Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 334: Peach blossoms
East Gate.

The sky was dark, and the city, which had just experienced a war, looked even more dilapidated under the dim light.

A knight suddenly appeared from the dense forest in the distance. He galloped on his horse as if he was being chased by something terrible. His horse spread out its four legs and almost flew.

The soldiers at the city gate quickly spotted the knights rushing towards them from a distance. They shouted and aimed their crossbows at the enemy.

The warhorse galloped wildly in front of everyone.

The scout on horseback was covered in blood. When the warhorse stopped, he flew off the horse. He didn't even have the strength to maintain his balance. The soldiers saw him fall heavily to the ground, and then they walked forward to check.

“One of our own!!”

"One of our own!"

Soon, a soldier carried the wounded scout towards the government office.

Huang Fachi had already gone to bed. He had just experienced a great battle and captured Dongguan. He was exhausted both physically and mentally and now just wanted to rest.

There was a noise outside the door. His personal guards started arguing with the armored soldiers. Huang Fatic put on his clothes and walked out of the door.

"what happened?"

Seeing Huang Fachi come out, the quarreling people immediately quieted down, and the soldier hurriedly reported: "General, a scout just came and said that there was an emergency and he refused to tell us."

Huang Fate's eyebrows jumped, and he looked at the guards beside him, "I said, there is no need to stop the urgent military information, why don't you obey?!"

"My lord, you haven't rested for several days."

"Go down and receive fifty military sticks."

"only!"

Huang Fate then looked at the soldier and said, "Go and bring the scout in to me."

He turned and walked into the house, changed his clothes, and waited for a moment. Two soldiers came in, supporting a seriously injured scout.

The scout had at least three arrow wounds on his body. He looked shaky and there was no expression in his eyes.

"General Huang."

He had just said three words when tears started to flow.

Huang Fate realized something instantly.

"Close the door."

The personal soldiers immediately guarded several gates.

Huang Fate looked at the scout seriously, "What happened?"

The scout burst into tears immediately, "General Huang, we are defeated, we are defeated. One day ago, the enemy attacked the camp with the Chu River, and our army was defeated. My general was killed, and tens of thousands of soldiers were killed or wounded. Only a thousand escaped. My brothers and I were also hunted by them, and I was the only one who escaped alive."

"what?!"

Huang Fachi jumped up instantly, horrified.

His face immediately turned red, and he began to tremble all over. "Sixty thousand troops! Sixty thousand veterans!!"

The veins on Huang Fachi's forehead bulged, and he stepped forward and almost grabbed the scout's neck.

He wanted to ask how Wu Mingche, the great naval commander, could be defeated by the enemy using the method he was best at.

How could an army of tens of thousands be destroyed like this?

But looking at the scout crying in front of him, he slowly withdrew his hand.

Huang Fachi's face turned pale. He had not panicked at all when he first learned that Liu Taozi had arrived, but now he had lost his composure.

Among the three armies, Wu Mingche was the most powerful and had the most generals under his command.

The troops he led were all the savings of the State of Chen over the years.

Was he just wiped out by Liu Taozi? ?
Huang Fachi took a few steps back and slowly sat down. He found that his hands were shaking constantly.

Having just taken over Dongguan, he thought he had Hefei in his hands and was full of confidence.

But this sudden change caused him to fall into an ice cellar in an instant, and he felt a little dazed.

He couldn't believe what he heard.

Wu Mingche died, and the tens of thousands of veteran soldiers under his command were also gone.
"Come on, gather the generals! Have them come quickly!!"

Huang Fachi hurriedly gave the order.

Soon, all the generals appeared in front of Wu Mingche. After the fierce fighting during the day, most of them were a little tired. Being suddenly woken up, they did not dare to complain, but they were all yawning and looking listless.

But when Huang Fatichen told them what had happened, these generals instantly came to their senses.

Their performance was even worse than Huang Fachu's.

Some people burst into tears because their relatives were all under Wu Mingche's command. Some couldn't believe it and kept questioning. Some people were terrified and turned pale with fear.

