Although the battle of Suiyang lasted not very long, from the main force of the young marshal army was forced to retreat to the Suiyang defense line, until the main force of the Qin army took the initiative to withdraw to the Chenliu area to rest, before and after the sum of less than a month, so short that even the young marshal army did not even have the opportunity to implement the original tactical plan, and forced the Qin army to withdraw by harassing and cutting off the grain route, but the battle was so fierce, the intensity of the war was high, and the battle situation changed rapidly, but no one on the two warring sides thought of it beforehand, and no one did not make military and spiritual preparations. That's why it had to end in a draw.

The main force of the Qin army was miserable and miserable this time, and Zhang Han's right-hand man Dong Peng was defeated three times under the shameless tricks of the young marshal army, each time he suffered heavy losses, and every time he lost in embarrassment; Zhang Han is not much better, three times he personally led the army to fight, twice was forced to draw by the young marshal's army relying on the strength of the fortifications, and once again, if it was not for the Jedi counterattack launched at the Xiangyi ferry and reversed the situation again, the main force of the Qin army would definitely have to suffer another fiasco, even if there was no danger of annihilation of the whole army, it would definitely have to break arms and legs, and the casualties would be even more heavy.

However, even so, the main force of the Qin army was exhausted, the division veterans were tired, and it was difficult to launch a large-scale decisive battle again, and after many defeats, the Qin army's troop losses were also considerable, accumulating close to 50,000, which hurt the vitality, and the weakness of the lack of grain and grass and the long road to transport grain gradually began to be exposed, so Zhang Han had no choice but to withdraw to the area of Chenliu to rest and recuperate, and wait for the future to find the anti-Qin coalition army to settle accounts and take revenge.

The same was true for the anti-Qin coalition army, Xiang Liang's Chu army, and the servant armies of Lü Chen, Yingbu, Wei Bao and others all suffered heavy losses in Xiangyi, and almost all of their ordnance, weapons, and grain and grass were lost, and they had to find other supplies. Although the young marshal's army relied on the outstanding strategic command of Xiang Kang, Zhou Shu and 'Feng Zhong', it never suffered any big losses, and it has always taken advantage, but after repeated battles, the officers and men of the young marshal army are still almost completely exhausted. Therefore, the anti-Qin coalition army did not have any choice, even if they knew that the Qin army might make a comeback, they could only leave Suiyang quickly and withdraw to Pengcheng, the current main city of the young marshal army, to rest and recuperate.

Although there is no difficulty in the queen of the palace this time, the young marshal army always thinks about the overall situation, or wins the gratitude and respect of the friendly army to Xiang Kang and the young marshal army, and is extremely respectful to the young marshal army, but many people are also very clear that this is probably the last time the young marshal army maintains an independent establishment to carry out military operations, as long as Pengcheng is withdrawn, the young marshal army will immediately be absorbed by the Chu army, and it may even be completely disrupted and reorganized.

The decision-makers of the young marshal's army are also well aware of this situation, but whether it is Zhou Zeng, Chen Ping and Li Shiqi and other civil officials, or Feng Zhong, Chao Zhi, Zheng Bu, Ding Ji and other military generals, none of them have any complaints, let alone persuade Xiang Kang to do something to change this situation, because they all know very well that in this era of great importance to etiquette, elders and young, and respect and humility, Xiang Kang has a hundred courages, and he will never dare to throw off Xiang Liang and work alone, continue to be independent and self-contained, so everyone in the young marshal army can only show that there are talking and laughing. In fact, he led the army eastward with trepidation, and marched for the last time under the banner of the young marshal.

Xiang Kang himself didn't dare to say anything, first of all, filial piety doomed Xiang Kang to accept the co-optation of the Chu army, and secondly, after really meeting with Xiang Liang, Xiang Kang finally understood the huge gap between himself and the second uncle of the hero in terms of prestige and influence, and he was also the commander of the first army, no matter how much Xiang Kang did, it was difficult to make other anti-Qin friendly troops happy and convinced, and took the initiative to accept the incorporation, and at the same time, most of the old Chu nobles scattered among the people also had a wait-and-see attitude towards Xiang Kang, and there were definitely not a few who refused to succumb to Xiang Kang.

