First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

...

Seeing Feng Xuan's relaxed posture, Tan Dian felt that his eyes were a bit contemptuous, and his heart suddenly became angry.

But before Tan Dian could continue his arrogance, Feng Xuan sneered, "You think he doesn't dare? The Ning family and his son are still dead."

A simple sentence instantly extinguished the anger in Tan Dian's heart.

No matter how powerful the Tan clan is, no matter how great the Tan Dian clan is, they can't compare to the Ning clan of Qinzhou. Ning Changzhen, Ning Huizao, and Ning Xu all died at the hands of Gao Chong. In comparison, he is just an unofficial official in the mountains with no official title, a dignified manager, and a profound background. Why should he not dare?

A biting dog will never bark. In the same way, Tan Dian's last hysterical rant was just a bluff, and could only expose his inner panic.

If Tan Dian was really sure that he would fight to the death, he should be busy deploying troops and generals instead of yelling here. The reason for his performance is enough to prove that Tan Dian does not have the confidence, let alone the strength.

Tan Dian stumbled back a few steps and fell down on the desk, lost in thought.

Feng Xuan understood that he had completely defeated Tan Dian's psychological defense. To be precise, it was not Feng Xuan who defeated him, but Gao Chong. Even the Tang Dynasty court represented by Gao Chong, with its unstoppable power, suppressed Tan Dian. Resist.

To put it simply, after Tan Dian heard about Ning Daoming's defeat, he quickly withdrew his troops and even retreated to the mountains. To a certain extent, it showed that Tan Dian did not dare to confront the court. It can be seen that Tan Dian was not an arrogant person, just like Feng Ang. Others commented on him: cautious and cunning.

"Brother Tan, the matter has come to this, and the only way to go down the mountain is to surrender." Feng Xuan sighed solemnly: "You need to understand that the army of the military envoy has not yet arrived at Panshe Ridge. Sending envoys to surrender now means surrendering on one's own initiative. , when the officers and soldiers arrive at the gate of the mountain, and you decide to surrender, the meaning will be different."

But Tan Dian remained silent.

Feng Xuan frowned. He was very puzzled. Now that the situation was so clear, he didn't know why Tan Dian was hesitant.

Suddenly, Feng Xuan was shocked and asked with wide eyes, "You don't really have the will to be independent, do you?"

Tan Dian sneered when he heard this, and glanced at Feng Xuan sarcastically, "You think I am such an ignorant and reckless person."

"Then you threatened before in Gedonxi..." Feng Xuan was completely stunned.

"That's just to win over the sleazeballs from all sides." Tan Dian clenched his fists and said word by word: "All three of your families have officials from the Han family. They have cities and land, soldiers and food. I only have this vast mountain. Without the support of various Dongxi officials, I would have nothing in Tandian Palace."

"Since you have no ambition to stand on your own, why don't you use these hundreds of miles of mountains and tens of thousands of officials to join you? In this case, how can you not have high-ranking officials and generous salaries?" Feng Xuan continued to ask, and he felt that he had already asked the key to talking about the palace. .

As expected, when he heard this, Tan Dian burst out in anger, "How about a high-ranking official and a generous salary? Why don't you just follow your orders, Mr. Feng?"

"That's it," Feng Xuan suddenly realized.

The Gaozhou Governor's Office has eight states under its jurisdiction, including Luozhou. If Tan Dian is subordinated, according to common sense, Tan Dian should be given the post of governor of Luozhou. In this case, Tan Dian will be under Feng An's command.

Tan Dian has always been dissatisfied with Feng An. He always believed that Feng An's fame surpassed that of Tan Dian just because of his family background. Feng Xuan understood this quite well, but he didn't expect that Tan Dian was so stubborn because of Feng An. ounce.

Feng Xuan frowned and was at a deadlock for a while. Luozhou was subordinate to the Gaozhou Governor's Mansion. This was a division of the imperial court and it was impossible to change it.

