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

Chapter 985: Baiyuan Sages Destroy the Zongtang, Wenhua Privy Councilor Baizi

(Posting error 984 chapter first)
April of the third year of Xia Chengqian

Although the imperial court had formulated a strategy to seize Dongchuan, the mobilization of troops, the advance requisition of food and fodder, when to send out the troops, and which general to send to lead the troops could not be decided in a short time.

April 15th

Bai Dongchang, the Palace Attendant, Minister of Rites, Senior Official, Scholar of Wenhua, and Founding County Master, came to the Qinzheng Hall and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty, the Baiyuan scholars have arrived."

Bai Jian, who was busy handling military affairs, heard this and said in surprise, "Oh, please come to the greenhouse hall."

The Bai Yuan scholars refer to the Bai family members who studied in Jinbai Academy, Songxi Academy and other places in Hedong and Hebei.

Because the Liang army invaded Taiyuan, Jinbai Academy was destroyed and the teachers inside were either killed or escaped.

Most of the Bai family's teachers and students followed the Songxi Bai Mansion and Songxi Academy to their ancestral home in the Taihang Mountains - Baiyuan.

Until the second year of Chengqian, Bai Yi, the head of the Bai family and the retired emperor of Daxia, died in Baiyuan at the age of eighty-four.

According to the old system of the Bai family, the new head of the family should go to Baiyuan to mourn for the previous head of the family for a year to show that the inheritance is orderly and the etiquette is continuous.

However, because Baiyuan was cut off from Xia territory by the Tang army, Bai Jian was unable to enter Yuan to observe mourning. He had to change his method. He built a cenotaph for Bai Yi in Kaifeng and personally went to the Taimiao to observe mourning for a year.

With the death of the head of the family, Baiyuan was left without a helmsman, which caused the wise men who had taken refuge in Baiyuan to have different thoughts.

Some people suggested that he should come out of retirement, while others thought that he should continue to stay away from the world.

The two sides engaged in a heated debate in Baiyuan. Most of those who graduated from Jinbai Academy preferred to enter officialdom, while most of those who graduated from Songxi Academy preferred to avoid the world.

The great debate took place in the White Plains Council Hall and lasted for three months, but there was still no final result.

Finally, everyone invited the grand elder of the clan elders' hall, Bai Bao, the former chief of the clan elders' hall, to come out to temporarily preside over the affairs of Baiyuan.

The Bai Clan Old House is a very special institution.

Only those who can enter are members of the Bai clan who have made significant contributions to the family, regardless of whether they are legitimate or illegitimate.

The Elders’ Home is divided into three levels:
The first level is the Grand Elders. Most of the Grand Elders are members of the Bai clan who are over 70 years old.

They do not hold specific management positions, but spend most of their retirement years in Baiyuan and local clan halls, enjoying generous treatment from the family. However, each of them is a highly respected figure in the family.

The second tier is the elders of the clan. Most of the elders are members of the Bai clan between the ages of fifty and sixty-nine.

They include a director, two deputy directors, members of the nine-member council of the clan elders' council, and heads of local clan elders' associations. They are the backbone and decision-makers of the clan elders' council.

The third level is ordinary elders. Ordinary elders must be 40 years old, have made contributions to the family, and have served as the head of the family affairs department.

Most of them are ordinary members of the Central Elders' Council and local elders' councils. They have voting rights in the elders' councils and are also the hosts of the clan's congresses.

They are the executors of the will of the Clan Elders' Council in the family. Only through them can the Clan Elders' Council maintain its transcendent status in the family.

So much so that sometimes it can influence the decision of the head of the family.

Bai Bao, who had been worshipping his ancestors in the ancestral temple and praying for his father Bai Yi, was very unhappy when he was suddenly called out of the temple.

As soon as he arrived at the council hall, he scolded Zhu Bai for being ignorant of etiquette.

The previous head of the family had passed away only a few months earlier, and the new head was in mourning, and had not yet completed the mourning period, so the family was in a period of absolute silence.

They actually committed such acts of discord among the clan members for their own selfish interests in the ancestral land and in front of their ancestors. This is an absolutely serious crime and not punishing them is not enough to demonstrate the dignity of the family.

