Chapter 63

　　Pang Jun stayed in Zhejiang for only one night before rushing back to the capital without stopping. One hundred miles away from the capital, he caught up with Qi Lin and Hong Yanzhang who were on their way back to the capital. At the same time, news came from Xichuan Province: Qi Tiansheng had rebelled!

　　Qi Tiansheng finally found out the reason why Pang Jun went to Fanzhou. It turned out that he went to get an account book which recorded his secret dealings with Xidi and the reselling of military rations and weapons. The recorder of this account book was Zhong Jing, his advisor who was killed by him seven years ago. He knew exactly what it meant to let Pang Jun leave safely with the account book. Although he was ready to raise the banner of rebellion when Dajin and Xidi went to war in a month, if he did not act now, he would become a fish under the knife. So, in a hurry, he used a Hongmen Banquet to deal with the officials loyal to the court, raised the banner of rebellion under the banner of "clearing the court", and called himself "King of Shu".

　　Since all roads leading into Xichuan Province were blocked, the news of Xichuan was still unknown to the officials in the court. So when Pang Jun and his party returned to the capital, they were immediately summoned by the emperor.

　　Pang Jun was kneeling on one knee in the court at this time. Emperor Yang Shao was standing on the imperial platform. On both sides were civil and military officials. Yang Shao asked, "Liu Jun, Qi Tiansheng's letter said that you, Liu Ziye, went to Xichuan to solicit bribes and allowed your men to commit crimes, causing the people of Xichuan to be angry. Is this true?"

　　Pang Jun said: "Your Majesty, Qi Tiansheng has been planning this for a long time. Not to mention that I have not done anything illegal, the reason why I have just returned to the capital is because I want to go to Fanzhou to obtain evidence of Qi Tiansheng's secret dealings with the Western Di. Also, before I took action, I had already sent someone with the head of the leader of the Western Di infiltrated army to notify the southwestern border troops to pay attention to the movements in Xichuan. Your Majesty, please look, this is the account book I brought back from Xichuan, recorded by Qi Tiansheng's old subordinate Zhong Jing, which shows the secret dealings between Qi Tiansheng and the Western Di." After saying that, Pang Jun took out the account book in his arms and handed it over.

　　Pang Jun went on to say: "One of the reasons why Qi rebelled in advance was that the Divine Guards accidentally found the Xidi troops who were planning to cooperate with the outside forces while investigating the theft of military rations, and successfully strangled them. Another reason was because of this account book. Qi Tiansheng was desperate and finally jumped over the wall in desperation."

　　Yang Shao picked up the account book, took a look at it, threw it to the ground, and snorted coldly: "Humph, look for yourselves, I still remember that in the assessment three years ago, Qi Tiansheng, the traitor, was still ranked A. Tell me, what did he use to bribe you, a bunch of good-for-nothings, to speak well of him!"

　　"I am guilty..." All the ministers knelt down and apologized.

　　"What's the point of apologizing now? If I kill you, Qi Tiansheng will die immediately. I won't hesitate!"

　　All the officials were silent, no one dared to say a word. The court was silent for a long time. Yang Shao said, "Pass on my order to order the southwest border troops to remain vigilant against Xidi and Qi Tiansheng, Xu Xiao."

　　"I'm here, your old minister." Taiwei Xu Xiao stepped out and responded.

　　"Who among the three legions can put down the rebellion?"

　　"I think that among the Imperial Lion Legion, General Lu Chengen of the Left Guard Division can lead the army. Lu Chengen is good at attacking and is suitable for the attack on Xichuan." Xu Xiao replied.

　　"Okay, pass on the order, Lu Chengen."

　　"I am here." A burly general stepped out from among the generals.

　　"I order you to go back and prepare immediately. Three days later, you will lead the Left Guard Division under your command to Xichuan to quell the rebellion. There must be no mistakes."

　　"I obey your command!" Lu Chengen took the order and left.

　　After Lu Chengen left the hall, Yang Shao looked at Pang Jun and said, "Liu Jun, you not only completed the task this time, but also successfully disrupted the Qi rebels' plan to rebel, and at the same time saved the southwest border army. You have made great contributions." Then he asked the ministers, "What do you think I should do?"

　　At this time, Zheng Yinglin, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped out and said, "Reporting to the emperor, I think that although Liu Jun brought back evidence of Qi's collusion with the enemy country, he was the instigator of Qi's rebellion after all. What he did was just to make up for his mistakes and he does not deserve a reward." Zheng Yinglin was a die-hard supporter of Grand Tutor Nie Xingyan, and Pang Jun was not the prince's man, so of course he spared no effort to suppress him.

