Winter in Pengcheng.

It was cold and dry, and the cold snap that went all the way south from the northern grasslands was violent, and after sweeping through the northern counties, the momentum was unabated and rushed towards Chudi.

When the black cone horse saw the arrival of the master, the horse's hooves kicked the ground vigorously, and he neighed excitedly, Xiang Yu pulled the reins of the war horse, and his body jumped up quickly, and the red cloak danced immediately.

The Chu Palace, located in the northeast corner of Pengcheng, is condescending, like a bright light guiding the direction. The black cone horse walked towards the brightly lit palace building, Xiang Yu was escorted by Xiang Zhuang, and in front of his cousin, who was only seven or eight years older, Xiang Zhuang looked calm.

The Chu Palace, located in the northeast corner of Pengcheng, is condescending, like a bright light guiding the direction.

Xiang Yu, under the escort of Xiang Zhuang, walked towards the brightly lit palace building, and in front of his cousin, who was only seven or eight years older, Xiang Zhuang looked calm.

The entrance to the palace.

In the silent night, the lantern emits a "poof" fire from time to time

At the same time that Xiang Yu was rushing to the Chu Palace, Yu Ji was also pacing back and forth around the palace gate, and the maids around her had been urged by her to run outside the palace again and again to find out if there were any cars and horses coming.

This night, for her, is the most important moment in her life, although she has already given herself to this man, she still cares whether she will occupy an important position in his heart.

One lap, another lap.

Yu Ji twisted a handkerchief in her uneasy hands, trying to calm her emotions, today, is her big day, for this day, she has been looking forward to it for a long time, and she has also prayed in her heart for a long time.

"Madame, here you are, my lord. He's—! The maid ran out of breath, but when she came to Yu Ji, she stepped into the air, and her forehead hit the bluestone steps straight, and she immediately swollen up a big bag.

"What's wrong with him, King?" Yu Ji was startled by the maid, and hurriedly ordered someone to help the reckless little maid up.

"The king, the king is not drunk, he came on horseback." The little maid didn't care about wiping the dust, and showed her tiger teeth at Yu Ji, and smiled knowingly.

"You little girl, who told you to inquire about this?" Yu Ji's delicate face flushed with red clouds. This little maid didn't know much about the relationship between men and women, and as soon as she listened to Yu Ji's instructions, she said it recklessly, fortunately there were no outsiders around.

While he was talking, Xiang Yu's car had already entered the palace gate, and when he saw Yu Ji at the door, Xiang Yu's burly body jumped off the black cone.

"Madam, the night is cold and dewy, why don't you wait in the palace?" Xiang Yu's heavy pupils showed pity. The woman in front of her, although she was only one of the beauties selected from all over the Chu Kingdom, had a gentle temperament and a weak utilitarian heart. It's not like those women who are bent on climbing up.

"If the king has not returned, how dare the concubines go to bed first?" Yu Ji bowed her head and said.

"Well, Madame has been waiting for a long time. Zhang Er in the front hall was a lobbyist for Liu Ji, and instigated the king to send troops to attack Qin again, which really didn't know whether he was alive or dead. Xiang Yu sneered. Road.

Zhang Er's King of Changshan was originally divided by Xiang Yu, he thought that Zhang Er would be grateful, but he didn't expect that it was not the case at all, Zhang Er was now obviously considering the problem from Liu Bang's point of view.

Liu Bang's scheme, Xiang Yu is now clear.

It was a great shame for Liu Bang to be expelled from Hanzhong by the Qin army all the way, but it was a pity that the Han army was not strong enough to compete with the Qin army. If the Chu army and the Qin army can fight and lose both, the Han army, as a third party, will be able to profit.

If it had been a year ago, Xiang Yu would have agreed without hesitation, and at that time, he was concerned about the reputation of the king of princes. And now, Xiang Yu, who has gradually calmed down, has regarded Li Yuan as the most important opponent in the future, and the result of the Tiger Prison Pass without winning or losing makes him even more vigilant.

In the face of Qiang Qin, any negligence may lead to unpredictable disasters.

"The king is angry. The concubine has a word of persuasion, in this world, if you are good to others, it is not necessarily that others will be good to you. Just because you do something for someone doesn't mean they'll appreciate your efforts. Yu Ji said lightly.

Madame is right. Don't talk about opening your ears, today's bright moon and stars are scarce, you and I should rest early. Xiang Yu hugged Yu Ji and said softly.

"Hmm!"

Yu Ji snorted, two red clouds flashed on her delicate face, and the lights in the bedroom were extinguished after a few flashes under Xiang Yu's robe sleeves.

On this night, Pengcheng was immersed in a joyful atmosphere, and Xiang Yu's wedding was also a day worth celebrating for the people of Chudi.

Not long ago, Xiangguo Xiang Tuo has issued a notice that this year's grain allowance will be reduced by 30%, which is a big news, for the people of Chu who are struggling to survive under the heavy tax, the tax reduction is as difficult to touch as the stars in the sky. Xiang Tuo's order suddenly made Yu Ji a well-known figure in Chudi.

