First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 595 Feng An’s Crisis

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Gao Chong was a little surprised when he heard what the four teenagers said. Even Pei Xingjian, who had always been smart, didn't understand it this time. This meant that the night banquet was very successful.

Seeing the four people watching eagerly, Gao Chong shook his head and smiled, raised his chin and gestured to the door, "Close the door."

Gao Daben was waiting in the house. After hearing this, he immediately went to close the door and stood at the door.

"Actually," Gao Chong held the tea cup and looked around the four people's faces, with a smile on his lips, "This was Feng Anta's initiative."

The four people were shocked when they heard this, their expressions were very incredible.

"Well, Master, I see that Feng An was extremely frightened and angry at that time." Xue Rengui was also dumbfounded, "Could he be doing this on purpose?"

"Yes and no." When Xue Rengui mentioned Feng An's performance, Gao Chong was dumbfounded.

"Feng Ang's shock and anger should be [-]% real and [-]% fake." Gao Chong no longer pretended, "He probably didn't expect that I would be so decisive."

"Why?" Xue Rengui looked puzzled.

Gao Kan frowned and asked, "Just to give the angel a chance to come forward to comfort you?"

"Yes and no," Gao Chong said again, and then sighed: "The main thing is that Feng An was a little panicked."

"Why?"

"Still asking?" Gao Chong frowned, "Why is he panicking? Think about it carefully, think about the current situation in Lingnan, and then think about the current power of his Feng family."

The four young men were enlightened. Pei Xingjian slapped his head, "Is he worried about Buning Changzhen's footsteps?"

"The Ning family is now weak, and the Feng family is the only family in Lingnan." Gao Kan thought thoughtfully, with light shining in his eyes.

"Now that the imperial court rewards the Chen family so generously, it must also have the intention of supporting the Chen family. Feng An is cunning and scheming. He must understand the deeper meaning. Now if Brother Zhong is able to seize the opportunity and then naturally plead guilty and issue an edict, the imperial court's suspicion can be avoided." .

Pei Xingjian nodded in agreement, then looked at Gao Kan with a bitter look on his face, "Brother Yunzhi, you have finished what I want to say."

Gao Chong unconsciously clapped his hands and cheered, "Yunzhi, you are very good and your analysis is very accurate. That's exactly what happened. Feng Ang is cautious by nature. He only cares about protecting the environment and the people. His enterprising spirit is not strong. This can be regarded as his fault." This is one of the reasons why Tan Dian has been allowed to be arrogant in Luozhou for many years."

Speaking of this, Gao Chong sighed from the bottom of his heart, "It is extremely rare to sit in such a favorable place and to defend one's territory blindly. Looking at the past dynasties, it is extremely rare. Look at Tan Palace, attack the city, and Feng An just sit back and ignore it. If it weren't for Tan Dian is so rampant that he attacks Gaozhou, I guess it is impossible for the two of them to fight."

"Now that Ning Changzhen has died, the situation in Lingnan has changed drastically. Whenever there is any movement in the court, Feng An will be frightened. Don't you know it? He already asked me to resign the day before yesterday."

Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of the four young men, Gao Chong chuckled, "Surprised? Unexpected? Me too. Shouldn't I say that he is cautious and loyal, or that he is cowardly and cowardly? He is a governor who rules eight states, and he just says it." ".

The four of them were filled with emotion when they heard this, and were amazed. Suddenly, Pei Xingjian scratched his head and asked, "Even if he resigns, the court won't allow it. After all, this is Jisi Prefecture."

Hearing this, Gao Chong paused for a moment, then smiled and said: "That's right, Feng Mingda has decided to rule the court."

"No way, no way, Master," Pei Xingjian looked stunned, "You shouldn't have even thought of this, right?"

Gao Chong suddenly laughed when he saw the boy holding his head high and his chest high, "What do you think?"

