In the early morning, it rained densely, like a cow's hair and light silk, thin and oblique, watering the beard and hair, drenching the armor, so that the crimson Han army flag had to be clinging to the flagpole, waving it could spill a string of water droplets.

But no matter how heavy the rain was, it couldn't melt away the strong smell of blood in the air, couldn't wash away the dark red blood that was slowly flowing on the ground, and couldn't cover the corpses all over the mountains.

Riding on a horse and looking around, east to Jinji Ridge, south to the rolling Taishan Mountains, and then southwest to the endless open plain, you can see the remains of dead bodies everywhere, the remains of the soldiers of the four armies of Hanyan and Chuji are there, and the corpses that maintain various postures are there, many corpses are still incomplete, the heads and limbs that have been cut off by knives and axes can be seen everywhere, the dead people who have liver and intestines and internal organs flowing out of the body are everywhere, blood and rain are mixed together and flow slowly, floating broken and broken military flags, and pools of blood are accumulated in low-lying places, The horseshoe trampled on it and could splash a foot-high blood splash.

Riding a horse and walking on the devastated battlefield, Uncle Zhou, the first person in the Han army, had no joy and excitement after the big victory on his face, on the contrary, he suddenly sighed, and said with a lonely expression: "I heard that when Wu Anjun Bai Qi was given death, he once said that he was guilty of heaven and deserved to die, and now I finally understand his state of mind at that time. ”

"The general must not say that, and don't blame himself so much." Zhou Shu, the old man of Shangshan next to him, opened his mouth and comforted: "The reason why such a tragic scene occurred is because Xiang Yu, the puppet king of Western Chu, is perverse, greedy, and insists on killing our king, provoking war and poisoning the world, and has nothing to do with us, let alone the general. ”

Uncle Zhou smiled reluctantly, and then sighed in his heart: "Although the words make sense, strictly speaking, we are not a good thing. ”

In order to reduce the casualties and losses of the officers and soldiers of the Han and Yan armies, and to take Qi as soon as possible, and to end the Chu-Han War that has made the lives of the people of the world miserable earlier, Uncle Zhou had no choice but to let the Han army participating in the war continue to pursue the remnants of the Chu-Ji coalition army that were still in defeat, and try to eliminate the enemy on the way to the south to reduce the resistance of the Han army's next march into Boyang, the capital of the northern country, and Western Chu.

The Han army units and the Yan army who helped to fight the remnants of the enemy did not disappoint Zhou Shu and others, and the good news has been flying like snowflakes, first yesterday afternoon, the Han army ambush in the vicinity of Hero Mountain successfully intercepted the defeated brigade of the Chuji coalition army, and joined forces with the pursuers to defeat the Chuji coalition army again, killing and capturing countless enemies; Then in the area of Erzhong Mountain, the remnants of the Chuji coalition army that fled south with all their strength were completely defeated, forcing Xiang Zhuang and Tian Dadu to abandon the command together, and let the remaining officers and soldiers of the Chuji coalition army flee south on their own; In the afternoon, the Han army's pursuers took the opportunity to take Licheng Xiaoyi, forcing many soldiers of the Chuji coalition army who fled here in a hurry to lay down their arms and surrender, completely opening the way for the Han army to enter Boyang.

During this period, the soldiers of the Han army also killed and captured countless scattered soldiers of the Chuji coalition army in the wilderness of the mountains and forests, and the ragged and damp soldiers of the Chuji coalition army were escorted to the temporary camp in groups, and the steaming corpses were also increasing all the time, and the strength of the Chuji coalition army, which once amounted to more than 140,000 troops, also completely collapsed on this day, and the casualties and prisoners were countless, and it was destined to no longer be able to stop the advance of the Han army to take the entire Qi land.

It was still when it was slightly dark, Uncle Zhou ordered the army that participated in the battle last night to stop and rest and regroup, and rotate the rear team led by himself to continue the pursuit, and after nightfall, he once again defeated a large group of enemies who had barely gathered together, and the beheading level was innumerable, and the cries and dying screams of the remnants of the Chuji coalition army echoed in the dark night, as miserable as countless souls screaming in the Shura Hell.

At noon the next day, it was not until the enemy defeated crowd of less than 100 people had been found in front of him that Uncle Zhou ordered to stop the pursuit, set up a temporary camp next to a small river that kept floating dead bodies, and waited for the rear team to come and meet. During this period, the various units of the Yan army of the Han army, which were pursuing separately, also rushed to rendezvous with the captured heads and captured prisoners, gradually turning the temporary camp of the Han army into a sea of cheers and boiling.

