In mid-January, when he learned the news of the siege of Huaiyang, Xiang Yu's army of 20,000 men had just left Suiyang, which had just spent the winter, and went to Zhecheng County, Chen County (Zhecheng, Henan).

Zhexian got its name, because there is Zhegou circulation, the Zhe trees on both sides of the river are clustered, and the leaves of this Zhe tree can be used to feed a kind of "Zhe silkworm", the color of the Zhe silk produced is bright and bright, and the clothes woven into it are famous in Yangliang and Song.

However, Zhexian County recently received an order from the Shangzhu State of Chu State, requiring all embroiderers in the county to weave a flag: the fiery red Chu character flag!

Outside, the embroidery girls are flying with needles and threads, but in the county temple, the generals of the Chu State are arguing about an important matter related to the rise and fall of the Chu State.

"I'm afraid Chen Ying won't be able to save him."

It was General Pu who spoke, he brought hundreds of people to take refuge when Xiang Yu attacked Donghai County, and he was quite brave, but today's proposal is very conservative:

"Our army is only 20,000, and the Qin army besieging Chen Ying has at least 60,000, or even more, and there is a chasm across it, which is obviously to lure our army to rush to help, and it is better to attack halfway, and go to the pillar country, we can't be fooled!"

Another person in the hall took a different view.

"But if Chen Ying is lost, the state of Chu will suffer a great loss, and Huaiyang will control the suburbs of Cai and Ying, and the way of Wanliang and Song. Huai, Si has something, down the river to the east, north and south have something, will fight for this. ”

This person is short in stature, but he is extremely calm, if Heifu is here, he will definitely cry out in surprise, this is actually an arrow hole in his leg, and the old acquaintance Zhong Liyi who has disappeared for many years!

Zhong Liyi continued: "More than ten years ago, Changping Jun used Chen Ying to oppose Qin and hit Li Xinzhi's back, and Chu won a great victory. ”

"After a year, Wang Jian was the general, Chen Ying was easily lost, and Chu Sui had no barrier and perished overnight."

"Therefore, I know that Chen Ying's gains and losses are related to the survival of the Chu State, if the Qin army is allowed to seize Chen Ying this time, they will be able to control the chasm again, send warships from Aocang, transport grain and soldiers all the way, and go down the river, threatening Shouchun, and the tragedy of the former country will be repeated!"

Zhong Liyi said: "Therefore, Chen Ying must be saved, but General Pu is reasonable, don't rush to cross the chasm, why not follow the old Qi Sun Bin siege Wei to save Zhao's plan, our army will go north, attack Chen Liu, take the big beam, and join the army of Han and Wei, force Chenggao to the west, threaten Aocang, then the Qin army will release Chen Ying and return to Chenggao!" ”

Although Han Wei was severely attacked by the Qin army, and even the two kings were hanged, Han had Zhang Liang, and Gongsun Xin had already led thousands of people to Putianze as the base to resist Qin, and the Wei State also quickly established Wei Bao as the king, and all took Dongjun, and the strength was stronger than that of Wei.

General Pu agreed with this proposal: "That's right, Chen Ying still has 10,000 guards, and Ji Bu is the general, he has always kept his promises, and before the young general left, he said that he would hold it, and he would definitely be able to defend it!" There is also enough food in the city, and it should be able to resist the Qin army for more than a month, as long as we ......"

But his words were interrupted by a young man who had been kneeling in the center for a long time.

"Chen Ying does have 10,000 defenders, and Ji Bu is the captain."

"In addition, there are tens of thousands of Chu people, including my father."

The majestic and elegant high crown of Chu can't hide Xiang Yu's martial arts spirit, he has a swallow jaw and tiger whiskers, and his arms are powerful, like a slap, which can smash the case to pieces!

"The opponent is Wang Ben, this old man is very similar to his father with soldiers, and he will never relax the garrison of Chen Liu and Chenggao because he wants to capture Chen Ying, and then our army will kill Chenggao, but it will be blocked by the soldiers, and he can't retreat because he can't attack, but Chen Ying, I'm afraid it has been broken."

