Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 135 Leaking Secrets
The training ground was brightly lit.

I saw many Xianbei knights taking off their armor and roasting meat in the campfire in front of them.

They were talking loudly and excitedly.

Some people were eating meat, while others couldn't help singing loudly.

They were all celebrating today's great victory. Human heads were hung on a wooden fence not far away, and each head looked at the carnival indifferently.

Yao Xiong and others were drunk at the moment, with particularly bright smiles on their faces.

The crowd formed a circle and started to make loud noises.

Inside the circle, Gao Yanzong and Liu Taozi were confronting each other. Gao Yanzong lowered his body, ready to pounce at any time, while Liu Taozi just stood there, relaxed and looking nonchalant.

Gao Yanzong walked around Liu Taozi for a long time. Suddenly, he roared, pounced forward and tried to grab Liu Taozi's shoulders.

Liu Taozi took a step back, grabbed the fat boy's shoulders, and pulled him to the ground.

Gao Yanzong fell headfirst to the ground, his nose bleeding again, and he felt dizzy, but he was not angry at all. He raised his head and laughed, and the people around him cheered.

He stood up again, asked for a stick, and rushed forward again.

What follows is the scene where Gao Yanzong is ravaged in various ways.

He first tried hand-to-hand combat, sticks, wooden swords, bows and many other methods, but no matter what, he was no match for Liu Taozi, who could often subdue him with just one blow.

Liu Taozi did not hold back at all and started fighting as soon as he said he would. Everyone who watched his punch was frightened.

But the little fat boy was able to get up again after being hit by the punch, rubbed the wound, and revealed an extremely ugly smile.

Apart from anything else, his ability to take a beating is something that few people can match.

Even with a wooden stick, Liu Taozi's stick was merciless. It hit Gao Yanzong's body with an impact that even made a sound of breaking air. There were a few times when everyone thought Gao Yanzong was really going to be beaten to death.

Unexpectedly, he was able to get up.

Yao Xiong and others initially looked down on the fat boy in front of them and despised him, shouting and yelling when he fell down. However, seeing him getting up again and again and charging forward again and again, everyone stopped laughing at him and instead kept cheering for him.

And this little fat boy is really talented and learns very quickly. Sometimes he even wants to use Taozi's skills to subdue Taozi.

His progress was so fast that everyone could even see it with the naked eye.

The fat boy swung the stick and smashed it hard at Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi changed his attack and directly knocked the fat boy's stick away. The fat boy then hit Liu Taozi's chest. Liu Taozi took a half step back and hit the fat boy on the back with his elbow. The fat boy fell to the ground immediately.

Gao Yanzong slowly raised his head and said with a big laugh: "I hit it! I hit it!!"

Everyone cheered.

After Gao Yanzong finished speaking, he fell down.

Chu Jiande rushed over and checked his body. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "It's fine, it's fine. Just apply some medicine and it will be fine! Let's carry him back!"

Everyone laughed again.

At the entrance to the parade ground, Magistrate Lu, Magistrate Zheng, and County Magistrate Cheng were sitting together. There was no one around them, not even a county official.

Well, all the county officials were dismissed by Gao Yanzong on the grounds that they were spies sent in by the Cui family.

In an instant, the three of them were left alone, with no one available by their side.

This time, Gao Yanzong held a celebration banquet at the parade ground. The good news was that all three of them were invited, but the bad news was that no one paid attention to them.

The three of them sat at the outermost door, watching Gao Yanzong and Liu Taozi's subordinates having fun, but they felt out of place.

Governor Lu took a sip of the bitter wine, his face remained calm and unmoved.

Even when the second branch of the Cui family was attacked, he was not in a hurry at all.

Anyway, things have come to this point, it doesn’t matter if you think about it anymore, so who cares?

The other two were feeling a little uneasy at this moment.

Just as they were drinking, Liu Taozi suddenly appeared in front of them. Governor Lu chuckled, "Mr. Liu is here, please sit down, please sit down, we haven't even had a drink yet!"

After seeing Liu Taozi beating Gao Yanzong severely, Governor Lu became much more polite to Liu Taozi, and every time he looked at him, he was kind and amiable.

Liu Taozi sat among them.