"General, withdraw!"

"Liu Taozi has defeated General Wu and will come looking for us next. We must retreat quickly or it will be too late!"

"Yes, we are now in Dongguan. If we hesitate any longer, I'm afraid he will block us on the road!"

"General!"

All the people under Huang Fachi's command seemed to have lost their souls at this moment. Facing the aggressive Liu Taozi, this terrible record made this northern Hu demon even more terrifying. Many people no longer dared to face him, and now all they wanted was to escape.

The house suddenly became chaotic and everyone was thinking about how to escape.

Huang Fati looked at the people in front of him, and his expression gradually calmed down.

"Liu Taozi defeated General Wu because General Wu was unfamiliar with the area and was attacked by water. Otherwise, how could Liu Taozi defeat him with more than 3,000 men?"

"We still have more than 30,000 elite soldiers, which is ten times the number of Liu Taozi!"

"General Xu can come to support us at any time. If we join forces, we can still easily gather 50,000 to 60,000 troops!"

"This is twenty times of Liu Taozi's!"

"Why are you so scared?!"

Hearing Huang Fachi's question, the generals dared not speak and just lowered their heads.

Huang Fachu said slowly: "General Wu was defeated, and many of our comrades and compatriots died at the hands of the enemy. Instead of avenging them, you want to escape. Can you be considered a brave soldier?"

The generals then raised their heads, and their expressions changed slightly.

Huang Fate continued, "After Liu Taozi came here, he led his troops to fight everywhere, and his army must be exhausted. Now that he has defeated General Wu, he will not dare to invade us easily."

“It’s very good for us.”

"Fan"

Huang Fatic had just opened his mouth when he realized that Fan Yi had died in the battle. A trace of grief flashed in his eyes, and he immediately looked at another general.

"General Wu, you must leave the city now and return to Liyang. Stay in the city. No matter who comes, you are not allowed to fight. Defend the city for me. As long as I am alive, I will not let Liu Taozi defeat Liyang!"

"only!!"

Huang Fate looked at the others and said, "Everyone, this may not be something we cannot use."

"Hefei is tall and strong, and there are people like Lu Qian and Wei Po Hu guarding it. The officials in the city dare not surrender easily. If we attack it by force, the enemy still has tens of thousands of troops, which will be very disadvantageous to us."

"However, if they learn about Liu Taozi's situation and find out that we are preparing to evacuate, they will definitely get carried away and lead a large army to take back Dongguan Liyang."

"These two cities are extremely important to the Yangzhou governor, Lu Qian will not let them go."

"We just need to create the illusion of evacuation and set up an ambush along the way. We can make these people pay the price and then take Hefei! Restock the supplies!"

"Everyone, although General Wu was defeated, Jiankang did not issue an imperial edict for us to return."

"The war is still going on, and the advantage is still in our hands."

"Don't tell the three armies about General Wu yet. Everyone go back and prepare to annihilate Lu Qian's army, take Hefei, take Yangzhou! Take the precious land of Lianghuai!!"

Huang Fachi's voice became louder and louder. The generals stood solemnly in front of him and were also infected by his emotions.

They saluted hastily.

"only!!!"

The generals left quickly and Huang Fachi was the only one left in the room. Huang Fachi then put away his excitement and his face became sad again.

The war is over.

Although the edict from Jiankang has not arrived yet, it is only a matter of time.

Originally, the ministers in the country were very opposed to this Northern Expedition. It was only when Wu Mingche led the generals in writing a petition that this opportunity was created.

Unfortunately, Wu Mingche was defeated and his army of more than 60,000 people was wiped out. This shocked the world and the emperor didn't know what to feel when he heard it.

This was a devastating blow to the State of Chen.

If the ministers in the country knew about this, they would never allow the war to go on.

These people still have enormous power in the country, and I'm afraid Your Majesty can't handle it.

Now we just have to wait for the imperial edict and then withdraw our troops.

But Huang Fachi couldn't say it clearly.

What would happen if he listened to his soldiers and ran back regardless of the consequences?

