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

"Tap tap tap".

Footsteps echoed on the apricot wood floor.

A soldier, carrying a bamboo scroll in his hand and with his head bowed, walked in from outside the door.

He looked a little nervous.

It was clear that he had been informed, as the guards at the door did not stop him and let him in.

Inside the hall sat a man who looked like a general.

He was dressed in a magnificent robe, and on one side of him was a frame with a set of armor and a longsword hanging from it.

And beside him,

There was another person standing there, clad in armor.

The soldier entered the hall, and Xiang Liang, who was sitting behind the table, raised his eyes and asked, "What is it?"

As he spoke, he put the bamboo slips on the table aside.

"General, a letter has arrived from the State of Qi."

The soldier knelt on the ground, holding the bamboo slips above his head, and spoke with his head bowed.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

After a while, Xiang Liang beckoned, "Let me see it."

"Yes." The soldier stood up, carried the bamboo slip to Xiang Liang, and placed it on the table.

Xiang Liang narrowed his eyes slightly.

He reached out and took the bamboo slip, then spread it out in his hand.

His eyes scanned the text on the bamboo slips until he had read it all, then he fell silent for a moment.

He put down the bamboo slips in his hand and said nothing more.

The soldiers dared not raise their heads and simply stood there silently until Xiang Liang, behind the table, waved his hand.

"Alright, you can go now."

"Yes." The soldier bowed slightly and quickly retreated.

At this moment, Xiang Yu, who was standing next to Xiang Liang, first glanced at the bamboo slips on the table, and then looked at Xiang Liang.

"Uncle, what is it?"

Raising his eyes and glancing at him sideways, Xiang Liang said, "It was Tian Rong who came to ask us for help."

As he spoke, Xiang Liang seemed to be thinking about something.

After a long silence, he finally sighed, "Judging by the time, it's about time for the Qin army to march and attack Qi."

But Xiang Yu could not sit still upon hearing this.

He raised an eyebrow. "Uncle, there's no time to lose. I'll go and gather the army right now to aid Qi."

As he spoke, he was about to walk out of the hall.

"Wait." But at this moment, Xiang Liang stopped Xiang Yu once again.

"Uncle," Xiang Yu turned around, "the Qin army is attacking Qi, and things are urgent. Is there anything more important than this?"

Xiang Liang shook his head and said, "No."

"Instead," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly, "this time, I intend to lead the troops myself, and Yu'er, you will serve as my lieutenant."

Although he cannot personally lead the troops this time,

But as long as he could go to the battlefield, fight the Qin army, and avenge the Chu state, Xiang Yu was willing to accept it.

But that wasn't all. Xiang Liang added, "And who was that guy who made the greatest contribution to capturing Pengcheng this time?"

Xiang Yu thought for a moment and asked, "Liu Ji?"

"Yes." Xiang Liang nodded, narrowing his eyes. "Wasn't he willing to betray his master and switch allegiance in order to overthrow the tyrannical Qin dynasty?"

"Alright, let him also join the army to fight against the Qin army this time."

Xiang Yu nodded, then walked out of the palace to gather the Chu army to march north and attack Qin, thus relieving the siege of Qi.

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

At this moment, Han Xin had already captured Dong'e.

During this period, he led his army on a long march of over a thousand miles, moving through the Wei region, and eliminating the remaining resistance forces one by one.

After that, he left 50,000 troops to garrison Dingtao, and personally led 50,000 troops to conquer Dong'e.

Standing atop the city wall of Dong'e.

The long expedition seems to have reached its end.

"After Dong'e, there is the Ji River. Now that we have conquered Dong'e, we can cross the Ji River eastward and reach Di County in the State of Qi..."

Therefore, Han Xin ordered his troops to cross the Ji River to the east.

At this moment, Han Xin was sitting on the banks of the Ji River, wiping his sword while watching his soldiers cut down trees and build fences.

At this moment, the deputy general walked over and said, "Now, it seems that the State of Qi will soon be destroyed as well."

Han Xin smiled but did not reply.

However, as things stand, nothing is going well. No reinforcements have come to aid Qi, and its destruction is only a matter of time.

Thus, pride, despite his young age, had already achieved remarkable military exploits since leading the army...

The general, who had never suffered a defeat, harbored a desire for revenge.

He looked at his deputy, exhaled, and said these words.

"I believe that the people of the six states are a mob."

However, before the deputy general could speak, the second-in-command, who was directing the group to cross the water, spoke up.

"General Han, an arrogant army is bound to be defeated. Do not underestimate the enemy."

"I am stating the facts," Han Xin said.

"The Qi and Chu reinforcements, combining the strength of both countries and numbering twice as many, came to aid Wei, but they were defeated by my army."

Thinking of his masterpiece,

He laughed: "Therefore, this time when our army attacked Qi, the other countries dared not come to our aid, for fear of repeating the same mistakes as before."

"In short, these six newly re-established kingdoms..."

Han Xin shook his head, easily rejecting their proposal.

"mob!"

Han Xin looked down on everyone, and his arrogant demeanor and disdainful tone made him difficult to like.

Even the deputy general, who had gradually gotten used to his tone...

They remained silent, their brows furrowing slightly, but knowing Han Xin's personality, he didn't say anything more.

But that time, he still tried to persuade him again.

"General, we must not underestimate the enemy. Should we instead capture cities along the way and avoid crossing the Ji River eastward to penetrate deep into enemy territory?"

Han Xin smiled, but remained noncommittal.

He countered with the question: "How long would it take to conquer all the cities of Qi, until we reach Di County? How long would it take to destroy Qi?"

"As long as we cross the Ji River to the east and reach Di County, we can take advantage of their unpreparedness, capture Di County directly, and take the King of Qi prisoner."

"In this way, the destruction of Qi will take only a little over a month."

"This..." The general opened his mouth, wanting to dissuade Han Xin from being so reckless.

But Han Xin raised his hand, stubbornly insisting on his own way.

"Order the entire army to board rafts and cross the river eastward!"

"Yes."

But shortly after the army boarded the rafts...

Just as they were halfway across the river, a scout whom Han Xin had sent to a distant place rushed over to deliver the news.

"General, an army of thirty to forty thousand men, carrying a large banner bearing the character 'Chu', has appeared downstream of the Ji River!"

"On both banks of the Ji River, there are also two forces of over ten thousand men each, charging towards us!"

"What?"

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

The sun sets in the west, beneath the walls of Dong'e City.

Xiang Liang, holding the reins, led the army. Just then, a general walked over.

He raised his hand: "Congratulations, General."

Xiang Liang lowered his eyes and looked at the man.

"Song Yi, what's the battle report?"

Song Yi crossed his arms in front of him and said admiringly, "Just as the general predicted, the Qin army indeed intends to cross the Ji River."

"Han Xin was leading his army east across the Ji River when he was overtaken by Xiang Yu's subordinate general and Liu Bei's subordinate general, who attacked him from both sides."

"After a great battle, the Qin army was almost completely wiped out."

He exclaimed excitedly, "Tens of thousands of Qin soldiers perished in the river, the Ji River, and now the fields are littered with corpses."

Although they gained an advantage by crossing half the river, they still won in the end, and this was the first time they had defeated the Qin army.

However, Xiang Liang did not care how many Qin soldiers he had annihilated.

He only cares about one thing!

Or rather, it was a person, the one who caused his first defeat, the one who caused his attempt to aid Wei to fail at the last minute.

Xiang Liang, mounted on his horse, asked with concern,

"Is Han Xin dead?"