The newly appointed Xiangyun prefect, Lord Bai Angbai, who still holds the title of Vice Minister of War, has not yet reached Qinghe to this day.
This surprised Lin Hai a lot.
He repeatedly asked Ling Yang to confirm whether one of the brothers had misunderstood, causing Lord Bai to "suddenly encounter bandits" on the way and "unfortunately die for his country."
You know, Lin Hai had just submitted a report boasting about his achievements in pacifying the local area. If a prefect suddenly died within Qinghe's sphere of influence, wouldn't that be a slap in his own face?
"Put your hands in your pockets, everyone. If anyone takes action now, don't blame me for being rude." Lin Hai said to his men fiercely, "Even if we have to take action, we should ask him to inspect the Mengyang defense line and find a few 'Cambodian assassins' to do it, understand?
Besides, the governor is a high-ranking military and political figure in the province, not comparable to the former seventh-rank county magistrate. We should try our best not to let it get to that point. If we can develop him into one of our own, that would be the best. If not, we can just restrict him and avoid taking action if possible."
This is the unified instruction Lin Hai gave to his subordinates.
However, it is impossible for a dignified prefect to get lost. At most, he just walked slowly and has not arrived yet.
Not long after, Lin Hai got the specific news.
This Lord Bai rode at full speed all the way, leaving behind all his followers and luggage, rushed into Jinguan City alone, and then went straight to the Xichuan prefectural government, requesting a secret talk with Gao Bin.
The two had a secret conversation for several days, and even Chen Fan, who was lurking in the prefectural government, could not get close to them, so for the time being, he was unable to know the content of their conversation.
However, it is said that Bai Ang has already waited for the followers he left behind, and he continued to move south under the protection of the troops sent by Wang Liang, the lieutenant general stationed in Jinguan City. Therefore, Gao Bin had time to slowly sort out the content of the conversation in the past few days, and the report should be delivered soon.
After Lin Hai organized three seminars on Gao Bin's report, Lord Bai Angbai finally appeared in the official territory of Qinghe.
In front of Bai Ang, Wang Liang's troops and the Qinghe Army led by Ling Yang held a bonfire party together. Both sides sang and danced until the early morning, and said goodbye to each other for several hours the next day, completely ignoring the governor Bai who was urging them to move forward quickly.
Bai Ang's followers tried to rebuke him several times as the governor, but Ling Yang stopped them: "Master Bai is the governor of Xiangyun, so don't worry about the affairs of Xichuan."
When he saw Lin Hai, Bai Ang's anger reached its peak.
As soon as they entered the main hall of the Qinghe Marquis's mansion, which had been converted from the county government office, Lord Bai, who was over fifty but still energetic, his hair and beard standing out from excessive anger, asked directly, "What does the Qinghe Marquis intend? Are you planning to rebel today? Or are you planning to use my head as a sacrifice?"
"He's really a stubborn old man." Lin Hai thought as he recalled Gao Bin's report. "He's absolutely correct. Isn't he worried that he won't be able to leave Qinghe after angering me?"
"What does Lord Bai mean? Why are you putting such a big hat on my head right away? Is it Lord Bai who thinks so himself or is he being instructed by someone else? Why not tell me all at once?"
Seeing that Bai Ang was so disrespectful, Lin Hai didn't intend to indulge him. He just waved his hand and the waiters on both sides came in one after another. The banquet that had just been set up in the lobby was instantly removed, leaving only two teacups and a pot of tea. When the waiter left, he only filled Lin Hai's cup with tea. It seemed that if Lord Bai was thirsty, he would have to pour water himself.
"This uncle was personally appointed the Earl of Qinghe by His Majesty. I just led my men to pacify the Xiangyun region, defeat the Khmer, and occupy Mengyang, expanding the empire's territory. His Majesty commended me, as evidenced by the imperial edict. Lord Bai, as the Minister of War, has not heard of these events, or is he deliberately ignoring them, planning to frame this uncle with some trumped-up charges?"
Lin Hai sat down, picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea while talking slowly, then frowned: Those guys are too ignorant, there is actually boiling water in the teacup.
Lin Hai, who had forced himself to swallow the hot water to maintain his image, began to grow irritable. "Master Bai has been enjoying the scenery all the way, and has been reluctant to go to Xiangyun to take up his post. Although I'm not an official in Xiangyun and can't interfere with this matter, our brothers conquered Xiangyun Province under heavy fire. If anything goes wrong because of your delay, Master Bai..."
Let me be frank. Even if there is someone in your court who can protect you, I will not let you go even if His Majesty lets you go.
I think Master Bai will understand what I am saying."
Hearing Lin Hai repeatedly call His Majesty "Your Majesty" felt strange, but it couldn't be said that he was disrespectful to His Majesty. He felt that he should not be pushed too far. Bai Ang sighed and said, "I said this for the sake of you, the Lord of Qinghe."
"Don't worry." Lin Hai interrupted Bai Ang: "You are also an old man in your fifties, and your rank is not lower than that of the Earl of Qinghe. Don't try to play the trick of 'shocking people with your words'. That trick can be used by lobbyists and counselors, but it cannot be used by a proper imperial official.
So, if you have anything to say, please speak here. Heaven and earth know, you know, and I know. Lord Bai, just speak frankly."
"Yeah." Bai Ang and a dozen people including Ling Yang, Shi Zhen'er and others who were hiding in the side room and eavesdropping nodded in unison.
“In that case, I’ll speak frankly.
The Earl of Qinghe rose from obscurity to the rank of Earl in just a few years. You governed the area effectively, and thanks to you, Qinghe County prospered. Displaced people from all over were properly resettled, and Qinghe now has a population of at least several hundred thousand.
And you sent troops to Xiangyun and Cambodia. Not only did you suppress an entire province with tens of thousands of elite troops, you even broke into Cambodian territory and forced the Cambodian king to sign such a peace treaty. This is something that the empire has tried its best to do for many years but has not been able to accomplish.
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