The official position and identity are not enough, among the civilian officials of the Young Marshal Army, only Zhou Zeng went to attend the army reorganization meeting presided over by Xiang Liang, but the remaining civilian officials of the Young Marshal Army were not idle, and all of them honestly stayed in the camp to continue to work, dealing with the military affairs they were responsible for, and also waiting for the change of their positions and subordinate relationships.

Only Chen Ping was an exception, he resigned from the official position of Wei Bao to Wei Bao, and after fulfilling his promise to join the young marshal army, Chen Ping was named by Xiang Kang as a military escort, and the honorary name was to drive a carriage for Xiang Kang and help Xiang Kang supervise the generals of the young marshal's army, but because Xiang Kang never liked to ride in a car, in fact, the main job was to help Xiang Kang watch the generals below, and also to give Xiang Kang advice and serve as a secretary. At this time, Xiang Kang had temporarily left the Young Marshal Army, and the generals of the Young Marshal Army had not yet been demarcated as a commander, so of course Chen Ping was idle, at least on the bright side, there was nothing to do.

However, Chen Ping was an idle person, and he did not take this opportunity to be lazy to sleep, and he still wandered around the barracks during his leisure time, inspecting and understanding the situation in the camp of the young marshal's army. As a result, when he entered the account, Chen Ping saw at a glance that Uncle Zhou was packing his bags with his own hands, and Chen Ping hurriedly asked, "General Zhou, what are you doing here?" Are you ready to go? ”

"Yes." Uncle Zhou nodded calmly and said, "Originally, when I first returned to Pengcheng, I already wanted to say goodbye and go back, but Young Marshal Xiang resolutely refused to allow it, and he had to stay with me for a few more days, so he had no choice but to stay." But I've been living here for too long, and it's not a way to go on like this, so pack up my things and go to say goodbye to Young Marshal Xiang after a while. ”

"Why is General Zhou so anxious?" Chen Ping persuaded: "Young Marshal Xiang is kind enough to keep you, and now there is no war, why rush to go back, what does it matter if you stay for a few more days?" ”

"No need." Uncle Zhou shook his head and said, "Although there is no war now, it is also an opportunity to train the army, so I want to go back as soon as possible and help General Wei Bao train his troops." ”

Seeing that Uncle Zhou couldn't be persuaded to do so, Chen Ping had no choice but to give up, but he said with a dead smile: "What? General Zhou, the deceased came to visit, and he didn't invite me to sit down? ”

Uncle Zhou had no choice but to put down the luggage that was about to be packed, and asked Chen Ping to sit down in the tent, and then poured a glass of cold boiled water for Chen Ping with his own hands, Chen Ping smiled and said: "General Zhou really hasn't changed at all, if I'm not mistaken, Xiang Shaoshuai has people bring you a jar of good wine every day, I can't imagine that the general is still the same as before, he only likes to quench his thirst with white water, and he never drinks." ”

"I have always been in the army and do not drink at will, for fear of forming a habit, so I can only live up to the good intentions of the young marshal." Uncle Zhou explained, and said: "If Mr. Chen Ping likes to drink, I'll take it." ”

Chen Ping, who was very thick-skinned, nodded immediately, Uncle Zhou had no choice but to personally fetch the best rice wine that Xiang Kang gave him to Chen Ping, Chen Ping drank it and applauded, and praised: "It is really a good wine, it is absolutely difficult to drink it in an ordinary wine shop, even if it is Xiang Shaoshuai, he is definitely reluctant to drink such a good wine." ”

After the praise, Chen Ping ignored Uncle Zhou's objections, and insisted on filling Uncle Zhou with a glass of rice wine and inviting Uncle Zhou to drink together, but Uncle Zhou couldn't push it, so he had to drink it with Chen Ping, Chen Ping smiled and asked, "General Zhou, how is it?" The wine that Young Marshal Xiang gave you is good, right? ”

"It's really a good wine, and I would never be willing to drink such a good wine." Uncle Zhou replied truthfully.

