#542 - Don't die! (4000 words)

“Fifth brother, I really can't do it.”

Xu Pangda held Xu Ming's hand, looking at his fifth brother nervously.

For Xu Pangda, becoming the Prime Minister of Wu was something he had never considered.

Xu Pangda thought that this time he was transferred back to Wudu, he would probably just get a small promotion.

Xu Ming smiled: “What does Third Brother think of Mr. Xiao's vision?”

Xu Pangda thought about it seriously: “Mr. Xiao is a Confucian sage, and under his rule, the politics of Wu have been clear and the weather has been good for years. Mr. Xiao's vision is naturally excellent.”

Xu Ming asked again: “Then what does Third Brother think of Prime Minister Fang's vision?”

Xu Pangda thought about it again and said seriously:

“Old Prime Minister Fang has been an official for so many years, and he is also a veteran of two dynasties with countless students. His vision is naturally beyond question.”

“So ah.”

Xu Ming smiled.

“Since Mr. Xiao and Old Mr. Fang both recommend you, Third Brother, it means that you definitely have the ability. Otherwise, how could Mr. Xiao and Old Mr. Fang treat such an important position as a child's play?

You must know that the current Wu is different from the past.

From today onwards, the things that the Prime Minister of Wu needs to bear are too heavy.”

“That's what I'm saying but...”

That's what I'm saying is right.

But in Xu Pangda's heart, he was still very flustered.

Xu Pangda didn't know why Mr. Xiao and Old Prime Minister Fang would believe in him.

I didn't do anything.

Am I very capable? Why don't I know?

I'm just the magistrate of Baihe County.

Although the people of Baihe County love me very much, and my reputation seems to be pretty good, so what?

How could that little bit of achievement catch the eyes of His Majesty and Mr. Xiao?

Xu Ming patted Xu Pangda on the shoulder and comforted him: “Third Brother, don't think too much. In my opinion, Third Brother, you are completely capable.

It's just that Third Brother has never had that much confidence in himself.

“…”

Xu Pangda lowered his head and thought about it seriously.

Xu Pangda felt that what his fifth brother said made sense, at least he was comforted.

With the box given by Mr. Xiao, although he didn't know what was inside the box, since Mr. Xiao said so, he definitely had a little confidence in his heart.

Moreover, Mr. Xiao would indeed not be trifling in this kind of matter.

So to speak…

Could it be that I really have a talent that I don't know about?

The more he thought about it, the more Xu Pangda felt that there was such a possibility.

“Third Brother, when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on someone, it must first inflict suffering on their mind and strain their sinews and bones.”

Xu Ming began to brainwash Xu Pangda.

“I believe in Third Brother, you will definitely be able to do it, and this is also to share the worries for His Majesty. Besides, Mr. Xiao entered the Confucian Sage Realm before the age of fifty. As Mr. Xiao's students, is it difficult for us to become prime ministers in our early twenties?

Could it be that Third Brother, you want Mr. Xiao to think that he has misjudged you?”

“Then I... give it a try?” Xu Pangda said somewhat reluctantly after being said so by Xu Ming.

“That's right.”

Xu Ming patted Xu Pangda on the shoulder.

To be honest, Xu Ming also felt that Third Brother was a bit too young and lacked some experience.

This is not Xu Ming questioning Xu Pangda's ability.

But Xu Pangda is indeed too young and still lacks experience.

In the imperial court, it is not enough to just have ability.

But still, it's that saying.

Xu Ming believed in the vision of Mr. Xiao and Old Prime Minister Fang.

They are not the kind of people who would treat the fate of Wu as a child's play.

Since Third Brother has been recommended, then there must be a reason for Mr. Xiao and the others.

“Then what about you, Fifth Brother?” Xu Pangda looked at Xu Ming nervously, “Fifth Brother, are you going to leave Wudu?”

Xu Ming nodded: “Yes, I indeed still have many things to do. After I finish those things, I will come back to see Third Brother.”

“Alright.” Xu Pangda felt a little melancholy in his heart.

If Xu Ming was in the imperial capital, then Xu Pangda would definitely feel more confident in his heart.

But Xu Pangda also knew that Fifth Brother was not something that could be contained in a pond. Although Wu was not small, it was still not big enough for Fifth Brother.

