When Liu Laosan found that the situation had suddenly reversed, it was already late, and he had just received a desperate reply from Xiang Yu brought back by Zhang Liang, Xiang Kang immediately left Zhou Zeng and Chao Zhi to lead the first army to preside over the situation, and personally led the main force of the young marshal army to set off eastward and attack Liu Laosan's headquarters on the front line.

Xiang Kang also had to do this, if he couldn't recapture Hangu Pass before the main force of the princes' coalition army advanced westward, block Xiang Yu's footsteps, and let the main force of the princes' coalition army of more than 400,000 (including the Qin army's soldiers) smoothly drive into the Guanzhong Plain of Pingchuan, the young marshal's army can not resist even if everyone is born with three heads and six arms, and only by relying on the Hangu Pass to defend it with all its might, is the only hope for the young marshal's army to keep the Guanzhong Plain.

At this time, through the collection of soldiers and the recruitment of new soldiers, the total strength of the young marshal's army also reached more than 54,000 people, of which 10,000 were handed over by Xiang Kang to Zhou Zeng and Chao Zhi, and the other 2,000 Korean soldiers were handed over to Han Cheng by Xiang Kang, so that he could return to Han from Wuguan Road to restore the country, and the rest of the army went into battle under the leadership of Xiang Kang along the Qin Chi Road and went straight to Ning Qin.

It was the turn of Liu Laosan's general Zhou Bo to guard Ning Qin, although Liu Laosan had an order before, telling him to abandon the city and flee west immediately when he found that the young marshal's army was coming, but later received Xiang Yu's order to enter the pass to build a barrier around Hangu Pass, Liu Laosan, who did not dare to disobey the order, was forced to order Zhou Bo, telling him to stick to Ning Qin and wait to join his main force. On the other hand, he sent a fast horse back to Hangu Pass and asked Liu Laosan for orders.

Fortunately, Zheng Chang, the envoy of Xiang Yu who was lightly armed and rushed forward, was faster after all, the front team of the young marshal army led by Zheng Bu had just arrived outside Ningqin City, and before he had time to start fighting, Zheng Chang rushed to Ningqin City with Xiang Yu's truce request, and got in touch with the young marshal army at the first time, and explained his intention to Zheng Bu, Zheng Bu did not dare to make decisions without permission, so he could only quickly send someone to report the matter to Xiang Kang, who was still on the road, and asked Xiang Kang to make a decision on this.

Without God's perspective, the news sent by Zheng Bu's messenger certainly made Xiang Kang stunned, and said in great surprise: "Are you going to make peace with me again?" What the hell is my brother doing, he just did such a desperate thing, why do you want to make peace with me again? ”

"Could it be Liu Ji's cheating?" Chen Ping was also suspicious of the letter and said: "When he found out that we were advancing eastward in a big way, and knew that he was not our opponent, he deliberately made a fake former general's envoy, pretending to talk about peace and temporarily stabilize us, and give him time to ask for help." ”

"Does Liu Laosan have that guts?" Xiang Kang was a little suspicious of Liu Laosan's courage - with Xiang Yu's bearish temper, if he knew that Liu Laosan had sent someone to pretend to be his messenger to contact him, the consequences would be more than ordinarily serious.

At this time, of course, the analysis and speculation were useless, and after a little calculation, Xiang Kang could only order Zheng Bu not to rush to do anything with Zhou Bo for the time being, and to lead the main force to continue to advance, planning to meet with the envoy sent by Xiang Yu under Ningqin City first, and then talk about it, and he rushed to the outside of Ningqin City in the evening of the same day, joined the former army led by Zheng Bu, and immediately set up camp.

Zheng Chang's movements were also very fast, when the young marshal was still in camp, he had already rushed to meet Xiang Kang with Xiang Yu's letter, and when he saw Zheng Chang, Xiang Kang immediately understood that this matter was not Liu Laosan's ghost, but really from Xiang Yu's arrangement. Because Xiang Kang not only knew Zheng Chang, but also knew that he was the county commander of Wu County when Xiang Liang raised troops in Jiangdong, and was the first Qin court official to surrender Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, and had a good relationship with Xiang Yu, and was the absolute confidant of Xiang Yu who Liu Laosan would never move.

