Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 110 He looks like my uncle!
Liyang County Government Office.

Several Qihu musicians were playing strange musical instruments. They were extremely engrossed in the performance, their eyes closed and their heads nodding gently to the music.

There was another person sitting in front of them, humming a song softly. Lou Rui didn't understand the lyrics, but he felt that the song was quite desolate and sad, and he listened with great gusto.

Beside him, there were several scantily clad dancers who stuck to Lou Rui and swayed their bodies to the music. Their bodies seemed to be boneless, and they coiled around Lou Rui like spirit snakes, dispersing the desolation and sadness brought by the music.

Lou Rui held the wine cup in his hand, took a sip of the fine wine, closed his eyes, and hummed softly along with the musician.

At this moment, someone suddenly broke in from outside.

"Master! It's bad! The local tyrants in Dongli Township are rebelling!"

Lou Rui suddenly opened his eyes, and there was no smile on his face anymore. At this moment, he seemed like a different person. His eyes were sharp, and there was no friendliness or kindness at all. He pushed away the dancer in front of him.

"Gather all the cavalrymen in the palace and bring me my armor."

Soon, the gate of the county government office was slowly pushed open, and Lou Rui rode out on a war horse and led the way.

As soon as he came out, he saw a group of knights gathered at the county government office opposite.

The leader was Liu Taozi, and the rest were patrol officers, mounted officials, etc.

Lou Rui waved to Liu Taozi, who led the crowd and rode to him. When they were about to dismount, Lou Rui waved his hand and said, "Warfare has military law, not etiquette."

Yao Xiong and a few others looked at the prefect. The prefect was not wearing armor. He was still wearing the clothes he wore when he came to find Taozi. However, his expression looked a little solemn, completely different from the last time he saw him.

Lou Rui didn't ask any more questions. He waved his hand and led everyone out.

The team of knights guarding Lou Rui who followed him seemed to have more than fifty people. Just by looking at their hairstyle and beards, one could tell their identities.

Their appearance was quite similar to those Xianbei knights brought by Cheng'an Changsun Wei. At first glance, they were professional cavalrymen who had actually fought in battles and killed people.

But they were not wearing armor, and the same was true for their war horses. They didn't even have spears, only horse bows.

In addition, they had more than one warhorse. In addition to the warhorses they rode, there were two extra warhorses following them. The other two warhorses were carrying large packages. Yao Xiong looked at them carefully and they seemed to be armor.

The group drove quickly on the main road in the city, all the way to the East Gate. The people along the road had already hidden themselves, and no one stopped them.

Lou Rui rode on a tall horse and looked around, "Has my nephew ever fought in a war?"

"Never."

"That's a bit inappropriate. At this age, you should fight."

Lou Rui muttered a few words, then suddenly stretched out his hand and called three people over. After a few words, these people rode away quickly.

Lou Rui watched them disappear, slowly took out a yellowed paper from his arms, and looked at Taozi again, "Can you understand the map?"

Peach shook her head.

"The first is the ratio. The ratio is the ratio between the distance and area on the map and the actual area. This is a county map. Liyang is a small county, so the ratio is 1:15,000. In addition, there are county maps, state maps, and multi-state maps. The ratio of each map is different."

"The ratios of the Pseudo-Zhou and Pseudo-Chen are also different. The county ratio of the Pseudo-Zhou map is 1:80,000. The Pseudo-Chen used to use 1:180,000."

"That dotted line is Fang Xie, used to mark the height of the terrain."

Liu Taozi looked down at the map in her hand and listened to Lou Rui's story.

"Please point out to me where the enemy is currently located."

Liu Taozi pointed to a place with her hand.

"Yuanpo."

Lou Rui's eyes flashed with surprise, "How can you be sure?"

"They killed officials and rebelled, so they dared not stay in the village. There were cities on two sides and water on one side, so they could only run south. There were many high slopes in the south, and only here was relatively flat and the road was convenient for walking. If they brought their families and baggage with them, they probably took this road."

"Okay!"

Lou Rui laughed, "As expected of my son, he has some talent!"

