In the autumn of the second year of Qin II, the autumn rain in the evil people in the Central Plains stopped and stopped, and it was sometimes big and sometimes small. It didn't stop from the beginning of July to the end of August. The sky was gloomy and there was little sunshine, and there was no star or moon at night. No one knew how long the bad weather would last.

The continuous autumn rain helped the remnants of the Chu army, and bought time for the remnants of the Chu army, which had almost completely collapsed, but it was a pity that the main force of Zhang Han, the Qin army, who had already been sure to win. Originally, Zhang Han planned to take advantage of the opportunity of Xiang Liang's defeat and death to enter Pengcheng and completely eliminate the remaining Chu army. However, he never expected that the autumn rain would be endless. The road was muddy and it was difficult to transport grain. Pengcheng was too far from the Yellow River channel. It was impossible to ensure that there was no shortage of food and grass on the front line for a long time by land. Zhang Han could only look at Qiuyu with his eyes stupidly and worry every day, begging for the blessing of the gods to end the long and almost exaggerated continuous autumn rain as soon as possible.

There is something that makes Zhang Han worry. After killing Xiang Liang, Zhang Han should have given Qin Ershi Hu Hai an explanation. The Qin army soldiers should also receive rewards. However, Xiang Kang, the one who killed thousands of swords, took away Xiang Liang's body from the Qin army's siege. He also rescued more than 10,000 Chu army prisoners who were forced to put down his weapons and broke through the siege and escaped from the Heaven. The news reached Xianyang. Qin Ershi Hu Hai was furious. Not only did he not give any rewards to the Qin army soldiers who participated in the war, he also issued an edict to scold Zhang Han, forcing Zhang Han to attack and destroy the bandits outside the pass as soon as possible to atone for his merits and atone for his sins, otherwise he would never spare Zhang Han!

On the one hand, there was annoying Qiuyu, and on the other hand, Qin Ershi made a harsh remark and was in a dilemma. After waiting for a while, there was no sign of Qiuyu stopping. On the other hand, Hu Hai once again urged him to send troops to fight the thief as soon as possible. Without any choice, Zhang Han had to send his confidant Sima Xin to return to Xianyang with his beloved Zhang to explain to Hu Hai the current difficulties faced by the Qin army, and asked Hu Hai to give him more time to give him grace, and wait until he destroyed the remnants of the Chu army first and then headed north to deal with other anti-Qin rebels.

On the afternoon of August 29th, Sima Xin, who had personally submitted the letter, hurried back to the Puyang camp. Zhang Han heard the news and quickly summoned Sima Xin as soon as possible to find out the specific situation of going to Xianyang to pay homage to Hu Hai. However, what caught Zhang Han off guard was that after entering the central army tent, Sima Xin didn't even have time to take off her straw raincoat, and immediately cried loudly: "General, the big thing is wrong. The left Prime Minister (Li Si) was beheaded by the emperor in Xianyang!"

"What?!" Zhang Han was shocked and asked, "Why did the emperor kill the left prime minister? What is the charge?"

"rebellion!"

Sima Xin's crying answer made Zhang Han furious. She slapped the table and jumped up and shouted loudly: "Fuck! The left Prime Minister is in the position of the Qin Dynasty, and is almost under one person, and above ten thousand people. How could he treason? If he treason, his eldest son Li Youli Junzun, died for his country. How could this be explained?"

"I don't know." Sima Xin wailed: "But the people of the Tingwei said that the Left Prime Minister had indeed written a confession of rebellion, so the emperor killed him. Also, the Right Prime Minister Feng Quji and the General Feng Jie were also forced to commit suicide by taking poison together because they opposed the emperor's continued construction of the Afang Palace with the Left Prime Minister!"

Zhang Han was completely stunned. After a while, he sat back on his original position and lamented: "It's internal and external troubles. The thieves outside the pass are so fierce, and there are such big changes in Xianyang. In the future, the Qin Dynasty will probably be even more stormy."

Zhang Han also had to lament, because Li Si was not only Zhang Han's boss, but also Zhang Han's backer and firm supporter in the Xianyang court. Zhang Han was repeatedly defeated by Xiang Liang. Qin II Hu Hai still handed over all the Qin army outside the pass to Zhang Han's command, relying on Li Si's strong persuasion and excuse in front of Hu Hai. Now the war outside the pass has only improved slightly, but Li Si suddenly died inexplicably. How difficult Zhang Han's future path will be, it is naturally conceivable.

Then, after Sima Xin's careful introduction, Zhang Han then learned about the general situation in Xianyang. He knew that Hu Hai was living in a quiet place and spent almost every day in the palace. Almost all the power of the court fell into the hands of Zhao Gao, who replaced Li Si as prime minister. All civil and military officials also flattered Zhao Gao and did not dare to disobey him at all. After understanding this situation, Zhang Han hurriedly asked again: "What is Zhao Gao's attitude towards us? Have you handed the stamp to the emperor?"

