Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 321: Go East! Go East!
Changan.

Yuwen Xian stood at the gate of the palace, raised his head and looked at the luxurious palace in front of him.

Yuwen Xian's expression was extremely complicated. He stood there in a daze for a long time before he asked his attendants to come forward and report that he wanted to meet the emperor.

The soldiers quickly brought out the emperor's edict, allowing Yuwen Xian to meet him.

Yuwen Xian came to the gate, took off the long sword at his waist, and looked back at his confidants standing not far away.

Gao Jiong, He Ruobi, Han Qinhu and others all looked at him with solemn expressions.

The situation in the temple changed so quickly that no one could react.

Yuwen Xian used to be deeply trusted by Yuwen Hu, but now that Yuwen Hu died tragically, Yuwen Xian's situation became awkward.

Although he was the emperor's brother, he did not help at all when the emperor was bullied. He even took the initiative to get close to Yuwen Hu and became his trusted general.

Yuwen Xian nodded at them, then lowered his head and walked into the palace.

There are many more soldiers in the palace than before.

There were patrolling soldiers everywhere. An officer walked by quickly and did not stop when he saw Yuwen Xian. Imperial edicts were being issued from the palace to various places.

Yuwen Xian said nothing and followed the soldiers for a long time.

Finally arrived at Wen'an Hall.

When I walked into the hall, Emperor Yuwen Yong was sitting on the throne, holding a document and reading it carefully.

His expression was completely different from before.

The childish and clear eyes of the past were gone. He now had a short beard, which he had intentionally avoided in the past. This instantly made him look much more mature. Coupled with his serious and unsmiling face, he really had the majesty of a true emperor when he sat there.

Yuwen Xian straightened his clothes and took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty, I, Duke of Qi, Yuwen Xian, pay my respects to you!"

Hearing Yuwen Xian's words, Yuwen Yong immediately put down the document, raised his head, looked at his younger brother in front of him, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, he stood up, and walked quickly to his younger brother.

"Bihetu is coming!"

"I have summoned you before, but I failed to see you several times. Today you finally came."

"It's been a long time since we two brothers have seen each other."

Yuwen Yong's tone was very gentle, and the look he gave Yuwen Xian was also very gentle, but these words made Yuwen Xian feel a chill on his back. He took off his crown, let his hair down, and kowtowed to Yuwen Yong.

"Your Majesty! I came here today to apologize to you!"

"Your Majesty, please sentence me to death!!"

Yuwen Yong sighed, straightened his body, and looked down at his brother in front of him.

"The world belongs to my father."

"After I inherited the great cause, I was always afraid that it would be taken away by others."

"Yuwen Hu was disrespectful to the emperor, humiliated the emperor, and intended to rebel, so I executed him to stabilize the world left by my father."

"You and I are brothers. Shouldn't we two brothers work together to support the great cause left by our father?"

Hearing his words, Yuwen Xian lowered his head even deeper.

Yuwen Yong reached out his hand and pulled him up.

"Yuwen Hu's affairs have nothing to do with you, so you don't have to apologize."

Yuwen Xian looked at his brother in front of him blankly, and Yuwen Yong said slowly: "I have already executed Yuwen Hu, and also killed several of his descendants and confidants."

"But I haven't sent anyone to search his mansion yet."

"How about this, you take your people to Yuwen Hu's mansion, confiscate all the items in the mansion, and deal with the rest of his affairs. Don't lose anything. You know what to do, right?"

Yuwen Xian was stunned and immediately lowered his head.

"only!!"

Yuwen Yong then laughed, patted Yuwen Xian's shoulder gently, and said seriously: "You are the only one I can rely on. You must do everything with your heart. I will never treat you unfairly."

Yuwen Xian bowed again and turned to leave.

Yuwen Yong stood there, watching his brother walk out, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Then, two people came out from the side.

One of them was Yuwen Zhi, Duke of Wei, and the other was Changsun Lan, Yuwen Yong’s confidant.

During the reign of Emperor Ming, Yuwen Yu, Changsun Lan served as the Grand Commander. Yuwen Yu believed that Changsun Lan was very talented, so he asked him to serve his younger brother, Yuwen Yong. The two established a good relationship from then on.

