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Chapter 1657 I can’t help myself
Pang Qingyun shifted the blame for the defeat to He Kui, saying that He Kui was cowardly and refused to come to the rescue, but if that were really the case, then He Kui would certainly be punished.

Even if it wasn't the imperial army, but rather a private armed group recruited by Lord Jiang, such a huge problem and such a crushing defeat still occurred. There are rules in the military, and Lord Jiang has to give Lord Chen an explanation. He Kui is most likely not going to survive.

Ultimately, it's unwise to go against a bureaucrat of the same rank for the sake of a lowly subordinate, even if you have the upper hand. Lord Jiang can keep Lord Chen in check, but there's also Lord Di and other bureaucrats watching. This is simply outrageous.

Besides, Lord Chen is not a real good-for-nothing. He is only lacking in strength in private armed groups, but he is not lacking in other areas. He also has his own small circle of friends with shared interests and close ties.

Therefore, it's more likely that Pang Qingyun didn't follow the established strategy, but instead took a risky gamble, pinning his hopes on He Kui's rescue. If He Kui were to send troops, perhaps, as Pang Qingyun said, many fewer people would die, and they might even win the battle.

This is very much in line with Pang Qingyun's style. As his famous saying goes, "I have walked on thin ice all my life!"
He loves to gamble! He goes all in every hand, leaving no room for error!

Unfortunately, He Kui didn't move, so only Pang Qingyun was left to play dead and escape.

He couldn't go back to Lord Chen's place; if he did, he'd most likely be beheaded. So, he had no choice but to head towards Huoshan...

Under Wang Yan's gaze, Pang Qingyun knelt down on both knees: "Sir, I did not fully carry out my superior's orders, but it is true that He Kui did not move. He doesn't have the guts to join the army. If he had sent troops, we would definitely have won this battle!"

"When you disobey military orders, your head should be on the chopping block. You like to gamble with your life, yet you're afraid of dying. An entire battalion of soldiers died, and you're the only one who survived, and even alive and well. Pang Qingyun, do you think some bastard is spreading rumors about me outside, saying I'm a brainless idiot, trying to scam me out of money?"

"Sir, you are wise to understand, I had absolutely no such intention!"

Wang Yan exhaled a puff of smoke and asked, "Where would you like to go?"

“I dare not ask for anything, I only beg you, sir, to give me a chance to serve you and prove that I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of dying without meaning or understanding. I pretended to be dead and ran away so that I could leave a memento for my brothers in my battalion, and burn paper money for them during festivals. When I have the chance in the future, I will definitely kill He Kui to avenge them.”

“He Kui is so wronged.” Wang Yan shook his head. “You put the lives of an entire battalion of brothers, and your own life, on someone else’s shoulders. This shows that you neither understand yourself nor others. Pang Qingyun, my brothers’ lives are very valuable. I can’t let you sell them like this.”

"Uncle, I..."

"Those who lead troops into battle must be calm and composed."

"Please give your instructions, sir." Pang Qingyun bowed deeply to the floor, but his eyes were drawn to the dark red stain on the ground.

He couldn't help but think of the rumors that Wang Yan had beheaded a foreigner in his study; perhaps it was right here, with the foreigner's blood...

"Train here for a month and get familiar with the situation here, then go back to see Lord Chen."

"Sir, if we go back like this, Lord Chen will surely chop off my head," Pang Qingyun said immediately, his voice filled with panic.

"From now on, obey orders obediently. Go now."

Wang Yan exhaled a puff of smoke, too lazy to explain anything further to Pang Qingyun...

Pang Qingyun dared not say anything more. He had already realized that Wang Yan might have reached some kind of tacit understanding with Lord Chen, or even that Lord Chen had already sided with Wang Yan, since he had just participated in one of Lord Chen's major defeats.

Otherwise, given that Wang Yan had already accepted him, it would have been impossible to send him back to Lord Chen to be beheaded. Ultimately, he believed he still possessed some talent and had value that could be exploited.

He was assigned to a military academy, where he trained alongside the new recruits, learned drills, learned obedience, and was indoctrinated to become a soldier who met the basic standards of 'Huoshan'.

After three months of such training, Pang Qingyun, now sporting a fake queue, joined a team of镖局 (security escort agencies) and civilians to transport rifles, ammunition, and other supplies. They set off from Huoshan, swaggering through the territory belonging to the Heavenly Kingdom, and openly crossing the war zone, even passing through while the two sides were fighting to the death.

