Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 105 The King is wise
Kou Liu stood there in horror, looking at the scene in the distance.

He was just about to go out when he heard the noise of someone climbing up the wall. He hurried out to check, only to see a ghost in red rushing towards him.

Kou Liu had never seen anything so horrible.

The guy was all red, and had a very long tongue that was swinging around as he ran.

Kou Liu was so frightened that he froze and dared not move.

But at this moment, the red-clothed ghost jumped off the wall on his own initiative. The next moment, he saw his brother flying out and directly hitting the red-clothed ghost, then riding on the other party and punching him twice.

Even from a distance, Kou Liu could feel that his brother was using all his strength. The sound of the two punches was so loud that Kou Liu could hear it clearly.

Kou Liu took a deep breath to give himself courage, then quickly walked down the wall and came to his brother's side.

When he lowered his head, he saw his brother pulling off the mask of the red ghost.

Under the mask was a foreign monk.

Liu Taozi threw the mask to Kou Liu. Kou Liu picked up the mask, but found that it was broken.

The Hu monk's face was covered in blood at this moment, and he just fell to the ground, motionless.

Taozi's few punches seemed to have sent him straight to bliss.

"Brother, are you here to assassinate me?"

"It's to scare people."

The one who answered Kou Liu was not Taozi, but a figure in the distance, a person slowly walked out from the shadows.

This person was the county magistrate Shi Yao.

Shi Yao's face was extremely solemn at the moment. He looked at Taozi and said, "Not only did you break my door, but now you are breaking into my yard in the middle of the night. How can this be allowed?"

Liu Taozi ignored him and looked at Kou Liu, "Carry this man up and go."

Shi Yao quickly caught up with them, and Liu Taozi let him catch up with her. Kou Liu brought the Hu monk into Liu Taozi's room and threw him on the ground, but he did not wake up.

Shi Yao was standing aside at this moment, observing Taozi's residence.

Kou Liu looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Brother, you are a little too harsh. How about I go find Chu Jiande?"

"Why save a ghost that harms people?"

Shi Yao spoke up immediately. He looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Even if we save him, he won't reveal anything. I've caught him before, and they all committed suicide."

Kou Liu looked at Tao Zi, who took a step forward and stepped directly on the ghost's neck. With a snap, the ghost's head tilted and it was completely gone.
Shi Yao was startled. He looked at Liu Taozi again and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

He shook his head, taking back the rest of his words, and ordered, "Please close the door, sir."

Kou Liu glanced at Taozi, and Taozi nodded, then he walked forward and closed the door.

Shi Yao looked down at the monk, "They are doing this again. Where are the ghosts? In the whole Liyang, the ghosts are all in the south of the city!"

"Those Hu monks colluded with the governor. They occupied a large amount of arable land. Half of the arable land in Liyang fell into their hands. A large number of people became their slaves. They also did other things. I really can't say much about their evil deeds!!"

Shi Yao suddenly became excited.

"The government, the wealthy families, and the temples are in collusion. The entire Liyang has been divided up by them!!"

"These three have an orderly division of labor and use various methods to rob. The ghost story is the most basic one."

"First, the foreign monks pretended to be ghosts, and then the government stepped in and used the grain from the county treasury to find the monks to worship Buddha. These monks pretended to go there. When the people learned that the evil ghost had been killed, they all went to pay homage."

"A year ago, the temple said there was an evil ghost that eats people and needed ten boys and girls. I was so angry that I led people to attack the temple, but was subdued."

The more Shi Yao spoke, the more excited he became. He suddenly possessed the evil ghost and tore off the red clothes on it. Then he stroked the clothes with pity, "The people are so innocent!"

Only then did Kou Liu notice that the red dress was real women's clothing, worn at weddings. For a moment, Kou Liu thought of countless disgusting things.

Liu Taozi signaled Kou Liu to take the body out, and then called his subordinates in. He then pulled Shi Yao to sit aside.

Shi Yao was still trying to calm himself down when soon, many of Liu Taozi's minions came in. Most of them were surprised to see the county magistrate sitting next to Taozi.

When everyone was present, Kou Liu told them what had happened tonight.

Everyone was shocked.

Tian Zili hurriedly said, "Brother! This is a good opportunity. The Hu monk is here to assassinate the officials. We can use this as an excuse to charge in directly!"

Shi Yao glanced at him and said to Liu Taozi, "This man under your command has courage but lacks strategy."

