Chapter 87 Threat
Pan Hong took two steps forward and said coldly, "Captain Wu, I, Pan Hong, have offended Wang Zhen, but are you good enough to be Wang Zhen? You are dreaming if you want to pressure me to please him! You are even more dreaming if you want to extort money from me!"

"I, Pan Hong, was able to overturn Wang Zhen's case twice in the capital. How could I be afraid of a small village head like you in Datong? Just come and see if I will be in trouble next time, or you will be transferred to the suburbs to farm!" Pan Hong said coldly, "If I can do it the first time, I can definitely do it the second time!"

Wu Bei's heart trembled and he took two steps back. When he realized that he was scared by Pan Hong, his face became even uglier.

Pan Hong, however, remained calm. He just snorted at him and walked away from him.

When Pan Hong returned home, Pan Yue was forcing Pan Yu to drink medicine.

I don’t know if the talisman paper worked, but Pan Yu’s complexion looked much better than in the previous few days.

Among the eight people that day, another one also suffered internal injuries and died yesterday.

So Pan Yue now keeps a close eye on Pan Yu, giving him two doses of medicine a day, and keeping amulets for safety and health with him at all times.

If their father hadn't been so strict, he would have wanted to burn the remaining health charms and give them to him to eat.

Turning his head and seeing Pan Hong coming back, Pan Yue hurriedly asked, "Dad, what does the head of the village want to see you for?"

"I became the head of the village."

Pan Yue and Pan Yu's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Seeing them happy, Pan Hong couldn't help but smile and nodded, "Really? You brothers have a head. This time, it's all thanks to you that Dad got it."

He said to Pan Yue, "Captain Qin and Captain Hu both have their eyes on you brothers and want you brothers to join the army."

Pan Yue was surprised. "Did the two centurions personally select our brothers' names?"

Pan Hong nodded.

Pan Yue thought for a moment and said, "Captain Qin wanted us for a reason. He was there the day we came back. It was because of him that the Datong Army let us take the armor and swords. Otherwise, we would not have been able to keep these spoils. But why did Captain Hu want us too?"

Pan Hong: "This time when the Tartars marched south, it was Captain Hu and the Western Three Divisions who led the army together, but they only captured nine heads, and three were killed. The eight of you, plus the dead Zong Shilang, captured three heads. If you add them all up, it will barely be acceptable in the report to the court."

Pan Yue asked, "Who does Dad think we should follow?"

"Captain Qin," Pan Hong said, "I have inquired about it. Captain Qin is an upright man with a broad mind. Captain Hu is capable, but his mind is not as broad-minded. Good work, so I will help you choose Captain Qin."

Pan Hong paused and continued, "Your brother is in such poor health now. I declined the offer on his behalf. When he recovers from his injury, I will find a way to get him into the army. You can go in first to pave the way. You can also see in advance whether the army is suitable for you brothers."

Pan Yue: "We are exiled people. Being able to join the army and become a formal soldier is already a very good way out. Does Dad have any other way out?"

Pan Hong: "Wait for the right time. I may be able to be rehabilitated in the future, and then I will have other options. So, even if you enter the military camp, don't give up studying. The right way is still the imperial examination."

Pan Yu had a bitter look on his face.

Pan Hong and Pan Yue both pretended not to see it. Pan Yue felt that it was unlikely that his father would be rehabilitated. Unless Wang Zhen in the palace fell out of favor or died, they would have to stay here for the rest of their lives.

Instead of hoping for redress, it is better to make merit in the army and fight your way out from another way.

Therefore, Pan Yue was very concerned about the military affairs. "If we reject Captain Hu like this, will it offend Captain Hu?"

"Yes," Pan Hong said, "but this is an inevitable choice."

"You chose Captain Hu and rejected Captain Qin, so you won't offend him. But if you work under Captain Hu, even if you don't offend him today, you will offend him tomorrow for one thing or another," Pan Hong said. "If you don't want to offend him, you can only become his lackey, a yes-man, and do everything he does."

"In this case, are you still yourself? You can't achieve what you want or wish for," Pan Hong patted his shoulder and said, "So don't be afraid of offending villains. A gentleman is open and honest, so there is no need to worry about it."

Pan Yue pursed his lips. He admitted that his father was right, but he didn't want to offend Captain Hu. Of course, he didn't want to work under Captain Hu.

Just as his father said, as long as he has his own ideas while working under him, he will always offend Captain Hu.

But is there any way to work under Captain Qin without offending Captain Hu?
Pan Yue secretly glanced at his father and felt that his father must not know, otherwise his father would not have been exiled here.

Seeing that they had finished talking about serious matters, Pan Yu quickly interrupted and asked, "Dad, when can I get out of bed?"

Pan Hong touched his head and said, "Don't worry. The doctor said that your internal organs are still injured. You have had blood in your stool for the past two days. Although it is not much, you still have to be extra careful. So lie in bed and don't move. Tell me and your elder brother if you need anything."

Pan Yu: "But my brother is going to the army tomorrow."

Pan Hong: "Then there is still me, right?"

Pan Yu was depressed, "I want to go to the army with my brother."

"Don't worry, we can go together once you recover from your injury."

