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

Kuaiji.

In a county town in Wuzhong.

A wrestling match, a favorite pastime of the Chu people, is underway, drawing a large crowd of onlookers and eliciting continuous cheers.

Before long, the cheers reached a climax.

But in the dusty arena, a tall and imposing man was seen wrestling with dozens of people.

In just a few moves, he easily knocked everyone to the ground.

"color!"

The onlookers watched this scene.

The atmosphere at the scene became even more intense, with loud cheers and shouts so loud that it seemed as if they wanted to overturn everything.

"Come on, again!"

"You're too weak! Send more people!"

The man raised his hand, still somewhat unsatisfied, and looked around at the people; he hadn't had enough fun yet.

But just then, someone squeezed through the crowd and came to this person's side.

He whispered, "Yu'er, stop playing. Your brother wants to see you."

"Hmm?" Xiang Yu asked, somewhat puzzled. "Does my uncle want to see me? Is there something he needs?"

"Don't ask, you'll find out when you get there."

Nodding, Xiang Yu chose to stop and followed his uncle Xiang Bo out of the crowd and back to his residence.

Enter the mansion.

Then they saw a table set up under a tree in the courtyard, and Xiang Liang was sitting behind the table.

His eyes closed gently.

In front of the table, another person was kneeling with his arms folded, seemingly reporting something to Xiang Liang.

"Uncle, what brings you here?"

He walked over and stood beside Xiang Liang.

Looking down at Xiang Liang, who was sitting behind the table, Xiang Yu picked up a wine cup from the table and asked.

But Xiang Liang did not answer him.

She simply opened her eyes, looked up at him, and...

He waved his hand and looked at the person kneeling on one knee, "Continue."

"Yes."

The man lowered his head, raised his hand, and responded.

Finally, he recounted what he had learned about the First Emperor's imperial procession.

"The First Emperor traveled eastward along the Yangtze River from Anlu, and finally stayed on the way east for several days."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "After reaching Zhucheng, they turned back and headed north towards Hangu Pass!"

When he heard the preceding information, Xiang Liang simply nodded slightly.

But when he heard that the imperial carriage was heading towards Hangu Pass, he suddenly stood up and looked at the kneeling man.

"Are you sure you're heading north, and not east to Kuaiji?!"

After confirming the matter with this person several times,

Xiang Liang looked up at the sky and laughed wildly, but in the end, his laughter grew softer and softer until it gradually stopped.

Xiang Yu and Xiang Bo looked at Xiang Liang in surprise.

But then he lowered his hand and let out a sigh.

"The First Emperor has passed away..."

"The mountain that was pressing down on us has collapsed!"

He raised his head, overwhelmed with emotion, and burst into tears, yet he also laughed.

"Time has passed so long. We have waited so long, and the scorching sun has finally set."

The courtyard fell silent immediately upon hearing this.

Looking at Xiang Liang, Xiang Bo hesitated for a long time before finally asking the question that had been bothering him.

"Why is my brother so certain that the First Emperor has died?"

He simply found it unbelievable.

According to the information they gathered...

The First Emperor's imperial procession proceeded as usual; no mourning flags were displayed, nor was a full-scale funeral procession held.

Now, it's just a change in the route of the inspection tour.

How could one conclude that the First Emperor had died if one did not go to Kuaiji but instead headed north?

"Because I know the First Emperor's temperament very well."

Xiang Liang sat back down at the table and said.

"From conquering Han in the sixteenth year to conquering Qi in the twenty-sixth year, it only took the First Emperor ten years to destroy the six states."

"We also encountered difficulties during that time."

"For example, Li Xin suffered a great defeat in his campaign against Chu and returned in disgrace."

"The entire Qin state believes that Chu is too powerful to be destroyed, and we also think so."

"But what no one expected was..."

"Having just lost 200,000 men, the First Emperor immediately mobilized an army of 600,000 to attack, thus destroying Jingchu!"

At this point, Xiang Liang placed his hand on the table.

"From that moment on, I knew that the First Emperor was a formidable enemy, and the defeat of the six states was inevitable."

"But," Xiang Liang looked up at them.

"I was determined to restore my country, so I studied him in depth, but the more I learned about him, the more I understood him."

Throughout his life, the First Emperor never failed to complete any task he undertook, never abandoning it halfway through.

Having heard this far, Xiang Bo finally understood.

"So, elder brother, do you believe that since the First Emperor said he would go to Kuaiji to inscribe a stone tablet during this inspection tour, he would definitely arrive?"

Indeed.

Xiang Liang laughed: "Now that we've turned back halfway, we might be going through Hangu Pass to return to Xianyang."

"From what I understand, something major must have happened!"

In Xiang Liang's view, once the First Emperor made a decision, he would not change it even if the whole world opposed it.

What could change the First Emperor's decision?

In this world, there is probably only one thing...

death!

Even though Xiang Liang had put it this way, Xiang Bo still had reservations when he looked at Xiang Liang.

"What if the First Emperor deliberately changed the route?"

"What if he just wants everyone to think he's dead, so he'll wait for us to show up?"

"My brother, you still don't understand him."

Xiang Liang sat behind the desk and shook his head: "The First Emperor was too proud and would never stoop to such petty tricks."

Xiang Bo then had no doubts.

"Brother, you truly understand the First Emperor!"

"After all, they are our greatest enemy. Only by knowing ourselves and our enemy can we win every battle."

But at this moment, Xiang Yu spoke up.

"Uncle, now that the First Emperor has passed away, let's rise up against Qin and plan our great undertaking!"

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with anger.

"I can't wait any longer to avenge the destruction of the Chu Kingdom. I can't wait to burn the Qin ancestral temples to the ground!"

"No." But then, Xiang Liang shook his head.

"Why?" Xiang Yu looked at Xiang Liang in confusion. "Uncle, you told me to wait before, saying that the First Emperor was still alive and that we should wait for a change in the world."

"But now, the First Emperor has died!"

"Now is the time to rise up, now is the time for change, so why not start now?"

"Yu'er, you're being too reckless."

As Xiang Liang spoke, he gently closed his eyes.

"Do you not know that a wise man keeps his talents hidden until the right time to act?"

"Although the First Emperor is dead, the main force of the Qin army remains. A tall tree catches the wind, and it will inevitably be the first to suffer a counterattack from the Qin army!"

"If we want to restore the Chu state, we must let others face the main force of the Qin army in the front, while we accumulate strength in the rear."

"Thus, the great undertaking is accomplished."

As she spoke, she raised her eyes to look at Xiang Yu: "Yu'er, do you understand?"

Xiang Yu stood there without saying a word.

Xiang Liang sighed, but then smiled.

He said, "Although it is not advisable to start an uprising now, the First Emperor has passed away, so how can we remain inactive?"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Xiang Bo.

"My brother, I want you to go to Yangcheng and find someone. Tell him that the time has come."

Xiang Bo asked with some doubt, "Who is this person?"

Xiang Liang smiled, remained silent for a long time, then dipped his hand in the wine and wrote a name on the table.

"Chen Sheng".