Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 441 Peach's Threat

Jiankang.

The Minister Yuan Xian took small steps and walked into the inner hall in a panic.

There was a long couch in the hall. Emperor Chen Xu was lying on the couch with a cloth tied around his head, which seemed to have been medicated. He was resting. When he heard footsteps, Chen Xu knew that Yuan Xian had come and he got up with difficulty.

Chen Xu looked pale and haggard.

Yuan Xian hurriedly paid him a respectful visit.

Ever since the incident with Chen Shuling, Chen Xu fell seriously ill.

This incident was a great blow to him. Chen Xu often came to flatter his brother, citing his achievement in conquering Lianghuai. He felt that his talent was no less than his brother's and his achievements were equal to his brother's.

He also often showed off his ability to judge people, claiming that he had promoted many talented people.

As a result, he couldn't even understand his own son.

Chen Shuling pretended to be a decent person in front of him and deceived him, but he was such a bad person behind his back. After catching Chen Shuling, many of his deeds were exposed one by one, such as tomb robbing and indiscriminate killing. There were so many crimes that Chen Xu couldn't sleep at night!
He couldn't believe that his son was such a person, and he couldn't believe that he had never discovered it.

Thinking of the many times he had praised himself in front of others and what Wei Shou had said to him before he left that day, Chen Xu became almost crazy with anger.

Fortunately, there are many famous doctors in the south who can treat him. As for the psychological trauma, there are also eminent monks who can help him solve his doubts.

These monks may not be good at other things, but they do have a talent similar to talk therapy. After talking to Chen Xu for a while, they can make Chen Xu feel much better.

Yuan Xian took out several documents and handed them to Chen Xu.

Chen Xu opened them one by one and checked them out.

These documents were sent urgently from the front line.

Following the order, Chen Xu first picked up Huang Fachi's document. Just as he was about to look through it, he saw the names of several other people at the bottom. He raised his head and glanced at Yuan Xian.

"Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

"No need, Yuan Qing, are there any rumors in the city recently?"

"Not yet."

"But I heard that there was a children's song in the city."

Yuan Xian immediately put on a straight face and said seriously, "Your Majesty, there were rarely any nursery rhymes in the city in the past, but General Huang has just led his troops to capture Mianyang Prefecture, and these nursery rhymes have appeared one after another. General Wei Xiaokuan of the Zhou Kingdom has always been good at using such tricks. I think that if there are any rumors, it is because Wei Xiaokuan is no match for General Huang, so he asked his subordinates to use this method to discredit General Huang."

Chen Xu smiled and nodded, "I think so."

As he spoke, he opened another memorial.

This memorial was submitted by the romantic general Zhang Zhaoda.

This general was a typical southerner. He liked wine, beauties, and music. He always drank and had fun all night long, and even listened to music in the barracks. But he was not a fool who only knew how to enjoy himself. He was good at fighting and had high demands on his soldiers. But after defeating the enemy, he always distributed all the rewards to the soldiers. Moreover, when marching, he was always able to humble himself and eat and live with the soldiers and listen to music together.

He was Chen Qian's best friend, and they both admired each other very much in the past.

Chen Qian once joked with him, I dreamed that you got promoted. How are you going to repay me for my dream?
Old Zhang told him: You should serve like a dog and do your job conscientiously.

After Chen Xu came to power, this official had always performed very hard and was soon appreciated by Chen Xu. He was made a Shizhong and continued to participate in state affairs.

Zhang Zhaoda only mentioned two things in his document.

The first thing was that Liu Taozi did not want to lead troops to attack Jiangling and hoped that they would stay there. Huang Fachi agreed with this, but many generals were unwilling to listen and wanted to continue the attack.

The second thing was that Ouyang He looked uneasy and avoided seeing me, and I was afraid he had other intentions.

Chen Xu's expression remained unchanged. He pondered for a long time, and then opened the second memorial.

The second memorial was submitted by Chunyu Liang.

Chunyu Liang only told one thing, which is the current situation on the front line.

Including the number of his own troops, the number of Zhou people who might come, the city defense of Jiangling, etc.

It seems that he just summarized some data truthfully, but if you look closely, you can still see that he is not in favor of continuing to advance.

Chen Xu read many articles in this way, including the memorial of his nephew Chen Bogu.

In his memorial, Chen Bogu first inquired about Chen Xu's health and asked if he was well, and then complained bitterly. He said that when he arrived at the front, he originally wanted to make great contributions to repay his uncle, but Huang Fachi had always put Liu Taozi in charge of all matters. He addressed Liu Taozi as "the king" in private or public occasions, and often took Xiao Mohe to visit Liu Taozi secretly. He did not allow others to follow him, and did not allow himself to go into the battle .

At the end, Chen Xu picked up Huang Fachi's music sheet.

Huang Fachi only mentioned one thing in his memorial, which was that he hoped to give up the attack on Jiangling, stick to the current achievements, and wait for an opportunity to fight again in the future.

