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

Chapter 892: Fengtian changes the era name and issues amnesty, withdraws troops and returns home to reminisce about family ties

January of the fifth year of Jianzhong
"The Fengtian Change of Era and the General Amnesty"

"I grew up in the deep palace, and was ignorant of the affairs of state. I was easily addicted to habits, and forgot the dangers when I was in peace. I didn't know the hardships of farming, and I didn't understand the hardships of military service..."

"Now, I am condemned by heaven but I do not realize it, and I am blamed by people but I do not know it. I am guilty of all kinds of crimes, and I will always feel guilty and mourn... Therefore, I pardon the crimes of Li Xilie, Tian Yue, Wang Wujun, Li Na, and Zhu Tao."

The two months in Fengtian were the most difficult time for Li Shi. Li Huaiguang, the governor of Shuofang, was proud of his great achievements and large number of troops.

He remained silent because the sage refused to meet him, and repeatedly submitted petitions requesting the execution of Prime Minister Lu Qi, eunuch Zhai Wenxiu and others.

Li Shi had no choice but to demote Lu Qi and execute Zhai Wenxiu.

At that time, the Jiedushi Yang Huiyuan and Li Jianhui led troops to defend the king. Li Huaiguang seized their army, killed Huiyuan and expelled Jianhui.

Seeing that Li Huaiguang was domineering and secretly allied with Zhu Ci, Li Shi was terrified and fled to Liangzhou. He appointed Qi Ying, the Chief Censor, as envoys along the way, and Li Sheng, the commander of the Shen Ce Army, led troops to protect him.

Li Huaiguang was afraid that Li Shi would take away his position, and was also concerned about the Shence Army under Li Sheng, so he let him leave.

February of the first year of Xingyuan
Hedong, Taiyuan Prefecture, Songxi

Because of Li Shi's edict of repentance, the five towns were exempted from their crimes and were conferred the title of princes, so the five towns withdrew their troops.

The Shen Ce, Hedong and other armies returned to the camp, and the war in Guandong was temporarily resolved.

Bai Zan, the military commander of Hedong Army, finally returned to Baizhuang to rest.

"Hey, Shiwulang is back. I hope the expedition went well."

Bai Zan was walking on the road of Baizhuang with more than ten personal soldiers. The tribesmen he met on the road greeted him warmly.

There are childhood playmates, elders, and juniors.

Soon, they arrived at the west gate of the Bai Mansion. After registration and inspection, Bai Zan successfully led his men into the central courtyard of the Bai Mansion, where the direct descendants of the Bai family lived.

When he was a child, he lived in the inner courtyard because his father Bai Niu was the son of the previous head of the family.

The previous head of the family passed away, and the current head of the family took over, so these nephews and nieces moved out of the inner courtyard.

With the help of servants, he changed into a brand new robe, combed his white hair again, and tied it with a wooden hairpin, revealing the divine seal between his eyebrows.

Bai Zan, who is already in his fifties this year, has been through many battles, but he is still in high spirits.

His father Bai Niu was eighty years old and was the only veteran general in the court. He was not allowed to return home and could only command the Guandong army to station in Tongguan and be ready to attack and destroy the rebels in Chang'an at any time.

The Bai family is one of the few long-lived families in the world. The average life expectancy of core members is over 70 years old, much higher than their contemporaries who only live for 40 years.

It is precisely because of this that people all over the world say: There are many gentlemen and elders in the Bai family.

"Fifteenth brother!"

Just as Bai Zan had finished cleaning up and was playing with his children and grandchildren at home, an old man who was a few years older than him stepped into his yard.

Looking up, Bai Zan quickly handed his great-grandson to his granddaughter-in-law, took a few steps forward, saluted and said, "Brother, where are you from?"

The only one who could make Bai Zan so respectful and call him brother was the young master of the Bai family, the head of the main courtyard, Bai Xin.

"I heard that the fifteenth brother is back, so I came to see him."

Bai Zan said happily, "Why do you need me to come in person? Send someone to inform them and I will go there myself."

The two brothers hadn't seen each other for many years. Bai Xin seemed very happy. He stepped forward and grabbed his arm and said, "Father has sent an order for you to go see him. It just so happens that I want to go too. I thought I'd go with you so that we can talk about brotherhood on the way."

