The Eighteenth Hand Rewards

  As soon as Pang Gang's words came out, Wei Tongnian, the governor of Qingzhou who had been standing beside Song Xing, couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

  Since entering the hall, he had been sizing up Pang Gang, and deliberately ignoring him for a long time was also his intention. This wasn't because the prefect wanted to repay kindness with enmity, but rather he wanted to see if the person who saved his beloved concubine's life was truly as calm and wise as his little concubine had said.

  After his own concubine was sent back to the mansion, he met her for the first time and immediately learned about the situation from his beloved concubine. However, he told his concubine that this person remained calm when faced with thousands of taels of silver and was not tempted by those worldly things, and only took a dozen or so pieces of loose silver, which he didn't quite believe, so he deliberately tested him.

  It wasn't until he sent someone to invite Song Xinghe that he came together with Song Xinghe to the side hall to meet Pang Gang and others. At this time, seeing Pang Gang's calm face, answering the official's questions without being arrogant or humble, he couldn't help but feel a few happy thoughts in his heart.

  Wei Tongnian stroked his long beard and smiled as he asked, "Are you the very same Pang Gang who personally beheaded the bandit chief?"

  Pang Gang hastily bowed and replied: "I am indeed Pang Gang!"

  "Hmm!" Wei Tongnian slightly nodded: "This official has heard your speech and it seems like you have read books before?"

  "To be honest with you, sir, I was fortunate enough to have read a few years of books. Although I don't dare say that my reading is good, but I also know the principles of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness."

  "Good, it's hard to come by!"

  Wei Tongnian listened with a smile and didn't speak, Song Xinghe looked at Pang Gang's face and also showed a surprised expression. Pang Gang was calm and composed, his demeanor was satisfactory, but when he heard Pang Gang's passionate words again, it was hard to believe that he was actually from a humble military background.

  Song Xing and Wei looked at each other, then slowly asked: "This time, the Ling Shan Wei's thousand households, deputy thousand households, several hundred households, and hundreds of troops unfortunately died in battle. Although it can be said that this is due to the cunning of the enemy, you yourselves cannot say that you have no responsibility. How do you view this matter?"

  Pang Gang heard and replied without hesitation: "Report to the master, this is a matter that only superiors should consider, I am just a low-ranking soldier, dare not speak rashly."

  After listening to Pang Gang's words, Song Xinghe and Wei Tongnian were even more satisfied with Pang Gang's performance. Of course, this satisfaction is not because they had never considered the matter before, but rather because of the attitude that Pang Gang showed. In fact, this has always been a kind of mentality in China's official circles since ancient times, which is also the reason why one should not meddle in affairs that are not their concern. Although Lu You wrote the poem "Though my position is low, I dare not forget to worry about the country" during the Southern Song Dynasty, and it received praise from scholars throughout history, this kind of thinking cannot be applied in official circles. If even an ordinary citizen were to spend all day worrying about the country, what would be the point of having emperors and court officials? In reality, the idea that "one should not meddle in affairs that are not their concern" is a principle that officials should truly adhere to.

  After hearing Pang Gang's answer, there was another steady and calm evaluation in the hearts of the two seniors in front of him.

  Wei Tong let out a young sigh and said to Song Xing, "Commander, you truly have good fortune, having such a steady and clever subordinate. If not for the iron law set by Taizu, this official would really like to see you give him up."

  The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, had once promulgated an iron law: all military households were not allowed to leave their military status without the emperor's personal decree or until they became Minister of War; otherwise, they would be punished severely. In other words, the descendants of military households could only climb up by joining the army, and this regulation also blocked the way for many young men from military families to move upwards, which is why Wei Tongyue let out such a sigh.

  Song Xinghe heard this and intentionally put on a stern face, feigning anger: "Is the Honorable Prefect suggesting that I, Song, am blind to people's true nature?"

  "Haha... who dares to orchestrate and command the adults? That's a serious crime!" Wei Tongnian and Song Xinghe burst out laughing at each other.

  After laughing, Song Xinghe smiled and encouraged Pang Gang a few words, then said: "Just now, Lord Wei told me that there was a wise and brave person under my command. I didn't quite believe it at first, but now it seems that Lord Wei's words are not in vain!"

