Separately 026

  Gao Fei returned to the front of the team, his face expressionless, and casually said to Xiahou Lan: "Go and call over all the Simas, I have something to say."

  Xiahou Lan grunted a "yes" and rode his horse towards the rear of the troops.

  Zhaoyun and Fei An jumped down from their horses, hearing Gao Fei's tone seemed a bit disappointed, the two asked in unison: "Sir, is something wrong?"

  Gao Fei handed the imperial edict to Zhao Yun and Fei An, who took a quick glance at it before their faces lit up with joy. They immediately clasped their hands together in congratulations: "Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, sir! You've been enfeoffed as a marquis due to your meritorious service - this is the best news in days!"

  Gao Fei smiled wryly and muttered to himself: "Good thing? If it were really a good thing, would I still be so worried? Let's take it one step at a time."

  Before long, ten fast horses galloped up from behind the team. Ten knights jumped down from their horses and walked straight to Gao Fei's face, bowing their hands together: "See you, sir!"

  Gao Fei said to the dozen people around him: "Follow me!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Fei led the dozen or so people down from the official road and stopped in a small grove of trees.

  Zhou Shen returned to the team, saw Gao Fei leading a dozen or so people away, his face revealed a joyful expression, he flipped onto his horse, quietly waiting there, thinking in his mind how to bid farewell to Gao Fei. Turning back to look at the two million troops behind him, he was even more delighted, since taking office, this was the first time he had led so many troops, he firmly believed that he would lead even more troops in the future.

  Not far away in the woods, Zhao Yun and Fei An had already told everyone about the contents of the imperial edict. Except for being puzzled by Lu Zhi's experience, most people were congratulating Gao Fei on his promotion to marquis and prime minister, which was a great honor in ancient times and a symbol of respect in the eyes of the ancients.

  "Adult... no, should be called Marquis, I don't know what the Marquis plans to do?" Lu Heng knew the inside story, but for the things on the imperial edict, he was still very happy, because at least he didn't have to go to that godforsaken place in Liaodong. Chen Cang was a land of three auxiliaries, although it only had a food estate of one thousand households, it was also a pretty good place.

  Gao Fei said: "What else can I do? Of course, I will rush to Chen Cang to take office. The reason why I called everyone here is that the imperial edict says let me bring fifty close followers to go to take office together, I want to know if you are willing to go with me?"

  "Your Lordship, we were promoted by Your Lordship's own hands. Wherever Your Lordship goes, we will follow." Zhou Cang, Liao Hua, Guan Yu, Pei Yuan Shao and Bian Xi looked at each other and replied in unison.

  Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan also chimed in unison: "Your subordinate will follow Master Hou for life, until death do us part."

  Lu Heng and Fei An also hastily expressed their intentions: "We are willing to follow Master Hou, in front of the saddle and behind the horse, never to leave!"

  Nine people here have expressed their intentions, only Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have not spoken yet. Everyone's eyes are now on the three of them, waiting for their response.

  Zhang Fei's body leaned forward slightly, and he opened his mouth to shout: "I'm willing..."

  The words had not been finished, when Liu Bei gave a wink to Guan Yu, who suddenly pulled Zhang Fei's sleeve and took advantage of the pause in his speech to step forward hastily, bowing with a smile: "My third brother says he is willing to listen to our elder brother's arrangement, I also mean this, we brothers all listen to our elder brother."

  Zhang Fei nodded in agreement and said: "Right, I'm willing to listen to your arrangement. Wherever you go, I'll follow. You decide this matter."

  In an instant, all eleven pairs of eyes focused on Liu Bei alone. Not only did Liu Bei not feel the invisible pressure, but he also felt a strange sense of relaxation in his heart. He remained calm and composed, chatting and laughing as usual, and slightly nodded to Gao Fei before saying: "Congratulations, Lord, congratulations, it's only natural that you've received this honor. However, my brothers and I still have a role to play in the army, as our mission to pacify the Yellow Turbans has not yet been accomplished. Therefore, we won't be following you. Nevertheless, since we've met before, we'll definitely see you off."

  Fei An suddenly let out a loud shout, pointing at Liu Bei's nose and shouting: "Liu Bei! How dare you... after my lord has promoted you..."

  The words had only been spoken halfway, but a dull thud was heard, and Zhang Fei clenched his fist, which was as big as a basin, and punched it at the gate of Fei An's face. Fei An's nose immediately flowed out with blood, and he was forced to retreat several steps by Zhang Fei's strength. He stumbled and fell backwards, rolling over on the ground several times before finally stopping.

  Zhang Fei suddenly jumped out of the crowd, pointing at Fei An and shouting loudly: "You dare to speak insolently again, look at old Zhang not breaking your neck!"

  Fei Anxin felt a pang of grievance in his heart, covering his nose which was bleeding non-stop. He glanced at Gao Fei with a slanted eye, seemingly imploring him to speak up for him because he knew he couldn't beat Zhang Fei. He slowly got up from the ground and faced Zhang Fei's fierce stare, not daring to utter a word.

  "Third Brother, you mustn't be rude!" Liu Bei gave Guan Yu a look, and Guan Yu immediately pulled Zhang Fei to one side.

