Chapter Thirty-Nine: Short of Silver

  After this incident, the celebration banquet naturally ended in disarray. Not long after Hao Da left, two night watchmen came and carried away Hei Tie, who had been knocked unconscious.

  All the officers were speechless, Bin Shi Qian walked over with a twitching mouth corner wanting to say something, but for some reason, when he got to the edge of his mouth, he swallowed it back, then shook his head and left. It was Qi Wu Ming who came over instead

  He patted Pang Gang's shoulder and said, "Brother Pang, Hao Qianhu also has his difficulties. However, this tiger skin didn't come easily to us. If it's really impossible for you, then go to Qingzhou yourself!"

  Pang Gang just knew that Qi Wuming's words meant that if Hao Dayong went back to make things difficult for him, he should go to Qingzhou himself to report the situation to Song Xinghe, and Song would surely give him a fair deal. However, Pang Gang had never thought of going to Qingzhou to explain anything to Song Xinghe, as such matters only get more complicated with time. Moreover, even if Hao Dayong dared to make things difficult for him in the future, it wouldn't be that easy, although his own Wei was under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou, Hao Dayong was not the commander of Lingshan Wei, and wanting to make things difficult for him wasn't that simple either.

  "Brother Qi, I appreciate your kind intentions, but if Hao Da thinks he can make things difficult for me, it won't be that easy! Otherwise, I wouldn't mind letting him know what regret feels like!" A hint of coldness seeped into Pang Gang's casual tone.

  "Brother Pang, you wouldn't be thinking of doing something rash and becoming a bandit, would you? This position of yours is not easily obtained." Qi Wuming suddenly became anxious, thinking that Pang Gang was considering killing the officials and becoming a bandit. Although they hadn't known each other for long, they had hit it off immediately, and he really didn't want to see Pang Gang take that path.

  "Hahaha……" Pang Gang burst out laughing, "Qi Ge, look where your mind has gone to. Even if I'm stupid, I won't take that road of no return, besides……"

  "No way!" Qi Wuming hastily cut off Pang Gang's words: "This matter is neither big nor small, you just need to be careful and I think there won't be any problem. You take care of yourself, brother, I'll leave first!" After finishing speaking, Qi Wuming slipped away towards his tent, leaving only Pang Gang standing alone on the spot.

  "Besides, this already rotten to the core Ming dynasty may collapse at any time, how long can I still be a Ming military officer?" Looking at Qi Wuming's fleeing figure disappearing into the night, Pang Gang muttered to himself.

  Nothing was said that night, and the next day everyone parted ways at the original location. Hao Da took dozens of his men and hundreds of captives back to Qingzhou. The Ling Shan Wei hundred officials also returned to their respective garrisons and Wang Hai Fortress after parting with Pang Gang.

  When Pang Gang led the soldiers who went out to battle, escorting the spoils of war back to Wanghai Fortress, the entire fortress was stirred up. Li Xian and Li Yuan, father and son, who were left behind to guard the fortress, led everyone in the fortress to come out and welcome them. Seeing that everyone had returned safely, bringing back several hundred stones of grain and a full box of silver, Wanghai Fortress was filled with a joyful atmosphere. Amidst the excitement, many old and young people inside the fortress also shed tears of excitement when they saw their family members return home safely.

  The soldiers who went to battle returned to Wanghai Fortress, and the fortress immediately became lively. The soldiers who stayed behind saw their companions return one by one with the rewards from General Pang in their pockets, and they couldn't help but feel envious. However, after General Pang announced that he would give a reward of one dou of rice to each of the personnel who stayed behind, the cheers of the crowd reached an even higher level...

  In the hundred-household village of Wang Hai Fortress, Pang Gang sat in his own room with a brazier burning brightly on the floor. He was sitting next to the brazier, and beside him were the remaining silver coins after distributing rewards. In this era, there was no distinction between public and private property, and in Wang Hai Fortress, Pang Gang was completely an emperor, managing all people and finances, and naturally owning all the wealth within the fortress. At first, Pang Gang, who was not quite used to these things, had even asked Zan Dian Hua Yan who he should ask for his military salary as the hundred-household leader of Wang Hai Fortress.

