Xiang Yu already had 200,000 elites in his hands, and he also collected 100,000 prisoners. Now the total number of soldiers directly under his control reaches 300,000.
It wouldn't matter if Xiang Yu was a law-abiding person. The key point is that his ambitions were not concealed at all. If he continued to expand his army, it would definitely get out of control, so how could Zhang Liang agree?
Most of Zhang Liang's thoughts are now spent on containing Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu's ambition is too great. If there are no checks and balances, he may have to expand his army by 500,000.
Xiang Yu's ambitions at this time were what caused Zhang Liang the most headache. It was precisely because of this that he was not aware of Qin Hao's little moves while he was still in prison.
In prison, Qin Hao carefully took the note from the hand of the jailer who delivered the meal, and after reading it, he swallowed it directly.
Late at night, Qin Hao looked at the night sky, a smile flashed at the corner of his mouth, and whispered to himself: "Almost, we will succeed soon."
Xue Rengui glanced at Qin Hao suspiciously, and was also thinking about how to help his lord escape from prison.
On November 10, the Han army abandoned Wancheng and retreated to Fancheng to defend it.
After Xiang Yu bloodbathed most of Nanyang, he led an army of 400,000 and headed straight for Fancheng.
Lu Zhi also knew that Fancheng alone could not stop Xiang Yu, so he set up a defense line in Fancheng and reinforced other cities in the rear, preparing to block the attack until the cold winter.
Xiang Yu obviously wasn't going to drag it out any longer. With an army of 400,000 in hand, he took the simplest and crudest approach and pushed all the way.
On November 15, Fancheng was defeated, and Xiang Yu led his army across the Han River to attack Xinye.
On the 17th, Xinye was defeated, and from then on Nanyang fell into Xiang Yu's hands.
In more than half a month, Xiang Yu fought directly from Sizhou Henan Yin to Jingzhou Nanjun, fighting nearly a thousand miles away, and winning every battle. This restored Xiang Yu's declining reputation to its peak, and he was well-deserved as the God of War. After settling in Xinye, Xiang Yu became more and more arrogant. Not only did he no longer listen to the advice of others, he also forcibly deprived Zhang Liang of his military power.
Xiang Yu was already dazzled by the victory, and was still not satisfied with taking over Nanyang. He believed that with an army of 400,000, he could capture Nanjun before winter.
In order to prevent Zhang Liang from hindering him, Xiang Yu forced the defense of Xinye to Zhang Liang, and then continued to lead the army to attack Xiangyang, the gateway of Nanjun.
At this time, Xiangyang was just a small county town, not the fortified city that withstood the Yuan and Mongolia for more than ten years in the late Song Dynasty.
The administrative seat of Nanjun is still Jiangling, and Xiangyang became the administrative seat of Jingzhou after Liu Biao entered Jingzhou.
Liu Biao divided Nanjun into two counties, Jiangling and Xiangyang, and made Xiangyang the political center. Only then did Xiangyang's status improve.
Although Xiangyang is just a small city today, it has an excellent defensive foundation. Ding Yuan valued this very much, so after entering Jingzhou, he mobilized all the resources in Jingzhou and finally built Xiangyang into a defensive fortress.<
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The high-spirited Xiang Yu thought Xiangyang was still vulnerable, but after a fierce attack, he discovered that the small city was much stronger than he thought, and the Han army in the city seemed to have changed a group of people.
Xiang Yu didn't care about this. With an army of 400,000, he was not afraid of anything, so he still ordered a fierce attack.
Xinye is one of several county towns in Nanyang south of the Han River. It is located on the only way to Nanjun, so it has now become a storage place for the Yellow Turbans.
Grain, ordnance, medicine... countless supplies were transported from various counties in Nanyang to Xinye as preparations for the attack on Jingzhou in the coming year.
However, due to the total amount of supplies plundered from the Nanyang Family and the limited transportation conditions, Xinye's stockpile of supplies is not large now, and the food and grass are only enough for an army of 400,000 for one month.
Xinye, county government.
Zhang Liang stood at the door of the room, looking up at the unpredictable starry sky, his face becoming more and more solemn.
"Is the weather going to change? Looking at the sky, there should be heavy rain coming soon. It seems that there will be no rain in Xiangyang before winter begins!"
Zhang Liang murmured, then shook his head mockingly, what's the use of thinking about it now.
After walking back to the room, Zhang Liang couldn't help but look at the map hanging on the wall and fell into deep thought again.
After a while, Zhang Liang seemed to see something. He stared at the map. A terrifying thought appeared in his mind, and his face became paler and paler.
"Coincidence? Or? No, it can't be a coincidence. If there are too many coincidences, it's a conspiracy!"
Zhang Liang turned his attention to Nanyang and Nanjun, and felt a sudden enlightenment in his heart.
"No wonder the resistance along the way is so weak. Damn it, I didn't realize it until now."
Zhang Liang hurried back to the table, quickly wrote a letter, and then shouted: "Here comes."
A defender ran over, and Zhang Liang immediately said with a serious expression: "Hurry and hand this letter to General Xiang!"
The defender suddenly showed a look of embarrassment on his face and said coquettishly: "General, you are putting yourself in a difficult position."
"Go quickly." Zhang Liang roared.
Seeing that the always gentle and gentle General Ren Gong actually showed such a panic expression, the defenders seemed to understand the seriousness of the problem and ran directly outside with the letter.
"It should be too late, but will Xiang Yu listen to me?"
Looking at the soldiers leaving, Zhang Liang murmured: "Xiang Yu, if you don't listen to my advice again, you will become a sinner through the ages."
Randomly, he thought of Qin Hao who was still in Xinye Prison, and Zhang Liang's expression became solemn again.
"Since Guangcheng Pass, if it was all a conspiracy, then what about before Qin Hao was captured?"
Zhang Liang shook his head and frowned: "No, just because it is too perfect, there must be a problem, but where is the problem?"
If Qin Hao was caught deliberately just to plot against Xiang Yu, it would be totally outweighing the losses, so Zhang Liang was puzzled by this.
"Qin Hao must have something he's not saying. No, we have to pry his mouth open."
As soon as he thought about this, Zhang Liang hurriedly went to Xinye Prison.
In Xinye Prison, Qin Hao, who was dressed in prison uniform, was not in the least embarrassed. It was obvious that Zhang Liang did not abuse him.
After watching the sky outside through the skylight, Qin Hao even showed excitement, then turned his head and whispered to Xue Rengui:
"Brother Xue, if nothing happens, we should be able to get out of trouble tonight."
Xue Rengui, who was already sleepy, suddenly trembled when he heard this, and said in disbelief: "Lord, what did you say?"
Qin Hao smiled mysteriously and was about to explain, but Zhang Liang strode in.
"Mr. Zifang, long time no see."
Qin Hao smiled and said hello, but Zhang Liang still had a cold face and said indifferently: "Qin Hao, is Jingzhou a bureau?"
Qin Hao's heart thumped, but he still kept a bright smile on his face.