First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 571 Incident in Baizhou
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Pang Xiaotai took off his bag and rode his horse to the mountain gate.

"Young men," Pang Xiaotai laughed loudly, raised his arms and shouted, "You are back."

The joy in his words shows Pang Xiaotai's homesickness.

Seeing this, Gao Chong reined in his horse and said with a smile to his left and right: "An Cheng is still a man who cares about his family."

Pang Xiaojie grinned and said, "What the story said is that my brother is in Bobai City to handle state affairs on weekdays, and he also comes back every now and then to stay for a few days."

Everyone smiled when they heard this. Pang Xiaotai had a kind and gentle personality. Although he was tall and strong, he never argued with others. During this time, everyone got along very harmoniously.

After Pang Xiaotai's words fell in front, there was silence at the mountain gate, and then bursts of exclamations sounded.

"The old man is back, the old man is back."

"Open the door, the old man is back."

"The old man is back, Ponzi is finally saved."

……

All I could hear was shouting in the mountains, and the mountain gates were wide open.

Pang Xiaotai bared his big teeth and smiled as many tribesmen rushed out to greet him excitedly and enthusiastically. However, his smile soon stopped abruptly.

I saw that the people who rushed out were in tattered clothes and armor, and many of them had injuries on their bodies. They looked like a defeated army and were in a very embarrassed state.

When they saw Pang Xiaotai standing at the mountain gate and rushing out, some were overjoyed, while others burst into tears.

Pang Xiaotai's heart skipped a beat, and he was suddenly horrified. His eyes narrowed and he saw that the leader was a strong old man. He quickly got off his horse and stepped forward and asked, "Uncle Eighth, what are you, what, what's going on here?" ?”

When Gao Chong and others saw this scene from behind, they suddenly realized something was not good and rushed forward.

"Da Lang," the burly old man with white beard and hair grabbed Pang Xiaotai's arm, "don't forget it. The Liu family bullied others too much. He killed Uncle Qin in Bobai and killed our Pang family. They all drove them out, robbed all the houses and shops in the city, and even sent people to attack the mountains..."

This old man is Pang Xiaotai's eighth uncle. He was the eighth in the Pang family's generation. Now when he sees Pang Xiaotai, he speaks with a mixture of sadness and anger.

"Third uncle, is he dead?"

Pang Xiaotai was furious when he heard this, his eyes were filled with murderous intent, and his hands were shaking with anger.

"Liu Yanchang!" Pang Xiaotai gritted his teeth and pulled out the horizontal knife from his waist, and said in a hateful voice: "I will kill you!"

"An Cheng", Gao rushed forward on his horse and asked in a solemn voice, "Who did it?"

"The Liu family of Baizhou, Liu Yanchang, the commander-in-chief of the Shuiming Army," Pang Xiaotai looked sad and angry.

Pang Xiaojie had already reacted behind him, his eyes were red, "Liu Yanchang must have seen his brother leading the army on the expedition, and Bo Bai was empty, so he took the opportunity to attack."

"Dalang, Erlang, who is this?" The eighth uncle of the Pang family suppressed his grief and anger and looked at Gao Chong and asked. He could see that Gao Chong was the leader of the crowd.

"Eighth uncle, this is the Lingnan economic envoy, the governor of Guangzhou, the current Duke of Yan, Gao Jinglue." Pang Xiaojie introduced hurriedly: "Jinglue, this is the eighth uncle of my family. His name is Shangdaxialun. Responsible for the affairs of the Yunfeishan clan."

"Ah?" Uncle Eight couldn't help but be stunned when he heard such a big name, and then he was busy greeting him, "Pang Lun has met Gao Jinglue."

Gao Chong nodded slightly and returned the courtesy, "Let's go up the mountain and talk in detail. Tell us about the background of this Liu Yanchang."

Pang Xiaotai has always valued friendship and loyalty, but now he only has resentment towards Liu Yanchang in his heart, which has lost all dimension. Fortunately, Pang Xiaojie can still control his emotions.

"That's right, let's talk about it when we go up the mountain." Pang Xiaojie nodded hurriedly, stretched out his hand sideways and asked, "Please give me a brief introduction."

Gao Chong was not polite, nodded and went ahead.

Uncle Eighth, who was lagging behind, quickly grabbed Pang Xiaojie and said, "Erlang, what is this manager doing? He sounds like he has a great name."

