As soon as Pang Gang finished speaking, Wei Tongnian, the prefect of Qingzhou who had been standing next to Song Xinghe, couldn't help but let out a slight exclamation.
He had been sizing up Pang Gang since he entered the hall just now, and it was his intention to leave Pang Gang and his party in the cold for more than an hour. This was not because the prefect wanted to repay a favor, but because he wanted to see how his beloved concubine saved her life.
Is the benefactor really as calm and witty as my concubine said?
After his concubine was sent back to the house today, he saw her immediately, and then he learned what happened from his concubine's mouth. However, he told his concubine that this person was facing thousands of taels of silver.
At that time, he was still calm and composed, not confused by those vulgar things, and he didn't believe that he only took a dozen carts of scattered silver, so he deliberately gave him a try.
It was not until Song Xinghe, the commander-in-chief whom he had sent to invite, arrived that he and Song Xinghe went to the side hall to meet with Pang Gang and others. At this time, he saw Pang Gang's face was calm and he was neither humble nor overbearing when answering Shangguan's questions.
I couldn't help but feel a little joyful.
Wei Tongnian stroked his long beard and asked with a smile, "Are you Pang Gang who beheaded the thieves chief with his own hands?"
Pang Gang quickly bowed and replied: "The villain is Pang Gang!"
"Yeah!" Wei Tongnian nodded slightly: "From your conversation, I seem to have read a book before?"
"To tell you what the adults are saying, I was lucky enough to study for a few years. Although I don't dare to say how well I studied, I still know the principles of loyalty, filial piety, and justice."
"Okay, it's rare!"
Wei Tongnian smiled and said nothing after hearing this. Song Xinghe looked at Pang Gang with a look of surprise on his face. He was very satisfied with Pang Gang's calm demeanor and decent behavior. Hearing Pang Gang's impassioned words now, he really couldn't see it.
It turned out that he was just from a low-class and rough military family.
Song Xinghe and Wei Tongnian looked at each other and asked slowly: "This time, your Lingshan Guards' thousand households, deputy thousand households, several hundred households and hundreds of garrison soldiers died in the battle unfortunately. Although they were thieves
It was caused by cunning, but you yourself cannot say that you are not responsible. How do you view this matter?"
After hearing this, Pang Gang replied without hesitation: "Reporting to your lord, this is something that only a superior officer should consider. I am a soldier and I dare not speak nonsense."
After listening to Pang Gang's words, Song Xinghe, Wei Tongnian and others were even more satisfied with Pang Gang's performance. Of course, this satisfaction did not mean that Pang Gang had not considered this matter, but that he was satisfied with Pang Gang's performance.
In fact, this has also been a mentality of Chinese officials since ancient times. This is also the principle of not seeking political affairs if one is not in his position. Although during the Southern Song Dynasty, Lu You wrote a poem: "I dare not forget my country despite my humble position."
It has also been praised by literati of the past dynasties. However, this cannot be done in the officialdom. If even an ordinary citizen thinks about "worrying about the country" all day long, then why should the emperor and the ministers of the court do it? Speaking of "not in their place"
The idea of "not pursuing political affairs" is the duty that an official should truly abide by.
Therefore, after hearing Pang Gang's answer, he had another calm and non-impetuous comment in the hearts of the two adults in front of him.
Wei Tongnian sighed and said to Song Xinghe: "The commander is so lucky to have such a calm and witty subordinate. If it weren't for the iron law issued by Taizu, I would really want you to cut off your love.
Fan."
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, once promulgated an iron law: all military households were not allowed to leave the military without the emperor's personal decree or when they were appointed to the Ministry of War, otherwise they would be punished with a serious crime. In other words, if the descendants of military households want to go up.
The only way to climb up the ranks is to join the army, and this rule has blocked the upward path of many children from military families. Therefore, Wei issued such a sigh in the same year.
When Song Xinghe heard this, he deliberately put on a straight face and said, feigning anger: "Your Majesty, by saying this, you are implying that I, Mr. Song, am ignorant and ignorant of people."
"Hahaha...hey, whoever dares to arrange the command, sir, would be a serious crime!" Wei Tongnian and Song Xinghe looked at each other and laughed.
