When a person commits suicide, he does not die immediately.
Huang Xie took great care of the sword given to him by the King of Chu. He often wiped and polished it, and the blade was very sharp.
The kiss marks between the sword blade and the neck were very deep, and bright red blood gushed out like a tiny spring.
But even so, Huang Xie would not die immediately. He was still conscious for two or three minutes.
So when he fell down, he saw the twisted smile of the King of Chu's envoy, the anger and sadness on Zhu Xiang's face, and also saw the expression of surprise and even greater sadness on Zhu Xiang's face when he suddenly turned his head.
Huang Xie guessed what the retainer had done for him.
His lips moved, but no sound came out.
Zhu Xiang knelt beside him. Although he was mentally prepared to fulfill Huang Xie's loyalty, he still couldn't help but cover the wound on Huang Xie's neck with his palm.
The blood immediately flowed through his fingers, staining his palms completely red.
Seeing that Huang Xie seemed to want to say something, Zhu Xiang leaned down and tried to listen, but only a "hehe" sound came out of Huang Xie's throat.
He couldn't read lips, but he understood Huang Xie's expression.
Huang Xie probably meant that he thought Zhu Xiang had arrived and his followers could go with Zhu Xiang.
Huang Xie's moving lips slowly stopped moving.
His eyes went out.
Huang Xie's expression was originally one of relief and happiness, but now it was fixed on grief. His eyes, which should have been closed, stared blankly at the sky, and his hands were in a posture of pressing on the ground.
He was trying to get up and see what was happening behind him, even though he had already guessed it.
When Huang Xie's eyes dimmed, Zhu Xiang's eyes also dimmed.
He remained silent for a while, covering Huang Xie's wound. When Li Mu put his hand on his shoulder, he raised his head.
"I'm fine." Zhu Xiang said to Li Mu.
He wanted to tear off his sleeves and bandage Huang Xie's wound which was still bleeding after his death.
But the cloth in costume dramas is always easy to tear, but he couldn't tear it no matter what.
Li Mu sighed and said, "Chun Shenjun is gone." There was no need to bandage his wound.
Zhu Xiang said: "I know. I just don't want him to bleed to death."
Zhu Xiang finally remembered that he had a sword. He drew it out and gestured a few times, but he seemed a little confused and didn't know how to cut a piece of cloth from under his clothes.
The county magistrate, who was shocked by the suicide of Chunshen Jun's retainer, finally came to his senses. He rushed to Huang Xie's still warm body and fell on it, crying bitterly.
Under the command of the Chu envoy, who could not suppress a smile, the Chu soldiers approached again.
After drawing the sword, Zhu Xiang was dazed for a while, then stood up with the sword in his hand and took a few steps forward to stand in front of Chunshen Jun.
"Retreat." Zhu Xiang said indifferently, blood dripping down the hilt of the sword.
The Chu envoy hiding behind the Chu soldiers said sharply: "What qualifications do you have to command the envoy of the King of Chu!"
Li Mu kept holding the drawn knife, as if waiting for something.
When Li Mu heard a sharp whistle - others also heard it, a relieved smile appeared on his lips.
He held the knife in one hand and with the other hand he pressed his fingers to his lips, also making a whistling sound with the same rhythm.
Then, there was the sound of horse hooves and the ground shook.
Li Mu's cavalry appeared on horseback from both sides of the city, but the whistling sound was not made by Li Mu's cavalry of only a few hundred people.
On the farther horizon, the dark figures and flags fluttering in the wind could not tell which country’s army they were, but they were definitely not the Chu army.
Zhu Xiang said again: "If Chu still does not want to go to war with Qin, withdraw its troops."
The envoy of the King of Chu did not dare to speak this time.
While Zhu Xiang was holding a sword to protect Huang Xie, the Chu soldiers had already retreated under the order of the Chu King's envoy.
They all lowered their heads, not daring to look Zhu Xiang in the eye.
The same was true for the Chu generals on horseback.
