Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 311 How about kowtow to Mr. Liu? ?

Hengzhou.

On the endless plain, the knights were fighting hard.

The mountains and plains were filled with knights fighting.

Dark clouds rolled in and the knights' roars could be heard from far away.

On the Great Wall, the guards held high their crossbows and watched the fierce war outside.

The war horses neighed, the knights shouted, lances danced, and arrows flew.

The entire ground was rumbling, and the dust rising from the fields blocked the view in the distance. There were constant shouts and cries of killing, and the faces of the soldiers were solemn as they waited for the outcome of the war.

The fight lasted for two full hours.

As the sky gradually darkened, the shouting and screaming became less frequent, and the shaking of the ground gradually weakened.

Liu Taozi led the green lion, tore through the dust and crawled out. Following behind him was the old general Bao Xian, who was panting heavily, with a human head hanging on the lance in his hand.

There were more and more knights behind them, some leading horses, and some pulling spoils.

The huge army arrived at the gate of the checkpoint and opened it wide.

Liu Taozi handed the blue lion to an officer beside him, took off his helmet and wiped the blood off it.

Bao Xian also asked his followers to take off his armor.

The old general finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Liu Taozi and said, "The Turks should be retreating this time."

"Thanks to the old general."

Bao Xian laughed loudly and waved his hand, "Please don't humiliate me like this. If you come back later, my achievements in this life will become a joke."

Bao Xian glanced at the spoils on the carriages again and muttered, "The armor rate of these people is really high. They are completely different from the previous Cretaceous people."

Just when the Pseudo-Zhou and Pseudo-Qi were fighting, the Turkic Khan once again raised his army and led his elite troops to try to plunder Heng, Yan, You and other places. As for why he did not plunder Yingzhou, it was probably because that place was too poor.

Bao Xian was ordered to garrison the border and fought many battles with the Turks. He barely held on until the troops from various places returned.

The border troops commanded by Bao Xian were stationed in an area that was too large, and they had a little difficulty facing the elite Turks.

It was the first time for Bao Xian to fight against the elite troops directly under the Turkic Khan.

"When Emperor Wenxuan was still alive, we fought against the Turks at the border. At that time, many of their cavalry were not wearing armor and used the tactics of the Rourans. I didn't expect that now even they have started to wear armor and charge into battle."

Liu Taozi said seriously: "The Turks were originally responsible for smelting iron for the Rouran people and were their iron slaves."

"They have mastered a great deal of smelting skills, more advanced than anyone outside the Great Wall."

"After defeating the Rouran, they gathered a lot of people and recruited craftsmen. They valued craftsmen more than any other power outside the Great Wall in the past. Their king even established official ranks for craftsmen. The higher the skills, the better the treatment."

"They have more war horses and excellent smelting technology, so they are naturally more difficult to deal with than the Rurun people."

Bao Xian said slowly: "The Pseudo-Zhou is getting closer and closer to them, taking what they need from each other. This is raising a tiger to cause trouble. If the Turks continue to develop like this, I'm afraid it will become increasingly difficult to fight them."

Liu Taozi and Bao Xian returned to the Guannei Wei's office.

The walls of the inner room are covered with various maps.

These are maps of the areas outside the Great Wall, showing the water sources outside the Great Wall, the nomadic ranges of various tribes, migration routes, etc.

These maps were hung all over the room. Liu Taozi looked around and asked, "Are these all marked by the old general?"

“Know yourself and know your enemy.”

Bao Xian whispered: "General, it would be best if you could quickly march into Lianggan and other places to completely sever the relationship between the Pseudo-Zhou and the areas outside the Great Wall so that they cannot collude."

"Otherwise, every time we mobilize our troops, we will have to face hostile forces from both sides at the same time, which will have a great impact on the future deployment of the battle line."

"Forgive me for being blunt, but under the general's command, apart from Gao Changgong, there is no other general who can take charge of a position on his own."

"Gao Changgong has been sent to Lingzhou, and the general cannot stay here for a long time. If the army is to be deployed, the general must supervise the battle at the front even if he does not lead the troops."

"Hengzhou is where the general's residence and the executive office are located. If it is breached by the Turks."

