First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 560
...

Jiangzhou was originally under the jurisdiction of the Nanyin Prefecture Governor's Office. Lu De used this governor's office to sit in Jiangzhou, and it was his responsibility to carry out post-war pacification matters.

Nanhezhou Ningchun and Baizhou Pang Xiaotai were not good at making decisions, so they had to stay in Jiangzhou and wait for Gao Chong to guide them on their next work. Whether they should return to the main state or march into Yuezhou depends on Gao Chong, the manager. To decide, others, even Li Guanglue, have no right to interfere.

After everyone raised their glasses to celebrate together, Ning Chun was the first to ask, "Gao Jinglue, what shall we do next?"

Gao Chong slowly put down his wine glass and did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at them and asked, "I'm new here and I don't know the details. What do you think?"

Ning Chun paused, regardless of whether Gao Chong's words were humble or not, and without hesitation, he directly expressed his thoughts.

"Although Ning Daoming died, Yuezhou is still under his rule. Perhaps we should march into Yuezhou and completely eliminate the rebellion."

Lu Deyong nodded in agreement after hearing this, "Yuezhou needs to be stabilized as soon as possible. As for Qinzhou...".

At this point, Lu Deyong looked at Ning Chun and then at Gao Chong, "As for Qinzhou, it depends on how Ning Changzhen expresses his stance."

Baizhou is weak and barren, and Pang Xiaotai is a man of few words. He just drinks his head in silence and has no intention of making a sound.

It's just that Gao Chong is very interested in this Pang Shijun. After all, Pang Xiaotai's posthumous reputation is very famous.

Nodding slightly to what Lu Deyong said, Gao Chong looked at Pang Xiaotai who bowed his head and said nothing, "What do you think, Commander Pang?"

Pang Xiaotai was startled when he heard this. He shook the wine glass in his hand and almost spilled the drink. He stood up and said, "Everyone in Baizhou, please follow the orders of the envoy."

Gao Chong laughed in astonishment and motioned him to sit down.

"Mr. Ning, Qinzhou... What do you think?" Gao Chong finally asked Ning Chun the words of his heart.

Although he knew that Ning Chun was loyal to the court and had broken with the Ning family, Ning Chun never mentioned the Ning family in Qinzhou. Out of his position, Gao Chong had to ask this question.

Ning Chun looked calm and said bluntly: "Ning Daoming of Yuezhou rebelled, which is a capital crime. As for Qinzhou Ning Changzhen, although he did not use troops to invade the prefectures and counties, his so-called defense of the territory is also a crime of great disrespect. Jinglue Maybe you can send an envoy to Qinzhou to hold Ning Changzhen accountable, and see how he reacts, if he is stubborn, then, then he is guilty of treason."

Lu Deyong and the others looked at Ning Chun in surprise. In this era where clans are paramount, it is very difficult for Ning Chun to say these words impartially.

Gao Chong is also very satisfied. He also admires this senior of the Imperial College. This kind of person has a pure mind, and Ning Chun lives up to his name. He thinks he is from the Ning family in Linzi, and he is a famous person. He acts like a gentleman. , frankly.

When Ning Chun served as the governor of Yuezhou, he was conscientious, educated and educated the local people. He was born in the mountains, reconciled the contradictions between the bureaucrats, the Han and the barbarians, and opened up three counties in Jiangzhou. His governance was rated as the first in Lingnan.

Ning Chun, who was well-read in poetry and books, put the saint's teachings into practice. His pure personality made people awe-inspiring.

On the original track, after Ning Chun put down Ning Daoming's rebellion, Li Shimin appointed Ning Chun as the governor of Yuezhou again, and sent the prince's concubine Zhang Xuansu to Lingnan to appease him.

After Zhang Xuansu came to Yuezhou, he was greatly amazed and wrote to the court, praising Ning Chun, saying: "He is sincere and courteous, teaches his children to read, and transforms barbaric customs into a trend, which is highly praised."