"My father is my confidant, and Ji Bu is my sibling, how is it different from death to go with one heart and one arm?"

Xiang Yu glanced at General Pu and Zhongli: "This battle must be fought!" ”

General Pu was anxious: "It's ......"

Xiang Yu didn't give him a chance to speak.

"When I was a child, I heard my father say that Chu, the power of the world, was also the most prosperous King of Chuwei, there were Qianzhong and Wujun in the west, Xiazhou and Haiyang in the east, Dongting and Cangwu in the south, and Shensai and Xunyang in the north, with more than 5,000 miles, with a million armor, thousands of cars, 10,000 horses, and 10 years of Suzhi. This overlord is also a treasure. ”

"The husband is strong with Chu and the king's sage, and the world can not be either, so the princes are dukes, marquis, and uncles, and only I am a great Chu, and I can proclaim myself the king and fight against Zhou's court."

"It is precisely because the state of Chu is very large that the monarch and the ministers of the faint state do not regret it, so when the king of Chu Huai, it doesn't matter if he cuts the state of Shangyong, Hanbei and Qin, he forgets in vain, this is the ancestor of the blue wisp of the road inch by inch."

"When he arrived at King Xiang of Chuqing, he was broken by Bai Qi, burned the tomb of the first king, lost Jiang Han, rushed east, and half of the mountains and rivers were gone."

"At the time of the defeat, in order to ask for peace, Chen Ying and the west of Qingyang were ceded, and Chu had become a small country with a bias to Jianghuai, and eventually fell."

"Now, the state of Chu has finally been restored, and the mistakes of the past cannot be repeated, as long as I am still the Shangzhu country of the state of Chu, and the great Chu enters the ground, as long as it is recaptured, not a foot or an inch, can no longer be allowed!"

He patted General Pu and Zhong Liyi and said:

"We are recovering the country and punishing Qin, there are not many soldiers, and the armor is not strong, so we rely on one breath."

"Since the fall of the Chu State, I have been holding back my grievances for more than ten years! Even though Chu has been dead for more than ten years, the Chu people still secretly remember that sentence! ”

General Pu and Zhong Liyi were quite touched, and said in unison: "Although Chu has three households, the death of Qin will be Chu!" ”

Xiang Yu bowed: "That's right, if this qi is dispersed, then it will return to the old way." ”

"Like more than 10 years ago, we lost all the way, lost the city and lost the land."

"In the end, Sheji was reduced to ruins, the Chu people were slaughtered by the Qin officials, the nobles were reduced to relocation, and the tradition was trampled under the feet......"

"Therefore, even if you die, you can't back down, Huaiyang, you must be saved!"

Xiang Yu was furious: "The Qin people want to lure me into battle?" Okay, that Xiang Yu doesn't avoid much, if he wants to fight, then he will fight, and use this battle to determine the situation of Liang Chen! ”

……

A few days later, Xiang County (Shenqiu, Henan), a hundred miles south of Chen Ying, was the end of the chasm and the original fief of the Xiang family.

Zhong Liyi reported to Malai: "Shangzhu Kingdom, General Pu's luring of the enemy has an effect, and Qin Bingguo sent 10,000 people to the north. ”

Xiang Yu bowed, he asked General Pu to take 3,000 people, with great fanfare, along the chasm to the north, to attack Chenliu, the Qin army quickly reacted, and sent 10,000 people back to help Liangdi.

The main force of the Chu army followed Xiang Yu to the south to Xiang County, where the Sima Ying division of the Qin army in Runan had not yet attacked here, and Xiang County was under the control of Xiang Yu from his younger brother Xiang Sheng, with 3,000 newly recruited soldiers and ships to meet them to cross the chasm.

But just after the Chu army crossed the chasm, they dug the stove to cook, and everyone was eating, Zhong Liyi, who was ordered to cruise around the periphery, returned again and sent an urgent report to Xiang Yu!