"On the surface, Zhao Gao's attitude towards us is pretty good. He has greeted you so much and expressed his understanding of your difficulties." Sima Xin replied truthfully: "But Zhao Gao stopped the officials and told them not to submit the seal to the emperor, saying that the emperor was worried about military affairs outside the pass. If he saw the general's seal, he would be furious and would be extremely unfavorable to the general. I think his words are reasonable. After knowing about the two prime ministers and Feng Jie, he did not dare to take the risk of submitting the seal."

"It's done right." Zhang Han nodded in praise and said, "The two prime ministers and General Feng Jie died together. The situation in the court must be extremely complicated. If you submit this stamp that will definitely make the emperor unhappy, we will definitely be in danger. Zhao Gao advises you not to submit the stamp, which is also his kindness."

"I'm afraid he hopes to use us to quell the rebellion outside the pass, otherwise he will definitely not be so easy to talk to." Sima Xin murmured in his heart, and then said, "But Zhao Gao asked the lower officials to bring you a message to the general. If the general wants to do so, don't hold the troops for a long time. It's better to move quickly and win a few battles to please the emperor. Otherwise, once the emperor asks about this, Zhao Gao will not be able to protect us in front of the emperor."

Zhang Han was silent and thought for a long time before saying, "You go back and rest first. I'll think about it carefully, and then we'll discuss it in detail."

Sima Xin agreed to leave and rest, but Zhang Han sat alone, racking his brains to calculate whether he should listen to Zhao Gao's advice. Then, naturally, in order to protect himself and to please Zhao Gao, who was newly in power, Zhang Han made up his mind and decided to try his best to meet Zhao Gao's requirements. After making this decision, Zhang Han sat in front of the map sand table, thinking hard at the map sand table marked where the anti-Qin rebel army was located, and thinking about how to find a suitable unlucky person in the situation of difficulty in transporting food, and to fight some victories as soon as possible to consolidate his position...

The next morning, Zhang Han, who had made up his mind, summoned Sima Xin, Dong Yi and several trusted generals, announced his decision to them, intending to cross the Yellow River immediately, launch an attack on the Zhao army in Xindu, and join forces with the Great Wall Corps led by Wang Li to destroy the main force of the Zhao army as soon as possible to give an explanation to the Qin court.

Because he didn't know Zhang Han's difficulties, several trusted generals were very puzzled by Zhang Han's decision and asked Zhang Han: "General, the main force of the Chu thief has been severely damaged. Now is a god-given opportunity to attack Pengcheng and completely eliminate the remaining Chu thief's troops. Why should we give up the easy and take the difficult, and first attack the Zhao Xie rebel thief, whose vitality has not been damaged? Give the Chu thief a chance to take the opportunity to make a comeback?"

"General, why did you suddenly change your mind?" Dong Yi asked even more directly, saying: "We have been stationing troops in Puyang for more than a month, just to wait for the heavy rain to stop, and immediately go south to fight against the Chu thieves and avenge our fallen Qin soldiers. We have been waiting for so long, why can't we wait any longer? Maybe a day or two will pass, and the weather will clear up?"

They are all their own confidants, and Zhang Han was not polite. First, he asked Sima Xin to briefly introduce the huge changes that happened in Xianyang City, and then said: "I don't want to miss this opportunity to completely eradicate the remnants of Chu thieves, but the special situation is here. If we continue to hold our troops and the weather will never clear up. If we delay, we will definitely not be able to explain to the court, so there is no way. We can only give priority to the attack on the nearest thief Zhao Xie, and give the court an explanation to fight some victories, and then we can free up our hands to deal with Chu thieves."

After understanding Zhang Han's difficulties, Zhang Han's confidant present no longer spoke. Only Dong Yi, who was bullied by Xiang Kang many times, was unable to relieve his hatred. He slapped the table a few times and sighed, "Oh! I want to seek revenge on Xiang Kang's children again, I really don't know when it will be time to wait!"

"Don't worry, although Xiang Kang's son is hateful, from our detailed work, he should have had a gap with his cousin Xiang Yu's son, so he has been stationed in Dang County and has not returned to Pengcheng to meet with the remnants of Chu thieves." Zhang Han comforted: "As long as this situation continues, the conflict between Xiang Kang and Xiang Yu will sooner or later expand. If we want to defeat them one by one, it will be much easier."

The speaker was unintentional, and the listener was intentional. When he heard Zhang Han's words, Sima Xin, who had just returned from Xianyang, was immediately shocked and asked, "General, Xiang Kang's thief army is still in Dang County?"