As they were talking, there was a knock on the door.

Pan Yue went out to open the door, and it was the Jin brothers.

When Jin Changli saw Pan Hong, he immediately clasped his fists and said, "Chief." Pan Hong smiled and bowed, "So you are the Jin brothers, come in and sit down."

Jin Changli walked into the room and looked at Pan Yu, then explained his purpose, "Captain Qin and Captain Hu both want to transfer us brothers to the army. Who does the chief say we should serve under?"

Pan Hong smiled and said, "It depends on your own choice, brothers. My Yue'er chose Qin Baihu."

Jin Changli understood, "Then we will also choose Captain Qin. Brother Pan, please take care of me in the future."

Pan Yue clasped his fists and said, "Brother Jin, you are too polite. I would like to ask Brother Jin and Brother Jin to take care of me."

"I'm not being polite, I'm serious. If it weren't for you, Brother Pan, leading us into the woods and killing the Tartars, how could we brothers be where we are today?"

Jin Changli sighed and said, "Uncle Pan should know my family. My family was exiled during the Yongle period. Our father was implicated by our grandfather and was a soldier all his life. The same is true for us brothers."

"But we are soldiers, but we don't go to the battlefield or train in the army. Instead, we do menial jobs in this exile village. We are called soldiers, but we are actually slaves. To be honest, my second brother and I have long wanted to fight on the battlefield. Whether we can achieve merit or not is another matter, but at least we have to get our family out of the exile village."

Pan Hong said he understood.

Even if they are all military personnel, there is still a chain of contempt.

Among them, those with the lowest status were the exiled people and their families.

Exile with a time limit is not so bad. Occasionally, if the emperor grants amnesty, you may be able to return home. Exile without a time limit, such as Pan Hong and the ancestors of the Jin family.

That will be here for generations to come.

Their status was low, so their descendants were naturally low as well.

People always think that soldiers going to the battlefield have a hard time, but they don’t know how much soldiers like Jin Changli want to go to the battlefield.

Going to the battlefield might mean death, but it also gives you the chance to stand out and bring blessings to your family.

Instead of going to the battlefield, they spent their whole lives farming and working for the army, farming and working for various generals and lieutenants;
You will be bent in the mud all your life and anyone can bully you.

The gloom and torment of having no future for your whole life and your descendants not being able to see the future.

People who are numb can live in numbness, but people who don’t want to be numb and want to live a better life can’t survive even a single day.

But they are tied up here, bending over for tens of thousands of days, which is even more painful than killing them.

The moment the head of the village came, Jin Changli and Jin Zhongwu decided that they must follow Pan Yue.

This is their lucky star.

They had worked so hard for so many years but never saw any hope, but this time not only did they see it, they also caught it.

Both of them decided to follow Pan Yue to Qin Baihu.

After seeing off the Jin brothers, Pan Hong said to Pan Yue, "Form an alliance with them, so that you will have supporters when you go to the battlefield in the future. But don't slack off. Starting tomorrow, go running and do horse stance to train your lower body and strength. From now on, you will be a real soldier. Remember, a military official is willing to die, so that you can protect the border and the country."

Pan Yue agreed, and as soon as his father left, he turned around and said to Pan Yu on the bed: "Don't listen to your father. When you get better, you can run and do horse stance with me, and learn to climb trees and ride horses. In the future, if you can't win on the battlefield, just run away. As long as you run fast enough, the enemy can't catch up with you."

Pan Yu opened his mouth wide, "Isn't this a deserter?"

"What deserters? Did we run away this time? Only if we save our lives can we find a way to fight back," Pan Yue said, "Aren't we just running into the woods this time and then trying to kill the Tartars?"

Pan Yu nodded, but stopped midway when he realized something was wrong, and retorted, "But we were just soldiers at that time, without weapons or armor, and our mission was just to harvest rice. Once we were on the battlefield, our purpose was to fight, so how could we run away?"

Pan Yue: "No matter where we are, the goal is the same, to win the battle and kill the enemy, right?"

Pan Yu couldn't find any fault and nodded hesitantly.

"If you are not alive, how can you kill the enemy and win the battle?" Pan Yue said, "You must remember that all is fair in war. Military officials are different from civil officials. Civil officials do not need to be cunning, but military officials need to be treacherous and cunning."

Pan Yu's eyes widened, "Brother, you said it the other way around, didn't you?"

"No," Pan Yue said, "Military officials are to the outside world, so the wiser, smarter, and more cunning they are, the better. Civil officials are to the inside world, to the people, and to their colleagues, so the best is to be honest and frank."

"Think about it, if the civil officials didn't play tricks and focused on governing the country, would Dad still be unjustly exiled?"

Pan Yu: "Brother, although I think what you said is very right, the civil and military officials in this world are not puppets in your hands. They will do whatever you tell them to do."

"You are a teachable boy," Pan Yue said, patting his head. "You can understand this principle, but your father doesn't."

Pan Yu took a while to react, "Well, you said that Daddy is not even as good as Ruzi."

　See you at 8 am. Oh, today's lucky numbers are all numbers ending in . You can enter the Daming group to receive rewards by taking screenshots of the lucky numbers for any chapter.
　　(End of this chapter)