Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 304: Open Rebellion

Jizhou, Xindu.

The screams were endless.

The city gate was wide open, and many carriages were seen crowded at the city gate, and there were people both inside and outside the city.

Some carried packages, some held children, and some carried their parents on their backs.

The driver roared angrily and waved the whip in his hand.

The city gate was completely blocked, and no one could get through. Perhaps the driver got impatient and whipped the horse pulling the carriage hard, so the horse kicked out its hooves and charged into the crowd in front. The crowd in front was immediately knocked away. The carriage ran over someone's name, and it struggled to make its way through the crowd.

A man roared in anger and took the axe from his arms and jumped onto the cart. The driver raised his hand and the axe got stuck in his arm.

"what!!"

“How dare you?!”

"Someone is coming!"

There were no soldiers guarding order inside or outside the city gate. After all, they were the first to escape.

This sudden change directly triggered a chaos. Men began to attack the surrounding carriages and horses one by one. Regardless of whether they had bumped into them or not, they were all attacked and beaten by them. A person wearing luxurious clothes was dragged out of the carriage, and the men holding stones smashed the person's head.

There was a lot of wailing.

"Stop! Stop!"

Someone led his servants to stop them, but they were quickly drowned by the sea of ​​people. The man shouted, "You don't have to run! The general will not massacre the city! No massacre!!"

But his words were drowned out by the shouting.

On the distant slope, the knights slowly emerged.

Hu Changcan rode a big horse, looking coldly at the chaotic situation in the distance with a frown on his face.

"There is really not a single innocent person among these traitors."

"It would be fine if they just ran away, but they also spread rumors everywhere, saying that the general massacred the city, causing panic in Hebei and people from all over the country fleeing. I really don't know how much trouble they will cause."

"Spring planting has been delayed, and now we have to endure this kind of unrest. This winter will be difficult."

Kou Liu didn't say anything to him, but just looked at the officers standing beside him, "Quickly surround the city gates and let the people return to the city!"

"If anyone attacks, kill them immediately and make them retreat back to the city!"

Hu Changcan showed some reluctance on his face, but he did not scold.

The people they were dealing with had absolute authority in public opinion. It was not easy to appease the people who had been instigated and intimidated by these people, including local sages, eminent monks, and officials.

In order to avoid causing greater casualties, shooting the leader of the attack is also a helpless move.

The officers took orders and quickly led the cavalry to charge forward.

Kou Liu then looked at Hu Changcan and said dimly, "There is no such thing as perfect."

"If you want to kill these people, you will naturally have to pay a price."

"Local order is gone, bandits are everywhere, farmland and houses have been destroyed, and the people have fled, which means they have to go through reconstruction. However, the speed of reconstruction should be very fast."

"Mr. Hu, don't worry too much. Grandfather has already thought of these things. The officials he sent know how to deal with these situations."

"As for these people, Lord Hu comes from a big family, and they may not know people like us. They will easily become panicked, but it is also very simple to appease them. As long as we can control the troops under our command, not to mention that they will not harm anyone, as long as we can maintain military discipline and not come out to harm the people at will, they will go back to do their own things."

"Mr. Hu, please go into the city first and comfort the people inside."

"I'm going to comfort those fleeing people."

Hu Changcan was somewhat surprised. "It's easy to deal with the people in the city. I can issue notices and distribute food, rectify military discipline, and make them no longer terrified. But how are you going to appease the people who have already fled?"

"Are you going to bring them back by force?"

Kou Liu laughed, "It's very simple. I will lead the army, catch up with them, and then not kill them."

"what?"

"Just do your own thing, Mr. Hu. Believe me, it will work."

Kou Liu led his troops away with a smile, while Hu Changcan led the rest of the troops towards the city.

When those officers appeared outside the city gate with their troops, the people who had just been fleeing began to run frantically into the city again. The scene became even more chaotic, but the officers did not rush to contain or organize them, because a hasty contact would only make them stressed and make them more afraid. The knights just stood outside the city, just watching them retreat, and showed no desire to attack.

