After Northern Chu lost its commander-in-chief for the second time, Liu Ji, who had been attacking Western Chu, made a swift decision. He immediately ordered part of his army to fall back, reclaiming vast stretches of land between the Yellow River and the Huai River from the leaderless Northern Chu forces and driving them south of the Yellow River.
"We cannot yield the south to Liu Ji. Even if we have to abandon the lands of Zhao and Wei, we cannot let go of the south." Xiang An stood beside the sand table, looking sternly at several generals.
"Han Xin has temporarily withdrawn in the north. We must seize this opportunity to retake the south. Otherwise, Liu Ji will be able to use the Yellow River at his back to pin us down."
Several subordinate generals he knew well had died one after another, and Xiang An could not help but feel grief welling up within him. But he was the King of Northern Chu. He had no time to mourn; he needed to pull himself together quickly and turn Northern Chu's current situation around.
After discussion, Xiang An decided to temporarily abandon the northern lands and instead fight for the strategically more important territory in the south.
And more importantly—
Though he did not say it aloud, Xiang An had another reason for shifting the military's focus southward.
He did not want to watch Western Chu perish just like that.
Or rather, he did not want to watch Xiang Yu die just like that.
Perhaps Xiang An understood that when the lips were gone, the teeth would be cold. Or perhaps he still held a trace of affection for that brother who had never acted like a brother. In any case, Xiang An did not want to see Western