Governor Lu continued, "Mr. Liu is young and promising. I really envy him. I just don't know his real name."

"My name is Liu Taozi."

"Oh"

Governor Lu nodded, his face full of sincerity, "I see, I misunderstood."

County Magistrate Zheng glanced at Liu Taozi secretly, cursing in his heart: If I trust you again, I will be your grandson!

What about Liu Taozi? He can speak fluent Xianbei language, use Xianbei's cavalry and archery tactics, and can fight with the Gao clan. He is obviously the son of some Xianbei noble.

I just don’t know how Yang Gong got mixed up with the Xianbei people. However, Yang Gong also married a princess from the royal family, so it makes sense that he has good friends among them.

Cheng Zhe had a stern face, but he was very upset.

It turns out he is a prominent figure. If I had known this earlier, I would have followed him to do things. Why would I end up like this?

Liu Taozi slowly spoke, "Zheng County Magistrate, do you remember what I told you a few days ago?"

"Ah, Shutian, I remember, of course I remember."

"It's already the first year of the year, so spring isn't far away, right?"

“Not far away.”

"Then can the land granting be carried out?"

Prefect Lu was a little curious. He looked at County Magistrate Zheng, who quickly told him what Liu Taozi had said. Prefect Lu nodded and said, "This is good news! Good news!"

"Mr. Zheng, start doing it now!"

He looked at Liu Taozi again, "I plan to implement it in all four counties of the prefecture. What do you think, Mr. Liu?"

"That's great. I'm planning to take some time to visit other counties."

"Hahaha."

Governor Lu smiled awkwardly, "As a county official, it is only natural for Mr. Liu to visit the counties."

He looked at Cheng Zhe hurriedly, "Mr. Cheng, how about you take charge of this matter?"

The two men nodded, and Liu Taozi said, "Attacking the great clans is not my purpose for coming here, but granting land is. If you can accomplish this, I will definitely ask for credit for you to the imperial court."

Hearing these words, Zheng and Cheng's eyes lit up.

However, Prefect Lu was unmoved. At his level, even if Liu Taozi's backers were powerful, he did not need to ask for credit for himself. Prefect Lu's own backers might not be smaller than the other party's.

But for Zheng He and Cheng, they really needed this backer.

Even if they didn't want to participate, they had already participated. Since there was no turning back, they might as well follow Liu Taozi all the way to the end. Who knows, they might get promoted? ? If they have a noble person to protect them in the future, they can also do things as unscrupulously as Liu Taozi!
They agreed immediately and prepared to take back the granted land, conduct a thorough investigation, and then redistribute it.

Governor Lu narrowed his eyes and looked at Liu Taozi hesitantly.

Is Yang Yin really the person sent by Yang Yin?
The issue of grain and farmland was mentioned by someone in the court, but that person was not Yang Yin but a certain prince of the royal family, who was the most powerful contender for the imperial power.

But isn't he very close to the Cui family?
No, that's not right.

Governor Lu fell into deep thought, and like him was Cui Jishu, who was imprisoned in a separate courtyard.

Cui Gang was secretly watching the revelry outside through the crack in the gate and informed Cui Jishu of the situation outside.

"Father, what is going on? Is it true that the governor has come? Why would the governor come to attack my family?"

Cui Gang had tear marks on his face at this moment, and he was crying very aggrievedly.

Cui Jishu looked confused at the moment and kept muttering to himself.

"He was sent by Yang Yin. He was promoted by the Lu family, the son of Liu Taozhi. The Lu family was married to the King of Changshan. Yang Yin promoted him to attack the Cui family and subdue the Xianbei. King Ande protected him."

Cui Jishu now has a lot of clues in front of him, and he even knows a lot of secrets about Liu Taozi, such as his identity, his origins, and his previous actions.

But even someone as strong as Cui Jishu had no way of connecting these clues.

This doesn't make any fucking sense!!
Cui Jishu covered his head in pain.

I can’t tell the difference!!!
Yecheng.

Inside the palace, the lights were bright, and shadows flashed from time to time. In the huge hall, there was only a skinny old lady sitting there. Next to her, there was a female official kneeling.

