Chapter 41: Who to Cooperate With?

  Qingzhou Metropolitan Commandant's Gate

  As the highest command department of Qingzhou Garrison, the Commander's Mansion was naturally built with a grandeur that was unmatched. This great hall was no exception, its clear blue brick structure looked majestic and atmospheric, while the interior decorations were also resplendent in gold and jade. At the entrance stood four soldiers with their chests out and bellies protruding, fully clad in armor.

  Hao Da returned to Qingzhou and was now standing respectfully beside Song Xinghe in the grand hall of the governor's mansion, his head bowed and eyes cast downward, not daring to utter a word.

  Song Xing sat by a tea table, wearing a simple green robe, his buttocks on a superior chair made of Huangli wood. With his long beard and elegant demeanor, it was hard to associate him with a military commander. He picked up the exquisite tea cup from Jingdezhen on the tea table, lifted the lid, gently swept away the floating tea leaves, and took a sip. The warm tea water entered his throat, leaving a refreshing fragrance in his mouth.

  Song Xing put down his teacup slowly and asked, "You're saying that Pang Gang hit one of your subordinates, a hundred households, at the celebration banquet?"

  Hao Da hastily replied: "In response to your honor, that's right! Pang Gang is a violent and fierce person. My subordinates just played a joke on him, but he actually hurt people. It's really unreasonable and tyrannical. I think it's hard to convince the masses if we don't give him some punishment!"

  Recommended! Also, thank you for the reward from Dazhi Ruoyu1!

  Song Xing looked at Hao Da with a somewhat playful gaze and smiled slightly, saying: "Isn't that so? But what this official heard was that your subordinate provoked Pang Gang first, and after starting a fight, still tried to pull out a knife to hurt someone, only to be beaten by Pang Gang!"

  Hao Da said with a stern expression: "Sir, although Hei Tie is not one of us, he is still someone from our Qingzhou Prefecture. Not showing respect to the monk but only to Buddha, he is so rude and lawless. If we don't teach him a lesson now, who knows what kind of trouble he will stir up in the future."

  "That's enough!" Song Xing waved his hand with a displeased expression: "Hao Dazuo, Hao Dazuo, I've heard about your actions during the suppression of bandits in Dog Tooth Mountain. Generally speaking, you did a good job, especially when you rewarded Pang Gang generously and gave him 40% of the spoils. That was well done. However, your biggest mistake is being too protective of your underlings. It's true that Hei Tie is one of your trusted men, but he envied others for their rewards and provoked them with his words. This was already wrong, and what's even more unacceptable is that after being beaten to the ground, he still tried to harm people with a weapon. Is this how comrades should interact? He wanted to kill someone! And you, on the other hand, scolded Pang Gang in front of all the officers. Is this something a superior should do?"

  Song Xinghe's tone became increasingly severe, and his originally gentle face also revealed a hint of murderous intent. At this time, Hao Dazong's head had already completely hung down, and the cold wind in mid-October couldn't stop the cold sweat that broke out on his forehead. Song Xing's voice, which wasn't very loud, was no less than the thunderous drumming in his ears.

  "This time, if you scold a subordinate who has done nothing wrong in such a casual manner, aren't you afraid that next time when you go into battle together, he will be disobedient and not listen to your orders?"

  "How dare he!" Hao Da retorted somewhat indignantly, "If he dares to disobey orders, I'll immediately apprehend and punish him."

  "Oh, to punish the crime!" Song Xing and Leng sneered and asked: "If things get even bigger, he takes his subordinates to become bandits or simply defect to the rebels. What would you do then?"

  "Hao Dai was stunned for a moment, and after a long time, he muttered: "Impossible? Is that kid so bold?"

  "Ah, you!" Song Xinghe stood up and pointed at Hao Da with a tone of "hating iron for not becoming steel", saying: "In vain have you followed me for so many years, yet you don't even know such a simple truth. Pang Gang is a talented person, just look at how he trained such an elite troop in just three short months, it's clear that this guy is no ordinary person. If used well, he will definitely be a great help in the future. But what about you? You're actually willing to push him away because of your own narrow-mindedness and some trivial matter, isn't that extremely foolish?"

