Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 339 It’s not that easy

Gao Wei stood there in a daze.

He looked at Duan Shao in front of him in disbelief, and his expression changed drastically.

He hurriedly looked at the guards on his left and right. These usually solid and reliable soldiers looked at the aggressive Duan Shao with awe in their eyes and did not dare to step forward.

Duan Shao had been in charge of Jinyang for many years. Except for Hulugu, no noble or military officer in Jinyang dared to be disrespectful to him.

Several generations of emperors had great trust in him and confidently handed over the military power of Jinyang to him.

Every time he went on an expedition, he led the elite troops of Jinyang to fight, and he was victorious every time.

If Gao Wei asked them to kill someone, they would not blink an eye, but if the target was Duan Shao, things might be a little different.

Gao Wei was unwilling to give in easily.

As he grew older, he actually gathered a group of villains around him through the random rewards he received in Jinyang.

These people helped him carry out various entertainment activities.

Gao Wei had a wide range of hobbies. In addition to torture-related hobbies such as putting scorpions in a wooden basin to catch people and bathe them, peeling off their skin and wearing it to scare their family members, Gao Wei especially liked performance-related activities.

He set up several projects in the palace, and no one else was allowed to enter these places.

Among them was a civilian village, and many people in this village were randomly captured and thrown in.

In this village, everyone has to play their own role well. Everyone has a fixed identity and no one can break the rules of the game. Anyone who dares to say or do something that is inconsistent with the player's identity will be killed immediately without mercy.

As for Gao Wei himself, he pretended to be a beggar and begged for food along the way.

If someone who knew the truth gave him food because of his identity, he would be killed. If he humiliated him too much, he would also be killed. In any case, he could not escape death.

In addition to the civilian villages, there is also the military fortress project. He found people to play the role of Liu Taozi and his generals, and built many cities in the palace. These cities are replicas of the main cities under Liu Taozi's command. The scale is a bit smaller, but the height of the towers, city gates, city walls, etc. are all accurate replicas at a one-to-one ratio.

Gao Wei played the role of a general, leading his cavalry to conquer Liu Taozi time and time again, and torturing and killing Liu Taozi in various ways.

There is also a market project, which replicates the two markets in the city. Here, everything can be bought and sold. Gao Wei will play the role of a merchant, accumulating wealth for himself and engaging in business wars with others.

In addition to his hobbies in performing arts, Gao Wei also likes puppetry, playing musical instruments, and organizing large-scale events.

All who can bring him joy in these areas will be greatly rewarded.

Therefore, those who could come up with all kinds of fun ways to please the emperor gathered around him, and each of them became a three-rank official. Just looking at their official positions, they could fight Duan Shao one-on-one.
Also, because these people have been strictly selected by Gao Wei, he can ensure that there will be no morally noble and righteous gentlemen among them. Basically, they are mostly scum and beasts, with occasionally a few cowardly villains.

But when the emperor was threatened, these people did not have the courage to stand up and fight Duan Shao.

The senior companions in the distance all lowered their heads, pretending they saw nothing.

Gao Wei has tasted the power and enjoyed the lawless days. At this moment, facing the ropes that may bind him again, Gao Wei has a dark face but is no longer willing to bow his head.

Duan Shao lowered his head and looked at the little emperor in front of him, then looked at the woman who was twitching beside him.

Skinned alive.

Duan Shao's eyes became even colder.

"Someone is coming!"

At the command of the Grand Marshal, more than thirty people rushed in from outside the door. They were the imperial guards of the palace.

Duan Shao pointed at the little emperor in front of him and said, "Take His Majesty back to the bedroom and let him have a good rest for a few days. Don't go out."

The imperial guards looked at each other with some hesitation on their faces.

Although the young emperor was absurd, he was quite good to the imperial guards. They received more rewards in recent days than ever before. All kinds of rewards were given to them even if they asked for them. Not to mention titles and official positions, they also had no shortage of money, beauties and the like.

When Gao Wei saw the hesitation on their faces, his eyes changed slightly.

"Da Sima!!"

Then a scream was heard from outside the door, and a man and a woman ran into the hall. Looking at the emperor and Duan Shao confronting each other, they were both startled.

These two people were Lu Lingxuan and her son Luo Depo.

