Chapter 120

　　The next morning, the tragic deaths of Hengshan Nie Wei and Fan Yuan in the room shocked all the martial artists still in Songzhou. Everyone in the martial arts world was talking about it, but according to Yu Meng, it was very likely that the two were drugged and then easily killed, which made everyone think of the man in black who colluded with the Japanese.

　　Pang Jun also came here. Looking at the remaining three people from Hengshan with strange expressions, looking at Yu Meng who looked sad and angry, looking at Chen Xuan and Xie Wenxiao with complicated expressions, he almost laughed.

　　He bowed to the martial artists present and said sincerely, "You all came to Songzhou. As the father and mother of this place, I failed to govern it properly, and let two great heroes die in a foreign land. I really feel guilty."

　　The martial artists present hurriedly responded. Jin Tuo said, "Lord Liu, you are too polite. Lord Liu, as the local official, personally led his troops to rescue us from danger. He is our great benefactor. Your misfortune is not caused by you, but by the evil villain who is too treacherous and vicious. You don't have to blame yourself." His words were quite pertinent. Most of the people present still had a good impression of Pang Jun.

　　"Alas," Yu Meng sighed, and said, "This time when I came here, all the martial arts sects in my world fell into the trap of the villains and suffered heavy losses. My two nephews... Alas, it is better for me to go home. Lord Liu, we will meet again. I am grateful for your kindness." The martial artists from other major sects also said goodbye to Pang Jun and went home.

　　At this time, Pang Jun suddenly said, "Hey, who is the manager of the Giant Whale Gang? Please stay, I have something else to ask you."

　　A man from the Giant Whale Gang stayed behind and asked Pang Jun, "I am Ying Dian from the Giant Whale Gang. May I ask what the lord wants to do?"

　　"I would like to ask about Dongling Island."

　　"Dongling Island? Island Master Han Lihan?" Ying Dian asked in surprise.

　　"Yes, I would like to pay a visit to the island master Hanli. I wonder what the rules are on Dongling Island?" Pang Jun asked humbly.

　　Ying Dian thought for a moment and replied, "Everyone who makes a living in the East China Sea knows that to see Island Master Han, one must first pass the civil and military tests. If one fails one of the tests, one can only return home. If one wants to force his way in, Dongling Island is full of traps and murderous intentions. No matter how many lives one has, it is not enough. Therefore, few people have been able to see Island Master Han. If Lord Liu wants to see Island Master Han, I guess he will not give him leniency because he is an official appointed by the court."

　　Pang Jun nodded and said, "Thank you for explaining my doubts."

　　"Lord Liu, you are too polite. It's just a small matter. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave first. If you have any instructions in the future, you can send someone to the Giant Whale Gang to find me. I will go through fire and water for you." After saying this, Ying Dian left.

　　Many martial artists seemed to be afraid of being found by the man in black and killed. In just two days, they left Songzhou one after another. Jin Tuo and other Taishan disciples as well as Mu Qi had already come to the governor's mansion the day before to bid farewell to Pan Tong and Yue Siwan, mother and daughter, and left Songzhou, except for Yu Meng. He found an escort agency to transport the two coffins back to Hengshan, but he wandered around Songzhou slowly for three days before returning. Presumably, during these three days, he had played with Chen Xuan and Xie Wenxiao, the only remaining "Hengshan Female Heroes". Presumably, on the way back, these two women would suffer until they returned to the mountain gate.

　　Pang Jun didn't have much sympathy for these two poor women. There were so many poor women in the world. How many women in the martial arts world were played by their masters? Isn't Pan Tong an example? If Pang Jun had to pity every woman, when would he be able to achieve his goal?

　　Since the martial artists from various major sects left, the security pressure in Songzhou was suddenly relieved a lot. People on the streets no longer had to tremble in fear for being involved in the feuds between martial artists and being implicated. Pang Jun's plan also came to an end for the time being. There were only two things left to do: one was to go to Dongling Island to pay a visit to Han Li and completely open up the East China Sea waterway; the other was to strengthen Songzhou's defense capabilities to prevent the Northern Hu cavalry from coming to raid the valley.

　　Guo Chonghou, the imperial envoy who had been staying in Songzhou for more than half a month, after investigating the files he had access to, came to a conclusion that was almost the same as what Pang Jun and Fei Lin said in their memorials. As for his other more important task, inspecting Songzhou, Pang Jun also gave a very outstanding answer. So on May 29th, with the farewell of officials of all ranks in Songzhou, he set out on the journey back to Tianjing.

　　Before leaving, Guo Chonghou asked Pang Jun, "Lord Liu, I think that although you have only been in Songzhou for less than five months, the changes you have brought are enormous. It is a waste of talent for a genius like you to stay in this remote place. But there is no other way. Lord Liu, you are still too young. Alas, I will try my best to speak for you in front of His Majesty. If you have any requests, feel free to raise them to me and I will do my best to ask His Majesty for you."

　　Pang Jun cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your praise, Mr. Guo. All of this is the result of the hard work of officials and people in Songzhou. It is my duty to benefit the people. As for any request, I do have one."

　　Guo Chonghou raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, tell me about it."