Liu Taozi looked at him and said, "The old general can handle things on his own."

Bao Xian laughed, and his beard trembled several times. He was very satisfied with Liu Taozi's praise.

But he then said: "I am willing to guard the Turks for the general, but I am old."

There was a hint of helplessness in Bao Xian's eyes.

"I am sixty-three years old this year."

"When I was young, I rode horses and fought all day long. Now that I am old, I am sick all over. No matter how many doctors I consulted, it was useless."

“I don’t know how many years I have left.”

Bao Xian looked at Liu Taozi standing beside him and said, "What a pity! If you were born a few years earlier, maybe I could have ridden my horse to Chang'an."

"The old general is still as brave as ever."

Liu Taozi praised Bao Xian, and then said, "I also took note of the old general's reminder."

Bao Xian remembered something and said, "I am not looking down on the generals under the command of the great general. They are just too young. Even though they have experienced many battles, they are still not able to sit alone and resist powerful enemies. Gao Changgong is a man of extraordinary talent. There are still few such people. Most generals have to grow up through battles. If they have fought for decades and are not dead, they will become great generals."

Liu Taozi nodded, "I know."

The two were chatting when a scout suddenly appeared from outside the door, looked at Liu Taozi, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Liu Taozi waved and asked him to come in and talk.

The scout hurriedly bowed and said, "General, Pingcheng has sent a message asking you to return."

"Oh?"

"What happened?"

"I heard that General Hulugu led the Jinyang troops to Pingcheng."

Liu Taozi was stunned for a moment, "Huo Luguang is here?"

Bao Xian was amazed, "Others have said that destiny is here, but I never believed it. Today I finally believe it."

"I just said that the frontier needed a brave general, and this brave general came to the door."

"Huoluguang, he is not capable of taking charge. If he is allowed to stay here, I am afraid he will start to march towards the Turks."

"It would be nice if Duan Shao came along."

"One releases Hengzhou, the other releases Yanzhou, and together they resist the Turks."

Liu Taozi immediately stood up and looked at Bao Xian, "Old General, I have to go back to Pingcheng to deal with the matter here."

"No problem, General, leave it to me. The Turks will not dare to attack easily after their defeat this time. I will guard here!"

Liu Taozi bid farewell to Bao Xian and led his knights to quickly leave the border.

The knights that Liu Taozi was taking away at this moment were exactly those knights who had participated in the Battle of Chang'an.

After the war, Liu Taozi did not disperse them. Instead, he used them as the core and recruited brave knights to set up a separate camp of 3,000 cavalrymen, which was called the Mandrill Camp.

This mandrill camp is considered the most elite army under Liu Taozi and has experienced several major battles.

Now that they had followed Liu Taozi to the border, the old general was greatly surprised. They had defeated the elite troops directly under the Turkic Khan with a smaller force.

They advanced along the official road at an extremely fast speed, but even at this marching speed, no one fell behind.

They rested along the way and did not run away to cause harm to the surrounding areas.

It only took Liu Taozi four days to lead his troops back to Pingcheng.

Lu Qubing, Cui Gang and others had already been waiting on the road.

As soon as they met and exchanged greetings, Lu Qubing couldn't help but talk about the situation.

"General, General Hulu is here! With his brother, family, and many, many others!"

"The general's parents and younger brother were also sent here. They are now in Pingcheng. I went to visit them. My aunt was the same as usual. I asked about the general's uncle and she didn't seem angry."

"The emperor conferred titles in Jinyang, conferring titles on dozens of kings and hundreds of dukes. I heard that hundreds of palace maids around him were given official titles. Even our generals received awards from the court. Tian Zili was even conferred the title of king, but he did not accept it."

"Also, Gao Changgong said"

"Lu Jun."

Liu Taozi interrupted Lu Qubing and said, "Let's talk slowly, one by one."

Pingcheng, inside the posthouse.

Huluxian paced back and forth, his brows furrowed, looking very unhappy.

"Brother, can't you discuss this with us before you do anything?"

"When Liu Taozi was attacked by Yang Zhong, I said I could go to his side and fight with him, but my brother wouldn't allow it, saying he couldn't betray his country."