"Then general, why are you in a hurry to leave?" Chen Ping took the opportunity to say: "In fact, even a blind man can see that Young Marshal Xiang's appreciation for the general is so hard-hearted, why do you insist on resigning Young Marshal Xiang's hospitality to you?" ”

Although he is not good at communicating with people, Uncle Zhou, who is very talented in military affairs, still immediately heard Chen Ping's voice, and then sighed first, and then Uncle Zhou said very sincerely: "Uncle Zhou is indeed flattered by the young marshal's hospitality, but Uncle Zhou is both a Wei man and a Wei general, and he really can't bear to turn his back on General Wei Bao when his mother country is destroyed, so for the kindness of Young Marshal Xiang, Uncle Zhou can only say sorry." ”

"The general's loyalty is admirable." Chen Ping praised and said, "But General Zhou, as far as Chen Ping knows, you don't seem to be very important in the Wei army?" Previously, when the general was under the account of Wei General Zhou Fu (Zhou City), Zhou Fu did not listen to you, and was very mean, after Zhou Fu was defeated, the general you followed Wei Bao, and Wei Bao also put the general you in the cabinet, but reused the talents far less than your Bai Zhi and Feng Jing, so eyeless, tyrannical, general, you still miss him, are you not afraid that your full body skills will be buried, and there will be no chance to show your strength? ”

Uncle Zhou, who was really not treated well by Wei Bao, lowered his head and hesitated for a while before saying: "General Wei Bao just doesn't listen to my superficial and foolish opinions, but he is still good to me in other aspects, at least let me continue to command the troops, treat me like other generals, just by virtue of this, I, a Wei person, can't live up to him." ”

Chen Ping sighed, and while filling Uncle Zhou with wine, he said, "Since the general has made up his mind, then Chen Ping is not too strong." Come, have another drink, General Zhou, borrow your wine to toast you, and wish you to show your strengths, make meritorious achievements, and go down in history after returning to General Wei Bao's account. ”

Uncle Zhou thanked him, drank another glass with Chen Ping, and after putting down the glass, Chen Ping said again: "General Zhou, in addition to Chen Ping coming to persuade you on behalf of Young Marshal Xiang today, there is another small matter, I want to ask the general you to do a small favor to Young Marshal Xiang." ”

"Sir, please." Uncle Zhou hurriedly said: "As long as you can serve Young Marshal Xiang, no matter how difficult it is, I will definitely try my best to do it." ”

"It's not difficult, it's just a small thing." Chen Ping said smoothly: "Young Marshal Xiang wants to ask General Zhou that after you return to General Wei Bao's account, if you have the opportunity, you must persuade General Wei Bao, let him follow the example of the two generals Yingbu and Lu Chen, and also take the rest of the Wei army to join the Chu army, accept the incorporation of Xiang Zhuguo, and serve Chu from now on." ”

"This ......." Uncle Zhou was embarrassed when he heard this, and said: "Mr. Chen Ping, it's not that he is shirking, but he really can't do this, because after the martyrdom of King Wei, General Wei Bao said more than once that he would continue to restore the Wei State, and as the younger brother of the King of Wei, he must also want to be a brother and brother, and he will establish himself as the King of Wei at the first opportunity, how can he accept the solicitation of Xiang Zhuguo and become a courtier of the Chu State?" ”

"It's okay, Young Marshal Xiang didn't say that you have to do it, as long as you try to help him try it." Chen Ping smiled and said: "And general, you are not fighting alone, Xiang Zhuguo and Xiang Shaoshuai will definitely persuade General Wei Bao to merge into the Chu army, general, you help persuade by the way, maybe you will have a chance to succeed." ”

After speaking, Chen Ping hurriedly added: "Of course, even if it doesn't work, it doesn't matter, Young Marshal Xiang also knows that this matter is difficult, so he will definitely not blame you." ”