The retainer of Xiang Yan, who led the troops, just came back to his senses from the shock. He looked at the retainers of Chunshen Jun who had fallen, then at Chunshen Jun and the county magistrate who was crying on Chunshen Jun's body, and finally his eyes swept over Li Mu who had been very calm, and Changping Jun Zhu Xiang who was holding a sword and confronting the Chu army.
"Retreat. It is not appropriate to fight now." The Chu general beside him said, "We cannot afford the responsibility of provoking a dispute between Qin and Chu."
The King of Chu also sent two hundred guards to accompany the envoy as a show of respect. This Chu general was sent by the King of Chu, and he took the initiative to take the responsibility of withdrawing the troops.
Xiang Yan's retainer nodded silently, raised his hand, and gestured to order the troops to retreat.
He had a lot to say, but in the end he said nothing. Before leaving, he just bowed his head to someone he didn't know was Zhu Xiang or Chunshen Jun, to show his respect.
"Zhu Xiang!!"
In the neat queue in the distance, a few people broke away from the main group and rode their horses at full speed. The leader shouted loudly, which frightened Zhu Xiang.
Li Mu's stern face completely relaxed.
He put the knife back into the sheath and said, "Mr. Lian is here."
"Ah, yes." Zhu Xiang also put the sword with blood on the hilt back into the scabbard, and then moved a few steps towards Li Mu.
Li Mu moved a few steps to the side.
Zhu Xiang: “… ?!”
"Zhu Xiang!!" The white-haired Lian Po came galloping towards them on his horse. His angry eyes frightened Zhu Xiang so much that his heart stopped.
"Lian, Lord Lian." Zhu Xiang shrank his neck and moved another step towards Li Mu.
Li Mu took another step to the side.
Zhu Xiang: “… ???!”
Lian Po reined in his horse and stopped, then dismounted: "You..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Chunshen Jun lying on the ground.
Lian Po sighed, took off the sword from his waist and placed it beside Chunshen Jun, and said to the county magistrate who was still crying: "Please accept my condolences. Let Chunshen Jun rest in peace first."
The county magistrate raised his head, wiped his face vigorously with his sleeve, and asked in horror: "General Lian?"
Lian Po said, "Don't worry, I'm here to pick up Zhu Xiang and I won't attack you."
The county magistrate looked up at Zhu Xiang.
Zhu Xiang said: "Don't worry."
The county magistrate nodded and said, "Duke Zhu Xiang, come on."
Zhu Xiang moved to Lian Po's side and squatted down. He stretched out his hand and was about to help Chun Shenjun close his eyes, but when he saw the blood on his hands, he quickly wiped it clean before helping Chun Shenjun close his eyes.
Lian Po frowned: "Where are you hurt?"
Zhu Xiang shook his head: "It's not my blood, it's Chunshen Jun's blood."
Lian Po sighed heavily and didn't ask any more questions.
Zhu Xiang said to the county magistrate who was choking with sobs: "I have taken the bodies of Chunshen Jun and his retainers away. I will hand them over to their families and bury them properly."
The county magistrate wiped his tears again and said, "Wait a moment."
He stood up and said to the citizens who were wailing loudly at the city gate: "Open the city gate!"
The city gate rose slowly, and even though there were Qin troops outside the city, the citizens rushed out.
They did not crowd around the bodies of Chunshen Jun and his followers. Some scholars maintained order and asked them to stand a little further away to mourn for Chunshen Jun and his followers.
Some merchants brought plain linen and cotton cloth and rolled up the body of the guest.
A rich man brought silk and asked his servants to carry the high-quality coffin that had been prepared for him to bury Chunshen Jun.
There were also people in simple clothes who brought water to wash away the blood stains for the guests and Chunshen Jun.
After Zhu Xiang washed his hands with water, he personally wiped the blood off Chunshen Jun and wrapped his wound with silk.
But the bleeding would not stop. It seemed that Chunshen Jun wanted to shed all his blood on the land of Chu.