Yuan Xian sat in front of Chen Xu, watching the emperor's expression change constantly.

He was a little anxious.

Ever since the confrontation with the Zhou people, nursery rhymes have been flying all over the city. The State of Chen had previously welcomed so many Zhou people, many of whom were evil people with ulterior motives. Even among the monks, it was hard to say whether there were people arranged by the enemy.

If you hear too many of these rumors, even if you believe them, you will inevitably feel uncomfortable.

Chen Xu looked at Yuan Xian, "This time the King of Han agreed to join us in attacking the Zhou people and hunting in Nanyang. Now that the matter has been completed, Mian'an and other places have fallen into our hands. I want to thank the King of Heaven. What kind of thank-you gift do you think is most appropriate?"

Yuan Xian was about to answer when he suddenly remembered something and looked shocked. "Your Majesty! We can't end the hunting party now! The King of Heaven has fought against the Zhou people for many years and knows the enemy's weaknesses best. Moreover, the King of Heaven has elite cavalry under his command and can compete with the Zhou people."

Yuan Xian didn't understand it at first, but he soon figured it out.

What thank you? Doesn't this declare the end of the joint military operations between the two sides?
This is to urge Liu Taozi to leave as soon as possible, thinking that the two sides do not need to fight together anymore.

How is this possible? ?

This military action was initiated by Liu Taozi. Now that he has taken some territory, he wants to drive them away? ? Besides, if Liu Taozi is not here, can our soldiers face the Zhou cavalry? ?
Looking at Yuan Xian's stunned expression, Chen Xu shook his head again.

"I know this is disrespectful to the Heavenly King, but I have no intention of destroying the alliance, so I asked you about your thanks. Tell me, what does the Heavenly King like?"

Yuan Xian stood there in a daze, at a loss as to what to do.

"How about sending him a ship? Isn't there a new giant ship being launched in Guangzhou? Why not send him a giant ship? What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly, this is not a question of thank you, this is a matter of victory or defeat!"

"The Heavenly King's cavalry is brave and can fight against the Zhou people. If there is no Heavenly King to help, the front line will be in trouble!"

"I hope your Majesty will learn from this!"

Chen Xu didn't say much, but waved his hand, "You go out first, I have my own considerations."

Yuan Xian wanted to say something but stopped himself. He left the inner hall with a sad face. As soon as he came out, he met Queen Liu who was walking in. Yuan Xian looked dazed and almost behaved rudely. After he came to his senses, he hurried to pay his respects.

Queen Liu looked at him in surprise, "Mr. Yuan is usually very solemn, why is he so absent-minded today?"

Yuan Xian replied: "It's a national accident."

Queen Liu asked a few more questions, and then ordered her attendants to give Yuan Xian some gifts and send him away.

When Queen Liu walked into the inner hall, Chen Xu also had a worried look on his face. There were many documents scattered on the ground, making it a mess.

The queen asked everyone to leave while she personally picked up the documents on the ground.

Chen Xu let out a long sigh.

Empress Liu packed up all these and sat next to the emperor. "Your Majesty, why are you sighing so much?"

Now Chen Xu felt a little embarrassed towards Queen Liu. In the past, someone had said bad things about Chen Shuling to him. He always thought that Queen Liu was afraid that he would favor his second son too much, so she sent people to spread rumors. But now he realized that what people said was true.

Fortunately, both of them tacitly agreed not to talk about this matter.

"I want to end this hunting party and send Liu Taozi away, but I am worried that it will cause discord."

"Why did your majesty send him away?"

"Although I don't know much about military affairs, I have heard that Liu Taozi is the most courageous and unstoppable. Wouldn't it be very beneficial for us to have him on the front line?"

Hearing Empress Liu's question, Chen Xu smiled bitterly, "How could I not know?" "But this Liu Taozi! She is really able to win people over!"

"How long has Huang Fachu been with him, but he already calls him Great King? Xiao Mohe used to hate northerners so much and often said he wanted to avenge his commander, but now he listens to Liu Taozi and respects him very much!"

Queen Liu was horrified, "Are you afraid that they will all surrender to Liu Taozi?"

"Huang Fachu is an upright person. I don't think he will defect to the enemy."

"That"

"Chun Yuliang is already old. Isn't it Huang Fachu who will be the pillar of the north in the future?"

"But now the relationship between Huang Fachi and Liu Taozi is getting closer and closer. Not only him, but also the other generals, after getting along with Liu Taozi, all praise him highly. In the past, they all called him Dugu Hu in private, but now they all call him Heavenly King. I can't intervene, and I can't ignore it. The generals under my command have all become Liu Taozi's friends. What should I do? If we can always get along well, it's fine. But if we become enemies, and the two sides go to war, the southerners are mostly kind-hearted. If I worry about their friendship, won't it ruin the whole thing?"

Chen Xu's face was full of bitterness, and he finally expressed his worries to the queen.

