Chapter 102 The Head of the Bai Family

Pingcheng.

Located 300 miles away from Dongcheng, this area is the Bai family's ancestral territory.

The four major families had fought each other in the early years, but eventually decided to divide the city into districts. As a result, the Huang family controlled a part of the capital city, mainly the eastern part.

The eastern part of Liaodong belongs to the Bai family.

The west side belongs to the Xu family.

The northern area belongs to the Guo family.

These four families have developed a tacit understanding over the years, and can be described as being of the same blood and closely connected with each other.

So on the very night the Huang family was in trouble, someone rushed out on horseback to deliver the news.

At this time, the Bai family was still completely unaware of the Huang family's affairs in Dongcheng.

Not only that, the prefect of Pingcheng, like a little dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy, came to the Bai family with a generous gift to plead for their life.

The people were increasingly indignant and threatened to cause trouble if they couldn't buy food. Although the Prefect of Pingcheng held a high-ranking position, he couldn't afford to offend anyone in such a serious matter.

However, the Prefect of Pingcheng came three times in a row. The first two times, the head of the Bai family refused to see him. The last time, although he met the head of the Bai family, the other party did not give him a good look and he was left feeling humiliated.

There was really no other way. Pingcheng was under the jurisdiction of Beiliao Prefecture, so the governor of Beiliao Prefecture had no choice but to swallow his pride and personally come to the Bai family to persuade the head of the family.

Halfway there, Prefect Cui carried the gifts prepared by the Governor in both hands.

This gift is quite expensive!

The Bai family patriarch's wealth is several million taels of silver. While not quite as rich as a country, his wealth is enough to rival that of a prince with a fiefdom. What kind of food hasn't he seen? What kind of rare treasure doesn't he have at home?

The magistrate had spent a long time preparing and pondering before coming up with the gift: a jade seal that had been seized and sealed after the defeat and death of the former Liaodong King.

This jade seal is now useless in the Han Dynasty, but as a collectible, it is the only one of its kind in the world.

If it is passed down for one or two hundred years, it will become an unparalleled treasure. If it can continue to be passed down for three to five hundred years, it will become a priceless treasure. Even the phrase "priceless" cannot describe it!

In addition, several jars of fine fifty-year-old aged wine were prepared before the magistrate dared to come to the prefecture to request an audience.

"Young man at the door, this is my master's visiting card. Please present it to Mr. Bai."

The governor appeared extremely respectful, presenting the visiting card with both hands.

The gatekeeper, seeing that the man was dressed in official robes, knew he was not to be trifled with. Upon further inspection of the name on the visiting card, he realized that it was the prefectural magistrate himself who had come to pay his respects. He immediately got up and went back to report.

Before long, the gates of the Bai family mansion opened.

With a creak, the mansion gate opened, but strangely, no one came out to greet them.

That's really strange!

To be honest, the magistrate of a prefecture is a high-ranking official in charge of a region, holding the rank of first grade.

Although the head of the Bai family is extremely powerful, he is just a commoner without any official rank or title. Why is he so rude and offends the magistrate?

One of the officials who had come with the prefect immediately became somewhat displeased:

"These people from the Bai family are far too rude! Your Excellency is a high-ranking official of the first rank, and they have no sense of propriety at all!"

This subordinate originally wanted to curry favor with his superior and flatter him.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, he was slapped hard by the governor.

The official's face stung from the slap. He couldn't understand why his superior, who was usually so gentle, would hit him like this today.

Before he could even complain, the magistrate angrily rebuked him:

"Stop spouting such nonsense, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Although Old Master Bai does not hold an official title, there are hundreds of officials in the court who all call him Master Bai. This is because Old Master Bai's second son holds the second-rank position of Scholar in the court, and he recommends talented people from all over the country to the court. The people he recommends treat him as a mentor and all treat him with the respect due to a disciple. Does Old Master Bai's status need any further explanation?"

Actually, this is only one aspect.

The Bai family has a daughter who is the principal wife of Du Jun, a founding meritorious official of the Later Han Dynasty. Du Jun currently holds the official position of Right General of the Later Han Dynasty, commanding 30,000 troops.

The eldest son of the Bai family head is an official in the imperial court, holding the rank of first grade.

Don't underestimate this first-rank official. His second son is a second-rank scholar, and recommending talents for the court is just a matter of a word. After all, the Later Han Dynasty doesn't have many people, and not many people are literate. Liu Laowu has no choice but to continue to entrust the selection of talents to the aristocratic families.

This second son alone is someone that no one in the court can afford to offend.

The eldest son of the Bai family head is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a first-rank official. In the entire Ministry of Personnel, the Vice Minister is the top leader, and the Vice Minister is the second-in-command.

The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of evaluating and assessing officials throughout the country. Even a fourth or fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel would be treated with great respect by high-ranking officials of the second or third rank in the court. Otherwise, they might add a few words to your year-end evaluation, and you might be demoted or lose your position the following year. In severe cases, you might even be dismissed from office or punished.

That's how powerful they are. Just because of these two sons, even the governor has to treat them with utmost respect.

After a while, the people inside came out, and finally, some words were spread:

"Our sir invites you all in for a chat."

The magistrate, accompanied by the prefect and his officials, arrived at the Bai family's spacious, palatial reception room as if granted a general amnesty.

"The student pays respects to Mr. Bai!"

Upon meeting the magistrate, he immediately knelt on the ground, displaying an extremely humble posture that left even his attendants stunned.

“Your Excellency is an official, and I am but a commoner. There has never been a rule that an official should kneel before a commoner. Men, quickly help Your Excellency up.”

As Old Master Bai spoke, he didn't even raise his head, nor did he glance at the kneeling magistrate.

The magistrate was quick-witted; his words immediately became as sweet as honey.

"What are you saying, sir? Your son has countless students in the court, and many officials are his students. Since you are the father of my teacher, you are a master of literature. Although I am an official, I am still young. It is my honor to call myself a student in front of a master. If you refuse my kindness, sir, you would really look down on me."

Look at what real flattery looks like.

The subordinate official's few words had just offended the horse's hooves, but now the prefect's long speech had finally brought a smile to the face of the Bai family head.

"Very well, since you are willing to become my disciple, then call me up and answer."

The magistrate immediately presented the jade seal of the former King of Liaodong, holding it in both hands:

"Teacher, this is my gift to you. Please accept it."

At this moment, the head of the Bai family narrowed his eyes slightly and said:

"What kind of treasure is it?"

"It is an imperial seal."

Upon hearing that it was an imperial seal, the Bai family head immediately picked up the box and began to examine it. He naturally knew the origin of this item, and his excitement immediately grew, his tone softening considerably.

"Someone, bring a seat and some tea."