In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Lingnan Road, or Guangzhou Governor's Mansion, was the Tang Dynasty's Prison Prefecture, and every year, like this Annan Jiaozhi and other places, paid tribute to the imperial court some ivory, rhinoceros, jade, tortoiseshell, peacock, agarwood and other local specialties.

There was no grain tax, and the tax set by the imperial court on the southern barbarian tribes was only half of that of the Han people in the Central Plains, and these things could not be transported from Lingnan without shipping.

Of course, the Tang Dynasty had relatively little responsibility for Lingnan, and since the founding of the Tang Dynasty for more than 20 years, it has not really sent troops into Lingnan, and the government affairs of Lingnan have actually been handed over to Feng Ang and others.

Feng Ang used the support of the Tang Dynasty to rule the Lingnan Fangs, and then with the help of the Tang Dynasty, he could not directly talk to the Fangs, and used the leader of local forces to increase his value in the imperial court.

The history books do not record Feng Ang as an official of the Tang Dynasty, such as "Zizhi Tongjian" directly said that he was "the chief of Lingnan".

When Feng Ang was alive, the relationship between Lingnan and the Tang Dynasty was actually more like an ally, so he had to send his son to Chang'an as a proton.

But Feng Ang knew in his heart that no matter how he became the emperor of the soil in Lingnan, he had to be a vassal in the face of the Tang Dynasty, otherwise the ambitious Li Shimin would definitely wave his army south.

The Central Plains Dynasty can look down on the taxes in Lingnan, but it can't lose the country that the Qin Emperor and Han Wu have brought down.

If Feng Ang was twenty years younger at this time, he would not want the Tang Fleet to offer 200,000 stone rice with both hands as soon as it was dispatched.

But now that he is dying, his sons have no ability to suppress the forces of all sides in Lingnan.

If the Feng family wants to continue to sit in Lingnan, they must have the support of the Tang Dynasty, and the arrival of the Tang Dynasty's fleet at this time can help them suppress the surrounding forces.

It's a pity that Feng Ang's sons who consider him can't understand it at all, he only knows that the Feng family is the emperor of Lingnan over the years, and the army of the Tang Dynasty has never entered Lingnan.

Even the eldest brother Feng Zhi was sent into Chang'an as a hostage, and they always felt that it was a very embarrassing thing, and they felt that the Tang Dynasty had made them lose people in front of the Lingnan Fangs.

They didn't understand that it was precisely because of him Feng Zhidai who was hostage in Chang'an that many surrounding forces thought that the alliance between the Feng family and the Tang Dynasty was unbreakable, so no one dared to attack their family's idea.

Feng Zhiji and Feng Zhiyu left Feng An's residence, rode on a fast horse rewarded by Li Shimin, and went all the way to Feng Zhiyu's house in the east of Guangzhou.

As soon as the two brothers sat down, Feng Zhiyu couldn't help but say, "Third brother, did you say that my father is getting older and more timid, and he is actually afraid of the Tang Dynasty?"

Feng Zhiyu looked at Feng Zhiyu and shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Be quiet, don't let outsiders hear." ”

"What are you afraid of here?"

Feng Zhiyu waved his hand disapprerovingly.

Feng Zhiji said with a straight face: "The eldest brother letter said that this time King Wu's fleet has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, but it is not easy to deal with, we must gather all the surrounding barbarian chieftains as soon as possible to discuss countermeasures." ”

"With so many fleets and soldiers and horses, there must also be a lot of supplies, and if we summon these hungry wolves, we won't get much benefit from robbing Datang's ship!"

Hearing this, Feng Zhiji's eyes widened and he looked at Feng Zhiyu with a relaxed face and said, "You still want to rob Datang's fleet in person?"

If Datang knew that we had an antipathy, he would definitely send troops to Lingnan. ”

Feng Zhiji also has a little brain, knowing that their family is the minions of the Tang Dynasty ruling Lingnan, and if others rebel, their family can come forward to quell the rebellion, if their family rebels, then it can only be the Tang Dynasty to send troops to quell the rebellion.