  At that time, Huayan almost laughed to death, until Huayan explained to Pang Gang that he belonged to the garrison army, and officers below the rank of hundred households in the garrison army did not have military pay. All the wealth of Wanghai Fortress was his own, so why bother with military pay?

  When he first heard the news, Pang Gang was so shocked that he almost had a cerebral hemorrhage. Is everything mine? This surprise is too big! With Hua Yan's explanation, Pang Gang finally understood another aspect of the Ming dynasty's Wei Suo system. The Wei Suo system in the Ming dynasty was generally hereditary, meaning that the position of hundred households that Pang Gang currently holds in Wanghai Fortress can be said to be lifelong. If he doesn't get promoted or do something treasonous and get dismissed by the emperor, everything within the tens of miles around Wanghai Fortress is under his control, and the lives and deaths of everyone here are also at his mercy. Moreover, Pang Gang can pass on this title, including the position of hundred households, to his son, grandson, and so on, generation after generation, until the Ming dynasty ceases to exist.

  "Nima's, who said the Wei-Suo system is a crappy system? This is clearly a system that doesn't want you to be too happy! From now on, whoever says the Wei-Suo system is bad will get a slap in the face from me!" As a beneficiary of the system, Comrade Pang Gang immediately had a pleased expression. This system was truly a blessing for officials! Although he was quite excited at first, he soon came back to his senses and let out a sigh. It seemed that the life of the Ming dynasty, which had been prolonged by this system for over 200 years, was about to come to an end, and even if the system was good, he wouldn't be able to enjoy it for many more years.

  He sighed, put the few pieces of silver in his hand back into the box, and began to think again. From the warehouse of Dogtooth Mountain, he searched out more than 2,000 taels of silver, took 40% for himself, which was more than 800 taels, and after dividing it among the soldiers who participated in the battle, there were still more than 500 taels left. These silvers seemed not to be a small amount, but now there were too many places where silver was needed, everywhere needed money, and he was also very worried.

  The foundation of Wanghai Building is too thin now, and there isn't even a decent store in the whole building. Such a place cannot attract large numbers of migrants to settle down.

  "We must think of a way to make money! With silver, we can buy more raw iron to exchange for weapons and equipment. With silver, we can renovate the outer city wall of Wanghai Castle into a stronger rhombus-shaped fortress. With silver, we can appease the hearts of the soldiers in the castle." Pang Gang muttered to himself, sitting silently in his chair, but his mind was racing rapidly.

  "How can I quickly accumulate a substantial amount of money to improve my strength?" Pang Gang thought and thought, his brain was almost bursting.

  "Huh? That's it, I can set up a cement factory! Once this thing is made, there will be no problem selling it!" A flash of inspiration struck him, and Pang Gang excitedly slapped his thigh and stood up.

  After graduating from university, Pang Gang had worked in a cement factory for half a year and was very familiar with the cement production process. It can be said that now as long as there is limestone and clay, and a powder-making machine driven by livestock and a standing kiln are built, Pang Gang has the confidence to produce cement.

  Cement is an indispensable material in various buildings of later generations. The history of its appearance can be traced back to 1796, when the British Parker burned a brown cement called Roman cement or natural cement with mud and limestone. In 1824, the British Aspdin again burned cement with limestone and clay, and the color after hardening was similar to the stone used for building in Portland, England, and was named Portland cement, and obtained a patent. In 1813, French civil engineer Biga discovered that the performance of cement made from a mixture of three parts of limestone and one part of clay was the best. Since then, cement has appeared extensively in later generations.

  Once the cement plant is built, whether it's building the walls of Wanghaibao Castle, repairing roads and bridges, or building houses, they can all be used. Just thinking about the 1.868 billion tons produced nationwide every year, accounting for more than 50% of global production, makes me realize how great the demand for cement in our country is. Suddenly, Pang Gang felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

  Just as he thought of this, Pang Gang stood up and was about to go out to discuss with someone, when he saw Li Xian walking in from outside.

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