After Xu Pangda was persuaded by Xu Ming, the next day, the imperial edict in the palace came down.

This is a formal imperial edict of appointment.

Xu Pangda is appointed as the Prime Minister of Wu, and Xu Pangda can take office immediately.

Although most people in the Xu residence were mentally prepared for Xu Pangda's appointment as Prime Minister.

Before the imperial edict came down, the matter of Mr. Xiao and Old Prime Minister Fang recommending Xu Pangda as Prime Minister was already all over the place.

But when this matter really happened, many people felt dazed.

Especially for the Old Madam Xu.

She always felt that it would be very remarkable for the descendants of her Xu family to become a fourth-rank official.

As for high position and great power, being granted a title and becoming a prime minister, Old Madam Xu didn't even dare to think about it.

Although Old Madam Xu is old, she is not stupid.

Old Madam Xu knows how much her Xu family's sons are worth.

But what she didn't expect was that the Xu family actually produced a prime minister of a country.

But compared to the joyful Xu residence.

Xu Pangda's biological mother, Wang Feng, frowned.

She looked at her son's back, biting her thin lips tightly.

“Xu Pangda receives the decree.”

Eunuch Wei's duck voice echoed in the courtyard.

“Xu Pangda receives the decree!”

Xu Pangda took a deep breath, walked forward nervously, and took the imperial edict from Wei Xun's hand.

This imperial edict was actually not very heavy, just a piece of silk with two jade sticks. How much weight could it have?

But when this imperial edict was held in Xu Pangda's heart, he felt that this imperial edict seemed to weigh ten thousand pounds.

And it was at this moment.

Xu Pangda clearly felt that he was now carrying the entire dynasty on his shoulders.

What he was carrying was the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the entire country.

It was the expectation of Mr. Xiao in heaven.

Xu Pangda didn't know if he could do it well.

But he would use his life to fulfill this duty.

The simplest reason.

Xu Pangda didn't want to let Mr. Xiao down.

That night, both the Xu residence and the Qin residence held banquets to celebrate Xu Pangda's appointment as the Prime Minister of Wu.

But during the banquet, Xu Pangda didn't seem very happy.

Xu Pangda didn't really like drinking. He always felt that drinking would interfere with things.

But tonight, Xu Pangda drank a lot and a lot of wine.

After the banquet, Xu Pangda walked back to his courtyard with a slight drunkenness.

But when Xu Pangda returned to the courtyard, his eyes widened slightly.

In the courtyard, his mother was sitting on a stone bench, looking up at the starry sky, as if waiting for him to return.

"Mother."

Xu Pangda quickly patted his clothes, trying to dissipate some of the alcohol smell, and then walked to his mother and bowed respectfully.

Wang Feng turned her head to look at her son.

Her eyes revealed a worried and earnest expression.

Looking at his mother's eyes, Xu Pangda's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

In the past, his mother only showed this kind of look when she was about to reprimand him.

Xu Pangda could never forget his mother's expression.

But Xu Pangda didn't know what he had done wrong.

"Don't just stand there foolishly, sit down," Wang Feng said to her son, patting the stone bench beside her.

"Yes."

Xu Pangda sat down next to Wang Feng.

Even though Xu Pangda was already the Prime Minister of the Wu Kingdom, he was still like a child in front of his mother.

"If you don't want to be this Prime Minister, I can go to the palace and plead with His Majesty. One of your aunts is a Consort in the palace," Wang Feng said to Xu Pangda, her eyes showing a worried look.

Listening to his mother's words, Xu Pangda blinked his eyes, not expecting his mother to say this.

But in the end, Xu Pangda just smiled and shook his head: "Mother, His Majesty has already issued the decree. If we ask His Majesty to withdraw his order at this time, wouldn't that make His Majesty lose faith with the people of the world?"

"You don't need to worry about these things. You just need to tell me, do you want to be the Prime Minister of the Wu Kingdom or not?" Wang Feng looked at her son seriously.

After a long time, Xu Pangda also gave his answer: "Actually, I don't know either."

"Since you haven't made up your mind yet, then I will go to the palace tomorrow and talk to His Majesty."

"But Mother, I feel like I have to take this position of Prime Minister."

