PS: Sorry, it's late again, it's really hard to write.

It was the seventh month of the third year of the second year, and the weather became unbearably hot. Although Bashang is facing Weishui, it is a land of flat rivers, and there are no shaded woods around, and the heat is unbearable in July.

Because of the heavy casualties in the army, Xiang Yu had to retreat the army from Xishui to the east until he retreated to Leyang, with his back against the mountains around Hangu to shade the sun.

The situation of the Qin State at this time also gradually improved, after the allied forces retreated eastward, the roads between Longxi, Beidi and Xianyang had been opened, and Han Xin and Meng Jian took advantage of the great victory to send new officials to re-place these two counties under the direct command of Xianyang. The puppet Qin army of Sima Xin and Dong Fei ran into a wall in the north, and turned north to attack Shangjun, and after hearing that Xiang Yu's army was defeated, he supported the army to Shangjun, and he was in a panic.

The Qin people are worthy of being a resilient nation, they have just experienced a life-and-death war, and every family has relatives who died in the city defense battle and the previous Julu and other battles, but the Qin people just wiped away their tears, and they were silent and re-engaged in close production and farming.

Hundreds of years of fighting have made the Qin people understand a truth, no matter how sad it is, life must go on, the enemy will not have pity on you because of your grief, only if you are strong enough, can you avenge your dead relatives.

Shang Ying's changes not only turned the Qin state into a terrifying war machine, but also made the barbarism and bloodthirstiness of the Qin people from the nomadic tribes of the steppe in their bones a kind of institution. Shang told the Qin people that they only needed to do two things in their lives, fighting and farming. In wartime, all the people are soldiers, relying on harvesting the enemy's head to obtain military rewards, and in their spare time, they unload their armor and return to the field, desperately cultivating food for the needs of wartime.

There was no need for books on etiquette in the lives of the Qin people, and the doctrines of the hundred schools of thought, except for the Legalists, the Soldiers, and the Zongheng Schools, were all degraded as heretical doctrines in the Qin State. Long before the First Emperor burned books and pit Confucianism, Shang Ying had already burned a fire, burning all the books of the other Zhuzi Hundred Schools, and respecting the domineering art of Legalism.

Instead of etiquette and academic disputes, they had to kill and siege cities, which is why the Six Kingdoms of Kwantung regarded Qin as a symbol of barbarism and violence. However, the system of the Qin State was indeed the most suitable state mechanism of that era.

So the Six Kingdoms perished, and Qin survived alone.

Since they like to kill and fight, then the life of the Qin people is inseparable from life and death, and at the same time that each conquest brings brilliant victories, it will also make many families lose their husbands, fathers and sons, which has become a part of the life of the Qin people, so the resilient Qin people can recover from the war better than any other race in the Kwantung region.

Wives who have lost their husbands can pick up hoes again with tears in their eyes after burying them, and couples who have lost their sons can still go to the government office in silence the next day to report their labor. This made Han Xin sigh with emotion, a nation that knows how to be silent and tenacious is extremely terrifying, because after they have taken a breath, they will definitely repay the pain they once suffered to the enemy tenfold and hundredfold.

Therefore, what the Qin people need most is time, respite, and after a few years, when a new batch of young people grow up, the time for revenge will come.

And Xiang Yu knew the terrible nature of the Qin people, and he was the only one in the coalition who insisted on completely crushing the Qin people and erasing their Qin state from the map, so as to completely cut off this spirit. It's a pity that his efforts failed, and he failed miserably under Xianyang City.

He was not resigned to defeat, but waited for the fighters, as long as his army was still a day, the Qin people would not have a chance to breathe.

Because Xiang Yu's army is on the side, the Qin State does not dare to go out of Xianyang to collect the city in the east, and now the entire Qin State can only use less than 100,000 soldiers in Xianyang City.

The Guanzhong from Hangu Pass to Xianyang is a fertile land, and the Qinchuan Pass occupies 600 miles in 800 li, which is the granary where the Qin people relied to establish the country. And August is the season for sowing corn and other grains in Qin, and once the season is missed, there will definitely be a famine in Qin in the coming year. Therefore, Meng Jian and other civil officials strongly demanded that the coalition forces be expelled from Guanzhong, so that the damaged Qin State could be restored.