After laughing, Song Xinghe encouraged Pang Gang with a smile, and then said: "Just now, Mr. Wei told me that a man with both wisdom and courage came under my command. I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems
What Mr. Wei said is true!"
Song Xinghe said casually, but what he heard in Pang Gang's ears made him feel chilled. The cold reception his group received just now was probably done intentionally by the prefect of Wei. It seems that the officialdom
Knowledge is really everywhere. This may have the same meaning as the "study time" in the officialdom of later generations. Will it be time to reward based on merit?
When Da Zhuang and others who followed Pang Gang saw how much the commander and the prefect valued Pang Gang, they couldn't help but become eager to follow Pang Gang, especially Li Yuan, a young man with a somewhat impatient temper.
I broke into a cold sweat over Pang Gang's rudeness earlier.
Sure enough, Song Xinghe then said: "Rewards for merit and punishment for demerits are the iron law in the army. I have issued an order to reward you generously to boost morale. Pang Gang, you have captured the head of a thief chief. There is no calculation for thief soldiers.
How can I not reward you? I will be promoted to a hundred households and rewarded with sixty taels of silver as encouragement. I hope you will still do your best in the future and live up to your appointment!"
Pang Gang was overjoyed. He jumped from a small soldier to the position of General Manager in one fell swoop, which is equivalent to jumping from a small soldier to the position of a company cadre in later generations. This speed was really like riding a rocket! He was so happy in his heart.
He quickly knelt down to express his gratitude, and took the waist badges, official uniforms, seals, silver rewards and other gifts from Song Xing and the guards around him one by one. He felt inexplicably happy.
Next, Song Xinghe announced rewards for Da Zhuang and others. Although they did not get promoted to three levels in a row like Pang Gang, each of them also became a small banner (equivalent to the position of squad leader in the army in later generations).
This is already quite satisfying for them.
Looking at the waist badge and seal he got, even though Pang Gang was calm, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. The waist badge was made of fine paulownia wood, and the copper seal of the letter was also well made. From today on, Pang Gang is also a
Now he is a serious military officer, and he no longer has to kneel down and call himself a villain no matter which official he sees.
Pang Gang touched the silver reward in his hand again. The silver that was handed out this time was not the broken silver that Pang Gang had seized at Wang Mazi's house a few days ago. This kind of silver reward was ten taels of silver per ingot, tied around the waist with an arc.
There are also two stamps printed on it. This kind of silver rarely circulates in the world, and is usually used by the state treasury, so it is cast extremely well, with inscriptions, time, location, weight, silversmiths, casting supervisors, etc. all available.
What the world calls snowflake silver refers to this kind of silver.
Although Da Zhuang, Gou Sheng and others next to them did not have any seals or other things, they were so happy to touch the white silver that they got. What did fifty taels of silver mean? It meant that they could work in Lingshan Guard in the future.
Buy a few acres of Susukaku land, build a large tile-roofed house, and then ask someone to find a matchmaker to find a wife. In the past, this was only something they could think of in their dreams. How could they not be overjoyed to have it come true now?
.
Although he was very happy, Pang Gang still did not forget to thank the two adults in front of him. He bowed to Song Xinghe again.
"Thank you so much for the reward, sir!"
Song Xinghe said with a smile: "Pang Gang, you will be considered an official from now on. You can take a humble position when you meet a superior officer. You must remember it and don't make a joke."
"Thank you for your advice, sir. I can't thank you enough!" After saying his thanks, Pang Gang straightened up, turned around and thanked Wei Tongnian who was standing aside. He knew that without Wei Tongnian beating the drums, he would never have been able to reach hundreds of households in one fell swoop.
of this seat.
Seeing Pang Gang's understanding of etiquette, Wei Tongnian and Song Xinghe both nodded secretly. It seemed that Pang Gang was a man who repaid his kindness and was worth winning over.
Wei Tongnian smiled and said: "Okay, everyone, don't be stunned. I have prepared a table of wine in the inner hall to celebrate the achievements of all the heroes. Come on, come on, everyone is invited to the inner hall to dine!"
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Magistrate. I am grateful for my humble position..."