The overlord's order was so resounding that the people present were awed and bowed their heads in agreement.
The staff led by Fan Zeng were stunned at first, but later they understood.
Any intelligent person could see that although the Overlord's gift of the sword seemed to come without any warning, it actually had a profound meaning: although Ying Bu had rebelled first, after this incident, the generals were bound to feel uneasy, fearing that King Xiang would become more suspicious and might implicate them.
Now, first he killed Ying Bu decisively, and then he rewarded Lu Bu who had made great contributions. Although the two actions seemed to have nothing to do with each other, they were definitely not done on a whim.
It was clear that he was trying to appease the other generals in the name of employing Lu Bu.
Bathed in the mixed gazes of understanding, surprise and approval from his advisers, Xiang Yu had no idea that his original intention had been distorted. He just stared at his beloved general with eyes wide open and the word "unbelievable" written on his face.
“… Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward.”
Lu Bu was still confused, and instinctively thanked him dryly. Then, in full view of everyone, he put the Longyuan sword, which had been returned to him not long ago, back on his waist.
Seeing his beloved general's majestic and calm appearance, a hint of satisfaction flashed across Xiang Yu's eyes.
Then, he announced rewards for the brave generals Long Qie and Zhongli Mei, who were the main contributors to the destruction of Jiujiang County and the capture of the rebel Ying Bu. Long Qie was temporarily transferred to be the chief of Jiujiang County, and Zhongli Mei was temporarily transferred to be the governor of Hengshan County.
After the two generals thanked him joyfully, Xiang Yu's face was uncertain as to whether he was happy or angry. He just said calmly, "Let's go back to the camp."
As soon as this order was issued, the crowd dispersed in a short while.
Only Ying Bu's body, with its head and body separated, was still lying on the gravel ground, with a large pool of blood underneath that had already dried up and was blindingly red.
Faced with this shocking scene, the halberd soldiers guarding the camp gate looked away and remained indifferent.
No one would step forward to restrain the once high-spirited King of Jiujiang.
Lu Bu returned to the tent with a stern face, sat in the main seat in silence, and crossed one leg out of habit. The Longyuan sword he had just obtained was thrown on the low table before it could even warm up.
While he was staring at the patterns on the hilt nonchalantly, he was secretly trying to guess what the foolish king was thinking.
—If someone shows you kindness for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.
But, just relying on Xiang Yu's stupid brain
Lu Bu curled his lips and uttered a light "huh" in disapproval.
—I don’t think he can harm me!
The last time I gave him the sword was so that he could stay in the old nest in Xianyang and guard against the enemy who might take the opportunity to cause chaos.
Lu Bu narrowed his tiger eyes, and a flash of lightning appeared in his mind, illuminating his heart like a mirror!
—Then this time he is given the sword, it must be to ask him to do some difficult work again!
Just as this thought came to his mind, Lu Bu heard a soldier outside cautiously say, "General Lu, the king has summoned you. Please move to the main tent."
Lu Bu couldn't hide his smugness and snorted.
Look, it’s here!
He wanted to find out what Xiang Yu was up to, so he lifted his robe and strode towards the main tent.
Before he reached the tent, Xiang Wang's personal guards had already bowed their heads and saluted, then opened the tent curtain for him.
Not to mention that since King Xiang gave the order that day, if General Lu wanted to enter the king's tent, he no longer needed to be notified first... Just based on the sword Long Yuan that the king had personally bestowed upon him in front of all the high-ranking officials of Chu just now, there was no place in the huge Chu camp that Lu Bu could not enter.
Lu Bu walked into the tent with confidence and glanced around. Seeing that there was no one else except the foolish king who was sitting meticulously in the main seat, he was too lazy to even show respect.
He bowed hastily and sat down in his old seat without waiting for Xiang Yu to speak.
Because the two were very close to each other, both were tall with long legs, and Lu Bu was sitting in his usual casual posture...
Xiang Yu's face was as pale as ice, but he lowered his eyes at this moment, his gaze quietly fixed on the slender and beautiful calf that was swaying and would touch his knee if it moved forward half an inch.
Lü Bu didn't notice that the king was distracted at all. With a smug look on his face that said "I guessed it long ago", he asked expectantly, "What do you want, my king?"
Xiang Yu was called back to his senses and was slightly stunned when he heard this.
Instructions
He blinked slowly.
… No instructions.
Lu Bu was secretly rubbing his hands together, unaware of Xiang Yu's confusion at the moment.
He was by no means destined to be a hard worker like Gao Fuyi and Chen Gongtai. There were various reasons why he was looking forward to working.
He had been stationed in Lingbi with the Chu army for several months. Not only was his mouth empty, but his muscles and bones were also sore from idleness. He knew that his Fang Tian Hua Ji would be covered with rust if it remained unused any longer.
Just thinking that Han Xin's brother might be killing people in Wei State at this moment, he couldn't help but feel itchy and really wanted to get involved.
Besides, his main purpose of coming here was not to add icing on the cake for this fool or to accompany him to idleness. He was simply afraid that the other party would have a brain spasm again and do that stupid and immoral thing of massacring the city.
Now that Xiang Yu has come to his senses, there will be no more battles to fight and no more cities to destroy for the time being. He has no worries, so why not go out for a stroll and contribute to the great cause of killing the rat as soon as possible
Xiang Yu had no idea of his beloved general's thoughts. He just picked up something from the side, pushed it in front of him, and said simply, "Can you drink?"
Good wine!
Lu Bu was a wine connoisseur. As soon as he smelled the mellow aroma, he knew the quality of the wine and his eyes lit up.
