Chapter 66: Seeking Help (Seeking Collection, Seeking Recommendation)

  At the time when Gu Shou and Sun Zhi were so anxious on the city wall that they jumped with anxiety, in the Kong Mansion, Pang Gang was persuading the father and son of the Kong family to move their property to Qingzhou Prefecture.

  "Father-in-law, Shilin brother, Yangzhou is not a place to stay for long. As long as the Sun father and son are there, they will strike the Treasure Pavilion with all their might every day. The common saying goes that people move and trees die, why must you be stuck in Yangzhou? You can start anew in Qingzhou!"

  Kong Wen sighed and said, "My son-in-law, I know what you're saying, but moving house is no trivial matter. Our Kong family has been here for generations, and the honor and shame of our entire family are closely tied to Yangzhou. It's not easy to just pick up and move everything at once."

  Kong Lin added, "Chao Dong, you don't know that our family's main business is indeed the jewelry industry, but in Yangzhou, we also have a lot of land. If we sell it all at once, the buyer will definitely try to lower the price as much as possible, and the loss will be too great. Even if we want to get rid of it, we can't do it overnight; such a large household can't be moved in just a year or two."

  Pang Gang sighed, he was really defeated by this father and son, what time is it now still attached to that little property, really want money but not life.

  Just as Pang Gang was at a loss, two sneaky figures were standing behind the screen in the side hall, quietly eavesdropping. When they heard Kong Lin's words, one of the figures accidentally touched the screen and made a slight noise, which immediately startled Pang Gang.

  "What a person!"

  Pang Gang let out a loud shout and drew the curved knife from his waist, charging forward. With one swift slash, he split the screen in two, revealing the two startled figures inside.

  "Miss Kong?"

  "What's Orchid?"

  "Sister!"

  The three people in the side hall were shocked to see Kong Rulan and Ling'er in a daze, these two had been scared stiff by Pang Gang's previous knife, the side hall was now quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

  After a good while, Ling'er was the first to let out a loud wail as she came into the world. This cry didn't just stop at startling everyone, it also left the culprit who had caused all this in a state of panic.

  Pang Gang sheathed his sword with a wry smile: "Miss Kong, how did you end up here? I thought it was just the servants eavesdropping. If our conversation earlier were to leak out, it would bring disaster upon the Kong Manor."

  At this time, Kong Wen, who had reacted, scolded angrily: "What nonsense! We are discussing important matters, you two girls came to listen to what, hurry back."

  Although Kong Ruo Lan was also frightened, she bit her silver teeth and secretly glanced at Pang Gang, gathering her courage to say: "Father, I think...I think that Young Master Pang is right. Now the Sun family father and son have a deep hatred for our Kong Manor, if we continue to stay in Yangzhou, it's only a matter of time before they plot against us. Since ancient times, there has never been a saying that goes 'thousand days of defense can withstand thousand days of thievery'. Even if we are extremely cautious, it is still impossible to defend against everything. Now, moving immediately will definitely result in some losses, but it's better than losing everything later on."

  As soon as Kong Rulan said this, Pang Gang on the side couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He didn't expect that his seemingly delicate and timid fiancée would have the courage to cut off her wrist like a hero. It seems that he really can't underestimate women.

  "Alas, you silly girl." Kong Wen pointed at Kong Ruolan with a mixture of laughter and tears: "Don't you think Father doesn't know this principle? But our family is large and prosperous, so we must consider the pros and cons of every action. We can't just rush into things like those small households that pack up their bags and leave."

  Kong Rulan persuaded again: "Dad! Some things should be abandoned when they should be abandoned."

  "Don't say it again, I am..."

  "Old master, young master, the Magistrate has arrived at our mansion!"

  Kong Wen had not finished speaking when a hurried footsteps came from outside, and a servant ran in shouting: "Master, Gu Zhi Fu has arrived. He specifically asked to see the young master and is waiting in the front hall."

  "Looking for Chao Dong?" Kong Lin asked cautiously from the side: "How many people did that Gu Zhi Prefecture bring over."

  Pang Gang's brutal beating of Sun Xi Yi was a "feat" that everyone in the Kong Mansion knew about. The servant did not dare to be slow and respectfully replied, "Reporting to Young Master, the Magistrate only brought two yamen runners over and looked very anxious."