Chen Ping said that at this point, of course Uncle Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said: "Okay, please Mr. return to Young Marshal Xiang, and say that I will try my best to give it a try for him." ”

As soon as Chen Ping heard the great joy, he hurriedly raised his glass to thank Uncle Zhou, who didn't like to drink, and Uncle Zhou, who didn't like to drink, was forced to drink with Chen Ping again, and then the two talked some gossip, Chen Ping offered to leave, and Uncle Zhou did not keep it, and after sending Chen Ping out of the account, he hurriedly continued to pack his luggage, preparing to return to the Wei army as soon as possible to continue his post.

It was also a coincidence that after the luggage was packed, it didn't take much time for Xiang Kang, who had been named Lanlingjun and the right general of Chu State, to return to the camp of the young marshal's army, Uncle Zhou was overjoyed when he received the news, and he hurriedly took his luggage to Xiang Kang to resign, Xiang Kang, who admired Uncle Zhou very much, was of course reluctant, in addition to desperately retaining it, he also proposed to recruit Uncle Zhou again, wanting to leave Uncle Zhou for reuse. Helplessly, Uncle Zhou was determined to leave, Xiang Kang was forced to be helpless, so he had to nod his head very reluctantly, and personally sent Uncle Zhou out of the camp gate of the young marshal's army.

When they broke up, Xiang Kang, who refused to give up, once again performed his wonderful acting skills, in addition to asking people to bring generous gifts to Uncle Zhou to express his gratitude, he also held Uncle Zhou's hand with tears in his eyes, and his expression was extremely unbearable. Uncle Zhou was moved by Xiang Kang's performance, and couldn't help but have a sour nose, and said to Xiang Kang: "Young marshal, Uncle Zhou has no teeth and never forgets, if there is an opportunity in the future, Uncle Zhou will definitely double the reward." ”

"General Zhou, I don't want your return, I just want you to stay." Xiang Kang finally shed tears, shook Uncle Zhou's hand and said, "General Zhou, please remember that if you change your mind in the future, the gate of my barracks will always be open to you, no matter when you come back, I will definitely welcome you." ”

Uncle Zhou nodded, withdrew his hand and wiped his eyes, wiped away the tears that had oozed out of the corners of his eyes, and then gave his hand, got on the horse and left, during which he turned back several times, and saw that Xiang Kang had been in front of the camp to see him off, Uncle Zhou was still a little shaken, but he was trapped by loyalty, Uncle Zhou still clamped the war horse, and never looked back to the Wei army camp.

Uncle Zhou left, Xiang Yang and Xiang It, the two henchmen of the Chinese army, also left, Xiang Zhuang, Feng Zhong and Chen Ying also left the camp of the young marshal army with their own soldiers and horses, and the main force of the young marshal army, which once reached more than 45,000 people, was also sharply reduced to just over 20,000.

Fortunately, either out of sympathy or out of respect, the remaining young marshal generals still respect Xiang Kang, and did not disrespect Xiang Kang because he was deprived of a lot of authority, after adjusting the camp, Chao Zhi, Zhu Jishi, Zheng Bu, Ding Ji, Zhong Liwu and Long He and other generals also came to the big tent of the Chinese army to congratulate Xiang Kang on his promotion to the right general and the title of Lanling Jun, Xiang Kang was forced to make a happy face, and everyone gathered to feast and have fun to celebrate the official merger of the young marshal army into the Chu army.

In order to enliven the atmosphere, and in order to envelop these old departments with different surnames, Xiang Kang simply directly adjusted the personnel at the banquet, promoted everyone present one by one, and appointed Chen Ping as the captain of the army, replacing Xiang Yang in charge of military law and confidential documents in the army, and let Xu Ji, his confidant apprentice in the blacksmith shop of Shiling Pavilion, serve as the captain of the personal soldiers, and promoted the infant to Xiang Guan's deputy, assisting Xiang Guan to lead the cavalry, everyone thanked him, and the atmosphere of the banquet gradually became active.

