Chapter 220: The An family leader surrenders, Xu Liushou turns the tables
Chapter 220: The An family leader surrenders, Xu Liushou turns the tables
After all, the head of the An family was an old hand in this world. He reacted immediately and ordered his soldiers to form a formation, hoping to use the evil spirit of the military formation to break Xu Qing's magical powers.
But who knew that the order from the head of the An family had just been issued.
The darkness receded like a tide and the stars disappeared.
A group of An clan barbarians rushed out in an orderly battle formation.
In front of him was a young scholar with a noble demeanor. He was looking at An's private soldiers with his hands behind his back, just like a Confucian general who was inspecting the strength of An's soldiers.
Moreover, Xu Qing's magical powers retreated at the perfect time, without any contact with the evil spirit of the An family's army formation. It was like the head of the An family punching cotton.
This was also the realm that Xu Qing had reached. With the help of his Heaven-Buying Hand, he could sense the Qi and control the situation accurately.
Whether his supernatural powers had dissipated earlier or later, they would not have been as free and easy as they are now.
Moreover, the bloody evil that overwhelmed An's army as soon as he appeared was the limit of his current ability. If he continued like this, it would be like a dragon in arrogance that would regret it, and the gain would not last long.
This retreat was calm and steady, accurately controlling the subtle psychology of the head of the An family.
The head of the An family was frightened by Xu Qing's show of force. His counterattack failed and he could not vent his anger, nor did he dare to vent it.
Although he has a strong army, the man before him is unfathomable. If they really fight, it is unlikely that today will end peacefully.
He laughed heartily and even bowed, saying, "Hello, Mr. Gong, I am a rough man and lack etiquette. Please do not be offended if I am not polite enough."
He bowed and saluted. Although his movements were not standard, they were smooth and flowing. It seemed that he came out with a group of soldiers and horses. He really was here to welcome Xu Qing, the new number one scholar in the imperial examination.
Xu Qing also stopped when he saw the good, and smiled slightly: "On this way, we saw a lot of bandits and evil spirits, but the roads in Longchang Posthouse were quiet and peaceful. It really shows the merits of the old predecessor's governance. If the Yang family of Bozhou had half the heart and temperament of the old predecessor to relieve the worries of the people, this place in Qiannan would definitely be a paradise on earth."
The head of the An family immediately became humble and praised Xu Liushou highly.
Both sides had expressions of surprise on their faces.
Ah this!
No matter how you look at it now, Patriarch An and Xu Qing seem to be close friends regardless of age difference and have similar interests. It is hard to tell that they had any conflicts before.
Seeing his sons in a daze, the head of the An family couldn't help but lose his temper and kicked the third son who was closest to him, "You idiot, what are you doing standing there like an idiot? Why don't you go to the official post station to arrange a banquet for your Uncle Xu."
The third son of the An family was kicked and looked confused. How could it be Uncle Xu?
However, he dared not stop talking to the old man, so An Lao San hurried in and ordered people to prepare the meal.
Xu Qing had a lively conversation with the head of the An family, without any awareness of entering a dangerous place.
Arriving at Longchang Posthouse, Xu Qing and the head of the An family sat down. Xu Qing said, "Longchang Posthouse was built by your ancestor, Madam Shexiang. At that time, under her leadership, the An family helped the court to pacify the southwest and made outstanding contributions. We, the descendants, admire them very much. Now that the Yang family is in chaos, it is also destroying the achievements left by your ancestor. Xu came here just for the sake of the An family, and there is no other intention."
As Xu Qing spoke, he naturally grabbed the hand of the head of the An family.
As expected of him being the contemporary martial arts master and the master of the Heaven-Mending Tribulation Hand, with this grab, the number of people in the world who can escape is no more than two hands, and the head of the An family is definitely not among them.
When the head of the An family saw Xu Qing holding his hand with a smile, his heart was filled with turmoil.
At this instant, all the energy and blood in his body was restrained and he felt difficulty breathing.
With An's martial arts and witchcraft skills, even though he is old now, he is no ordinary person. But at such a close distance, he could not put up any resistance to Xu Qing.
This shows how unfathomable the other party's martial arts and Taoism are.
I'm afraid that only if several elders of the clan join forces and take out the clan's sacred weapons will they be qualified to compete with this person.
As soon as he was filled with fear and shock, Xu Qing's hand loosened.
Even though the post station was full of An's soldiers and horses, the head of the An family felt like he was always wandering outside the gates of hell. The person in front of him was not the judge who came to take souls, but the King of Hell!
"This man is just the incarnation of Wenquxing. The Wuquxing is the contemporary martial saint, and I wonder how unfathomable he is. After all, the Dayu Dynasty is not yet doomed, and there are many talented people and beautiful scenery. Fortunately, I didn't learn from the Yang family and try to do something as timid as an ant trying to shake a tree." When the head of the An family saw Xu Qing let go of his hand, he did not feel that he had escaped death. Instead, he became more aware of how profound the foundation of the Dayu Dynasty was. Sending Xu Qing alone was enough to stabilize the southwest.