"Now that Liu Taozi has gained power and occupied the area north of the river, his power is unmatched, yet my brother said he wanted to join him."

"What is this? Currying favor with the powerful?"

Compared with Hulugu, Huluxian had been hanging out with Liu Taozi earlier. When he was the governor of the frontier, he had frequent contacts with Liu Taozi in private.

Later, he was framed by senior officials in the court and was blamed for embezzling military rations. He was kicked to Heluo and then transferred to Jinyang.

Huluxian had lost faith in the government very early on and wanted to take advantage of it.

But Hulugu did not allow him to do so.

But when Huluxian felt that he no longer had the face to seek refuge with Liu Taozi, his brother suddenly changed his mind and forced the whole family to seek refuge with him.

Hulu Xian really didn't understand.

Hulugu looked at his angry brother and said softly, "I have my own reasons."

"Liu Taozi won't look down on you because of this matter, you don't have to worry."

"When people are weak, they are distant, but when they are strong, they are close. How will the world view us?"

"As long as you make great enough contributions in the future, no one will look down on you." Hulugu blocked his brother's mouth again.

Huluxian sat aside and said in a muffled voice: "You still say you don't look down on me!"

"We have been here for several days, but Liu Taozi has not come to pay us a visit. Isn't this a clear expression of dissatisfaction?"

"How can you still despise me?"

"I think the marriage of these two families is in jeopardy."

At this moment, a warrior rushed in hurriedly and saluted them, "General! Prince Pingcheng is here to pay his respects!"

Hulugu glanced at his brother and slowly stood up.

"Go out and greet."

When Hulugu Guang and Huluxian walked out of the yard, they saw Liu Taozi standing at the door. He was holding a green lion, and he had not taken off his armor yet. There was blood and flesh mixed in the gaps of the armor. It was obvious that he had just returned from the battlefield and had not even taken a bath.

Liu Taozi bowed to both of them.

"I was fighting outside the Great Wall before, and I didn't know you were coming. Please forgive me for being rude."

Hulu Guang was stunned for a moment, but Hulu Xian blushed a little, "Don't be so formal, don't be so formal, you just came back?"

"Yes, I just got back."

Lu Qubing, who was standing by, said softly, "The general has never been to the government office, nor has he visited his parents, yet he has come to see General Hulu first."

"General, please don't stand outside the door. Come in first."

Huluxian enthusiastically invited Liu Taozi into the yard. Several people walked into the house. Huluguang looked at the seat, but was a little hesitant.

Liu Taozi had not yet ascended the throne and was only a general.

But he was actually already a local lord, holding real power, and was the lord of the north. So could he still sit in the upper position?

Cui Gang immediately stepped out and said, "There are no outsiders here. This is a family dinner. Please take a seat, General."

Hulugu Guang then sat in the upper seat, while Liu Taozi and Huluxian sat on both sides of him.

Sitting in the upper seat, Hulugu felt somewhat uneasy, always feeling that something was not right.

Liu Taozi didn't care.

"It is an honor for the North Road that you can come to Pingcheng."

"Alcohol is prohibited here, so I will offer you tea."

After Hulugu drank tea with Liu Taozi, he said, "I didn't come here to seek refuge with you just because I saw how powerful you are."

"I am a warrior and do not like fighting in the court. The emperor's trip to Jinyang will cause a lot of unrest. I don't want to get involved. I came here just now. Don't think that I am a person who curries favor with the powerful."

Hulugu was a very frank person, and he always said what he thought.

Liu Taozi nodded, "I know."

Huluxian rubbed his forehead. His brother was a very outspoken person. He was absolutely right when he said that he could not participate in government affairs.

"Are you trying to usurp the throne?"

Hulugu asked the second question.

Huluxian trembled all over.

"I just want to conquer the world, I haven't thought about usurping the throne yet."

"Then when will we take action against Jinyang?"

"Jinyang cannot be self-sufficient. When food becomes scarce, I can take down the army here without much effort."

"What about the south?"

"We will take over Henan in two years, Qingxu in three years, and the entire Qi State in four years."

"Emperor, how are you going to treat this?"

"The emperor is tyrannical and inhumane. I have heard many things about him. If they are true, I will kill him after the city is captured."