Zhang Han nodded and said casually: "I moved a little a while ago and retreated from Suiyang to the Lidang area. However, I didn't move again when I arrived in Dang County. Our detailed work has not yet understood his real purpose."

"What if our main force crosses the Yellow River in large numbers. What should we do if Xiang Kang's children take the opportunity to send troops westward?" Sima Xin said worriedly: "From Dang County to Xingyang, there is a flat horse, and there is no danger to defend. Our main force in Sanchuan County has also been destroyed. If Xiang Kang's children seize the opportunity to move westward and attack our grain and grass hoarding land, Ao Cang, then we go north to attack Zhao Xie's rebel thieves, will there be dangers in terms of food and grass?"

"Don't worry, I have considered this." Zhang Han replied confidently: "After Li Jungong died in his country, his subordinates gathered the remaining troops and gathered tens of thousands of troops again. At this moment, he had retreated to Xingyang. I will send Sima Jin to lead 30,000 troops to reinforce Ao Cang. Ao Cang is surrounded by mountains on three sides, easy to defend but difficult to attack. With Sima Jin and Li Jungong's remaining troops guarding, it is enough to confront Xiang Kang's children for a long time. Xiang Kang's children run long distances and have difficulty in feeding. As long as we only guard and not fight, Xiang Kang's children will have no hope to capture Ao Cang and cut off our food route."

Seeing Zhang Han's arrangements were thorough, Sima Xin breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Sima Xin suddenly had an idea and said hurriedly: "General, do you still remember the battle of Linji? At that time, we were sure to quickly break through Linji and capture and kill Wei Ju's traitors, but in order to annihilate the main force of Wei traitors led by Zhou City, you deliberately siege Linji without fighting. Not only did you successfully lure the main force of Wei traitors, but you also lure the main force of Qi traitors led by Tian Dan, and defeat them in one fell swoop. In this case, why don't we use the same trick again and try to lure the main force of Chu traitors to the battlefield in Zhaodi, and use your leisure to wait for the ladies to wipe them out as well?"

"Is that easy?" Zhang Han said with a wry smile: "The main force of Chu thieves has been severely damaged, and now he is not enough to protect himself. How could he have the courage to travel a long distance and go north to Zhao to reinforce Zhao Xie's rebel thieves?"

"I'm afraid not." Sima Xin smiled coldly and said, "From the information we have, the main force of Xiang Liang's commander Chu thieves was his eldest nephew Xiang Yu. Although this man was extremely brave, he had a very bad temper. He was far less cunning than Xiang Kang's children. He went north to reinforce Zhao thieves and could join forces with Zhao thieves. This was his rare opportunity to avenge Xiang Liang. If we could use tricks to anger him, maybe this man would really take the remnants of Chu thieves to death north."

After hearing Sima Xin's right, Zhang Han, who was anxious to win more battles as soon as possible, was inevitably moved and asked, "How can we anger him?"

Sima Xin thought about it and said after a moment, "How about this? We compile a letter and sent someone to Pengcheng to give it to Xiang Yu's husband, pretending to persuade Xiang Yu's husband to lead the army to surrender. The letter deliberately used arrogance, mentioned the death of Xiang Liang in the battle, and mocked Xiang Yu's husband for being incompetent. Xiang Liang, who was as kind as a mountain, was killed by our army. He had no ability to resist. He also had to rely on his cousin Xiang Kang to save Xiang Liang's body. His military ability was not as good as that of his cousin Xiang Kang."

Speaking of this, Sima Xin paused and said, "I dare to conclude that when Xiang Yu saw this letter, he would inevitably be furious and vowed to take revenge. In addition, our army went north to fight against the Zhao bandits, and the Zhao bandits would definitely send envoys to ask for help from various thieves. Xiang Yu's son would probably immediately raise troops north and come to Zhao to die."

After careful consideration, he found that Sima Xin's aggressive plan should have some hope. Even if it fails, the loss is only a messenger, which is irrelevant. Zhang Han nodded quickly and said, "It's worth a try, just do it."

"General, then just write such a letter to Xiang Kang's son." Dong Yi couldn't wait to suggest: "The letter scolded Xiang Kang's son so bloody, which also led him to take the initiative to go north to die!"

Zhang Han and Sima Xin smiled together, their smiles were still quite bitter, and then Zhang Han said, "General Dong, such a aggressive plan may be useful to Xiang Yu, but it is used on the traitor of Xiang Kang's child. If you want to get the effect, you can't even think about it. This traitor may have a thicker face than the Great Qin wall that we cultivated."

"It's still the wall at the corner of the Great Wall." Sima Xin added.

