Chapter 111 Going Back on One's Promises 23

When Fan Kuai simply explained his purpose, Liu Bang agreed. This was something he had planned long ago; he would return to Pei County no matter what. Lü Zhi, sitting next to him, frowned slightly. The magistrate of Pei County was a close friend of her father, and she had met him many times.

She felt that the other party did not seem to be the kind of person who was determined to revolt, so after warmly entertaining Fan Kuai and letting him go to rest, she expressed her opinion to Liu Bang when they were alone.

"The magistrate of Pei County is kind and generous, but not very ambitious. He is not a man of strong will either. We must be extra careful on this trip."

Liu Bang nodded in agreement. This was his superior, and he knew him somewhat. E'xu was right. He summoned the guards outside the door and, in addition to informing Meng Tian to come and discuss the matter, also sent someone to inform the many people who followed him.

Besides some locals, many of those who came to seek refuge with him were people who had followed him from Pei County. Now that they heard they could go back, they were overjoyed. However, they were not so irrational as to forget the crimes they had committed. Even without being reminded, they were still uneasy and thus treated their return home with caution.

Meng Tian arrived after Liu Bang personally conveyed the matter to him. The atmosphere between the two was subtle, and the meeting ended with Liu Bang's admonition.

In fact, Meng Tian also had his own feelings. He had heard about the uprisings that were breaking out all over the country, but it was only after hearing about them that he fell into silence and felt an urge to sigh.

Why was this happening? He wanted to ask the missing 'Qin'. She hadn't appeared here for a long time, as if she had abandoned everyone here.

But as Meng Tian touched her chest, she could feel her heart still beating inside her. Her will remained unchanged, and her expression became resolute.

****

When they left, most of the luggage was transported by oxcarts. The only two carriages in the group were horse-drawn carriages. One carried Liu Bang and Lü Zhi, and the other carried Meng Tian's younger brother, who was still asleep from poisoning.

The last horse was given to Meng Tian, ​​since he was probably the best rider among the group.

Even though Liu Bang didn't have a particularly strong sense of belonging to Pei County, he couldn't help but smile with those around him when he saw the city walls ahead.

Those Pei County youths who followed him never expected to be able to return one day. Perhaps someone would even come out to welcome them today. They all tried to see the city ahead clearly, their excitement overflowing.

However, upon closer inspection, they found no one in front of them. The wind swirled across the dirt road, raising a cloud of dust that seemed to mock them.

They certainly wouldn't think the city was in ruins, because they could see the soldiers standing on the city walls as soon as they looked up.

However, the city gates beneath the city walls remained tightly shut, showing no sign of opening. Lü Zhi said, "That person's actions were to be expected. Perhaps..."

She smiled, a murderous intent flashing through her mind.

Coincidentally, Liu Bang thought the same thing. What did his superior, with whom he had worked for many years, matter? Even if the person standing in his way today was... cough cough...

That shouldn't be the case, he waved for the troops to turn around and retreat a little distance to prevent any more archers from standing on the city wall.

His original intention was to have the team in front turn around and walk backwards, but Meng Tian stopped him, saying, "That would cause chaos. I'd rather do it."

Liu Bang nodded. Before he left, he had Meng Tian lead several hundred people for a few days, but he didn't know what they could teach in such a short time.

Meng Tian used his command flag to order the vanguard to become the rearguard and the rearguard to become the vanguard. Although the march was still not going very well, at least it was not so chaotic anymore.

A glint flashed in Liu Bang's eyes. You see, this group of people, to put it nicely, was a rebel army, but to put it bluntly, they were just roaming bandits. The fact that they could even form a coherent unit was a testament to his good training. Now, they were actually starting to resemble a proper army.

Although they were still dressed in rags, Liu Bang believed that this was just a small step on his path to hegemony.

It's really good to have some serious military commanders!

While Liu Bang was lamenting, Xiao He and Cao Shen, who had already fled the city, naturally witnessed this scene.

They had originally fled the city to seek refuge with Liu Bang, but the magistrate of Pei County went back on his word and even planned to kill them. Their only way to survive now was to seek refuge with Liu Bang.

When they heard that Liu Bang and his men were about to arrive, the two of them secretly hid to the side.

They naturally saw Liu Bang's army as well, and questions arose in their minds.

Xiao He paused and asked in a low voice, "What does Jingbo think?"

Cao Shen also lowered his voice and said, "That's too good."

Yes, he's too good for Liu Bang. Like Xiao He, he has a close relationship with Liu Bang. The problem is that no one had ever heard of him having the talent to be a general before.

They were not close enough to see clearly that people were moving back in an orderly fashion and gradually approaching them.

Xiao He sighed: "Even if there is this anomaly, so what? You and I have no other choice."

Cao Shen remained silent, for then there was indeed no other choice. The two of them immediately decided to stand up and openly go to seek refuge with him.

There are just people who are faster than them...

Liu Bang had just discussed with Lü Zhi what to do next when he turned his head and, without noticing, Meng Tian drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the bushes not far away.

This bow and arrows were just passable. For Meng Tian, ​​who could draw a much heavier bow, these ordinary bow and arrows were like toys to him, but having them was better than having none at the moment.

He drew the ordinary wooden bow and arrow like a full moon, gripping the fletching tightly. With a single release, the arrow would shoot towards its target.

Liu Bang was surprised. Could there be someone hiding there? He ordered the people around him to be on guard. Fortunately, he had told his men before leaving, and most of them were mentally prepared for this 'relocation'.

