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

Chapter 963: Official ships are everywhere at Baiqiaokou, and all the courts are just sitting there doing nothing

February 2, the third year of Tianfu
Bianzhou, Baiqiaokou, is located at the junction of Baigou and the canal, in the northern suburbs of Bianzhou City, and is the main wharf of Baigou.

Compared with the canal wharf in the east of the city, this place cannot be compared in scale and prosperity.

It is mostly used by boat passengers coming from Shandong Province along the Baigou River to the west.

The previously peaceful Baiqiaokou was now marked by flags and warriors were on martial law. Passengers who had just got off the boats were ordered by officials and soldiers to leave quickly and were not allowed to stay.

At the dock, Bai Yi, along with Bai Banghan, Bai Yu, Bai Xingjian, Bai Xiaoqiang and other members of the Bai family who were both civil and military officials in Bianzhou, were waiting quietly.

After a while, a series of official ships appeared in the Baigou in the distance, with the flags of the River Office flying on them. They were guarded by small warships on the left and right, and three fighting ships in the front leading the way. All the civilian ships along the way urgently gave way for fear of a collision.

"coming."

With a loud shout and a shake, the leading official ship approached the shore, and the people who had been waiting on the shore walked towards the bow.

"Thirteenth brother!" Bai Yi greeted as he walked towards Bai Bao who had just jumped off the boat.

"Young Master." Bai Bao looked at Bai Yi who was walking towards him quickly, and quickly steadied himself and saluted respectfully.

"Hey, don't be so polite. You must be tired after traveling for so many days. Come back to the city with me quickly and have a good rest. I will hold a banquet in the city to welcome you."

That’s right, the people who came were the deans of various academies headed by Bai Bao, the head dean of the Bai family.

Because the Liang army entered Songxi, the Bai family had to take refuge in the mountains, and it has been three years since then.

However, most of the Bai family in the world rely on their master to uphold justice, so how can they hide away from the world for long?

After all, Baiyuan is just a small valley in the Taihang Mountains and cannot accommodate a large population for a long time.

But now Taiyuan is very unsafe because of the weakening of Jin army. After much deliberation, Bai Rui decided to move all the core family courtyards of Bai family to Bianzhou.

As he was too old and frail to travel long distances, he only left the secretary in Baiyuan and sent the rest of the clansmen to Bianzhou to be dealt with by Bai Yi.

Fortunately, the Wei Bo Army connects Taihang Mountain and Bianzhou, and with the protection of Baijian, the tribesmen safely passed through Mingzhou and Weizhou, arrived at Puzhou from Linhuangdu, and then passed through Baigou to Bianzhou.

On the way, Bai Yi grabbed Bai Bao and kept asking about the latest situation at home.

"I hope my father is in good health."

"Because the Chengtian army was defeated and the East Gate of Taiyuan was breached, the family moved to Baiyuan for refuge. The head of the family was worried and tired. Recently, he often complained of numbness in his hands and feet. I'm afraid he's ill."

Bai Yi sighed after hearing this, his eyes moistened unconsciously as he said:
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't coveted the prosperity of Bianzhou and returned home earlier to help my father, he wouldn't have been suffering from the heartache he has today. I am so unfilial."

Bai Bao opened his mouth, not knowing what to say to comfort him.

"I have made up my mind. I am old now and I really shouldn't stay in this position any longer and just sit there doing nothing."

"I think if Jian'er was in my position, there wouldn't be a defeat in Huainan. I was too anxious."

Looking at the road scenery outside the window that was constantly receding, Bai Yi began to think about retiring.

"The head of the family said that since all the courtyards have come to Bianzhou, everything will be arranged by you."

"Also, when we came here, we relied a lot on Master Jian to lead the troops and protect us. I saw that he had all the major issues in the world in his mind during his conversations, so he might be able to handle major matters."

