xiang family to avenge him for him, and it is also a family affair of our Xiang family. ”

"Master Xiang, whether you will take over the general's command of the army, this is not only your family matter, but also the state affairs of our Chu State." Ling Yin Songyi also stood up and said even more unceremoniously: "Our Chu State now has a Chu king, and who will inherit the general to lead the soldiers and horses of Chu State, except for the Chu King of our Chu State, no one counts." ”

Old man Fan and Song Yi took the lead, and some of the bold Chu army civil and military forces also echoed it, all accusing Xiang Bo of his scheming intentions and vain attempts to forcibly seize military power, and even Xiang Yu couldn't stand it, and said: "Uncle Ji, the second uncle's bones are not cold, you can't wait to replace him, are you going too far?" ”

The other children of the Xiang family were silent, and no one stood up to say a word for Xiang Bo, seeing that he was so unpopular, Xiang Liang, who was so annoyed and angry, simply didn't bother to cry, and directly stood up and threw down a sentence and left, "Okay, since you are so opposed to the old man avenging his brother with his own hands, then I don't bother to take care of the affairs of the Chu State, you can toss as much as you like!" ”

Seeing this scene, Chen Ping suddenly came to the conclusion in his heart, knowing that it was no longer possible for Xiang Bo to compete with Xiang Kang for the qualifications of Xiang Liang's heir, but after glancing at Xiang Kang's eldest brother Xiang Yu, who openly opposed Xiang Bo to replace Xiang Liang's commander, Chen Ping was still very worried in his heart, and said secretly: "Unless this person voluntarily elects General Right as commander, he will not only definitely have a dragon and tiger fight with General You, but the army of Chu State will also be divided because of this." ”

In the next two days, Chen Ping, who was good at intelligence work, carefully learned about the internal situation of the Chu army through various channels, and found that on the issue of Xiang Liang's heir, the Chu army was roughly divided into three factions, one faction was headed by Song Yi, advocating that the king of Chu Xiong Xin should decide Xiang Liang's successor; One faction, led by Old Man Fan and the old men of the Jiangdong Chu Army such as Cao Ji and Huan Chu, supported Xiang Yu, who was born in the Jiangdong Chu Army, to inherit Xiang Liang's military power, and some of the children of the Xiang family and the generals of the Chu Army, Yingbu and Ji Bu, also stood on Xiang Yu's side; The Chu army members who hope that Xiang Kang will inherit the position of general are the most numerous, but the strength is the weakest, except for Feng Zhong, the commander of the light pole who has almost lost the army, can barely say a few words, the others are all grassroots soldiers of the young marshal army who have been incorporated by the Chu army, and the general people are soft-spoken, and they have no right to speak in the temple.

After probably figuring out these situations, Chen Ping was inevitably more worried in his heart, and secretly said in his heart: "The situation is not good, the Jiangdong Chu army supports Xiang Yu for their interests, and Xiang Yu is the eldest brother of the right general, and he has an obvious advantage in seniority, if he and the right general do not make a certain compromise with each other, I am afraid that a situation of snipe and clam competition will be formed, so that the fisherman on the side of the king of Chu will benefit." ”

After coming to this conclusion, for the sake of Xiang Kang's interests, Chen Ping couldn't help but have an idea, planning to find a way to persuade Xiang Yu to give up competing with Xiang Kang for military power, and each leader an army completely hollowed out the bear's heart, and firmly held the power of Chu in the hands of the Xiang family. However, before Chen Ping could take action, Xiong Xin, the king of Chu, who was forcibly moved to Xutai by Xiang Liang to build the capital, suddenly led Chen Ying's army and some Chu officials such as Jingju to Pengcheng in a hurry, and presided over the overall situation of Pengcheng after Xiang Liang's death with the honor of the king of Chu.

After pretending to cry bitterly in front of Xiang Liang's spirit, Xiong Xin, who seemed to be young and cowardly, soon showed his edge, and immediately sealed hundreds of officials without hesitation, especially the generals of the Chu army who currently held military power, and named Liu Laosan as the Marquis of Wu'an, and the county guard of Xue County; Feng Xiangyu is the Marquis of Chang'an, eats Yi Ludi, and is called Lu Gong; Feng Cao Jiu is the right Sima, Wen Anhou; Yingbu, Ji Bu, Chai Wu, Xiang Zhuang and others, as well as Lu Chen, the culprit of the Chu army's Dingtao fiasco, also received Xiong Xin's blessing to buy people's hearts and appease the ministers.

Only Xiang Kang did not immediately get Xiong Xin's reward, but in front of the ministers and Chen Ping, Xiong Xin made a promise with a smile on his face, and said: "The reward of the right general is not in a hurry for the time being, the reason is not that the widow is stingy, and he is reluctant to give the right general's gift, but the right general's merit is too great, and the hard work is definitely not under the martyred general, so the widow has to wait for the right general to return to Pengcheng and give it to him in person." ”

After that, Xiong Xin also specifically named Chen Ping's name and said: "Mr. Chen Ping, if you are a widow, please be sure to tell General You, so that he doesn't have to have any ideas, and withdraw to Pengcheng with the army as soon as possible to assist the widow in presiding over the overall situation." ”

Chen Ping smiled and agreed, thanked Xiong Xin for Xiang Kang, and then Xiong Xin said: "Ladies and gentlemen, the general was unfortunately martyred, and the hearts of the widows were extremely painful, but the army of Chu cannot be leaderless, so let's discuss the affairs of the army today." ”

Hearing this, Xiang Bo immediately stood up straighter, and coughed involuntarily, reminding Xiong Xin not to forget his respected master of Chu State, Xiang Liang's own brother. Old man Fan, Cao Ji and others were also gearing up, ready to recommend Xiang Yu to Xiong Xin, who was optimistic about him, but Song Yi was bitter in his heart, and said that Xiong Xin had no brains and wanted to continue to hand over the military power to the members of the Xiang family.