This discovery made Xiang Kang secretly happy in his heart, and said that his overlord cousin really found out that he didn't want to kill his siblings anymore, and at the same time, the reason why Xiang Yu changed his mind introduced by Zheng Chang was also very reasonable, saying that the children of the Xiang family couldn't kneel in front of Xiang Yu, and begged Xiang Yu with tears not to kill Xiang Kang, Xiang Yu was moved by family affection, so he decided to settle the dispute with Xiang Kang through negotiation despite the opposition of outsiders. In addition, Zheng Chang directly told Xiang Kang that Xiang Yu decided to crown Xiang Kang as the king of Hanzhong, and to give Xiang Kang the land of Bashu in Hanzhong to establish the country, and the ownership and division of the land in Guanzhong was discussed with Xiang Yu and Xiang Kang in person.

After listening to Zheng Chang's introduction, Chen Ping, Uncle Zhou and others present couldn't help but be secretly happy in their hearts, because Chen Ping, Uncle Zhou and others knew very well that in terms of the current situation of the young marshal's army, even if they recaptured Hangu Pass first, the possibility of successfully blocking the princes' coalition army from the pass was not great. Only by striking the troops and holding peace talks can the young marshal's army be sure to preserve some of the victories and increase its strength to make a comeback when the opportunity arises.

Of course, Xiang Kang is also very aware of this, but Xiang Kang is a very careful person, and after thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked Zheng Chang: "Doctor Zheng, where is the old gentleman?" Since my brother has decided to negotiate peace, why do you still hold on to Mr. Li and prevent him from coming back with you to see me? ”

Zheng Chang had been prepared for this question, and immediately replied: "General Right, it's not that the former general won't let people go, it's that Mr. Li's temper you know, it's too rigid, our former general asked him to come back and report this matter to you, not only did he refuse to take the order, but he also suspected that the former general was delaying the army, and wanted to temporarily stabilize General You's army, so that the former general could calmly enter the military pass, and our former general's words were very disrespectful, and the former general lost his temper, so he continued to be imprisoned in the army. ”

Zheng Chang's explanation is quite reasonable, and the old man Li is indeed this temper, and at the same time, Xiang Kang is deep down in his heart, and he also vaguely suspects that Xiang Yu wants to temporarily stabilize himself and buy time for him to calmly enter the military pass, and it is not surprising that the old man Li, who is quite good at military strategy, has similar suspicions. Fortunately, Xiang Kang had other methods, and suddenly asked, "Doctor Zheng, what is my Uncle Ji's attitude towards Master Xiang?" Is he against my brother reconciling with me? ”

"General Right, don't care." Zheng Chang hurriedly replied: "Master Xiang does have a deep opinion of you, and he is very opposed to the former general reconciling with you, but General Right and your brothers of the same clan begged hard, and Master Xiang's own son, General Xiang You, hugged Master Xiang's legs and cried and begged, Master Xiang had no choice, so he didn't speak again in this matter." ”

"It's hard for Brother Xiang You." Xiang Kang sighed and said, "Doctor Zheng, it's not early, I'm also very tired, you go down and rest first, we'll talk about this matter tomorrow." ”

Knowing that Xiang Kang was not a casual and gullible master, Zheng Chang immediately agreed in order not to show his flaws, and did not say anything cruel to threaten Xiang Kang, and immediately went down to rest with Xiang Kang's personal soldiers. But what Zheng Chang never dreamed of was that as soon as he left, Xiang Kang immediately said to Chen Ping and Uncle Zhou next to him: "Zheng Chang told a lie, if my other brothers hugged Master Xiang's leg and cried and begged, I believe it, but he said that Xiang You hugged his leg and cried and begged, I was the first to believe it." ”

"Why is General Right so sure?" Chen Ping asked curiously: "I remember that when I was in Huaisi, General Xiang You was also very close to General You." ”

"He is afraid of me, and he is close to me." Xiang Kang sneered and said: "I'm not afraid that you will know the ugliness of our Xiang family, my brother Xiang You did something sorry for me before, and I used a trick to arrest him, if I shake it out, none of our Xiang family children will spare him, but at that time, I let him go once for the sake of sibling affection." But I can see that he didn't dare to do anything to me just because he was afraid of ruining his reputation, and he wanted to let me die as soon as possible, how could such a person really intercede for me? ”

Chen Ping and Uncle Zhou looked at each other, and then Chen Ping said: "So, the former general is using a delaying tactic?" So what should we do now? ”

Xiang Kang hesitated, although Xiang Kang was basically sure that Xiang Yu did not really want to reconcile with him, but after all, his strength was too disparity with the alliance of the princes, if he missed this opportunity and further expanded the armed conflict, it was destined to only make Xiang Yu crusade against himself more famous. And if he continues to swallow his anger, he will quickly give up enough benefits to satisfy Xiang Yu, and maybe he will have the hope of turning the fake into the true, just like Liu Laosan did in history, sacrificing Guanzhong to make a king of Hanzhong.