The old lady, who was none other than Empress Dowager Lou, was holding Buddhist beads in her hands and slowly turning them. She closed her eyes and had a kind look on her face.

The lady-in-waiting whispered something.

Suddenly, Empress Dowager Lou opened her eyes abruptly, with a fierce light flashing in her eyes, which was extremely scary.

"Is everything you said true?!"

The female official shuddered and said quickly, "It's true. I followed Queen Mother Li to worship Buddha several times. She said in person that she wanted to kill the two princes and depose the Queen Mother."

Empress Dowager Lou laughed at this moment, her laughter was hoarse and powerful.

"How can we let mother and son be at the mercy of this Han woman?!"

"Okay, okay, I didn't want to get involved in these things, but now this Han woman wants to murder me and my son?!"

“You did a great job!!”

"Don't tell anyone about this. If you do, I will chop off your head!"

"only!!"

Empress Dowager Lou sent the female official away, then called a palace maid and whispered something to her.

Afterwards, she continued to sit here, motionless, and no one knew how long she had been sitting there. Finally, a person walked in cautiously and knelt in front of Empress Dowager Lou. This person was Lou Rui.

Lou Rui bowed, "Nephew greets aunt!!"

Empress Dowager Lou raised her head and looked at him, "There is something I need to let you know."

"Please give me your orders, Auntie!!"

Empress Dowager Lou informed Lou Rui of what happened with the female official just now. Lou Rui was immediately furious. He suddenly jumped up, his fat body trembling, "Aunt!! Although I haven't fought a war for a long time, I absolutely cannot tolerate others bullying you like this!! I will take people to kill her now, and after chopping her to death, I will commit suicide to apologize!!"

After saying that, Lou Rui turned around and left without any hesitation.

Empress Dowager Lou quickly raised her cane and shouted, "You bastard! Get back here!"

Lou Rui then stopped and looked at Empress Dowager Lou with grievance, "Aunt, why are you so forbearing?!"

Empress Dowager Lou looked at him with a softer look in her eyes. "Rui, please sit down for a moment."

Lou Rui sat obediently in front of Empress Dowager Lou, who then asked, "What do you think of the current emperor?"

Lou Rui immediately said, "Aunt, the current emperor is timid, has no opinion, and does not know how to use troops. He trusts the Han people too much. Since he came to power, the government has been run by Han officials. He is really not a wise ruler."

Empress Dowager Lou raised her cane again, pretending to hit him, then slowly put it down, "But who can take his place?"

"Aunt, King Changshan can do it."

"You bastard! As a minister, do you think you have the right to discuss the emperor's affairs?!"

Lou Rui shook his head, "Aunt, I am no longer a minister. I was dismissed from my position by Yang Yin. At this moment, I am just your nephew, here to discuss my family affairs. Even if you want to blame me for this, I have to say that the Great Qi is facing internal and external troubles, and only the King of Changshan can save it!"

"Please punish me, Queen Mother!!"

After Lou Rui finished speaking, he lowered his head.

Empress Dowager Lou sighed again, "I am just an old lady, I don't know much about the affairs of the court. How about this, you go get closer to the King of Changshan, and tell him to put the affairs of the country first, understand?"

Lou Rui raised his head, overjoyed, and nodded quickly, "I understand!!"

Lou Rui walked out of the palace and got into the carriage. He could no longer suppress his inner joy and couldn't help but laugh.

The Queen Mother was clearly making it clear that she was urging the Prince of Changshan to take action as soon as possible.

If King Changshan ascended the throne, when Lou Rui thought of this, he thought of his bright future, and he couldn't help laughing again.

Without hesitation, he ordered the car to go to the residence of King Changshan.

Under the cover of night, Yecheng was quiet, with the occasional patrolling soldier passing by in the distance. During curfew, no one's vehicle or horse could pass through, especially in Yecheng.

However, when the soldiers saw the markings on the carriage and the familiar person driving the carriage, they pretended not to see anything and passed by them with their heads raised.

The carriage soon arrived in front of the General of the Guard's Mansion.

Lou Rui got out of the car and someone quickly opened the door for him.

When Lou Rui hurriedly walked into the inner room, he heard crying from inside.