Lu Lingxuan hurriedly walked in front of Duan Shao. Unlike the exhausted Duan Shao and Gao Yan, Lu Lingxuan looked more prosperous. She even wore an official uniform. After all, she was not just a woman now, she was also the attendant of the temple, the chief minister who gave advice to the emperor.

She hurriedly stood between the emperor and Duan Shao, separating the two.

Then he looked at his son, "What are you still standing there for?"

"Didn't you hear the general's order just now?"

"Take His Majesty back to rest!"

Luo Deva hurried forward and took the little emperor away. Duan Shao looked coldly at the emperor in the distance, but did not speak to stop them.

Only after the emperor escaped safely did Lu Lingxuan breathe a sigh of relief.

She looked at Duan Shao helplessly, "Da Sima, I know why you are so angry."

"Your Majesty lost his father at a young age, and there was no teacher around to teach him. He was in power at a young age, and many villains attached themselves to him, which led to the current situation."

"I promise, I won't do it again."

"This is not a problem for the future, but how to solve the current problem. The official positions in the country are in chaos. In the central army alone, there are forty or fifty commanders. Everyone wants to be in charge. The soldiers are miserable and don't know who to listen to. The troops in Jinyang have not trained for three months. If this continues, the army will be the first to be ruined. The elite soldiers of Jinyang come from their long-term training. If they don't train, how can they be stronger than the local troops?!"

"In addition, there are so many officials in the government. With so many officials, no one is doing anything. In a few days, I think there will be no one guarding the city gates. Everyone has become a senior official. Who will take care of the things below?!"

"As for the many things that happened in the palace that wasted money, I won't go into details."

"The situation has become so critical, yet Your Majesty is still making such a fuss. Are you trying to force these generals in the country to rebel?!"

"I know the emperor doesn't like me, and I also know you don't like me, but I'm telling you the truth. The generals in the country are already very dissatisfied with many things. If they continue like this, I won't be able to control them. If I let them rush into the palace, things won't be as simple as they are now."

Duan Shao spoke every word with great seriousness.

As Lu Lingxuan listened to Duan Shao's words, worry gradually appeared between her brows.

"Then what does Da Sima think we should do?"

"You are responsible for watching over the emperor and making sure he doesn't come out. I will handle the domestic affairs. Those randomly awarded titles must be reduced, and official positions cannot be so chaotic."

Lu Lingxuan lowered her head hurriedly, "Please rest assured, Grand Marshal, I will definitely do my best to watch over the emperor and will not let him come out to cause trouble again."

Duan Shao said nothing, turned around and left the hall, and the soldiers just watched him go away.

Lu Lingxuan turned around and walked quickly towards the bedroom.

In terms of rewards, no one received more than Lu Lingxuan and her family.

In order to better control the emperor, Lu Lingxuan found an extremely beautiful palace maid, made her her adopted daughter, and married her to Gao Wei.

While the emperor was having fun, Lu Lingxuan and her son were frantically amassing wealth and strengthening themselves.

They actively wooed those talented people who could be used, and helped them get rich and get promoted. There were fewer and fewer officials in the court who were not close to them, and more and more who were willing to obey their orders.

Everything is moving in a good direction.

However, the emperor's condition became the most unfavorable factor for Lu Lingxuan.

The emperor was becoming increasingly out of control.

When Lu Lingxuan walked to the door, she heard the emperor's roar.

The little emperor was smashing the surrounding ornaments crazily, he was furious and his eyes were red.

When he saw Lu Lingxuan coming in, his anger did not subside. He walked up to Lu Lingxuan angrily and said, "What did you tell him? Are you guys going to rebel together?"

Lu Lingxuan looked at the little baby in front of her.

Gao Wei was raised by Lu Lingxuan. When he was very young, he was a slightly introverted child who did not dare to speak out loudly when being bullied.

In order to better stimulate his ambition and use him to achieve her own goals, Lu Lingxuan trained him.

But now it seems that the training effect is a bit too much.

The introverted and shy little boy in the past was completely dead, and the one standing in front of Lu Lingxuan now was a moody monster.

But this monster holds the highest power in the empire, above everyone else.

Lu Lingxuan was able to have a good situation because of the monster in front of her, but the crisis of the situation also came from this monster.

Lu Lingxuan can no longer make him completely obedient like she did in the past, and no one can do that now.

Lu Lingxuan's eyes turned red and she lowered her head to wipe away her tears.