Looking ahead, Xiang Kang simply asked Chen Ping: "Mr. Chen Ping, what do you think should be done?" ”

Chen Ping also didn't dare to make a rash decision, and only replied after a while: "Regardless of whether the former general is using a delaying tactic or not, since he took the initiative to ask for an armistice and peace talks, this is an opportunity for us to reconcile with him. ”

"It's too passive." Uncle Zhou immediately said: "If the former general is determined to turn his face with us, no matter what kind of negotiations are reached, wanting to go to war is just a matter of excuses." Only by quickly taking Hangu Pass and blocking the way of the former general's army, can we prevent all in case, otherwise, let the former general's army enter the pass, and we will not even have the strength to fight back. ”

"But if we do that, we won't have any chance of reconciling with the former general." Chen Ping also retorted: "With our current strength, even if we recapture Hangu Pass, it is impossible to ensure that we can kill and retreat the alliance of princes. ”

The disparity in strength is too great, even the military genius Uncle Zhou did not dare to deny Chen Ping's deduction of the battle situation, so he could only turn his attention to Xiang Kang. And Xiang Kang frowned and thought about it for a long time, so he could only hesitate and said: "In this way, Mr. Chen Ping, you arrange people, try to start with the people around Zheng Chang, try to ask me about my brother's situation, and don't let go of any clues." Also, I will send someone to invite Mr. Zhang Liang to me immediately, and I would like to ask for his opinion. ”

Zhang Liang's attitude towards Xiang Kang has indeed changed completely, after returning to Xianyang this time, without Xiang Kang opening his mouth, Zhang Liang took the initiative to report Xiang Yu's attitude towards Han Cheng, Xiang Kang also reciprocated, and took the initiative to promise to let Han Cheng lead two thousand old Han troops to return to Han from Wuguan Dao, and cut off relations with himself, so as not to anger Xiang Yu, causing Han Cheng to lose hope of recovering the country, Zhang Liang was also very grateful for this, and offered to stay with Xiang Kang to help, and wait for a period of time to return to Han Land to meet Han Cheng. Xiang Kang was overjoyed to agree, but today Zheng Chang came too quickly and urgently, and Zhang Liang happened to be not by Xiang Kang's side, so he couldn't accompany Xiang Kang to meet Zheng Chang.

But it's a pity that after carefully understanding the specific situation, Zhang Liang, who also has no God's perspective, is also difficult to decide, racking his brains for a long time, Zhang Liang also gave Xiang Kang a more conservative idea, and said: "General Right, since you suspect that the former general is using a delaying tactic, and will soon turn his face against you and start a war again, then now you better push the boat with the water, hurry up and quickly agree to give up the entire Guanzhong, immediately negotiate with Zheng Chang, and immediately lead the army south to Hanzhong before the former general reacts." In this way, even if the former general wants to turn his face, he is still unknown, and he is blocked by the Qinling Mountains, and it is difficult to enter the army, so he can only push the boat down the river and allow you to gain a foothold in Hanzhong Bashu. ”

Of course, Zhang Liang's method was more secure, and Xiang Kang was almost a little moved, but when he thought of giving up the fertile soil in Guanzhong, Xiang Kang was reluctant from the bottom of his heart, so he could only agree to consider it, but this night, of course, Xiang Kang couldn't sleep, and he didn't close his eyes all night......

Xiang Kang also underestimated Zheng Chang a little, although he was exploited by Liu Laosan when he was in Hangu Pass, but before he came to the young marshal's barracks, Zheng Chang had already given a death order to his two entourage, so that they were absolutely not allowed to leak Xiang Yu's 'minor injury' by the stray arrow, so although Chen Ping's young marshal army spies also tried their best, they always found nothing, and they were not able to get anything of value from their mouths.

At the same time, Zheng Chang was also very calm, knowing that as long as he showed a little anxious attitude to reach a negotiation, the notoriously treacherous Xiang Kang would definitely be suspicious, so it was almost noon the next day, and Xiang Kang, who had never made up his mind, did not summon Zheng Chang, and Zheng Chang had not been in a hurry to see, and the posture of Chengzhu in his chest made Xiang Kang even more weak-hearted.