Xu Pangda looked directly into his mother's eyes.

Although his eyes showed fear, there was more determination.

"There is nothing that you have to do. You are still young. You don't need to take on such an important position, and you don't need to shoulder such a great mission. There are many people older than you, and there are many people more talented than you."

"But Mother, Mr. Xiao and Old Mr. Fang, as well as His Majesty, chose me."

Xu Pangda interrupted his mother's words halfway through, which was a first for Xu Pangda.

Xu Pangda smiled and said to his mother: "Since Mr. Xiao and the others chose me, then I cannot escape, otherwise, as Fifth Brother said, Mr. Xiao's spirit in heaven will laugh at me."

Wang Feng tightly pinched the skirt on her thigh, her eyes almost tearing up:

"You silly child, you are only just past your coming-of-age ceremony, and you have only been in the officialdom for a few short years. Your highest position is only that of a broken county magistrate. Do you know what the position of Prime Minister means?"

"I naturally know," Xu Pangda calmly nodded, "The position of Prime Minister means the weight of the entire country, it means the lives of hundreds of millions of people are on your shoulders, it means everyone is looking forward to hearing every word you say."

"Then you still…"

"But Mother, I don't plan to live my life so mediocrely."

Xu Pangda turned his head and looked at the stars in the sky.

"Mr. Xiao has always been my role model. I have always taken Mr. Xiao as my goal."

"I know that I am far behind Mr. Xiao, and I will never reach Mr. Xiao's height."

"But that doesn't mean that I will always just hope to follow behind Mr. Xiao."

"One day, I also hope to stand at the same height as Mr. Xiao, looking at the same scenery under Mr. Xiao's eyes, and thinking about what Mr. Xiao wants to do."

"Mr. Xiao has left this world, but many of his things have not been completed, and I will take over from Mr. Xiao and do them."

Wang Feng's throat rolled, she wanted to say something but stopped, and finally could only sigh softly: "Then are you ready?"

"Actually, not really," Xu Pangda scratched his head a little awkwardly, "I don't even know what a Prime Minister needs to do."

"But…" Xu Pangda hugged his sleeves, just like Mr. Xiao back then, "Some things, ah, you can only know by walking on."

…

The moonlight洒下, the bright moonlight shone on the deserted streets of Wudu.

Because of Mr. Xiao's departure, the entertainment venues throughout Wudu voluntarily stopped operating for a month.

So those brothels that should have been lively at night are now tightly closed.

And on this bleak street, Xu Ming and a woman walked towards the outside of the city gate.

"When will you return after leaving this time?" Wu Yanhan looked at the man beside her.

"I don't know, maybe three years, maybe five years, maybe ten years. If things go smoothly, maybe it will be a shorter time."

Listening to Xu Ming's answer, Wu Yanhan lowered her head, and after a long time, she slowly opened her mouth and said: "Have you finished dealing with the matters in Wudu?"

"Almost, as for Jin Yiwei, I will leave it to Ping An to handle.

"Actually, in Jin Yiwei, I only play a deterrent role at most, after all, my identity is not ordinary.

"But in fact, in terms of handling things, Ping An is much better than me."

"What about Sheng Sheng? Don't you need to say hello to her?"

"That's not necessary."

Xu Ming smiled.

"That fellow Sheng Sheng is becoming more and more dependent on me. If she knows I'm leaving, she will definitely cry and clamor for me to take her with me.

"But the place I'm going to is too dangerous, so it's really not suitable.

"Compared to that, it's much better for Sheng Sheng to stay by your side and be your assistant."

Xu Ming's words fell, and both sides fell into silence again, the two people walking side by side on the street.

Unknowingly, the two had already walked to the city gate.

And at the city gate, Lu Xiaoliu was waiting outside.

Xu Ming turned around and bowed to Wu Yanhan: "Just send me here."

Xu Ming turned around again and walked out of the city with Lu Xiaoliu.

Looking at Xu Ming's gradually receding back, Wu Yanhan tightly clenched her small hands, her mouth slightly open, and she whispered: "Don't die!"

Xu Ming, who was walking not far away, stopped.

The young man under the moonlight seemed to nod, then stepped away and disappeared into the moonlight.