Chapter 109 Requesting Punishment
Qi Rong interrupted Lin Changning: "There's no need to persuade Changping. As the commander, this matter was indeed my oversight, and it has nothing to do with anyone else." With that, he picked up his pen to write a memorial to report and ask for punishment.
Lin Changning felt frustrated and annoyed. After a long while, he said with some grievance, "Commander, at worst I can just lead another group to raid the Tartars. Mutton is delicious, so we can just eat as much as we need to. You don't have to do this."
Qi Rong chuckled, feeling somewhat touched as he looked at the listless young man who had stood up for him. "Nonsense! The New Year is almost here. What kind of business is it to lead men to the grasslands to steal sheep? You're a commander of a thousand men, not a bandit. Besides, we've already raided the Tartar strongholds twice this year. They must be on guard. The same method might not work next time. I am, after all, the commander of the guard. It's just a matter of oversight, not my life. Even if I'm demoted, I can always climb back up."
Lin Changning was still indignant, twisting his head and sticking out his neck: "I'm not convinced. Commander, if we can't rob the Tartars, we can rob Prince Sheng. Either way, they're all bad people."
Qi Rong, unusually speaking in a lighthearted tone, said to a child, "Alright, how old are you? You're usually quite shrewd, so why do you make such a fuss over important matters? Put away your petty thoughts and enjoy the New Year. If you're really feeling frustrated, I'll give you a few days off. Go home and visit your family before you come back."
Lin Changning was about to come up with another wicked idea, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed to be to plunder Prince Sheng's grain supplies. Just as he was about to dissuade him, Commander Zhou entered with Commander Ma and Commander Zhang. Commander Ma saw Qi Rong and immediately knelt down, his eyes red and wailing, "Commander! You've wronged me to death!"
The loud-voiced men covered their faces and turned their heads away. A burly man, about 1.8 meters tall, was kneeling on the ground, wailing and crying with tears streaming down his face. It was a sight to behold.
Qi Rong also softened his tone helplessly: "I know you've been wronged, Lao Ma. Get up and talk. Don't sit on the ground; it's dirty."
Old Ma wiped his snot and tears with his sleeve. Hearing the commander's tone soften, he stopped crying, sighed, and sat back down. Lin Changning originally wanted to hand him a handkerchief, but seeing Ma Qianhu's disgusted look, he silently lowered his hand that was already in his pocket. Actually, sleeves are sometimes very useful, even without a handkerchief.
Old Ma was released from prison after less than two days. Looking around at the missing person, he angrily said, "That guy surnamed Shi is really cursed! I've always treated him well, and he betrayed me like this! My eldest son is about to marry his niece, and he pulls this trick!"
Lin Changning, who knew a little about the inside story, looked at Old Ma and asked, "Uncle Ma, your third aunt said that Commander Shi went to your house for a feast half a month ago. What happened?"
Old Ma raised an eyebrow: "My daughter went to beg you?"
Lin Changning nodded, as if she were the one seducing Ma Sanniang: "Go and beg me to save you."
Old Ma muttered, "You don't want to marry my daughter anyway, so it would be too unrespectable for me to go looking for you again."
Lin Changning rolled his eyes: "Is it the same thing? Old Ma, your daughter came to me to ask me to bail you out. Don't confuse the two, just tell me."
Seeing that the man was getting a little agitated, Old Ma finally got down to business, scratching his head and looking at Qi Rong: "Commander, I've been thinking a lot these past two days in prison. Something's been off ever since we caught Hadar setting the trap. Didn't I fall into the pit that time? I turned my head and thought about it, and then I realized something. The one who charged with me that time was surnamed Shi. He wouldn't have fallen into the trap. At that time, Old Shi's team happened to come in from the rear, and my team couldn't dodge in time, so we had to charge forward to the left."
Realizing we were approaching a trap, it was too late to turn around. My team and I ended up falling into our own trap. I only remembered yesterday when you mentioned the letter. It was a return gift from my son's niece, surnamed Shi, whom he had arranged to meet half a month ago. That day, they invited Old Shi over for drinks. Usually, not many people come and go from our yard, but that day quite a few people came to his house. Halfway through, Old Shi went to the yard to sober up. After thinking it over, I realized it could only be him.”
Lin Changning nodded: "That's right. Uncle Ma is impulsive and doesn't seem like the kind of person who could set up such a scheme."
Qi Rong curled the corners of his mouth without saying a word, and Zhou Qianhu also laughed, while Zhang Baihu was even more overjoyed.
Looking at everyone's behavior, Ma Qianhu turned around and punched Lin Changning on the back: "You little brat, you think I can't tell your uncle is stupid? Who are you trying to insult?"
Lin Changning felt a sharp pain in his shoulder from the blow and gasped, "Be gentle, Uncle Ma, I hurt my shoulder."
Upon hearing this, Commander Ma reached out to pull at Lin Changning's clothes: "Ouch, where are you hurt? Is it serious? Let me take a look."
Lin Changning twisted Ma Qianhu's wrist with his backhand and used a grappling technique to subdue him: "Thank you, Uncle Ma, but it's not necessary."
"Ouch, you little brat, let go, let go! Just kidding, you actually got the hang of it!!!" Ma Qianhu howled, his face contorted with rage.
"Stop fooling around, let's get down to business," Qi Rong said, his expression turning serious.
"Today I will submit a petition to plead guilty to negligence. Commander Ma will be reinstated immediately. Commander Zhang will be promoted to commander to take over Commander Shi's position. Changping, please help investigate whether there are any spies left in Commander Shi's team. Once you have found them, review the case and report back to me. My life should be safe after I plead guilty, but I will most likely lose my command position. The court should send someone to replace me at the end of the month. Try your best not to give anyone any leverage over you. I probably won't be able to protect you once I step down."
For a moment, everyone stopped joking around, and the atmosphere became serious again. Old Ma said dejectedly, "Is there no other way?"
Old Zhou was also feeling bad. Daxing was now able to be defended like an iron barrel, the soldiers' pay was paid on time, they ate well, dressed well, and the military discipline was strict. The unity of the troops was largely due to their good leadership. Compared with other garrisons, their lives were much better. When there was no food, their commander paid out of his own pocket to buy it from elsewhere. When the soldiers' pay was not received, he sold his own belongings to cover the shortfall. This time, it was clearly a villain's scheme, yet it forced their commander to ask for punishment!
Old Ma's eyes reddened, Old Zhou slammed his fist on the tea table, and Zhang Baihu hung his head, seemingly lost in thought. After a long while, he stammered, "Commander, if it doesn't work, push me up there, I..."
Old Ma chimed in, "Yeah, it's just about finding a scapegoat, right? I can do that too."
Lin Changning shook his head and sighed: "It's not that simple. Even if we find the culprit, the court will not let the commander go. They came here to weaken his power, and they won't let go of such a good opportunity."
Qi Rong nodded in agreement: "Changping is right. The most important thing now is to get food and supplies. So many people in the garrison can't starve to death. As for being punished, that's secondary. I'll take full responsibility. At least I can protect you and prevent you from being dismissed from top to bottom. You can still retain some say in the matter. So be more vigilant lately."
A moment later, the four men responded with a "yes" and left the tent dejectedly to get back to work.
Lin Changning squinted at the gray sky and felt for the first time that he was out of place in this world. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Uncle Ma, what's wrong with this world?"
Commander Ma remained silent for a long time, then sighed, "Sigh, let's get to work."
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