The morale of the entire army was low and they no longer had the will to fight. The generals would tremble in fear when they heard Liu Taozi's name.

At this time, if Liu Taozi ambushed him again on the road he had to take, Huang Fachi couldn't believe what the situation would become.

The most important thing at the moment is to overcome the fear of the generals.

The only way is to lead them to defeat the powerful enemy again.

Lu Qian was a good choice. Moreover, Huang Fachi was basically certain that he could win. Huang Fachi liked to study his enemies very much. Before the expedition, he alone found many people in the Huaibei area to tell him about the local situation, and sent people to inquire about the officials and generals.

Liu Taozi was an accident. He never thought that Liu Taozi would appear on the battlefield.

If it weren't for Liu Taozi, he would have already taken Hefei.
Huang Fatic shook his head, put these thoughts out of his mind, and started thinking about how to deal with Lu Qian again.

We cannot divide our forces any further now. We must get General Xu to reunite with us as soon as possible. Both parties must go together. If we go alone, Liu Taozi may seize the opportunity again.

The elite troops under Liu Taozi's command are so powerful that even the Southern Kingdom cannot find an army that can rival them. Moreover, he must be accompanied by Wang Lin, who is familiar with the local area and the people of Chen. With the help of Wang Lin, Liu Taozi's army is not afraid of anyone. Wang Lin, this old man, is a thief if he is still alive! !
It’s a pity that we were defeated this time.

I'm afraid the domestic situation is going to change drastically.

Qin County.

On the city wall, Lu Yao was still guarding here.

It has been some time since the enemy retreated.

There were many speculations about the enemy's sudden retreat, and the most reliable one was that reinforcements had arrived.

Lu Yao was very surprised by this.

He didn't know whose reinforcements they were, from Yangzhou? Or from Lou Rui?
Everyone in the city thought it was Liu Taozi, but Lu Yao knew that was impossible.

No matter who the reinforcements came from, they must have been a very powerful army. Until today, the enemy has not appeared again.

The soldiers in the city were finally able to rest, and the people also got a chance to catch their breath.

The atmosphere is no longer so desperate.

Lu Yao sat alone on the city wall, gazing into the distance, with a myriad of thoughts running through his mind.

"Enemy attack!!!"

Suddenly someone shouted.

At this moment, the originally silent city wall suddenly became noisy. The soldiers stood up and raised their weapons. Lu Yao was also awakened and hurriedly walked forward, staring outside.

A cavalry group appeared in the distance. There were a lot of them. They were slowly approaching the city.

Behind them, there seemed to be a large number of infantrymen.

Lu Yao's eyes widened. Did the Chen people gather all the cavalry together? ?
He hastily ordered his soldiers to prepare for battle.

After this period of rest, the soldiers recovered and began to prepare for battle.

However, the cavalry in the distance was still getting closer.

Finally, they were close enough.

Lu Yao saw their flag clearly.

"Liu."

Lu Yao frowned, Liu?

The next moment, he saw clearly what the knights were wearing.

People from Qi.

Lu Yao couldn't believe it and stood there motionless.

A moment later, the soldiers on the city wall also noticed this, and for a moment, cheers resounded throughout the city.

"It's the General!!"

"It's the general's men!!"

"It's really the general!!"

"The general is here to save us!"

The crowd cheered wildly and the soldiers knelt on the ground. The despair and pain of so many days were gone from them in an instant, which made them almost crazy and some even burst into tears.

There was chaos inside and outside the city.

These were indeed the general's cavalry, and what they brought with them were all enemy prisoners. They were tied up and were just moving forward numbly.

When Liu Taozi appeared outside the city on a black horse, Lu Yao opened the city gates and lined up to welcome him without giving any orders.

Liu Taozi rode past them on his horse. The soldiers looked at him fanatically and watched him enter the city.

Liu Taozi walked into the city and looked around.

Soon, two soldiers supported Lu Yao and walked down the steps of the city wall. Lu Yao walked towards Liu Taozi tremblingly, and his speed was getting faster and faster.