"Good news, General! Up to now, we have killed more than 38,000 people at the head of the Chuji thief army, and more than 16,000 prisoners, if nothing else, our final beheading figure will definitely not be lower than 45,000, and the number of prisoners is likely to reach 20,000, plus the thief soldiers who died in the deep mountains and old forests, and the thief soldiers who fled in the chaos and were unwilling to return, the Chuji thief army can escape to Boyang 20,000 people! It is also certain that there will be a serious shortage of weapons and military supplies! ”

Uncle Sun's eyebrows fluttered in the report, so that the main civil and military forces of the Han army gathered around Uncle Zhou cheered loudly again, and then they couldn't wait to congratulate Uncle Zhou, and praised each other: "The general is like a god with soldiers, and he broke the Chuji thief army in a big battle, completely laid the victory of Qidi, and his achievements are high. ”

"General, Uncle Sun Tong really admires you so much! Together, it has only been more than two months, and you have already fought the battle of Qi like this, even if it is the reincarnation of Sun Wu and the rebirth of Wu Qi, you may not be able to do this! ”

Mr. Uncle Sun's exaggeration made Uncle Zhou smile slightly, and then Uncle Zhou said very heartily: "Mr. Uncle Sun, you must not be so falsely praised, the battle of Qi Di can be fought to this point, in fact, the greatest credit is not me, it is our king, it is every one of our soldiers, it is our Yanqi allies, and the result of your joint efforts, it really has nothing to do with me, I am the one who really entrusts you with your blessings." ”

"Don't think I'm pretending to be modest and polite, I'm telling the truth, the battle of Qidi can be fought to this point, if it weren't for our Han soldiers throwing their heads and spilling blood, tying their heads to the ribbon and fighting bloodily, we would never be able to do this."

"In the battle of Qidi, if it were not for the foresight of our king and the timely sending us enough reinforcements, if it were not for the full help of the friendly army of Yan Qi, if it were not for General Zhu Jishi, General Li Shang and General Feng Zhong, your forbearance and sacrifice, and your full support for me, if it were not for the foresight of Dr. Li and the two Shangshan seniors, the selflessness of the Grand Duke, and the heroic battle of all the generals and the effective command of the army, we would definitely not have achieved such a great victory so quickly."

Sincerely sighed at this, Uncle Zhou remembered something again, and added with a busy smile: "I almost forgot, this time in the battle of Qidi, Mr. Uncle Sun, you are also very meritorious, if it weren't for your envoy to Linzi to persuade Qi Wangtian to surrender the whole country and help us survive the flood season, we would never have such a brilliant victory." Please rest assured, sir, I will definitely report your great achievements to the king, and ask the king to reward you heavily. ”

"Don't! Don't, General! Mr. Shusun hurriedly waved his hand and said with a panicked expression: "General, if you really want to reward the lower officials, please don't let the lower officials send the enemy camp in the future, and the lower officials will already be satisfied." In the situation encountered in Linzi, Xia Guan said that he was not willing to go through it a second time! ”

Mr. Shusun's panicked appearance made the Han army laugh, and Uncle Zhou also laughed, nodded and said: "Okay, Mr. Shusun, I can promise you now, and I will never force you to risk going to the enemy camp in the future." ”

In fact, Mr. Uncle Sun, who was also telling the truth, was overjoyed when he heard it, and hurriedly thanked Uncle Zhou, but at this time, a Han army clerk suddenly came to Uncle Zhou's face, held a head and said: "General Qiyu, the important situation just discovered, our king's cousin, Xiang Sheng, the general of the Western Chu Thief Army, disguised as an ordinary soldier of the Western Chu Thief Army, was killed by our soldiers on the way to pursuit. ”

After carefully looking at the appearance of the first rank, and confirming that it was Xiang Sheng himself, who had fought side by side with him, Uncle Zhou's face suddenly showed a gloomy look, and the old men of the young marshals next to him, such as Zhu Jishi, Li Shang and Fu Kuan, also looked lonely, strictly speaking, Feng Zhong, who was Xiang Sheng's fellow villager, also took over Xiang Sheng's head with his own hands, and said with tears in his eyes: "Brother Xiang Sheng, I really didn't expect that we would meet again under such circumstances." In fact, most of your Xiang brothers are not guilty to death. ”

"Our king knows about this, I'm afraid I'm going to cry again." Uncle Zhou sighed, and then asked, "Can his body still be found?" ”

