Chapter 62: Old Grievances Hard to Resolve, Hidden Kill Intent (Part 1)

Qinzhou.

The residence of the Chief Military Governor.

The current owner of the Chief Military Governor's residence is in his forties, in the prime of his life. Every morning, he comes out to practice martial arts and archery, strengthening his body. Unimpeded by ice and snow, undeterred by wind and rain, he is a model of a military general.

In the martial arts field, Xiang Bao, with his strong upper body exposed, his muscles as hard and defined as the best stone carvings, wields a large spear with the agility of a dragon or a snake. The spear wind whistles, and the spearhead, without a tip, flickers like a venomous snake's tongue, never leaving vital points, forcing the two junior officers who are sparring with him to retreat step by step. Despite the overwhelming pressure, Xiang Bao shows no excitement, his eyes wide, his long spear dancing and roaring: "Is this all you've got? There's really no one in Qinzhou!"

The older junior officer remains unperturbed, steady as ever, blocking the spear with his own. The younger one, feeling slighted, increases the intensity of his spear movements. He feints a thrust at Xiang Bao's eyes and then strikes the back of the spear with the butt, aiming for Xiang Bao's shin.

"Like this, it's more interesting!" Xiang Bao roars with pleasure, his arms suddenly vibrating, turning the large spear into a thousand shadows. The rolling spear shadows spread out like ripples in water, and a fierce wind rises, roaring. With a crisp clang, a long spear is instantly thrown out of the sparring circle. The young junior officer, now weaponless, is knocked to the ground, while the older one only steps back slightly, tightening his grip on his spear and guarding his position.

The thousand spear shadows merge back into a single large spear. Xiang Bao, spear at the ready, is about to strike when he notices Xiang An standing at the edge of the martial arts field. He immediately withdraws his spear and steps out of the circle. After practicing for a while, Xiang Bao is drenched in sweat, his body steaming. Seeing the sparring stop, two charming maidservants hurry over with towels to help Xiang Bao wipe the sweat.

Xiang Bao ignores Xiang An and the maidservants, first walking to the young junior officer and kicking him hard, scolding, "Can't even take a little pressure, how will you lead troops in the future?"

The young junior officer, enduring the pain, flips over and kowtows to apologize. Xiang Bao ignores him, turns around, and his face brightens as he smiles at the older junior officer, "Liu Zhongwu, you are steady, you will be a good leader."

Liu Zhongwu, though a bit older, is only about twenty-five or twenty-six. His gaze is as calm as a pond, showing no emotion, indeed a steady face. He bows with his spear, "Thank you for your praise, Governor."

"I praise you when you do well, and scold you when you do poorly, no need to thank me! Wait until I reward you, then you can thank me!" Xiang Bao speaks with the straightforwardness of a military general. He looks around, points to one of the maidservants, "Liu Zhongwu, what do you think of Xinei?"

None of the maidservants around the Chief Military Governor are ugly. Xinei, about sixteen years old, has a slender figure and a charming face. Liu Zhongwu glances at her and then looks away, "Those around the Governor are naturally good."

"Since you think she's good, I'll give her to you!" Xiang Bao says decisively.

Liu Zhongwu's body trembles, and he looks up at Xiang Bao in surprise. Seeing Xiang Bao staring at him, he quickly lowers his head, "I dare not!"

"What's this about daring or not daring!" Xiang Bao laughs, "If you like her, take her home to make your bed. If you don't like her, forget it!"

Liu Zhongwu ponders for a moment, seeing that Xiang Bao is not joking, he relaxes. He is also straightforward and does not refuse, kneeling to thank him, "Thank you for your generous reward, Governor." Standing up, looking at the beautiful Xinei, he feels deeply grateful, and the young junior officer is full of envy.

Xiang Bao, who casually gives away beautiful women, is not concerned. He is known for his strict punishments and generous rewards. Waving his hand, "Alright, all of you, go!" When the martial arts field is empty, Xiang Bao turns around and asks, "Eighth Brother, what's the matter?"

In front of Xiang Bao, who ranks eleventh in the family, Xiang An speaks succinctly and directly, "Eleventh, Wang Shao has brought back that garden boy."

"Xiang Gang?" Xiang Bao's face immediately turns cold. Now, in Qinzhou, when people talk about the garden boy, they only mean Xiang Gang, who has just embarrassed the Chief Military Governor.

"That's him! Wang Shao and he entered the city last night." Xiang An analyzes for Xiang Bao, "Since Wang Shao has brought Xiang Gang back to Qin-Feng, it seems that it's no longer Zhang Shouyue recommending Xiang Gang, but Wang Shao himself... This scholar is truly a hot commodity, with both families vying for him."

"Who cares who recommends Xiang Gang, what does it have to do with me!" Without others around, Xiang Bao no longer hides his anger. He doesn't want to hear the name Xiang Gang.

"You can't say that. If Zhang Shouyue recommends Xiang Gang, it would be for military merit, but if Wang Shao recommends him, it would be for civil merit. If Xiang Gang becomes a civil official, it will prevent small people from causing trouble with him to curry favor with you. In the end, it won't be said that you are seeking revenge..."

Xiang Bao sneers, "So what? Do you think this little thing can suppress me for life? I, Xiang Bao, am from the Imperial Guard, known to the emperor! If I am demoted today, I can be promoted again tomorrow. At worst, I'll be transferred to another place, but I will still be a Chief Military Governor."