　　"Sir Zheng is wrong. The rebellion of Qi was planned for a long time. Even if there was no Liu Jun, there would be Chen Jun, Zhou Jun and even Zheng Jun. If the rebellion of Qi says that Sir Zheng's son is a playboy and he can't stand it and rebels, then is Sir Zheng the instigator of his rebellion?" Feng Wei, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, stepped forward and refuted. He was a member of the faction of Zhao Wang Yang Sheng, and seeing Zheng Yinglin suppressing him so blatantly, he would of course fight back.

　　"You are making up stories out of nothing and slandering me..." Zheng Yinglin pointed at Feng Wei angrily.

　　"Enough! It's already this late, and you bunch of losers are still attacking each other. When will you stop?" Yang Shao was furious, and the ministers quieted down again.

　　At this time, a middle-aged minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that Liu Jun had his own views when answering the policy essay, which was even discussed by the court officials. Why don't you give Liu Jun a chance to realize the ideas in his policy essay?" This man was named Du Yuan. He was the Left Vice Minister of Rites and a capable general under King Qi Yang Man.

　　"Oh? How to give him a chance?"

　　"Isn't the post of governor of Songzhou Prefecture in Liaodong Province still vacant? This is a good opportunity for Liu Jun to give it a try. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

　　As soon as this was said, the disagreements and discussions among the court officials became more heated. Songzhou Prefecture in Liaodong Province was a prefecture located in the northeastern corner of the Great Jin Dynasty. It was bordered by the mouth of the Qijiang River and the Chao Kingdom to the east, the prairie to the west, and the Bailong Snow Mountain to the north. Due to the lack of grassland, the Northern Hu had no intention of expanding here. Although the land was fertile, the ethnic groups living here were too complex and the weak Chao Kingdom did not have the energy to manage it. After many twists and turns, it was finally brought under the management of the Great Jin Dynasty.

　　Although it was incorporated into the Jin Dynasty, it was a no-man's land due to its bitter coldness and complex population flow. For many years, not many people were willing to serve as officials here. Since the previous governor had gone to great lengths to be transferred away, there has been no new governor. Serving as an official in that place was tantamount to exile.

　　But now Du Yuan brought it up. Pang Jun's position as the lieutenant of the Shenyiwei was a sixth-rank official position, and it had only been a few months. Normally, if he were to be promoted, he should be promoted to a fifth-rank official position, and the governor of a state was at least a fifth-rank official position (the governor of a state capital was a fourth-rank official). This was already a promotion across levels. Generally speaking, such an appointment would not be agreed upon by court officials, but this appointment was a notoriously hot potato, so some of them agreed and some opposed.

　　Yang Shao looked at Pang Jun and Du Yuan for a while, then said quietly: "Lord Du, this is a good suggestion. Liu Jun, I have also read your answer sheet. You have proved that you have the talent of the top scholar in martial arts. Now I want to see whether your literary governance is just empty talk or real. What do you think?"

　　Pang Jun glanced at Du Yuan indifferently, expressionless, and knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Everything is subject to your majesty's orders."

　　"Liu Jun, do you know where Songzhou is?"

　　"Your Majesty, Songzhou is in the northeast corner of Liaodong Province, and it is the northernmost prefecture of the Jin Dynasty." Pang Jun replied. He knew that he had no choice. Yang Shao's inquiry actually wanted him to go to Songzhou, so he could only accept it calmly. "But I have two small requests."

　　"Speak." Yang Shao was a little surprised by Pang Jun's reaction. A young man like him, upon hearing that he would leave the glamorous world of the capital and go to a bitter and cold place to stay for several years or even a lifetime, his first reaction was to try every possible way to shirk, or even resign. However, no one accepted it as calmly as he did, so he also wanted to listen to Pang Jun's request.

　　"I would like to ask Your Majesty to issue an imperial decree so that all qualified officials in the world, no matter who they are, can come to me if they are interested, and go to Songzhou with me to benefit the people. For me, serving as an official is to benefit the people. Songzhou is a cold and bitter place. If there are people from such a place who come to fight for the people with me, they must be like-minded colleagues, and it will be easier to govern." Pang Jun said.