After making up his mind, the main force of the Qin army began to prepare for the north to fight against the Zhao army led by Zhao Xie and Zhang Er. On the next day, he crossed the Yellow River to the north and launched an attack on Anyang controlled by the Zhao army. At the same time, the Qin army Great Wall Corps, which was blocked by the Zhao army, received the news, and strengthened the attack under the leadership of Wang Li, and prepared to meet with Zhang Han's main force in Handan County. At the same time, Sima Jin, the general of Zhang Han who had previously made the main force of the Chu army dare not act rashly, also led 30,000 Qin troops to quickly march from Puyang and rushed to Ao Cang to reinforce, guarding against Xiang Kang, who was slippery than loaches and more sinister than poisonous snakes, and took advantage of the opportunity to attack the heavy land of Ao Cang, which had accumulated countless food and grass.

As Sima Xin reported that the main force of the Qin army had just crossed the Yellow River. In order to save the territory and survive, Zhao Xie and Zhang Er immediately sent a large number of envoys to contact various anti-Qin Yi troops everywhere, begging various anti-Qin Yi troops to reinforce Zhao with the reason of losing their lips and teeth. As expected, they also asked the Chu army for assistance despite the sudden defeat.

Because the Qin army took action earlier and was close to each other, Zhang Han's so-called envoy to persuade surrender to surrender was of course to arrive in Pengcheng earlier and submitted a letter to Xiang Yu, who controlled the main force of the Chu army. After reading the letter Zhang Han called surrender to surrender, Xiang Yu was of course furious and was so angry that his chest almost exploded. If it weren't for Old Man Fan, Cao Ju and others who stopped him, he would have cut off the Qin army's envoy to death on the spot.

"Former General, this is just a provocation of Zhang Han's husband. He deliberately provoked us to take the initiative to go north to fight to win him the opportunity to wait for his work. We must not be fooled and repeat the mistakes of Tian Dan, Zhou Shi and others."

The bitter advice from Old Man Fan and Cao Ju and others was only temporarily effective. After a while, when the Zhao State's envoy rushed to Pengcheng to submit the letter of state, Xiang Yu, who was anxious to avenge his shame and seize the throne, could not wait. He decided to personally lead the main force of the Chu army to the north and to Zhao to reinforce Zhao Xie. Old Man Fan and Cao Ju and others had no choice but to change their words and persuade: "Former General, how about the opinions of the Right General? After making up their minds with him, we will go north to reinforce Zhao."

Considering that the army in Xiang Kang's hands was also very important, Xiang Yu rarely suppressed his temper and sent people to Dang County to contact Xiang Kang to seek Xiang Kang's opinions. However, the reply sent by Xiang Kang surprised Old Man Fan and others. Xiang Kang actually pointed out directly: "The lips were dead and the teeth were cold, if Zhao Xie was destroyed, Zhang Han's next target might be us. If we don't help Zhao Xie in crisis, who else would come to save us when we were in danger?"

Fortunately, Xiang Kang added another sentence in the letter, "But we cannot go directly to Zhao for rescue, so as not to be weak and fall into hard battles. We must first understand the situation on the battlefield in Zhao and confirm that Qi Yan and other countries sent troops to aid Zhao, so that they can send troops with the princes to defeat Qin. At that time, my brother will go straight to Zhao, and I will cut off the tyrannical Qin food route, and major issues can be saved."

Xiang Kang's advice also made Xiang Yu calm down for a while and after some more days, after confirming that Qi Yan and other countries decided to send troops to reinforce Zhao Xie, Xiang Yu still disagreed with the opposition and finalized the plan to lead the army to reinforce Zhao. At the same time, he went to Xiang Kang to ask Xiang Kang to advance westward to Sanchuan and take advantage of the situation to attack Ao Cang, the largest granary of the Qin army outside the pass.

"Who said I was going to attack Ao Cang?" Xiang Kang threw Xiang Yu's letter to the table and said, "Zhang Han had already sent Sima Ji to lead 30,000 troops back to Ao Cang, with the purpose of preventing me from suddenly rushing to Ao Cang. The granaries from Dang County to Chenliu were almost empty, and Daliang was soaked in the Yellow River. There was not much food in the city either. I led more than 30,000 troops to attack Ao Cang, who was guarded by the tyrannical Qin army for a long distance. What wasn't it to die?"

"But General Right, you have promised to cut off the food supply of the tyrannical Qin army. If you are untrustworthy, not only will you not be able to explain to the former general, but you will not be able to explain to the anti-Qin Yishi all over the world?" Chen Ping reminded worriedly.

"I just said I would not risk taking the risk of attacking Ao Cang, and I didn't say I would not cut off the food route of the tyrant Qin." Xiang Kang smiled and said, "It may not be necessary to cut off the food route of the tyrant Qin army. "
Chapter completed!