Above the court, in the face of the requirements of Meng Jian and others, Han Xin couldn't help but smile bitterly, why didn't he want to expel the coalition army from Guanzhong, the problem was that the troops in his hands were still far inferior to Xiang Yu, if he went out of the city to fight, I was afraid that there would be more than one luck. There was really a lot of luck in winning last time, if Li Xin didn't do his best to complete the burden of collecting troops, if his army arrived one point late, then I am afraid that it would be Xiang Yu who is standing on the main hall of Xianyang Palace now.

Success and failure, big win and heavy defeat, it's just a one-point difference. He had now built up an advantage, and he was definitely not going to risk it again. Xiang Yu is not an ordinary person, because it is understandable to despise Qin Jun last time, if there is a second time, then he is not Xiang Yu.

Therefore, Han Xin categorically rejected the request of some courtiers for the Qin army to go out of the city to recover Guanzhong, Meng Jian did not insist this time, and he saw that Han Xin was against it, so he didn't say more.

Since the last incident, the relationship between Meng Jian and Han Xin has become very delicate, and in private, they are still on the same page to represent the interests of civil officials and military generals; But in official affairs, he sincerely cooperated, and everything was based on the interests of the Qin State, and Han Xin would never interfere in the administration of culture and the appointment of officials; On the military transfer and the appointment and dismissal of generals, Meng Jian tacitly remained silent.

The two of them were like two war horses on a crossbow, pulling the broken Qin State chariot slowly forward, glaring at each other angrily, but they worked together to move forward.

Since there is no way to fight, there is only one way to seek peace. When Han Xin put forward the word 'peace talks' in the court, all the ministers bowed their heads silently, and even some old ministers couldn't help but burst into tears.

Since Qin Xianggong escorted Zhou Tianzi to move eastward to receive the feudal state, the Qin State has a history of 550 years now, and in the past 500 years, the Qin State has been annihilated by the entire army of the Jin State, the overlord of the Central Plains at that time, in the Battle of Kunshan Mountain, and the whole country has been filial piety, and it has also been lost in the land west of the Hexi when the Wei State was strong, and was forced into a desperate situation.

But no monarch has ever succumbed to the enemy, and the tenacious old Qin people have buried the corpses of their relatives and then picked up their weapons, and continued to fight and bite the enemy, until the enemy was defeated and killed. In the early days of the Warring States Period, the Wei State dominated the world, and the troops attacked the weak Qin everywhere, and the Qin State was already so tragic that the country was not a country, and in that case, the Qin people did not give in, but gritted their teeth and persevered.

And today, Han Xin proposed to surrender to Xiang Yu, which made it difficult for the proud Qin people to accept it no matter how they tried it from their hearts.

But no one stood up impassionedly and shouted loudly to Han Xin, everyone already knew that the Qin State was indeed at the end of its rope, and if it fought again after the tragic victory, then the adult men of the Qin State would really die.

What Qin needed was time to heal its wounds, and Xiang Yu's army was like a sharp knife piercing into Qin's heart, making it bleed incessantly.

And Xiang Yu was also facing a dilemma at this time, the rebellion from Chu made him feel troubled, even if the news was temporarily blocked, but the princes around him would know the news that the king of Chu announced that he was no longer the commander of the coalition army. Although Ji Bu decisively sent troops to end the rebellion, King Huai and Chen Ying fled to Hengshan County in the south, where they took refuge in Wu Rui and Gongxi, using this as a base to split the state of Chu.

At the beginning, the princes in order to rise up against Qin, the common respect of Chu Huai King as the righteous emperor to command the world's anti-Qin forces, after Song Yi was killed by Xiang Yu, King Huai made a handy favor Xiang Yu as the commander of the princes, this is also his legal identity to command the world's coalition forces, once he does not have this identity, and after the defeat, it is difficult to say whether the other princes will obey his orders.

Therefore, Fan Zeng's opinion was to withdraw the army back to Chu as soon as possible, leaving only an elite army to garrison Hangu Pass, quickly exterminate the opposition forces within Chu with the momentum of thunder, and then accumulate strength to knock on the pass to destroy Qin in the future. Although Xiang Yu had the intention of retreating in his heart, he hesitated.

