Chapter Ten: Pong De's Ambition

  The sunlight at noon is extremely dazzling.

  I was so nervous last night that I didn't fall asleep until very late, and now I've overslept till noon.

  Of course, there are also procedures for changing troops and handing over government affairs today. However, Wen has Peng Da and Wu has Peng Er. I'm still so young, and my old father didn't think of letting me worry about it at all.

  I suddenly thought of two questions at the same time.

  One of them is that the two Pang brothers have great power.

  Due to the situation, my family's control over military power is very simple: Father naturally has the final say, but in normal times, training and leading troops are absolutely led by Pang De. I and Ma Dai have only led a few thousand people to charge and kill once, and now each of us has only 2,000 guards under direct leadership - but those are just nominal, we still entrust them to Second Brother Pang to manage and train together. In addition, my elder sister also has 2,000 people, but she will eventually marry Pang De, so it doesn't make sense.

  In terms of government affairs, it's even simpler. Pong De, I, Xiao Dai, and Big Sister don't want to ask about it at all. The four of us are absolutely big rough men. Old Dad is not good at handling documents in his daily life, basically entrusting everything to Pong Rou, and he only instructs some major events.

  Of course I wouldn't doubt now that they would rise up and overthrow the old man's reactionary rule, it was just a sudden thought.

  Secondly, if by any chance I were to capture a top literary or military official in the future, how should they be treated?

  Pang De is easy to talk about, after all his bravery in this historical period is also quite famous, even if he were to be caught with the likes of the Five Tigers and Five Sons, it wouldn't affect his status. His brother Pang Hui is a different story altogether.

  How many people know this person's name?

  What political achievements has he made? What clever plans has he contributed?

  I'm really sorry, I know nothing, the only thing I know is that when Guan Yu attacked Fan City, Cao Wei sent Pang De as a reinforcement, and someone used this as a negative example to attack Pang De: "Brother De in Shu Han, cannot be trusted deeply." This made Pang De angry, he directly ordered his soldiers to carry coffins and rush to the front line to show their determination to fight to the death. As a result, they indeed fought to the death without surrendering and were beheaded by Guan Yu. Later, he also formed a sharp contrast with Yu Jin who surrendered, and soon Yu Jin died of shame.

  I really can't imagine that Pang Tong and the likes of Xun Yu, Xun You, Jia Xu, Li Ru, Chen Gong, Zhang Zhao, Zhou Yu, Tian Feng, and Qiao Xuan would be competing with each other for a single day's gain or loss.

  I fear he will die a miserable death with no place to rest his bones...

  What will we do with him then?

  The confidant is an absolute confidant, and the old subordinate is also an old subordinate from childhood. What to do next?

  －

  I'm so bored and thinking too much.

  At this moment, apart from Pang Yu, who else can we use?

  Even if it really comes to that step, the close relationship can still be maintained, and the high-ranking officials will support him. As for whether he can play a role or not, it depends on his own ability. There are examples like the Mi Zong brothers that can be referred to!

  What's the point of thinking so deeply?

  Don't be your own worst enemy.

  I shook my head and got out of bed.

  I hope I can spend a few good days in Chang'an.

  －

  As expected, as soon as I stepped out of the house, I heard some unpleasant news from Ma Dai's mouth.

  "Over ten vassal lords have already gathered at Xiangguo, and have engaged in two or three small-scale battles of attack and defense with Dong Zhuo's defending army, each having their own victories and defeats."

  "Have either side lost any famous generals?" I was really concerned about this kind of news.

  "Commander?" Ma Dai was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "Didn't hear."

  "None?" I asked hesitantly, "Then... is there any news about General Xiaoyong's enemy?"

  "Will General Hua be victorious?" Ma Dai had not yet responded when suddenly, out of nowhere, Pang De cut him off, "Hua Xiong was the vanguard and won a great victory."

  "Big win?" I was even more surprised, wasn't he beheaded by Er Ye's warm wine? "Who was his opponent at the time? Sun Jian?"

  "It's not Sun Jian, it's Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao, the two brothers." I clearly heard the carelessness in Pang De's tone.

