The fiercest soldier of the border army

Li Yingchu's smile faded, her brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of displeasure appeared in her eyes.

Li Changlin had anticipated this, but he never expected it to be so urgent.

The other civil officials lowered their heads and drank their tea, none of them responding.

Tang Shun slowly withdrew his hand.

He knows this type of person.

He read a lot of books, considered himself a paragon of virtue, and looked down on illiterate soldiers who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Their power comes from articles, from memorials, and from a few words of argument in court.

Those present were all staff members of the military governor's office, holding ranks of no more than the sixth or seventh grade. However, because they were in the military governor's office and oversaw the military and political affairs of the Northern Court, they were arrogant and haughty.

It belongs to the category of lowly in rank but high in power.

Everyone wants to become a high-ranking official in charge of a region.

Tang Shun, a military man, suddenly became a prefect, holding the seal of a fourth-rank official, which was like a thorn in their hearts.

Therefore, Lei Song openly provoked, and no one came to his defense.

As far as Tang Shun was concerned, if he turned hostile on the spot, he could be impeached the next day for "arrogance and rudeness, assaulting and humiliating his subordinates".

There's no need to fight for this moment.

"Commander Lei is right."

Tang Shun spoke, his voice steady, "I come from a military background, which is indeed different from yours, but we have one thing in common."

"Since it is an order from above, we should naturally abide by the rules and regulations and dare not act recklessly."

Li Yingchu looked at Tang Shun with her beautiful eyes, her expression softening slightly.

It seems that Magistrate Tang, who was able to manipulate events in Wenchi County and navigate among bandits with ease, was indeed not one to suffer losses.

Tang Shun's words conveyed the same message: whether it's the governorship or the banquet, it's all arranged by those above, and subordinates should simply obey orders.

Lei Song stared at him, and seeing that he was neither angry nor annoyed, his heart sank.

I thought I could provoke him into losing his temper, smashing his glass and leaving, or angrily arguing back, so I could have something to hold against him.

Yet this person was able to endure it, and endured it so decisively, without leaving any flaws.

"That's true." Lei Song stood up, a smile on his face. "Please sit down, Lord Tang."

Tang Shun nodded, lifted his robe, and sat down.

The table was already set with dishes: six meat dishes, four vegetable dishes, a soup, and two wines, all in the style of northern China.

Stewed mutton, roasted venison, pickled ox tongue, braised pig ears, steamed fish, roast goose, served with turnips, radishes, bean sprouts, and bitter greens.

The wine is a strong brew from the border region, served in an earthenware pot.

Li Yingchu sat to Tang Shun's left without saying a word.

Li Changlin sat in the right row, his expression unchanged, as if nothing had just happened.

Lei Song raised his glass, looked around at everyone, and said, "Although tonight is not a grand banquet, it is still a welcome feast for Lord Tang. Come, let's drink to this cup together."

Everyone raised their glasses.

Tang Shun also raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp.

The liquor was strong, burning from his throat to his stomach, but he remained unfazed.

The military governor's judge was surnamed Zhou and named Zhou Xingsong. He was a thin, middle-aged man with a pair of shrewd and sharp triangular eyes.

He said, "Lord Tang governs the people of Wenchi with extraordinary methods."

"I heard that rice prices rose first and then fell, and the people initially complained, but later praised it highly."

"Such ability to manipulate events is something we civil officials could never achieve, even if we racked our brains."

This sounds like a compliment, but it's actually a dig at someone.

It means: What you're doing is a conspiracy, not the right thing to do.

Tang Shun put down his cup and said calmly, "The price of grain has risen because merchants are hoarding it, and there is a shortage of grain in the market."

"If the granaries are not opened, the people will not survive the winter. If the granaries are opened too early, unscrupulous merchants will take the opportunity to lower the price of grain and buy it up, and the people will still not benefit."

"Therefore, we can only first spread rumors to induce them to sell their grain, and then use the official granaries to enter the market at low prices, forcing them to lose money. This is not a means, but a last resort."

"Oh?" Han Cheng, the chief secretary standing beside him, raised an eyebrow, smiling as he picked up the conversation, and then delivered the same sharp retort, "So you're using the lives of ordinary people to set up your scheme?"

"It's not about taking it." Tang Shun looked up and stared directly at him. "It's about exchanging temporary pain for long-term peace. If I didn't do this, Wenchi would probably be a living hell."

Li Changlin lowered his head to pick up some food, his movements never stopping, but his ears were perked up.

Li Yingchu gently picked up her chopsticks, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them.

Seeing that Tang Shun still responded weakly, Lei Song smiled and said, "Yes, the common people are able to survive, but the merchants are full of complaints."