"How have I treated Your Majesty over the years? Doesn't Your Majesty know it in your heart?"

"Why now does Your Majesty suspect that I have colluded with outsiders to deal with Your Majesty?"

Seeing Lu Lingxuan crying, the anger on Gao Wei's face gradually disappeared.

He shook his head. "It's not that I don't trust my elder sister, but Duan Shao is really too much of a bully. He is a subject and I am the king. How can a subject force the king? He is clearly rebellious and wants to capture me and take me to Liu Taozi! If we don't take action first, he will come and kill us!"

Lu Lingxuan looked at her son and asked him to lead the others out. She pulled the emperor and asked him to sit down first, looking at him seriously, "Your Majesty, among the powerful generals in the country, only Duan Shao is able to fight Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi is fighting the Chen people in the south this time. After returning, he will definitely attack Jinyang. At this time, if Duan Shao is killed, who can stop Liu Taozi for Your Majesty?"

"In addition, the country is in a bit of chaos right now. Your Majesty has appointed too many officials. There are too many people in the same position. I don't know who should listen to whom. Everything has come to a standstill. No one is doing anything. This is good for Liu Taozi, but bad for us."

"Your Majesty has many people around him. I suspect they were sent by Liu Taozi to weaken our national strength."

Lu Lingxuan used the trick that she had tried over and over again, Liu Taozi.

If we were to say who Gao Wei hates the most now, it would definitely be Liu Taozi.

As he grew older, Gao Wei gradually understood the situation. He was no longer foolish enough to think that he was the real ruler in charge of the world. He realized his situation and found that the country was in the hands of Liu Taozi.

Sure enough, when Gao Wei heard Liu Taozi's name, he became even more excited and almost bit his teeth.

"So from Big Sister's perspective, what should we do in the future?"

"I think we should listen to Duan Shao first. I heard from the generals in the country that the evil generals under Liu Taozi are likely to invade Jinyang. At this time, we really can't easily execute the general. Let Duan Shao serve us first and repel Liu Taozi on behalf of Your Majesty. After Liu Taozi is defeated, Your Majesty can deal with Duan Shao later. It won't be too late."

Gao Wei nodded gently, "That's right."

"Then I can't play anymore?"

"No, Your Majesty, please stay in the palace and rest for a while. When the domestic affairs are settled, Your Majesty can have fun as you wish."

Gao Wei sighed.

"Ok."

"But you have to promise me that once Liu Taozi is defeated, I will kill Duan Shao!"

Lu Lingxuan laughed and nodded, "Okay, okay, I promise Your Majesty that once I defeat Liu Taozi, I will find a way to kill Duan Shao."

"But Your Majesty, you must also promise me that you will not go out during this period of time, concentrate on your studies, and leave the important domestic affairs to the ministers."

"Okay, I promise you."

Lu Lingxuan was finally able to put his mind at ease. He told his son to keep an eye on the emperor and not let him go out, and then he came out to gather his subordinates to discuss important matters together.

Duan Shao found Situ Zhao Yanshen as soon as possible.

Zhao Yanshen was still hiding in his mansion as he had done in the past, doing nothing and being extremely low-key. But when Duan Shao came to find him, he could no longer hide. Duan Shao wanted him to help him eliminate the current chaos.

The first step is those meaningless rewards.

Although everyone dislikes random rewards, no one wants their own random rewards to be revoked. They hope to be able to revoke others' and keep their own.

This is a vicious circle.

It was they who asked Duan Shao to reorganize the rewards, but it was also they who hoped that Duan Shao would not take away their rewards.

Duan Shao did not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. He started with the government affairs.

Only one person can be retained in each key position, and the rest will be determined based on their identities.

If they are dancers, craftsmen, merchants and the like, they will all be dismissed and their past rewards will be taken back. If they are real officials, they will be made deputies of the chief official, just demoted by half a level. In a place, only one person has the final say.

Zhao Yanshen sat in the room, feeling dizzy and dazed at the huge list of officials in front of him.

Gao Wei turned the hundreds of officials in the court into thousands.

It is not easy at all to put these people in their proper places.

Zhao Yanshen raised his head helplessly and looked straight ahead. Duan Shao was sitting in front of him with his eyes closed.

The footsteps of soldiers could be faintly heard outside the door.

"Da Sima, the rest of the people."