The officer looked at the officer standing by, and the officer understood. He rode forward alone and shouted, "The general has ordered that the people of the prefectures and counties must not be violated. Return in an orderly manner! Do not break the law!"

The military officers shouted everywhere, and the crowded crowd finally slowed down a little.

Even if they did not believe the words of the military officers, they did not dare to rush and kill the people standing in their way.

Hu Changcan came here later and saw the corpses and fallen packages on the road. He sighed again.

Break and stand.

It really requires great courage.

Apart from anything else, the general's reputation is completely ruined. He "killed officials and virtuous people" along the way, and almost pushed all the elites in the world to the opposite side. It was okay under his own rule, but outside, public opinion would definitely turn the general's image into a demon who massacred cities and killed people everywhere.

This will have a very bad impact on the general's future conquests of cities and territories.

How to take over the south in the future?

Hu Changcan was thinking hard, and suddenly realized, conquering cities? No! Nai Gong is a minister of Qi! !
He shook his head violently, clearing the rebellious thoughts from his mind.

After watching the people return to the city one by one, he led his troops into the city.

The city was in a mess and suffered severe damage.

After the order was lost, demons and monsters appeared at the same time, worse than ever before. Hu Changcan ran straight to the government office.

The government office was like a city, with its gates open and no one inside.

It was like it had been robbed several times, and even the tiles on the ground seemed to be dug away.

As for relevant documents, don't even think about it, because nothing was left for them.

The soldiers searched everywhere and finally caught an old man.

The old man was limping and couldn't get away at all, so he was forcibly brought to Hu Changcan.

"Please spare my life! My Lord, please spare my life!!"

The old official knelt down and kowtowed, but looking at the other person's age, Hu Changcan stood up and refused to accept the courtesy.

"who are you?"

"Wu Xing, the gatekeeper of the prefecture office."

Hu Changcan looked around and asked, "Where are the people from the government office?"

The old man trembled and said, "A few days ago, there were rumors all over the city that the general was in Cangzhou and Yingzhou, slaughtering people and using them as military rations. Nine out of ten houses were left empty. The people in the city were the first to flee, and it was impossible to control them. Then it was the governor. When Governor Gao heard the news that Cangzhou was breached, he wanted to flee immediately. No one could persuade him, so after he fled, the rest of the people followed him. Before they fled, they looted everywhere and stole many things."

"After they left, someone else broke into the government office and looted it again."

"Because I have a disabled leg and no relatives, I am forced to stay here and wait for death."

"Please have mercy on me, and don't kill me!"

There was some disbelief in Hu Changcan's eyes, "Governor Gao actually ran away?"

The governor of Jizhou was Huashan King Gao Ning, who had just taken office not long ago.

Just by looking at his name, you can tell that he is different from distant royal family members like Gao Yun. He is one of the fourteen descendants of the Gao family.

In addition, he has another identity. He is the half-brother of King Gao Yin of Pengcheng.

Hu Changcan couldn't understand it. It was fine if Gao Yun wanted to run away, but why did you want to run away too?
We are here on the orders of your brother!

Hu Changcan sighed and looked at the old man, "I won't kill you, you can go back."

"Some of those who said that the general was slaughtering the city were those criminals who were afraid of being implicated, and some were the thieves under Wei Xiaokuan's command who were hoping for civil strife in Da Qi."

"Come here, bring him some food and escort him out of the office."

Hu Changcan gave the order, and two soldiers came forward and handed the old man a package, and then pushed him out. The old man held the package in disbelief, walked a few steps, and suddenly stopped and turned to look at Hu Changcan. "My dear, after the governor escaped, the governor asked the clerks to burn all the relevant documents. The clerks thought it was troublesome, so they hid them in the dry well in the south courtyard and blocked them with stones and debris. If we open it now, we may find a lot of things."