Everyone was impressed. Bai Bao asked for the Bai family genealogy and sought the consent of two-thirds of the Baiyuan clan elders.

The hundreds of people present were separated from the main clan, and their ancestors' old clans and old halls were found, and each of them was assigned to the six clan halls. They were also ordered to go to the two burial mountains to find their ancestors' tombs and reflect on their mistakes for a month, and they must leave Baiyuan within a year.

Upon hearing such severe punishment, Zhu Baiwu burst into tears, but still respectfully accepted the punishment from their family and was convinced.

Now, each of the Bai people is looking for a way out. Some return to their old clans, and some prepare to return to their hometowns to teach and educate people.

Some of them took advantage of their background in Jinbai Academy and their connections in Chang'an to serve as officials in the Later Tang Dynasty in Chang'an.

Most of them, about two hundred people, entered Kaifeng from Weizhou with the help of Weizhou Governor Yue Zhengde.

He intends to devote himself to the Daxia founded by the new owner and continue to contribute to the family business.

It was in this context that the Bai family came to Kaifeng.

In the Greenhouse Hall, Bai Jian warmly received all the Bai clan members who came to Kaifeng.

He temporarily put aside his status as emperor and, as a family head, verbally criticized their behavior in Baiyuan.

But then he welcomed them and, in the tone of an elder, encouraged them not to resent the punishment imposed by Bai Bao, the great clan elder.

Because all of Bai Bao's actions are based on the consideration of the Bai family.

Finally, Bai Jian summoned the Wenhua scholars and the Shumi scholars in the palace to test their knowledge and decide their future destinations.

Among them, the Wenhua scholars included Prime Minister Bai Zhanwen, Minister of Rites Bao Ziqing, Left Palace Attendants Bai Dongchang and Liu Zhi, Imperial Censor Gu Dongcai, and Secretary General Zhang Nai.

The Privy Academicians included Privy Councilor Cui Shaojie, Right Palace Attendants He Jun'an and Kang Jingwen, Minister of War Wang Shifan, General of the Cavalry Li Cunqian, and Grand Commander Bai Xiaoqiang.

Wenhuazhi and Shumizhi were secretarial agencies set up by Baijian based on civil and military affairs.

Those who were able to enter Wenhuazhi were all well-read and proficient in management.

The Shumizhi is a gathering place for military personnel that is comparable to the Wenhuazhi.

Finally, after two hours and the examination of more than a dozen military and political officials, the Bai family members in the Greenhouse Hall were finally selected.

Among them, the one with the highest knowledge and ability is Bai Xuan, who was born in Songxi Academy. He is a direct descendant and is the nephew of Bai Jian. His father is Bai Jian's cousin, and they have a common grandfather, Bai Yi.

Bai Xuan's generation is the last of his lineage. From then on, his sons must be given two-character names, not just single-character ones.

Originally, he should not have been carried out of the main clan's Dahuai Hall, but because of the Bai Yuan debate, he was carried out by the family early and established as the main clan's Zhiren Hall.

According to the old rules, if he could achieve something, choose a place to settle down, own property and a steady income, and his descendants would not have to worry about food and clothing, then he could continue to have this hall name.

On the contrary, if he died early or failed to make a name for himself, the name of Zhirentang would have disappeared.

After his death, he and his descendants will be incorporated into the main sect hall and become one of the thousands of ordinary members of the main sect, without any special status.

In each of the six branches of the Bai family, a large hall is set up. They are the branch with the largest number of people among the Bai family branches. The branch with the smallest number of people has tens of thousands of people.

It is used as a transit point to accommodate ordinary clan members who do not have a family name or whose families have fallen into poverty.

The main hall is managed by dedicated personnel sent by each of the six sects. It has no autonomy and is a direct hall under the Bai Clan Central Committee.

According to the unanimous approval of Bai Zhanwen, Cui Shaojie and other Wenhuazhi and Shumizhi leaders, they believe that Bai Xuan is both civil and military and should be given important positions.

Therefore, Bai Jian issued an edict to grant Bai Xuan the titles of editor of the Hanlin Academy, assistant to the Grand Military Governor's Office, and national student. When he completed his studies in national studies, if there was a vacancy in the local area, he would be directly appointed as Sima of the border state and concurrently as the director of the local military governor's office.

(End of this chapter)