"How can I come forward in person, and order the three barbarians of Jiling, Bin'an, and Nanshan to take the lead, and our people will also pretend to be barbarians and mix in it." Feng Zhiyu is confident.

"Is it safe to send only three fangs?"

Feng Zhiyu looked at Feng Zhiyu with a cold look in his eyes and asked.

Feng Zhiyu sneered in his heart when he heard this, but he laughed and said: "Twenty thousand tired masters, and it is enough to have three barbarians who are not familiar with life." ”

Feng Zhiyu's three fangs Jiling, Bin'an, and Nanshan are actually Feng Zhiyu's father-in-law's family, and he has three important equal wives from these three fangs.

These three were originally the powerful barbarians of Lingnan, and with the help of the Feng family's power, they have expanded rapidly over the years.

Feng Zhiyu also had the support of these three fangs, and his heart swelled, and he didn't take his brothers seriously at all.

Now that their brothers have regarded the Tang Fleet as meat in a bowl, they naturally want to swallow up their forces.

Feng Zhiji was no longer hypocritical, and he said in a strong tone: "Plus Long Yuan and Ge Liang, the two fangs, to shoot together.

Our opponent is His Royal Highness King Wu of Datang, not only to rob his fleet, but also to do a good job, and not let Datang see the slightest suspicion about us afterwards. ”

Feng Zhiyu's face turned cold when he first heard Feng Zhiyu's words, but when he heard it, he still agreed: "Then it's up to you." ”

After saying that, he went out with a cold face and sent people to deliver letters everywhere, Feng Zhiji was angry in his heart, and he also got up to pass on the two barbarian chieftains who supported him, Long Yuan and Ge Liang.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the people in the mountains in the south such as Jiannan Road, Jiangnan West Road, Jiangnan East Road and other southern places were called fangmin, and in the early Tang Dynasty, there were often mountain fang rebellions, and the court generally nested first and then cared for them, and later these people also went out of the mountains to become ordinary people.

The mountain people in Lingnan are slang people, but most people will not subdivide them and directly call them fangs, for example, the five ancestors of Zen Buddhism, Hongren, call the six ancestors Huineng fangren.

Of course, being able to marry their daughters into Feng's fangs was already very advanced at that time, their territories were all near Guangzhou City, and their chieftain's sons and nephews all lived in Guangzhou City.

On that day, the Feng brothers first summoned the people from their respective allied Fang tribes to inform them of the matter, and asked them to send people back to their tribes as soon as possible to inform them to come to Guangzhou City to meet.

-----------------

The South China Sea is calm and calm, and the deep blue sea looks like a piece of boundless silk undulating with the wind.

The huge Datang fleet sailed at full speed with sails.

As the sun slowly turned due south, some of the servants on Li Ke's flagship began to get busy, and they pushed out some low tables and placed them on the deck, placing felt cushions behind the low tables.

Then take out a large brazier and light a charcoal fire, put a wire cage on it, and then take out the dried meat and sea fish and start making barbecue on the wire cage.

Soon the dried meat and fish were charred over the fire, and the aroma wafted into the ship's cabin and the ships behind it.

Li Ke, who smelled the smell of meat, walked out of the warehouse, looked at the barbecue and fish on the deck, and thought about how the generals would come up later to discuss with them how to collect grain from Guangzhou.

"Someone! Fetch two jars of soju! ”

Li Ke said loudly as he walked around the deck.

"The prince is a small gathering today and doesn't drink." Yu Biao, who had been standing at the door of the warehouse, trotted behind Li Ke and reminded.

Li Chengqian knew that the humidity on the sea was heavy, and the northerners might not be able to withstand it, so when Li Ke set off, he ordered someone to mix 100,000 catties of liquor for him.

Li Ke knew that liquor was rare and reluctant to drink more, and soldiers who were free of disasters and diseases could only drink it once every ten days, and only gave two taels of wine at a time.

Li Ke had a dinner with the generals every five days, and at the same time ordered all the officers and men of each ship to take turns to have dinner on this day.

Some barbecued meat may not be anything in Li Ke's opinion, but this is also a rare reward for soldiers who can only eat some rice and salted fish with shells every day.