He could only hold the still bleeding Chunshen Jun, wrap his body in silk, and put him in the coffin.
After the hasty burial was completed, the Qin army led by Lian Po had arrived.
The county magistrate and the soldiers in the city personally carried the coffin to the Qin army's carriages and horses.
Lian Po said to the remains of his retainers, "I didn't expect this to happen. I only brought a carriage to carry your remains. I'm sorry. After we leave Chu, I will definitely choose a good place to bury you."
Lian Po ordered the body of his retainer to be placed upright on the horse's back, as if he was lying on the horse's back.
The Qin soldiers dismounted and led their horses forward.
"Let's go. If we don't leave now, the Chu army will come." Lian Po said, "Although I bypassed the defense line, they should have discovered it."
It was impossible for Chu to fortify its borders everywhere, so it was normal to bypass them. When other countries were at war, they could even bypass the passes.
In war, you always have to attack cities, so all you have to do is defend the cities.
Chunshen Jun's fiefdom was in Huaibei, which was originally a border battlefield. It was not difficult for Lian Po to march quickly and bypass the border troops of Chu.
Among the famous generals of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, who was not good at long-distance raids, forced marches and blitzkrieg
Although the citizens were reluctant to leave, they witnessed the rudeness of the Chu envoys at the city gate and were worried that the bodies of Chunshen Jun and his followers would be humiliated, so they had no choice but to let the Qin people take Chunshen Jun and his followers away quickly.
"Lord Changping, Lord Chunshen is handed over to you." The citizens cried.
Zhu Xiang nodded: "Okay, Zhu Xiang will live up to your trust."
He and Li Mu mounted their horses and guarded the carriage carrying Chunshen Jun's body.
Lian Po kicked his eldest son Lian Fu, who had little sense of presence, and asked Lian Fu to drive the carriage for Chunshen Jun himself.
Lian Fu, who was panting as he rode his horse to catch up with his old father, had not even caught his breath or greeted Zhu Xiang and Li Mu before his old father urged him to drive the carriage.
Lian Po led his troops away.
The Qin army had solemn expressions and turned around at the command, without any disorder in their neat formation.
The gate of the county town of Chu was opened right in front of them, but they really just came to pick up someone and leave at the general's order.
The army formation protected Zhu Xiang, Li Mu and Chunshen Jun in the middle, replacing the position where the commander Lian Po was supposed to be.
Lian Po led the troops at the front of the battle formation and headed northwest.
The county magistrate and the citizens of the city, some riding horses, some driving carriages, and some walking, followed the Qin army and saw Chunshen Jun off from Chu.
After walking only ten miles, the general of the Chu border army discovered the Qin army that had not concealed its tracks, and hurried over with his troops.
Before this, he asked his soldiers to report to the King of Chu that the Qin army was coming.
Seeing that the Qin army was actually going back, he was very confused and bravely sent someone to ask.
Lian Po said coldly: "I am here to pick up Zhu Xiang and escort the body of Chunshen Jun, who was executed by the King of Chu, out of Chu."
He waved his hand, and the army formation split in the middle, revealing a carriage wrapped in white cloth in the middle.
The soldier couldn't believe it and asked, "What happened to Chunshen Jun?!"
Lian Po said: "Chun Shenjun was sentenced to death by the King of Chu."
Lian Po said: "Hurry and tell your general not to disturb Chunshen Jun's body."
The soldier took another look at the carriage and rode back to report.
Then the general of Chu personally rode to the front of the Qin army and asked, "Chunshen Jun was sentenced to death? How is that possible?"
Zhu Xiang had already come to Lian Po's side and said, "Chun Shen Jun was sentenced to death by the King of Chu, and all his followers died for him. Please let him go."
The Chu general looked at Zhu Xiang's iconic white hair and still couldn't believe it: "Are you Lord Changping? Are you here to save Lord Chunshen? Then why..."
