Chapter 93 Is it too late for me to apologize now?

"Yuan Dai, let him go."

On the high platform, Jin Mao was very satisfied and said, "He didn't know the military order, which is excusable. Considering that it is his first offense, he will not be punished."

Dong Xi stood up and jumped a few steps before he bowed and said, "Yes."

It was too late for Pan Lin to launch a sneak attack, but the unwillingness to accept was obvious in his eyes. If Dong Xian had not kicked him in the hand, he would not necessarily have lost the wrestling match.

After the farce was over, Pan Lin no longer mentioned the matter of the second battalion commander.

However, when Pan Lin learned that he would be assigned to the first battalion as a soldier, he completely lost his composure.

After asking for instructions, Pan Lin asked, "Lord God, didn't you ask me to make amends for my crime? I did it, so why am I hanging out with these rookies?"

Jin Mao explained: "You have been fined and your meritorious service has been confiscated. Even if you make up for your crime, you will still be promoted from rank zero to rank one, just like the new recruits."

"I don't agree!"

Jin Mao said calmly: "Even if you don't accept it, just bear with it."

If we make an exception today, we won’t be able to train soldiers again in the future, and our attitude will definitely be tough.

Pan Lin was very angry and wanted to leave. Seeing this, everyone drew their swords.

"Today, God, are you going to kill me?" Pan Lin shouted with his hair and beard standing up, "Then come!"

"Forget it." Jin Mao sighed and said, "Since you insist on leaving, for the sake of our past friendship, you can accept the punishment and leave. Don't come back in the future."

Seeing Pan Lin being taken away and beaten with a military stick, Jin Mao ordered people to inform Lan Zhi of Yuzhang County and the heads of various counties about this matter.

Firstly, it was to prevent Pan Lin from causing trouble by pretending to be someone else, and secondly, it was a helpless move. If Jin Mao really killed Pan Lin on the spot, he was really afraid that people below him would think too much.

The words are divided into two parts.

Pan Lin received the military stick, feeling angry and wanting only revenge.

But when he saw the messengers sent by Jinmao, Pan Lin knew that it would be impossible to cause chaos in Jinmao's territory.

At this moment, Sheng Kuang, who was about to set off, happened to be worried about the escort along the way. Pan Lin volunteered to be the captain of Sheng Kuang's guard.

Sheng Kuang had never met Pan Lin before, but seeing that Pan Lin had a strong physique and claimed to have served in the army but was dismissed due to injury, Sheng Kuang believed him immediately.

Because Pan Lin was beaten so hard that he limped, it was very realistic.

So, this unusual pair set out for Wu County, the capital of Wujun County.

Along the way, Pan Lin found out all about Sheng Kuang's background. When he learned that Sheng Kuang was Sheng Xian's biological son, he immediately became interested.

Later, Sheng Kuang was determined to persuade Sheng Xian, and Pan Lin began to hesitate. How could he, an outsider, be more convincing than his own son?

When they arrived at Wu County, Wujun, things took a turn for the better.

Wujun County Magistrate's Office.

Sheng Xian was silent at the top, and Sheng Kuang was kneeling in the hall, not daring to look up.

The father and son don't seem to have the affection they had in the past, and their dealings are more like those in officialdom.

"I know what Yuzhang Taishou meant."

Sheng Xian was dressed neatly and elegantly, no longer looking like an ordinary person like he used to be.

"What happened before was not ordered by me."

"You go back immediately and tell the governor of Yuzhang the truth."

Sheng Kuang bowed his head even lower: "Aunt, I want to stay by your side and work for you. Even if you only let me serve you, I am willing."

"Shut up!"

Sheng Xian slammed the table and said, "No matter how I advised you, you didn't listen. You were deceived by that kid Kan Ze in just a few words!"

"Are you going to regret it now?"

"You have embarrassed me completely!"

"Aunt, I don't want to either." Sheng Kuang cried, "You are in conflict with the Jun Dynasty. As your son and a minister of the Jun Dynasty, it would be wrong for me to stand on either side."

"Please teach me what to do?"

Sheng Xian sighed for a long time before saying, "From ancient times to the present, it is difficult to be both loyal and filial."

"I understand your difficulties."

"but!"

Sheng Xian said righteously: "We are Confucian scholars! We cultivate ourselves, manage our families, govern the country and bring peace to the world!"

"Loyalty comes first, filial piety comes second!"

Sheng Kuang stood up with tears in his eyes, and bowed deeply again: "Thank you for your guidance, old man!"

"Now that we've finished discussing business, we can talk about family matters." Sheng Xian's expression became gentle and kind, as if he was not the same person just now.

"Is the journey here dangerous?"

Sheng Kuang was not a man who could keep secrets, and he was in a bad mood, so he answered whatever Sheng Xian asked and told him all the information he knew.

After hearing this, Sheng Xian looked calm on the surface, but his heart was surging like a raging sea, unable to suppress it. "Jin Mao is really vicious. He sent my son here just to calm me down."

Sheng Xian thought: "Fortunately, my stupid son doesn't have so many tricks, otherwise, I would have to think of a good reason to lie to him."

This robbery was related to Sheng Xian, but it was indeed not Sheng Xian who did it. It was Xu Gong, the commander of Wujun, who did it.

Sheng Xian just gave a little push from behind, but everything that happened before was done by Sheng Xian.

