"The bowl breaks as the signal, and both of you pull with all your might!"
Seeing Han Mo's confident eyes, Jiang Yan once again took a coarse porcelain bowl from a servant and looked at both sides.
"Are you ready?"
"Then watch closely!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan immediately raised the coarse porcelain bowl in his hand high and smashed it forcefully onto the ground.
"Crack— Snap—"
With a crisp sound, the bowl instantly shattered into pieces.
The two men in the arena exerted their strength almost simultaneously, instantly pulling the rope taut.
As soon as both sides exerted their force, Qu Duan's heart jolted. He had directly used seventy percent of his strength.
Yet, Han Mo opposite him still looked relaxed, not as easily defeated as he had imagined.
"Hold on tight!"
With a strange laugh, Han Mo suddenly shouted.
Hearing Han Mo's words, Qu Duan no longer cared about anything else and used all his strength.
But at this moment, Han Mo, standing opposite him, smiled strangely and loosened his grip.
Qu Duan hadn't even reacted to what was happening when he suddenly felt the ground disappear beneath his feet.
That feeling of misapplied strength immediately created a huge flaw in his already unstable stance.
Just as he was about to regain his balance, Han Mo suddenly exerted force, and a tremendous strength swept over him. Qu Duan stumbled, and his body was directly sent flying by Han Mo.
Although the entire process lasted only a few seconds, it caused everyone present to cheer in unison.
"Hahahaha, I thought you were so capable. After all that talk, you still lost to the sir!"
Seeing Qu Duan embarrassed, Jiang Yan couldn't help but laugh loudly.
"You!"
Looking at the disdainful expression on Jiang Yan's face, Qu Duan felt incredibly wronged.
"You can't even beat a scholar, and you dare to come here and act arrogant every day. You should just go back to the northwest!"
"With such pathetic skills, you dare to compete with the sir? Qu Da, do you still have any shame?"
...
Although Han Mo always liked to use underhanded tactics when fighting and would often trick people, he was, in the end, good to those around him.
Working under him not only meant fair wages and supplies, but he would also prepare extra rewards for his subordinates during festivals. In this era, such a superior was truly hard to find, even with a lantern.
At this moment, seeing the arrogant Qu Duan, who had come to provoke them, fall into misfortune, they naturally wouldn't say anything nice.
Having been frustrated for so long, Qu Duan almost burst into tears!
"You cheated!"
He glared at Han Mo with a look of grief and indignation, then said again.
"I cheated? Where did I cheat? Which rule did I break just now?"
Seeing his flustered appearance, Han Mo remained unperturbed and smiled at Qu Duan.
"I..."
Qu Duan was speechless.
At this point, he truly had grievances but no way to express them.
He wasn't at his peak condition to begin with, and after being dealt with by Jiang Yan, his strength was already reduced by thirty percent. But he still insisted on being foolish.
He also wanted Han Mo to give him a handicap, coupled with his arrogance and underestimation of his opponent. How could he not lose when Han Mo, with intent, took advantage of his unpreparedness?
"You can't say, can you? Let me say it. You, as a general, disrespected your superior. This is the first offense!"
"Before the battle, you dared to drink publicly. This is the second offense!"
"Underestimating the enemy, arrogant, and failing to adapt during battle. This is the third offense!"
"Don't you know that even a lion needs to exert its full strength to catch a rabbit? If a general is incompetent, a thousand soldiers will suffer. If you were on the battlefield, would the enemy stand still for you to fight? If you were such a person on the battlefield, I would have already had your head cut off to sacrifice to the flag!"
As Han Mo spoke at the end, his stern tone made everyone's hearts tremble.
Qu Duan, standing opposite him, was sweating profusely and no longer dared to say a word.
"Although this is Mingzhou City, the rebellion has only just been quelled. As a military officer, you were drunk in broad daylight. If the rebels were to attack now, and you delayed the military intelligence, could you bear the responsibility?"
Seeing him sweating profusely, Han Mo added another sentence to him.
"Your subordinate admits his guilt and humbly requests punishment from the sir!"
Under Han Mo's stern questioning, Qu Duan finally no longer dared to harbor any illusions and knelt on one knee before Han Mo.
"I, being lenient, will punish you with thirty military strokes. Do you accept this?"
"Your subordinate accepts the punishment!"
Seeing the murderous intent on Han Mo's face, Qu Duan stammered not at all and simply left a sentence, kneeling on the ground without daring to raise his head.
"Good! Guards, carry out the punishment!"
Han Mo's duty was the Commissioner of Military Affairs for Liangzhe and Fujian Circuits. Let alone Qu Duan, who was currently a commander without troops, he even had the authority to execute prominent generals within these two circuits first and then report.
Now that he was asserting his authority, Qu Duan dared not refute him any further.
Soon, Jiang Yan, with a few subordinates, dragged Qu Duan aside and began administering the punishment with sticks!
Qu Duan was quite resilient. He endured all thirty military strokes without a single groan. After the punishment was over, he even struggled to stand up and returned before Han Mo.
Seeing his posture, Jiang Yan instinctively stepped forward to shield Han Mo.
However, just as he was about to say something, Qu Duan knelt before Han Mo and respectfully said:
"Your subordinate Qu Duan, greets the sir! I humbly request the sir not to abandon me and to take me under your command!"
Seeing the serious expression on his face, Han Mo breathed a sigh of relief. This person had been preliminarily subdued!
Now that the first step was successful, whether he could win Qu Duan's loyalty would depend on his next actions.
However, Han Mo was very skilled in this regard.
Although Kong Fangxiong was not omnipotent, without Kong Fangxiong, it would be impossible!
Didn't he manage to win over the legendary generals Han Shizhong and Yue Fei?
What was a mere Qu Duan?
Wasn't it just money?
Lord Han was truly so poor that he only had money left!
Although he hadn't personally checked the ledgers yet, judging by the time, the second shipment of grain and treasures from Nanyang should be returning soon.
The first batch of gold and silver smelted from Japan should also be arriving recently!
The promised financial contributions to the imperial court had already exceeded the target, and the remaining amount should be at his disposal!
The ironworks in Quanzhou were also nearing the completion of their initial layout. Everything was progressing in a positive direction.
He didn't care about other places, but the military affairs of Liangzhe and Fujian Circuits must not be neglected!
With Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Geng Nanzhong gone from the court, and given another year, if the Jurchens dared to march south, the armies of Liangzhe and Fujian Circuits would surely give them a fierce blow!