Pang Qingyun was no stranger to this scene; after all, he had been fighting for several years. In the past, when they were fighting, the Shunfeng Escort Agency would openly display their flags and walk past them, chatting and laughing leisurely. Anyone who saw this would be tempted to rush over and rob them.

This kind of thing has happened before, but the consequence was that it attracted the wrath of Shunfeng Escort Agency. They appeared out of nowhere, gathered thousands of soldiers, and slaughtered all the people who had stolen their goods. They were extremely ruthless.

These镖局 (security escort agencies) weren't always like this. It was just that their reputation spread far and wide, and no one dared to mess with them. After that, they became increasingly arrogant. It's as if they always enjoyed accidentally knocking off the wigs of the Manchus on their territory…

Pang Qingyun watched the Shunfeng Escort Agency members slowly walk past him several times, and he had to desperately restrain his men from courting death. He swore that he wanted to kill the Shunfeng Escort Agency members even more than his men did.

Now, as the leader of Shunfeng Escort Agency, he felt incredibly satisfied...

After traveling all this way, Pang Qingyun finally arrived at his destination and met Lord Chen.

In the courtyard of the Hui-style building, Lord Chen was somewhat surprised.

"Pang Qingyun, you certainly know how to pick a place."

“I had nowhere else to go but to preserve my life for another purpose. I didn’t die so I could return to see you, Lord Chen. If He Kui hadn’t stood by and watched us die, those brothers in that battalion wouldn’t have perished. Why didn’t He Kui do anything? Lord Jiang! He didn’t want to see you rise to power!”

Lord Chen skimmed the foam from his teacup: "Pang Qingyun, Lu Dashan told me what happened. There's no need for you to use your little tricks now. Since you've pledged allegiance to Wang Yan and been assigned to work under me, your life is saved, and the past is over."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Don't rush to thank me. Wang Yan gave me some money and provisions, as well as some firearms and ammunition, and helped me recruit 10,000 men again. Do you know what he wants?"

"Conquer the world?"

Lord Chen slowly shook his head: "He wants the people to live well and wants to be more powerful than the foreigners."

"Nobody wants the people to live a good life; he just wants more power and to dominate more people."

"You went to Huoshan, do you think the people there are living well?"

“Except for the lack of food, things are better than before the war.” “Then he just wants the people to live well!” Lord Chen put down his teacup. “Pang Qingyun, let me teach you a lesson: when you work as someone’s subordinate, you are doing what others want you to do.”

"Your subordinate understands and will certainly obey your orders, sir."

"I'll ask you again, what does Wang Yan want right now?"

Pang Qingyun frowned in thought: "Please give your instructions, sir."

"balance!"

"balance?"

Lord Chen shook his head slightly: "After fighting for so many years, you rose from a lowly soldier to a battalion commander, and then you even had the ambition to sell out one of my battalions, which affected other aspects and caused me to lose several thousand soldiers. Logically speaking, you should be looking upwards, so how can you not see that?"

What Wang Yan has been doing all these years is maintaining a balance between the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Once we win a major victory in one place, it won't be long before we lose it in another. The same goes for the firearms he sells; he gave me 10,000 this time, but in the past few months he's supplied the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with another 10,000.”

This was the first time Pang Qingyun had considered the issue from this perspective. Previously, he had only thought about climbing the ranks, ignoring the contradictions that plagued the entire country: Huoshan, the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, internal bureaucrats and merchants, and external foreigners.

"He wants the world, he wants to be emperor, shouldn't things be as chaotic as possible?"

"Isn't it chaotic enough?" Lord Chen said. "What you see is the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom watching Wang Yan grow stronger, but in reality, many people are dying. There has never been a shortage of trouble in Sichuan and Guanzhong."

At first, the ban on opium met with a strong backlash. Wealthy families constantly incited the people to rebel against Wang Yan. Afterward, Wang Yan began to distribute land to the people, carry out construction projects, and provide work relief to give the people a way to survive.

He then seized the opportunity to print his own new banknotes, using neither copper coins nor silver, which affected numerous banks. And do you think they would let it go so easily after their opium trade was damaged and they were humiliated by Wang Yan? Wang Yan has never had a shortage of trouble; otherwise, why has he survived dozens of assassination attempts in recent years? The Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Rebellion, merchants, and foreigners—they all want him dead!

