After that tongue-lashing, even Jiang Hailong's good temper snapped. He pointed at Chubby and cursed, "Guo Dundun, I'm warning you, stop twisting things and making a scene! If I were the kind of man who sold out his brothers, would I be standing here working alongside you? Would I have accepted the post of minister of Military Headquarters? Take a good look, damn you! I'm Jiang Hailong! Jiang Hailong, minister of the Self-Defense Army's Military Headquarters!"
"Enough, all of you! If you came here to argue, get out!" Jiang Hao erupted, pointing angrily toward the door.
At once, the office fell utterly silent. Jiang Hao pointed at the seal on the royal decree and said coldly, "As the saying goes, a royal command cannot be defied. Those who disobey are punished under military law, their families exterminated to the third degree of kinship! But what I want to say is this: a general in the field need not obey every command from his sovereign. Dissolve the Self-Defense Army? Not unless I'm dead. If any of you are afraid, you can leave right now. I, Jiang Hao, will bear every consequence alone. You can also tell all our brothers about this. If anyone is afraid, I won't make things difficult for him. Not only can they leave immediately, I'll give them enough travel money to get away from here."
"Brother Hao, I'm with you. We're brothers, and we always will be. We ask not to be born in the same year, month, and day, only to die in the same year, month, and day."
Jiang Hailong said, "Count me in!"
Song Jie said, "Me too! It's only death. Eighteen years from now, I'll be a fine fellow again!"
Yang Qingliu said, "Me too!"
Wen Ruxue said, "Don't leave me behind."
Gongsun