The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"What is the intention of the Pavilion Chief doing this?"

On the bank of Gan River and the edge of Pengli Lake, Heifu, Zhao Tuo and Wu Rui had just finished drinking chicken blood wine and becoming brothers, but Dongmen Bao looked unhappy. But he still held back. When he returned to the tents of several military officials, he saw that only Li Xian and Ji Ying were there, so he couldn't help but complain.

The Yue people like to become brothers after forming an alliance to show mutual trust. This is the custom of the Yue people. Heifu became brothers with Wu Rui in order to gain the trust of Gan Yue, which is understandable, but adding Zhao Tuo made Dongmen Bao feel strange.

Among the first few people who followed Heifu, they still affectionately called him "Pavilion Chief" in private. This is a privilege only for the direct line.

But now, Dongmen Bao feels that this honor that belongs to them alone has been squeezed in and shared by Zhao Tuo, an outsider.

So he was a little jealous and unhappy, and Ji Ying also echoed him.

Li Xian, who was standing aside, seemed to be thinking about something, and suddenly said: "What if it is not the case? You still think that the head of the pavilion wants to become brothers with one of us?"

Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying looked at each other and said they dared not.

Ji Ying recalled that when he first met Hei Fu, he did call him "Brother Hei Fu". Even though Hei Fu became the head of the pavilion and the head of the village, and became his superior, Ji Ying still called him by his name because they knew each other the earliest.

Dongmen Bao was the same. Until he was saved by Hei Fu in the Battle of Waihuang, he did not regard Hei Fu as his superior.

Although Li Xian addressed Hei Fu by his official title, it was because he was estranged from Hei Fu. In his heart, he even complained secretly that he was implicated by Hei Fu and suffered revenge from Zuo Wei Yun Man.

But all this changed after Hei Fu became Li You's personal guard general.

In the Battle of Yingyang, Heifu risked his life to go out of the city and pretend to surrender, encouraged the soldiers, shouted "I will take you home", and commanded everyone to fight back in desperation and win. From then on, Heifu's position in the hearts of the three was completely established.

Several people who called each other brothers transformed into the Anlu Township Party Group with Heifu as the only core. When Heifu went to Jiangling to take up his post, the group did not disband. Instead, they planned to overthrow Yunman and kill the common enemy, and became increasingly close. Later, inspired by Heifu's ambition to be a marquis, the group found a goal to continue to struggle.

From then on, Heifu was like the moon, and they were like stars. After Heifu was received by the King of Qin and awarded the title of the Five Great Doctors, Heifu was already a blazing sun for everyone.

Several people knew in their hearts that the stars were only worthy of being the foil of the sun, so how dare they shine with it? They had already taken the position of subordinates and did not dare to be disrespectful to Heifu.

Therefore, Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying were not angry because Heifu did not give them this honor, but they were dissatisfied that Zhao Tuo, an outsider, was suddenly valued by Heifu.

Every group has a natural exclusivity.

At this time, Gong Ao also opened the tent and entered, and said: "If you ask me, Zhao Tuo is just a small ship with 500 people. How can he be compared with Abao, Li Xian, Xiao Tao, and Sima brothers?"

Although Gong Ao joined later, they lived and died together. Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying regarded him as their own and replied: "Yes, what virtue and ability does Zhao Tuo have!"

Li Xian had his own opinion. Heifu often asked him for advice, so Li Xian knew that Hei Sima was a man with a purpose, and he must have his purpose for treating Zhao Tuo so politely.

"Sima has his reasons for doing this, and we should not doubt it. Besides, when has Sima ever treated us badly? When he was fighting outside, he tried his best to save our lives; after returning to Nanjun, he placed us in suitable positions; this time, he also gave us a share of gold, silver and silk in the expedition to Chu. You two can have what you have today, with high titles, good fields, and a lot of wealth. Is it all due to your own abilities? It's all thanks to Sima's power!"

Li Xian saw that by relying on Heifu, his dream of becoming a county lieutenant was getting closer step by step.

And if he was dissatisfied with such a small matter and had a gap with Heifu, it was really unnecessary.

Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying looked better after being persuaded by Li Xian, but Gong Ao, the stinky stone, was still unconvinced.

He shook his head and said, "Let's put it one by one. It's not that I dare to doubt Sima, but I really can't see what's so great about Zhao Tuo!"

At this time, the tent was opened again, and it was Heifu who came in. He glanced and saw that everyone was there, so he smiled and said, "I was wondering why Abao and Jiying were no longer noisy in the camp, and Li Xian and Gong Ao couldn't be found anywhere. It turns out that they hid here."

