Chapter 303: Condescending to Befriend a Lesser Man

"What is the Sheriff trying to achieve by doing this?"

By the banks of the Gan River, beside Pengli Marsh, Heifu, Zhao Tuo, and Wu Rui had just finished swearing brotherhood with chicken-blood wine when Dongmen Bao's expression soured. But he held it in. Only after returning to the tent shared by several military officers, seeing only Li Xian and Ji Ying inside, could he no longer restrain his grumbling.

The Yue people liked to swear brotherhood after forming an alliance as a sign of mutual trust — that was a Yue custom. For Heifu to win the trust of the Gan-Yue, becoming brothers with Wu Rui was perfectly understandable. But adding Zhao Tuo into the mix left a strange taste in Dongmen Bao's mouth.

Among the earliest few who had followed Heifu, they still privately and affectionately called him "Sheriff" — a privilege reserved only for the inner circle.

But now, Dongmen Bao felt that this honor, which had belonged exclusively to them, was being squeezed into and shared by an outsider like Zhao Tuo.

So he was a little jealous and displeased, and Ji Ying chimed in to agree.

Li Xian, standing to the side, seemed lost in thought and suddenly said, "What else would it be? Did you two think the Sheriff was going to swear brotherhood with one of us?"

Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying looked at each other, quickly protesting they would never dare presume such a thing.

Ji Ying recalled that when he first met Heifu, he had indeed called him "Brother Heifu." Even after Heifu became Sheriff, then Platoon Chief, and his superior, Ji Ying, relying on the fact that they had known each other the longest, still called him by name.

Dongmen Bao was the same. Right up until Heifu saved him at the Battle of Waihuang, he had never treated Heifu as a superior.

Although Li Xian addressed Heifu by his official rank, that was because he and Heifu were not close. Deep down, he had even secretly grumbled about being dragged into trouble by Heifu and suffering retaliation from Left Commandant Yun Man.

But all of this changed after Heifu became Li You's personal guard Centurion.

By the Battle of Tongyang, Heifu risked his life to leave the city and feign surrender, rallied the soldiers, shouted "I will bring you home," and commanded everyone in a desperate counterattack to seize victory. From that moment on, Heifu's standing in the hearts of the three was firmly established.

The few who had called each other brothers transformed into the Anlu hometown clique, with Heifu as its sole core. When Heifu went to Jiangling to take up a post, this group did not scatter. Instead, through plotting the downfall of Yun Man and eliminating a common enemy, they grew ever closer. Afterwards, spurred by Heifu's ambition to become a marquis, the group found a goal to keep striving for.

From that point on, Heifu was like the moon, and they were like the stars. After Heifu was received by the King of Qin and granted the rank of Fifth Grand Master, to everyone, Heifu had become a blazing sun.

The few of them knew the score in their hearts. Stars were only fit to be the sun's backdrop — how could they dare share its light? They had already settled into the position of subordinates and did not dare show Heifu the slightest disrespect.

So, Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying were not angry that Heifu had not bestowed this special honor on themselves, but rather resentful that an outsider like Zhao Tuo had suddenly been so highly regarded by Heifu.

Every group has a natural tendency to exclude outsiders.

At that moment, Gong Ao also lifted the tent flap and entered, chiming in, "If you ask me, Zhao Tuo is nothing but a minor Tower Ship Five-Hundred-Man Commander, on par with A'Bao, Li Xian, and Xiao Tao — worthy of being called a brother-officer. Is he even qualified for this?"

Although Gong Ao had joined later, he had shared life and death with them. Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying considered him one of their own and replied, "Exactly! What virtue or ability does Zhao Tuo possess!"

Li Xian, however, had his own view. Heifu often sought his counsel, so Li Xian knew well that Commander Heifu was a man who acted with purpose. To treat Zhao Tuo with such courtesy, he must have his reasons.

"For the Commander to do this, there is naturally his reasoning. We must not doubt it. Besides, when has the Commander ever shortchanged any of us? On campaign abroad, he did everything he could to preserve our lives. After returning to Nan Commandery, he placed us in suitable posts. On this campaign against Chu, he has shared gold, silver, coin, and silk with us. That we, gentlemen, have reached this day — holding high ranks and good land, with considerable family wealth — was it all by our own ability? Is it not largely thanks to the Commander's efforts!"

Li Xian had seen clearly: by clinging tightly to the great tree that was Heifu, his dream of becoming a County Commandant was drawing nearer, step by step.

And to grow dissatisfied and create a rift with Heifu over such a trivial matter was truly unnecessary.

After Li Xian talked them round, Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying's expressions improved somewhat, but that stubborn rock Gong Ao remained unconvinced.

He shook his head. "One thing is one thing. It's not that I dare doubt the Commander, but I truly cannot see what makes Zhao Tuo so exceptional!"

At that moment, the tent flap was lifted again. Heifu ducked inside, swept his gaze over everyone present, and smiled. "I was wondering why the camp had gone quiet without A'Bao and Ji Ying's racket, and why Li Xian and Gong Ao were nowhere to be found. So you were all hiding in here."

He walked straight to the low table, picked up the cup Dongmen Bao had drunk from without a care, poured himself some water, took a sip, and turned back to ask casually, "I heard heated words from outside. What were you talking about?"

