Meng Zhao was greatly pleased by Yuan Qing's initiative in pledging allegiance. He made a courteous gesture as if to help him up and spoke to him kindly,
"Yuan Qing, you were born with immense strength, highly accomplished in martial arts, and honest and simple by nature. You have won my favor. Since you say so, I shall take you under my command.
From now on, you shall take charge of the Heavenly King Gang. In a few days, I will send experts from the Meng Family to assist you.
Nor need you worry that I distrust you, or mean to harm you—to kill the donkey once it has finished turning the millstone.
The reason I am sending experts is, first, to sort out the operations of the Heavenly King Gang's various industries, so as to maximize profits.
Second, it is to place personnel and gain a complete grasp of everything. This has always been a defining trait of the forces under my command.
I am making myself clear and treating you with candor. I hope you will do the same with me. That way, master and subordinate will be of one mind, thinking in the same direction and exerting strength in the same direction. Achieving merit and building a career in the future will be no difficult matter."
As the first person present to bow his head, Yuan Qing received a corresponding reward from Meng Zhao: the Heavenly King Gang.
The Heavenly King Gang was no minor force. As the place where Su Hongtu had put down roots and built his power, its fighting strength was naturally far inferior to the Divine Might Army. Yet it had the advantage of being vast in organization and great in numbers, encompassing all manner of people from every walk of life. Rooted