Pang Xiaojie looked at the backs of Gao Chong and others in front of him, and hurriedly bowed his head to his eighth uncle and said: "The whole Lingnan is under the jurisdiction of Jinglue. Jinglue is my noble Pang family. I will talk to my eighth uncle in detail later. Eighth uncle, go and make arrangements." , vacate the house for the guards to live in, and my son will be aggrieved and live back in the cave first."

Pang Lun was overjoyed to hear that the general had such great power, "Then he could make decisions for my Pang family?"

Pang Xiaojie paused after hearing this, and then said: "We'll talk about this later. Uncle Eighth, hurry up and make arrangements. Be sincere and don't neglect."

Uncle Eight nodded hurriedly and muttered in shock: "This is natural, this is the King of Lingnan."

"Uncle Eighth, don't talk nonsense." Pang Xiaojie was a member of the officialdom after all. He was shocked when he heard this. He quickly pulled Pang Lun and looked at the guards in front carefully. "The future of my Pang family is entirely in the hands of the manager. You Make it clear to the clan members and don’t be rude."

"I know, I know," Pang Lun nodded, and then looked at Pang Xiaojie in surprise, "I told you, Erlang, you went out and you started talking the same thing."

Pang Xiaojie chuckled, lowered his voice and said, "The envoy has written to the imperial court, asking me to go to Guangzhou and be promoted to commander of the army."

Hearing this, Pang Lun's eyes widened immediately, "Seriously?"

"It's true."

"God bless the Pang family", Pang Lun laughed loudly and was overjoyed, "That manager is really a noble man."

While the uncle and nephew were talking, Pang Xiaotai was already leading Gao Chong all the way up the mountain.

I have to say that Yunfei Mountain is really a good place with beautiful mountains and clear waters. It is in March and April, the vegetation in the mountain is prosperous, and the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant everywhere.

The road leading to the mountain gate is very neatly maintained, with no weeds or gravel. From time to time, you can see busy people. Seeing Pang Xiaotai, he was so excited that he could express his excitement. With his enthusiastic greetings in the local dialect, it can be seen that Pang Xiaotai was deeply popular among the people.

When we arrived at the village in the mountains, we saw low wooden houses scattered in an orderly manner, children playing happily, farmland and alleys, and chickens and dogs chatting with each other. It was truly a paradise.

Everyone went straight to a two-story wooden building with guards at the door. When they saw Pang Xiaotai, they immediately saluted excitedly. They must be paying homage to their old man.

Climbing to the second floor, there is a hall large enough to accommodate dozens of people. There is a couch on the first floor, with a tiger skin on the back.

Along the way, Pang Xiaotai finally felt more at ease when he saw that there was no harm in the village. Only the soldiers guarding the village had suffered some losses.

"After a brief introduction, please take a seat." Pang Xiaotai gathered his mood and bowed to invite him.

Gao Chong was looking at the hall with his hands behind his hands. It was quite spacious and could be used for discussions or banquets. Hearing this, he shook his head and said with a smile: "You are the master of the house, so you should take the seat."

When Pang Xiaotai heard this, he waved his hands modestly, "How dare you do this? It's too rude."

"It doesn't matter, I'll just set up a seat aside." Seeing Pang Xiaotai being so polite, Gao Chong could only say.

Pang Xiaotai was a little at a loss, but Pang Xiaojie who was behind him immediately agreed after hearing the words, and personally moved the Hu couch table and placed it aside.

Pang Xiaotai had no choice but to respectfully ask Gao Chong to take a seat first. Gao Chong did not refuse. He looked at Pang Xiaotai and nodded and took the seat first.This Pang Xiaotai was too strict and observant of etiquette. In other words, he was a little cautious and even pedantic. He insisted on asking Gao Chong to take the seat for fear of being disrespectful.

As everyone knows, Gao Chong was concerned about the objective sentiments of the local people and had no intention of paying attention to formal etiquette. Even though he had a high official position, it was always not good to turn against the guests. After all, Pang Xiaotai was the chief, and this place was different from the Central Plains area.

Pang Xiaojie was still sharp and flexible, and quickly understood Gao Chong's meaning.

After everyone was seated, Pang Xiaotai couldn't wait to look at his eighth uncle Pang Lun.

