Mountains and Seas

Chapter 88: Meet Gao Pian

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Yangzhou, located at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, belongs to Huainan Province.

This is also the reason why the hundreds of thousands of troops under Gao Pian's command were called the Huainan Army or the Yangzhou Army.

In the Song Dynasty, a poet named Jiang Kui wrote "Yangzhou Slow. The Famous Capital of Huaizuo", so Yangzhou is also known as "the famous capital of Huaizuo and the beautiful place of Zhuxi".

The administrative center of Yangzhou is Jiangdu, which was once the capital of Wu in the late Tang Dynasty. It was a very prosperous metropolis and also Gao Pian's old nest.

Jiangdu and Gaoyou are more than a hundred miles apart, and a fast horse can run back and forth in an hour, so it is not very far. After Lu Yongzhi's efforts, Zhu Li finally confirmed the time to meet Gao Pian, which is today.

Lu Yongzhi was very attentive to the meeting between the two. He chose the Gongfeng Building, which was regarded as a treasure place by Gao Pian, as the meeting place.

The Offering Building is a three-story building where Gao Pian stores his treasures.

Gao Pian has been an official for several years. He intercepted many rare treasures that were offered to the court by local people and confiscated countless local treasures. He stored them all in the offering building. Only close friends or important people who hold a certain weight in his heart are allowed to approach. Zhu Li was fortunate enough to enter here thanks to Lu Yongzhi.

In recent years, Gao Pian has stayed at home and devoted himself to seeking the Tao. He has two places for practicing Taoism, one in his mansion and the other in this worship building. During this period of time, he happened to be practicing in the worship building, which is why Lu Yongzhi chose this place to meet.

The Gongfeng Building was next to Gao Pian's mansion, which was heavily guarded and had a military camp outside, so the defense was very strict.

Downstairs in the worship building, Yang Zaixing was blocked outside the door, while Lu Yongzhi eagerly led Zhu Li into the building. After entering the building, they looked around and found that the decoration here was very elegant. The calligraphy and paintings inlaid on the walls were almost all from famous artists. The heavy and rich scent of books filled the entire first floor of the small building.

In addition, various furnishings in the building, such as small embroidered tables, teacups with hairpins and teacups, are all local famous pottery. If each item here is taken to the future, it will be a huge fortune, which makes Zhu Li smack his lips.

An old man with a sturdy face, long beard and flying eyebrows, dressed in Taoist robes, sat cross-legged on a straw mat at the top. Sandalwood incense was curling around his body, making him look like a hermit.

"Butler, the guests are here." After bringing Zhu Li in, Lu Yongzhi took small steps and carefully came in front of Gao Pian, reporting in a soft voice.

"Well, then you can go down." Gao Pian responded softly with his eyes still closed.

"promise"

Lu Yongzhi glanced at Zhu Li, and Zhu Li nodded at him. He then tiptoed out of the hall and closed the door very obediently.

Looking at the old man in front of him, Zhu Li felt a little emotional. Among the warlords in the late Tang Dynasty, Gao Pian was definitely a talented and learned man. He once had great ambitions and had fought in many battles for the Tang Dynasty. However, when he was nearly sixty years old, he became obsessed with practicing Taoism and seeking immortality. It was really sad.

After sending Lu Yongzhi away, Gao Pian had no intention of talking to Zhu Li, nor did he open his eyes. It was as if he was unaware of Zhu Li's arrival. He was still immersed in cross-legged meditation as usual.

Zhu Li took great pains to meet Gao Pian, mainly out of admiration for the hero and concern for him.

Li Keyong was one of the heroes in the late Tang Dynasty, although he was a Shatuo; but Gao Pian was obviously one of them as well, as he had suppressed countless rebellions, including those of Nanzhao, Tubo, Dangxiang, Wang Xianzhi, etc. He had led troops to suppress them all; although he had some character flaws, he was undoubtedly a hero, only because he became obsessed with cultivating immortals in his later years, which led to chaos in Yangzhou and the destruction of many lives, and he ended up being infamous for all eternity.

Zhu Li, who came from later generations, was always worried about the tragedy that occurred in that disaster. When Bi Shiduo was forced to rebel, the people in Yangzhou suffered such inhumane and horrifying things. In order to avoid the tragedy, he wanted to persuade Gao Pian to see if he could let him give up practicing Taoism and work hard to protect the people.

Gao Pian ignored him, so Zhu Li had to find a way to get him to speak. After just a moment's thought, his eyes lit up and he recited: "When the six-petal flying flowers entered the house, I sat and watched the green bamboos turn into jade branches. Now it's a good time to go up to the high building and look, covering all the evil roads in the world."

The name of this poem is "On Snow", which is a masterpiece by Gao Pian. In the poem, Gao Pian used scenery to express his emotions, hoping that the heavy snow could cover up all the ugliness and filth in the world. It expressed his accusation against all kinds of evils in the world and his determination to cleanse the world.

However, his former ambitions and beautiful aspirations did not materialize during his tenure as an official. Instead, they were corrupted by sin, including corruption, bribery, and excessive plunder. He, who originally had a passion to cleanse the world of sin, ended up becoming the source of sin.

Zhu Li's recitation was rhythmic, but it sounded so harsh to Gao Pian's ears, so he slowly opened his eyes, looked at Zhu Li, and said calmly: "Who are you, and what are you here for?"

Finally speaking, Zhu Li breathed a sigh of relief and said calmly, "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is the ambition and ambition that Chief Manager Gao once had. Is his innocent heart still there?"