  "Sir, I was wrong." Hao's dark face had turned a deep purple with cold sweat.

  Song Xing snorted, "Now that you know your mistake, it's not too late. You should also properly discipline your subordinates. What's the use of being jealous and envious, and stealing military achievements? If they have real ability, let them go kill some Tartars and come back, I'll immediately promote him!"

  "Yes, I'll go and teach this useless guy a lesson right away, let him reflect on his mistakes." Hao Da replied in a series of nods.

  "Never mind, you don't have to bother with this matter, I will find time to talk to Pang Gang myself." After Song Xinghe finished speaking, he put down his teacup and lifted the lid, only lightly brushing off the tea leaves without taking a sip. Seeing this, Hao Dajun knew that his superior was already politely sending him away, so he didn't dare to linger and immediately took his leave.

  After Hao Da's departure, Song Xing showed a hint of playful expression in his eyes and said lightly: "Pang Gang, it seems that this official has underestimated you. In just three months, you can train such elite soldiers, which is half the time expected by this official. Such excellent soldiers are rare even in Qingzhou Prefecture. Are you really born with knowledge?"

  Just as Song Xing and Hao Da were reprimanding, Pang Gang was also holding a meeting with Dazhuang, Li Xian, Hua Yan, Wang Zhi and others in the main hall of his own house. Pang Gang's bright eyes scanned left and right, and he said in a low voice: "Everyone, we must grasp this iron mine in our own hands. In the future, the soldiers' weapons, armor and other things can be self-sufficient. With the craftsmen, they can make big knives, long spears and armor. Otherwise, everything will be controlled by others."

  "That's right, Wangjiatun was originally under the jurisdiction of Wanghaibao, and this iron mine is naturally ours." Da Zhuang shouted first, and everyone nodded frequently.

  Although the reconstruction of Wanghai Building is not long, everyone has invested a lot of effort, and the mines located in the jurisdiction of Wanghai Building are naturally considered to be their own.

  Compared to Da Zhuang, Wang Zhi considered things more carefully: "Our troops in Wanghai Castle are weak and few, how can we resist those wolves who come after hearing the news? Don't forget that our master is only a hundred households, there are many people in Qingzhou City with higher official positions than Master Pang. Although the mine is within our master's jurisdiction, if they have ulterior motives, it's not certain whether the mine will still be under our control."

  "How dare they! That mine is ours, without it where would our troops' armor come from? Whoever dares to move it, I'll go in with a white blade and come out with a red one!" Da Zhuang stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with anger.

  "Great, you're being rude while resting, sit down quickly!"

  Pang Gang sat on the side, his face also quite unpleasant. He had already suffered enough from not having materials. Last time, he spent all his savings just buying tens of thousands of catties of raw iron from Qingzhou, and barely managed to gather equipment for over 200 people. If they were to form a team of thousands or even tens of thousands in the future, wouldn't that be taking his life? It was only with great difficulty that he found out there was an iron mine within his jurisdiction, but if he didn't have the power to keep it, all his ideals would be empty talk. In the end, it still came down to his own strength and official position being too small.

  At this time, Hua Yan also spoke up beside him, "Sir, the mine has always been a treasure trove. If news leaks out, it will inevitably attract a pack of hungry wolves. Judging from your current strength, you can't keep such a big piece of fat meat safe. If you want to occupy this mine for a long time, you need to pull in a few reliable allies."

  After a hint from Huayan, Pang Gang immediately understood and his eyes lit up: "You mean to go to Qingzhou Prefecture for help!"

  Huayan saw that Pang Gang had understood his intention, and smiled slightly: "Of course we have to go? Moreover, this matter is better done sooner rather than later, the longer we drag it out, the more unfavorable it will be for us."