At this time, something happened that caught Xiang Kang off guard, and at noon, the scout who went to Hangu Pass to investigate the news suddenly sent an urgent report, saying that the Tian An Department of the Qi State Army had led the army to Hangu Pass, and strengthened the defenders of Hangu Pass, with more than 20,000 troops. Xiang Kang was so angry when he heard about it that he raised his hand to lift the table in front of him, and roared angrily: "Now I am even more sure that I will take Hangu Pass as soon as possible!" ”

Uncle Zhou next to him was also pale, knowing that if the self-army did it immediately, it would be difficult to be sure that Xiang Yu would send new reinforcements to take Hangu Pass first, and the situation of the young marshal's army was already in danger. Zhang Liang, who happened to be present, quickly exchanged a few glances with Chen Ping, and then hurriedly said: "General Right, it's time to make a decision, we have a very small chance of taking Hangu Pass first, so we can only quickly negotiate with Zheng Chang." ”

Xiang Kangtie weighed the pros and cons for a long time with a blushing face, nodded helplessly, and was about to open his mouth to summon Zheng Chang to meet, but at this time, a personal soldier suddenly rushed into the big tent of the Chinese army, saluted Xiang Kang and said: "General Right, our scouts caught a suspicious man on the road southwest of Hangu Pass, who claimed to be your old friend, and had 100,000 urgent and important matters, and wanted to see you immediately." ”

"My old friend?" Xiang Kang asked suspiciously, "What's your name?" ”

"He refused to say his name, only said that he used to be a pavilion guard of Shiling Pavilion, and said that General Right You will understand what he meant." The soldier replied truthfully.

Before the soldiers finished speaking, Xiang Kang was already in ecstasy, and hurriedly shouted: "Quick! Bring him to me right away! ”

The soldiers agreed, and when they hurriedly turned around, Xiang Kang hurriedly added: "Wait, secretly take him into the camp and give a ban order!" Those who know about this matter, who will dare to mention the five words of Shiling Pavilion in the future! No mercy! ”

It was rare to see Xiang Kang so strict, the soldiers hurriedly sang the promise again, and rushed out to give the order, and because Zhou Zeng was still in Xianyang, none of the Uncle Zhou, Chen Ping, Zhang Liang and others present knew the weight of the five words 'Shiling Pavilion Pawn' to Xiang Kang, and they all looked at each other, curious to ask Xiang Kang the reason, Xiang Kang suppressed the impulse in his heart, and said: "You will know when that person comes, in short, the news brought by this person must be extremely important, otherwise, my good brother who is closer than his own brother, Not going to take such a risk! ”

The body couldn't help trembling slightly when he was excited, but Feng Zhong's brother Feng Qi was brought to Xiang Kang and told Xiang Kang that after Feng Zhong asked him to bring two messages, Xiang Kang calmed down instead, and smiled at Uncle Zhou and Chen Ping next to him and said, "See?" This is my true brother, this is the real brotherhood, no matter how dangerous it is, I have never forgotten the safety of my wife and child in Pengcheng, and I have not mistaken his eldest brother. ”

"Now I can feel more at ease." Xiang Kang smiled and said to himself: "Actually, as early as when the accident occurred in Hanguguan, I had already sent someone back to Pengcheng to send a letter to my second uncle, asking her to take care of my wife and children for me. Now that my eldest brother has made such a promise, I can be more at ease. ”

As he spoke, Xiang Kang's tears slowly slid down his face, remembering the past when he and Feng Zhong met and intersected, not a brother but a brotherhood, tears wet his clothes.

When Xiang Kang was crying emotionally, Uncle Zhou, Chen Ping, Zhang Liang and others were smiling, and tears flashed in the corners of their eyes.

Wiping a handful of tears from his face, Xiang Kang said softly to Feng Zhong's younger brother Feng Qi: "Go down to eat and rest, don't worry, I will repay you a hundred times in the future for the sins you have suffered along the way." ”

Feng Qi, who had blood on both feet, agreed excitedly, and hurriedly saluted, and as Xiang Kang's personal soldiers left, Chen Ping next to him wiped the corners of his eyes and asked, "General Right, what should we do now?" ”

"What should I do?" Xiang Kang smiled again and said: "The revenge of the slaughter of the city in Hangu Pass, the hatred of the deception that slandered and framed the inch, of course, we have to seize the opportunity to revenge." ”

Speaking of this in a gentle tone, Xiang Kang suddenly raised his voice and roared angrily: "If Lao Tzu beats Liu Laosan so much that he can't even recognize his mother this time, wouldn't he be too sorry for those innocent deaths in Hanguguan?!" ”

roared out of the humiliation and fire of this period of time, Xiang Kang didn't even blink his eyelids, and immediately shouted: "Go and call Zheng Chang immediately, promise to divide Guanzhong equally with Bashui and Jingshui as the boundary, and ask Liu Laosan to take over the city land with the army immediately!" Then, kill this puppet! ”