That's the prefect of Quanzhou!
The prefect is the highest administrative official of a prefecture, personally appointed by the imperial court, and is a fourth-rank official!
Moreover, Quanzhou is one of the largest port trading cities on the coast, second only to Hangzhou in terms of exports.
During Tsai Yung-ling's tenure, his political achievements can be described as quite impressive.
Cai Yongling roared, "Li Bao! I am the Prefect of Quanzhou, appointed by His Majesty! You dare to kill me!"
There were naval personnel and local militia gathered at the entrance, and civilians in the distance.
Li Bao's killings naturally had to be accepted by the people; otherwise, the killings would not only be ineffective but would also cause chaos.
His voice boomed like a war drum: "Guangzhou has now fallen into the hands of foreign bandits, and the people are suffering terribly. The Emperor, deeply concerned for the people, is heartbroken. I have been entrusted by the Emperor to go south to quell the rebellion in Guangzhou. The military situation is more urgent than anything else. However, the Privy Council's order for military provisions has been in Quanzhou for more than half a month. Today, I arrived in Quanzhou and did not see a single grain of military provisions. Instead, I saw Prefect Cai indulging in frivolous activities in his backyard!"
"If I, the commander-in-chief, ignore the delay in military operations caused by Cai Yongling, I will be failing the trust placed in me by the Emperor and the officials of the court, and I will also be failing the expectations of the people and soldiers of Guangzhou!"
"Cai Yongling's crimes are unforgivable. He should be punished according to military law and beheaded as a warning to the public!"
Military orders are as firm as mountains; this principle is deeply ingrained in the minds of every soldier in the Song army.
When Li Bao uttered the words "behead him and display his head in public," the scene fell into a deathly silence, and the navy, led by Xu Yunsheng, forcibly dragged Cai Yongling down.
Xu Yunsheng raised his sharp long knife and brought it down with a swift motion.
Cai Yongling let out a strange cry, and his head immediately fell to the ground.
The enormous head rolled a few times on the ground, splattering blood everywhere, before its body slumped to the side.
Cai Hailin, who was standing to the side, was so frightened that he fainted.
Zhou Wenji was trembling all over, his face was pale, and he dared not move or say another word.
He thought to himself: This is a big problem, Li Bao, you'll be punished! Who do you think you are! You actually dared to kill the prefect!
After Cai Yong's head was chopped off, Li Bao said, "Commander Zhang, the military situation at the front is extremely urgent. I order you to prepare military rations within two days!"
Zhang Pengxiu nodded hurriedly: "Don't worry, Commander Li, I will make the preparations immediately!"
Although the official system of the Song Dynasty was quite complex, it had one advantage: it would not cease to function simply because one person suddenly died.
For example, Zhang Pengxiu was the commander of the Quanzhou Xiang Army. Although he was one rank lower than Cai Yongling, he could not be considered Cai Yongling's true subordinate.
Cai Yongling had the authority to deploy troops, but not the authority to command them; Zhang Pengxiu was the one who actually commanded the soldiers.
In this way, even if Cai Yongling is dead.
Zhang Pengxiu had more than enough resources to prepare military provisions.
"Lord Xu, quickly muster your troops and prepare your ships. We will head south to Guangzhou the day after tomorrow!"
"yes!"
Meanwhile, Li Bao killed Cai Yongling, which intimidated Zhang Pengxiu. The Quanzhou garrison troops are now behaving themselves, and Zhou Wenji of the Maritime Trade Office has also obediently returned home.
The first thing Zhou Wenji did upon returning home was to prepare writing materials and begin writing a memorial to the throne.
He originally planned to have his daughter seduce Li Bao. Having Li Bao as a son-in-law would be great, but being a concubine wouldn't be bad either.
But to everyone's surprise, Li Bao acted so recklessly that he killed Cai Yongling as soon as he arrived in Quanzhou.
When this news reaches the capital, it will surely shock the entire court.
Back then, Yue Fei was demoted to the Northwest for secretly mobilizing troops in Jiangling Prefecture, and this time Li Bao is doomed.
After finishing his memorial, Zhou Wenji immediately dispatched a messenger to leave the city overnight and rush to the capital.
After Cai Yongling's death, Prefect Xie Yanshan temporarily took over the prefect's duties.
This matter seemed to have grown wings, and it flew to Fuzhou, the prefectural capital of Fujian Road, overnight.
After receiving this shocking news early in the morning, the Transport Commissioner, Judicial Commissioner, and Commissioner of the Ever-Normal Granary in Fuzhou picked up his pen and began to write a memorial impeaching Li Bao.
The seawater along the coast of Quanzhou is azure and gentle, like silk, softly caressing the golden sand.
After a heavy rain last night, the sky was a clear, bright blue, and seagulls were flying freely over the sea.
Three medium-sized warships and three large warships were neatly moored at Quanzhou Port.
Squads of naval personnel in dark blue uniforms boarded the warships in neat rows, and soon the warships began to hoist their sails.
The target port for this Song army was Guangzhou, where they were going to quell a rebellion.
No sooner had Li Bao left than the impeachment memorial was delivered to the capital.
"Report!"
The messenger soldier drew out the last syllable of his name and hurriedly ran to the main hall entrance just as the officials were about to go to court.
The emperor was discussing matters with his ministers when he heard the voice and frowned: "What's going on outside? Summon him in."
Shao Chengzhang, speaking in a shrill voice, declared, "Summon them!"
The messenger immediately trotted in: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent memorial from Quanzhou!"
"read!"
Shao Chengzhang took the memorial, opened it, and read aloud: "Your Majesty, I, Zhou Wenji, the Assistant Director of the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office, pay my respects to Your Majesty. I am here by Your Majesty's order to oversee the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office. I should not be submitting this memorial, but Li Bao, the Pacification Commissioner of Lingnan and the Commander-in-Chief of the South China Sea, has arbitrarily killed Cai Yongling, the Prefect of Quanzhou, causing great chaos in Quanzhou and alienation among the military and civilians. I have no choice but to overstep my bounds and impeach Li Bao for his tyranny and indiscriminate killing of court officials. I beg Your Majesty to make a decision!"
When Shao Chengzhang finished reading, the entire court was immediately astonished.
Zhao Huan also stood up in shock: "Cai Yongling was killed by Li Bao?"
“Kill him.”
"I sent Li Bao to quell the rebellion, how did he end up killing Magistrate Cai Yong?"
"Outrageous!" The first to shout was Chen Yang, Vice Minister of Rites and concurrently Vice Chancellor. "Li Bao is the Pacification Commissioner of Lingnan. How could he kill Cai Yongling without authorization! This is arrogance! This is tantamount to rebellion!"
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