He was unwilling to withdraw from Guanzhong like this, his proud self-esteem did not allow him to return to Chu like this, he was like a gambler who lost red-eyed, looking at Guanzhong with fierce eyes, trying to find a chance to win a battle to save face and then discuss the retreat, but unfortunately Han Xin's caution did not leave him a chance to take revenge.

Just when he was hesitating, the envoy sent by the Qin State brought him a step to retreat.

The conditions offered by the Qin State were gorgeous, but they were very pragmatic. The state of Qin was willing to give up the honorific title of the emperor, change his name to the king of Qin, and respect Xiang Yu as the overlord of Western Chu and the co-lord of the world. However, the Qin state was required to retain all the homeland west of Hangu Pass, including Hangu Pass.

The King of Qin was willing to submit to him, and this condition really moved Xiang Yu, if he became the co-lord of the world, then the previous defeat under Xianyang City would be insignificant. Even if the Qin State did not fall, but he had nominally conquered the violent Qin, wasn't this the result that the Chu people wanted?

Xiang Yu's heart moved, and Fan Zeng didn't say anything. He also knew in his heart that Xiang Yu's reputation after this defeat was undoubtedly a huge blow, and the Chu people might not all be devoted to him, and the submission of the Qin people was undoubtedly a good opportunity to improve his prestige.

So he didn't object, but just reminded Xiang Yu to keep Hangu Pass, weaken the territory and power of Qin as much as possible, and make them lose the capital to turn over.

Xiang Yu agreed to negotiate peace with Qin, and the location was chosen on the Ba Shang between Xianyang and Hangu Pass, and the Qin army and the Chu army each sent 10,000 horsemen to guard five miles away, and the leaders of both sides went to the appointment with 100 people.

Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng from Chu, Han Xin and Meng Jian from Qin, and the location was chosen in a makeshift tent between the two armies.

When Han Xin saw Xiang Yu again, he had a bitter smile on his face, and Xiang Yu also looked at him with a gloomy face, and his face was not very good-looking. He looked at the thick gauze wrapped around Han Xin's left hand, so he frowned and asked; "You're hurt?"

Han Xin smiled bitterly; "Yes, I was cut under the city that day, but fortunately I hid quickly, otherwise I would have lost my hand."

Xiang Yu snorted coldly; "You're lucky, I wanted to try with you today to relieve the anger in my heart, but you were injured so coincidentally, I can't take advantage of you."

Han Xin sweated heavily, he didn't expect that there would be benefits to being injured, according to Xiang Yu's temper, now he is angry again, if he competes with him, he will never stop if he is not beaten to death.

Xiang Yu squinted at him again and snorted; "I regret letting you go now, although it is very exciting to have an opponent, but if this opponent is strong enough to make Xiang Yu taste the bitter fruit of defeat, it will not be to my liking."

Han Xin smiled a little helplessly, and didn't know what to say, but Meng Jian, who was on the side, saw that the relationship between the two had already been known, and the relationship didn't seem to be simple, so he couldn't help but show some surprise.

The four of them sat down at the table one after another, and next to each stood a scribe who took a pen to record, all four of them had gloomy faces, and none of them spoke. In fact, both sides have always been eager to kill each other completely, and peace talks are just a last resort.

Fan Zeng was old-fashioned, and his heart for fighting was naturally much weaker, and he was the first to speak in a hoarse voice; "Since your Qin State is here to seek peace, then let our Chu State see your sincerity in seeking peace."

Meng Jian opened his mouth to retort; "It's not a peace negotiation, it's a peace talk, my Qin State came to the peace talks with the momentum of a big victory, just so that Qin and Chu can calm the war and cultivate their lives and raise the people, how can they compare with those who have lost their power and humiliated the country."

Xiang Yu snorted coldly; "Then do you Qin Guo mean that you want to fight again, I, Xiang Yu, am very happy to accompany you."