On the other hand, after all, the Gaozhou Governor's surname was Feng. Even though Feng Xuan had been away for many years and was dissatisfied with his third brother Feng An's succession to the position of chief, he had always been proud of his direct lineage to the Feng family.

If Luozhou surrenders, the Tan family will once again be subordinate to the Feng family. This will undoubtedly be a good thing for the Feng family to increase their reputation.

Especially in recent months, Chen Longshu has attached himself to the military envoy and has become the governor of Longzhou, and the governor's office of Longzhou has become the governor's office of Longzhou. The Chen family has great potential for revival and rise, and all the officials from Dongxi have joined him one after another. To a certain extent, it shook Feng's foundation among the officials.

It was not mentioned openly, but in fact the Xian and Feng families were secretly on guard. Lingnan was so big and there were so many Liliao tribes. If one family rose, the other would inevitably weaken.

For example, the Ning clan of Qinzhou, the death of the great chief Ning Changzhen, and the deaths of Ning Daoming, Ning Daoyue, Ning Huizao, Ning Chu and other key direct descendants of the Ning clan, caused the Ning clan to decline rapidly. At the same time, Yuezhou Mo clan, The Baizhou Pang family and other powerful chiefs who were previously attached to the Ning family took the opportunity to rise. This is the general trend.

Feng Xuan wanted to talk about His Highness surrendering to the imperial court, but he also didn't want his family to lose control of Luozhou. It can be said that he was in a dilemma.

Although Tan Dian was uneducated, he had always been cunning, and he laughed ferociously when he saw this, "Do you understand? Now you go down the mountain and go to Shicheng with Erlang's reinforcements. You tell the envoy that you can go down the mountain and surrender, but I talk The Feng family will never vassal you again."

"You, you have to be like this?" Feng Xuan was a little angry for a moment.

Tan Dian was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly and looked at Feng Xuan with disdain, "Feng Er, if you don't accept Feng San's taking power, then shouldn't you be more satisfied with my insistence on breaking away from Feng San now?"

Feng Xuan was furious. After all, the Feng family was a descendant of the royal family, and her background was not comparable to that of the Tan family. He immediately said coldly, "Think it over carefully and don't forget the lessons learned from the Ning family." Then he turned and left.

"Come here, call Erlang." Tan Dian looked at Feng Xuan's leaving figure with a solemn expression, and then called in a deep voice.

Not long after, a thin man in his thirties came to the room and said, "Yeah."

This man is Tan Dian's second son. Tan Fan, Heng, and Fan are all beautiful jade. It seems that Tan Dian put a lot of thought into naming them.

"Have you gathered everyone?" Tan Dian asked directly.

"Two thousand and five hundred people, all gathered together, we can set off as soon as dawn," Tan Fan responded in a deep voice, then frowned with some hesitation and asked, "Aye, are you really going to start a war with the army?"

"What do you mean?" Tan Dian frowned and looked at his second son.

The eldest son, Tan Heng, has a rough appearance, but there is subtlety in his roughness. The second son, Tan Fan, is also a rare person of the Tan family who is both civilized and military. He also studied in Guangzhou for several years. Although he is not a scholar, he has read some classics, history and military books.

When Tan Dian was away fighting for many years, he ordered his eldest son Tan Heng to take charge of his own affairs, and only took his second son Tan Fan with him at all times and taught him carefully. For Tan Fan, Tan Dian had high hopes.

When Tan Fan heard this, he just sighed and said, "Ah, I am not belittling myself, but now that the Central Plains are unified and Lingnan is stable, Ning Changzhen also died at the hands of the commander. If we resist forcefully, we may be blocking the car with our arms."

Tan Dian was a little pleased when he heard this, and sighed: "I don't know whether the mantis arm can block the car, but now is definitely not the time to quarrel with the government. Believe it or not, that old thief Feng Ang wishes that I would fight to the death to resist. The envoy will destroy my Tan clan. According to the Han military manual, this move should be called killing with a borrowed sword."