Hu Changcan was stunned for a moment, and then said to the soldier beside him: "Give him more food."

At this moment, Kou Liu was leading the cavalry and galloping quickly on the official road.

Almost all the people along the way were fleeing disaster victims.

When the knights suddenly appeared behind them and approached them, they were terrified and fled in all directions.

Kou Liu pretended not to see it.

Even when he saw wealthy people riding in luxurious carriages, he did not take any action, but just led the cavalrymen forward.

If you see bandits blocking the road and looting along the way, you don't have to be polite to them. These new bandits have no experience in dealing with government cavalry and are easily hacked to death.

The bandits divided their forces and rushed back and forth on various roads, just killing thieves and not harassing the refugees along the way.

Sure enough, just as Kouliu had said before, when some of the fugitives found that the knights did not make things difficult for them and did not even look at them for a second, they immediately stopped and prepared to wait and see the situation.

This road is not a way to survive for them.

Officials who left this place could continue to be officials in Yecheng, and rich people who left Jizhou could live a good life in Yecheng.

There were only these people, and they didn't know how many days the food they brought would last. They could only find a temporary way to get food in the future. The reason they left Yecheng was entirely because of the horrific rumor of a massacre. Between certain death and possible death, they chose the latter. But now, certain death has become possible death, so they have to choose the easier one between the two ways of death.

Dying on the road is one of the most horrible ways to die. If you die at home, your neighbors and friends will help bury you. Even if there are no burial objects, at least you can be buried.

But if you die outside, no one knows where your body will go.

Liu Taozi has many people who come from the lower classes under his command. They understand the logic of the lower class people. Kou Liu's running back and forth actually plays a good role.

Some younger people secretly ran back to the city to observe the surrounding areas and found that there was no massacre in the city, so many people who had escaped began to go back.

Hu Changcan in the city was digging out the hidden documents.

When Kou Liu returned to Xindu with several captured officials, what he saw was an extremely violent Hu Changcan.

Hu Changcan spread the documents flat on the ground, his face flushed and his teeth chattering.

"When the King of Qin was pacified for his rebellion, the King of Pengcheng distributed food for disaster relief. These supplies were used by the government for 'city construction', and not a single grain of rice fell into the hands of the people!!"

"And this, look, the cost of the Jizhou Buddhist Conference last year was actually two million shi of grain!"

"What kind of puja did they do? A food-burning puja?!"

Kou Liu leaned against the door, watching Hu Changcan walking among the documents, looking around at the contents, and becoming more and more irritable.

The situation in Da Qi is deteriorating rapidly. In the past, although there were evil people in the local area, there were also many good officials, and they could barely achieve a balance.

But these days, when there are fewer and fewer people, corrupt officials have become the officials with higher moral standards in Da Qi. After all, the rest of them have committed more evil deeds. Compared with these who want to kill people and destroy their families, as long as they pay a little money, they are already better than 70% of the officials in Da Qi!

The civil service has experienced an unprecedented collapse and it is no longer acceptable.

Who are the current provincial governors?
Among so many provincial governors, there is not even one qualified one. Looking at the current provincial governors, the most incompetent one is Dugu Yongye, who embezzled and reclaimed the occupied farmland.

After all, he can really fight against the Pseudo-Zhou and will not surrender as soon as they meet.

Hu Changcan was holding back a fire in his heart and he wanted to vent. He pointed angrily at the documents on the ground and opened his mouth, but the anger was stuck in his throat and he couldn't spit it out. Finally, he staggered and sat on the ground.

"It's completely hopeless."

He slowly raised his head and looked at Kou Liu.

"When are we going to Yecheng?"

"No hurry, there is still Dingzhou."

Kou Liu sat in front of him and said seriously: "Mr. Hu, there is a huge trouble in Dingzhou."

"Dingzhou is the old place of the general. Many of the local officials are close to the general, and the people have not fled. How could there be trouble?"

"Gao Ji."