Pang Lun glanced at Gao Chong, only to see Gao Chong nod his head and said slowly.

After Pang Xiaotai led the Baizhou soldiers and horses to leave, Liu Yanchang, the commander of Shuiming Military Mansion, was ready to make a move.

When the news of Ning Daoming's death reached Baizhou, Liu Yanchang was overjoyed. He actually killed Baizhou Sima Pang Pangji on the pretext of suppressing the rebellion, then occupied Pang's property in Bobai City, and even led troops to attack Yunfeishan.

Yunfei Mountain is the territory of the Pang clan. The clan members worked together to repel Liu Yanchang and have been holding on until now.

Hearing this, the two Pang Xiaotai brothers burst into tears again.

"Liu Yanchang!" Pang Xiaotai had unconcealed murderous intent in his eyes and clenched his fist tightly, "I will kill you."

It's just that Pang Xiaojie's face was a little uncertain and he just looked at Gao Chong.

After Gao Chong heard this, he couldn't help but frown.

This matter... is really a bit tricky. The key is Liu Yanchang's motive for sending troops. It's really hard to use this as a target.

At that time, Ning Daoming was so powerful that Pang Xiaotai was forced to become a thief, but it did not lead to a big mistake. He never killed any soldiers or civilians indiscriminately. He woke up in time under Dongluo City, cooperated with Ning Chun and Lu Nan, and defeated Fengshan City. Later, he followed Gao Chong wholeheartedly and was always loyal. He stood firm and made great achievements in overthrowing the Ning family.

However, due to the inconvenience of information transmission, only Ning Daoming's death was known, and other news did not spread. Liu Yanchang believed that Pang Xiaotai had died as a traitor, so he sent troops against the Pang family.

On the bright side, Liu Yanchang had no problem. On the contrary, he actively suppressed the rebellion and deserved meritorious service.

Seeing Gao Chong frowning and saying nothing, Pang Xiaojie was anxious and didn't care much, so he hurriedly said: "Jinglue, this Liu Yanchang is not a kind person. Not to mention he has been corrupt and perverted the law for many years. He and the Ning family are not clear either.

The reason why my brother was forced to join the bandits was because Ning Daoming was forced to do so, because Ning Daoming stated in the letter that if he didn't obey, he would send troops to attack, and Liu Yanchang would also respond."

After hearing Pang Xiaojie's words, Pang Xiaotai also reacted and said angrily: "Jinglue, Liu Yanchang's so-called counter-rebellion is just an excuse. He has been coveting my Pang family for a long time. If he hadn't been watching behind my back at that time, I would not have succumbed so easily. Rather be a thief."

Gao Chong probably had some understanding and nodded slightly, "Tell me about Liu Yanchang."

Pang Xiaojie spoke eloquently and immediately said: "The Liu family's clan is in Shuiming Fort, which is more than [-] miles west of Bobai City. The Liu family's power is one of the best in Baizhou, not weaker than my Pang family. They have been fighting openly and secretly for many years, but they are still It has not reached the point of using the army..."

As Pang Xiaojie slowly talked about it, Gao Chong gradually became clear about the Liu family in Baizhou.

It is said that this Liu family is actually the queen of a famous family, and the ancestor of this Liu family is actually Liu Long, one of the 28 generals of Yuntai in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang took power. Liu Chong, the Anzhonghou of Nanyang, raised an army against Wang Mang. Liu Long's father, Liu Li, responded positively. Later, Liu Chong was defeated and died, and Liu Li was also killed. Only Liu Long, who was only seven years old, survived.

When Liu Long grew up, he inherited his father's legacy and continued to participate in the activities against Wang Mang. Later, he defected to Liu Xiu, pacified Jianghuai, and conquered Sichuan and Shu in the west. The titles include Fuhou, Jinglinghou, Fulehou, Changpinghou and Shenhou.

Later, there was a rebellion in Jiaozhi County. Emperor Guangwu ordered General Fubo Ma Yuan to go out to quell the rebellion. He appointed General Liu Long as his deputy. After the army arrived in Jiaozhi, it was a great victory.

However, Lieutenant General Liu Long fell seriously ill when he returned to the imperial court, and died of illness while passing through Baizhou. It was midsummer at that time, and he was unable to return home in time, so he had to bury Yu Chou on the spot at the place where the army was stationed, that is, Shuiming. And there is a descendant who has taken root in Baizhou Shuiming ever since.

