A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 868: Planning a Southern Tour to Collect Corpses and Collect Clan Members

Bai's Manor, Bai's Mansion, Main Courtyard
Bai Qing and his son sat opposite each other on the stone table, taking advantage of the shade from the trees, tasting the rare herbal tea from the north and experiencing the world's most advanced craftsmanship.

When Bai Jing heard his father say that he had something important to tell him, he immediately changed his sitting position, put down his teacup, sat upright, and listened attentively.

"Father, please give me your orders."

"You also know that at the beginning of An Lushan's rebellion, the family suffered heavy losses in Henan, Hebei, and Guanzhong, and many members of the family were slaughtered. Now that the two places are peaceful and the court has stopped the enemy in Hebei, the family cannot ignore this."

"what do you mean?"

"I have decided to send you as the family's collector. You will replace your father and the master family to go to Guanzhong and Henan to collect the remains."

“Although it is impossible to bury all of them, we must collect as many bones of our tribesmen scattered in the wilderness as possible and send them back home.”

"Also, arrange two grand ceremonies in Chang'an and Luoyang, and invite masters from both Buddhism and Taoism to perform rituals to pray for their souls. If they cannot rest in peace while alive, they must seek a peaceful afterlife."

After hearing this, Bai Jing's expression also became lonely. No matter what, these people were all his own people, sharing the same blood and worshipping the same ancestor.

"I will do my best to collect the remains of my tribe members and never let them be exposed in the wild, so that they can return to their roots as much as possible."

After that, Bai Jing asked the question in his mind: "What about the tribesmen in Hebei?"

"Alas." Bai Qing sighed, "The war in Hebei has not yet ended. The rebels are stronger than the government troops. We can only make plans after the war is over."

"I know, kid."

"Also, it's time to pay tribute this year. You can follow the tribute team to Chang'an to meet the emperor on behalf of your father and maintain some connections."

"Yes."

"Also, although the news of the family and the clan halls in various places has been restored, I am not planning to abolish the local parliaments."

"However, I cannot personally see what this parliamentary system is like. After I finish the first two things, I will set off for Shandong to observe how the Shandong parliament is and see if the clansmen below have any opinions or suggestions."

"This matter and the first matter are of the utmost importance. They are both major family matters and should not be taken lightly."

Bai Jing bowed his hands and said respectfully: "I will obey your orders and will never fail you, father."

Seeing Bai Jing's calm attitude, without any panic, Bai Qing was very satisfied. He seemed to have thought of something and said:

"Oh, right? Now the imperial court and the rebels are fighting each other, winning and losing. I wonder if the people of the world are with the Li Tang. It's just right that you want to go deep into the people this time and investigate on my behalf."

"Yes."

After saying so much, Bai Qing felt a little tired of sitting, so he stood up and stretched, and Bai Jing also stood up.

"You can't accomplish so many things by yourself. I will order the clans in various places to cooperate with you and give you some clerks. As for the funds, I will have someone bring them to you. Don't worry. The family lacks everything except money."

"Also, although Henan has been recovered by the imperial court, it is still inferior to Hedong and Jiangnan. Your safety is still very important and cannot be entirely dependent on the officers and soldiers along the way. I have also sent you some guards to be responsible for your safety."

Hearing that Bai Qing had given him so much support, Bai Jing became more confident about what to do next, and said with a folded hand:
"Thank you, father. I will definitely fulfill my mission."

"Okay, go down. Ru Niang is still waiting for you at home. Your boys at home are also looking forward to seeing you. Stay at home for a few days before leaving."

"Goodbye, kid."

He waved his hand, letting Bai Jing move on his own, then picked up the big iron shears again, looked at the flowers, plants and trees in the yard, thinking about which one to cut.

Baijing Courtyard
These past few days, Bai Jing has put aside all his affairs and concentrated on accompanying his wife Yuanshi, his son and daughter who have not left the house, and his grandchildren who are still attending the clan school, enjoying the joy of family.

However, happy times are always short-lived.

