My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 25 Clean it all up
"Bang, bang, bang..."

As the huge sun in the east slowly climbed above the city walls, it dispelled some of the late autumn chill. In the Zhou Yin military camp, the clear and long sound of gongs and drums signaling the soldiers' breakfast could be heard.

In the center of the military camp, amidst a large number of huge, black and rough sergeant tents, there is a small single-person tent made of cowhide, which is simple, elegant, sturdy and durable.

This small single-person tent is where generals above the rank of lieutenant general rest at night and have breakfast and dinner during the day.

A short, fat, square-faced young officer, wearing a double-plate long crown, a high-collared, right-fronted pleated suit, a red armor with a straight edge, leggings, and a pair of square-breasted, pointed shoes, walked over in a swagger, bent down as if he knew the place well, and went into one of the small tents.

Judging from the officer's attire, he should be just a cavalry Sima, not even at the level of a lieutenant general. However, because he was Liu Xin, the nephew of Liu Jia, who served as a military supervisor, he was also allocated such a small tent.

The tent was very clean and the furnishings were very simple. Apart from a wolfskin mattress for sleeping and a square mat woven from sorghum stalks, there was nothing else.

Now on the mat, there was a large ceramic bowl of millet rice, a plate of salted beans, two large skewers of grilled meat, and even half a bowl of rice wine.

This meal and wine was obviously Liu Xin's breakfast for the day.

Meals like this were reserved for the generals. As for the ordinary soldiers, each of them had a bag of fried beans and a bag of millet flour. When they were hungry, they would just grab a handful and chew it with water, and they didn't care if they were full.

The upper class in any dynasty will never compromise themselves, and classes, since their birth, have been serving the purpose of monopolizing power and resources.

Liu Xin was obviously very satisfied. He walked over and knelt on the mat. He picked up the big bowl and started to eat it voraciously like a starving ghost.

In just a few blinks of an eye, he had shoveled a large bowl of fragrant steamed millet rice with salted beans. Then he slowed down significantly, holding the rice wine in one hand and the roasted lamb in the other, squinting his eyes, taking a bite of meat and a sip of wine, enjoying them happily.

——Obviously this guy is also a foodie who indulges in his appetite!

Just as Liu Xin was finishing his breakfast, two slight but clear coughs suddenly came from the small tent next to his own.

Liu Xin perked up and swallowed the remaining meat in one gulp, then knocked the ceramic bowl four times with chopsticks, "clang, clang, clang, clang".

Next, a sturdy figure in the small tent next to him clung to the cowhide of the tent, and a low and somewhat urgent voice came: "Not long after General Liu Jia left at night, Grand Marshal Zhou Yin imposed martial law in the surrounding area, and all of us Han army generals were excluded. After much inquiry, I learned that there seemed to be a messenger from Gaixia City, and it was said that he was an old friend that Grand Marshal Zhou Yin valued very much."

Liu Xin's face changed, and he became keenly aware of the importance of this information.

It is now clearly the final stage of the Chu-Han contention, especially as the Chu Kingdom is on the verge of collapse after seeing its last breath of strength fail. If Zhou and Yin show signs of reversal at this moment, it will add to the uncertainty.

Liu Jia was sent by Liu Bang and followed Zhou Yin like a sticky cake. In name he was the military supervisor, but in reality he was monitoring him in order to eliminate this possibility.

But if Zhou Yin really lost his mind and turned against his former master, his uncle Liu Jia would have to be severely punished in front of the King of Han.

"Uncle was right about this bastard. His surrender was not sincere. After Xiang made a fuss at night, he was ready to make another move!"

Liu Xin muttered in hatred, stood up and was about to leave the tent to pass the news to his uncle as soon as possible. He knew that Zhou Yin's rebellion might just be a small flame at the moment, and as long as he seized the opportunity and used thundering means to hit the vital point, it might be possible to put it out in one fell swoop and avoid burning into an uncontrollable volcano or sea of ​​fire.

At this time, a chaotic and heavy sound of footsteps came from outside the tent, approaching quickly from a distance. There were at least five or six soldiers, which startled Liu Xin and he stopped.

The five or six soldiers stopped in front of the small tent next door, and then there was the sound of the tent curtain being pulled open roughly, and then they all rushed in.

"Who are you? How dare you break into my tent so rudely! Do you know who I am?" The voice in the tent next door immediately became angry and shouted.

Upon hearing that these soldiers were not subordinates of the general in the next tent, Liu Xin's heart sank and his uneasiness became even stronger.

Then a rough voice sounded: "General Gao, the Grand Marshal is anxious to see you, please come with us."

"What's so urgent? You go out first, let me change my clothes." The general obviously felt something was wrong and pretended to be calm.

"Haha, yes, please hurry up and don't keep Da Sima waiting for too long." said the rough voice.

Hearing the man being so polite, Liu Xin felt relieved, thinking that he was just being too nervous. But then he heard the dull sound of a heavy object colliding, the all-too-familiar sound of a spear piercing into the body, and the general's scream that only uttered halfway and then stopped abruptly.

Then the small tent shook violently.

Liu Xin felt like someone was strangling his neck. His eyes were wide open, his whole body was stiff, and his breathing stopped for a moment. He stood in the tent, not daring to move.

"These Han army generals are usually so arrogant, haha, but when they really start to fight, they are as weak as chickens and dogs." The violent shaking of the small tent next to them slowly subsided, and a few heavy gasps after intense exercise were heard, and a new high-pitched voice said.

This high-pitched voice was very recognizable. Liu Xin was very familiar with it. It was a trusted general of Grand Marshal Zhou Yin named Wenxi.

At this moment, even though there were two layers of tents between them, a strong smell of blood was still spreading rapidly, and Liu Xin couldn't help but feel sad and angry.

"Shut up! - How many times is this?" said the rough voice.

"The eighteenth! There are three more."

Upon hearing this number, Liu Xin's heart trembled, and he no longer had any doubts. He felt as if he had fallen off a high platform or his boat had capsized in the middle of the river, and his whole body was cold!
The general who was killed in the tent next door was one of the twenty-one generals who were placed by the Han army in the surrendered army of Zhou Yin as middle and senior generals.

From what these soldiers said, eighteen had been eliminated, and the remaining three were obviously not going to escape this disaster either. What this meant was self-evident.

"We need to clean them all up as quickly as possible - let's move on to the next one." Leaving the body of the Han general in the tent, the Chu army team quickly retreated, and before leaving, they considerately weighed down the tent curtain with stones.

After the Chu army squad had gone far away, Liu Xin carefully crawled out of the tent, using all his strength to stay calm, and walked out of the generals' tent at a moderate pace as if nothing had happened.

(End of this chapter)