"I just said that Chongguang Temple is colluding with the governor. You are going to attack Chongguang Temple now. Is it smuggling or public?"

Tian Zili was stunned, "How about going public?"

Shi Yao shook his head and said, "If we go through the official route, we will publicly read out the evidence of the other party's crimes and use the power of the government to arrest people. However, in Liyang, the most powerful official is that bastard Lou Rui. As long as he is still in power, the county government has no say in official matters. The county government says that the other party is treasonous, but the prefect can absolve them of their crimes with just one word."

"So what if it's smuggling?"

"There are more than 700 warrior monks in Chongguang Temple, and the county government has a full staff of only 65. Liyang is not a seven-lieutenant county. There is no county lieutenant in the county. The county soldiers are all controlled by the county lieutenant. How can you attack Chongguang Temple with more than 60 people? Even if everyone can fight ten people, it is not enough. What's more, the governor can send people to intervene at any time."

Tian Zili finally frowned and said nothing more.

Looking at the people who were bowing their heads in deep thought, Shi Yao sighed again.

"If it was really that easy to deal with, how could I end up like this? It's useless. My official position is not as high as his, and my military strength is not as high as his. What else can I do?"

"We can only wait for the crown prince to inherit the throne. With Prime Minister Yang's virtue, he will definitely not condone these evil thieves. Once he drives away the main culprit, we can take action."

"What if Prime Minister Yang didn't take action?"

"What should I do?"

Liu Taozi suddenly interrupted the other party.

Shi Yao was stunned. He opened his mouth and said, "Then I..."

Liu Taozi continued, "If you only expect others to help you, you won't be able to accomplish anything. Shi Gong has been in this county for two years, so he must be familiar with everything going on in the city, right?"

Shi Yao understood Taozi's meaning. He looked at everyone again and began to tell the story slowly.

"The governor's name is Lou Rui, um, or Pilou Rui, with the courtesy name Foren, and he is the nephew of the current empress dowager."

"He followed Emperor Shenwu to Xindu to raise an army, and made many military achievements. He was appointed as the governor of Guangzhou. However, he was corrupt and committed evil while in office. He was reprimanded by Emperor Wenxiang and demoted. A few years ago, he was promoted to the position of prefect. When he came here, he continued to do evil."

"He was cruel, violent, extremely greedy, and demanded too much. He didn't care about the lives of the people under his rule."

"Liyang was originally rich and was the most important grain-producing county. Since this person came to power, it has been getting worse year by year. You have all seen the current situation."

"The Chongguang Temple was built less than ten years ago. It was built by the Hu monk Atu Shi, who had a great reputation. Later, Atu Shi died, and his disciple Ayana became the abbot. He acted recklessly, especially after Lou Rui took office, and the two parties colluded."

Shi Yao was indeed very familiar with the situation in the city, from officials at all levels to the history and current situation of Chongguang Temple.

He finally said, "There is another family, that is the family of Li Xianhou, who was bestowed as the Minister of Personnel. Li Xianhou was an upright person. When he was still alive, he often disciplined his clansmen and made them do good deeds. The Li family had a very good reputation. But after he passed away, the Li family members began to associate with Lou Rui, Ayanna and others, and together they bullied the people."

Through this person's explanation, everyone finally understood the major forces in Liyang.

The room was quiet, and everyone was lost in thought.

Shi Yao looked at Liu Taozi who was standing aside, "Do you understand now?"

"These three are in collusion. Unless there is thunder from heaven, there is no way to deal with them. Even if we report it to the imperial court, it will be useless. No one dares to touch the Queen Mother's relatives."

Liu Taozi remained calm, "What kind of Dharma Assembly was that you just mentioned?"

"Oh, in the beginning, it was a Buddhist conference. When Master A-Tu was still around, he often debated with great monks from all over the place, which attracted crowds of people to watch. That's how this grand conference came about. But now, it's just a dirty conference, with spoils being divided, lewdness, and ugliness beyond compare!!"

Shi Yao added, "You were not surprised when you heard about Lou Rui's background, nor were you afraid. I think he must have someone to rely on, or an elder in the court. I have a lot of evidence of his crimes. Can your elders punish him?"

Liu Taozi raised her head and said, "There are no parents."

"Mr. Liu is not a scholar. If he has no parents, then who does he rely on for this official position?"

Jinyang Palace.

The prince stood there timidly, wearing mourning clothes, with a dull look in his eyes, staring straight ahead.