  "Two servants? So he's not looking for trouble then." Pang Gang thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll go over right away."

  "Let's go together then." Kong Wen also nodded, "I'm afraid Gu Zhi Fu really has something important to attend to. Shi Lin, Chao Dong, let's go together."

  ..........................

  In the outer courtyard of Kung's mansion, Master Kung was anxiously sitting in a chair and occasionally looking outside. Before long, a hurried footsteps sounded, and Kong Wen entered with Kong Lin and Pang Gang.

  Upon seeing Magistrate Gu, Kong Wen and Kong Lin immediately knelt down and said in unison: "Your humble subjects have seen the great Magistrate."

  "No need for formalities, please get up." Gu Shou helped the two up and then saw a tall young man bowing to him: "Junior officer Qingzhou Lingshan Wei Baihu Peng Gang has seen Master Prefect."

  Logically, as a fifth-grade bailiff, Pang Gang should also kneel down and pay his respects to the county magistrate. However, since he had already determined that Sun Shangxiang and his son were in cahoots with him, Pang Gang didn't bother with those empty formalities and simply cupped his hands together in a perfunctory greeting. But now that the situation was urgent, Gu Shou also didn't bother with these niceties and directly spoke up.

  "No need for formalities, you are Pang Baihu from Qingzhou?"

  "It is I, Pang Gong!" replied Pang Gong calmly.

  Gu Shou squinted his eyes and looked at Pang who had just spoken, "Pang Baihu, I heard that you brought several hundred elite soldiers with you to Yangzhou this time?"

  "Return, sir, there aren't that many!" Pang Gang shook his head. "This time, I've only brought one hundred and twenty soldiers and one hundred logistical troops."

  Gu Shou said bluntly: "This official doesn't care how many soldiers you've brought, but for now this official wants to temporarily borrow the troops including you, are you willing?"

  "Sir, can you explain the reason?"

  Gu Shou's expression turned stern as he said, "Just now, this prefecture received news that a group of Japanese pirates is approaching Yangzhou. Currently, the military strength within Yangzhou City is severely insufficient, and we need to mobilize you and your soldiers. I hope you can understand the bigger picture and join forces with the Yangzhou garrison to resist the Japanese pirates."

  "Have the Japanese pirates fled to Yangzhou?"

  As soon as Gu Shou's words came out, the people in the hall were shocked. Would Yangzhou, which had not suffered from war for over 200 years, fall into the flames of war today?

  "What's going on, how could the Japanese pirates invade all the way to Yangzhou? Are the troops stationed in Hai'an and Ruzhen all dead?" Kong Wen was shocked and frightened as he came back to his senses.

  "Governor, can't the troops in Yangzhou City resist those Japanese pirates?" Kong Lin found it strange that with the military strength inside Yangzhou City, they shouldn't be so panicked about the Japanese pirates.

  Gu Shou said somewhat awkwardly, "Yes, currently there are only over a thousand soldiers and more than a thousand militiamen in Yangzhou City. With so few people, it's difficult to defend the four city gates and walls, so we need your help, Lord Pang. Please be assured that if we can repel the Japanese pirates this time, I will immediately submit a memorial to the emperor to reward you!"

  In order to coax Pang's troops, Gu Shou put down the airs of a provincial governor and promised a large number of empty checks that were worthless.

  However, Gu Zhi's words did not move Pang Gang, he just calmly asked: "How far are the Japanese pirates from Yangzhou City?"

  "Now the Japanese pirates should be in Yangzhou, I hope Commander Pang will order his soldiers to reinforce the North Gate as soon as possible." Gu Shou looked at this hundred households with a mixture of emotions, feeling stifled in his heart. As a fourth-rank prefect, he had to speak humbly to a low-ranking officer, which made him feel embarrassed. He also thought that this rough and unrefined martial artist would take advantage of the situation to extort money from him, and he was mentally prepared to suffer a great loss.

  Who would have thought that Pang Gang didn't utter a single useless word, and directly said: "No problem, I'll immediately lead the troops to the North Gate to resist the Japanese pirates!"