"In Lord Tang's eyes, is it that the lives of ordinary people matter, but the lives of merchants don't?"

"They came from afar, only to suffer such a calamity. I'm afraid that outside of Beiting, Lord Tang's reputation will suffer."

Tang Shun didn't reply.

He slowly picked up the wine pot and poured himself a cup.

The wine made a soft sound as it was poured into the glass.

He raised his cup and looked at Lei Song: "Greedy merchants only bring trouble upon themselves."

"Tang is just a soldier, and his actions are naturally very methodical."

"what goes around comes around."

After he finished speaking, he tilted his head back and drank it down.

When he put down his glass again, a faint smile was on his face.

Seeing that Tang Shun was also subtly sarcastic, Lei Song felt a surge of anger and said slowly:

"Since we are hosting a welcome dinner for Lord Tang today, the six of us at the table make up a proper gathering."

"Miss Li is of a refined nature and does not like to be bound by such formalities, so I will not force her."

"But we are five colleagues in the civil service, and since we're already here, why don't we compose some poems to liven things up?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yingchu's expression changed slightly.

Everyone knows that Tang Shun was a military man. He was certainly skilled in troop deployment and killing, but he knew nothing about composing poetry!

Li Changlin shook his head, his voice neither loud nor soft, "Lord Lei, today's banquet was originally for the purpose of getting to know each other."

"Drinking and chatting is enough; why force poetry on us? We are soldiers by origin and may not be accustomed to such elegance."

"Refined taste?" Lei Song chuckled. "This isn't refined taste, it's about rules."

"Which of you here hasn't read the classics and wielded a pen?"

"Having entered the ranks of civil officials, how can one not use pen and ink, and not be involved in literature? If one cannot even compose poetry, how can one understand literature, or draft government decrees?"

After he finished speaking, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Tang Shun with a half-smile.

Li Yingchu spoke coldly, "You people always love to use these lousy habits to intimidate others."

"If you're going to drink, just drink; if you're going to eat, just eat. Do you have to make it fancy to be considered respectable?"

"In my opinion, let's call it a day for tonight. Everyone, please disperse."

"Miss Li, you are mistaken." At this moment, Han Cheng, the secretary in charge, said solemnly, "The conduct of scholars is inherently different from that of military men."

"Lord Tang will soon be a fourth-rank official, in charge of military and political affairs in a region. If he can't even respond to a single poem, wouldn't it make the world think that our Northern Court is incompetent?"

He paused, his gaze sharp as he looked directly at Tang Shun: "Besides, composing poetry is the simplest thing."

"The most difficult part is the drinking game. It's not enough to just hum a couple of lines of doggerel. You have to use the same sentence structure and rhyme to continue telling a story."

"One person begins, the next continues, and each step is linked to the next. If a word is wrong or a rhyme is omitted, it is considered improper."

"If someone responds well, they'll be applauded; if they don't..." he drawled, "they'll just become a laughingstock."

His tone was light and cheerful, as if it were truly a literary gathering. "Lord Tang is about to take charge of Lingzhou, and his fame will spread far and wide. I wonder if you would be interested in giving it a try?"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

The air was like a frozen river, just waiting for the first crack.

Li Changlin looked anxious and subtly shook his head at Tang Shun, indicating that he should not agree.

Li Yingchu tugged at Tang Shun's sleeve from under the table, and did the same.

Tang Shun seemed not to hear him, a slight smile playing on his lips. "If it's about composing poems, I really have no interest."

"However, I would like to hear more about the drinking game that Lord Han mentioned."

They actually agreed!

Li Yingchu and the other woman's expressions changed, and they secretly exclaimed in disbelief!

"Very well, Lord Tang is indeed straightforward!"

A hint of smugness flashed in Lei Song's eyes, but he quickly concealed it and said with a smile:

"In that case, I will explain the rules."

"There are six meat dishes on the table: stewed mutton, roasted venison, pickled ox tongue, braised pig's ear, steamed fish, and roast goose."

"Let's have the five of us play a drinking game using stories. After we finish, each of us can enjoy the drink alone, shall we?"

Having said that, as if afraid that Tang Shun would change his mind, he said, "Since it was me who suggested it, then I will start."

Lei Song pretended to be deep in thought, one hand behind his back and the other lightly patting his forehead, as if he was racking his brains.

A moment later, he suddenly slapped his thigh and said loudly:

"Got it!"

"A military man from the Northern Court takes charge of the county court; he dislikes the charcoal smoke and replaces it with white frost."

"Ignoring the hunger and suffering of the displaced people, they only sought out temples and built magnificent halls."

As soon as he finished speaking, the three civil officials burst into laughter...