"Do it now."

"I'll keep you company."

Duan Shao opened his eyes instantly and stared at Zhao Yanshen in front of him. "When His Majesty conferred the title, you, as the chief minister of the temple, did not give any advice. Now it is your turn to clean up the mess."

Zhao Yanshen lowered his head again and started the reduction plan again.

Duan Shao almost lived in Zhao Yanshen's house, watching him make corrections bit by bit.

After three or four days, the revised plan for the first article had appeared.

A summary of the current chaos in the temple.

However, when Duan Shao sent someone to read the order, he encountered great resistance.

Most of the ministers were unwilling to accept it.

Some people became officials by selling their property. You want to take away their real power with just one word? How can it be so easy?
Duan Shao directly dispatched troops to various places in Jinyang. At this point, he no longer hesitated and immediately arrested and imprisoned any opponents.

Thanks to Duan Shao's army, the order was finally slowly executed.

The biggest problem is not with court officials; the biggest problem is with the army.

Gao Wei never considered who the recipient was when awarding honors. An ordinary guard might become a duke, a higher title than his superior. Several generals were appointed as commanders of the same army at the same time, and they all wanted command power.

The situation with Lu Lingxuan seemed to be improving as well. The emperor finally stopped coming out to cause trouble every day.

"Grand Sima, your Majesty has been studying very hard these days, and he even wrote an essay a few days ago."

Lu Lingxuan led Duan Shao towards the bedroom with a smile.

Duan Shao was followed by two people, holding thick documents in their hands.

Duan Shao originally wanted to let the Queen Mother approve these documents and formally issue an order of dismissal in the military, but the problem was that Lu Lingxuan strongly dissuaded him.

Although her words were that she was canonized by the Emperor and it was inappropriate for the Empress Dowager to dismiss her, Duan Shao knew the real reason. Lu Lingxuan did not like the Empress Dowager to get involved in government affairs again and did not want the Emperor to be neglected.

After all, Lu Lingxuan still has to rely on the emperor to issue orders.

Duan Shao looked at her coldly, but he already had the idea of ​​dismissing her.

Gao Wei is not worthy of being a king, or even a human being.

The more messes he dealt with, the more radical Duan Shao's opinion of him became.

Maybe he should change someone, like his younger brother, who is a very good person.

Lu Lingxuan walked aside, looking at Duan Shao in a flattering manner. What she least wanted was for Da Sima to have any extreme reaction at that moment.

When the two men sat down in the bedroom one after the other, Gao Wei was sitting among several old scholars, holding a book in his hands, reading with fascination.

"His Majesty."

"The Grand Marshal has come to make a report."

Gao Wei then stuck his head out, put down the book in his hand, and looked at Duan Shao.

"The Grand Marshal is here."

He stood up in a hurry and bowed to Duan Shao. "I was ignorant in the past and did many bad things. I will study hard in the future and will not make the same mistake again."

Duan Shao certainly didn't dare to accept the gift, so he quickly stepped aside and bowed in return.

"These are documents that require your majesty's orders."

Duan Shao looked around, and someone handed a document to the emperor in front of him.

There were a lot of these things, but Gao Wei didn't even look at them. "Okay, let's do as the Grand Marshal said!"

"Someone, come and get the seal!"

Gao Wei called out towards the door.

Soon, someone came quickly with the emperor's seal. Lu Lingxuan was still smiling and telling Duan Shao about the books the emperor read.

The moment Duan Xi passed by Duan Shao, he suddenly dropped the plate in his hand, drew out the dagger, and stabbed Duan Shao.

Gao Wei widened his eyes and watched the scene expectantly.

Duan Shao dodged and the dagger missed. Duan Shao, who was over fifty years old, did not look weak at all. He reached out and grabbed the assassin's hand and pulled him forward. The assassin fell into his arms and Duan Shao easily knocked him to the ground.

Gao Wei was shocked.

He jumped up suddenly, "Kill!! Kill!!"

Several warriors rushed out from the left and right, looking very aggressive. Lu Lingxuan, who was standing next to Duan Shao, turned pale and screamed in fear.

The two people behind Duan Shao also dropped the documents and looked at the warriors with bare hands.

Duan Shao's face turned extremely cold.

He didn't even look at the warriors, but just stared coldly at the frightened Gao Wei in front of him.

(End of this chapter)