Chapter Forty-Eight: Stopping the Official in His Tracks

  After Pang Gang and others sat down, the originally noisy hall suddenly became much quieter. Some people who had drunk a few more cups of Huangtang wine were loudly talking, but they also seemed to have felt the chill emanating from the bodies of those soldiers, and their intoxication was somewhat sobered, speaking in hushed tones.

  Pang Gang's soldiers this time were all elite troops from the Wanghai Fortress, having undergone several months of rigorous training and actual combat in the Quanyashan campaign. Their fighting strength was already among the best in the Ming dynasty's garrison forces, although they couldn't be considered seasoned veterans yet. Compared to the soldiers from Qingzhou Prefecture, however, they were far superior. Having seen bloodshed before, their every move now naturally carried an air of sternness and killing intent.

  But the ones who felt it most deeply were those few men next to him, for whom the soldiers and officials were their arch-nemesis in their line of work. In later words, the attribute of the soldiers and officials was specifically designed to suppress people like them. Moreover, Comrade Pang's increasingly powerful aura after becoming an official would make them feel constrained and uncomfortable, which is a very normal thing.

  The shop owner is naturally a clever person, and the waiter has seen many people coming and going. He understands that there are two types of people who cannot be offended: one is the local idlers, although they are annoying, but offending them will make it difficult to do business. The other is the military officers, these people come to the store to eat and stay, if they are happy, they will give you some small money, if not, not only can't get the money, but also may be slapped a few times. Especially the latter, after beating you, he pats his butt and walks away, you don't even have a place to complain.

  Soon after Pang Gang and others sat down, good wine and dishes were served like flowing water. Pang Gang and the soldiers were also very hungry and started eating voraciously without waiting for all the dishes to be served.

  While Pang Gang and the others were eating on their own, a young man not far away asked the merchant-like old man beside him in a low voice, "Uncle Kui, who are those government troops? I feel that they are somewhat different from the government troops we usually see. However, I can't quite put my finger on what's different about them."

  The old man, after all, had eaten many years of rice and his powers of observation were far stronger than those of the young master. He lowered his voice: "Young Master, these soldiers are absolutely not ordinary, you see the armor they wear and the weapons they carry are all top-notch, definitely not the kind of rubbish that ordinary soldiers or guards would have. And look at the bulging bags on their backs, judging from the shape, those should be strong bows and arrows. Moreover, since they entered the store until now, even when the officer came out, those soldiers didn't say a word, which means this is definitely an elite troop that follows orders strictly. What puzzles old me is that I've been running around Qingzhou City for many years, but I've never seen such an elite troop before?"

  The young man's eyes lit up after hearing this: "Hey, Uncle Kui, can we ask these soldiers to escort us to Yangzhou? I reckon that with such a fine troop guarding us, which bandit would dare to mess with our goods?"

  Kui Shu listened and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Young Master, let's not mention that the master who can afford to raise such elite soldiers must be wealthy. Even if they are willing to escort us back to Yangzhou, can you guarantee that they won't be tempted by wealth and bring us disaster? You should know that in this era, 'bandits pass like a comb, soldiers pass like a sieve, officials pass like a razor', those soldiers who become ruthless are even more cruel than bandits."

  Kui Shu's words made the young master very disappointed, he lowered his head and pondered for a long time, suddenly raised his head and said firmly: "Kui Shu, we are originally gamblers in doing business, if we can't deliver on time, then what awaits Gu Bao Zhai is inevitably the fate of closing down. Rather than waiting for death, it's better to take a gamble. Gu Bao Zhai has already reached this point, and it can't get any worse, I think we might as well ask these officials and soldiers for help, if they can help us, then we can get through this difficulty, if we really encounter evil people, then that's just the fate of my Kong family, Gu Bao Zhai deserves to be taken over by the Sun family!"

  Listening to the sorrowful tone of Master Xiao Dong, Uncle Kui felt a pang of sadness in his heart. Was it possible that the once-famous Ju Bao Zhai in Yangzhou was going to disappear like this?

  At this time, Kuai Shu was heartbroken, while Pang Gang, who had already eaten two bowls of rice, let out a comfortable burp, picked up the wine cup in front of him and took a sip with relish. Hmm, it's authentic Qingzhou rice wine, the flavor is very mellow.

  Having eaten and drunk his fill, Pang Gang now had the leisure to take a closer look around him. This large hall of about 100 square meters was not short of guests, it seemed that yesterday's heavy snow had trapped many guests here. However, if the snow didn't stop tomorrow morning, he might have to stay here for a few more days.

  When Pang Gang shifted his gaze back from afar to the corner beside him, he couldn't help but pause slightly when he saw these few men beside him again. The leader of the group was over forty years old, with a hint of ruggedness on his face and eyes that were both piercing and cunning, exuding a strong aura of a Jianghu rogue.

  Next to him, the three men also had a similar temperament, occasionally whispering a few words in his ear, apparently taking him as the leader. At the same time, Pang Gang also noticed that these people's hands were very rough, with calluses on their index fingers and tiger mouths, obviously accustomed to holding weapons.

  At this time, a Han man's fleeting glance was noticed by him, which was a gaze with fear and ferocity. This kind of gaze made Pang Gang feel very uncomfortable. Since becoming the head of the hundred households, Pang Gang had also been a master who said one thing and did another in Wang Haibao. The ancients said: "The air changes, the body changes", after several months of tempering, Pang Gang's temperament had gradually become more stern and authoritative like a military man and an official. Now seeing such a gaze made him very uncomfortable.

  However, Qingzhou was not his territory, and he didn't want to get involved in anything more, so he withdrew his gaze. But as a Han man inadvertently lifted the hem of his robe, revealing a flash of cold light inside, although it was only for an instant, sharp-eyed Pang Gang saw that it was a short knife, extremely sharp!

  Now Pang Tong could no longer sit still, according to the Ming Code, except for soldiers, catchers, and inspectors of various places, only those with a Xiucai degree can carry weapons when walking. Others who carry weapons will be considered as violating the law and should be severely punished. These people with a strong aura of villainy would not be officials or soldiers, let alone scholars.

  "Could it be the notorious thief, Wang Yang?" As soon as he thought of this, Pang Gang's gaze shot towards those few men, making them break out in cold sweat. After a while, the leader of the group felt that something was amiss and whispered to his companions, whereupon they all stood up and were about to head towards the back rooms when suddenly a loud shout came from behind.

  "All four of you, stand up straight for this official!"

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