"I should be able to return to the general." The Han army clerk who came to report hurriedly replied: "Help us screen the prisoner of General Xiang Sheng's head, know the approximate location of his death, if you must find it, there should be hope to find it back." ”

"Then go and get it back." Uncle Zhou instructed: "After finding it, use a coffin to bury it with the head, and then send someone to the Chuji thief army to send it over, so that the Chuji thief army can send the remains of General Xiang Sheng back to our king's hometown for burial." ”

The Han army clerk hurriedly agreed, but Zhou Shu, the old man of Shangshan next to him, was moved in his heart, and hurriedly said: "General, if you can find the body of General Xiang Sheng, let the old man send his coffin to Boyang." ”

"This kind of trivial matter, why bother seniors to go there in person?" Uncle Zhou asked very strangely: "Besides, it's quite dangerous to do this, in case the Chu Ji thief army has red eyes, maybe they will poison you, senior." ”

"Don't worry, general, as far as Lao Yu knows, Xiang Zhuang, the commander of the Chuji Thief Army, is not an unreasonable person, Lao Yu kindly sent his cousin's body back, he will definitely not take revenge and kill Lao Yu on the spot." Zhou Shu replied: "The old man wants to personally send General Xiang Sheng's coffin, he has a few words, and he wants to take this opportunity to talk to the children of the Xiang family in person." If it goes well, maybe it will help our king solve a big problem that he can't avoid. ”

Relying on the joint efforts of the soldiers of the Han army and the prisoners of the Western Chu army, the next day, the headless body of Xiang Sheng, who was wearing a soldier's costume, was really recovered, and he was buried in the coffin with his head, and he was returned to a whole corpse, and then although Uncle Zhou and others repeatedly dissuaded him, Zhou Shu, the old man of Shangshan, still insisted on leading a team of followers and personally escorted Xiang Sheng's coffin south to Boyang, and returned it to Xiang Zhuang, who had been confirmed to have fled here.

Because of the coffin of Xiang Sheng, of course, Zhou Shu quickly received Xiang Zhuang and Xiang Han and others in person, but after opening the coffin and seeing Xiang Sheng's body, Xiang Zhuang, Xiang Guan, Xiang Han and Xiang It, the four children of the Xiang family, in addition to crying loudly, Xiang Han, who had a more impulsive temper, drew his sword in his hand again, and cried and roared on his back to the sky, "Brother, you go slowly!" Brother, I swear to heaven that I will personally cut off the head of Xiang Kang's rebel thief and avenge your hatred! ”

"This General Xiang, I can't understand what you're saying." Zhou Shu opened his mouth and said with a strange face: "Is it our king who killed your cousin, General Xiang Sheng?" Why do you want to settle this account on our king's head, and swear to heaven to seek revenge on our king? ”

Hearing this, Xiang Sheng, who was extremely emotional, of course, immediately glared at Zhou Shu, and the back of his right hand holding the sword was still bruised, and he could kill someone in anger at any time, Xiang Zhuang next to him saw that something was wrong, and hurriedly shouted: "Brother Xiang Han, calm down!" It was this Mr. Li who sent back our brother's coffin, and we can't take revenge! ”

"Zuo Sima, it's okay, the old man knows your current mood very well, and he won't take it to heart." Zhou Shu waved his hand, and continued almost defiantly: "But the old man must be corrected, it is not our king who killed your cousin General Xiang Sheng, if you want to settle accounts and take revenge, don't find the wrong person." ”

"Less rhetoric here!" Xiang Han roared angrily and roared: "Even if it wasn't killed by his own hands by Xiang Kang's traitor, it was also his accomplice lackey who killed our brother, of course our account must be counted on Xiang Kang's traitor's head!" ”

"Wrong! Miss by a mile! Zhou Shu said loudly: "General Xiang Han, Xiang Zhuang Zuo Sima, and these two Xiang generals, the person who really killed General Xiang Sheng is neither our Han king, nor our Han army soldiers, but someone else!" If you really want to take revenge, you must find the right person, and don't put the account on our Han King! ”

"Old Puff!"

Xiang Han was also angry, regardless of the consequences, he stepped forward and was about to slash Zhou Shu with a sword, but fortunately, Xiang Zhuang's eyes were quick, and he grabbed his hand in time, and then turned back and shouted at Zhou Shu: "Mr. Li, you go, I thank you for returning our brother's body, and I will double the reward if I have the opportunity, but now I don't want to say anything to you, you leave immediately!" ”

"Zuo Sima, don't worry." Zhou Shu refused to move, raised his head, and said calmly: "You drove the old man away, but you can hide for a while, you can't hide for a lifetime, if you insist on not wanting to know who killed General Xiang Sheng, your heart will only be painful for a lifetime, and the hearts of your Xiang family children will only be condemned by conscience for a lifetime." ”

"What exactly do you want to say?" Xiang Zhuang held Xiang Han down and asked.