But there was still an inappropriate voice, and the outspoken Ding Ji asked directly: "General Right, will we continue to be alone in the future, or will we follow the main force of Xiang Zhuguo like other armies?" ”

This is exactly what Xiang Kang is worried about, but in front of so many people, Xiang Kang can only smile and say: "Of course, this point depends on my uncle's arrangement, how he tells us to fight, we will fight." ”

"Hopefully we will continue to be left alone." Ding Ji said more directly: "I'm used to only listening to you alone, young marshal, I really don't want to add an extra layer of restraint on my head, and it's not fun to fight with my hands and feet tied at all." ”

Everyone echoed, but Xiang Kang no longer spoke, but said in his heart: "The words are not rough, I don't want to be tied to fight, as long as I have the opportunity in the future, I have to try my best to act alone, otherwise, if I don't do it well, I may be affected by my pig teammates." ”

It's quite a coincidence, at this time, there were scouts outside the tent suddenly came into the tent to fly, and habitually called Xiang Kang a young marshal, and said: "Young marshal, Pei Gong Liu Ji personally led a thousand troops to the north bank of Gushui, claiming that he came to ally with Xiang Zhuguo's army, and in Xiang Zhuguo's camp, someone had already crossed the river to negotiate with Liu Ji's army. ”

"Got it." Xiang Kang nodded, and casually ordered: "This matter has nothing to do with us, don't pay attention to it, just keep an eye on their army." ”

The scout took the order and left, and the banquet continued, but what no one expected was that it didn't take long for another soldier outside the tent to report that Liu Laosan had brought a few entourages to the gate of the camp to ask for a meeting, Xiang Kang listened to it and said in surprise: "Why did he come here?" It stands to reason that after he arrives in Pengcheng, he should visit my uncle first? ”

Strange is strange, but after all, he is a friend with Liu Laosan, and he received Liu Laosan's favor in the Battle of Pengcheng, so Xiang Kang still took everyone out of the camp to greet him, but when he arrived at the gate of the camp, Liu Laosan, who was full of hooligans, really led Fan Hao and Xiahou Ying and other old acquaintances to wait in front of the door, and after seeing Xiang Kang, Liu Laosan also unceremoniously gave Xiang Kang a bear hug, laughed and said: "Brother Xiang, I want to kill your Brother Liu." ”

"Brother Liu, I miss you too." Xiang Kang hugged Liu Laosan back, and then asked curiously: "Brother Liu, since you are here to make an alliance with my uncle, why didn't you go to see my uncle first, but ran to me instead?" ”

"Your uncle has a big rule, saying that he wants to see me again tomorrow." Liu Laosan explained: "I was bored in the army, so I came to you to ask for a glass of wine, and by the way, I also reminisced about the past." ”

"It's easy to drink wine, I don't have anything else here, I have wine." Xiang Kang laughed, and hurriedly invited Liu Laosan and his party into the big tent of the Chinese army, and served wine and food to give warm hospitality.

They are all anti-Qin comrades-in-arms, and they have helped each other a lot, plus Liu Laosan's personality is refreshing and his speech is interesting, so the atmosphere of the banquet in the Chinese army's tent has become more enthusiastic, and everyone has been drinking until it is slightly dark, and several people were drunk on the spot, and then the banquet ended. However, Liu Laosan's intention was definitely not just to find Xiang Kang to drink, and offered to spend the night in Xiang Kang's camp, Xiang Kang agreed without hesitation, and asked the soldiers to arrange accommodation for Liu Laosan and his party, while understanding Liu Laosan to the back account to talk alone.

When there were no other outsiders present, Liu Laosan, who was sitting opposite Xiang Kang, got straight to the point and asked with a smile: "Brother, there is suddenly an extra layer of restraint on your head, and you have changed all the flags, it doesn't taste good, right?" ”

"Don't hide it from Brother Liu, I'm not used to it." Xiang Kang replied calmly.