"What about you?" Tan Fan also beamed when he heard this.

"I'm not as good as he wants," Tan Dian snorted coldly, "He wants to use his sword to kill people, and I can also take advantage of it to rise. That kid Chen Longshu can do it, why can't I do it?"

"What Aye said is exactly what I mean. If the Central Plains is unified, there is no need for us to resist the imperial court. Look at Chen Longshu of Longzhou. He is so majestic now. He is no longer weaker than the Feng family. I heard that Chen Erlang has already He has become the commander of the army, and he is a fifth-grade military attache."

Tan Fan also said excitedly.

A strange look flashed in Tan Dian's eyes. He didn't expect Erlang to attach such importance to Guanjue, but he didn't say much and just said: "Come forward."Tan Fan came forward obediently and listened.

"Later, you will lead [-] troops from your headquarters and take Feng Er to Shicheng. Look for an opportunity to enter the city. While assuming a defensive posture, you will send envoys to the Tang camp to express my Tan family's attitude. You can surrender. , will never be subordinate to the Feng family, and will never obey the orders of the Feng family."

"Remember, you have to send a trustworthy envoy. After all, Feng Er is a member of the Feng family. I can't trust him. I must make it clear to the envoy. The Feng family has exploited us and other officials too much. The officials in the mountains are not convinced by Feng. "We have absolutely no intention of rebellion, but we have no choice but to resist Feng's oppression. This is particularly important."

Tan Fan's eyes lit up when he heard this, he nodded in agreement, and then asked: "Aye, aren't you going?"

Tan Dian paused and said, "I can't go. I need to stay in Panshe Ridge, and then notify the leaders of Dongxi to come and join together to increase the weight of my Tan family. This will be more conducive for you to make peace in Shicheng. Remember, it is peace. Peace must not start a war. Once a war starts, it will be very detrimental to me."

Tan Fan nodded seriously and said, "Don't worry, Aye, I understand the importance."

After Tan Fan went down, only Tan Dian was left in the room. As the sky slowly turned white, a golden morning glow penetrated into the room, making Tan Dian's face a little unpredictable.

"Feng San..." Tan Dian smiled thoughtfully, "Since that master is so good, he should also know what you are thinking."

Then Tan Dian turned around and walked into the back room, falling asleep. The soldiers outside the door looked at each other in shock.

Outside Shicheng, in the Tang Army's camp, Gao Chong was holding up a log for training. The four teenagers next to him were also doing some weird tricks with their shirts off.

At least to Tian Yangming's point of view, the movement of lying on the ground on all fours and raising and lowering with both hands was very weird and undignified.

Seeing Tian Yangming folding his hands and looking boredly against the camp fence, Gao Chong raised his hand and punched the log in his hand on the ground, "Tian Ziguang, what's your expression? Come here and make gestures?"

"No, no," Tian Yangming waved his hands hurriedly, "it's not good to do anything early in the morning."

Gao Chong glanced at him and frowned, "If you don't practice, when you wait until Guangzhou, do you really plan to be your Tian Ming Mansion?"

Tian Yangming stepped forward with a smile, "Practice, but I'm not a martial artist. What's more, ordinary martial artists don't practice like you. The ancestors of Yuzhou in the past danced after hearing the chicken, which was nothing more than that."

The ancestor of Yuzhou is the ancestor Ti of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Because he recovered Yuzhou, he was worshiped as the governor of Yuzhou, and many people respectfully call him the ancestor of Yuzhou.

"Nonsense, if you don't practice for one day, all your previous efforts will be wasted. If you don't practice your body, you probably won't be able to keep your promise," Gao Chong said with disdain.

Hearing this, Tian Yangming was full of dissatisfaction. Just as he was about to tell the difference, he saw Pei Xingjian jumping up, pulling out a sword from the side of the sword, and looking at Tian Yangming intentionally or unintentionally.