Huluxian had never been so scared in his life.

The two frontier warriors in front of him were rude and barbaric, and one dared to ask and the other dared to answer.

Can you say this so openly?
Lu Qubing and Cui Gang, however, had calm expressions, without any disturbance.

Hulugu asked again: "What will you do with the nobles and other members of the royal family?"

"Deal with it according to the law."

"I am not Erzhu Rong, nor am I Emperor Wenxuan. If I have committed no crime, then I will continue as usual. If I have committed a crime punishable by exile, then I will be exiled. If I have committed a crime punishable by death, then I will be executed."

Huluguang nodded, and a smile finally appeared on his face, "Not bad."

Huluxian rubbed his forehead again.

Liu Taozi said: "The Turks have repeatedly invaded our borders. General Bao is old and can defend against them, but he is not strong enough to go out and defeat them. I wonder what the general thinks?"

"Give me six thousand border troops, and I will ensure that they have no time to move south."

"I can hand over all the border troops to you, but the border cannot be lost, and not even a single village can be plundered by them."

"How many soldiers do you have?"

"Thirty thousand."

"Okay, I'll issue a military order."

The two talked quickly and the deal was done decisively.

When Liu Taozi left, Huluxian didn't react to what had happened.

It was not until the other party's carriage left that Huluxian looked at his brother, "Brother, what about the marriage? What about my official position? What about the children in the family? Why didn't you mention any of them?"

Huluguang looked into the distance calmly, "None of that matters."

General's Office.

In the backyard, Liu Zhang was making clothes with a smile on her face.

This time, the person pacing back and forth was Liu Taozhi.

Liu Taozhi frowned and paced back and forth in front of Liu Zhang, looking worried.

Xiao Wu squatted beside Liu Zhangshi, looked at Liu Taozhi's appearance, and asked in a low voice: "Grandpa, what happened?"

Liu Zhang laughed, "Your grandfather missed your brother so much that he was so excited when he knew your brother was coming that he couldn't sleep or sit still."

Liu Taozhi suddenly stopped and looked at his wife beside him, mumbling something. In short, it was definitely not a good word.

The next moment, a soldier walked into the yard and saluted.

"Old Master, Old Madam, the General is back."

Liu Zhang immediately stood up, extremely excited, "Where is my son Taozi?"

Liu Taozhi became even more restrained and didn't know where to put her hands.

Then I saw many soldiers appearing in the distance, and they quickly guarded the door.

Liu Taozi's tall figure then appeared among the soldiers. He walked quickly forward, and the armor on his body made noises.

"peach!"

Liu Zhang hurried forward.

When the mother and son met, Liu Taozi lowered her head and let her mother touch her face. The soldiers closed the door and stood guard outside.

"My son, you have worked hard and suffered a lot. Have you been injured?"

Liu Zhang held Taozi's hand and talked endlessly.

After talking for a long time, Liu Zhang finally made way so that the father and son could face each other.

Liu Taozhi was wearing ordinary martial arts uniform at the moment. Her lips trembled slightly as she looked at her son in front of her.

"Umm Liu. Taozi."

Xiao Wu stood aside, holding back his laughter, and looked at them happily.

Seeing Liu Taozi staring at her without saying a word or greeting her, Liu Taozhi finally couldn't hold it anymore.

"What?! Do you still want me to kowtow to you?"

"Your Majesty?"

"Mr. Liu?"

"Great General??!"

Only then did Liu Taozi lower his head and salute respectfully.

"Father."

Liu Taozhi then breathed a sigh of relief, but Xiao Wu beside her grinned, his eyes narrowed into crescents.

Liu Taozhi looked at him suddenly, "Why, Young Master Liu is also going to let me bow?"

"All you do is laugh all day long! Laugh! You can't even do the simplest horse archery! And you're still laughing!"

Xiao Wu didn't dare to laugh anymore and lowered his head quickly.

Liu Taozhi glared at Liu Zhangshi and Taozi again, turned around and walked into the house angrily.

At this moment, Mrs. Liu Zhang held her son's hand and chuckled.

"Why are you, father and son, doing this?"

(End of this chapter)