"Shangzhu Country! In the direction of Nandun Township (Xiangcheng, Henan), a large number of Qin troops are marching towards Xiang County! ”

Xiang Yu immediately spit out the rice in his mouth:

"How many, how far?"

"At least 40,000 people! It's only twenty miles away! ”

Twenty miles, a quick march can be reached in one hour, slow two, three hours......

"Twice as much as me?"

Xiang Yu smiled: "I'm afraid it's an ambush, it seems that the Qin army was transferred north to chase General Pu, I'm afraid that the plan will be calculated, and his generation is laying eyeliner along the river, monitoring the movements of various places, just waiting for our army to cross the chasm, and then come to surround and attack it!" ”

Zhong Liyi didn't know the bottom of this battle: "Shangzhu Kingdom, now cross the river and go back to the east bank, avoid the Qin army, there is still time to ......"

"It's too late." Xiang Yu shook his head: "Although the army is slow, it can be reached in half an hour, and our army will be attacked by its half-crossing and suffer great losses." ”

"What's more, as soon as I retreat now, the ambition to win all battles and conquer all the battles and recover the mountains and rivers since the beginning of the army will be completely broken, and the Chu State will be over!"

Zhong Liyi said: "Or, go to Xiang County, ten miles away?" The city is small, but it can ......."

"No way!"

Xiang Yu flatly refused, he stood up and glanced left and right: "Give everyone another half a moment, after eating, assemble!" ”

"I have something to say to everyone!"

……

"Soldiers of Chudi, I am Xiang Yu!"

A loud voice is capricious, and the black man shouted before the battle to raise a simple horn with a copper roll, Xiang Yu didn't need it, the sound was like a bell, and it spread all over the four fields.

In the past six months or so, the noble General Xiang Yu, the invincible Xiang Yu, although he often goes in and out of the barracks and shares food and clothing with the soldiers, he rarely speaks to everyone like this, and not everyone has seen him.

And they also learned the news that the enemy army was twenty miles away, so they whispered, the military appearance was a little scattered, and everyone was worried.

Xiang Yu's voice came again:

"It is rumored by the Chu people that Xiang Yu is two zhang tall!"

"One hand can lift a thousand catties of tripods!"

"Every time he fights, he kills hundreds!"

"I also said that my pair of heavy pupils can breathe fire, and everywhere I go, it will be ashes."

"If there is a loud roar, the earth will shake the mountains, and the heavenly thunder will fall to destroy the Qin army."

When everyone heard this, they laughed, because Xiang Yu was too young, only twenty-four years old, and since the beginning of the army, he has recovered several counties and is invincible, so the Chu people gradually began to add some myths to him.

But Xiang Yu admits that he is a mortal today.

"Of these rumors, only the 100 kills in every battle are true."

He glanced at everyone: "Although Xiang Yu is brave, I can't annihilate tens of thousands of Qin troops more than ten miles away!" ”

For a while, everyone was quiet, and uneasiness grew from their hearts, Young General Xiang couldn't do it, so who could do it?

"I can't do it alone."

Xiang Yu added, pointing to the less than 20,000 people in front of him, and cheered them up loudly:

"But there are still you and others, you can fight with me in formation, and the soldiers are one, and you can win all battles and attack everything!"

No one answered.

Xiang Yu continued: "I know that the cowardly and the fearful are hiding at home and will not join the Chu army. Xiang Yu's subordinates were either unwilling to be brought to justice by Qin's law, or they were so poor that they couldn't survive and became criminals and thieves. These heroes of Chu Land stood under the banner of the phoenix bird in order to resist the tyrannical Qin. ”

He pointed behind him, and there was dust in the distance, it was the Qin army's chariot......

"Now, the Qin army is coming, there is no way to avoid it, this is a vicious battle."

In the Chu army, there was some restlessness, but in Xiang Yu's voice, there was indeed no trace of fear.

"Fight or die."

"Surrender, you will die!"

"Death, or live."

"Only a few people can get away with it, hide in the mountains and forests, and survive, at least for a while."