"No, brother, your attack tonight is obviously beyond Feng Ang's expectation." Gao Kan was the first to react, and then his eyes lit up, and he asked: "Brother, are you planning to use a trick to weaken the Feng family?"

"But Mr. Feng has always been loyal and has no disrespect to the imperial court." Tu Dijin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said.

Hearing this, Gao Chong raised his eyebrows and was not surprised. Instead, he asked, "Let me ask you, how often does your father go to court?"

"Once a year, never neglect," Tu Dijin replied without thinking.

"Feng Ang has never entered the court," Gao Chong said softly, nodding slightly.

Tu Dijin immediately understood, but he felt that since Feng Ang was so loyal and had no ambitions, there was no need to suppress him.

Gao Chong also understood the thoughts of this third disciple, and said bluntly: "It is not a suppression, it is just to comply with the will of the court and carry out necessary maintenance of local stability. Although he, Feng An, is loyal, the Feng family is too powerful, and Feng An is old. He is already high, and he has never gone to court to pay homage to the emperor. So, if I know he is loyal and you know his loyalty, how will the court know? Is it just a memorial from me? And who can guarantee the future?"

After the four people listened, they also looked thoughtful. This was also reasonable and reasonable from the perspective of the court.

"I understand. What Master said is that compared with the two, the Tian family in central Guizhou obviously has the Sacred Heart more." Xue Rengui also nodded in agreement.

Tian Zongxian, the Tian family in central Guizhou, is a real wise man. As the No. 1 Kai Qian, in the land of central Guizhou, Tian Zongxian is truly unbiased. If he can defend himself, call himself the King of Qian, and guard the dangerous passes in central Guizhou, then maybe he can really It can be said that he is independent, but Tian Zongxian has no such intention and decisively surrenders to the court.

Not only did he surrender to the imperial court, he also brought his grandson Tian Yangming into the imperial court and settled in Chang'an from then on. Li Yuan was deeply moved and set him as an example of surrendering to the princes. As a Jisi Prefecture, the Tian family is hereditary. It can be said that as long as the Tian family does not commit suicide in the future, they will be able to be prominent for hundreds of years.

Comparing the two, Feng An is also the same. He is loyal to the court and has no ambitions. However, Feng An is still not as courageous as Tian Zongxian and is too cautious. He has never visited the court for many years for fear of never returning. This is the difference.

"Then how does master plan to deal with the Feng family?" Xue Rengui asked cautiously: "Feng Ang is loyal after all, and has not made a big mistake, so he shouldn't be demoted and seize the title, right?"

"What are you thinking about?" Gao Chong laughed and scolded: "That's impossible, and it's impossible just because of my friendship with him. The best result is to enter the court, but I guess Feng An is not that courageous, so he can only change his mind. Secondly, since he has so many sons, it is always okay to pay homage to the saint on behalf of the Feng family."

This also involves a face issue. Even if you are from Jizhou, it is really unjustifiable if you have not been able to pay homage for several years.This is just like the social interaction between ordinary people. If you don't come to visit for several years, no matter how good the relationship between the two families is, it may not be much better.

In the post house, Gao Chong and others were discussing Feng. In the Governor's Mansion, Feng was also discussing tonight's affairs.

Among them, Feng Zhishen was the most fierce. From the top of the banquet, he kept cursing that the banquet was over.

Feng Ang didn't pay attention to Feng Zhisun's cursing. He didn't stop him, let alone reprimand him. He just frowned and thought deeply.

"Sanlang, did you expect what happened tonight?" Seeing Feng An's silence, an old man with white hair and beard beside him also asked, twirling his beard.

Feng An ranked third, and he was the only person in the Feng family who dared to call Feng An Sanlang. This person was the head of the Xian family, Xian Baoming, who was also Feng An's brother-in-law and the grandnephew of Mrs. Xian.Since Mrs. Xian, the two clans of Feng and Xian have almost integrated into one. You have me, and I have you, without distinguishing each other. This is also extremely rare. After all, when the brothers are still feuding, the two races can be so harmonious. I also have to lament the charm of Mrs. Xian.