In particular, Ning Chun was highly praised for teaching his children to read. At this time, there were not many scholars in Lingnan, and Ning Chun was already considered one of the top celebrities in Lingnan.

And Ning Chun also taught the first Jinshi in Lingnan, that is, his grandson Ning Tiyuan.

"What Ruhe said makes sense," Gao Chong nodded in approval, and then looked at Lu Nan who was looking down, "Magistrate Lu, I wonder if you would like to go to Qinzhou?"

Ning Chun, whose courtesy name is Ruhe, is several years older than Gao Chong, but his official rank is lower than Gao Chong's, so there is nothing wrong with calling him his cousin.

Let me mention it again, the word "piao", that is, the word that expresses virtue or the meaning of the original name, is called the word "piao" to express its virtue.

Elders, peers, and juniors can all call cousins ​​by their cousins, but when juniors call their elders by their cousins, they can add "公" at the end to show respect. For example, Li Shimin calls Pei Ji "Xuanzhen Gong" and Chen Shuda "Shi Wengong".

Lu Deyong was inseparable from the post-war pacification in Jiangzhou. As a member of the Ning family, Ning Chun could not go to hold him accountable. As for Pang Xiaotai, he had a meek personality and was only willing to stay in the three-acre land in Baizhou without making any achievements. With such a heart, he is even less suitable to serve as a messenger.

Only Lu Nan, who is young, energetic, loyal, and enterprising, is the most suitable candidate.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lu Nan stood up abruptly, and said with vigor, "Your official will not disgrace your mission."

Gao Chong nodded, raised his glass and said, "When you come back with success, I will write to the court to ask for credit for you."

Lu Nan was overjoyed and drank the wine in one gulp.

Gao Chong appreciates people like Lu Nan who have ambitions. If a person has no ideals, he is no different from a salted fish. He is not afraid that you have no ambition, but is afraid that you are incapable. He has decided that this Lu Nan must be reused. .

Thinking of this, Gao Chong glanced at Pang Xiaotai inadvertently. This guy was loyal, brave, and mighty in appearance. He was also a Baizhou Liao chieftain, but he only wanted to live in Baizhou, which was helpless.

In this case, Gao Chong was not what he wanted. When Ning Daoming sent a threatening letter, he scared Pang Xiaotai into raising troops to respond. Although it was excusable because he took into account his tribe, he later woke up in time, but wrong is wrong, especially rebellion. This kind of thing cannot be dealt with in just one sentence.

"Yuezhou cannot be without a master for a day. After Ning Daoming's death, I believe that Yuezhou must be in chaos."

Gao Chong said in a deep voice: "Ning Shijun, Pang Shijun, we will order our troops at Mao tomorrow. You two will each lead your troops and follow me to Yuezhou."

Ning Chun happily agreed upon hearing this, while Pang Xiaotai was slightly startled, and then agreed.

Gao Chong did not hide anything and said to Pang Xiaotai: "Pang Shijun, you have committed the crime of treason and you need to make amends urgently. I will talk to you about it then."

Hearing this, Pang Xiaotai understood immediately, stood up and prostrated, "Thank you Jinglue for your great kindness. Pang will let you be driven without any hesitation."

Seeing that Gao Chong had clearly arranged the three people in the blink of an eye, Lu Deyong was filled with emotion, especially his eldest son, who was just showing his teeth in joy and wished he could retaliate with death, and wished he could go to Qinzhou now.

When Gao Chong was preparing to go to Yuezhou, a storm was coming in Longzhou.

Longzhou is located in Longshui County, the governor's office.

Chen Longshu, the governor of Longzhou, had a gloomy look on his face and clenched his fists as he looked at his eldest son Chen Puguang who was seriously injured on the bed.

After a long time, the young man on the bed groaned and groaned in pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw his father sitting on the side, and his face suddenly lit up with joy, "Ah, yeah, I'm not dead?"

"Guang'er, which person from Xidong hurt you?" Chen Longshu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his son woke up. The doctor said that as long as the person wakes up, it will be fine. The next step is to recuperate. If he can't wake up, That's really hopeless.

