General Butcher glared at General Red Sand and roared.
"Do you think we're all fools? If this imperial seal were fake, would you be this nervous?"
General Chisha was not annoyed, but simply smiled and said:
"Nervous? What do I have to be nervous about? This imperial seal isn't even mine."
"Hmph! Stop pretending to be confused!" One-Eyed Dragon retorted.
"This imperial seal is yours once it's in your hands! If you dare to keep it for yourself, don't blame us for being impolite!"
Seeing that the time was almost right, General Chisha pointed to the two scrolls in the brocade box and said:
"Everyone, don't rush to fight over the Imperial Seal. There are two other items here that might be more useful to us."
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to the scroll.
The butcher general grabbed the scroll and roughly unfurled it, only to find it covered with dense writing.
"What the hell is this?" Butcher General asked, looking completely bewildered.
The pedantic scholar snatched the scroll and began to read it carefully.
A moment later, his expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise:
"This... is the Empress's edict! And... and a marriage certificate!"
"What imperial edict? What marriage certificate?" everyone asked.
The pedantic scholar read aloud the contents of the scroll.
It turned out that this was an imperial edict from the Empress, announcing her investiture of the Zhang family.
The other scroll was the marriage certificate between the Empress and the young master of the Zhang family.
Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar.
"What? The Empress is really going to marry that boy from the Zhang family?"
"What's so great about that boy from the Zhang family? Why should he marry the Empress?"
"Pah! This empress is shameless!"
"This thing...tsk tsk, this empress really can't wait to get married!"
The one-eyed man held the national seal in his hand, his single eye gleaming with greed.
General Chisha coughed lightly, feigning nonchalance, and slowly began to speak:
"I've taken the items out, but there are four people in this tent. Who's responsible for keeping them?"
These words instantly turned the previously harmonious atmosphere into one of tension.
The butcher general slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups tremble.
"Nonsense! Of course it's me! I have tens of thousands of soldiers under my command, who would dare to rob me?"
The pedantic scholar scoffed disdainfully and pushed up his glasses:
"What do crude brutes know about legitimacy? Such important things should naturally be kept by learned scholars to truly realize their value!"
The one-eyed man, not to be outdone, thumped his chest and boasted:
"Who do you two think you are? My men are all ruthless thugs. If it really comes down to it, none of you can stop me?"
The three of them argued back and forth, creating quite a commotion inside the tent.
General Chisha watched coldly, a barely perceptible sneer playing on his lips.
After they had finished arguing, he slowly and deliberately spoke:
"Gentlemen, this arguing can't go on. In my opinion, we should leave it here for now and wait until we support a puppet emperor before making a decision."
"Put it there? You fucking want to keep it all for yourself!"
The pedantic scholar immediately jumped up and pointed at General Chisha's nose, cursing him.
"hehe,"
General Chisha waved his hand calmly.
"I captured the goods first, and I'm willing to hand them over because of our alliance. The most urgent thing now is not to fight amongst ourselves, but to figure out how to deal with Zhang's army."
"Take Jingzhou City first, then deal with the Zhang family!"
The one-eyed man made the suggestion in a hurry.
“No,” General Chisha shook his head.
"Jingzhou is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if we force our way through, we will suffer heavy losses, which would be a net loss. It would be better to preserve our strength, defeat Zhang's army first, and then Jingzhou will be ours for the taking!"
"But we've gone to so much trouble, wouldn't it be a waste to just withdraw our troops like this?"
The butcher general was somewhat unwilling.
"Is the Empress more important, or the Imperial Seal?"
General Chisha countered with a question.
"In the capital, there's still Liu An. This empress's legitimacy has long been questionable. But Liu An doesn't have the imperial seal, so he can't be considered the rightful ruler. Whoever possesses the imperial seal is the legitimate one, understand?"
"Hmm...that makes some sense."
The butcher general scratched his head, seemingly convinced.
"Then let's withdraw our troops!"
One-Eyed Dragon chimed in.
General Chisha laughed heartily, patted General Butcher on the shoulder, and said earnestly:
"Old Tu, I'll entrust the Imperial Seal to you for safekeeping for now. I know you're a rough man with no ulterior motives, so I feel at ease leaving it with you."
The butcher general, holding the brocade box, was so excited that his fat jiggled, and he grinned as he said:
"General Chisha, you think too highly of me! I, Old Tu, may not have any other skills, but I am loyal to my friends!"
"I will definitely keep this imperial seal safe!"
"Withdraw the troops first, deal with the Zhang family, and then deal with Jingzhou City!"
General Chisha felt relieved to have gotten rid of the hot potato and now only wanted to return to his own territory as soon as possible.
"That's right!"
The butcher general nodded in agreement.
"We should unite against the common enemy and take Jingzhou City first!"
The others' attention was now focused on the butcher general and the brocade box in his hand.
The one-eyed man, with his shifty eyes, approached and rubbed his hands together, saying:
"Brother Butcher, let me see this treasure too!"
The butcher general clutched the brocade box warily and took a step back.
"Go away, get out of here! This is a precious item. If you break it, can you afford to pay for it?"
The pedantic scholar also joined in, saying in a sarcastic tone,
"General Butcher, I'm really worried about entrusting such a valuable treasure to you. What if..."
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