Chapter 37: The Military Advisor's Desperate Situation

  Wu Si Niang and her son were also destined to have some calamity in their fate. The house was originally built very crudely, with many gaps, so burning charcoal wouldn't normally be a danger. But she had carefully sealed all the gaps, which was possible only because their small hut was not too big. Fortunately, the sealing wasn't too good, or they would have lost their lives. What surprised Li Qing was that this woman dared to burn the so-called "beastly charcoal" that everyone feared. Only after she woke up did he ask her about it and understand that she was a mountain dweller who had seen people burning this charcoal in the wilderness without any danger. At this time, the cold weather was urgent, and they had run out of firewood at home, so her son was crying out from the cold, and she gritted her teeth to go pick up some beastly charcoal.

  It turned out to be a pick-up, and not far from here, isn't it said that Chong County has an open-pit coal mine? Li Qing's heart was filled with joy, seeing Wu Si Niang and her son safe and sound, he led the crowd of relatives back to his own mansion with a face full of shame under the fearful gaze of the villagers.

  As soon as they entered the house, Yang Yidao and Tang Hu fell to the ground with a thud, startling Qingfeng and Xiyue who had come out to greet them. "What's going on?" Li Qing asked, puzzled. At this time, Yang Yidao's wife also came over and saw her husband kneeling on the ground, she was also very nervous, not knowing what mistake he had made, and how the general would punish him, she stood aside with her hands clenched, her head lowered, not daring to speak.

  "General, we should be the ones to die, not let you go into that dangerous place. Even if someone has to go in, it should be us." Yang Yidao said with his head bowed, "We were afraid and actually let the general take risks personally, this is a capital offense!" Li Qing understood these words clearly, but the several women were completely bewildered.

  Just then, a commotion broke out outside, and Shang Haibo, Wang Qinyan, Feng Guo, Jiang Kui, and others rushed over. As soon as they saw Yang Yidao and Tang Hu kneeling on the ground, Shang Haibo flew into a rage, charging forward to slap them in the face with a loud crack, one person after another. Although he was a scholar, Shang Haibo's furious strength was not small at this moment, and he immediately puffed up half of their faces. Still unsatisfied, he lifted his foot and kicked them wildly.

  "You two scoundrels, how did you become imperial guards? You actually let the master put himself in danger! Ah, you good-for-nothings, what's the use of having you around?" Li Qing widened his eyes, momentarily stunned. He had always seen Shang Hai as calm and composed, but never so furious before. His hair seemed to be standing on end, his two eyes were bulging out, and his face looked like he was about to devour someone whole.

  Tang Hu and Yang Yidao, two big men, if it were a matter of strength, the two of them might have been able to toss Shang Haibo around with one hand, but at this moment they were being brutally beaten by Shang Haibo. They didn't make a sound, only kneeling on the ground, their hands on the ground, not even trying to explain themselves, allowing Shang Haibo to do as he pleased. Although Wang Qiniian and the others had a good relationship with Yang Yidao and the others, at this moment they also looked dissatisfied, turning their heads to look away, not coming forward to try to mediate.

  Seeing her husband being beaten, Yang Zhou Shi didn't know the reason, but she knew that her husband must have made a big mistake. Otherwise, Mr. Shang, a gentle scholar, wouldn't be so furious and beat him like this. She was immediately frightened and burst into tears.

  This cry startled Li Qing awake, and he jumped up at once to pull Shang Haibo, but Shang Haibo had a stubborn energy and couldn't be pulled away. Li Qing had no choice but to use both hands to lift Shang Haibo off the ground and move him aside. "My Mr. Shang, what kind of evil fire is this?" Li Qing said with a mix of anger and amusement.

  The still fuming Shang Haibo continued to point at Yang Yidao and scold: "You two damned bastards, I really don't know what Master is keeping you for." Turning his head to see Li Qing, he raised an eyebrow and said loudly: "General, a thousand pieces of gold, sitting in the hall without lowering your head. How can you put yourself in danger for the sake of two commoners? This is not wise. If something unexpected happens to the general, what will happen to the tens of thousands of people in Chong County, and the several thousand soldiers in the Changsheng Camp? This is not righteous. The general's parents are still alive, if something unexpected happens, this is unfilial. General, how can you justify yourself?"

  Li Qing was stunned, unable to believe that saving two people from carbon monoxide poisoning would lead to Shang Haibo putting such a big hat on him. He felt somewhat indignant, "What's the big deal? Mr. Shang, you're overreacting, aren't I fine?"