Looking at Yuwen Xian going away, Yuwen Zhi looked a little unhappy. He said, "Brother, why don't you punish him?"

"This man still has military power in his hands. If we don't punish him and indulge him like this, he may become a big problem for my brother in the future!"

Yuwen Yong looked at his brother deeply, and then said, "In that case, you should keep an eye on him. If he has any improper thoughts when he searches Yuwen Hu's mansion this time and fails to investigate thoroughly, you should come back and report to me."

"okay!"

Yuwen Zhi was overjoyed and left in a hurry.

After the two of them left, Chang Sun Lan came forward and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, are you just going to let Yu Wenxian go?"

"Although Ah Xian was close to Yuwen Hu in the past, he never did anything illegal. Moreover, he is extremely talented, good at both politics and military affairs. It is difficult to find a talent like him among the royal family."

Yuwen Yong said slowly: "However, he cannot continue to hold military power. I have my own arrangements."

Chang Sun Lan was not surprised.

Yuwen Yong was intelligent since childhood and performed extremely well among his brothers.

Yuwen Hu first supported Yuwen Jue to be the emperor, but Yuwen Jue was deposed because he wanted to kill Yuwen Hu, and then poisoned to death.

Yuwen Hu appointed Yuwen Yu as the emperor, but Yuwen Yu was also very talented and unwilling to submit to Yuwen Hu. Yuwen Hu tried to force him several times but failed, so he had to send people to poison him again. Before his death, Yuwen Yu forced himself to issue an edict, asking Yuwen Yong to succeed him.

Because the imperial edict was issued first, Yuwen Hu had no choice but to welcome Yuwen Yong as emperor according to the emperor's edict.

Yuwen Yu knew the talents of his younger brother, so he sent people like Changsun Lan to serve him and add many useful talents to his younger brother's side.

Yuwen Yong invited Changsun Lan to sit next to him, and the two of them seriously discussed the current events.

"I intend to further rectify politics, unify criminal laws, and change past practices."

"The rule of law in the country is in chaos right now, and many people are taking advantage of their status to do whatever they want, but no one dares to discipline them."

"The country's laws are meaningless and no one obeys them."

"How can we govern the world in this way?"

"While Yuwen Hu has just died, an imperial edict should be issued, requiring officials inside and outside the court to abide by the law and treat criminals with a unified punishment. No matter their origins, even if they are members of the royal family, if they break the law, they will not be pardoned!!"

Chang Sun Lan lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Yuwen Yong looked at him and said, "I will leave this matter to you. Please treat it with all your heart."

"If the emperor wants to govern the world, the criminal law must be clear and there must be rules and regulations for everything he does. Only in this way can the world obey him."

"First establish the law, then you can do other great things."

Chang Sun Lan expressed his agreement again.

Yuwen Yong said slowly: "Lord Changsun, Liu Tao is rising in the frontier, owning the land of Hebei, focusing on agriculture, training elite soldiers from ten prefectures, holding imperial examinations, and opening up trade. His sharpness is really worrying."

"I have just been defeated, the treasury is empty, the people are exhausted, I want to show my ability, but I don't have enough strength. Is there any way to increase the country's income so that I can do great things?"

Chang Sun Lan looked at the emperor suddenly. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, this matter."

"Liu Taozi's situation is even worse than mine. Her land is even poorer and she has less food than I do, but she can still do a lot of things. Why is that?"

"Big clan, Buddhist temple."

Yuwen Yong said softly.

Chang Sun Lan trembled all over, "Your Majesty, these two things are really not easy. They are not something that can be done right away!"

"These two are not enemies that can be dealt with at the moment."

"Then why can Liu Taozi do it?"

"Liu Taozi is a Qihu barbarian. Previously, domestic celebrities looked at his face and pulse and told his origin! Domestic celebrities said that Liu Taozi's face is not Chinese, nor is he Han. He claims to be from the former Han Dynasty, but in fact he is a descendant of Liu Yuan, a Xiongnu Qihu! He is definitely not orthodox!"