　　"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not possible. Selecting officials by ourselves, what's the difference between this and establishing a government? Once this precedent is set, if there are people who make such unreasonable demands in the future, will the world still need the court to send people to govern it?" As soon as Pang Jun made this request, another minister immediately stepped forward to object.

　　Indeed, Pang Jun's request was tantamount to establishing a government. Although the court officials did not think that there would be any fool who would follow Pang Jun to Songzhou, this trend should not be allowed to continue. Once a precedent was set, others would follow suit, and each state would establish an independent kingdom. This would definitely be unacceptable.

　　"Then may I ask this lord, do you know how many vacancies there are in Songzhou, how many people there are, and how many things there are? To govern a place where the Han and the Hu people live together, I think we must have someone who is good at the job. Otherwise, it would be difficult for a good cook to cook without rice. Please grant me your permission, Your Majesty."

　　"Your Majesty, this..."

　　"Okay, I will agree to your request. I will issue an edict to promote Liu Jun, the junior lieutenant of the Divine Guard, to be the governor of Songzhou. I will also issue an edict to all officials in the capital, big and small, who want to serve as officials in Songzhou, to find Liu Jun within ten days. Liu Jun, are you satisfied now?" Yang Shao said with a smile, pointing at Pang Jun.

　　Pang Jun kowtowed again to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

　　"Okay, I have already agreed to your first request. What is your second request? Please tell me."

　　"Your Majesty, I will be in Songzhou for a long time. I don't know when I will have the opportunity to set foot on the Central Plains again. Although my parents are taken care of by servants and concubines, I am the only son in the family. I would like to ask Your Majesty to allow me to go back to Qinzhou to say goodbye to my parents, return to the capital immediately, and then set off to Songzhou to perform my duties."

　　Yang Shao laughed and said, "Haha, you have made many great achievements. If I hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten that you are only sixteen this year, still a half-grown child. This dynasty governs the country with filial piety, and I am also very pleased that you are so filial to your parents. Well, today is October 26th, I will give you forty days, let you stay in Qinzhou, accompany your parents to celebrate Laba Festival, and then come back immediately and set off for Songzhou, how about it?"

　　"Time is enough. Thank you, Your Majesty." Yang Shao waved his hand and said, "You have spent your best years in the cold and bitter cold to expand the territory and educate the people for our Great Jin, but it has been hard for you. I cannot justify myself if you do not agree to this small request."

　　"Your Majesty understands me, and I am grateful."

　　"Go ahead. I have already fulfilled your request. The rest depends on your luck."

　　"Your humble servant will work tirelessly day and night to stabilize Songzhou for the Great Jin Dynasty." After Pang Jun said this, he knelt down solemnly to Yang Shao and then left the court.

　　The news of Pang Jun's promotion to Governor of Songzhou had already reached the ears of the leaders of major forces in the capital before the court session ended.

　　In the Prince Zhao's Mansion, Prince Zhao Yang Sheng was sitting opposite Princess Shanyin Yang Chuyu and drinking tea leisurely when a subordinate came to report: Lieutenant Liu Jun of the Divine Robe Guard was demoted by His Majesty to the post of Governor of Songzhou Prefecture. Upon hearing this, Prince Zhao was stunned and looked at his aunt Yang Chuyu, who also had confusion in her eyes.

　　At the Prince of Qi's Mansion, after Prince of Qi Yang Man heard the news, he laughed heartily, called his friends and headed for the "Zuixianlou" in the capital.

　　In the Prince's Mansion, Crown Prince Yang Zhi listened to his subordinates' report and said, "I understand." He said no more and looked at the "History of Sixteen Kingdoms" in his hand with an indifferent expression.

　　At the Shenyi Guard Office, Ling Buxu, the Shenyi Guard Governor, was playing chess with Li Shenji, the Deputy Governor. Li Shenji said with some regret, "What a pity! Such a good-looking man has to be buried in the snow and wind of the north country because of party disputes."

　　However, Ling Buxu said without any regret: "I don't think so. Maybe there will be light at the end of the tunnel, like a dragon entering the sea or an eagle soaring into the sky, with a bright future ahead of us."

　　At the Prince of Wei's Mansion, after hearing the news from the court, Prince of Wei Yang Tong frowned slightly, shook his head gently, sighed, and slowly walked to the window. He pushed it open, and from here he could directly see the plum forest in the palace garden. In the plum forest, a delicate and lovely little beauty was accompanying a mature and noble beautiful woman. In the early morning blooming plum blossoms, the smiles of the two were brighter than the winter plum blossoms...