The Great Qin Dynasty: The egg of the Black Bird was revered as a national guardian beast.

"Yu'er, tell me, are you dissatisfied with Zhang Liang's strategy?"

Xiang Liang knew Xiang Yu too well. After everyone had left, he looked up at Xiang Yu and asked.

Xiang Yu glanced sideways at Xiang Liang.

"Uncle, Xiang Yu is not well-educated and would like to ask you, what is a king?"

Xiang Liang remained silent for a moment, then finally said, "Those who created writing in ancient times called the three books linked together 'King'."

"The three are Heaven, Earth, and Man, and the one who understands and connects them is the King. Therefore, the one who unifies the three is the King."

"That's right."

Xiang Yu slammed his hand on the table and then said.

"Many wise and virtuous kings emerged from the six states, such as King Wei of Chu, King Wuling of Zhao, and King Xuan of Qi. They truly deserved the title of king."

"But King Qian of Zhao, King An of Han, King Xi of Yan, King Fuchu of Chu, King Jia of Wei, and King Jian of Tian are all such people."

"They inherited the cause of their ancestors, but lost vast territories, even causing the state to perish and the people to suffer."

"This incompetent man is utterly unfit to be king!"

With that, Xiang Yu sneered, "In my opinion, the descendants of the six kings have long since lost their states."

Even if the six kingdoms were restored, they would not be qualified to regain the throne and the kingdom!

"So, Uncle."

Xiang Yu looked at Xiang Liang and said, "Why must one be a descendant of six kings to be able to become king? Is it just based on bloodline?"

Xiang Liang narrowed his eyes, but then smiled.

"So, according to you, Yu'er, if the descendants of the six kings are not worthy of being made kings, then who should be made king?"

Xiang Yu smiled; he had his own ideas.

"I believe that only those who have rendered meritorious service to the world should be kings."

"Right now, there is nothing more important in the world than destroying the tyrannical Qin and avenging the six states."

"Therefore, I believe that anyone who has rendered meritorious service in destroying Qin, regardless of their status, origin, or social class, should be made king."

Then, there was a pause.

As if he had thought of something, he looked at Xiang Liang and said.

"Take Zhang Liang, for example. All he thinks about is restoring the state of Han. But if you ask me, if he could help me destroy the tyrannical Qin, then I would support him to become the King of Han himself!"

"Similarly, if a hero leads troops to join me and follows me into Guanzhong to destroy Qin, achieving great merit, he too may become king!"

Xiang Liang looked at Xiang Yu and asked in return, "And what about the King of Chu?"

"Yu'er, do you also think that the grandson of King Huai of Chu that I found is not qualified to be the King of Chu?"

"Of course." Xiang Yu did not deny it with shame. "Our Xiang clan has planned for many years to achieve what we have today."

"What right does a shepherd boy have to be the King of Chu?"

But after he finished speaking, he changed his tone again: "But I know that in this chaotic world, everyone wants to be king and tyrant."

"Once the status is not determined, another Jingju may appear, which will plunge the State of Chu into chaos again."

"In that case, it would be better to establish a legitimate puppet, to keep him in a cage, and to make everyone give up hope."

Xiang Liang laughed, "That's right, it's just a temporary measure."

"Moreover," Xiang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, "my ambition is not merely to be a mere feudal lord."

He raised an eyebrow. "The First Emperor, he can be overthrown and replaced!"

Xiang Liang got up from behind the desk, looked at him and asked.

"Yu'er, do you want to be the emperor?"

But to everyone's surprise, Xiang Yu shook his head.

"The First Emperor forcibly unified the six kingdoms, but everyone still longed for their former country, which led to the chaos we see today."

"I won't do that."

"I want to be a hegemon, a tyrant who can enfeoff all the feudal lords under heaven!"

....................

three days later.

Liu Ji traveled lightly, with only a dozen or so men, crossing the Si River at Xiapi and heading towards Pengcheng.

Upon arriving in Pengcheng, they secretly infiltrated the city.

Finally, they gathered in the city, found the location of Jingju's provisions, and waited until midnight before burning and looting them extensively.

Once the fire started, they fled over the city walls.

In an instant, chaos erupted in Pengcheng, with footsteps and shouts echoing throughout the city.

Upon learning the news, Xiang Liang immediately led his entire army across the Si River and completely surrounded Pengcheng.

Next, all that's left is to wait.

Once the city's food supplies are exhausted, Jingju will surrender the city.

....................

Just when Xiang Liang and Jing Ju were at a stalemate.

Han Xin had already led his army north, marching across the reclaimed Wei territory, and stationed himself at Dong'e.

The next step is to go straight into Qi territory.

At this time, the State of Qi was in chaos and did not take any action in the face of the overwhelming Qin army.

It turned out that after Xiang escorted Tian Rong back to the State of Qi.

However, it was discovered that, upon hearing of Tian Dan's death in battle, the people of Qi enthroned Tian Jia, who then became the King of Qi.

Tian Rong was furious and gathered up the remaining forces of Tian Dan along the way.

Then, he led his troops back in anger and stormed into the Qi King's palace. However, out of consideration for their shared lineage as descendants of the Tian family, he only expelled Tian Jia.

Subsequently, Tian Dan's son, Tian Shi, was made King of Qi.

He appointed himself prime minister and his younger brother Tian Heng as general, and the two brothers took control of the military and political power of the State of Qi.

But he had only recently finished reorganizing the State of Qi.

Then came the news that the Qin army intended to attack Qi.

"Brother, what should we do?" Tian Heng walked in from outside the door and sat down in front of Tian Rong.

"The Qin army." Tian Rong let out a soft sigh, then closed his eyes. "The Qin army is too strong; there's nothing we can do."

As someone who experienced it firsthand, it goes without saying how terrifying the Qin army was; no one knew it better than him.

Tian Heng raised his eyes and looked at Tian Rong.

"The State of Qi is weak now, but given the current situation, there is no room for despair."

"If this continues to be ignored, the State of Qi will perish!"

"I understand," Tian Rong said quietly.

But then, his brows furrowed deeply, "Now that we have a powerful enemy at our side, we can form an alliance with Western Chu and then seek help from Yan and Zhao."

"Only in this way can we perhaps halt the advance of the Qin army!"

"As for the rest, we will make other plans. If we are defeated, you and I will die with our country. Thinking about it further is useless."

"Brother, you've only been back a short time, so you don't know yet."

Tian Heng raised his hand and looked at Tian Rong, saying, "That King Zhao Wu Chen has been killed by his subordinate Li Liang."

"But in Xindu, there was another King of Zhao."

"Now, Li Liang has returned to Handan and declared himself king, so there are now two kings in the land of Zhao."

"Two kings?" Tian Rong muttered the words, seemingly pondering something. After a long while, he shook his head and sighed.

"If Zhao cannot be helped, then only Chu and Yan remain."

"In that case, I will write a letter of farewell and have it sent to the King of Yan in Yan and Xiang Liang in Chu."

"Yes." Tian Heng clasped his hands and withdrew.

After Tian Heng left, Tian Rong tapped the table, his brows furrowed and his expression somewhat somber.

"The State of Zhao..."

What he didn't know was that Li Liang had led his troops out of Handan City with the intention of going to aid Wei.

But halfway there...

But then we heard that the Qi-Chu allied forces had suffered a great defeat!

Thus, Li Liang abandoned his mission to aid Wei and returned to Handan, where, at the urging of his followers, he declared himself king.

I don't know if this is good or bad.