Even if the four chieftains joined forces, they could only be manipulated by such a powerful hero.
Even Zhuge Wuhou, a rare genius, could not reverse the Central Plains, let alone him and other fireflies. The head of the An family immediately put aside his previous little thoughts.
The Shuixi An family had been working for the Dayu Dynasty since Madam Shexiang. Now that they are being honest, they are just listening to their ancestors' teachings.
The emperor of the Dayu Dynasty did not follow the ancestral teachings, which was impolite.
He, An, is still polite!
Lao An is a man who knows the current affairs of the time. After a flash of thought, he replied to Xu Qing: "After I received the letter from the No. 1 Scholar, I stockpiled a lot of supplies at Longchang Jiuyi, specially prepared for Juzhou City. When the No. 1 Scholar returns this time, I will send someone to send the supplies back to Juzhou City with you."
The faces of the An family members who were accompanying them all changed, it was very interesting.
No, didn’t we agree to eat Wenquxing meat and hold the Xianyuan Conference?
Where's the backbone?
What about integrity?
The An family's system was strict, and the concept of respect and inferiority was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The head of the An family naturally had the final say. Since he had spoken, no matter how confused others were, they did not dare to object on the spot.
Moreover, the conversation between the head of the An family and Xu Qing became more and more lively, as if helping the imperial court to quell the rebellion this time was something he and Xu Qing had decided on long ago.
Various detailed ideas come to mind.
Seeing that An was so aware of the current situation, Xu Qing felt like he had punched cotton.
The old fox is really leak-proof.
But in the current situation, the An family is a target that must be united. The other party is so aware of the current situation that Xu Qing has no chance to continue to make trouble.
After all, even if he managed to defeat An, the result would not be better than it is now, and it would also cause more unnecessary resistance.
There are more than four major chieftains in Qiannan Province. Once the An family is dealt with, more small chieftains of all sizes that are difficult to eliminate will rise up.
On the contrary, with the presence of the An family, order among these small chieftains can be generally maintained.
In fact, these chieftains today are no different from the ancient vassal states. The process of kingship is extremely long, and the conflicts between the chieftains and the Han people during this period cannot be resolved in just one or two decades.
The significance of the existence of the An and Yang families is also to accelerate the king's rule.
Because the Chinese translation progress of these two major toasts is much faster than that of the small toast.
The most crucial thing is that the cost of developing Qiannan Province is too high. For the imperial court, the income is far less than the expenditure. Even Xu Qing himself cannot reverse this.
Even the southeastern land today was far inferior to the Central Plains before the Middle Ages. It is not enough to just conquer the land, the key is to develop and integrate resources.
This requires the efforts of generations.
With the An family leader's statement, the subsequent banquet went smoothly. As an official post, Longchang Posthouse prepared official dishes of Qiannan Province, mainly featuring local sour and spicy specialties.
Xu Qing was from Shu in his previous life, so he was used to this kind of food.
Su Lianqing ate the Wujiang tofu fish and Huajiang dog meat in the banquet with gusto. The highlight was the Qingyan champion pig's pig, which was specially prepared for Xu Liushou.
After the meal, we were full and satisfied.
Afterwards, the head of the An family sent two more girls from the An family to sleep with him. They were both of budding age and were very clean.
These are tools for both sides to socialize, and it would be bad if we didn't accept them.
On the second day, the head of the An family personally saw Xu Qing off to the Santing Road, bidding him farewell. The third son of the An family also followed Xu Qing back to Juzhou City, to put it bluntly, as a hostage.
The third son of the An family followed Xu Qing and behaved well. He was also educated and had the title of scholar.
However, this title of scholar was forced upon him by the imperial court, and An Laosan was just going through the motions.
After sending Xu Qing away, the head of the An family, in order to save face, said that all of this was the result of a dream from their ancestor, Lady Shexiang, who said that Xu Liushou was a person from heaven and that the An family of Shuixi could only maintain wealth and prosperity by following Xu Liushou.
As he spoke, Master An himself began to believe it.
...
...
In Juzhou City, Lord Zhou received the reply from his nephew's son-in-law and was overjoyed. He circulated the letter to all the civil and military officials in Juzhou City and said, "The fierce tiger of the An family has been captured by Xu Gongming, and An has also promised Gongming to persuade the Song family. With the help of the two chieftains, the rebellion of the Yang family can be quelled."
All the civil and military officials couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, it is Xu Liushou.
They had lived in the southwestern border area for a long time, and although they had heard of Xu Qing's name, they also felt that many of Xu Qing's deeds were exaggerated.
It's the custom of the dynasty.
I didn't expect that he was not just bragging.
He brought a few tea shop owners with him and persuaded An to change his mind with reason.
Even if some people doubt that An is a man of great righteousness, this courage alone is something that others do not possess.
Lord Zhou felt very relieved, after all, his family was reliable.
And Xu Gongming is still the same Xu Gongming, who only fights tough battles and tackles tough problems.