"But you can't hide for a while, and in a few years, you will be arrested by the Qin officials. When I came out, I saw that the land of Chu had long been devastated, and the wives and daughters of your family had been reduced to slaves and prisoners, so they were beheaded in the city, or died of exhaustion in Lingnan, and starved to death in Lishan and the Great Wall......"

At this moment, Xiang Yu thought of his eldest father and father who died in battle, and also thought of his middle father and younger brother Xiang Zhuang who were sent to Biansai.

The blood feud between the Xiang clan and the Qin State can never be resolved.

And almost all the people who were willing to join the Chu army and follow Xiang Yu against Qin were also like this, either their family members died in the unification war, or they were severely punished for making a small mistake and became a prisoner.

Many of them still have words on their faces!

Xiang Yu raised his head and asked with red eyes: "Second and third sons, Xiang Yu dares to ask, if that's the case, the moment before you die in humiliation, are you willing to use all this lowly suffering in exchange for today!" ”

"For one chance, we have only one chance!"

"Back here, beside the chasm, on the land of the Chu State, under the banner of the red phoenix, facing the Qin people, holding their heads high, telling them that the Chu people will never be slaves, and the Chu people also have ambition!"

What is the ambition of the Chu people?

According to Xiang Yu's understanding, that is his own land, and he has the final say!

"We are willing to fight to the death with the general!"

Some cheered, others were silent, and others looked left and right.

Xiang Yu didn't know if this was a successful speech, and he didn't know how many people would risk their lives to fight in a while.

Not everyone can understand the righteousness of the family and the country.

Not everyone has a brave heart.

But Xiang Yu, who has always been straightforward, knows how to make them have no way to retreat, but to move forward!

"Broken Cauldron!"

He ordered Xiang Sheng.

"Sinking the boat!"

He yelled at Zhong Liyi.

The clay pots on the stove were knocked to the ground and broken into pieces by spears, and some of them contained leftover rice porridge......

Hundreds of small boats of various sizes were also burned by the fire and slowly sank into the water......

In this firelight, the Chu people on the shore were all red-eyed like Xiang Yu.

The Lord will break the cauldron and sink the boat, and the soldiers will die, and no one will return the heart!

Now, they really have no way out!

This time, when Xiang Yu gave the order again, everyone consciously leaned closer to their companions and fellow villagers, and tightly held the sword in their hands.

"Can't get in and out, and the plains are far ......away."

A Chu song, slowly sung from the mouths of nobles and military officials, tragic and majestic!

"Take a long sword and carry a Qin bow, and your head will not be punished."

As if to strengthen his courage, although most people did not know the words, they still opened their thirsty mouths, licked their chapped lips, and hummed their throats with some pain.

"Honesty is both brave and martial, and it is strong and invincible!"

The voice grew louder and louder, gritting his teeth and clenching his spear.

"The body is dead, the god is the spirit, and the soul of the child is the ghost."

Xiang Yu shouted this last sentence!

More than ten years ago, in Jinan, his eldest father Xiang Yan, with 100,000 Chu boys, shouted Chu Yin's swan song and sprinkled blood on that land......

And now, the sons and nephews of those who died in the war are back!

They once again took up arms, held high the flag, and sang the song of national mourning, but they will usher in a different fate!

Xiang Yu could feel that the ancestors of the Xiang family were looking at him, the eighteen-year-old monarchs and ministers of the Chu State were looking at him, Zhu Rong, the Eastern Emperor, the Eastern Monarch, the mountain ghosts, and the gods and spirits of the mountains and rivers of Chu were all looking at him!

Blood debts should be paid with blood, and this battle is the best sacrifice for them!

Since there is no way back, then there is only one way forward and a bloody way!

The smoke and dust are billowing out, Qin Jun is already five miles away!

The ugly banner was as dark and depressing as it was back then.

Just like the banner of the same Chu people, it is so bright and blood-red!

Standing on the chariot, Xiang Yu put on the most gorgeous red armor, so that everyone, enemies and subordinates, could see himself clearly.

The halberd, pointing forward.

"After this battle."

"The living should be a hero."

"The dead are also ghosts!"