  Seeing Li Qingwu being stubborn, Shang Haibo couldn't help but feel a wave of bitterness. He had spent half his life searching for someone who appreciated him, and finally found one who could help him showcase his skills, only to have this person be so reckless and self-destructive. His face flushed red with anger, he knelt down on the ground: "General, Shang Haibo begs you to take care of yourself, think of the people of Chong County, absolutely cannot let yourself be in danger again."

  Behind Shang Haibo, Wang Qinyan and three others lined up in a row, kneeling on the ground, saying in unison: "Please respond to the general." As they spoke, two more people rushed over from outside, who were Xu Yunfeng and Lu Yiming. Seeing this scene, both of them also understood and silently knelt down.

  Li Qing cried and laughed at the same time, and could only say: "Alright, alright, I understand now. From now on, I will never make this mistake again. Everyone can get up now!"

  Shang Haibo remained still and continued, "Yang Yidao, Tang Hu being a personal guard, cannot replace the master in avoiding danger, nor can he replace the master in death. I dare to ask the general to punish him, in order to show respect for his loyalty."

  What's more, are you going to punish these two guys as well? Li Qing was taken aback and hesitated, saying: "Is that really necessary?"

  "General, without rules and discipline, there is no authority. Although the two of them are close to you, they cannot be excused from punishment for their mistakes." Shang Haibo was uncompromising.

  "Then, then punish those two, both of them..." Li Qing really couldn't think of what to punish those two with.

  "According to the law, these two should be punished with eighty military rods." Shang Haibo said loudly, and Yang Zhou's wife, who was kneeling on one side, suddenly burst into tears.

  "Eighty rods?" Li Qing was also stunned. With eighty rods of beating, he feared it would take the lives of these two guys.

  "Too severe, too severe, alright Mr. Shang, these two have always been diligent in their work, this time, even if they were wrong, there won't be any consequences, so let's just give them ten lashes, and that's it." Seeing the angry face of Shang Haibo, Li Qing had no choice but to back down.

  "Since General wants to pardon them, I have nothing to say. Come on, take them out, ten lashes each, beat them carefully, if you show favoritism, you will be punished together!" Shang Haibo finally got up and ordered his personal guards outside.

  On one side of the road, a dark-faced man was also present, and when he saw Shang Haibo's angry gaze sweep over, he couldn't help but turn his head away with a guilty conscience.

  Two attendants were dragged away to be beaten, but Li Qing invited the crowd into his study. Qingfeng's Xi Yue knew that the dignitaries had important matters to discuss and also tactfully withdrew.

  "Everyone, do you know what this beast is?" Li Qing asked mysteriously.

  "Who doesn't know about the Beast Charcoal?" Hai Bo said discontentedly, "Only you, sir, would dare to rush into that poisonous place to save people. Although it makes the commoners even more convinced of your greatness, this kind of thing absolutely cannot happen again."

  "Not at all! Not at all!" Li Qing exclaimed, waving his hands and stomping his feet. "This beast charcoal is a good thing, a good thing!"

  "What's good?" Everyone was puzzled.

  "Yes, that's right." Li Qing decided to explain thoroughly, "Everyone knows that I left home at a young age and even burned beast charcoal before. I've heard people say that this beast charcoal has another name, coal, which is originally non-toxic."

  Ah! Everyone's mouth was agape, staring at Li Qing in unison. Beast charcoal is toxic, this is common knowledge, why would the general say such a thing?

  "This coal, oh, beast coal. It's not toxic itself, but during the burning process, it produces a kind of toxic gas!" Li Qing explained patiently.

  "Isn't this still poisonous?" Shang Haibo said discontentedly.

  "But this toxin is harmless, as long as it's well-ventilated and not inhaled excessively. It won't cause any harm to the human body at all," Li Qing said with a smile.

  "With him, we no longer have to worry about freezing. With him, we can improve our refining skills and forge even better swords."

  In the study, Li Qing was gesticulating enthusiastically, telling everyone about the benefits of coal. In conclusion, he said: "This is a gift from heaven, haha, according to Wu Si Niang, it's even an open-pit mine, wow, we can just go dig it up without having to excavate."

  Everyone was half-believing and half-doubting, "General, is this really true?"

  "Of course!" Li Qing said seriously: "In cases like Wu Si Niang, I've encountered them early on. As long as they're handled properly, nothing will happen."

  Shang Haibo sank into contemplation, silently calculating for a while in his heart. "If it's really that beneficial, then it would be a good thing. However, General, are you truly confident in removing the poison?"

  Li Qing snorted and said, "As for the household use, of course there are some handling measures, such as flue pipes and so on. Forget it, I'll draw a diagram for you later, and you'll know how to make this coal stove. If it's for curing, it's even easier and more convenient."