Zhu Xiang said, "Chun Shen Jun refused to leave."
The Chu general took a few deep breaths and said, "Can I go and see you off?"
Zhu Xiang said, "Please."
He brought the Chu general to Chunshen Jun's body and opened the coffin.
The Chu general was stunned for a while, then laughed out loud, with tears streaming down his face.
"It really is Chunshen Jun." The Chu general laughed, "Then the man on the horse is Chunshen Jun's retainer?"
Zhu Xiang replied, "Yes."
The Chu general dismounted, closed Chunshen Jun's coffin, cut a piece of white cloth from the carriage and wrapped it around his arm, saying with a smile: "I will lead the way for Chunshen Jun. Hahahaha, I will lead the way for Chunshen Jun."
When he mounted his horse again, he saw the Chu people following behind the Qin army.
The county magistrate rode up to the carriage, bowed to the Chu general, and said nothing.
The Chu general turned and left with a smile and tears, and ordered the Chu army to turn around and open the way for the Qin army.
He brought 2,000 men to investigate and harass the Qin army. These 2,000 men were originally planning to fight to the death, preventing the Qin army from breaking through the county town in a short time, and providing time for subsequent reinforcements.
Now the two thousand Chu soldiers who were ready to fight to the death with the Qin army were at the front, the more than ten thousand Qin soldiers were in the middle, and the Chu people from Chunshen Jun's fiefdom were at the back. There were also Chu people who got the news and kept coming from all over the place, making the team bigger and bigger.
They first arrived at the border between Han and Chu.
The Korean border troops were shocked to see so many people and thought that the Chu army was going to attack Korea.
After learning the reason, General Han ordered the Korean army to make way with mixed feelings and watched the team leave.
One person said: "The people of Qin and Chu are seeing Chunshen Jun off. Qin Xinping Jun is leading the way for Chunshen Jun, and Qin Changping Jun and Wucheng Jun are guarding Chunshen Jun's coffin. Chunshen Jun's reputation will probably be known all over the world."
Another person said, "Oh, who would want to be famous like this? Besides, Chunshen Jun is already a famous prince of Chu. Why are all of them Qin princes? Where are the Chu princes?"
Yes, where are the feudal lords of Chu
The feudal lords of Chu were shocked to learn about this when Chunshen Jun was about to leave Chu.
Before this, they had received news that Qin was attacking Chu.
The capital of Chu was in chaos, and the King of Chu urgently recruited Xiang Yan, who had already put on armor and was inspecting his troops.
But half a day later, another Chu soldier came to report that Qin was not coming to attack Chu, but to take Changping Jun away.
The King of Chu and the Chu nobles who were in chaos in the Chu capital were all stunned.
"Lord Changping? Why is Lord Changping in Chu?"
The Chu soldiers replied that Changping Jun went deep into Chu alone to rescue his friend, but Chunshen Jun refused to leave. After saying goodbye to Changping Jun, Chunshen Jun committed suicide, and Changping Jun escorted Chunshen Jun's coffin away.
He paused and continued, "Lord Wucheng came to escort Lord Changping, and Lord Xinping led his troops to support Lord Changping. Therefore, the Qin army did not come to attack the State of Chu, but only to protect Lord Changping, and has now left."
After Xiang Yan heard this, he was puzzled as to why the Chu army let the Qin army go just like that.
Changping Jun entered Chu alone, and Wucheng Jun did not seem to bring many people with him. They could easily surround them and use them as bait to wipe out the Qin army stationed on the border between Qin, Chu and Han, making the Chu State uneasy.
If Zhu Xiang, Li Mu and Lian Po could be killed in one fell swoop, even if Qin would be furious and attack Chu, Chu would still gain.
But before he could utter the question, he swallowed it.
The military thinking fades away, and the scholar's rationality comes online.
The place where this happened was Chunshen Jun's fiefdom. The Chu people in Chunshen Jun's fiefdom were already dissatisfied with Chunshen Jun's murder, and if Zhu Xiang, who was escorting Chunshen Jun's coffin, was surrounded, they would rebel.