　　Pang Jun said seriously: "Mr. Guo has also seen the prosperity of Songzhou Guanzhuang and Songzhou Trading Market during this period, but I am afraid that this situation will not last long."

　　"Why?"

　　"As you can see, Songzhou is bordered by the imperial court to the east and the Northern Hu to the west. It is a place where all kinds of people gather and it is surrounded by wars. The Northern Hu cavalry always come here to plunder every now and then, especially during the autumn harvest. What's more, the imperial court and Japan are at war now, and this place has become a haunt for some enemy stragglers. The elite Wushen Battalion from Japan a few days ago is an example." Pang Jun explained.

　　Guo Chonghou frowned and asked, "Lord Liu wants to expand the Songzhou garrison?"

　　Pang Jun nodded and said, "That's right. Even if there are border guards, they are in Yanzhou. After all, distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. Songzhou is directly adjacent to the enemy country. The enemy country only needs to send a few teams of thousands of cavalry to sweep across Songzhou. The good situation we have built up these days will be ruined. As the parent official of Songzhou, Liu really doesn't want the people to go back to the old days, so I beg you to explain something to His Majesty for the people of Songzhou."

　　Guo Chonghou pondered for a while, nodded and said, "You are right. I understand. Indeed, during my time in Songzhou, I also felt the joy of the people here, and I don't want this joy to be destroyed. Well, as Lord Liu requested, I will appeal to His Majesty after returning to Beijing."

　　After hearing this, Pang Jun bowed deeply and said, "Liu Jun, on behalf of the people of Songzhou, thank you very much, sir."

　　Guo Chonghou shook his head: "It should be so, it should be so. It's getting late, and I should set off. I can't delay any longer. Please stay. I'll take my leave now."

　　"Goodbye, Lord Guo." Songzhou officials said goodbye to Guo Chonghou one after another. They watched the imperial envoy's car Luan gradually go away and finally disappear on the horizon.

　　Five hundred miles east of Songzhou City, in Chaoguo, Shangde City, the headquarters of the Japanese overseas expeditionary army, Sanada Yukigen looked solemnly at Yoshikawa Harumitsu who was standing in front of him. He asked, "You said that the one who intercepted you was the governor of Songzhou, and his name was Liu Jun?"

　　Yoshikawa Harumitsu replied, "Yes, it must be Songzhou Governor Liu Jun, because the young man leading the group is only about fifteen or sixteen years old. In the past, the young man who could lead so many cavalrymen was most likely the son of a wealthy family in Songzhou. But I have inquired and the new governor of Songzhou is indeed of the right age, and his martial arts skills are quite good."

　　"Your martial arts skills are good? How good are they?" Yukio Sanada seemed to suddenly remember something and asked with a frown.

　　Yoshikawa Harumitsu estimated and said uncertainly: "I only fought with him for a while, and we were both unable to do anything to each other. I at least exerted 80% of my strength."

　　"Well, I guess he didn't run away." Yukigen Sanada murmured.

　　"Him? Who is he? Could it be that Lord Sanada knows this person?" Yoshikawa Harumitsu asked curiously.

　　Sanada Yukigen closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said slowly, "Last year at a noble banquet in Kyoto, I heard the Minister of Administration, Lord Kujo Tomoaki, say that when he was on a diplomatic mission to Jin, he met a young man at a banquet in Jin. He was not only the top military scholar in Jin last year, but also the third place in the civil service exam. His name was Liu Jun. He answered three difficult questions raised by Lord Kujo correctly, which made Lord Kujo very impressed. In addition, he had been to Zhejiang Province, and it seemed that Saito Nagayoshi, who was on a mission to Zhejiang Province at that time, died at his hands."

　　"So Saito Nagae died at his hands!?" Upon hearing this, Yoshikawa Harumitsu's face changed. Although Saito Nagae was not ranked high among the inner disciples of Jianlu, he was one of the "Thirty-Six Swords" of their Jianlu after all. The fact that Pang Jun was able to kill him was enough to show that Pang Jun possessed certain strength.

　　"Well, before I only heard that he became the Shenyi Guard of Jin State. I didn't expect that in just half a year, he was transferred to Liaodong and became the governor of a state. It's really a terrifying growth rate." Sanada Yukio exclaimed.

　　After hearing this, Yoshikawa Harumitsu's eyes flashed with ferocity. He bowed and begged Sanada Yukigen, "Lord Sanada, please allow me to go to Songzhou and get rid of Liu Jun, so that my Great Ying Kingdom will never suffer from future troubles."

　　Sanada Yukigen raised his hand to stop him and said, "It's okay. Lord Shimazu has already sent me a request two days ago to start implementing the strategy decided by the military last month. Right now, the important matter is Liu Jun. Once our important matter is accomplished, Liu Jun will be trapped in a jar."

　　"You're right. The important thing is to let him go for now. I will settle the score with him sooner or later."

　　"This time, it is the first epic chapter of our great Japan's official rise and dominance in the world!" Sanada Yukioka said with a solemn expression, looking at the mountains in the distance. Yoshikawa Harumitsu on the side nodded with a serious expression.