Seeing that Chen Puguang had woken up and his life was no longer in danger, Chen Longshu directly asked for the truth.

When Chen Fozhi, the chief of the Chen family in Longzhou, Chen Longshu's father, died at the hands of Feng Ang, the Chen family declined.

Chen Longshu sent him under the fence, first accepted the position of governor of Qinzhou given by Ning Changzhen, and then returned to Datang, and returned to his hometown of Longzhou to serve as governor of Qinzhou.

Chen Longshu has always had great ambitions. He has no intention of revenge against Feng Ang. He just wants to strengthen the Chen family again and restore the glory of the family.

I think back then, the three clans of Chen, Ning and Feng in Lingnan were so powerful, and the Chen clan in Longzhou was so majestic. But now in Lingnan, when talking about powerful chiefs, people only think of the Feng clan in Gaozhou and the Ning clan in Qinzhou.

In his tenure as governor of Longzhou, Chen Longshu worked hard to encourage production, and imitated Ning Chun's administration in Yuezhou, introduced production technology from the Central Plains, advocated learning, and managed Longzhou in an orderly manner.

But even so, the Chen family's sphere of influence was still limited to Longzhou, so Chen Longshu turned his attention to the Liao tribe in the Duanxi Basin.

There are many Liao people living in the Duanxi River Basin. In the former Sui Dynasty, Huaide County was set up here. At that time, the Chen family was strong, and these Liao people joined them one after another. However, they were not registered as households and naturalized. They still lived in the mountains. Since Chen Fozhi died in battle, The Chen family declined, and those officials no longer respected the Chen family.

Chen Longshu took this opportunity to write to the imperial court to follow the example of Ning Chun to open up Jiangzhou and set up prefectures and counties here.

This was the result of enlightenment and enlightenment, so the imperial court naturally agreed and established Nanfu Prefecture in the former Sui Huaide County area, adding Xinyi and Tan'e Counties, and appointed Chen Longshu as the first governor of Nanfu Prefecture.

Enthused by Chen Longshu, he continued to open up the state and expand the frontier. In the next year, Teliang and Fulai counties were opened again. At this time, Nanfuzhou had five counties, namely Huaide County, Xinyi County, and Tan'e County. , Teliang County, Fulai County.

However, the establishment of prefectures and counties required the Liao people to register and register, and even to change their customs and become subordinate people. The always free and unorganized Liao people rebelled one after another no matter how willing they were, and they would come out of the mountains and forests to attack the government residences from time to time.

Especially the leaders of Xidong. They used to be the kings and hegemons in their respective territories without being controlled by others. But now they are suddenly under government management and have to pay taxes. How can those leaders be willing?

If Chen Fozhi was alive decades ago, perhaps because of the power of the Chen family, he would have held his nose and endured it, but the current Chen family is not the same Chen family as before.

Xidong is the tribe of Lingnan indigenous people. Xidong is a stream in the mountains that is not connected to the outside world. Xidong is the flat land between the two mountains. Xidong mostly lives in rivers or mountain plains, so Xidong in Chen Longshu’s mouth It refers to the slang tribe in general.

The tribal leader is called the leader, or the lao, the tribesmen in the territory are called the people, or the dins, and the armed personnel are called the soldiers or liaobing.

Chen Longshu's son Chen Puguang now serves as the magistrate of Yongning County. Yongning is the county under the jurisdiction of Longzhou. Longzhou governs Longshui, Yongning, Kaiyang, Zhengyi and other counties.

Chen Puguang is a young man, but he believes deeply in Buddhism. To be precise, it should be said that the people of the Chen family in Longzhou have believed in Buddhism since the time of their ancestor Chen Fanian. You can tell just by looking at their names.

One generation, named Dharma Mindfulness, the place of Dharma Mindfulness, five aggregates and twelve causes and conditions, comes from Buddhist terminology.Chen Fanian was the consort of Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty. Xiao Yan greatly promoted Buddhism and even sacrificed his life to become a Buddhist.

The second generation is called Buddha Wisdom. As the name suggests, it is the wisdom of Buddha.