When Sheng Xian heard that Jin Mao had gathered thousands of soldiers, his eyes flashed, and he was ready to step back and let Xu Gong lead the charge.

During his time in Taimo County, Sheng Xian did not do nothing, but instead paid close attention to Jinmao's every move.

Sheng Xian knew Jin Mao's weakness, so he had to go along with it and not show it openly. Usually, nothing serious would happen.

Upon learning that the person who escorted Sheng Kuang to Wujun was Pan Lin, Sheng Xian immediately had an idea.

"You can stay at home tonight. I can write a letter to the governor of Yuzhang."

"Tomorrow you can go back and tell the governor of Yuzhang that from now on, the salt and iron trade will be normal. I promise that this kind of thing will not happen again."

"Please apologize to him for me. I was incompetent and failed to manage Wujun Commander Xu Gong, which led to him robbing the iron ore."

"Please let him rest assured. I will send someone to return the goods immediately. I hope the two counties can coexist peacefully."

Sheng Kuang bowed deeply: "Ah Weng Dayi."

The next day.

Sheng Xian escorted Sheng Kuang all the way out of the mansion, where he met Pan Lin who was waiting for him.

Sheng Xian pretended not to see Pan Lin and repeated what he had said yesterday.

Suddenly, Pan Lin became extremely excited, his eyes rolling around, and it was obvious that he couldn't hold his fart.

Sheng Xian saw all of this. When he turned around, the corners of his mouth curled up and he thought to himself, "It's just as I expected. This plan has worked."

However, Pan Lin was very cautious and asked Sheng Kuang again, and got a positive answer.

"Mr. Sheng, please forgive me for not being able to accompany you back."

Pan Lin sighed and said, "I didn't tell you the truth. In fact, I didn't plan to go back after I came out this time."

"Ah?" Sheng Kuang asked, "Then how do I get back?"

Pan Lin suggested: "Your father is the governor, can't he arrange some guards for you?"

After that, no matter how much Sheng Kuang tried to persuade him to stay, Pan Lin refused.

After they separated, Pan Lin went straight to the Wujun Duwei Mansion, handed in a visiting card, and said, "The South already knows that the Duwei did it."

It was a nonsensical sentence and the guard originally didn't want to pass it on. Fortunately, Pan Lin was very sensible and handed over the reward he got from Sheng Kuang. In addition, the guard didn't look down on Pan Lin, not even because of his size.

After a while, Pan Lin was respectfully welcomed in and received by Xu Gong in the lobby.

Before Pan Lin could speak, Xu Gong was delighted to see the opportunity and asked, "Brave man, are you willing to serve me?"

Pan Lin had long heard that Xu Gong treated his subordinates very well, so without saying anything, he knelt on one knee and clasped his fists, saying, "Pan Lin greets you, sir!"

Xu Gong happily stood up, walked over and held Pan Lin's arm with both hands, and exclaimed: "What a brave man!"

The two men complimented each other and sat down as host and guest.

"Are you from Kuaiji County?"

Xu Gong stroked his beard and frowned, completely different from his initial attitude, and asked, "What is your relationship with the governor of Yuzhang?"

Seeing this, Pan Lin knelt on one knee again and said angrily, "Mingsir! Jin Mao is too much of a bully! I expanded territory for him, but not only did he not reward me, he punished me!"

Afterwards, Pan Lin brought up the old events of Yuzhang County again and took all the credit on himself.

Xu Gong frowned even deeper and his heart began to beat fast.

As a veteran in officialdom, Xu Gong understood Jinmao's operation as soon as he heard it, which made him feel scared.

Pan Lin didn't know much, except for the attack on the Southern Commandery and the affairs of Yuzhang County. He was absent for a long time in between and had no idea about Jinmao's current military strength, and his early impressions were still there.

But even so, Xu Gong was still frightened. He did have two thousand elite soldiers under his command, which was the reason why he dared to rob Zhu Jun's caravan.

But now Jin Mao has 6,000 people. Even if we remove the 500 female soldiers, there are still 5,500 people. There are not many elite soldiers among them, but their combat power sounds much stronger than his men.

This is just Jinmao’s apparent strength; the strength hidden behind it is even more terrifying.

Xu Gong understood very well that despite Emperor Liu Hong's wicked behavior, if anyone dared to act like Jin Mao, he would have been regarded as a traitor and killed long ago.

How crazy is Jinmao now?
We are about to attack Wujun!

This can only mean one thing: "Jin Mao has someone in the court, and this person has great power!"

Xu Gong was the first to rule out the possibility that Zhu Jun was Jin Mao's backer. A person from a humble family like Zhu Jun could not even climb to the position of Nine Ministers, let alone become one of the Three Dukes.
A poor family is a poor family. How can it be compared with aristocratic families?

For example, Wujun, Xu Gong has been running Wujun for many years.

The results of it?
Just because Xu Gong is a big family from outside the area, the local prominent families ignore him. Would Xu Gong dare to show his teeth?
He doesn't dare!
What's the use of having two thousand elite soldiers under your command? As long as the emperor is alive, these prominent families will not have to put in too much effort to control Xu Gong.

So, after hearing what Pan Lin said, Xu Gong panicked and asked Pan Lin: "If I return the goods to the governor of Jin, do you think he will forgive me?"

Huh? Pan Lin was stunned on the spot. He came here to hug the thigh, but why did this thigh surrender first?
(End of this chapter)