C20 Royalty and Theocracy

Benaiah and Solomon led the army and the curious people to Joab's hiding place for the second time.

Although Benaiah went back to the inner palace to ask Solomon for his opinion because he could not make up his mind, he was not a careless man. Before he left, he asked some of the soldiers to stay. They hid near the tent with swords and swords in their hands.

If Joab left the tent and escaped, they would chase after him and kill him with spears and swords.

However, Joab did not know whether he had guessed what Benaiah was thinking or was too cautious. Until Benaiah returned, Joab did not even look outside.

"That's because he knew you wanted to kill him from the very beginning, Benaiah."

Solomon stood behind Benaiah and looked at the tent, shaking his head. "At least Joab is smarter than Adonijah."

David was already dead. It was very easy for Solomon to kill Joab now. The simplest thing was that he did not give Joab any food. It was enough to starve him to death in the dungeon.

But that was meaningless. The only thing Solomon got after killing Joab was "complete the mission."

In Solomon's opinion, the system's mission should not be his goal, but the direction of his guidance.

If he did not have enough ability, long-term goals, and a systematic plan, even with the system as a cheat, he would not be able to accomplish it.

Except for the first few days, Solomon was indeed excited for a period of time. After that, he began to consciously train his habit of not being restricted by the system's mission.

Whether it was relying on the System too much, ignoring or hating the System, it wasn't a mature viewpoint. They were all a little too extreme.

In Solomon's view, practical and useful were useless - but he could not spoil himself.

Since he had decided to kill Joab, he couldn't just kill him. One step at a time, even if it was for ordinary people's living plans, it was too stupid and passive.

During the seven days that David had died, Solomon didn't do anything else. Instead, he took the list with the Prophet and sorted out the interpersonal relationships between Joab and Adonijah. He picked out all the people who were worth being wary of.

In addition, he and Zadok also picked out some of the more stubborn and inflexible Oracles.

Among the people Solomon brought out this time, besides the actors he had arranged for, most of the remaining people were the restless ones.

In a sense, this could also be considered as one of the ways to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys.

"Marshal Joab, the king has ordered that you must die today!"

After Benaiah nodded at Solomon, he shouted loudly and walked forward.

Through the curtains, he shouted loudly at Joab, "The king has ordered you to come out, Marshal Joab!"

... "No, I will die here!"

Joab was silent for a long time, then he shouted with a trembling but firm voice, The king ordered you to come out, Marshal Joab!" Come in, Benaiah! Kill me!"

"I don't want to kill you inside, Marshal Joab."

Benaiah bit his lips and said from the bottom of his heart, "I don't want your blood to profane the Lord."

"Of course you don't want to... and you don't dare, Benaiah."

Joab's back was facing Benaiah. He grabbed the horn of the altar with both hands and said calmly, "You are a devout believer, a brave warrior. You love the army. Look, you still call me General. "

Although his tone was calm, there was sweat dripping down his forehead, dripping onto the altar. His calves were also a little soft, with signs of cramps.

Benaiah was silent for a breath, then he pulled the sword out from his waist.

Hearing the familiar sound of the sword being unsheathed, Joab immediately said, "Stop for a moment, Benaiah. Listen to me... You and I both know that no one in Israel can replace King David. Because King David is special. Apart from him, anyone else who becomes the king will cause Israel and the Empire of Yu to split."

After saying that, Joab turned around and looked at Benaiah with a sincere gaze. "Benaiah, my brother... Do you think that I will think that Adonijah can become a good king? I am not an ignorant civilian, Benaiah. "

Joab did not wait for Benaiah to speak, and continued to speak quickly," That's right, the people need a king, and as long as there is a king, the people can be at ease... But Benaiah, a king is not necessarily a ruler. "

"He can only be a symbol..."

"How dare you, Joab!"

Facing Joab's ambitious words, Benaiah immediately broke out in cold sweat and shouted sternly, "You actually want to take power privately!"

"It's not me, Benaiah! It's the army!"

Joab shouted, "Can a priest make the land harvest? Can a king make the border peaceful? Stop messing around, Benaiah, you and I both know... Only the army is the power of the country! Thus, only armies have the right to speak! "

He stepped forward and held Benaiah's shoulder. He looked into Benaiah's eyes earnestly. "Israel needs an army, Benaiah! Warrior Benaiah! The army needs me! The army can't leave me! The army needs me... but they also need you."

Joab's face was full of sweat, but he revealed a confident smile. He nodded at Benaiah and said in a low voice, "Kill Solomon, Benaiah. You and I will have full power... I know some of the priests. I mean, the real priest is not a liar like Zadok."

He suddenly stepped forward and startled Benaiah, who was at a loss for what to do. But he only hugged Benaiah and kissed him.

After that, he turned around and supported the altar once again. He said in a low voice, "As long as you listen to me, Israel will be able to regain its glory in our hands."

"But the king has an order..."

"That is only the king's order! Benaiah!"

With his back facing Benaiah, Joab shouted in a low voice, "This is the tent! A god's tent - do you listen to the king or the god?! "

Hearing this, Benaiah fell silent.

He held the sword in his hand and slowly put it back into its sheath. He turned around and walked out of the tent.

Joab took a deep breath when he heard the voice gradually fade away. He relaxed his tensed nerves and took out the sharp metal piece hidden in his sleeve and placed it on the altar.

"Although I don't worship you, you really saved me..."

Joab lowered his head and said to the altar in a low voice.

However, before his voice faded, Benaiah, whose back was facing him, suddenly drew his sword. He turned around and took a step forward, stabbing the sharp blade in his hand into Joab's back.

Joab's eyes bulged, and blood flowed out of his pupils. His upper body was trembling, and his throat was making gurgling sounds. He coughed out blood. "You... Benaiah... this..."

"I'm sorry, Joab."

Benaiah calmly turned the sword in his hand. The blade of the sword pierced through the front part of Joab's chest, causing blood to spurt out and stain the altar.

Joab wanted to reach out and grab the blade he took out, but Benaiah nailed his hand into the altar with the small knife in his arms.

Benaiah loosened his grip on the sword and pushed it forward. He reached out and took out the blade Joab had hidden. He gently pressed it on Joab's neck, which was still breathing.

Benaiah said in a low voice, "I will listen to the king."

Then he pushed the blade and stabbed it into Joab's throat.