However, Xiang Liang was completely different, and it was only on the way to retreat, the two armies of Yingbu and Lü Chen had already accepted the persuasion of Xiang Liang's subordinates, and promised to accept Xiang Liang's incorporation after withdrawing to Pengcheng, giving up the banner of Zhang Chu that had been held high before, and fighting the banner of Chu instead. As for the old Chu relics scattered among the people, they rushed to Xiang Liang to ask for employment, and even Jing Ju, a descendant of the Chu royal family, jumped out of the control of the young marshal army and ran to Xiang Liang to restore his identity, asking to revive the Chu State with Xiang Liang.

"After all, it's the real descendant of Wu Xinjun! I, a child of the Xiang family who has been separated by a generation and a layer of blood, can't catch up with my uncle's prestige and influence. After muttering a sentence sullenly, Xiang Kang, who was somewhat jealous in his heart, could only leave this regret behind him, and honestly retreated to Pengcheng with his uncle to meet his imminent change of fate.

At the beginning of April, the anti-Qin coalition army successfully withdrew to Pengcheng City, and the young marshal army and civil and military forces who stayed in Pengcheng went out of the city ten miles under the leadership of Xiang Sheng to greet Xiang Liang, and greeted Xiang Liang with the most solemn etiquette. Zhu Jishi and other young marshals were very dissatisfied, and Xiang Kang's heart was also very unhappy.

Fortunately, Xiang Liang is also very clear about Xiang Kang's situation, in order to appease Xiang Kang, a competitive nephew, after returning to Pengcheng, Xiang Liang has always let Xiang Kang be the first in his left column, and the position is still above Xiang Kang's overlord brother Xiang Yu, and Xiang Yu, who attaches great importance to family affection, has no complaints. Then when Xiang Kang saw Yu Miaoge, Xiang Yu, who didn't know that he had been wearing some kind of hat, was not only amazed by Yu Miaoge's beauty, but also behaved with Yu Miaoge, and did not have any greed, which made Xiang Kang feel a little relieved.

Next, of course, is the real highlight, after officially entering Pengcheng, Xiang Liang ordered a banquet in the Chu army camp, and gathered everyone to have a banquet together, Xiang Kang did not dare to slack off, and quickly received the invitation of the young marshal army to prepare for the camp banquet, before leaving, Xiang Kang also looked back at his handsome tent with some reluctance, and his expression was very melancholy. Chen Ping, who had already resigned from the official position of Wei State next to him, saw Xiang Kang's thoughts, and hurriedly asked in a low voice: "Young Marshal, you plan to take this opportunity to present the seal letter to Xiang Zhuguo in public." ”

Xiang Kang nodded silently, and Chen Ping didn't stop him, but just whispered again: "Young Marshal, before you officially hand over the military power, can you give another final order, take out 10,000 gold from the army and hand it over to your subordinates, there is a very important matter in your subordinates, and you must use this money." ”

didn't ask Chen Ping what he wanted to do with the 10,000 gold, Xiang Kang just immediately ordered Chen Ping to go to the quartermaster to withdraw 10,000 gold, and Chen Ping didn't explain what he wanted to do with the money, but only bowed his hand to Xiang Kang, expressing his gratitude to Xiang Kang for employing people.

After coming to the camp of the Chu army, in front of countless civil and military soldiers, Xiang Kang took the initiative to present his seal to Xiang Liang, and handed over the military power to accept Xiang Liang's incorporation. Then in the cheers and praise of everyone, Xiang Liang patted Xiang Kang's back again and said in a low voice: "Kang'er, don't worry, your uncle can't treat you badly." ”

Whether it is reasonable, believing in righteousness, the second uncle of the hero will never treat himself badly, of course Xiang Kang knows this very well, so even if he temporarily handed over the military power, after the banquet, Xiang Kang was still very relieved that he did not return to the camp of the young marshal, and returned to the city with peace of mind to enjoy the gentleness and sweetness of the Yu sisters. However, what Xiang Kang didn't expect was that when he took the Yu family sisters into his arms at the same time, he was extremely angry with his third uncle Xiang Bo, and he also sneakily found his hero second uncle, and despite his hero second uncle's repeated scolding, he insisted on saying something very unfavorable to himself............