Gao Yan, Gao Zhan, Gao Xi, Gao Yu, Gao Xi, Gao Ji, Gao Ning, Gao Run and other kings stood behind the prince.

All of them are handsome, tall, and beautiful in various ways. Standing together like this is truly a pleasure to the eyes.

Most of the people, led by Gao Yan, stood on Gao Yan's left and right, all with solemn faces, looking not far away. In the distance, a group of people appeared, surrounded by many warriors, and were walking quickly towards the prince.

After a while, the appearance of the people opposite became clear.

The leader was the Prime Minister Yang Yin.

Yang Yin, with his big belly and big strides, walked at the front, and behind him were many important ministers such as Yan Zixian, Zheng Zimo, and Song Qindao.

The warriors from Yecheng who followed Yang Xiang and others in continued to occupy the sentry posts on both sides of the palace road. The warriors from Jinyang had fierce light flashing in their eyes, and the two sides stared at each other.

Finally, Yang Yin led his men to the prince.

"Boom."

Yang Yin suddenly knelt down in front of the prince, "Your Highness, Yang Yin, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!!!"

After he took the lead, all the ministers knelt before the prince and shouted "Greetings".

At this moment, the prince suddenly woke up from his daze. His eyes finally had some light. After seeing Yang Yin, he seemed to come alive and timidly looked at the ministers in front of him, "Yang, Yang, Prime Minister Yang, please stand up."

Yang Yin bowed deeply again and then stood up.

Gao Yan stepped forward, waved his sleeves, and said loudly: "Come here, take you to see the late emperor."

At this moment, the faces of several ministers changed drastically, their eyes became alert, and they almost drew their swords.

Gao Yan suddenly lowered his voice and looked at Yang Yin gently, "Let's go and see the late emperor for the last time."

There was no fear in Yang Yin's eyes. He looked at the prince, "Your Highness, come to my side."

The prince took a few steps and stood in front of Yang Yin. Yang Yin then took his hand and led the ministers, without dodging, and walked directly towards the kings in front of him. Seeing that the two sides were about to collide, Gao Yan was the first to step aside, and the kings made way one after another. Yang Yin led the prince and strode away from them.

Gao Zhan stood beside Gao Yan, his eyes were rather unfriendly, "Brother."

"Don't say too much."

Gao Yan interrupted him, and then led the kings to catch up with the people in front.

Everyone came to Gao Yang's body.

"His Majesty!!"

"Your Majesty!!"

"How can I live?"

The important ministers began to cry loudly. Their cries were so loud that even the warriors on duty at the palace gate could hear their ghostly howlings.

They all covered their faces with their sleeves, but if you looked closely, there was not a trace of tears or grief on their faces. They even looked like they were relieved and could only cover their faces with their sleeves.

Only Yang Yin, at this moment, was sitting in the front row, looking at the motionless emperor. He did not cry out loud, but he could not stop tears from flowing as he sat there. He just sobbed softly, tears streaming down his face, and he looked extremely sad.

While the ministers were still crying, Yang Yin began to issue orders. He ordered people to make preparations to take the prince and His Majesty back to Yecheng and ascend the throne in Yecheng.

Gao Yan stepped forward again at this moment, "Prime Minister Yang. The late emperor has passed away, but the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. I think it is best to let the prince ascend the throne in Jinyang Palace."

Yang Yin looked at him with a sharp gaze, "Not right, Yecheng is the capital, why is he ascending the throne in Jinyang Palace? You should go back earlier."

"Please don't dissuade me, Your Majesty!"

Yang Yin's words were not very polite, but Gao Yan was not angry at all. He slowly took out the imperial edict from his pocket and handed it to Yang Yin in front of him.

Yang Yin took the imperial edict and asked, "What is this?"

"This is the Queen Mother's order, requiring Your Majesty to ascend the throne in Jinyang Palace. In addition, Your Majesty's state funeral will also be held in Jinyang Palace."

"Does Prime Minister Yang still feel that this is inappropriate?"

Yang Yin was silent for a moment, then looked at Gao Yan again, "Then it's in Jinyang."

After everyone left, Gao Yan returned to his temporary palace.

As soon as he came back, someone was waiting for him.

The person who came was Gao Xi, King of Gaoyang.

Gao Xi looked quite nervous. When he saw Gao Yan, he smiled and narrowed his eyes, "Sixth Brother, you are finally back!"