He subconsciously wanted to reply "yes", but suddenly he remembered the painful lesson of nearly ruining two things just by getting drunk twice, and he immediately withdrew his hand decisively.
Facing Xiang Yu's puzzled look, he said sternly: "How can you drink excessively in the army? I dare to advise the king that although this drink is good, you should not drink too much!"
Xiang Yu silently cast a complicated glance.
But he said nothing and pushed the wine jar away.
Lu Bu swallowed quietly, and with difficulty turned his eyes away from the thing, and asked again: "Why did the king summon me?"
Can't I call him if there is nothing wrong
Xiang Yu stared at the two bright long feathers expressionlessly and answered secretly in his heart.
There was indeed no specific reason for summoning Fengxian.
If there was any, it was because of the incident with Ying Bu that he felt a little irritable and angry, and he could not get rid of it.
But compared to when he was betrayed by his uncle Xiang Bo, this anger was undoubtedly much less.
Therefore, his unhappiness in his heart was concealed by his stern expression, and was not noticed by his subordinates.
Thinking that his mood had improved last time because his beloved general had spoken the truth while drunk, he sent someone to get some good wine and summoned Lu Bu again.
Unexpectedly, Ai Jiang's eyes were full of expectation for unknown reasons, but he refused to drink or speak...
Xiang Yu looked indifferent and his eyes were deep.
But no one knew that he was feeling very embarrassed because his plan had failed and he didn't know how to respond next.
Fortunately, Lu Bu was a man of wandering thoughts. Seeing that this fool was daydreaming again for some reason, he didn't dare to count on him anymore.
Then he rolled his eyes, thought for a moment, straightened his face, and said solemnly: "I have been in the Chu camp for only half a year, with little experience and ordinary achievements. However, I am so trusted by the king. I feel ashamed."
Anyone could tell that Lu Bu was just making a few humble remarks as an opening remark, and then he got to the point after a while.
Unexpectedly, Xiang Yu usually didn't pay any attention to what other people said in official language, but he listened attentively to the words coming out of his favorite general's mouth.
As Lü Bu continued to talk, his brows furrowed more and more. He interrupted him directly and said seriously, "Fengxian has made great contributions, but for various reasons, it is not easy for the world to know. However, everyone in the Chu camp knows it. How can you say he is not worthy of it?"
Lu Bu's eyelids twitched.
He was just being polite, why was this foolish king taking it so seriously
He finally stopped looking at the fool, regained his composure, and said, "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. Bu—"
Unexpectedly, Xiang Hanzi, who had kept his mouth shut in the previous few times and just listened to him speak, was very active this time and interrupted him again, saying, "I have already given Long Yuan to Fengxian."
Lu Bu blinked in confusion.
After abruptly saying that seemingly incoherent sentence, Xiang Yu lowered his eyes in frustration, unwilling to meet his beloved general's eyes full of astonishment. After a long while, he said stiffly: "That is... except for matters involving the central government, Fengxian only needs to send someone to inform me, and then I will do what I want without asking for instructions."
After Xiang Yu finished saying this, Lu Bu was stunned for a moment, and his whole body went numb.
What
He slowly lowered his head, staring blankly at the Longyuan sword with its simple and elegant carvings and the blade that had drunk the blood of countless enemies. It took him a long time to digest the meaning of Xiang Yu's words just now.
When he finally came to his senses, the look he gave Xiang Yu again was filled with disbelief.
This guy is not a fool... He is clearly a madman!
He originally thought that it was just like when he was guarding Xianyang, a privilege that should never be used lightly unless the city was in danger, and it was a privilege to execute first and report later.
But listening to Xiang Yu's explanation just now, the bestowal of the Longyuan Sword represented the real power that was second only to one man and above ten thousand men!
—The lessons of Xiang Bo, Zhou Yin and Ying Bu are still fresh in our minds. How can anyone who is a little sober, dare to easily entrust such great trust
Lu Bu was so shocked that he accidentally said what was in his mind in a trance.
Hearing this, Xiang Yu raised his eyes silently and stared at him quietly.
In the eyes that were always frosty and snowy, at this moment there was a quiet, gentle and calm lake.
"How can you? How dare you?"
For the first time ever, Xiang Yu repeated the two words in a playful tone.
The corners of her thin lips, which were always cold and tightly pursed, were gently raised at this moment, revealing a very gentle and shallow arc.
This rare smile was not as fleeting as last time, but lingered a little longer.
Xiang Yu showed a rare smile, and after pondering for a while, he calmly asked: "Why can't I do it to Fengxian, and why don't I dare to do it?"
He really seemed to be blind, as he had entrusted his trust to the wrong people time and again.
As a result, he suffered a lot and his self-esteem was shattered.
Only this man in front of him not only protected his weak spot and back, risked his life to get in and out of danger, was indifferent to fame and wealth and refused to seek rewards, and even risked his life to persuade him with force...
"If one day Fengxian also wants to rebel," Xiang Yu chuckled, looked at his speechless beloved general calmly, and said calmly: "It is God's will to kill me, not my fault for judging people."
Lu Bu's eyelids twitched wildly.
He slowly lowered his eyes and stared at the Longyuan Sword again, and instantly felt that this thing was as heavy as a thousand pounds.
The pressure made him break out in a cold sweat and his scalp tingled, but he couldn't help but be hopeful and think secretly.
According to his plan, after the Chu Kingdom unified the world and killed Liu Haozi, he could finally give up his duties, retire and travel around the world...
If we do this, it should only be called "separation" and has nothing to do with the word "rebellion", right