On the morning of the next day, Xiang Liang, who had formally incorporated the Young Marshal's Army and the Yingbu and Lüchen armies, held another meeting in the Chu army camp to comprehensively adjust the personnel structure of the Chu army and rearrange the commanders of each army. Then, as Xiang Kang expected, Xiang Liang really let Yingbu and Lu Chen each command the original army and accept his direct command. And on the side of the young marshal army, because the size of the young marshal army is too large, Xiang Liang really opened and closed, and quickly split the young marshal army with a total strength that was twice that of the Chu army - Xiang Liang can't be blamed for this, no matter who it is, it is impossible to allow the strength of his subordinates' direct army to far exceed his own direct army.

The young marshal army of Donghai County was divided into two by Xiang Liang and handed over to Xiang Sui and Chen Ying respectively, and the Surabaya young marshal army was also divided into two armies and handed over to Xiang Sheng and Xiang Han to lead the two generals, and the young marshal army of Dangjun was handed over by Xiang Liang to the Chu general Cao Ji to command. As for the main force of the young marshal's army in Pengcheng, Xiang Liang's actions were even greater, and he even allocated the two armies of Xiang Zhuang and Feng Zhong separately, and they both formed armies alone, and they both directly obeyed Xiang Liang's orders. In addition, Xiang Yang and Xiang It, the two children of the Xiang family, were also transferred out of the Young Marshal Army by Xiang Liang, of which Xiang Yang was arranged to serve in Feng Zhong's army, and Xiang It served as the commander of Chen Ying's army.

The young marshal's army was directly divided all of a sudden, and Xiang Kang, who single-handedly formed the young marshal army, inevitably felt very uncomfortable, but fortunately, Feng Zhong was still a little righteous, and immediately stood up and said: "Xiang Zhuguo, the last general's talent is mediocre, and he is really useless, and he rashly takes up important positions, I am afraid that he will miss the major affairs of Chu State." He also asked Xiang Zhuguo to retract his order, so that Mo would continue to be under General Xiang Kang and assist him in serving Chu State. ”

He glanced at Feng Zhong very movingly, Xiang Kang didn't dare to say anything, but Xiang Liang smiled slightly, and said: "General Feng doesn't have to be so modest, when you were under Kang'er's account before, didn't you already take charge of the battle on the southern front of Kang'er?" Moreover, you have never lost a single battle in commanding the army alone, but you have also fought more beautifully than one battle, which has long proved that you can be an army on your own and take charge alone, so why be so modest? ”

"General Feng, my brother is lifting you up." Uncle Xiang also said with a smile on his face: "Brother appreciates you so much and gives you such a good opportunity to make contributions, why should you be humble?" Haven't you thanked my brother for his promotion? ”

Feng Zhong looked at Xiang Kang with great hesitation, Xiang Kang had tears in his heart, but he still had to force a smile on his face, and said: "Big brother, congratulations, this is what you deserve, don't be scared, thank my uncle quickly." ”

Seeing that Xiang Kang also said this, Feng Zhong, who was really righteous about Xiang Kang, had no choice but to honestly thank Xiang Liang for his promotion, and left Xiang Kang from then on, and directly obeyed Xiang Liang's command with Xiang Kang.