Gao Yan was a little surprised. He changed his clothes and led him to the inner room. "Xi, what do you want to see me for?"

Gao Xi lowered his head and tried to speak several times, but no words came out.

Seeing his expression, Gao Yan guessed his concerns and said, "Are you afraid that the kings will seek revenge on you?"

Gao Xi quickly knelt down in front of him, his face full of grievance, "Sixth brother, I didn't do it on purpose before, it was Second brother who insisted on hitting me, what could I do? Now Second brother is gone, the other brothers ignore me, today they gathered together to chat, I just walked up to them, and they walked away."

Gao Xi started sobbing, "How could you treat me like this, brother?"

When Gao Yang was still in power, Gao Xi often flattered Gao Yang and even plotted against the kings in front of him, so that Gao Yang would often find opportunities to beat the kings. Sometimes, Gao Xi would simply take a stick and beat the kings himself.

But now, Gao Yang is gone, and the looks the kings gave Gao Xi became a little strange.

This made Gao Xi extremely panicked, so he thought of seeking refuge from Gao Yan.

Gao Yan sat on the upper seat with a sullen face, "At the beginning, I advised you to put your brothers first and not harm your brothers for the sake of some rewards, but you didn't listen and instead told His Majesty what I said!"

Gao Xi shuddered, "I I."

"Isn't it your own fault that the brothers hate you so much now?"

"Sixth brother!! I know I was wrong!!"

Gao Yan sighed, "In the future, you must not forget what happened today. Only when brothers are in harmony can great things be accomplished. I will tell them not to seek revenge, but you must also correct your mistakes and reflect on yourself three times a day. Can you do it?"

"Yes! It must be possible!"

"Then get out!"

Gao Xi stood up and just walked to the door, he turned back and said, "Sixth brother! There is one more thing!"

"You said."

"Gao Changgong from my eldest brother's family was very rude to me. In pursuit of fame, he took in many dead people, causing Cheng'an to be full of bandits and causing chaos in the capital. Now that the current emperor is gone, please punish him severely, Sixth Brother!"

Gao Yan was furious. "I just told you not to attack your family members again. Aren't the children of my eldest brother your relatives?"

"Bring me the whip!!"

Gao Yan immediately whipped Gao Xi a few times. Gao Xi begged for mercy again and again and promised that he would never target his relatives again. Only then was Gao Yan driven him out.

After dealing with these things, Gao Yan just felt a headache. He was rubbing his forehead and wanted to call a few younger brothers together when another guest came to his residence.

The messenger came from Liyang and brought a letter from his cousin Lou Rui.

The messenger knelt on the ground, and King Changshan looked at the letter carefully. After reading for a while, he frowned and pondered for a moment.

"That County Magistrate Liu is really outrageous! How can he bully others by taking advantage of his power?!"

Gao Yan suddenly spoke. He looked at the messenger and smiled. "I am busy with many things. I will not reply to your letter. You go back and tell my cousin that I will definitely control County Magistrate Liu and will not let him cause too much trouble to my cousin."

"But, I would also like to trouble my cousin to help me look after them so that my family members will not be bullied by villains."

The messenger trembled all over, accepted the order tremblingly, turned around and ran.

After the messenger left, Wang Xi stepped forward and picked up the letter, his face full of astonishment, "County magistrate? How could the king know a small county magistrate?"

"I do not recognize."

"The King just now..."

"This Lou Rui relied on my mother's power and was greedy and brought disaster to the local area. My eldest brother reprimanded him several times, but he never corrected himself. Liyang is now short of food and cannot afford to pay tribute. Perhaps it is because of him."

"Lu Yao is my relative, and I know his character. He is a dutiful, generous, and good government official. He is a wise official. The person who can be recommended by him so hard must be a good talent."

"Why not help good people suppress evildoers and solve local evil politics?"

"Your Majesty is wise!!!"

ps: The emperor was intelligent and knowledgeable, deep and decisive, and could not be guessed. He was eight feet tall, with a waist of ten feet, and his appearance was unique. Since he was in the government, he paid attention to political skills, was idle and clear about the bookkeeping, which was beyond the reach of the officials. When he took the throne, he was more diligent, lightened the taxes and levies, was diligent in caring for the people, had no private favors at home, and recruited people from outside. Although he was promoted to the position of his father, he was no different. ——"Book of Northern Qi·Biography of Xiao Zhao"

(End of this chapter)