Once Heifu entered, Li Xian immediately went over to salute. The pair of clowns, Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying, exchanged a glance and then stood there, stammering, not daring to speak.

Only Gong Ao, who feared neither heaven nor earth, cupped his hands and blurted out, "We were talking about you, Commander, pulling Zhao Tuo into the brotherhood oath. That is condescending to befriend a lesser man, lowering your own status. We are quite baffled! We hope the Commander will clear up our confusion!"

"It's very simple."

Seeing that Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying shared the same thought, Heifu smiled and said, "I have led my troops alone deep into Yuzhang. We have advanced only two hundred li so far, and in the future we may have to march south a thousand li to Upper Gan and Limen Fortress... The sole link between us and Nan Commandery and Jiangdong is Zhao Tuo's fleet."

He pointed at the four of them, his expression turning serious. "You gentlemen and I are fellow townsmen from Nan Commandery and Anlu. We have known each other for years, been through life and death together, and traveled thousands of li. We are brothers-in-arms who can share hardship and prosperity alike. Entrusting my back to you, I can be at ease."

"But Zhao Tuo is different. He is not my subordinate, merely borrowed from Commandant Tu. Nominally he is under my command, but in reality he acts on his own."

"In your eyes, my condescending to befriend a stranger and outsider is a muddled act that lowers my own status. Little do you realize, I want him to set aside his distance and lend his full support, so that when I lead you gentlemen south, deep into the mountains and forests, I can have a secure rear line. This expedition is truly fraught with danger — Chu enfeoffed lords, Yue tribes, torrential rain, miasma. One misstep and the entire army could be wiped out. I had no choice but to adopt this strategy to eliminate every hidden risk..."

Once Heifu explained his difficulties, the three simpler-minded men — aside from the clever Li Xian — looked at each other, feeling deeply ashamed.

"The Commander has taken such pains, yet we failed to appreciate it. We deserve to die!"

They bowed together. Although Li Xian felt the logic was a little off, he could only follow along.

Heifu helped the four of them up and said with emotion, "Those so-called rites are all for outsiders to see. True feelings need no such affectation. Our blood already flowed together back at Tongyang. Why use the Yue custom of drinking the blood of a few wild pheasants to emphasize it? What do you gentlemen think?"

"The Commander's words are absolutely right!"

His speech carried a measure of genuine feeling and came across as deeply sincere. Dongmen Bao, Gong Ao, and Ji Ying were all very moved, once again feeling that their position as the "inner circle" remained unshakable. The jealousy in their hearts subsided considerably.

Having finally placated his old subordinates, Heifu breathed a sigh of relief. After everyone withdrew, he shook his head.

"These fellows each have their own temperament. It's really not easy to attend to every side."

But if he had to consider his old subordinates' opinions and act timidly, he would not be Heifu.

Heifu was confident he could keep Gong Ao, Dongmen Bao, Li Xian, Ji Ying, Xiao Tao, and the other Nan Commandery men tightly united around him, advancing and retreating together. But as for Zhao Tuo, the two sides had, at most, a temporary cooperative relationship of a few months. In the future, Zhao Tuo would still follow his own path of development.

Heifu was certain this man would likely rise to prominence in the future, perhaps even becoming the lord of a province or the king of a state — a potential stock. Now, while he was still in humble circumstances, by condescending to befriend him, Heifu could not claim to make Zhao Tuo feel overwhelming gratitude, but at the very least, Zhao Tuo would remember Heifu's "brotherly sentiment" today.

In this world, what people find unforgettable is not adding flowers to brocade, but sending charcoal in snowy weather.

"Perhaps one day in the future, this bond will come in handy..."

On the other side, after swearing brotherhood with Heifu and Wu Rui, Zhao Tuo, seeing Heifu off, boarded his ship and prepared to return to Pengze.

He stood on the tower ship, leaning on the railing, still unable to contain the excitement in his heart...

"Though Commandant Tu regards me as a trusted aide, in truth, I am nothing more than a falcon and hound that catches prey and slaughters giant alligators for him."

"Heifu is different. Although his status does not match Tu Sui's, he publicly invited me to swear brotherhood together. In the twenty-one years since my birth, no one has treated Zhao Tuo with such courtesy as this gentleman!"

Although Zhao Tuo felt he had earned immense face before thousands of men and was inwardly quite pleased, he was no fool. He guessed that Heifu's action might be intended to make him feel grateful and thus do his utmost to secure the waterway rear line for the Nan Commandery troops.

But recalling the scene when they smeared blood on their mouths, Heifu had indeed shown a measure of genuine sentiment.

Zhao Tuo raised his hand. His palm still held the warmth from when the two of them had clapped hands and laughed heartily.

"The Commander raised the chicken-blood wine and said to me earnestly that he did not seek to be born in the same year as me, but sought to die in the same year!"

"Those words were sincere and heartfelt, absolutely not feigned!"

PS: Only one chapter today. Tomorrow I'm taking graduation photos, on the 19th I defend my thesis, and on the 20th I might be dead drunk. So until the 21st, I can only update as fate allows, just keeping the streak alive without a break. One chapter or two depends entirely on when I can snatch a bit of time. There's really no helping it. These days, scolding is useless, urging is useless — everyone please bear with me. After graduation I'll start writing full-time, and then I'll have time to pay back the owed chapters.

(End of Chapter)