I felt very guilty in my heart, and after adopting my brother's bad idea to cut off the right-hand arm of my beloved nephew, Xiang Liang finally showed mercy, in addition to sealing Xiang Kang as the right general, and returned all the remaining young marshal army to Xiang Kang's commander, and despite the strong pleas of another beloved nephew Xiang Yu, he insisted that the cavalry of the young marshal army led by Xiang Guan continue to be subordinate to Xiang Kang, and did not continue to weaken the strength of Xiang Kang's department. At the same time, Xiang Liang also said: "My Great Chu can be revived, Kang'er is definitely a great meritorious, and his military exploits cannot be unrewarded." In this way, Kang'er, my uncle will also give you a title, and title you as Lanling Jun, and after the success of major events in the future, Lanling will be your fief. ”

"Uncle is wrong in love, and the little nephew is ashamed." Xiang Kang hurriedly became humble and said: "In our army, you are the only uncle who has the title, how can the little nephew have the title, how dare you share the title with your uncle?" also asked his uncle to take back his order and be able to be crowned the right general, and the little nephew was already satisfied. ”

"You have done a great service to the country, and you deserve it." Xiang Liang shook his head and said, "You don't have to be modest, it's so decided, in the future, you will be the Lanling Jun of our Chu State." ”

Xiang Kang pushed again, but Xiang Liang insisted on not allowing it, and Xiang Kang had no choice but to accept his first title after coming to this era - Lanling Jun. It's okay, the title is not bad, at least it's pleasing to the ear.

After receiving the title of Lanling Jun, of course, everyone congratulated Xiang Kang, and Xiang Kang thanked them one by one with a smile. However, at this time, Old Man Fan suddenly stood up and arched his hand to Xiang Liang and said: "Shangzhu Kingdom, there are some things that the old man has wanted to talk about for a long time, although General Right has worked hard in the major event of reviving the Chu State, and it is natural to be named a prince and marquis, but this title is not given by the King of Chu, and it will inevitably make people feel that the name is not right. In the humble opinion of the old man, we should follow the example of Wei Qi and other countries, select talents from the descendants of the king of Chu, and rebuild the court of Chu, only in this way can our army and the righteous army of Chu be closely united under the banner of the king of Chu, resist the tyranny of Qin, and rejuvenate the state of Chu. In addition, meritorious service and reward can also be justified, and it can also inspire our soldiers to fight bravely to kill the enemy and break the tyrannical Qin. ”

"Sure enough, it came."

Xiang Kang glanced at Old Man Fan, but he didn't speak, but Xiang Bo spit out an ivory from his mouth and said, "The King of Chu still needs to find someone else to support him?" My brother is the son of Xiang Yan, a famous general of the old Chu, who has reinvented the Chu State and restored the king of Chu, my brother is not the king of Chu, who is the king of Chu? ”

Xiang Bo took the lead, and some Chu Jun civil and military forces who really supported Xiang Liang and wanted political speculation naturally echoed one after another, saying that Xiang Liang should establish himself as the king. Old Man Fan raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "Master Xiang, and everyone, do you want Xiang Zhuguo to repeat the mistakes of Zhang Chu King Chen Sheng?" ”

After drinking angrily, Old Man Fan said in a heartfelt voice: "Haven't you heard of it? After Chen Sheng, the king of Zhang Chu, conquered Chen County, Zhang Er and Chen Yu, famous scholars in the Central Plains, persuaded him not to be king, and to find the descendants of the six royal families to support him, so as to build party henchmen, form allies, and strengthen himself with weak enemies! But Chen Sheng didn't listen, he had to establish himself as the king of Chu, causing the people of Chu to be scattered, and his subordinates followed suit, first the military ministers established themselves as the king of Zhao, and then Han Guang established himself as the king of Yan, and then the Wei State and the Qi State turned against him one after another, and everyone rebelled and left, which was vulnerable in front of the violent Qin army! Although Xiang Zhuguo is the concubine of Xiang Yangong, a famous general of the old Chu, he is not a descendant of the Chu royal family. ”

Xiang Bo and the others were speechless, and Old Man Fan turned to Xiang Liang and said: "Xiang Zhuguo, although the throne is tempting, if you are not qualified enough and arrogant and self-reliant, it will not only make the world laugh, but also cause people's hearts to be scattered and bring disaster upon yourself." Zhuguo, your family is only a general in the Chu State for generations, and you have established yourself as a king, and the Chu people will inevitably disobey. But if you are selfless and selfless, looking for the descendants of the king of Chu and choosing a virtuous person, then the hearts of the people of Chu will inevitably be happy for everyone, and the remnants of the old Chu will inevitably be longed for by everyone. ”