When he walked in, he saw the former Secretary of the Central Secretariat Cui Ang kneeling in front of the King of Changshan, crying bitterly.

Cui Ang cried very sadly and trembled all over.

Lou Rui was stunned. He glanced at Gao Yan who was sitting in the upper seat, and then hurriedly asked, "What happened?!"

Cui Ang cried and said, "Lord Lou, Yang Yin sent people to Anping, framed us, and massacred my family! Everyone in my family, young and old, suffered at the hands of the bandits!!"

"Yang Yin and I have been at odds since we were young, but I never thought he would be so vicious. He must be acting this way because he sees that I am close to the other kings."

Cui Ang cried heartbreakingly. Lou Rui was furious. He helped Cui Ang up and said, "Don't cry. I will avenge you!"

He then looked at Gao Yan, "My lord, what's going on?"

Gao Yan gave him a complicated look, "The new officer of Boling County is Liu Taozi."

Hearing this, Lou Rui was stunned. He suddenly pushed Cui Ang away. Cui Ang was thrown to the ground by him. He was at a loss and even stopped crying.

Lou Rui cursed: "What kind of frame-up? I think it's your family's problem. Didn't your eldest son contact the Pseudo-Zhou and plot a rebellion?!"

"You dare to blame Liu Taozi, what a daredevil!!"

Lou Rui became more and more angry as he spoke. He suddenly pulled out his belt and said, "Today I will show you, a Han minister."

"Wait a minute!!"

The King of Changshan hurried forward to stop Lou Rui, but Lou Rui was still cursing. Gao Yan looked at Cui Ang and said, "Mr. Cui, go back and have a rest first. I will give you an answer on this matter."

Cui Ang looked at Lou Rui in astonishment and left in a hurry.

Lou Rui was still cursing, "What a bastard, come here and talk nonsense!!"

Gao Yan said with a straight face, "Brother, you can't do this."

Gao Yan still looked very majestic when he put on a serious face. Lou Rui also quickly put away his belt and put on a smile, "Don't blame me, my king. I was just very angry at the moment. Taozi is a kind person. He sent someone to return my property to me a month ago."

"Brother, you came here so late at night, is there something important?"

Gao Yan obviously didn't want to talk too much about Liu Taozi's issue. Lou Rui also remembered why he came. He hurriedly took Gao Yan's hand and whispered to him what the Queen Mother had said.

A hint of excitement flashed across Gao Yan's eyes, and then it disappeared immediately, leaving him as calm as ever.

"As long as I am alive, I will not let my mother be humiliated. However, we cannot rush this matter. Even a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. Besides, Yang Dadu is not someone who can be easily bullied."

"Lou Jun, it is really inconvenient for me to visit my mother. Please go and tell her tomorrow and ask her to be patient for a while. Once the time is right, I will definitely not let her down."

"only!!!"

Lou Rui bowed and was about to leave when he suddenly came back. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty, you won't punish him for the peach incident, will you?"

"Your Majesty, don't think that Cui Ang is close to us. In fact, this is just their usual method. Some people support us, some people are neutral, and some people oppose us. No matter what happens in the end, they can get benefits. Your Majesty, you can't punish Taozi for such unworthy people. She is one of our family members."

King Changshan looked helpless, "Okay, I understand, brother, you can leave now."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

Lou Rui bowed again and left.

After Lou Rui left, several men walked out from the side and stood around King Changshan, all with happy expressions on their faces.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"Next, as long as we get Gao Guiyan to stand beside us, we can take action against Yang Yin."

King Changshan looked at everyone and asked, "Do you have any good ideas?"

Wang Xi stroked his beard and said, "My lord, I have a way, but you need to give me some time, and I will make him stand completely on your side."

"Okay, I'll leave all the power to you."

ps: Yin and others proposed to send two princes as provincial governors, but because the emperor was kind and benevolent, they were afraid that they could not report it, so they reported it to the empress dowager and told her about his safety. The palace lady Li Changyi was Gao Zhongmi's wife. The empress dowager loved her very much because they had the same surname, so she reported it to the empress dowager; Changyi reported it to the empress dowager secretly. ——"Zizhi Tongjian"

(End of this chapter)