He walked directly to the table, picked up the cup that Dongmen Bao had drunk from, and didn't mind. He poured himself a sip of water, turned around and asked lightly, "I heard you guys talking fiercely outside, what were you talking about?"

After Heifu came in, Li Xian immediately went over to salute. Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying, the lively couple, looked at each other and dared not say anything.

Only Gong Aotian was fearless. He bowed and shouted: "Sima and Zhao Tuo are sworn brothers. This is a humiliation and a loss of status. We are confused! I hope Sima can help us!"

"It's very simple."

Seeing that Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying also had this idea, Hei Fu smiled and said: "I am alone in Yuzhang. I have only advanced 200 miles. In the future, I may have to go south to Shanggan and Limensai, which are thousands of miles away... and the only link between us and Nanjun and Jiangdong is Zhao Tuo's fleet."

He pointed at the four people and became serious: "You and I are from the same hometown of Nanjun and Anlu. We have known each other for several years. We have experienced life and death together and traveled thousands of miles. We are brothers who can share both hardships and wealth. I can rest assured to leave my back to you."

"But Zhao Tuo is different. He is not my subordinate. He is just borrowed from Tu Duwei. He is nominally under my command, but he actually does what he wants."

"In your opinion, I am a foolish act that damages my status by ignoring the fact that he is a stranger and making friends with him. Little do you know that I want him to put aside his estrangement and help me as much as possible, so that I can have a safe retreat when I lead you to the south and go deep into the mountains. This journey is really dangerous. The feudal lord of Chu, the Yue tribe, the sudden rain, and the miasma may wipe out the whole army if we are not careful. I have to take this strategy to eliminate all hidden dangers..."

Hei Fu explained his difficulties. Except for the smart man Li Xian, the three people with simpler minds looked at each other and felt ashamed.

"Sima has good intentions, but we don't know what's good for us. It's damned!"

They bowed together. Although Li Xian felt that the logic was not right, he could only follow.

Heifu helped the four people up and said with emotion: "The so-called etiquette is for outsiders to see. There is no need to be so artificial if you are sincere. Our blood has already flowed together in Yingyang. Why should we use the custom of the Yue people to drink the blood of a few wild children to emphasize it? What do you think?"

"Sima is right!"

His words were sincere and heartfelt. Dongmen Bao, Gong Ao, and Ji Ying were very moved. They felt that their position as "direct lineage" was still unbreakable, and the jealousy in their hearts was also eliminated a lot.

Finally, he appeased the old subordinates, and Heifu was relieved. After everyone left, he shook his head.

"These guys have different personalities. It's really not easy to be comprehensive."

But if he takes the opinions of old subordinates into consideration and is timid in doing things, he is not Heifu.

Heifu was confident that Gongao, Dongmenbao, Lixian, Jiying, Xiaotao and other people from Nanjun would unite closely around him and advance and retreat with him. But Zhao Tuo, the two sides had a temporary cooperation relationship for a few months at most, and Zhao Tuo still had his own development trajectory in the future.

Heifu concluded that this person might become successful in the future, and even have the opportunity to become the lord of a state or the king of a country. He was a potential stock. Now he was still in a humble position and made friends with him. He dared not say that Zhao Tuo would be grateful, but at least he would remember Heifu's "friendship" today.

In this world, what makes people unforgettable is not icing on the cake, but sending charcoal in the snow.

"Maybe one day in the future, this friendship will come in handy..."

...

On the other side, after becoming brothers with Heifu and Wu Rui, Zhao Tuo said goodbye to Heifu and boarded the ship to return to Pengze.

He stood on the ship, holding the railing, still unable to contain his excitement...

"Although Captain Tu regards me as his confidant, in fact, I am just a hawk and dog for him to catch prey and kill the big alligator."

"Heifu is different. Although his status is not as high as Tu Sui, he invited me to be his brother in public. In the twenty-one years since I was born, no one has been able to treat Zhao Tuo so courteously!"

Although Zhao Tuo felt that he had earned enough face in front of thousands of people and was proud in his heart, he was not stupid. He guessed that Heifu's move might have made him feel grateful and tried his best to defend the waterway for the Nanjun soldiers.

But recalling the situation when they swore blood, Heifu did have some sincerity.

Zhao Tuo raised his hand, and his palm still had the warmth when the two of them laughed and clapped their hands.

"Sima held up the chicken blood wine and told me sincerely that he didn't ask to be born in the same year as me, but he asked to die in the same year as me!"

"This sentence is sincere and heartfelt, and it doesn't sound fake at all!"