Shen Hao put down his wine cup, smiling as he said to Gan and Zhang, "I heard that you two gentlemen and Households Commander Jiang used to be brothers-in-arms sharing the same pot. I wonder if you could do me a favor and put in a word for me?"
"Oh?"
"I hope you gentlemen will be generous with your help." As Shen Hao spoke, he pulled out two silver notes from his chest and placed them in front of Gan and Zhang. Each note was for fifty thousand taels, and issued by Fengri City's money shop, which saved the hassle of making large deposits—a thoughtful gesture indeed.
There are "public" and "private" introductions. Publicly, Shen Hao is Jiang Cheng's subordinate, and needs no one to introduce him. But if he wants to side with Jiang Cheng, it has to be through "private connections," and Gan and Zhang were precisely his stepping stones.
Don't think it's unnecessary—in fact, this is an essential threshold.