The atmosphere was rigid for a while, Xiang Yu showed murderous intent in his eyes, and Han Xin had no choice but to make a round when he saw that something was wrong; "Please rest easy, since we are sitting here today for peace talks, we are trying to find a condition that is acceptable to both sides in good faith. Let's tell you the truth, our Qin State has been greatly injured, and sooner or later it will not be able to support it in such a strong battle, and your Chu State has also reached the point of exhaustion, I have heard a little about the attitude of the princes towards your Chu army, it may not be single-minded, right? ”

Fan Zeng snorted heavily, but did not refute, but felt slightly relieved in his heart, it seems that the Qin State still does not know that the King of Chu has broken with Xiang Yu, otherwise I am afraid that the chips proposed will be much higher.

Fan Zeng opened his mouth and said; "Han Xin, then you can tell me, what are the conditions of your Qin State."

Han Xin bowed his hand to him; "Our Qin State gave up the title of emperor and the Son of Heaven, demoted to the king, and is willing to serve Xiang Yu as the overlord of Western Chu, and honor the same as the Son of Heaven, how about it?"

Fan Zeng listened to what Han Xin said about the prerequisites that had already been agreed, and couldn't help but curse 'cunning', Zou Mei said, "These are all false, I want to hear your actual conditions." ”

This time, Han Xin replied honestly; "The Qin State retains the land of Guanzhong, and the land of the six countries of the Kwantung region is all abandoned."

Fan Zeng nodded and said; "Yes, but the Qin State can only keep the internal history and Longxi, and Hangu Pass must be occupied by our Chu army." The internal history is a place centered on Xianyang that is directly governed by the imperial court, and Fan Zeng's proposal of such conditions can be described as extremely harsh.

Meng Jian's face on the side changed greatly, and Han Xin's face was also slightly angry, and he said; "Uncle Fan, I respect you as my elder, so I don't want to insult each other, do you think Qin Guo may agree to such conditions? If this is the case, then what is the difference between the Qin State and the destruction. ”

Fan Zeng knew that Qin Guo would not agree, and he didn't panic when he arrived, and asked back: "Then what do you think it should be." ”

"Hanguguan must be returned to us." Han Xin said with perseverance. "This condition is by no means negotiable, if Hangu is in your hands, then what security does our Qin State have at all, you can knock on the border and invade at any time. People are swordsmen and I am fish and meat, do you think the Qin people will agree? I know that sooner or later, your army will withdraw to Kanto, and at that time, I will definitely do my best to attack Hangu Pass, because that is the lifeline of the Qin State, and it must not be in the hands of others. ”

Fan Zeng saw that his tone was resolute, and there was no room for negotiation, and he sighed slightly in his heart that he knew that he couldn't force it, so he stopped dwelling on it, and said instead; "Then did the Qin State promise to keep only two counties?"

Han Xin shook his head and said; "We can give up Hanzhong, but Shangjun and Beidi must be owned by the Qin State, and the people of these two counties are all Qin people for hundreds of years, which is the foundation of the Qin State."

Xiang Yu, who had never interjected, said in a tough tone; "Han Xin, don't you think you're too greedy, Shangjun has been occupied by us, have you ever seen the meat you eat and let it be spit out?"

Han Shin explained; "We still have more than 100,000 Qin soldiers and dependents in northern Xinjiang, and these people need to borrow the county to return to the country, so I need to hold the county in my hands."

Fan Zengzou eyebrows; "This is simple, King Xiang can order Zhao and other princes to use the road to let the Qin people return."

Han Xin smiled slightly; "If we exchange 20,000 Chu soldiers and Zhong Liwei, can the Chu State take a step back."

This time, Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng were both moved, and Xiang Yu couldn't wait to ask; "Is Liwei still alive?"

"No, he was seriously injured and was captured by us, and now his injuries are healed and he is alive and kicking in Xianyang."

"What about Yingbu and Ryuji?"

Han Xin's tone froze, his mind spun rapidly, and then he said slowly: "Long Ji and Yingbu both died in the chaos, and I have ordered his body to be buried, and I can return the coffin to you." ”

Xiang Yu looked disappointed, Yingbu was his most important general, and he relied on him to charge into battle every time, but Long Ji was a good brother for many years, how could he not make him sad when he died. Originally, he thought that the three of them must have died in battle, but he was a little surprised to know that Zhong Liwei was still alive, so he had hope, so he asked this question.

