Chapter 166 Mission 2
Chapter 166 Second Mission
At dawn the next day, the black carriage stopped in front of Xiao Xia's mansion again. It was the same messenger as last time. Xiao Xia didn't ask anything and got on the carriage directly.
The carriage drove all the way to the old city and arrived at the Lingyan Pavilion of the Weiyang Palace half an hour later. Xiao Xia changed into a black ceremonial robe in the carriage and walked into the Lingyan Pavilion.
Yang Gongren asked Xiao Xia to sit down, took out a thick envelope and placed it in front of Xiao Xia, "This is your second task, take a look first, and you can ask me if you have any questions now."
Xiao Xia opened the big envelope and first saw a letter of appointment, appointing him as a fifth-rank guerrilla general, granting him the title of Tiger Guard General, and serving as the commander of Ziyang County to assist Wei Xuan, the governor of Ziyang County, in suppressing the rebellion of the Liao people.
Xiao Xia asked in confusion: "Is this my official position?"
Yang Gongren smiled slightly and said, "The fifth-rank guerrilla general is a military official, and once appointed, he will not be removed, but the Tiger Guard Langjiang is just a title, which is considered a nominal official position, and most of the royal family children have it.
As for the Ziyang Commandery Commandant, he is a dispatched official. He can serve for a maximum of five years, five months, or even five days. For you, it is just a mission. When the mission is completed, you will return to Chang'an."
"Will I have an army under my command?" Xiao Xia asked again.
"Of course there will be, and there will be quite a few of them!"
Xiao Xia nodded and said, "Can I take the fifty soldiers I brought back last time to Bashu?"
Yang Gongren hesitated for a moment and said, "Those fifty people are no longer soldiers. They have basically been promoted to higher positions. Some are brigade commanders, and some are lieutenants. I can't make any promises to you."
"Okay! Please ask them for me and see if they are willing to go with me. If they are willing to go with me, I welcome them!"
"Can I ask you something else?"
Xiao Xia shook his head and didn't want to ask any more questions.
Yang Gongren said slowly, "We have only one request. Young Master Xiao cannot mention the Lingyan Pavilion warriors to anyone. This is the rule. There are only two places where it can be mentioned. One is in front of the emperor, and the other is here. Other than that, please keep silent, Young Master Xiao."
Xiao Xia nodded silently, "I remember it!"
Yang Gongren added: "You must set out within three days, arrive in Ziyang County within a month, report to the Wei governor, and take office with the appointment letter. There is nothing else to do."
Two days later, Xiao Xia led twenty of his men to leave Chang'an and head south.
The Liao people refer to a minority ethnic group that originally lived on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Around the period of the Two Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Li Te of Bashu rebelled and recruited a large number of Liao people to fight. Taking this as an opportunity, a large number of Liao people moved northward and poured into Bashu. They lived in the mountainous areas of Bashu, where they used slash-and-burn farming, dived for fishing, or hunted at night. Their productivity was very primitive and backward, and the people lived in hardship.
After two or three hundred years of evolution, a part of the Liao people were influenced by the Han people, and their lifestyle and production methods gradually integrated into the Han nationality, while another part of the Liao people lived in the mountainous areas and stubbornly adhered to the various traditions left by their ancestors. Therefore, the Liao people began to differentiate, and there was a distinction between skilled Liao and unskilled Liao.
Since the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the local government of Bashu has been committed to naturalizing the Liao people. They provided official land for the Liao people to cultivate, and established schools for the children of the Liao people to attend school. However, after more than 20 years of efforts, the results were polarized.
The Shu Liao became more assimilated into the Han culture and became complete subjects of the Sui Dynasty. They performed military service and paid taxes like the Han people. However, the Sheng Liao became more resentful of the government and were hostile to the assimilated Shu Liao, believing that they were betraying their ancestors. They did not accept government jurisdiction, did not pay taxes, and did not obey the laws of the Sui Dynasty. They would not allow the government to intervene in any conflicts or disputes.
The rebellion of the Liao people in Ziyang County was caused by the conflict of interests between the raw Liao and the cooked Liao. Many of the cooked Liao were originally raw Liao. They accepted the paddy fields and houses distributed by the tribal leaders. As these raw Liao evolved into cooked Liao, they began to become citizens of the Sui Dynasty, speaking Chinese, wearing Chinese clothes, sending their children to school, and paying taxes to the government.
The raw Liao people were increasingly fed up with these tribesmen who had betrayed their ancestors, so they wanted to take back the paddy fields and houses that had been previously allocated to the cooked Liao people. Naturally, they were met with resolute resistance from the cooked Liao people. Conflicts between the raw Liao and cooked Liao people continued to break out, with casualties increasing. The government began to intervene. They protected the interests of the cooked Liao people and suppressed the raw Liao people. As a result, local sporadic conflicts evolved into large-scale Liao rebellions, mainly rebellions by the raw Liao people.
The Ziyang County government urgently asked the court for help. The court immediately made arrangements and transferred General Wei Xuan of the Left Guard to serve as the governor of Ziyang County. It also transferred 20,000 troops from Chengdu and other places to Ziyang County. At this time, Xiao Xia was also appointed as the commander of Ziyang County to participate in quelling the rebellion of the Liao people.
Xiao Xia and his men galloped day and night and arrived at Ziyang County twenty days later. That morning, Xiao Xia and his men rode into Panshi County, the seat of Ziyang County.
Panshi County is a large county, built close to the Mianshui River. The city has densely populated houses and a large population, and transportation is also very convenient.
Due to the rebellion of the Sheng Liao people, many Shu Liao people and Han people were killed, which caused the county to be in a state of panic and all kinds of rumors were flying around.