He now understands what it feels like to be with his brother-in-law, Old Wu, and He. It is easy to gain political achievements by following Xu Gongming.
Not long after, Xu Qing brought An Lao San and transported the supplies sent by An's family into the city. Because Xu Liushou had cleared the road when he went there, and since it was An's family's supplies, there was no trouble along the way.
Although An Lao San is the third son of the An family, this is the first time in his life that he has seen the official roads in Qiannan Province so peaceful, and he can't do anything about it.
Xu Qing knew that this was only temporary. It wouldn't be long before new bandits and evil spirits would occupy the dangerous places on the mountain roads.
Mountain bandits are just superficial, the thieves in the heart are the root.
With An's supplies, people in Juzhou City felt more at ease.
Because although these supplies are not much, they represent the support of the Shuixi An family.
After Xu Qing returned to the city, he met his uncle, but before he settled down, Yang Xiucai came to see him.
"Mingsir, the stability of Qiannan is just a matter of seconds before you can turn your hand, but I want to know what your next plan is?"
"Mr. Yang, what can you teach me?" Xu Qing asked Mr. Yang.
Yang Xiucai: "Your Excellency's reputation is so great that it is only natural for you to subdue the An family. However, this time the An family surrendered too quickly, which is not necessarily a good thing. In the long run, the An family will be no less troublesome than the Yang family."
Xu Qing: "The An family contributed this time, and the court cannot pursue it, and must also reward them separately. I have to say that the head of the An family is indeed a flexible person. I have other important things to do, and it is really difficult to get entangled in these details. Mr. Yang has lived in Qiannan for a long time and is familiar with the local customs and people. My uncle will need to rely on Mr. Yang to govern Qiannan in the future."
Yang Xiucai: "I will do my best to fulfill your trust. I came here to offer you some advice."
Xu Qing: "Please explain clearly, Mr. Yang."
Then Yang Xiucai talked about the key points in three aspects.
One is to take advantage of the conflicts between the major chieftains to create discord among them.
The second was to use the tea-horse trade to dump luxury goods to the upper class of chieftains.
The third is to use both suppression and appeasement.
Yang Xiucai hit the nail on the head. The key to the chaos in southern Guizhou is that the Dayu Dynasty now lacks sufficient military virtue in the southwest, and the barbarians fear power but not virtue. Only by strengthening the army can the government's orders be implemented.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing took out a memorial and showed it to Yang Xiucai.
After reading it, Yang Xiucai found that many of the viewpoints in it coincided with his own, and there were also many additional contents, such as surveying the land, registering the people, encouraging immigration, reclaiming wasteland in the southwest, promoting the farming technology of the Central Plains, deepening sinicization, and strictly controlling key military points everywhere.
These events laid the foundation for the gradual abolition of the hereditary system of chieftains and their replacement by a system of itinerant officials.
The key is that the order and difficulty level are clear at a glance.
"This is a long-term plan. Your talent is truly unmatched by anyone in the ancient times..." Yang Xiucai was deeply impressed.
Xu Qing smiled and said, "It's just talk on paper, it doesn't count. The key is how to execute it. It requires Mr. Yang and my subordinates, the Fushe and the Red Flower Society, to work together, and with the support of my uncle, to launch these actions. However, these things are all things to do after pacifying the Yang family. Although we have the help of the An family at the moment, whether the government troops in Juzhou City can gain momentum is the key to quelling the rebellion this time."
Yang Xiucai: "Although the Juzhou Army has been resting vigorously recently, its combat effectiveness is still far inferior to that of Yang's barbarians."
Xu Qing nodded: "This time I will personally lead the charge and break it with force."
He said it lightly, but it gave Yang Xiucai a great shock.
But considering Xu Liushou's strength, this is the most correct solution to this battle.
You know, the official army of the Dayu Dynasty can indeed display impressive combat effectiveness when fighting a favorable battle.
As long as Xu Liushou takes action, every battle will be smooth and victory will be achieved.
This is also the perception that Xu Liushou brought to the world.
Moreover, Xu Qing did not hide the relationship between him and the Red Flower Society in front of Yang Xiucai. After all, what he valued was Yang Xiucai's bold and ruthless behavior.
Mr. Zhou is a traditional scholar-official. Without a ruthless person to help him, it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold in Qiannan Province.
On the other hand, Yang Xiucai knew a lot about Qiannan Province and the interests of various families. He had studied them frequently. Even Xu Qing learned a lot of details from Yang Xiucai.
The success or failure of things often lies in the details.
...
...
An's supplies were delivered to Juzhou City openly, and the news soon reached Yang's side, putting great pressure on them.
The head of the Yang family remained calm and said, "Don't panic. Neither the An family nor the Song family will have time to take care of us from now on."
He used a fatal move, which was the Miao rebellion.
These Miao people in the Song family's territory not only delayed the Song family, but also gave the An family an excuse to help the Song family quell the Miao rebellion and avoid direct confrontation with the Yang family.
We are all old foxes, and we all know how to make this move.
(End of this chapter)