Moreover, if people all over the world knew about this, they would probably despise the State of Chu.
The thinking of the Chu nobles is the most typical old-school thinking of the Spring and Autumn Period. They are high and mighty, and they say that they do not value reputation, and their behavior does not necessarily care about reputation, but in their hearts they care about reputation more than anyone else, and they do not want others to say that they are barbarians.
Xiang Yu would kill someone just because someone said he was a monkey in human form. Of course, his grandfather Xiang Yan also attached great importance to the dignity of the nobility.
Chunshen Jun died for his loyalty, and Changping Jun took danger for his righteousness. Even if he was there, he would probably have to stop chasing them and watch them leave.
Xiang Yan sighed for missing the good opportunity to kill Zhu Xiang, Li Mu and Lian Po, and asked the King of Chu to return to his fiefdom.
He had to keep a low profile for a while and not bring any resentment caused by the murder of Chunshen Jun upon himself.
Fortunately, he did not let the Xiang family lead the troops.
As for the troops he sent out, they were the King of Chu's troops, and the King of Chu was just dispatching troops and generals.
When the King of Chu learned about this, he was in a state of confusion. He didn't even care that Xiang Yan left Chendu and returned to his fiefdom, voluntarily withdrawing from the fight for the power center of Chu.
He said to his attendants, "I regret it."
He regretted it.
"Thank you, Lord Changping." Chunshen Jun's widow brought her children and cried to thank Zhu Xiang.
The Qin envoy, who came slowly with ten carts of gold, silver, silk and other treasures to invite Chunshen Jun to Qin, left the treasures behind and gave them to Chunshen Jun's family.
Chunshen Jun's family decided to settle down in the city on the border between Qin and Chu. The retainers took off their swords and picked up hoes, and worked the fields with Chunshen Jun's family, becoming self-employed commoners.
They all decided not to enter officialdom before the fall of Chu, no matter how many years it took.
Chunshen Jun demonstrated his loyalty with his life. No matter how difficult it is, they must uphold Chunshen Jun's loyalty.
However, with the treasures given by Qin and the care of Lian Po, their lives would be rich, but it was far from what it was when Chunshen Jun was the prime minister of Chu.
When the State of Qin sent envoys to invite Chunshen Jun to Qin, although other countries knew that Chunshen Jun would not leave the State of Chu, they also sent envoys to invite Chunshen Jun while using a strategy of sowing discord.
Inviting Chunshen Jun was also part of the plan to sow discord.
When the envoys saw that Qin had left the gifts to Chunshen Jun's family, perhaps because they were impressed by Chunshen Jun's loyalty, or perhaps because they wanted to take advantage of this grand carnival of fame, they all kept the gifts.
People from various countries came to pay homage, and kings of various countries also sent envoys to pay homage.
Chunshen Jun's affairs after his death were as lively as when he was alive.
However, Chunshen Jun's family members showed indifferent attitude towards all this excitement. They were only grateful to Changping Jun Zhu Xiang.
Huang Xie was nearly fifty years old, and his eldest grandson Huang Zhai was already twelve years old.
Chunshen Jun's widow entrusted Huang Zhai to Zhu Xiang, and asked Zhu Xiang to take Huang Zhai to study at the Xianyang Academy.
She said coldly, "When my grandson reaches adulthood, I hope he can serve in the Qin State. Zhai, study hard."
Huang Zhai bowed and said, "Yes, mother."
Chunshen Jun's widow, whose hair was once as black as clouds but now turned gray, closed the door and refused visitors after seeing Zhu Xiang off, thus suppressing the lively funeral ceremonies for Chunshen Jun.
She thought, Jun probably doesn't like it to be so lively at this time. After his friends leave, Jun will probably want to rest.
Zhu Xiang originally wanted to take Huang Zhai with him to educate him, but Huang Zhai refused.