After that, Bai Bao stopped talking, because he knew that Bai Yi must have made a decision. After the Bai family members arrived in Bianzhou, they couldn't help but feel happy when they saw the prosperity of the streets.

Bai Yi ordered Zhu Bai to travel around Bianzhou and gave them three days off.

February th
Bai Yi summoned the heads of various academies to hold a meeting in the backyard of the military mansion.

After entering the meeting hall, Bai Yi looked around. Most of the people there were elderly people in their fifties and sixties, and there were few young and middle-aged tribesmen. He couldn't help but frown.

"Gentlemen, it has been more than 30 years since we parted at Songxi."

The clan elder, Yuanzheng Bai An, pinched his beard and laughed:
"Yes, when the young master went to Bianzhou from his family to take over the power of the Xuanwu Army, it was during the reign of Emperor Yizong. Pang Xun was causing chaos in Huainan, and the Hedong Li family, still with the surname Zhuye, still had prestige in the court."

"But in the blink of an eye, three emperors have been replaced. Wang Xianzhi, Huang Chao, and Qin Zongquan have appeared one after another. Until now, the emperor of Chang'an has become a puppet of the Zhu family. Time has passed so slowly that it is hard to keep up."

Bai Yi also laughed and said, "What Elder An said is correct. To be honest, I should have returned to Songxi and taken over the main courtyard several years ago. However, the situation was chaotic at that time, and it was a critical moment for the Xuanwu Army."

"So I had no choice but to stay in Bianzhou and let my Thirteenth Brother temporarily take over as the head of the academy until today."

At this point, Bai Yi's face changed, and he sighed, "There was a war in Taiyuan, and the family was displaced. The people in the family were displaced. It was me, the young master, who failed to fulfill my responsibility."

"Huainan was defeated, and the Xuanwu Army was severely weakened, which allowed Zhu Quanzhong to gain power. It was also because I, the Jiedushi, did not make the right decision."

"Alas, how can I sit in this position?"

As he spoke, Bai Yi covered his face and cried unconsciously.

The deans in the hall looked at each other in surprise.

It was Bai Bao who spoke up again: "Young Master, why do you say that? The Songxi Rebellion was caused by Li Keyong's incompetence. How can I blame you?"

"Huainan's failure was not due to war, but God's will. Please don't be so sad. The family and the head of the family still need you."

Wiping away tears, Bai Yi looked at everyone and said, "In the past two years, I have thought carefully about what caused the successive failures. Finally, a few days ago, I saw you all and thought of it."

"I am old, and you are old too. Look, among the twenty or so heads of the family courts, more than a dozen are over fifty years old. The youngest, I think, is Bai Yilian, the head of the Judicial Court. I think he is already forty-three years old."

"I'm not saying that being old is bad, but gerontocracy will definitely lead to a reluctance to make progress."

"Even someone like me who is willing to make progress will be more or less anxious because of my age, which is not good for the family."

"What I mean is, make way and give the younger generation in the family a chance."

"We are in a time of turmoil. Liang is powerful. The Xuanwu Army and the Bai family have not made any achievements in many years. Even Hedong is about to be lost. It is time for young people to play their roles."

After saying this, Bai Yi looked at the people in the hall, hoping to hear someone take the initiative to pay their respects to the elderly, but he did not move for a long time.

Just as Bai Yi's face became worse and worse, a director of the courtyard stood up and said, "I will abdicate. Young Master is right. The family has been getting worse and worse under the leadership of us over the years. What are you waiting for?"

"That's right." Another director in his sixties stood up and kept tapping his cane and said, "You guys, you've been promoting justice in front of the younger generation all day, and now it's your turn, are you reluctant to give it up?"

"I should retire too. Alas, I'm already in my fifties, and it's time for me to stay home and take care of my grandson. I haven't been home for the past few years, and that kid has been completely lawless."

As the directors and elders of the clan who understood the greater good of the cause came out to show their support, the decision to change the leadership of the Bai family was finally passed.

(End of this chapter)