"It is necessary to understand the map. Then, there are scouts. A team of fifty people must have three scouts to travel light and take care of each other. If it is a team of one hundred, there must be ten scouts, divided into two groups. If it is a single group, then at least fifty scouts are needed. The larger the number of troops, the more scouts are needed. The number of places to be stationed also increases. Scouts are not only sent to the front, but also have to stay in the rear. They must keep their distance and be able to convey changes from all sides to the central army in a timely manner."

Lou Rui, who doesn't look very smart, is talking a lot at this moment. He speaks without pause and at a very fast speed.

"When going out to fight, if there are no auxiliary soldiers, each person must prepare three horses. When traveling, the knights and horses cannot be armored. If you are going to fight outside the border, then divide the soldiers into three groups and take turns to wear armor."

Lou Rui's fat and ugly face also became somewhat unfathomable at this moment.

He said this all the way. He was not in a hurry to travel. After leaving the city, the group slowed down and moved forward at a neither fast nor slow pace. Lou Rui told Taozi that Da Qi's marching speeds were divided into eight types, all with unspoken regulations, including marching speeds for different situations such as going to war, rescuing, transporting food, returning to the army, and going out of the border. How to maintain the marching speed and how to prevent the subordinates from dying while marching is also a big question.

At this moment, dust suddenly rose in the distance. There was no surprise on Lou Rui's face. He signaled everyone to stop and looked quietly into the distance.

Soon, the group rushed in front of the knights.

A scout led Zhao Kai and others, and county soldiers followed behind.

Seeing Lou Rui, Zhao Kai took a few steps, knelt down in front of Lou Rui, and started crying.

"Lord Lou! Wu Xiaozhi had evil intentions! He pretended to agree, and then suddenly attacked me. I didn't check for a while, and I fell into his ambush, resulting in many casualties. I am guilty!!"

He cried loudly, tears streaming down his face. People who didn't know him would have thought he had suffered a great injustice.

Lou Rui looked calm as he looked at Liu Taozi standing beside him. "If we are fighting against the Western Hu and Southern Barbarians, and we encounter people like this who are trying to disrupt the morale of the army, we can just drag them out and kill them."

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Juncheng's crying stopped abruptly.

He still had the look of crying with his head tilted back, but no sound came out of his mouth and he didn't move.

Lou Rui didn't even look at him, he looked directly at the scout, "How is it?"

"They went to Yu'anpo. Judging from their traces, there were about a thousand people, with horse carriages, and brought their families and supplies. We captured a person who escaped alive. According to his account, there were more than 40 horseback guards."

The scouts discovered a lot from the traces left by the enemy on the road.

"If you are fighting against foreign invaders, don't trust these traces. Traces can be faked. Maybe they are meant to lure you into pursuit. But for these rioters, Zhao Kai, take the county soldiers and get out! The rest of you, follow me!"

At Lou Rui's order, he quickened the pace of the march, and the sound of horse hooves became louder and louder.

"Taozi, how do you think we should wipe out these thieves?"

Liu Taozi said slowly: "There is no need to engage in direct battle. We can first use light cavalry to intimidate and drive them away, causing them to become confused and flee in all directions. Then we can pursue them and win."

"Oh?? You've learned the art of war?"

"No, I just watched people hunting."

"Hahaha, hunting? Yes, war and hunting do have something in common!"

Lou Rui's marching speed was getting faster and faster. The distance between Dongli and Liyang was very short. They were knights, so they were chasing very fast. Lou Rui frowned, took out the map, and looked at Taozi. "You lead 20 people to cross the high slope directly and block them from the front. Don't get close to them. Just attack and shoot them from both sides. If you encounter their chieftain, you can shoot him directly."

"only."

Liu Taozi brought his own men and selected two more squads from Lou Rui's army and quickly left from the left.

Lou Rui continued on his way. A knight watched him leave and looked at him puzzledly, "Master, why do you value this kid so much? Although the King of Changshan is famous, you are also a royal family member. He is just a small county magistrate. Why do you give him a sword, teach him, and reward him with merits?"

"Hahaha, you know what, I always felt that this guy looked familiar. I thought about it for a long time at night and finally figured it out!"

"Oh?"

"This kid behaves just like my uncle!!"