Even in the late Han Dynasty, Old Man Fan would definitely be regarded as a pedantic scholar when he said such a thing, but there was no way, it was the end of the Qin Dynasty, and it was only a dozen years since the collapse of the Six Kingdoms, all of which adopted the aristocratic elite system, and the concept of noble blood was still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the Xiang family, who had been swaggering and deceiving under the banner of Xiang Yan's descendants, attached great importance to this issue. So just like in history, after hesitating for a long time, Xiang Liang, who felt that his bloodline was not noble enough, still made up his mind, nodded and said: "Fan Gong's intention is exactly what I want." Yes, if you want to win the hearts of the people of Chu, the only way to support the descendants of the king of Chu to rebuild orthodoxy is the best policy. ”

"Brother." When Uncle Xiang heard this, he was anxious and hurriedly said: "Our Xiang family has already laid such a vast land, how can we still let others come to sit on our country?" ”

"Shut up! Hugh is babbling! Xiang Liang scolded, and said, "What is our Xiang family? It's a soldier of the Chu State! Have you forgotten that our Xiang family has been loyal to the Chu State for generations, and we have been the courtiers of the Chu State for generations, and our Xiang family members are all soldiers of the Chu State, and the land we have laid is of course the rivers and mountains of the Chu State! ”

After drinking and retreating from Xiang Bo, who was actually thinking about himself, Xiang Liang gritted his teeth again and said: "It's so decided, find the descendants of the king of Chu as soon as possible, support him as the king, and rebuild my Chu country!" ”

Seeing that Xiang Liang had made up his mind, Song Yi, the Chu general who was once the commander of the Chu State, hurriedly stood up and said, "Since the general is determined to support the king of Chu, then there is no need to bother looking for it. Could it be that the general forgot that Jing Ju, the queen of Chu, is currently in our army? ”

"Jingju?"

Still had to be reminded by Song Yi, Xiang Liang suddenly remembered that there was indeed a Jing Ju in his army with the blood of the Chu royal family, and he could legally and reasonably support him as the king of Chu. Seeing that the situation was not good, Xiang Kang hurriedly said: "Shangzhu Kingdom, the matter of supporting the king of Chu is extremely important, and it cannot be decided rashly. In the opinion of the general, it is better to discuss this matter carefully, and then make a decision before it is too late. ”

After that, Xiang Kang also coughed deliberately, Xiang Liang understood, knowing that his beloved nephew must have something to say, so he nodded and agreed with Xiang Kang's proposition, and then discussed some other affairs related to the army, Xiang Liang announced the dissolution of the account and let everyone go down to rest.

According to Xiang Liang's instructions, everyone said goodbye and left, Xiang Kang deliberately delayed until the end before leaving, and then after no outsiders were present, Xiang Kang asked Xiang Liang for permission, stepped forward to Xiang Liang's ear and said: "Uncle, if you are determined to leave the king of Chu, the little nephew will not object." But in the opinion of the little nephew, you must not support Jingju. ”

"Why?" Xiang Liang asked in a low voice.

"Jingju is old and has an opinion." Xiang Kang replied very simply, and said in a low voice: "If he is proclaimed the queen of Chu, if he disagrees with your uncle, and refuses to listen to your uncle's good words and persuasion, won't it make your uncle embarrassed?" ”

Xiang Liang suddenly realized, and then, Xiang Liang, who was already very guilty about Xiang Kang, was inevitably even more guilty, took Xiang Kang's hand and said: "Kang'er, I have wronged you, I can't imagine that my uncle treats you like this, and you still think about me so much." ”

"Uncle, there is no need to say it." Xiang Kang said very sincerely: "If I were in your position, I would definitely do the same." ”

Xiang Liang was even more moved when he heard this, and took Xiang Kang's hand and shook it again and again, but Xiang Kang sighed secretly in his heart: "It's my filial piety, but it's best to find out the cowherd baby in Xiongxin, otherwise the more history changes, the smaller my advantage will be." ”