Due to the ongoing wars with Western Xia, the Western Army system has risen, gradually overshadowing the Hebei Imperial Guard. Since the Chanyuan Alliance, Hebei has not seen war for decades. Even the best of the Hebei Imperial Guard, like Yang Wenguang, have achieved their current high positions by establishing merit in the northwest. However, the truly favored by the court are still the generals from the Imperial Guard.

Even the once incompetent Ge Huaimin, who was indecisive in battle and hesitated during the breakout, leading to a disastrous defeat at Dingchuan Fort and the loss of tens of thousands of troops, did not shake the status of the Imperial Guard. The commanders of the defeats at Sanchuan Pass and Hao Shui River, Liu Ping and Ren Fu, were also from the Imperial Guard!

Xiang Bao, though a native of Guanxi, rose to prominence in the Imperial Guard. He joined the military at a young age and was known for his bravery. Although he did not experience major battles, the world only knew of his feats of shooting tigers at Wuyuan and driving away bandits at Tongguan. Nevertheless, he smoothly rose to the rank of Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard. After being posted outside the capital, he quickly became the Chief Military Governor of Qin-Feng, Imperial City Commander, and Imperial Armament Officer.

Xiang Bao's position as Chief Military Governor of Qin-Feng is the third-highest military position in the region. His official rank as Imperial City Commander is almost at the peak for an external military official. If he advances one more step, he will join the thirty high-ranking generals in the Song Empire's million-strong army. Above that are the largely ceremonial positions of military governors, imperial envoys, and military commanders. The number of actual military leaders in the regions who rank higher than Xiang Bao is only a dozen or so.

Therefore, Xiang Bao is confident that such a small matter cannot bring him down. Moreover, Xiang An has already publicly disciplined the family slave in Fugou City and apologized to the garden boy. After returning to Qinzhou, Xiang Ronggui was also punished according to family law. They have done everything they can, and no one can say anything. At the imperial court, it would only be a charge of poor household management. What Xiang Bao has truly lost is just his face.

Yes, just his face...

A shadow of gloom passes over Xiang Bao's face. The face of a Chief Military Governor of a region, yet it was taken down by the son of a gardener. Xiang Bao cannot help but be concerned; he does not have the ability to endure such humiliation.

"Wang Shao cannot leave the Qin-Feng region; he still needs to develop the Hehuang area..." Xiang Bao says fiercely.

The authority to manage the affairs of the tribal groups was originally his, but now it has been taken by Wang Shao, and all the credit is gone. In the past two years, he had not hesitated to deal with the tribal groups and had won over several tribes. The words in Wang Shao's "Plan for Pacifying the Tribes" were things he had once reported to the emperor, one by one. He regrets his lack of literary talent and the incompetence of his hired scholars, which allowed Wang Shao to take the lead, even erasing his past achievements. Xiang Bao hates not only Xiang Gang but also Wang Shao, "Xiang Gang, recommended by Wang Shao, cannot leave the Qin-Feng region either. I don't believe they won't make mistakes in the future; there will always be a time when they fall into my hands... We'll see!"

Xining 2nd year, 1st day of the 11th month (intercalary).

Wang Shao, the Chief Secretary of the Qin-Feng Circuit, submitted a petition recommending Xiang Gang for an official position, to serve as a clerk in the Qin-Feng Circuit, responsible for managing the affairs of the injured and sick. There were also two additional recommendation letters, one from the Chief Military Judge of the Xiongwu Army, Wu Yan, and the other from the Chief Military Governor of Qin-Feng, Zhang Shouyue, who had reconnected with Wang Shao. Although Xiang Gang did not achieve what Zhang Shouyue had hoped, the good relationship did not need to be severed. Xiang Gang's talents were evident. Recommending Xiang Gang as a civil official was beyond Zhang Shouyue's authority, but recommending him to manage the affairs of the injured and sick in Qin-Feng was within his power.

The Governor, Li Shizhong, approved the three recommendation letters with a "yes." The Chief Military Governor, Xiang Bao, had no chance to object, and the letters were sent to the capital via the postal system to the Central Secretariat, and finally presented to the central government, known as the Chancellery. If everything goes smoothly, the Chancellery will quickly approve and forward the recommendation to the Office of the Secretariat. Once Xiang Gang personally goes to the capital to present his family history and passes the review, he will officially become a 9th-rank civil official in the Song Empire.

On the same day, after the entire tribe of the Mosxing clan, which had attacked the supply convoy in Pei Valley, was exterminated, the case of Chen Ju and Liu Xian colluding with Western Xia finally went to trial. With ample evidence, the Chen family, a powerful clan in Qinzhou for generations, will likely be destroyed, enriching many officials. With a flick of his hand, Xiang Gang silently brought a century-old local power to ruin, caused a thousand tribal tents to bleed, and stepped on the heads of others to gain an official position. For a moment, everyone looked at him with awe.

On that day, Xiang Gang left the city early in the morning, following the riverbank road straight east. Only his close friends, Wang Hou and Wang Shunmin, accompanied him with a few attendants.

In the past half month, Qinzhou has had three snowfalls, with the snow on the ground nearly a foot thick. Outside the city, without any snow-clearing laborers, the vast snowfield shows no trace of the road. Only through the river embankment and a few scattered taverns and pavilions along the road can the position of the official road be confirmed.

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