"Yes and no," Feng An rubbed his brows and sighed, "It's still a bit unexpected. I didn't expect Gao Youzhi to be so decisive."

"You said earlier that you were afraid that what happened to the Ning family would harm the Feng family, but is this the reason?" Xian Baoming frowned and asked, "Is it true that the imperial court cannot tolerate the officials like me?"

"I can't tolerate him, so I rebelled against him!" Feng Zhishen was lying on the desk sleeping, suddenly he slapped the desk and shouted: "That high-spirited thief, I, Mrs. Feng, have never neglected him, how dare he, how dare he insult like this."

"Shut up." Hearing these treasonous words, Feng An was shocked and angry. Seeing that there was no one around him, Feng An ordered: "Someone, stop his mouth and take him down to sober up."

After the attendants took Feng Zhisu away, Feng Ang confided his true feelings to his uncle alone.

"My lips are dead and my teeth are cold. Secondly, I haven't been to the court for several years. I think the court must be dissatisfied. This time I sent an envoy to comfort me and give me a large reward. This is what I meant. I estimate that the envoy will make a request in a day or two." , but we have already received the favor, how can we refuse it?"

After hearing this, Xian Baoming's eyes widened and he shouted: "No wonder the reward is so generous, it's waiting for us here."

First give him a reward and appease him, and then say: Come with us back to Beijing to pay homage to the saint.

In this way, no matter how Feng An refuses, it doesn't matter whether he goes or not. Now it only depends on Feng An's choice.

"Then what are you going to do, Sanlang?" Xian Baoming's face was heavy.

"I plan to ask Gao Youzhi for advice so that he won't harm me. I think his actions tonight have a deeper meaning." Feng Ang frowned and said, "It's just that I can't figure it out. He did it so decisively. Could it be? Do you really want to dismiss me from office? But just based on the household registration in overseas states, it won't reach this point. He must have other plans."

"Gao Youzhi?" Xian Baoming's expression changed, "Is he trustworthy?"

"As long as he still intends to govern in Lingnan, it is credible."

Hearing his uncle's question, Feng Ang smiled confidently, "Domineering and intimidating is for the imperial court to see. It is tacitly understood by each other. If he wants to gain a foothold in Lingnan, domineering alone will not be enough. He is not planning to form a City Shipping Department? I, Feng, have one of the best fleets along the coast. Without Feng's support, he will be unable to move forward."

Xian Baoming nodded hesitantly, and then asked: "How should we cooperate with the expedition to Luozhou tomorrow?"

"I am cooperating with all my strength," Feng An said firmly: "The Tan thief is so cunning and cunning, he has encountered a tough challenge this time. Gao Youzhi uses his troops like a god, and is more than enough to deal with a Tan palace."

"Then last time you told me not to do my best against Mr. Tan." Xian Baoming obviously didn't have much scheming and just blurted out what was in his heart.

Feng Ang was shocked when he heard this, his face became serious, and he said in a deep voice: "Brother, don't say these words again, it will just rot in your stomach, otherwise it will bring disaster to our family."

Xian Baoming nodded in response when he saw this.

"The Tan family is best eliminated by the imperial court. There are many twists and turns, and I won't explain them one by one." Feng Ang sighed, "And Feng Xuan, I hope he doesn't make mistakes."

Luozhou was called Shilong County in the former Sui Dynasty. Feng An's father, Feng Pu, served as the governor of Shilong County for many years. In fact, Luozhou should be the place of Feng's family prestige, because Feng An's father's ancestors were in Luozhou (that is, Shilong). For many years, Feng An's grandfather Feng Pu later served as the governor of Gaoliang County. In order to consolidate his position, he married the Xian family, a local wealthy family in Gaoliang, and became Mrs. Xian. From then on, he established himself in Gaoliang County (ie Gaozhou).