"The Governor of Dingzhou, Prince of Boling Gao Ji."

Kou Liu said seriously, "This man is a member of the royal family, and he was born to Empress Dowager Lou. The relatives of Empress Dowager Lou all have a very good relationship with him, but this man has no morals."

"He abandoned his army and fled in Sizhou, which led to the siege of Jinyang. After taking over as the governor of Dingzhou, he did not know how to restrain himself and did absurd things."

"How do we solve this problem?"

Hu Changcan replied calmly, "We should treat them all equally. The other provincial governors have committed mistakes and should be arrested. How can the governor of Dingzhou be an exception? Before I arrived, the King of Pengcheng said that both the King of Huashan and the King of Boling should be arrested and sent to the court."

Kou Liu laughed, "But before I left, Zu Ting told me that it would be best not to let this guy return to Pingcheng alive."

Hu Changcan was stunned for a moment, "Why?"

"If we let this fellow go back to Pingcheng, even if the King of Pengcheng doesn't kill him, my brother will."

"Letting him die at the hands of his brother would ruin everything."

"Therefore, it is better to let him die on the road or in Dingzhou than to send him to Pingcheng."

"Even if they die in your hands, they will think that the general hinted at you to kill people, and it won't make any difference."

"There is a difference. There is a big difference between dying in Dingzhou and dying in Pingcheng, dying in the hands of your brother and dying in my hands."

Kou Liu said calmly: "When the time comes, if Duan Shao and others ask for punishment, I will take the blame."

"Will the general let you take the blame?"

"But I can die for my brother."

"If I want to commit suicide to apologize, can my brother stop me?"

Hu Changcan shook his head, "No need to be so troublesome."

He looked up and commented seriously, "Zu Ting is very talented."

"But he is a villain."

"He is a complete villain. He has the talent to be a prime minister, but he does not have the demeanor to be one."

Hu Changcan said seriously: "I am not talking about his personal morality, but his character and personality. He always likes to use some shady means to do things, and never do things uprightly."

"I have always felt that many of the things that happened in the government before were related to Zu Ting."

"He is a very good counselor, but he is not suitable to lead a great country."

"When the Prince of Pingcheng recovered Hebei, he led a righteous army to attack the local traitors, punish the tyrants who bullied and harmed the people, and destroy the barbaric and lawless obscene sacrifices!"

"This is in line with justice. None of the people killed are innocent."

"Now, we should do the same when facing Gao Ji. If he has committed a crime, we should arrest him and send him to Pingcheng for trial. If he is guilty and deserves death, we should execute him. If he deserves exile, we should exile him."

"According to the law, it is upright and just. The so-called benevolent is invincible!"

"But Zu Ting insisted on using these mean means to secretly poison someone. This is not something a gentleman should do, and the general would not even bother to do it."

"You have been the general's confidant for many years. I see that you are not a bad person by nature, so I will remind you that what the general wants to do is not what a bandit who usurps the throne would do. He wants to do something earth-shattering!"

"Don't believe Zu Ting's words easily, and don't get too close to this person."

"You can't poison Gao Ji. We have to send him back to Pingcheng and let him receive the punishment he deserves."

Hu Changcan said, looking at Kou Liu with particularly bright eyes, he said: "You said that I come from a big family and don't understand the hardships of you people, it's true, my family has been officials for generations, and I really don't know."

"But I have not been without hardship. My father is an upright man who often writes letters to make suggestions. He was exiled, dismissed, and even put in a prison car several times in the past. I followed him in all kinds of situations. At that time, I longed for a place with sound laws and where everyone could do things according to the rules."

"Now, the general is about to do such a great thing, and we must be the pioneers for the king."

"Young man, if you succeed in your career, you will be invited to the temple to receive tribute in the future. Don't let a villain like Zu Ting lead you astray."

"Everything must be done uprightly."

Kou Liu seemed to be meeting Hu Changcan for the first time, and was confused and uncertain.

"only"

(End of this chapter)