"Just wait and see, he will become a great man sooner or later!"

A long line of people and horses walked continuously on the road.

Everyone lowered their heads. There were servants carrying heavy bags. Many carriages were full, and there were all kinds of beauties, who were also sitting in the carriages, hugging each other and crying.

There were guards riding on fine horses, running back and forth, waving whips in their hands and asking everyone to speed up.

The old horse lowered its head and struggled to move forward. The grain on the cart was piled like a mountain, and the road was uphill. The old horse's hooves were trembling, but the driver ignored it and just kept whipping it.

The old horse neighed unwillingly and fell down.

The entire convoy was blocked, with some people screaming, crying, and cursing. A slave was walking on the road, and when he saw the patrolling knights walking away, he dropped his bag, rushed to the side of the road, and began to flee.

There were big dogs barking, flocks of chickens tied to carts, screaming in fear, and dozens of horse-drawn carriages moving slowly forward.

Wu Xiaozhi was riding a big horse. He was fat to begin with, and riding a horse quickly was very torturous for him. The wound on his arm was aching slightly. He turned around and looked at the slow-moving convoy, and became furious.

"Why are you so slow?! The old and weak have already been thrown out, but you're still walking so slowly?!"

"Go pick up the knife and see whoever is lazy and give him a hand!"

Hearing his words, the servant beside him hurriedly said: "Master, there are too many things to carry. The caravan is too bloated!"

"The situation is critical. It is better to abandon all the miscellaneous things, take the young and strong, abandon the car, and escape on horseback."

"fart!!"

Wu Xiaozhi shouted angrily: "This is what my family has accumulated for generations. How can I just give it away? If I do this, wouldn't I be unworthy of my reputation and become an unfilial person?"

The doorman's lips trembled.

Because of the conflict with the soldiers, Wu Xiaozhi's old father was so frightened that he had a stroke and fainted. Wu Xiaozhi abandoned his old father at home and ran away with everyone and their property. Now, what is he talking about filial piety? ?
Wu Xiaozhi urged again and again, and the guards on horseback cursed all the way, and the front of the convoy was separated and in chaos.

Just at this moment, loud horse hoof sounds came from in front of them, and the ground shook slightly.

Wu Xiaozhi immediately looked into the distance and saw more than twenty people emerging from the front. They were all riding horses, not wearing heavy armor, holding large bows, and staring at everyone fiercely.

At this moment, everyone's fear finally reached its peak.

They howled miserably, and the rear of the convoy had already started to run away.

"What are you afraid of?!"

"But it is"

"Whoosh!!!"

The arrow flew and pierced Wu Xiaozhi's neck directly. Before Wu Xiaozhi could finish his words, he fell off the horse.

The retainer immediately jumped off his horse and knelt on the ground, "Please surrender!"

Yao Xiong was still shooting arrows. When he saw Wu Xiaozhi fall to the ground, he looked at Liu Taozi. He looked a little shy and said, "Haha, I hit it."

At Liu Taozi's command, the cavalrymen began to attack, but they did not fight directly. They rode their horses and galloped past the two sides of the convoy. While galloping, they picked up bows and arrows and began to shoot. Arrows fell like raindrops, and the guards fell to the ground one after another.

Several guards wanted to fight back, but the knights were so fast, like a gust of wind passing by not far away, and they were shot by arrows and fell to the ground one after another. Not to mention fighting back, even running away was not an easy task.

The Xianbei knights rode and shot again and again, and under the leadership of Liu Taozi, they returned along the same route. On the way back, they continued to shoot and kill those who were capable of resisting and organizing the crowd.

Everyone in the convoy was shouting. They no longer cared about their property or resistance. They almost fled in all directions.

Liu Taozi commanded everyone to block their way forward and drive them away from three sides. If anyone passed through them, they would be shot dead.

It was like a pack of wolves biting a herd of deer. Hungry wolves suddenly ran out from all directions, intimidating the deer and driving them away, causing the deer to retreat continuously and escape in the direction they wanted.

The people in Wujiabao cried and ran away, but no matter how they ran, there were always people around them who were shot by arrows and fell to the ground, which stimulated them to keep running.