"Young Master, outside the courtyard are three people who want to see you: Yuan Baoyi, the deputy director of the Military Academy, Qiu Shengquan, the head of Sihai Trading Company, and Bai Wenjin, the secretary of the Record Office."

After hearing the servant's announcement, Bai Jing knew that the time had come, so he put down the book in his hand and asked all the children gathered in the room to go downstairs as he had things to take care of.

"My son/grandson is leaving." After the boys were led away by the servants, Bai Jing asked someone to call in the three people outside the courtyard.

"See Young Master."

"The five chambers have already told you the specific tasks. Tell me about the situation you have in your hands."

Yuan Baoyi, the deputy director of the Wubei Academy, took the lead and said without hesitation: "Young Master, at the request of the family master, the Wubei Academy has allocated 100 warriors, led by my subordinates, to accompany the young master on the southern tour."

"The Sihai Caravan has already prepared supplies and money for the young master's southern tour, and is just waiting for the young master to arrive. Although it is a local deployment, I will bring ten accountants with me and follow the young master's carriage."

"The family has sent twenty clerks and fifty students who graduated from the family school this year. They will be led by me and accompany you south to assist you in handling some chores."

Hearing that the family had made thorough preparations, Bai Jing was very satisfied. He nodded and said, "Very good, go down and prepare. Follow me in three days."

"promise."

After the three of them left, Bai Jing called out again: "Bai Jinchuan."

"Young Master." An old soldier with a weather-beaten face and bright eyes walked in respectfully from outside the door.

"Go to the courtyard and select fifty warriors to accompany me."

"Yes."

Bai Jinchuan, a member of the Bai family and a native of Youzhou, was originally a sergeant in the Fanyang Army. Later, he made military achievements and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. However, because he offended his superiors, he could only guard the border for more than 30 years. He was skilled in archery and horse riding.

Later, he was unwilling to join An Lushan in the rebellion, and led more than 20 soldiers under his command to escape back to Youzhou. He and his comrades protected their families and clansmen and sneaked all the way to Hedong. He was recruited by Bai Jing as the captain of his personal guard and followed him everywhere.

According to Bai family tradition, core members of the Bai Mansion can recruit no more than ten followers to be placed in their own courtyards, with fifty young masters and an undetermined number of family heads.

However, they need to pay for the expenses of these close followers themselves.

In this way, there must be no danger of going south.

It's no wonder that Bai Jing is cautious. Although Henan is much calmer now, the rebels are still active after all. Who knows if there are any defeated soldiers or scouts infiltrating Henan, Guanzhong and other places. It's always a good idea to bring more people.

On the second day, just as Bai Jing was arranging the people who were about to travel, visiting relatives and friends for the last time, and making final preparations, he was sitting on the pear wood chair in the study to take a nap when a rustling sound reached his ears.

When he opened his eyes, he saw his youngest son, Bai Ming, the fifth son who had just turned twenty this year, standing at the door, timidly looking at him.

"Come in, what are you doing outside the door?"

After hearing this, Bai Ming smiled ingratiatingly and walked quickly to Bai Jing.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"The child wants to go with his father."

Bai Jing looked at Bai Ming carefully, and seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, he agreed with him: "It's good to be ambitious. It's just right that you rarely go out of Songxi. It's good for you to go out with your father to gain some experience. Go and get ready, we'll leave tomorrow."

Bai Ming was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, father."

After saying that, he turned around and ran out the door quickly.

Seeing this, Bai Jing smiled and shook his head.

In fact, it's not just Bai Ming. In the past two days, many Bai family members have asked Bai Jing to take their children out for training.

With such a large-scale external operation, personally directed by the young master and escorted by so many soldiers, safety and results formed the best cost-effectiveness at this time.

This kind of high-quality training activity is rare for the Songxi Bai family in the past 20 years. How could the group of uncles and brothers in the Bai Mansion who are good at education let it go?

However, the main purpose of this trip was to get things done, so he did not accept all of them. Instead, he picked out twenty people from hundreds of people to serve as his followers, which could be regarded as cultivating reserve forces for the family.

(End of this chapter)