Tian Yangming could only pinch his nose and said with a smile: "That's really not a win."

The Pei family's swordsmanship is the most unique skill in the world. Most people really can't win. It's not embarrassing. Tian Yangming can only comfort himself in this way.

"It's not yet noon. If you don't catch up on some sleep, why are you here?" Gao Chong asked curiously.

Yesterday, he sent an order to assemble at noon to challenge Shicheng. It was still early now. Logically speaking, Tian Yangming was on duty at night and should catch up on his sleep now.

When Tian Yangming heard this, he looked around and saw that the Gao family's personal guards were surrounding him in a circle. There were no outsiders. He came closer and asked curiously: "Are we really going to start a war with that Tan Palace?"

Gao Chong's eyes narrowed upon hearing this, and he turned to look at Gao Kan and the other four, who also shook their heads.

"What do you say?" Gao Chong pulled a piece of silk cloth to wipe his sweat and asked casually.

Tian Yangming became even more anxious when he heard this, and lowered his voice and said: "I always feel that Gaozhou Governor Feng's purpose is not simple. Logically speaking, Tandian attacked the prefecture and county, and we suppressed the rebellion and held accountable. This is reasonable. Just be careful. After all, the person who benefits the most is not the imperial court."

"Continue", Gao Chong said noncommittally, feeling quite satisfied in his heart. This was the astute Tian Dalang in central Guizhou.

"Youzhi, think about it..." Seeing that Gao Chong didn't refute, Tian Yangming became even more interested and put his arm around Gao Chong's shoulders.

"Uh huh..." Gao Chong looked solemn and coughed.

Tian Yangming retracted his hand angrily and continued: "Think about it, if we clean up the Tan Palace on behalf of the imperial court, the sly officials in the mountains might hate the imperial court, and then have no choice but to rely on the Feng family.

In the end, the court gave Feng an errand, Feng expanded his power, and the court aroused the resentment of the local officials.

After all, I have heard that Tan Dian is quite prestigious in the Luozhou area, especially in the Yunwu Mountains, because he has always come from a member of the government and is very kind to his people."

After listening to Tian Yangming's words, Gao Chong nodded with a smile, "Not bad, Ziguang, you know how to use your brain."

Tian Yangming looked stunned, and then he reacted, "You, you have already considered it?"

Gao Chong smiled and said nothing, while Pei Xingjian held his head high and said, "That's what kind of person my master is."

"You, have you considered it too?" Tian Yangming turned around and saw the four young men's indifferent expressions. He was a little surprised and stuttered for a moment.

"That's it," Gao Chong twitched the corner of his mouth, "I don't even know whose apprentice he is."

Tian Yangming covered his face and couldn't bear to look directly at him, "Am I the only one who co-writes this?"

When Gao Chong heard this, his face suddenly became serious, "No, if you can figure out the joints, you are still very good, exceeding my expectations."

Tian Yangming looked confused and muttered: "Are you praising me or hurting me?"

"Don't worry about it now," Gao Chong waved his hand and said with a smile, "But what you just said will come out of your mouth and into the ears of the five of us. No other seventh person can know about it, otherwise he will be severely punished."

Tian Yangming responded blankly.

"I have a plan for this. You don't have to worry about it. Just obey my orders." Gao Chong patted Tian Yangming on the shoulder. "You go and call the city to fight later. Show off your arrogance as a big man of the Tian family. You must let him win." The people in the city understand that if they don’t surrender, there will be death, do you understand?”

Tian Yangming thought for a moment, nodded and then shook his head again, "I remember Arrogant Challenging, why he acted like this... I don't understand."

"It's okay if you don't understand." Gao Chong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. "If you understand, then some people should understand."

Gao Kan and the other four burst into laughter upon hearing this, but Tian Yangming was the only one with a blank look on his face.