Liu Taozi drove the people of the Wu family along this path, making them run all the way back. Occasionally, someone could not run any longer and fell on the road, and was immediately pounced on and bitten to death by the "hungry wolves" behind them.

They didn't know how long they had been running. They were all breathless and trembling. At this moment, more than thirty well-equipped Xianbei knights stood quietly on their escape road.

The next scene was just the knight catching up with the man and then killing him. This could not be considered a battle at all, but just a one-sided massacre.

The strong guard who usually boasted about his martial arts in front of the villagers now became a lamb to be slaughtered. He only knew how to run around, and was caught up from behind by the knight and pierced with a spear.

The engagement was soon over.

Lou Rui was riding on his warhorse, his expression not changing at all.

Many knights were scattered in various places, and beside the hooves of their war horses were various corpses lying flat.

The old horse in the distance lowered its head, and the carriage was still full of cargo.

Lou Rui suddenly laughed.

"This family is so welcoming. They've loaded all the stuff into the car and prepared everything for us!"

He looked at Liu Taozi and said, "My dear nephew, I'm leaving Dongli to you. This is not an equal distribution, it's a rebellion. You should know what to do."

"Finish your work here first, then come back to see me!"

After giving the order, Lou Rui took the lead and left. Many Xianbei knights followed him without hesitation. They flew out like a hurricane, quickly disappeared in the distance, and rolled up clouds of dust.

Tian Zili frowned and watched them go away, then whispered: "Rebellion is really not easy."

Liu Taozi glanced at him and said, "Send someone to call some county officials to take the things back and copy the Wu family's land deeds and house deeds."

Everyone started to get busy. In fact, there was no need to confiscate the Wu family's property. They took out almost everything they could, even the dogs, chickens, and sheep they kept at home.

The entire Dongli Township was extremely quiet at this moment. Their tenants and some lucky families still didn't know what had happened.

Taozi and others were busy here for a whole day and only returned with a full load the next day.

When they returned to Liyang City with their belongings and captives, Liyang was distributing food.

There were already crowds of people at the gate of the county government, and the people came in order.

Officials verified their household registration, farmland, tax records, etc., and then asked them to move the grain. County soldiers were now maintaining order around them, walking back and forth.

The three gates of the county government were almost all blocked.

Shi Yao was sitting not far away, monitoring this group of people. Distributing food relief was often the area where corruption occurred most frequently, so he had to keep an eye on it personally before he could feel at ease.

"Name!"

"Wang Shun."

"address!"

"No. 5 Courtyard, No. 1, Chengbeilouzi Street."

"Well, Wang Shunhu, a peddler, was granted 40 mu of land and 20 mu of mulberry fields."

"Sir! My family really doesn't have that much land, only three acres."

"Okay, no need to say more, this is yours, go over there and get the food!"

Wang Shun walked to the other side trembling. The official looked at his credentials. A county soldier carried a large bag of millet and threw it in front of him. He turned back and got another large bag.

"Wang Shunhu, the total amount of millet is one stone."

Wang Shun trembled as he carried the big bag on his back. It was quite strenuous. He obviously couldn't lift the second bag. He was sweating profusely and tried hard to pull it. The clerk shouted, "Carry it one bag at a time!!"

Wang Shun's whole body was bent over. He walked on the road with difficulty, his forehead covered with sweat. That half stone of millet was definitely not light, especially since Wang Shun was short and thin. But he didn't feel tired at all.

He walked to the door of his house with great difficulty, "Mom!! Open the door!! Open the door!!"

An old woman tremblingly opened the door. Wang Shun brought the food in and walked all the way to the warehouse before putting the things down.

He looked up, his face full of smiles.

"Half a stone of rice, mother, half a stone of rice! We have something to eat!"

"You cook first, and I'll get half a stone now!"

The old woman held his hand, her face full of worry: "My son, you left home so early in the morning, where did you get the food?"

"The county government is releasing grain! Distributing it to each household, Mr. Liu, he is a living Bodhisattva!!"

"With one stone of millet, at least this winter, we don't have to be afraid anymore."

Wang Shun said this happily, but tears were streaming down his face.

(End of this chapter)