First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 312
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In Lingling City, in the Governor's Mansion, Ran Rencai sat at the head seat and hosted a banquet. On one side of the hall were Gao Chong and other Lingnan appeasement army generals, and on the other side were Yongzhou subordinate officials.

"You are going to Lingnan. I don't know where to go first?" Ran Rencai asked after drinking for three rounds, "If you want to go to Guizhou, you should go southwest, cross Nanling via Shi'an and arrive in Guizhou, about five hundred If you go to Gaozhou, the journey will be farther, more than a thousand miles."

Ran Rencai is worthy of being a leader among the barbarians. He has a literary and military strategy. He has only been appointed governor of Yongzhou for less than a month, and he has a clear grasp of the surrounding mountains and rivers of Yongzhou.

Of course, Li Xiaogong’s selection of his brother-in-law Ran Rencai as the governor of Yongzhou was also the result of careful consideration. Li Xiaogong knew that the next step after the pacification of Lingnan was definitely to go through Lingnan. As the gateway to Lingnan, the geographical location of Yongzhou is extremely dangerous. To enter Lingnan, one must pass through Yongzhou. Whether it is to attack by force or to appease peacefully, Yongzhou cannot be bypassed.

Ran Rencai lived up to high expectations. After taking office, he exerted means to quickly control the power of Yongzhou. After learning that Gao Chong was about to enter Yongzhou and needed to show off his military power, Ran Rencai gave an order, and the whole city officials and people cooperated to create momentum. Extremely successful.

There are countless merchants from the Central Plains to and from Lingnan, and most of them are resting in Yongzhou. Among them, there are many spies sent by various forces in Lingnan to the Central Plains to inquire about news. I believe they will spread this explosive news to Lingnan after seeing this scene.

"Brother Zhengwen, why are you so sure that I will go to these two states?" Gao Chong laughed and said, "I can't go to other states and counties?"

Ran Rencai was startled when he heard the words, then shook his head and laughed, "Although I have only been here for more than a month, I know a little about Lingnan, where else can you go if you don't go to Guizhou and Gaozhou?

Jiaozhou has been attached to the Tang Dynasty. As for Qinzhou, it is in the west of the two states of Guangxi and Gaozhou. "

Gao Chong was quite surprised when he heard the words, it seemed that he still underestimated the talent of Ran Ren, he raised his glass and said with a smile: "Brother Zheng Wen is a great talent, win a drink", but Gao Chong didn't say clearly where he was going.

Ran Rencai is also a smart person, seeing that Gao Chong didn't want to say more, he toasted to change the subject and talked about the beautiful scenery of Yongzhou. It seems that Ran Rencai was not sitting in the governor's mansion this month, but visiting various places.

After the banquet was over, in the back hall of the Governor's Mansion, Ran Ren made tea himself, and the two sat opposite each other.

"You can speak freely this time," Ran Ren said with a smile before offering the tea.

Gao Chong smiled, "Brother Zhengwen knows me."

Ran Rencai took out a scroll from under the desk and spread it on the desk, "This is a map of Lingnan. Although it is not exhaustive, you can refer to one or two. You see, Qinzhou is remote. If you want to go to Qinzhou, you need to go through Guizhou, so Just then Cai made a bold guess, and if there was any conflict, I will forgive you."

Looking at this map, Gao Chong was overjoyed. There is no popular map now. The map in front of him is definitely not available to ordinary people, and it is very precious.

In particular, Lingnan is remote, with few people, and the geography of mountains and rivers is very complicated. Even if there is a guide to guide the way, it is not very reliable. One mistake is to deviate from the direction.

Hearing Ran Rencai's words, Gao Chong waved his hands and said with a smile: "Brother Zhengwen is serious." Then he pointed to Guizhou and asked, "How much do you know about Li Guangdu?"

"Li Guangdu?" Ran Rencai was startled, and sat up slightly, "You Zhiyou plan to go to Guizhou first?"

"Guizhou is so close, why not?" Gao Chong smiled lightly.

Hearing these words, Ran Rencai choked suddenly, and after a moment of stunned, he said seriously: "You Zhi, you can think clearly, it's not a matter of proximity or not.

Then Li Guangdu is capricious and extremely ambitious, and Feng An in Gaozhou has always been loyal, so it is better to take a detour, first go to appease Feng An, and then turn around to deal with Li Guangdu. You must not dare to use troops, so it is safe to start with the easy and then the difficult."

Gao Chong listened carefully, nodded slowly, and Ran Ren felt relieved when he saw this, and asked directly: "Then when do you plan to set off? This trip to Gaozhou is thousands of miles away, and we need to prepare supplies as soon as we need them." appropriate".

If he hadn't seen the brother-in-law's friendship, if he hadn't seen the great power of the Gao family in the court, if he hadn't seen that he had fought side by side, Ran Ren would not have thought so intimately.

Gao Chong raised his eyebrows and smiled, "When did I say I'm going to Gaozhou, I'm going to Guizhou", he said, punching the location of Guizhou on the map.

Ran Rencai was stunned, then a little annoyed, and said directly: "Don't be arrogant, you have a good intention, you should think twice."

"Brother Zhengwen's concern, you know of course." Gao Chong hurriedly comforted him: "It's just that the situation in Lingnan is complicated. If it's just to appease, I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public. I also discussed with King Zhao Jun when I came. Fight a battle, to show the might of the soldiers, and to destroy their self-reliance."

Ran Rencai paused, with a serious expression on his face, and frowned in thought, "Youzhi's words... also have some truths."

"It's hard to stop being soft-hearted." Gao Chong continued, "Only under the pressure of powerful force and soft-heartedness, those chiefs and chiefs will be obedient."

Ran Rencai immediately raised his head when he heard the words, "This is a very good statement, Youzhi knows Hu Yi's thoughts very well, it was a certain one who didn't think carefully before."

It is true that Gaozhou Feng An's biography can be determined. As long as Feng An is attached, then Jiaozhou Qiuhe has announced that he will return to the Tang Dynasty. Among the four major forces, Datang has already conquered the second, and it is still the two most powerful. Luminosity has always been cunning, and there is a high probability that he will not start a war with Tang Jun.

In this way, as long as Feng An is appeased first, the task of appeasing Lingnan is [-]% complete, but what Gao Chong wants is not a temporary attachment. Through Li Yuan's attitude towards the attachment forces, Gao Chong knows Li Yuan's thoughts well. How determined.

To put it simply, what Li Yuan wants is complete control, not nominal attachment. For example, Dou Jiande has been captured and asked to surrender, but there are still many places in Hebei that use Dou Jiande's Daxia Wufengnian. Dan and the others blatantly put forward the condition, "Guarantee King Xia's integrity, and I will surrender after waiting", how could Li Yuan bear it.

Since Gao Chong knew what Li Yuan was thinking, he had to handle this errand well. In his vague memory, Gao Chong vaguely remembered that not long after Lingnan joined the Tang Dynasty on the original track, he fell into civil strife and fought for several years.

Until Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, Feng An continued to suppress the rebellion, and even failed to pay homage to the court for several years. Feng An was framed because of this. Ready to conquer Lingnan, only Wei Zheng, who is strong and strong, remonstrates Feng An's innocence.

Finally, Li Shimin sent envoys to go to Lingnan for condolences. After some investigation, he found out that Feng An was really loyal, and there really was a rebellion in Lingnan.

(End of this chapter)