Xiong Xin's next words surprised everyone, Xiong Xin actually said: "The current situation of our Chu army, the widow also has a certain understanding, except for the army of the right general Lan Lingjun, the other Chu army is already uneven, seriously damaged, many of the army is not even half of the full number, if this situation is not changed, it will be difficult to resist the invasion of the violent Qin army, let alone overthrow the violent Qin, and avenge the general." Therefore, the widow intends to temporarily take back the army in the hands of the generals, completely disperse it and reorganize it, and then return it to the generals to command, I don't know what the generals think? ”

Before Xiong Xin finished speaking, Song Yi, who didn't want the members of the Xiang family to continue to control the Chu army, had already lit up his eyes and immediately looked at Xiong Xin. However, Xiang Yu, Cao Ji and others were in an uproar, and they all said: "King, the reorganization of the army can be carried out directly in all departments and battalions of our army, why do you need to completely disperse and then reorganize??" ”

"Generals, don't be impatient." Xiong Xin said very casually: "The reorganization of the army, although it can be carried out directly in the various departments and battalions of our army, but the widow has just said that the army of our Chu State has now suffered a great loss of vitality, and the establishment is seriously damaged. Only by completely dispersing, reorganizing, and unifying command and orders can we make concerted efforts to revive the military prestige of our Chu State, don't you say? ”

Not to mention, Xiong Xin's words are really reasonable, if the remnants of the main force of the Chu army, which is seriously injured, are reorganized on the basis of the original establishment, it is indeed a change of soup and not a change of medicine, even if the reorganization is completed, they will each fight with an army with serious lack of strength, and it is even more difficult to compete with the Qin army, only if it is completely dispersed and reorganized, and the command is unified, and then it can fight with the Qin army. However, Xiang Yu, Cao Ji and others still have doubts, and although they no longer resolutely oppose it, they are also unwilling to express their support.

Xiong Xin was indeed very skillful, and when he saw that the generals of the Chu army refused to express themselves, he immediately took a step back and said: "But there is no need to be anxious about this matter, the generals may wish to think about it carefully when they go back, and then we will discuss how to implement this matter another day?" ”

Seeing that Xiong Xin's change of words was postponed, the skeptical generals of the Chu army of course immediately nodded in agreement, but Chen Ping, who had looked down on Xiong Xin before, was impressed by Xiong Xin, and said in his heart: "What a little vertical man, after being ruthless and not under our right general, he found an excuse to temporarily take back the military power, and who will hand it over to in the future, but you have the final say." But you also think too beautifully, Xiang Yu and Cao Ji are not fools, how can they easily hand over the military power and be at your mercy? ”

Chen Ping still underestimated Xiong Xin too much, after the end of the court meeting, Xiong Xin first secretly summoned Song Yi, who resolutely supported his power, and carefully discussed the secrets with him, and then Song Yi and Jing Ju, who had already accepted his fate, and other Chu kings quickly became active, visiting the generals of the Chu army under various banners, persuading Xiong Xin to take the initiative to hand over the military power, and accept the reorganization of the Chu army presided over by Xiong Xin himself.

Song Yi is responsible for dealing with the most difficult Liu Laosan and Xiang Yu, in front of Liu Laosan, Song Yi is very clear about what Liu Laosan needs, in addition to promising for Xiong Xin to let Liu Laosan continue to command the original soldiers and horses, and reminded Liu Laosan in a roundabout way, saying that if the members of the Xiang family are allowed to control the power of the Chu army, Liu Laosan will definitely have a hard time, and it is likely that he will be the life of the old Xiang family for the rest of his life.

In the end, Song Yi also told Liu Laosan very bluntly that after Xiong Xin took power, in order to weaken the influence of the old Xiang family in the army, he would definitely only reuse the generals of the Chu army who were not descendants of the Xiang family. And Liu Laosan, who is politically talented, also understands this principle, so after thinking about it, Liu Laosan still gritted his teeth and agreed to temporarily hand over the military power and support Xiong Xin to take power!

In front of the more difficult Xiang Yu, Song Yi was even more desperate, and even pulled Xiang Kang out to threaten Xiang Yu, saying that if Xiang Yu did not support Xiong Xin to control the army, and forced Xiang Kang to hand over the military power to accept the reorganization, then with Xiang Kang's current army strength and influence in the Huaisi region, he would definitely forcibly inherit Xiang Liang's power and become Xiang Yu's boss with the following grams, and only by helping Xiong Xin forcibly reorganize Xiang Kang's army, Xiang Yu's status in the army would not be affected. In addition, of course, Song Yi had to be clever and clever, and made various promises for Xiong Xin, ensuring that Xiang Yu's official status in the future would only be higher.

Xiang Yu has never been a selfless person, and after listening to Song Yi's persuasion, he felt justified, Xiang Yu also gritted his teeth and nodded and agreed to take the lead in handing over the military power. Song Yi was overjoyed when he heard this, and while desperately praising Xiang Yu's loyalty to the country, and his righteousness was thin and cloudy, he said with a cruel smile in his heart: "Xiang Kang Xiao'er, all the generals of the Chu State have handed over their military power to accept the reorganization, now I see if you will pay it or not?!" ”