In particular, there are two taels of soju every ten days, which plays a very key role in mediating the depressed mood of the soldiers on the ship.

Li Ke didn't look back, and said in a deep voice: "You just have to obey orders, this king knows in his heart!" ”

Yu Jian didn't dare to say any more, turned around and went back to the warehouse to carry wine.

After a while, the generals on other ships all smelled the smell of meat and came to Li Ke's main flagship.

Li Ke saw that all the generals had arrived, so he walked to the main seat and stopped.

"See His Royal Highness King Wu!"

The people bowed to him and saluted.

Li Ke smiled and raised his hand and said, "You don't have to be polite, please sit down." He sat down.

"What day is today, the prince is merciful and enjoys the wine!" Deputy General Zhang Shujin looked at the wine jar next to Li Ke and said with a light in his eyes.

When all the generals heard this, they couldn't help but look at the wine jar, their eyes lit up, and they seemed to be able to stretch out their hands in their throats.

Seeing this, Li Ke laughed and said, "Quickly pour wine for the generals." ”

Hearing this, the servants behind him hurriedly divided the wine in the altar into bronze pots, and then each walked behind the generals' table with a wine jug in his hand, and carefully poured it for the generals.

The generals hurriedly picked up the wine glasses, and then looked at Li Ke waiting for him to raise his glass, but saw that Li Ke did not move the wine glass in front of him, but just smiled at the generals lightly.

Seeing this, the deputy general Zhang Shujin knew that something was wrong, so he patted his head and said: "Today is not the day to drink, but the prince took out the wine, isn't there something big to say?"

The generals were stunned when they heard this, and they all asked.

"What happened to the prince?"

……

……

Before Li Ke came out, Li Chengqian had warned him that once he got on the ship and stayed away from Datang, he must treat the generals well, otherwise anything could happen at sea.

Therefore, Li Ke has never put on the prince's stand since he went to sea, and he treats all generals as equals, and soon subdues the hearts of the generals.

Now that everyone is floating on the sea, it can be said that they are all prosperous, and when they see Li Ke like this, they all hurriedly inquire about the situation when they know that there is something.

Li Ke smiled faintly when he heard this: "Actually, it's not a big deal, it's just that we are going to Guangzhou in front, and Your Majesty sent us to raise some grain and grass in Guangzhou......

When Zhang Shujin heard this, he immediately said loudly: "Your Majesty's will should be fulfilled by us, can the Guangzhou Governor's Mansion still dare to resist the will?"

Li Ke nodded when he heard this: "The king of General Zhang naturally knows, but since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he has not sent a single soldier to set foot in Lingnan, and he has never collected taxes from Lingnan, and now he suddenly collects grain ......."

When the generals heard this, they also showed solemn expressions.

"Geng Guogong has always been loyal to the imperial court, is it ......" Zhang Shujin couldn't help but look at the ship's warehouse when he heard this, he knew that Feng Zhidai was recuperating in the warehouse.

"It was General Feng who told the king that Geng Guogong had been seriously ill for more than a year, and that most of the government affairs in Guangzhou were presided over by his younger brother......" Li Ke said.

Zhang Shujin thought about it for a moment when he heard this, and said loudly: "What is this, when I waited for Chang'an, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, 'Although the whole world is the royal land, but I will wait for this time to come to the maritime countries to collect taxes, it is inevitable that I will encounter some chaotic ministers and thieves who do not listen to the orders of the Tang Dynasty. ’

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has prepared enough weapons for us to use to defeat the unministers.

If there are really rebellious ministers and thieves in Lingnan, we should share the worries of the court and pacify Lingnan. ”

"Yes, yes, yes! Since the fangs in Lingnan have never seen the military might of our Datang, then let them see it this time......

……

……

When all the generals heard this, they all responded enthusiastically, and Li Chengqian sent a large army out to collect taxes with the phrase 'the whole world is not the king's land', but in fact, everyone understood that this was out to rob.

The generals who came out with the army were all thorns who did not obey the rules on weekdays, and they were certainly not afraid of war.

Seeing that the goal was achieved, Li Ke picked up a wine glass and stood up and raised the wine glass to everyone: "Please drink this cup to the full." ”

……

……