"But he is still alive and growing stronger."

"Yes, sometimes I have to admit, some people are just unlucky." Lord Chen sighed, then looked steadily at Pang Qingyun. "Now do you know what you should do?"

"Your subordinate will obey your orders, sir!" Pang Qingyun said again, his tone resolute.

He understood that his current role change was no longer about eliminating more Taiping rebels to gain merit and rise to a higher position, but about dragging out the war between the two sides, regardless of casualties. If he could even manage to appease the other side and agree not to kill anyone, as long as the war was prolonged, he would be credited.

If he continues to try to solve problems by killing more people, he will suffer a terrible fate.

Only now did he realize why, after so many years of fighting, the scope of the war remained so vast, with neither side gaining a significant advantage.

On the contrary, as time went by, the Heavenly Kingdom gained a firm foothold and, except for Hunan and Hubei, took over almost the entire Jiangnan region. It truly became a rival to the Manchu Qing, who had lost Sichuan and Guanzhong, and their strength was evenly matched.

Even the foreigners have stopped making any moves. They used to try to force the Qing court to revise treaties and sell opium, but now they don't dare to act recklessly.

The situation in China maintains a delicate balance, with foreigners merely engaging in trade with both sides, selling weapons to both, as Wang Yan has stated. Any further action from them would easily disrupt this balance.

On the other hand, their forces were insufficient. The current battlefields in China were dominated by bolt-action rifles; there was no technological gap between their weapons and those of the foreigners, and even in terms of numbers, since the foreigners only numbered in the tens of thousands. Both the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom possessed tens of thousands of guns, just not in such a concentrated manner.

To avoid losing business to foreigners, Wang Yan released more and more weapons, driving down their prices.

Now, everyone is in a bind. People have studied Wang Yan's rise to power countless times, trying to find the secrets behind it. Then they discovered the industries under Wang Yan's control, and the foreigners were all wondering how Wang Yan had managed to develop so many things.

Industry—just two simple words, but behind them lies a complex system involving countless aspects. Only by solving the prerequisites can subsequent technologies be developed; missing even one step can lead to problems.

Wang Yan's technology is even more advanced than that of foreigners. Steam is spreading throughout Wang Yan's territory, and industrial miracles are resounding on this ancient land...

Pang Qingyun was promoted to deputy general, but he did not directly lead troops. Instead, he became a staff officer, learning from Lord Chen and handling some logistical matters. He was essentially acting as Wang Yanxing's supervisory representative.

Then Lord Chen and Li Cheng clashed again near Hefei and Lu'an. As expected, Lord Chen was defeated once more. Li Cheng sent a surprise force that went straight to Lord Jiang's rear and, taking him by surprise, delivered a crushing blow...

With a crisp crack, the expensive teacup was swept to the ground and shattered.

"A newly formed army, lacking combat strength? What utter nonsense!"

Lord Jiang was somewhat wealthy, with a face full of fat. At this moment, his anger revealed his fierce appearance, making him look terrifying.

"I think he sided with Huo Shan and Wang Yan! Otherwise, how could he have ten thousand guns?"

"Don't worry, Lord Chen is still sensible," Lord Di advised from the side. "It's because He Kui, one of your men, was too cowardly last time, and Lord Chen's men were too ambitious. It's understandable that they suffered a defeat. He has regrouped his troops, but their fighting strength is insufficient, so it's understandable that some people slipped through. Lord Jiang, please don't speak recklessly. Lord Chen is an important minister of our Great Qing Dynasty, and a loyal one at that."

Lord Di's tone was profound and had a hidden meaning.

Lord Jiang snorted: "He wouldn't dare cut off our escape route. Wang Yan hasn't even thought about rebelling yet."

"What are you saying in anger, Lord Jiang? Wang Yan has only been secretly rebelling, not openly. As for whether he is truly rebelling, judging from his style, only if the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the foreigners all want to die would they want to force Wang Yan to launch a large-scale military campaign."

Lord Di sighed, "Lord Jiang, don't be angry. Just apologize to Lord Chen, say a few nice words, and the three of us can have a drink together, and this matter will be over. At this point, there's no point in fighting anymore. Just deal with it. Less military action means less money."

Lord Jiang suddenly burst into laughter, "I've schemed my whole life and come to this point, yet I'm still powerless to control my own destiny, hahaha..."

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