"Hold back, you have to learn to adapt." Liu Laosan rarely put away his hippie smile, and pointed out in the style of a brother: "You are a young man, you will inevitably be jealous of people in ordinary times, if you can't bear it at this time, those despicable villains take the opportunity to slander and slander behind your back, I'm afraid it will be very unfavorable to you." ”

Xiang Kang nodded and thanked Liu Laosan for his guidance, and Liu Laosan said very directly: "Brother Xiang, don't worry about something, don't hide it from you, in fact, I didn't come to the alliance this time, I came to ask your uncle to take in, and from now on, I will also change to the banner of Chu State, and obey your uncle's command." ”

Xiang Kang listened to it for a while, and said very strangely: "Big brother, you are not usually such a person?" I used to be strong and strong, and I tried to incorporate your army several times, but you would rather die than obey, how could you take the initiative to ask my uncle for integration this time? ”

"Brother Xiang, don't be weird to put it bluntly, don't suspect that I'm sowing discord, I'm just saying a few words from my heart." Liu Laosan was still very direct, and said: "I can see that your uncle and you have a completely different style of acting, you value morality and reputation, and you have had the opportunity to forcibly annex my army several times, but you don't dare to do it because of your scruples." But your uncle, although I haven't met him yet, I can tell from the fact that he has eaten your army territory in one bite, that he is completely different from you. If I still want to daydream and continue to fight myself, I am afraid that it will not be long before a catastrophe will come. ”

After that, Liu Laosan sighed and said: "So there is no way, instead of dying, it is better to take the initiative and honestly take the initiative to ask your uncle to take it in, and work for your uncle with you in the future." ”

Xiang Kang was silent, but he admired Liu Laosan's singleton style in his heart - when it was time to show weakness, he was indeed better than anyone else who could pretend to be a grandson. Liu Laosan said again: "Brother Xiang, I came to you for a drink today, in addition to persuading you to be as patient as possible, there is also something I want to ask you for a favor, after I was absorbed by your uncle, can you help me say a few more good words in front of your uncle, let me continue to command the troops and horses of the headquarters, and don't break up and reorganize my old department." ”

"As for the reason." Liu Laosan explained: "It's also very simple, my old pawns will be easy to use, if it is completely broken up and reorganized, I will definitely be extremely uncomfortable when I use troops to fight, it will seriously affect the combat effectiveness, and it may also miss your uncle's big things." In addition, my generals are all from Peixian County, and they grew up with me, if they are separated, everyone will definitely not have a good taste in their hearts. So Brother Xiang, please, remember the love of the eldest brother and I who fought side by side with you before, be sure to help me with this. ”

Liu Laosan can deceive others with these excuses, but he can't deceive Xiang Kang, and at the same time, Xiang Kang also knows very well that if he deliberately helps, Liu Laosan may be nipped in the bud by himself. However, after thinking about it, Xiang Kang nodded and said, "No problem, this matter is not difficult, as long as I persuade my uncle not to chill the hearts of friendly troops, he should not break up and reorganize your army, eldest brother." ”

Liu Laosan, who was worried about this matter, was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly thanked Xiang Kang repeatedly, and couldn't wait to pat his chest and said: "Brother, don't worry, big brother, I am not the kind of person who knows how to repay kindness, today we are both working for your uncle, as long as there is an opportunity, I will definitely do my best to assist you in making contributions and achieving great things." ”

made a promise, Liu Laosan also blinked his eyes slyly, and said in a voice: "Brother, I heard that your second uncle has no heirs, and when you arrive, I will definitely do my best to help you." ”

Xiang Kang smiled and said nothing, but said in his heart: "After I arrive, I'm afraid that the one who wants to replace my uncle the most is you Liu Laosan, right?" ”