  Gao Fei saw the wronged look on Fa An's face and didn't say anything, thinking that it was good for Zhang Fei to teach him a lesson so he wouldn't be too arrogant in the future. Liu Bei's departure was inevitable, and these days Gao Fei had been trying to get close to Liu Bei, wanting to make use of him, but Liu Bei hadn't given him the chance. He smiled and bowed his hands towards Liu Bei, saying: "My subordinate has offended Brother Xuande, please don't take offense, since Brother Xuande takes it upon himself to eliminate the bandits and bring peace to the world, I'll wish you many victories in battle."

  Liu Bei bowed to Gao Fei and said sincerely, "If it weren't for your promotion back then, I wouldn't have become the military commander. I will never forget the great kindness you showed me, Liu Bei, for my entire life. The journey to Chen Cang is long and arduous, please take care of yourself along the way, sir."

  Gao Fei smiled and said: "Brother Xuande, take good care of yourself."

  Liu Bei smiled slightly and turned around to shout at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei: "Second brother, third brother, we should head back."

  Guan Yu and Zhang Fei bowed respectfully towards Gao Feng and said in unison: "Take care, Your Excellency!"

  Gao Fei laughed and said: "Brother Yunchang, Brother Yide, take good care of yourselves. If fate permits us to meet again in the future, I will definitely drink three large jugs of wine with you two!"

  Zhang Fei smiled slightly, opened his mouth and moved his lips, wanting to speak but hesitating, finally letting out a soft sigh before turning around and following Liu Bei with Guan Yu.

  Zhao Yun saw Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei leave, then sighed: "Today we part ways, I don't know when we can meet again. Farewell, three heroes."

  Gao Fei knew that Zhao Yun was regretting that from now on, no one would be able to engage in a fierce and enjoyable battle with him. He didn't say anything, but thought to himself that Chen Cang was close to Liangzhou, which had many famous generals, including Jia Xu and Ma Chao, who were both from Liangzhou. Perhaps by going to Chen Cang, he could still recruit several strategists and good generals.

  "Lord Hou, letting them go like this is truly a pity. With this, all your previous efforts will be in vain." Lu Xun sighed as he watched the backs of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei leaving.

  Gao Fei smiled and said: "Everyone has their own ambitions, Liu Bei is also a person with great ambitions. Even if he was forced to stay, one day he would still leave. It's better to end the pain early rather than prolong it. In the future, we'll go our separate ways, who knows when we'll meet again? Lu Heng, go and select 41 personal guards, let's pack up and set off. The earlier we arrive at Chen Cang, the more relaxed we'll be."

  "Alright!"

  Others didn't say anything, but in their hearts they had some resentment towards Liu Bei, thinking that he left Gao Fei like this and it wasn't very considerate. Gao Fei asked everyone to wait here while he went alone into the troops on the official road to bid farewell to Zhou Shen, the Xuan Yi Colonel who was traveling with him.

  Zhou Zhen urged his horse to come and welcome, jumped down from the horse's back, and smiled: "My brother was enfeoffed as a marquis today, with boundless prospects in the future. Today we part ways, and I have nothing good to give you, so I'll just give you 50 war horses for now. The road to Chen Cang is far away, and I hope my brother will take care of himself along the way."

  "I'd rather obey than show respect. Thank you, Brother Zhou, for the horses." Gao Fei glanced at Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in the team, then shouted to them, "Brother Xuande, Brother Yunchang, Brother Yide, may I have a word with you?"

  Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei walked over together, bowed their hands to Gao Feng and Zhou Shen, saying: "We have seen the lord and sir!"

  Zhou Shen took a glance at Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, couldn't figure out what trick was up their sleeves, so he politely asked: "Younger brother, who are these three?"

  "Brother Zhou, these three are all great generals under my command, each with the bravery of a thousand men. Brother Zhou, this time you're going to Yingchuan to kill the Yellow Turbans, you'll definitely be able to use them. These three are my sworn brothers through thick and thin, but if they follow me, it would be a waste. Leaving them in the army might allow them to achieve great merit. I'd like to ask Brother Zhou to take care of them." Gao Shun thought that Liu Bei was also a regional lord, since he couldn't subdue him, he might as well curry favor with him personally, maybe someday he'll have use for Liu Bei, so he said this to Zhou Cang.

  Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei all felt a sense of inexplicable unease in their hearts after hearing this, and they also had a feeling of guilt towards Gao Fei.

  Zhou Shen nodded and agreed, clasping his hands together: "Younger brother, rest assured, I will definitely take good care of them."

  Gao Fei said: "Since it's like this, then I don't have any regrets either. Farewell!"

  Zhou Yu, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei bowed together: "Take care on your journey!"

  Lü Heng was still in the army selecting the 41 attendants when everyone heard that Gao Fei had been appointed as the Marquis of Dōu Xiāng and Chen Cang, and they were going to select attendants to go with him. The two million-strong troops were jubilant, and many expressed their willingness to follow Gao Fei. At this time, the army suddenly fell into chaos. Fortunately, Gao Fei climbed high and shouted to stop the chaos, and personally selected 41 strong attendants. He also let Lü Heng, Fèi ān, and Xiàhóu Lán prepare the gifts, and let Zhāo Yún, Zhōu Cāng, Liào Huà, etc., lead 50 military horses. After a big commotion for a while, they finally selected the attendants, bid farewell to the soldiers, and left the army with 50 attendants.