Fan Zeng admired Zhong Liwei very much, and felt that he was a general who was affectionate and righteous, and both civil and military, and it was even more rare that he was loyal to Xiang Yu. So he said in a relaxed tone; "At most, I can only return you to the Northland County, this is the final bottom line, if you entangle it again, then there is nothing to talk about."

Seeing this, Han Xin could only give up, and discussed the details of the contract with Fan Zeng in detail, and then handed over the contract to each other as a brotherly state. The Qin state, which was called the queen, was only allowed to retain the internal history and the three counties of Longxi and Beidi, and respected Xiang Yu as the co-lord of the world.

Before leaving, Xiang Yu found a chance to be alone with Han Xin, stared at him and said; "Han Xin, the three-year contract has now arrived, can you admit defeat?"

Han Xin looked at Xiang Yu and replied lightly; "I didn't lose, and you didn't win either, in fact, everyone is smart, this so-called alliance is just a temporary silence, how about we fight it off on the battlefield one day."

Xiang Yu snorted heavily, turned around and left with a fierce wave of the horsewhip, leaving a sentence far away, "Okay, then you can lead the neck and wait to be killed, I, Xiang Yu, will take your life sooner or later." From this day forward, we are no longer just brothers, but also enemies of life and death! ”

On the second day, the surrender table of the Qin State had been handed to Leyang, and Xiang Yu, on behalf of the Chu State, officially agreed to a truce with the Qin State and formed a brotherly state with each other. Chu is a brother, Qin is a brother, and Qin is a courtesy to Chu's courtiers.

As soon as the news came out, the world was shocked, knowing that Qin was still the master of the world two years ago, but now he respects Xiang Yu as the co-master. The princes also put away their contempt for Xiang Yu and congratulated him one after another.

Xiang Yu led the army east to Luoyang and convened the princes of the world to meet the alliance, and the princes all came in response to the order and did not dare to disobey. So he tore the earth and sealed the world as the eighteen kings.

The original Qin land was divided into four. Ziying is the king of Qin, the capital is Xianyang, and the three counties of Inner History, Longxi and Beidi are collared. Sima Xin was the king of Sai and Dong Peng was the king of Zhai, and they led Shangjun and Jiuyuan County together. Liu Bang led Hanzhong County and was named the King of Han.

Wei Di: The title of Wei Wangbao remains unchanged, leading the party and the two counties of Hedong, all of which are Pingyang. Zhao made Shenyang the king of Henan, led Sanchuan County, and the capital was Luoyang. Zhao made Sima Wei the king of Yin, led Hanoi County, and sang all of them.

Zhao Di: Because Zhao Wang Xie refused to enter the customs with him, he was relocated to the acting king, leading the four counties of Taiyuan, Daijun, Yunzhong, and Yanmen, all of which were on behalf of the city. Zhao general Zhang Er was named the king of Changshan for his meritorious service, and led the three counties of Hengshan, Julu and Handan, all of which were Xiangguo.

The land of Han remains unchanged, the king of Han becomes Yingchuan County, and the capital is Yang Zhai.

Han Guang, the king of Yan, refused to come to worship, so he was demoted to the king of Liaodong, leading the three counties of Liaodong, Liaoxi and Youbeiping, all of which were endless. Zang Di is the king of Yan, leading Shanggu County, Yuyang County and Guangyang County, all of which are thistle.

Qi land is divided into three, degraded Qi Wangtian City as the king of Jiaodong, and leads Jiaodong County, all of which are ink. Litian is the king of Qi, and he has Linzi County and Langyu County, both of which are Linzi. Tian An is the king of Jibei, and he has Jibei County and Boyang.

The king of Chu was renamed Changsha County and completely exiled to the south. At the same time, in order to stabilize Wu Rui and co-boil, Wu Rui was named the king of Hengshan, and he was the king of Hengshan County, Duyi, and Gongao was the king of Linjiang, and he was the king of Nanjun and Qianzhong County, and Jiangling.

Xiang Yu called himself the overlord of Western Chu, and comprehended the eleven counties of Ji, Zhangjun, Surabaya, Donghai, Jiujiang, Chenjun, Dangjun, Dongjun, Xuejun, Lujiang, and Nanyang, and was the co-lord of the world, Dupengcheng.