"If you can live this year, you have to thank the king and his wife for their grace." The people of Chu ran to tell each other and were overjoyed. After a year of turmoil, the small Shili within the Western Chu State was forcefully exterminated by Xiang Yu, and now the reduction of taxes has given them a little more hope in life.

――。

Although Chu has three households, the death of Qin will be Chu.

Being able to make such bold remarks when he was a teenager, Xiang Yu is naturally not a mentally handicapped person, he is just too proud and does not dare to bend over himself.

The appearance of Li Yuan allowed Xiang Yu to find a new target in the blank look at his opponent.

Chu and Qin.

This pair of old rivals from the Warring States period continues to advance along the path of confrontation.

Compared with before, the territory of the Qin State has not changed much except for occupying the Three Jins, and the Western Chu is turned upside down, after abandoning the Jianghan Plain in the Yingdu area, the Shili range of the Western Chu is now mainly in the eastern part of the former Chu State, Huiji County and Qilu area, and Pengcheng as the capital, the location is just in the center of the counties.

Compared with the vast and sparsely populated Qin State, the place occupied by Western Chu is densely populated, according to the plans of Shusun Tong, Liu Jing and other strategists, Chu State does not need to be too anxious to directly confront Qin State now, but should rely on the advantage of population step by step, little by little to widen the gap with Qin State.

The Kwantung princes tried to unite against Qin.

But under each selfish heart, there are many difficulties, and people's desires are always endless, and the Qin State under Li Yuan's rule, although it showed aggressive momentum, could not make all the princes work together.

The fall of Sima Mao.

In the eyes of the princes of all walks of life, the more reason is that he brought about his own destruction, Hedong County was under the rule of Sima Mao, the people were not able to make a living, and the displaced people were scattered, such a brutal guy was fortunately destroyed by the Qin State, if the Qin army did not fight, the offensive direction of the Hedong army was very likely to turn to other princes in the surrounding area.

Thinking of this, Wei Bao, Chen Yu, Zhao Xie and other princes changed their colors. Unlike Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, who are thinking about the world, what they care about is their own vested interests, whether the revival of the Qin State will sweep the Kanto region like the First Emperor, this question is too broad for the small princes who only want to survive in peace every day.

――。

Pengcheng is staging a good show between the princes.

As the object of calculation, Li Yuan did not have the time to pay attention to the intrigues of the various parties in the Kwantung region, and his attention was focused on improving the Jishu advantage of the Qin State as soon as possible.

Time waits for no man.

In this icy winter, Li Yuan's footprints began to set foot in the land of Sanjin that he had just occupied from Guanzhong, and compared with Guanzhong, which was relatively scarce in resources, the most commendable area in Hedong County was a large area of coal resources suitable for simple mining.

Coal in this era, also known as black gold.

As early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, this black stone was picked up by the Ding Ling people in Yunzhong County as heating fuel, and its high ignition point and the advantage of being easy to carry made it quickly regarded as a precious holy relic by the Ding Ling people.

After the Qin army occupied Hedong County and Yunzhong County, Ding Lingren, who was so frightened that he was killed, sent an envoy to send black gold in order to show his sincerity in surrendering.

There are very few open-pit coal mines in the area of Guanzhong Shangjun, and Li Yuan's previous appeal for coal can only be kept in his heart due to the humble mining jishu of this era, and this time Ding Ling's envoy not only sent high-quality coal and stones, but also said that these things were picked up on a mountain where they lived.

Open-pit mines.

Li Yuan was ecstatic, compared with the difficulty of underground mining, the mining conditions of open-pit mines are much easier, if enough coal and stone can be mined, the problem of low melting point of charcoal iron, which has plagued the military construction for a long time, can be easily solved. Previously, after the iron ore mining in Fushui, due to the ignition of charcoal, the iron tools made by the Qin soldiers could only be used as agricultural tools.

After achieving the pinnacle of achievements in bronze smelting jishu, Qin's military construction is now in a difficult period of jishu transformation, and the Qin people, who started a step late in iron smelting, must be the first to start the use and trial of coal, a new energy source, if they want to catch up.

This time, in addition to Cao Xin and Li Zhongxiang, who went to inspect with Li Yuan, there were also soldiers who made Sima Yin to accompany them.

Hedong is where Sima Yin's family is, after the Shili of Sima Mao, the king of Yin, was uprooted by the Qin army, the Sima family of Hedong quickly changed their wavering position and increased their support for Qin.

Su Jiao, the border general of the Qin army, who had made great achievements in this southward war, had been appointed by Li Yuan as the commander of Hedong County, and this fierce general, who had always been subordinate to Wang Li, finally had the opportunity to show his ambition to preside over the party.

After receiving the news that Li Yuan personally came to Hedong to inspect it, Su Jiao hurriedly led 300 cavalry of his headquarters to meet him at Puban Ferry, in order to show his loyalty.

Seeing Su Jiao so knowledgeable, Li Yuan also greatly praised it, the faster the integration time of the border army, the combat effectiveness of the Qin army can be improved in a short period of time, for the Qin State that is about to face the attack of the Kwantung princes, it is very important to unite and work together. (To be continued......)