  "Oh, Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao..." I nodded, Zhang Miao I knew was one of Cao Cao's early comrades-in-arms, but at the most difficult moment for Cao Cao, he suddenly rebelled and surrendered Puyang City to Lü Bu, stabbing Cao Cao in the back. This man shouldn't have any outstanding military or administrative talents, his brother is probably just as mediocre, they came just to make up the numbers and be cannon fodder.

  "What about Lü Bu, the adopted son of Dong Zhuo?"

  "Lü Bu? He didn't come out to fight, probably because Dong Zhuo doesn't plan on letting him take the stage from the start." Pang De's eyes shone with excitement.

  I was concerned about his expression: "You seem to know him well?"

  "It's not that I don't know," Pong De's young face showed a yearning expression, "Lü Bu is known as the Flying General of Pingzhou, and his archery and horsemanship are unmatched in the world. Who wouldn't want to exchange blows with him!"

  I secretly stuck out my tongue: young people have confidence, and this is indeed a good thing.

  "Really? Is Pang Erge going to fight Lü Bu?" Xiaodai looked somewhat surprised.

  "Chang Gongzi, Dai Shaoye, Pang Shao Jiangjun," Lao Die's personal guard Huang Dong hastily came over, "The General has a message, ordering the three of you to go to the tent."

  "Alright, Uncle Huang." I responded and led Xiaodai and Pangde to follow behind him. "Besides, Xiaodai, you seemed to not believe that your Second Brother Pang would challenge Lü Bu?"

  "Oh? Xiao Dai, you have a big nerve! Dare to doubt the abilities of the second young master of the Pang family!" Huang Dong laughed.

  Pang De gave Ma Dai a glance, and Ma Dai "heh heh" laughed twice, raising his hand in surrender.

  I smiled lightly: "Lü Bu is just a martial artist from the border, his fame is just luck, how can our Second Brother Pang not compare to him?"

  Pang De and Ma Dai did not say anything.

  "Moreover, we are now going to conquer Dong Zhuo, and Lü Bu is not only Dong Zhuo's adopted son but also one of his top generals. How can you boost the morale of others while undermining your own prestige at this time?!" I criticized him with righteous words.

  "Brother, brother! I was wrong, okay?!" Ma Dai seemed to have gotten used to my scolding and said with a smile.

  Pang De also smiled slightly.

  "Young people should have ambition and confidence, as long as they put in the effort..." I continued.

  "Yes, yes, yes, General Huang, what did you call us for?" Ma Dai noticed that I was about to expand on the lecture and quickly changed the subject.

  That young guard surnamed Huang, with a given name of "Dong", was one of Father's personal bodyguards and had been following our family for four or five years. He was only 27 or 28 this year. His reason for joining the army was that Han Sui led his troops to raid Juzhang, killing all seven or eight members of his family, leaving him alone. In a fit of rage, he enlisted in the army. At that time, the young man was still a strong and vigorous youth, so Father directly assigned him as a personal bodyguard. Our work responsibilities were not clearly divided, although he was a bodyguard, most of the time it was just standing guard, running errands, sending messages, and doing miscellaneous tasks. This young man finally didn't waste these few years, and with his own eyes saw Han Sui die, avenging his great hatred. The second month, he arranged for a daughter-in-law to be married into the Huang family, continuing their ancestral lineage.

  "It seems that I have obtained Li Su's two secret letters."

  "Secret letter?" The three of us were all lost in thought.

  "Is he going to rebel again so soon?" Pang De frowned and said.

  "Impossible! He's also too changeable and obstinate, blindly devoted and refusing to awaken!"

  "I also rushed over in a hurry, and only knew this much." Huang Dong said as he walked, adding, "However, judging from the situation, it's not that serious. When I left, General, Pang Gongzi and Li Su were all chatting and drinking tea."

  "Is there still time for tea and idle chat?" The three of us were even more bewildered.

  It's no big deal if it's not a conspiracy or an important letter.

  I let out a slight sigh of relief, as long as it's not treason, let me enjoy a few more good days before talking about it. Now nothing is more important than time: fully controlling the army in Chang'an requires time to grind and master the major and minor affairs of Chang'an also needs to give Pang Ru a lot of time to get familiar with, although I said that confidence is needed, but after all, I don't want to face Lv Bu or Hua Xiong who are at their peak now.

  "Please come in, young master." Huang Dong stopped at the gate of the hall, and the personal guards standing by the door opened it for me.

  I flung open my cloak and strode into the hall.