Zhu Li's words were direct and provocative, making Gao Pian very uncomfortable. He narrowed his eyes slightly, stood up suddenly, and said coldly: "How old are you, young man? How many times have you been through the mortal world? How can you know how much ugliness there is in the world?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Li fell silent. In terms of experience, he really could not compare with Gao Pian. He had lived two lives and had only more than 20 years of life experience, so naturally there was nothing to say.

Seeing the other party's silence, Gao Pian sighed: "At the beginning of life, human nature is good. If it weren't for the current situation, who wouldn't want to leave a name in history and be remembered forever?"

Could it be that he was forced by the current situation to practice Taoism behind closed doors, ignore government affairs, and turn a deaf ear to the people of Yangzhou? Zhu Li was a little speechless, but he was always direct and said calmly: "Is what Mr. Gao is doing now also forced by the current situation?"

"Of course." Gao Pian spoke loudly, without any shame, as if it was a matter of course, "Thinking back to the past, the court ordered Gao to recapture Annan, Gao agreed with the military supervisor Li Weizhou to use his subordinates as reinforcements, but Li Weizhou held on to Haimen and ignored the army led by Gao. Seeing that the army had no reinforcements behind and no food inside, it was about to collapse and flee. If Gao hadn't taken the opportunity to take risks and defeated the Nanzhao barbarian army and seized countless food, Gao would have been gone long ago. This is the righteousness of comrades in arms in the world, this is the intention of the generals today, everything is only for me, and intrigues?"

Zhu Li also knew that Li Weizhou was a mean person. Not only did he frame Gao Pian, but he was also jealous of the credit Gao Pian had gained. If it weren't for the cleverness of one of Gao Pian's subordinates, he would have almost killed him.

Dead.

But is it because of a villain that Gao Pian has changed? Zhu Li paused for a moment and said, "After all, there is only one Li Weizhou in the world. Could it be that Gao Gong has lost his ambition because of Li Weizhou?"

"Humph, how can I change my ambitions just because of a small-time villain?" Gao Pian snorted coldly and continued, "In the past, I was also as young as Xiaolang, full of lofty ambitions and a pure heart, and I worked hard for a better future, but what was the result? The world is difficult and people's hearts are not the same as before. The saints do nothing, eunuchs are in power, and the world claims to be alone. Such things make people shudder."

"In the beginning, Gao, in order to repay his country, pacified Annan, conquered the Tanguts, drove out the Tubo, fought against the bandits, and pacified Xichuan, but what was the result? Tian Lingzi bewitched the saints and gambled on Sanchuan by playing ball, and the results that Gao had worked so hard to stabilize were handed over to Chen Jing, Yang Shili, Niu Xi and other scoundrels to continue to harm. Seeing that the results that he had painstakingly and thoughtfully obtained were still being ravaged and trampled by scoundrels, Gao was inexplicably sad, and there was nothing he could do."

Zhu Li was a little speechless when he heard this. Emperor Xizong's bet on Sanchuan's ball hitting would be infamous for all eternity; however, Gao Pian also exaggerated in some places. Gao Pian's contributions to the recovery of Annan, the expulsion of Tubo, and the conquest of the Dangxiang were indeed indispensable and beyond dispute.

But Gao Pian should not have the face to say "resist the bandits and maintain peace in Xichuan".

It is a fact that Huang Chao marched south and Gao Pian defeated the Western Route Grass Army. However, ever since he defeated the Western Route Grass Army, Gao Pian has been intending to establish his own regime and maintain his own troops. How can he still have the nerve to mention this

In this chaotic world, we are not afraid of your ambitions, but you should at least finish your work, maintain your troops and be self-reliant. At the very least you should continue to strengthen yourself in order to compete with other heroes. What the hell are you doing now, practicing Taoism behind closed doors

As for Anxichuan, it is even more nonsense. When Gao Pian took office as the governor of Xichuan, he first enriched himself by cutting military salaries, which caused a mutiny among the soldiers. Then he plotted against the mutinous soldiers, first confusing them with the promise of supplementing their salaries, and then secretly sent people to confiscate the properties of all these soldiers and exterminate their families. He was so greedy that he even calculated the salaries of the guards. This is also called Anxichuan, not to mention plundering the people's wealth.

However, Zhu Li knew all these things clearly but could not say them out loud. He came to give advice, and if Gao Pian got angry and embarrassed, what was the point of giving advice

Seeing Zhu Li was speechless, Gao Pian thought that Zhu Li had been convinced by him, so he continued, "Also, Gao defeated Huang Chao, but how did that eunuch Tian Lingzi treat me? Not only did he not reward me for my contribution, but he also slandered me and took credit for my military achievements. He was so ungrateful, and he wanted Gao to continue to be his dog. With such a court and such a world, what hope can Gao have?"

... ...

The more Gao Pian spoke, the more excited he became. His eyes were wide open and his face was red. He was nowhere near as calm as when Zhu Li first saw him. He was like a child who got full marks on the exam but was still beaten by his parents, filled with righteous indignation and rage.

Gao Pian vented his anger, but found Zhu Li looking at him with a half-smile, and his expression became even more ashamed and angry. He said angrily: "If these things happened to you, what would you do?"

Zhu Li glanced at him indifferently, with a bit of sympathy and a bit of disdain, and said sternly: "Looking at the history of our Chinese people, all the great figures who stood at the top in the end were people with great perseverance and determination. Lord Gao was only slightly frustrated by the treacherous and cunning, and he was unable to recover. It's really chilling."