"From his words and deeds, we can also know that he allowed his troops to slaughter the great families and destroy the temples at the border. More than one million people from Hebei fled to Henan. This is the behavior of the Hu people in previous generations." "However, Zhou was a righteous and powerful country with orderly management from top to bottom. How could he do such a barbaric act?"

When Yuwen Yong heard this, he immediately burst into laughter.

"Our celebrities are so amazing!"

"Standing on the city wall, staring at Liu Taozi on horseback from afar, can you tell his ancestors for ten generations?"

"Which famous scholar has such talent? Why not call him in and curse Liu Taozi and his group to death!"

"And there are one million people who fled. How many people are there in Hebei? One million people have fled. Is Liu Taozi's army now empty?"

Chang Sun Lan was stunned and hesitated to speak.

Yuwen Yong shook his head, "Mr. Changsun, you don't have to be so foolish."

"I know the stakes. It's not easy to deal with these two giants. I'm not saying that I will give the order to deal with them today."

"However, if Liu Taozi can learn from our methods, then of course we must also learn from his approach."

"I think that Liu Taozi was able to accomplish these things only because he had soldiers in his hands. When I also have a large army in my hands, won't I be able to accomplish these things?"

Chang Sun Lan's face immediately calmed down, and he stopped pretending. He said seriously, "Your Majesty, Liu Taozi is different from everyone else. He started from humble beginnings and has just made his fortune. Whether he is in charge of military affairs or government affairs, they are all his trusted followers who have followed him all the way. No matter who he asks them to deal with, they will not disobey him."

"But the situation at home is somewhat different. Your Majesty has control over the military power of the world, but if Your Majesty wants your generals and ministers to deal with themselves, will they comply?"

"It may be okay for a Buddhist temple, but it is difficult for a noble family to do so. It is very difficult."

Yuwen Yong's eyes were calm, and he was not angry or frustrated by these words. He said, "No matter how difficult it is, we must do it."

"Next, we need to find a way to control all military power. Only with military power in hand can we do other things."

"Then there are Buddhist temples, and then there are the nobles of the great families."

"We can't easily restrict Liu Taozi now, but Liu Taozi is busy with his own affairs and doesn't dare to come easily."

"Five years."

"Five years later, I will compete with Liu Taozi!"

Yuwen Yong raised his head, looking radiant and full of heroic spirit.

Yuwen Xian outside the palace did not dare to waste time. According to Yuwen Yong's request, he immediately led his men to Yuwen Hu's mansion.

Then, it's time to search and kill.

Almost all of Yuwen Hu's relatives were killed, leaving only some female relatives in the mansion, including Yuwen Hu's female relatives, servants, etc. These people were taken into custody and cried all day long.

Yuwen Xian also gave them a relief. He searched out all the documents, military tokens, maps, etc. hidden by Yuwen Hu, and then killed everyone in his mansion, leaving no one alive. He left the mansion clean and empty.

Yuwen Xian certainly knew why Yuwen Yong asked him to be responsible for this matter.

This is to allow Yuwen Xian to cut ties with the past.

All he could do was to tell his subordinates to act quickly and not to inflict too much pain on them when executing women.

Yuwen Xian did a good job in this matter, and even Yuwen Zhi, who was staring at him to find problems, found nothing.

On the fourth day after the search and seizure of Yuwen Hu's mansion, Yuwen Yong issued an imperial edict.

He let Yuwen Xian inherit Yuwen Hu's position as the Grand Chancellor and gave up his previous military power.

Yuwen Xian kowtowed again and again to thank God for his grace.

It seemed that he was deeply favored by the emperor and became the most powerful official in the country, but in fact, his military power was stripped away in disguise.

However, this enthronement made Yuwen Zhi even more dissatisfied and resentful.

He believed that he had made the greatest contribution by killing Yuwen Hu, but he showed that he did not value himself by letting Yuwen Xian, who later defected, be ranked ahead of him.

On this day, Yuwen Yong was sitting in the Wen'an Hall, chatting and laughing with a few young people.

The young men sitting next to Yuwen Yong were exactly the ones who were around Yuwen Xian.

Gao Jiong, He Ruobi, Han Qinhu and others were all here.