Liu Taozi got off the horse, handed the reins to the soldier beside him, and walked towards Lu Yao.

"Mr. Lu."

"Know it. Know it"

Lu Yao stretched out his hand and grabbed Liu Taozi's hand randomly, but his hands were shaking and he couldn't hold on firmly.

Liu Taozi held his hands firmly.

"Don't worry, Lord Lu. I have defeated Wu Mingche and killed him. His army has also been defeated by me. Qinzhou is safe."

At this moment, Lu Yao was staring at Liu Taozi in front of him, looking her up and down. He seemed to suspect that he was dreaming and couldn't believe that everything in front of him was real.

When he said Liu Taozi would come to support him, it was just empty words to encourage people.

He didn't believe that Taozi would come to this place at all.

But now, Lu Yao was confused.

"How did you get here?"

"First take the boat, then ride the horse."

"Wu Mingche?"

"He has been killed by me."

Lu Yao nodded and fell headfirst. Liu Taozi hurriedly supported him, and for the first time, a look of fear appeared on her face. "Quick! Call the military doctor over!!"

The military doctor took his pulse and confirmed that he was just exhausted, then rushed him to the government office.

Liu Taozi immediately took over the affairs in the city. He sent people to settle the captives outside the city, and also sent people to transport refugees from Guabu and other places.

Everyone started to get busy.

Inside the house, the candlelight flickered continuously.

Lu Yao suddenly woke up.

He accidentally fell asleep again.

In his dream, he saw Liu Taozi.

He raised his head tiredly, and when he looked around clearly, he found that he was no longer on the city wall.

At the desk nearby sat a tall figure.

Liu Taozi.

Not a dream.

Lu Yao struggled to sit up. Liu Taozi turned and looked at him. "Mr. Lu, the doctor told you to continue to rest. You should not get up. Rest for a few days first."

Lu Yao looked at Liu Taozi and was silent for a long time.

"I already know about Qian Zhong's situation. Lord Lu, please don't be too sad."

"That's what war is like. People are always going to die."

"One day, when the war is over and the world is at peace, everything will be fine."

Lu Yao sighed, tears glistening in his eyes, "He has been with me for more than 30 years. On weekdays, I don't even dare to kill a chicken."

The two fell silent again.

Lu Yao forced himself to suppress his sadness and looked at Liu Taozi again, "Why are you here?"

"I can't watch the southerners take over south of the river."

"I happened to be in Gwangju, so I came to rescue."

"I took advantage of the enemy's ignorance and launched several surprise attacks. Then I took advantage of Wu Mingche's unfamiliarity with the area and flooded it with the Chu River. In order to eliminate Wu Mingche, I flooded a city, destroyed countless fields, and killed countless people, including many innocent civilians."

Liu Taozi spoke softly, without any of her usual indifference in her words.

He looked at Lu Yao and said, "Lord Lu, now is not the time to be sad. If you have the ambition to stabilize the world, you cannot stop and must do it to the end. One day, I will pacify the wars in the world and prevent wars from happening again."

"You should take a rest first. I have brought many captives here, and there are many refugees over there. I hope you can help me settle these people."

"I still have to deal with the other two General Chen."

"Huang Fachu's reputation is not as great as Wu Mingche's, but in my opinion, he is more difficult to deal with than Wu Mingche. Although I have defeated Wu Mingche, I still cannot underestimate him. I have to watch them board the ship and leave before I can feel at ease."

Lu Yao looked at Liu Taozi and his expression became somewhat gentle.

"Go ahead and fight."

"Don't worry about things here."

"I will properly place those people and will not let them be hurt again."

"Thanks a lot."

ps: In the middle of Wuping, (Lu Yao) was surrounded by bandits. After more than a hundred days, he was promoted to Kaifu Yitong Sansi. There were many plagues in the city, and more than half of the people died, but people had no dissent. He died of illness. When the city fell, Chen general Wu Mingche said that Yao had good governance and was respected by the officials, so he reported to the Chen lord and returned his body, and his family property was not stolen. ——"Northern History"

(End of this chapter)