Chapter 734

He Lingchuan nodded: "Sure enough, the crux of it all is in Longchuan."

To cut the grass, you must remove the roots; to kill rats, you must dig out the nest.

"There are quite a few demon beasts in Longchuan, and they are also in cahoots with the bandits." Wen Daolun pointed to the sand table, "Qianjin Stronghold is one of the biggest bandit gangs. Their base is built in the lake, and the water demons swimming around are their guards. Xi-Ji once attacked this water stronghold, but ended up defeated and humiliated."

"Commander Zhong suspects that there is official support behind several bandit gangs in Longchuan. In the past month or two, the armor and weapons they use have suddenly improved."

"Colluding with external enemies?" Collusion between inside and outside has always been the hardest to deal with. He Lingchuan's eyes flickered, "Thank you, Magistrate Wen, I understand."

He Lingchuan now looked at the geographical location of Yuheng City again and found that it was very close to the eastern border and the Longchuan in the south.

The task Zhong Shengguang assigned him was not easy; he had to both guard the border and ensure the safety and smooth passage of the Longchuan trade route.

There is no need to elaborate on Panlongcheng's emphasis on this new trade route. Zhong Shengguang had been thinking about an outlet to the sea for so many years; how could he let dozens of bandit nests threaten Panlongcheng's new way out? Suppressing the bandits was imperative.

Wen Daolun added: "Commander Xiao returned in a hurry. You can ask Deputy General Chao Qian about the situation within the army."

It was too late, so He Lingchuan chatted with him for a few more sentences before rising to leave.

Cao Shi, who saw him out, said: "Commander He, the official residence prepared for you is just behind..."

Before he finished speaking, he was cut off by He Lingchuan: "Can I live outside on my own?"

"Ah?" Cao Shi was startled, "O-of course you can!"

Could he manage his superior?

"Have you already chosen a place to stay? Shall I have the utensils sent over to you?"

"How long have you been in Yuheng City?"

"This humble official grew up in Yuheng City; I am, I am a Xiluo person!"

"Then you are very familiar with this place, huh?" He Lingchuan smiled, "Then do me a favor and choose a good place for me, will you?"

"Ah? Good, good."

He Lingchuan went to the academy to call Sun Fuling, and then asked this Cao Shi to act as a guide/intermediary for the two.

This person was worthy of being a local expert in Yuheng City. After clarifying the needs of the two, he stood still and thought for a long time, then said 'Aiya': "There is one, yes, yes, there is a house that you two will definitely be satisfied with!"

One? But Master Sun clearly said that the two would still be neighbors. He Lingchuan quietly glanced at her, and seeing she had no objections, he pretended not to notice the anomaly: "Then let's go take a look."

Cao Shi immediately led them toward the mountain behind the government office.

The night was deep, and the small path up the mountain was somewhat dim. Fortunately, Cao Shi soon knocked on the gate of a household.

This was a big family in Yuheng City, surnamed Yang. The four houses halfway up the mountain all belonged to his family. The Yang family lived in one, rented out two, and the last big one was still empty.

This empty house was separated into two courtyards by a wall. The two courtyards were the same size, and even the layout was exactly the same.

As soon as the Yang family heard that these two were the new commander of Yuheng City and the new master of the academy, he immediately grabbed the keys and personally led the two to see the house.

Sun Fuling was very satisfied as soon as she entered:

The terrain here was high, and standing outside the courtyard, one could overlook the starlit lights of Yuheng City.

Ten-odd zhang away was a small stream. It was frozen in this season, but the landlord said that by the third month, it would be a babbling brook with fish and shrimp swimming around.

The wisteria vines hanging from the courtyard wall were dense and thick; now they were covered in snow, but in the coming year, they would be full of flowers.

The most critical thing was that the courtyard and the house were five times larger than their residence in Panlongcheng!

Sun Fuling covered her chest and whispered to He Lingchuan: "There's even a firewood room here!"

They lived in a wooden house in Panlongcheng, two steps from the door to the bed, with firewood piled in the courtyard. How could it compare to the spacious luxury of this house halfway up the mountain! He Lingchuan saw her eyes shining, so he said: "You like it?"

Sun Fuling nodded vigorously, her dimples reappearing.

For the first time, He Lingchuan discovered a childlike, pure, and straightforward joy in her.

"Do you want to see others?" He also whispered, "We've only seen the first house. I think the houses in Yuheng City are all quite big."

When buying things, you compare three shops; why wouldn't you do the same when looking at a house?

Sun Fuling shook her head incessantly: "I think this is good enough; I am very satisfied."

Seeing the beauty's smile like a flower, He Lingchuan felt a bit heartbroken for some reason.

The Pan Mountain residence he lived in in Lingxu City was at least ten times larger than this; not to mention Xiangxue Residence and Pianxiang Villa, which occupied half a mountain, with all sorts of luxuries inside that he had long taken for granted.

Yet Sun Fuling had never seen such a luxurious house and courtyard, and had never enjoyed the superior life of those above others.

It was just a side courtyard with a firewood room, and she was this satisfied?

"Then it's this one." He Lingchuan paid the deposit to the Yang family, took the keys, and handed one to Sun Fuling, "It's late; let's stay at an inn tonight and come back to tidy up the house tomorrow."

The Great Commander of Yuheng City living in his own house—how much face would that give him! The Yang family smiled until his teeth were invisible, enthusiastically seeing the two off down the mountain and waving goodbye.

He Lingchuan wanted to gift a tael of silver to Cao Shi as a running fee, but the other party refused to accept it no matter what.

"This won't do, this won't do. Panlongcheng has explicit regulations; I wouldn't dare break the precedent." Cao Shi smiled, "I am more than happy to do things for Commander He!"

He Lingchuan patted his shoulder: "Thanks."

After Cao Shi left, Sun Fuling smiled slightly: "You are already the Great Commander of Yuheng City now. When your subordinate does things for you, do you just gift him money directly?"

Gift? He Lingchuan was startled, immediately stopping and straightening his expression: "Master is right; I was wrong!"

He had been used to being a young master, and even in Lingxu City, he was a guest minister of the Chi-Yan people, so it was not inappropriate to use money to dismiss others.

But he was now a leader in power, so he had to pay attention to changing his methods.

Using money to make subordinates do things is the worst way.

The word 'gift' used by Master Sun also had deep meaning.

If you really want to give gold and silver to subordinates, that is a bestowal, a reward, never a gift.

'Gift' is for peers or outsiders.

This is called the distinction between superior and inferior, and the measure of grace and authority.

He Lingchuan didn't realize his change in status, but Sun Fuling's light and clever words reminded him to start paying attention to the distinction between superior and inferior.

Sun Fuling shook her head: "It's fine with me. But with your subordinates, your 'I was wrong' was wrong again."

A superior cannot easily admit mistakes.

It's not that you can't admit them, but that you can't admit them easily.

Once you admit you are wrong, you give your opponents leverage and talking points. How are you going to let your subordinates do things in the future?

The subtlety of this is hard to explain.

(End of chapter)