Therefore, Liu Yanchang, the commander of Shuiming Army Mansion, is the descendant of Liu Long, Marquis Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Hearing this, Gao Chong was thoughtful, turned his head and ordered: "Get the map."

Tu Dijin immediately tidied up his desk and spread out the map.

Gao Chong looked at Shuiming in the west of Bobai City. Pang Xiaojie understood it and stepped forward to point to the map of Shuiming Castle and introduce it.

"The Zhang River flows through here, and there is a dangerous shoal to the north, called Beishu Beach. It is the place where Liu Long's garrison of the Eastern Han Dynasty stopped. It has been an important place for military strategists for hundreds of years. In all dynasties, troops were often stationed here. At the throat of Baicheng, Shuiming Fort is by the Bei garrison beach, and the biggest force in the fort is the Liu family."

Gao Chong nodded slightly, finally understanding why there is a Shuiming Military Mansion here, and there are only two military mansions in the entire six counties of Baizhou. Among them, the Bobai Military Mansion is the Zhongfu, and the Shuiming Military Mansion is the Lower Mansion. Mingbao belongs to Jianning County next door, which means that the other four counties do not have military headquarters.

At this time, Li Shimin had not yet begun to sort out the administrative divisions. There were more than 800 prefectures in the world and more than 360 military prefectures. By the middle and late Zhenguan period, Li Shimin had basically completed the adjustment of administrative divisions. There were more than 620 prefectures and more than [-] military prefectures in the world, including The Guannai Road, that is, the Gyeonggi region, has the largest number of military mansions, reaching more than two hundred. The rest of the places have a configuration of one military mansion per state.

After a moment of thought, Gao Chong said in a deep voice to Pang Xiaotai and others: "Don't worry, I will investigate the rights and wrongs, and I will give you an explanation when the time comes."

Pang Xiaotai burst into tears of gratitude and prostrated himself on the ground, "Thank you Jinglue for your great kindness."

When Pang Xiaojie saw this, he had no choice but to stand down and prostrate himself, and the rest of the Pang clan including Pang Lun and others also prostrated themselves one after another.

He rushed for a moment, a strange look flashed in his eyes, and without any help, he said: "It doesn't have to be like this, I will deal with it impartially."

Pang Xiaotai didn't react, just responded, while Pang Xiaojie felt a sudden change in his heart and looked worried.

"I'll trouble An Cheng to arrange food and lodging. I won't bother you tonight." Gao Chong stood up and said with a smile, "We will enter Bobai City early tomorrow morning."

"It's natural. You can take a short rest after the discussion. I'll go down and prepare some wine." Pang Xiaotai promised in a hurry.

Pang Xiaojie also bowed behind him and said, "The resting place has been arranged, please come here."

Gao Chong responded with a smile, walked to the door, paused, and looked at Pang Xiaotai.

Pang Xiaotai was stunned for a moment before he understood, and said hurriedly: "Don't worry, keep everything simple."

Gao Chong nodded and smiled, "An Cheng is as smart as he should be."

After arranging Gao Chong and others, Pang Xiaojie quickly found Pang Xiaotai, with a somewhat complaining look on his face, "Brother shouldn't be like this."

"What?" Pang Xiaotai asked without raising his head as he sat alone with a map of Baizhou in front of him.

"Jing Lue just said that An Cheng was smart, but he understood clearly. You don't have to do this to force Jin Lue to express his support for the Pang family by giving him a big gift."

Pang Xiaojie said anxiously: "I have come to understand along the way that Jing Lue is not a heartless and unjust person. We will help him bring down the Ning family. You don't need to tell him that he will also help the Pang family."

"Go down." Pang Xiaotai raised his head, frowned and scolded: "Have a good time arranging the dinner, don't make any mistakes."

"Brother?" Pang Xiaojie was stunned.

"I don't know what you are saying. It's just that Jing Lue has been in Baizhou for a short time and the opportunity cannot be missed. Even if Jing Lue becomes unhappy because of this and wipes out all my previous achievements, I am willing to do so."

Pang Xiaotai jumped up and said through gritted teeth: "Ms. Liu has bullied others too much. If I don't avenge my third uncle, I will never be a human being."

(End of this chapter)