When Xiao Xia arrived in Panshi County, troops from all over the country were gathering and a large amount of supplies were flowing into Ziyang County.
Xiao Xia arrived at the county government office and revealed his identity. The gatekeeper immediately went in to report. Not long after, an official came out. His name was Zhang Mei, and he was the Sima of Ziyang County. He clasped his fists and said, "Captain Xiao, the envoy is receiving supplies at the dock outside the city. I will take you there right away."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Thank you, Sima Zhang!"
Sima Zhangmei brought Xiao Xia to the dock outside the city. The dock was crowded with people. Hundreds of ships loaded with food and supplies were anchored by the river. Thousands of laborers were busy moving food and supplies. All kinds of items were piled up like mountains on the dock.
The governor Wei Xuan was checking various food and supplies with dozens of people. Wei Xuan was a veteran. Although he was about sixty years old, he was still strong and tall, and looked majestic from a distance.
Sima Zhangmei walked forward quickly, whispered a few words to Wei Xuan, and pointed at Xiao Xia in the distance. Wei Xuan glanced at Xiao Xia, smiled and nodded, "Please ask Captain Xiao to come over!"
Wei Xuan received an appointment notice from the court yesterday, appointing Xiao Xia as the commander of Ziyang County to participate in suppressing the Liao people's rebellion.
I didn’t expect that the person would arrive today just after I received the notification yesterday.
However, Wei Xuan was a little confused. Xiao Xia had neither experience nor qualifications, and seemed to be still an underage teenager. What did the court mean by sending him here?
Especially since he was appointed to such an important position as the commander of Ziyang County, no matter how doubtful he was, he had to strictly carry out the court's appointment.
At this time, Xiao Xia came up, took out the appointment letter, bowed and said: "Captain Xiao Xia greets the Wei Envoy!"
Wei Xuan carefully read Xiao Xia's appointment letter and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. There was a joint signature of Gao Jiong, Yang Su and Yang Xiong on Xiao Xia's appointment letter. Others did not understand, but Wei Xuan knew what it meant.
Xiao Xia was actually appointed by the Lingyan Pavilion. Needless to say, he came to Ziyang County to quell the rebellion in order to complete the test of the Lingyan Pavilion warriors.
The Lingyan Pavilion has begun to absorb fresh blood. This sixteen-year-old young man must have extraordinary abilities to be noticed by the Lingyan Pavilion, which has extremely strict requirements.
At this moment, Wei Xuan was filled with curiosity about Xiao Xia. What virtue and ability did this young general have to be chosen by Lingyan Pavilion?
Wei Xuan nodded calmly and asked, "Does Captain Xiao know the mission to come to Ziyang County?"
"The Liao people are in rebellion. I have been ordered to assist the Wei envoy in suppressing the rebellion. I am willing to lead the second army to rush to Daluo County to rescue it."
On the way, Xiao Xia heard Sima Zhangmei say that tens of thousands of Liao people were besieging Dalao County, and General Liu Jian had already led 6,000 troops to Dalao County and would soon send a second army to Dalao County. Xiao Xia wanted to take on this task.
Wei Xuan hesitated for a moment and asked again, "Does Captain Xiao have any combat experience?"
Xiao Xia bowed and said, "I led the army in the West Sea to fight against the Tuyuhun people, and I also fought against the Turks."
Wei Xuan was a little unconvinced, and he asked, "What was the result of the battle?"
This is not the time to be humble. If you want to gain recognition from veteran seniors, you have to show your military achievements.
"I led fifty soldiers and brought back two thousand war horses and the head of Datou Khan from Tuyuhun. I killed more than 1,700 Turkic soldiers without losing a single soldier."
Wei Xuan's eyes widened. This young man was amazing! He had killed the famous Datou Khan, and even brought back 2,000 war horses from Tuyuhun, killing more than 1,700 people, and there were only 50 of them.
Wei Xuan knew that the head of Datou Khan had been obtained by the imperial court, but he did not know the details. He thought that Tuyuhun had surrendered to the imperial court and sent the head of Datou Khan.
It turned out that it was all thanks to this young general. When he was young, he did not have such courage and ability. No wonder Lingyan Pavilion took a fancy to him.
Wei Xuan immediately looked at Xiao Xia with admiration. He had already arranged a second rescue team, but now he changed his mind.
You see, this is about giving yourself opportunities. Although the Han people have emphasized modesty since ancient times, you have to consider the occasion. You should be humble when you should be humble, and you should not be humble when you should not be humble.
For example, if Xiao Xia modestly said that he had no experience in fighting against enemies and had never fought a war, would Wei Xuan give him a chance? Absolutely not. He was the main general. If Xiao Xia lost, he would be the first to bear the responsibility. Naturally, Xiao Xia would not have any chance to lead the troops.
In Wei Xuan's eyes, Xiao Xia was just a young nobleman from the capital who came to gild his reputation and could only stay with him. If anything happened to Xiao Xia, he would not be able to explain to any of the powerful people in the capital.
So at this time, Xiao Xia cannot be humble and must show his achievements to win opportunities for himself.
Wei Xuan immediately said: "In this case, I will give you 3,000 troops as the second batch of support troops to rush to Daluo County to rescue it. If you make contributions, I will report it to the court truthfully!"
"Thank you for your trust, sir!"
Wei Xuan took the command arrow and the military token and said to Xiao Xia, "But I have to make it clear to you that most of the 20,000 troops now are from the prefectures of Bashu. They are not well trained. I can only give you some regular troops, and you have to train the rest on the way."
"I understand the humble position!"
Xiao Xia took the mobilization order and military token, bowed, and followed Wei Xuan's personal soldiers to the military camp.
(End of this chapter)