Several people sat in front of the emperor, each with a different expression.

This was not directed at Yuwen Xian. Not only Yuwen Xian, but also the other ministers, the aides, tutors and accountants around them were all named by Yuwen Yong one by one and asked to come to the palace to pay homage to him.

During these days, Yuwen Yong has summoned many young people.

He sat in the upper seat with a smile on his face, looking like an easy-going older brother.

He said seriously: "A few days ago, I discussed the affairs of the military government with the wise men in the country and gained a lot."

"Someone told me that among the many military offices in my country, there are still some that look down on the Han people. They all use Chinese people as officers and do not allow Han people to stand out."

"I think this is wrong. All people in the world are my subjects. What's the difference? We all live in the same area, drink the same water, and eat the same food, but there are such differences!"

"They don't want these Han people, but I want them!"

Yuwen Yong looked at Gao Jiong and narrowed his eyes. "I plan to change the sergeants into attendants. After the Han people enter the military office, their county registers will be destroyed immediately. The best among them will be selected to serve as attendants. You are all talented people in the world. What do you think of this?"

The corners of Gao Ying's eyes twitched.

He immediately understood what the emperor wanted to do.

In order to break the ethnic barriers, they were transformed from subordinates of military officers into attendants of the emperor. The officers of each prefecture army were all given the title of the emperor's guards, and the general who founded the prefecture would no longer be able to fully command the prefecture army.

He even wanted to completely isolate these Han people from the local area by withdrawing their county membership, so that they could become a force that belonged only to him!

Gao Jiong said slowly: "Your Majesty is wise."

Before the others could recover, Gao Ying spoke first.

This immediately aroused Yuwen Yong's interest, and he then talked to Gao Jiong about other things, and Gao Jiong answered fluently.

Yuwen Yong was very happy.

He did not ignore the others and started chatting with them.

After chatting for nearly an hour, Yuwen Yong had a general understanding of them.

He said earnestly: "Everyone in the world knows that Yuwen Hu is going to rebel. The reason why I will execute him with tears is for the sake of the people of the world."

"The previous dynasty was in turmoil, and Taizu assisted the Yuan family. The Zhou Dynasty inherited the Mandate of Heaven, and Yuwen Hu took power. The habits formed over time became routine, and people believed that government orders should be like this, and decisions should be made by ministers."

"But I think this is a drawback. If the ruler is not a ruler and the subjects are not subjects, how can the world be governed?"

"Besides that, there is another drawback. Those who were once subordinates will respect their superiors as if they were kings."

"How can this be possible? If everyone treats their superiors as the king, how can the world be governed? Isn't there only one king in the world?"

Yuwen Yong spoke the truth, then looked at the people in front of him and said seriously: "Although you are temporarily serving Duke Yuwen Xian of Qi, you cannot really get along like a monarch and his subjects."

"If Taizu's sons can be treated like kings, then Taizu has ten sons. Does that mean there should be ten kings in the world?"

"Since you are temporarily assisting the Duke of Qi, you should treat him as a subordinate, persuade him, and let him know the principles of harmony between the ruler and the ministers, and order between the upper and lower levels. Your attitude towards him may cause suspicion between the brothers. Do you want to see this happen?"

After listening to Yuwen Yong's words, Gao Jiong and others looked at each other.

They knew that the emperor must have summoned them for some important matter, and now they finally understood the emperor's intention.

This was clearly a warning to them.
He Ruobi frowned, and Gao Jiong hurriedly stood up and bowed to Yuwen Yong.

"Your Majesty, what you said is truly a word of governance. I will learn from your advice!!"

"Hahaha!"

"it is good!"

Yuwen Yong pointed at Gao Jiong in front of him and said, "I appoint you as a junior official. Please give me advice in the future."

Afterwards, he rewarded other people.

Everyone said goodbye and left one after another.

Yuwen Yong narrowed his eyes. In the current country, generals own the army, royal family members own the talents, great families and nobles own the land and people, and temples own the wealth.

He had to solve all these problems one by one.

After completing these things, Liu Taozi, what's the point of talking about it? !
Go east! Go east! Go east!

(End of this chapter)