"The old man just wants to clearly point out to Zuo Sima who killed General Xiang Sheng, and General Xiang Sui who died in the water battlefield before." Zhou Shu said coldly: "What? Zuo Sima, and the three generals Xiang, things have come to this point, you don't have the courage to ask the old man, who killed Xiang Sheng and General Xiang Sui? ”

"And who do you say?" Xiang Zhuang finally opened his mouth to ask this question, and hurriedly added: "But Mr. Li, don't blame the juniors for not warning you, if you are implicated in nonsense, you will have to shift the responsibility to our brother King Xichu, or other Western Chu civil and military personnel, don't blame the juniors for not abiding by the rules of the two countries fighting each other." ”

"Zuo Sima rest assured, the old man will never be implicated, and he will never put the responsibility on the King of Western Chu or others." Zhou Shu sneered and said, "The one who really killed Xiang Sheng and General Xiang Sui was none other than your Xiang family's children themselves!" ”

"What?" Xiang Zhuang froze, Xiang Han in anger also stopped shouting in surprise, and Xiang Guan on the other side took over Xiang Han's anger and shouted: "Old horseman, what did you say?" Did we hurt Xiang Sheng and Xiang Sui? ”

"Yes, that's you." Zhou Shu said calmly: "If you can be brave and responsible, the two generals Xiang Sheng and Xiang Sui will definitely not die, and your Xiang family children and our king will definitely not come to the point where you are either dead or I am alive today!" ”

"What the hell do you mean?" The more Xiang Zhuang listened, the more confused he became, and asked, "How are we not brave enough, and how are we not responsible enough?" ”

"Zuo Sima." Zhou Shu slowed down his voice a little and said, "If you really have the courage and responsibility, then why don't you find out the truth about the incident in Hanguguan yourself?" With your power in the ranks of the Western Chu Army, is it difficult to find out the truth about the incident at Hangu Pass by yourself? ”

Xiang Zhuang froze, Xiang Han, Xiang Guan and Xiang It also stared at Zhou Shu in surprise, and Zhou Shu said: "Zuo Sima, three Xiang generals, the reason why our king and your Xiang family's children are killing each other is all because of the Hangu Pass incident, if you have the courage and responsibility, in fact, you can secretly investigate the truth of the Hangu Pass incident a long time ago, and figure out who is right and who is wrong, who insists on reversing black and white, forcing our king and your Xiang family to meet each other, brothers and sisters." ”

"But you don't have the courage to do that." Zhou Shu continued: "Because you know in your hearts that if you find out the truth of the Hangu Pass incident, you will have to choose between the King of Western Chu and the King of Han, and you have always been afraid to make this choice, so you dare not know this truth." Your brothers, General Xiang Sheng and General Xiang Sui, also died because you didn't have the courage, so it was not someone else who really harmed your brothers, not even Liu Ji, the culprit of the Hanguguan incident, but your Xiang brothers themselves! ”

Xiang Zhuang and Xiang Guan and the other four were completely silent, and Zhou Shu said again: "Four generals Xiang, escaping is not a way, if you don't want to make mistakes again and again, be brave, and go to find out what kind of truth the incident in Hanguguan is, then your hearts will not be so painful, and you don't have to suffer from your conscience all the time." Four generals Xiang, you said it yourself, are you right? ”

Xiang Zhuang and the others were even more silent, and then it was a coincidence that at this time, Liu Laosan, who received the news, also led Han Xin to the scene, and cried loudly early, beating his chest and crying: "Brother Xiang Sheng, why are you so ruthless, leaving us alone?" Don't worry, foolish brother Liu Ji and I will definitely avenge you, and I will definitely cut off the head of Xiang Kang's traitor with my own hands, and let all the thieves bury you! ”

Too lazy to pay attention to Liu Laosan, who was pretentious, Zhou Shu arched his hand to Xiang Zhuang and the others, and said: "Zuo Sima, this is all the old man said, if there are no other orders, the old man will leave and go back to his life, I hope that the next time we meet again, you will not continue to deceive yourself." ”

After that, Zhou Shu turned around and walked back, leaving Xiang Zhuang and the other four people in the same place with complicated expressions, their hearts fluctuating, and Liu Laosan asked questions about the east and west, and asked what nonsense Zhou Shu was talking about just now.