"Brother." Even though Bai Zan was already the elder of several children and grandchildren, he was deeply moved by the closeness shown by Bai Xin.

This is the unspoken rule that has been passed down within the Bai family for thousands of years. Regardless of seniority, the eldest son of the head of the family automatically becomes the first of his generation and has the responsibility to protect and teach his brothers.

Therefore, most of the Bai clan members regard the young masters, sons, and grandsons of the same generation as their elder brothers. "Don't say more, just come with me."

Without waiting for Bai Zan to speak, Bai Xin pulled him towards the inner courtyard.

The two walked and talked all the way, recalling the past days in the inner courtyard, the pride in the academy, and the helplessness after coming of age, and the brotherhood grew deeper.

"Okay, that's what brothers should do."

"Master of the house."

While the two brothers were chatting and laughing, Bai Jing slowly walked in, supported by his great-grandson Bai Xian.

It’s no wonder that Bai Jing is clumsy, it’s just that time is not forgiving. At the age of 83, it’s rare to find another one like him in the world. He can be said to be a national treasure.

Bai Xian is the son of Bai Shen, the East Court Envoy, and the designated future head of the family. He just turned twenty this year, but has not yet held his coming-of-age ceremony.

"Sit, everyone, sit down."

Bai Jing smiled warmly and slowly sat down on the main seat. Bai Xian stood respectfully behind him. Bai Xin and Bai Zan sat at the first seats on the left and right.

Bai Zan seemed a little nervous as he hadn't seen the head of the family for a long time. However, when he saw Bai Xin's encouraging eyes, his nervousness dissipated slightly.

"Fifteenth brother, what was the result of this Eastern Expedition?" Bai Jing started the conversation in a casual way.

"Alas, it's not very clear. Kaixian, under the orders of the soldiers from various towns, defeated the armies of Youzhou, Weizhou, and Chengde. Unfortunately, changes occurred in Guanzhong, and the morale of the Shen Ce army was unstable. They had to give up the existing results and retreat to Huaizhou. The war became stalemate."

"Later, the sage issued an edict to pardon the crimes of the rebels. Tian Yue, Wang Wujun, and Li Na obeyed the edict and gave up their titles of kings. Zhu Tao and Li Xilie refused the edict and continued to fight against the court."

As he spoke, Bai Zan looked at Bai Jing hesitantly, then looked at Bai Xin and Bai Xian worriedly, and said:

"I heard that the war in the south was affected by Guanzhong, and the army lost its morale, resulting in a great defeat. Geshu Yao fled to the Eastern Capital, Xiangcheng fell, and Li Xilie took the opportunity to capture Xuzhou and marched straight to Bianzhou."

Bianzhou is the seat of the East Courtyard Government, where Prince Bai Shen is stationed to rule over the tribes in the southeast.

Hearing that Bai Shen was in trouble, Bai Xin was indifferent, Bai Xian was a little anxious, but Bai Jing smiled:
"Li Xilie did not attack Luoyang, did not conquer Jiangnan, did not occupy Jianghuai, and counterattacked towards Bianzhou. His death was imminent."

After talking about the current battle situation, Bai Jing turned the topic to Bai Niu.

"My father's health has deteriorated over the past two years. He has been bedridden for three months out of the year. My brothers and I have tried to persuade him to return home to grow old, but he always refused with the excuse of family. There is nothing we can do about it."

Speaking of Bai Niu, Bai Zan also felt a headache. He was stubborn, really stubborn, just like his name.

"Humph!" Bai Jing was angry when he heard Bai Niu disobeying him, "This is outrageous. Do you really think that no one will control him now that his father is gone?"

"Da Lang."

"Father."

Bai Xin replied respectfully.

"The situation in Guanzhong has changed dramatically. Although the sage failed to reduce the power of the vassal states and the Zhu brothers are causing trouble, Li Xilie will be defeated and people's hearts are still with the Tang Dynasty. The family still needs to wait."

"Bai Niu is already old, so he should come back to recuperate. What use can an old man like him be? You and Bai Zan take my staff and go to Tongguan to bring him back to me."

"I have my own choice for Chang'an."

"Yes." Bai Xin took the staff from Bai Xian.

Bai Zan also stood up and bowed to Bai Jing to thank him and said happily:

"With the order from the head of the family, I think my father will have no more excuses. He should return home and cultivate himself."

(End of this chapter)