Meng Tian looked over there and shouted, "Who's there? Come out!"

Xiao He: ?

Cao Shen: ?

One glance is enough to spot the person on horseback in the crowd, whose dashing figure is unlike that of an ordinary person.

The two men found it unbelievable that Liu Bang would so easily agree to obey the magistrate of Pei County if he had such a person under his command.

Cao Shen looked at Xiao He and asked: How did he find out?

Xiao He returned the look with the same expression: I don't know.

The two men moved swiftly, and before Meng Tian could threaten them again, they emerged from their hiding place together, shouting loudly, "Liu Bang, it's us!"

Liu Bang narrowed his eyes and recognized the people not far away as his close friends from his time in Pei County. He immediately stopped Meng Tian from shooting the arrows and explained, "These two are my close friends from Pei County, not some kind of ambush."

That's what he said, but Meng Tian didn't miss Liu Bang's hand gently resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist.

He slowly released the bowstring, put the arrows back into the quiver hanging to the side, and dismounted while keeping an eye on the two men, showing no sign of letting his guard down.

Liu Bang greeted them warmly with a smile. After exchanging pleasantries, he asked, "What is the situation in the city now? The magistrate invited us back, so why are the city gates closed?"

He already had a general idea, but it would be good to have someone from inside the city tell him some details.

Xiao He immediately explained to Liu Bang what had happened in Pei County after Fan Kuai left. It turned out that the magistrate of Pei County regretted his decision after Fan Kuai left. It wasn't that he didn't want to rebel, but that he was afraid that Liu Bang would return with a large number of his men and rebel against him.

So he went back on his word, and not only that, he wanted to kill Xiao He and Cao Shen, who had devised the plan to welcome Liu Bang and his men back.

They are now appearing outside the city in disgrace because they learned in advance that the magistrate of Pei County was going to kill them, so they took advantage of the night to escape from the city and wait outside to join Liu Bang.

Upon hearing these words, Liu Bang subtly removed his hand from the hilt of his sword, his eyes brimming with tears, and with a deeply moved expression, he grasped the hands of the two men, choking back sobs, and said, "It is I who have implicated you both."

Meng Tian was stunned by her ability to cry on cue, and the two people who had come to seek refuge also looked moved.

The people around didn't think anything was wrong; on the contrary, they seemed quite moved, as if they thought, "Isn't it you guys?"

Meng Tian: ...I don't really understand...

Just as the three were about to burst into tears, Meng Tian spoke up: "I apologize to you both. I was just being disrespectful."

Liu Bang wiped away his tears and said, "This is the elder brother of the Qin brothers, named Tian."

Meng Tian was stunned by how quickly Liu Bang changed his expression. He had been taught from a young age that a man should not easily shed tears, and this was the first time he had ever seen someone cry so quickly and stop crying so just as quickly.

However, he still politely bowed to the two men, and Xiao He and Cao Can returned the bow in kind.

"Such a hero, I regret not having met him sooner!"

These words came from the bottom of his heart and were not just polite words. While sighing, Xiao He was also thinking to himself where there were such heroes and outstanding figures in the vicinity, and why he had never heard of them before.

The Qin family?

Meng Tian is only thirty-five years old now. He may not be a young hero, but he is in his prime.

However, Xiao He and Cao Shen couldn't recall anything after racking their brains. As for the fact that there was a general in the court with the same name as him, Tian, ​​they didn't know.

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Meng Tian had already died at the hands of Qin Er Shi, so how could he possibly appear in Pei County? He even seemed to be under Liu Bang's command. The two immediately ruled out the correct answer, assuming that this person was a former official of the six states who had been lying in wait for many years in order to rebel against Qin.

Meng Tian was used to being praised and didn't see anything wrong with it. He humbly returned the compliments, praising the two men without finding any faults, and also without revealing any information to them.

The group remained outside the city for the time being. The oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages were looked after, while Liu Bang, Lü Zhi, Xiao He, and the others discussed what to do.

"Having heard of your return, the area around the city gates has been placed under martial law. If you want to attach the letter to an arrow, it would be best to get it over the city wall."

In the end, the idea of ​​instigating the elders and villagers to kill the magistrate of Pei County prevailed, and Lü Zhi immediately took out silk and writing materials from her baggage.

Before Xiao He could even reach out, she picked up her pen and began to write. Xiao He opened his mouth but remained silent. He had assumed that such a task should be done by him or Cao Can, since they were the civil officials, weren't they?

Several people watched as she wrote with flowing strokes, and in the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the letter, carried on silk, was completed.

Empress Lü read her writing aloud in a low voice, which earned her praise from everyone.

Xiao He, being perceptive, noticed something and secretly observed Lü Zhi, thus not missing the sight of her casually picking up Meng Tian's bow and arrow.

Others assumed she was picking up a bow and arrow to hand to Meng Tian or Liu Bang so they could shoot the letter in, but only Xiao He realized she intended to do it herself.

Empress Lü tied the silk to the arrow, but did not hand over the bow and arrow.

-----------------------

Author's Note: I'll update again later, and I'll make sure to post at least three chapters tomorrow to make up for it (qwq)

-

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-07-01 22:47:50 and 2024-07-09 20:55:07!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Lansheng Yougu, Baicai (10 bottles); Lelecha (4 bottles); Xuanyi (2 bottles); *Shengツ, Yuxi, Tanuki, Moyu Chigua Zhenjun, 17622433 (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!