He insisted on living in Xianyang and going to the academy to study on his own, on the grounds that he still had to observe mourning. If he couldn't even endure this little hardship, he would have no face to use the reputation of Lord Changping to serve in the Qin State.
Seeing that Huang Zhai had such ambition, Zhu Xiang had no choice but to ask Xunzi to take care of Huang Zhai.
Lian Po left Lian Fu to guard the army, and returned to Xianyang with Zhu Xiang and Li Mu.
He beat Li Mu up.
You can't stop Zhu Xiang at all, what's the use of you!
He decided to escort Zhu Xiang back to Xianyang himself to prevent Zhu Xiang from running around again and scaring the old man to death.
Lian Po originally wanted to beat Zhu Xiang, but when he saw Zhu Xiang's lost look, he swallowed his curse temporarily and prepared to beat and scold him after Zhu Xiang was in a better mood.
Zhu Xiang always said that he was fine, which made Lian Po so anxious that he sent Li Mu, who was bruised and battered, to appease Zhu Xiang.
Of course, there was no way he could comfort Zhu Xiang.
Looking at Li Mu, whose face was still covered in bruises, Zhu Xiang gloated, "Serves him right!"
Li Mu was speechless: "I got beaten because of you, and you actually said I deserved it?!"
Zhu Xiang said, "When Lord Lian appears, who will hide? Even if you hide, Lord Lian will still beat you!"
Li Mu sneered, "Haha, you look like a lost soul, Lord Lian is going to beat you up!"
Zhu Xiang sneered, "No, Lord Lian is beating you and me, you will never get away."
Li Mu took a deep breath and resisted the urge to beat Zhu Xiang.
This Zhu Xiang caused him to get beaten, and he looked gloating and righteous. Is this the world-famous gentleman Changping Jun
"It seems like you've adjusted your mood quite well." Li Mu grabbed the potato Zhu Xiang was roasting on a tree branch, sprinkled some seasoning on it, and ate it while saying, "Are you still having nightmares?"
Zhu Xiang said: "It's not a nightmare."
He stared at the fire for a while, until his eyes were blurry, and then he said, "I thought I had experienced the battlefield and should be able to adapt. But when Chunshen Jun's blood covered my fingers, I still couldn't adapt."
Li Mu said: "There is a difference between fighting on the battlefield and seeing someone commit suicide. The death of a friend is also different from the death of other people."
"Yeah." Zhu Xiang nodded, and he said, "You know what? I have never considered Chunshen Jun a friend. I have only considered him an acquaintance whom I admire, and even that admiration is a bit perfunctory."
Li Mu did not answer and listened quietly to Zhu Xiang's story.
Zhu Xiang and Chun Shenjun had met and drank together. Chun Shenjun's favorability towards Zhu Xiang continued to rise, but Zhu Xiang's favorability towards Chun Shenjun must have been solidified.
Chunshen Jun's words and deeds were not in tune with Zhu Xiang's. Zhu Xiang and Xinling Jun hit it off right away, but Zhu Xiang was mostly polite to Chunshen Jun.
Most of the avatars in Zhu Xiang’s favorability list are like this.
They have a crush on Zhu Xiang, but Zhu Xiang may not even know who they are.
The favorability list is originally one-way.
Zhu Xiang did not tell Li Mu about the favorability list. He just said that he did not actually regard Chunshen Jun as a friend. He never expected that the person Chunshen Jun entrusted his fiefdom to before his death was actually himself.
Li Mu then replied: "Chun Shenjun didn't expect that you would come alone to see him off."
Zhu Xiang first argued: "How can I be alone if you come with me?"
Then he said, “I didn’t expect that either.”
The fire crackled and the flames grew smaller and smaller.
After Li Mu finished eating the roast potatoes, he added firewood to the fire.
"Li Mu."
"Um?"
"I probably regard Chunshen Jun Huang Xie as a friend."
"Um."
(End of this chapter)