In the fifth year of Wude, Shilong County was abolished and Luozhou was established. Its territory was very large and it governed eleven counties, namely Shilong, Wuchuan, Lingluo, Longhua, Luobian, Nanhe, Shicheng, Zhaoyi, Linglu, Eleven counties including Cilian and Luofei.

Later, in the sixth year of Wude, the imperial court also felt that the area under the jurisdiction of Luozhou was too large, so it separated six counties, including Shilong and Lingluo, and established Nanshizhou, with its administrative office in Shilong.

The administrative seat of Luozhou was moved to Shicheng County, which administered five counties including Shicheng and Wuchuan.

The entire territory of Luozhou now belongs to the Gaozhou Governor's Mansion in name, but in fact it is all occupied by Tandian.

Since the Nanliang period, Tan Dian's grandfather was ordered to guard Luozhou, the Tan family has been based in Luozhou for a hundred years. Tan Dian is also nearly seventy years old, older than Feng Ang.

It's just that Tan Dianren is not old-minded, and he can be regarded as old and strong. In his hands, the Tan family has become increasingly powerful. In the eastern part of Lingnan, he has become a first-class noble chieftain. Now he is even faintly stronger than the Chen family and can compete with the Feng family.

The biggest advantage of the Tan family is to unite the officials in Yunkai and Yunwu Mountains. Its power lies in the mountains. Even the Luo Dou officials in the Yunkai Mountains in the north and Jin Dong in the Yunwu Mountains use Tan. The palace is the leader and dare not disobey.

However, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The Tan family's real jurisdiction only covers the five counties of Luozhou. In terms of cities, it is far inferior to the Feng and Chen families. The officials in the mountains can at most donate some game furs and other wild animals to him. , such as Jin Dong, even though he was rich, he did not dare to offend the Chen family on the one hand, and he did not dare to offend Tan Dian on the other, and the gold sand he donated was only a handful.

This made the Tan family destined to be inferior to the Feng and Chen families in terms of financial and material resources. Therefore, whenever there was an opportunity, Tan Dian led his army to plunder. He had previously joined Ning Daoming in raising troops, but Tan Dian only wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to plunder. He could Not being loyal to Ning Daoming, Tan Dian immediately withdrew his troops and hid in the mountains as soon as Ning Daoming died.

It was less than a hundred miles from Gaoliang to Shicheng, but because Tan Dian had sent troops to plunder and deliberately destroyed official roads when retreating, Feng Xuan's journey was also very difficult.

When Feng Xuan arrived in Shicheng, it was already late at night.

"I'm Feng Xuan, where is the Tan Palace?" Feng Xuan didn't have time to rest, let alone spend the night in the wild, so he immediately came to call the city with a torch.

The concubine guard in the city was sleeping soundly. He was shocked when he heard this, but he did not dare to make a decision. He immediately went to the governor's office to report.

A full two-quarters of an hour later, a big man hurriedly wearing armor came to the city.

"Is this Uncle Feng below?" His voice was deep and he sounded quite old.

Feng Xuan frowned when he heard this, "Tan Dalang? Where is your father? I came in person, and he doesn't plan to show up?"

The middle-aged man in the city is Tan Heng, the eldest son of Tan Dian.

Feng Xuan had a wide circle of friends and had been on good terms with Tan Dian before he left Gaozhou.

Feng Xuan, Tan Dian, and Chen Longshu's father Chen Fozhi, the three of them even almost became sworn brothers at one point.

"It's really Uncle Feng," the big man laughed loudly, "Don't blame Uncle Feng. It's not because my father is rude. It's just that my father has returned to Panshe Ridge a few days ago and is not in the city. I will open the door now and please come into the city to talk."

　The gout has improved, but the diarrhea is so excruciating that I feel exhausted. I really can’t take too much colchicine.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)