  Song Xing and Sui were just casual remarks, but when they reached Pang Gang's ears, they made his heart skip a beat. The cold treatment their group had received earlier was probably intentional on the part of Wei Zhi Prefecture. It seems that the intricacies of officialdom are indeed omnipresent. Perhaps this is similar to the "study time" in later generations' official circles. Is it now time for rewards and promotions?

  And the big strong men who followed behind Pang Gang saw that Commander and Prefect valued Pang Gang so much, several people's thoughts about following Pang Gang also became enthusiastic, especially Li Yuan, a young man with a somewhat impatient temper, who was sweating coldly for his previous rudeness to Pang Gang.

  As expected, Song Xing and then said: "Reward for merit, punishment for fault, this is the iron law of the military. The official rewards with a generous reward to boost morale, Pang Gang you beheaded the bandit leader's head, countless bandits, how can the official not reward? Promoted to the rank of hundred households, rewarded with 60 taels of silver, to encourage. Hope that in the future, you will continue to work hard and live up to your appointment!

  Pang Gang was overjoyed in his heart, and suddenly jumped from a small soldier to the position of Bai Zong, equivalent to jumping from a small soldier to the position of a regimental officer in later generations. This speed is really like sitting on a rocket! With joy in his heart, he quickly knelt down to thank him, one by one receiving the waist card, official uniform, seal, reward silver and other things handed over by Song Xing and the guards beside him, with unspeakable joy in his heart.

  Next, Song Xing and announced the reward for Dazhuang and others. Although they did not rise three ranks like Pang Gang, each of them became a small flag (equivalent to the position of squad leader in later military), which was already quite satisfactory for them.

  Looking at the waist card and seal, even with Pang Gang's calmness, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered. The waist card was made of high-quality paulownia wood, and the copper seal was also exquisitely crafted. From today on, Pang Gang would be a real military officer, no longer having to kneel down and call himself a small person whenever he saw an official.

  Pang Gang touched the reward silver in his hand again. This time, the silver that came down was not the broken silver that Pang Gang had obtained at Wang Dama's house a few days ago. This kind of reward silver is ten taels per ingot, with an arc-shaped waist and two stamps on the ingot. This kind of silver is rarely circulated in the world, and it is generally used for national treasury, so it is cast very well, with inscriptions, time, place, weight, silversmith, and supervising officials all complete. What people call "snowflake silver" refers to this kind of silver.

  While the big and strong men like Da Zhuang and Gou Sheng didn't have any seals or other valuable items, they were overjoyed by the handful of silver coins they had obtained. Fifty taels of silver meant that from now on, they could buy a few mu of thin land in Ling Shan Wei, build a large tile-roofed house, and even ask someone to be their matchmaker to find them a wife. This was something that previously only existed in their dreams, but now it had become a reality, how could they not be ecstatic?

  Although he was overjoyed in his heart, Pang Gang still didn't forget to thank the two nobles in front of him. He bowed again and saluted Song Xing and Bai.

  "Thank you very much for your kindness, sir!"

  Song Xing said with a smile: "Pang Gang, from now on you can be considered an official too. When you see your superior, you should call yourself 'your humble servant'. You must remember this, don't make a fool of yourself."

  "Thank you, sir, for your guidance! I'm deeply grateful!" Pang Gang said after finishing his thanks and straightened up. He then turned to Wei Tongnian beside him and thanked him again. He knew that without Wei Tongnian's support, he would never have been able to jump to the position of hundred households in one go.

  Seeing Pang Gang being so courteous and polite, Wei Tongnian and Song Xinghe both nodded in secret, it seems that this Pang Gang is indeed a person who knows how to repay kindness, worth pulling over.

  "Wei Tongnian laughed and said, 'Alright, everyone stop staring! I've prepared a table of fine wine in the inner hall to celebrate your achievements. Come on, come on, let's all go to the inner hall for dinner!'"

  "Thank you, Your Honor, for your kindness and generosity... I am deeply grateful..."

  "Haha, please go ahead..."