Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Bang had no patience left. He twisted and flipped over, like a monkey that had gone mad, and jumped out of the carriage in a flash.

He yanked the carriage curtain up violently, sending it flying in a flamboyant arc before it finally settled back into place, swaying gently.

Fusu sat upright to the side, when he suddenly felt the carriage shake. Then, his vision was suddenly filled with more than half of the space. A look of speechlessness flashed in his eyes, and his lips twitched slightly.

Is it really necessary? It's like escaping from prison.

He turned his gaze to his husband and tentatively asked, "Um...sir, should I have someone 'invite' him back?"

Zhou Wenqing pondered for a moment, then understood. A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his lips slowly curled up.

Through the gap in the carriage curtain swaying in the wind, he glanced at Liu Bang's retreating figure, shook his head slightly, and with an air of confident ease, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said nonchalantly:

"No need, let him go. He'll be back on his own soon."

Fusu was puzzled, not quite understanding why his master, who had just seemed determined to keep the person by his side, was now abandoning him.

But there must be a reason why the gentleman said that.

Fusu simply ignored him and turned his head to Li Yi, concerned about something more important: "Guard Li, you weren't finished speaking. Who could it be?"

Li Yi was just getting caught up in Liu Bang's interruptions and couldn't find a chance to speak, so upon hearing this, he immediately replied:

"It's possible that the three young generals, Wang Ben, Meng Yi, and Zhang Han, have arrived. They are too far away to see their armor and formation clearly, but they are flying the banners of our Great Qin."

"Oh~"

Fusu drew out his words, then suddenly realized.

He imitated his husband, picked up his water glass, took a slow sip, gently placed it back on the table, nodded seriously, and lowered his voice in a deliberately profound and serious tone: "That's fine, don't worry about it."

"Fusu!"

Zhou Wenqing was both amused and exasperated. She grabbed the folding fan beside her, tapped his forehead with it in a mix of anger and annoyance, and said with a laugh:

"Don't try to learn everything. You're just a kid. Go drink your water."

"Sir!" Fusu covered his forehead, feeling wronged. "I only drank water!"

"You're not allowed to learn that either!"

Fusu quietly raised her eyes and caught a glimpse of the relaxed smile between her husband's brows. She then lowered her eyes again, obediently replied "Yes," picked up the teacup again, and quietly added hot tea for her husband.

On the other side, as soon as Liu Bang's feet touched the ground, he immediately seemed to break free of his cage and "come alive" again.

He stretched out his back with a loud cracking sound, looked up at the sky, squinted, and let out a long breath.

"happy--!"

It should have been done a long time ago. He was cooped up in the carriage for most of the day and felt like he was going to rot.

At this moment, a gentle breeze filled his heart and made every pore on Liu Bang's body feel relaxed and refreshed.

He stretched his legs and feet, swung his arms, and turned his neck, his gaze sweeping over the group of light cavalry passing by him, and he couldn't help but feel itchy again.

He has freedom and the limelight, all he needs is a magnificent steed to ride the wind and dust!

Just then, a particularly crisp sound of horses' hooves came from behind. Liu Bang turned around and looked—

A centurion happened to pass by, his armor gleaming, riding a tall horse, catching up from behind the caravan, seemingly on his way to the front to lead the change of guard.

He was accompanied by several foot soldiers, whose banners, embroidered with insignia, dazzled in the sunlight.

Liu Bang's eyes darted around, then he suddenly straightened his back, put on a stern face, and strode forward, raising his hand and speaking in a loud voice:

"stop!"

Caught off guard, the hundred generals hastily reined in their horses, nearly rearing up. Just as they were about to erupt in anger, they saw it was Liu Bang and calmed themselves down, reining in their horses steadily and politely bowing as they asked:

"It's Liu, the village head. May I ask what brings you here?"

Liu Bang stood with his hands behind his back, gathering his imposing presence, his expression solemn, and said in a deep voice:

"General, my master has ordered me to scout out the enemy's situation. The situation is urgent, but I don't know where to find a fine steed. I beg your help!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes were fixed intently on the tall horse beneath the general, his longing almost plain to be seen.

Unexpectedly, this general was a straightforward person, so honest that he couldn't bend the rules at all, and he didn't catch the obvious hint in his eyes.

Assuming Liu Bang was unfamiliar with the delegation and desperately needed horses, the generals had no suspicions, nodded solemnly, and waved directly to the soldiers behind them:

"I see. Someone, quickly bring Liu, the village head, a horse!"

Liu Bang: "..."

His little scheme fell through immediately, and he almost couldn't keep up the serious and solemn expression on his face.

Alright, that's fine too. It's better than riding in a horse-drawn carriage.

Before long, someone led a chestnut horse trotting over.

The horse has a glossy coat, long hooves, a thick mane, and a spirited demeanor as it paws its hooves with its head held high. It is clearly a fine horse.

Liu Bang: "!!!"

His eyes widened instantly.

As expected of the Qin delegation, any horse they randomly pull out is better than any horse he has ever ridden in his life!

Liu Bang was overjoyed, barely able to contain his delight. He hurriedly took the reins, swiftly mounted the horse, and, sitting on its back, turned and clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice rising several decibels:

"Thank you, General!"

Then, with a tug on the reins and a squeeze of his legs, the horse let out a long neigh and bolted off.

Finally, I can ride a horse and gallop freely!

The horse's hooves kicked up a cloud of dust. The general squinted at the departing figure, muttering in confusion, "Didn't the Commandant say that those coming up ahead were our own people? Why do we still need to scout?"

But then I thought about it again. Liu Bang had been staying by Zhou Neishi's side the whole time, so he must have been acting on Zhou Neishi's orders.

He stroked his chin, thinking to himself that perhaps the Imperial Secretary was cautious and would rather investigate several times than make a careless mistake.

As expected of Zhou Neishi!

Thinking this, Bai Jiang's expression turned serious, and he immediately became extremely focused. With a wave of his hand, he led his soldiers forward to continue their shift, no longer dwelling on the matter.

The sound of horses' hooves gradually faded into the distance, and the wind in the wilderness dispersed the cloud of dust that had been raised.

The foot soldier who had led the horse over glanced back instinctively, and seeing Liu Bang's back now shrunk to a tiny dot, couldn't help but sigh:

"That Liu Tingzhang dared to ride like that right from the start, wow, his horsemanship is quite impressive!"

It is important to know that the finest steeds are the most difficult to tame. Although warhorses are trained and more docile than ordinary horses, they are still fierce creatures. If you urge them on rashly, you will either be thrown off or injured.

Therefore, people usually need to walk slowly for a few steps before riding up to let the horse get used to their weight and breath, and for the horse to understand their temperament and rhythm before urging the horse to speed up.

In the eyes of this foot soldier, Liu Bang's act of mounting his horse and galloping at full speed was the composure and confidence of a seasoned horseman.

Little did they know, Liu Bang was simply... overly excited.