The third generation, named Nagarjuna, is Nagarjuna Bodhisattva, the founder of the Madhyamika school of Dacheng Buddhism, and one of the two wins and six solemnities of Buddhism.

The fourth generation, named Puguang, is also a typical Buddhist name. Later, the chief disciple of Master Xuanzang was called Master Puguang.

For several years, Chen Puguang has been promoting Buddhism in Yongning, and invited Master Huiji, an eminent monk from the Central Plains, to open a dojo in Longkan Cave, which is now quite large.

Chen Longshu did not object to this, because he also believed in Buddhism, but he did not expect that Chen Puguang would be attacked by his followers and seriously injured when he stayed in Yongning to build a dojo. This made Chen Longshu very angry.

However, when Chen Puguang heard his father's inquiry, he not only had no desire for revenge, but showed hesitation on his face. He was a little intolerable and said bluntly: "Ah, the government is registering the local slangs in the mountains and collecting taxes. It is understandable that they resist." , you, don’t be angry.”

Chen Longshu's eyes widened when he heard this, and he angrily said: "I have no objection to you having the heart to worship the Buddha and being compassionate, but why are you so pedantic? Opening the state to expand the territory and registering households is a decree of the imperial court. Resistance is rebellion. You Actually speak out for them?"

Chen Puguang sighed, "We are born from the same roots, why are we so anxious to fight against each other? We are both members of the army, why are we so forced?"

"Shut up," Chen Longshu said angrily, "The Lingnan Economic Envoy has arrived in Jiangzhou. If I hear your rebellious words, it will be a disaster for me, the Chen family."

At this time, a five or six-year-old boy broke in. It seemed that he had been eavesdropping at the door for a long time.

The child's little face was full of anger, and he said directly to Chen Puguang on the hospital bed: "Ah Ye, they have injured you like this, and you still speak for them? Tell Aweng quickly, who is it?" If I hurt you, we will avenge you."

"It's not as bloody as a child." Chen Longshu picked up the boy and glared at Chen Puguang fiercely.

Chen Puguang had no choice but to say: "It's Jin Dong's people. I saw Jin Kui."

"I guessed it was him," Chen Longshu snorted coldly, then patted the head of the boy in his arms, "Qiong'er, go and call your second uncle."

The boy was Chen Shuqiong, Chen Puguang's eldest son. Hearing the words, he immediately responded and slipped out to call for help.

Chen Puguang was a little anxious when he heard the words, "Aye, you want Erlang to fight Jindong? He is too murderous, it's not appropriate."

When Chen Longshu heard this, his heart became angry and his teeth itched with anger, "I think you have lost your head while reading Buddhist scriptures. If you don't take revenge, how can I, the Chen family, stand on it? This is no longer your personal evil, but is related to the reputation of my Chen family." ".

Not long after, a man wearing armor, Long Xinghu, walked in. When he saw Chen Puguang, he said happily: "Brother, you're awake."

"Erlang, he is Jin Dong's man. You must organize your army immediately and set out early tomorrow morning. You must let Jin Kui give an explanation." Chen Longshu said solemnly, "If possible, it would be better to kill Jin Kui."

When the man heard this, he immediately glared and yelled: "I guessed it was Jinkui the dog thief. He is the only one in those creeks who has money to buy soldiers and armor."

The reason why Jindong is called Jindong is because the tribe lives in a place where gold sand and gold nuggets can be found. It is relatively wealthy, so it is named after Jin and takes Jin as its surname. The leader of the tribe, Jin Kui, is quite brave and looks tall and thick. He is the most unruly person, and he was the first one to oppose the establishment of prefectures and counties.

"Jin Kui is rough but subtle, and his character is cunning. You should be careful with your troops," Chen Longshu warned.

"Don't worry, Aye, I'm not a reckless man. You must be careful." The man nodded obediently.

This man is Chen Longshu's second son, Chen Jiyuan, who has a complete personality and the two extremes of his eldest son, Chen Puguang.

(End of this chapter)