He did not think that Huang Fachi would defect, nor did he think that Liu Taozi was deliberately delaying the affairs of the State of Chen. He was only afraid of Liu Taozi's extraordinary friendliness. In those documents, some people slandered Huang Fachi, some slandered Chunyu Liang, and some slandered Zhang Zhaoda, but no one blamed Liu Taozi. Even his own nephew, who was not very capable, complained about Huang Fachi's actions in a letter, but when it came to Liu Taozi, he couldn't help but say: A true hero.

Who can bear this? !
Empress Liu finally understood Chen Xu's worries at this moment. She couldn't help but ask, "Is Liu Taozi really so capable of winning people over?"

"That's true. They can't see clearly, but I have a chart here for comparison."

"Just look at these memorials. At first they called him a bandit, then he called him, and now he calls him a king. If there is another hunting match, I'm afraid the generals of the State of Chen will have to change their surnames to Liu. Golden Sword Liu, Golden Sword Liu, why is it so?"

Queen Liu fell into deep thought. Although Queen Liu doted on her eldest son a little, she was quite virtuous and could be considered a good person. And judging from the character of her offspring, although Chen Shubao, who was raised by her, was not a good guy, he was ten times better than Chen Shuling and his ilk. Chen Shubao was just incompetent. Although he had once cuckolded a brave general who was fighting on the front line, at least he did not kill people indiscriminately. If someone like Chen Shuling did that, it would not be an affair, but murder and wife-stealing.

She thought for a long time, and then advised: "Your Majesty, if you want to end the hunting meeting, it is best to let Huang Fachu stay at the front. After all, there are many brave generals on the front line. If we just hold on, we may be able to defeat the enemy."

Chen Xu didn't care much, "You don't understand military affairs."

"Although Yuwen Yong is proficient in government affairs, he does not understand military affairs. The Zhou army is strong and the generals are brave, but if the leader does not understand military affairs, it is useless!"

"When Yuwen Yong led an army of 200,000, what was the result? I think Yuwen Yong is not as good as Yuwen Hu in terms of fighting skills!"

"no need to worry!"

South Township.

The mighty Zhou army marched along the official road, the end of which could not be seen at a glance. The front army had already reached Nanxiang, while the rear army was still in Shangzhou, more than a hundred miles away.

Many of the knights rode tall war horses, held long weapons in their hands, and had fierce eyes.

In the middle were all infantrymen, tall and strong, walking very fast.

The carriages were loaded with food and supplies, escorted by civilians, while armored generals galloped back and forth on horseback.

When the emperor arrived in Nanxiang, many ministers and generals in the city lined up to greet him.

The ritual music started.

Yuwen Yong was dressed in military uniform and standing on his chariot.

"Meet Your Majesty!!!"

All the ministers and generals saluted and bowed together.

Yuwen Yong glanced coldly at the people in front of him.

"Please get up!"

Only then did everyone get up.

Yuwen Yong stood in the car and looked into the distance.

"The people of Chen have colluded with the evil thief Dugu, intending to occupy the land of my two states!"

"How can I tolerate this?!"

"This time, I have summoned a large army to attack and stationed myself in the center of the army. If I cannot defeat the enemy, I will not return until I die!"

Yuwen Xian took the lead and shouted: "I am willing to defeat the bandits for your majesty!!"

Everyone echoed.

Only then did Yuwen Yong let the carriage continue to move forward and drive directly into the city.

This time, Yuwen Yong summoned many powerful generals and elite troops in the country. He would not let the Chen people ride on him and shoot arrows at him. Moreover, if these two states were lost, the Zhou Kingdom would not only have to face Liu Taozi's attack in the future. The Chen people would certainly continue to send troops to seize Jingbei. If even Jingbei was lost, there would be no way out in the future.

After entering the office, Yuwen Yong gathered everyone and began to discuss the strategy of sending troops.

Yuwen Yong himself just sat in the upper position and did not interfere in military affairs at all. He let everyone express their own ideas.

With Yuwen Yong here, the atmosphere suddenly became different. The scenes of dukes swearing at each other in the past no longer appeared. Everyone was very cautious. Yuwen Yong had secured his position through a series of reforms. For this expedition, he appointed several members of the royal family as generals and arranged them to be beside each general. Yuwen Yong let them serve as nominal commanders, or as positions similar to military supervisors, in order to complete his control over the entire army.

It was obvious that everyone was holding back their anger because of the many previous defeats, and everyone was very excited, perhaps also wanting to show off in front of the emperor.

In the end, Yuwen Yong followed Yuchi Jiong's advice and let him serve as the vanguard, leading 50,000 troops to attack Nanyang first, while Yuwen Xian led 30,000 troops to attack from the west, and he himself led the rest of the troops and advanced steadily.

In the direction of Liang State, Quan Jingxuan, who had been dismissed before, was also re-employed to command the navy and land forces and go into battle together with Hua Jiao and others.

For a time, the Zhou army was vast and powerful, divided into three groups and marched towards Jing, An, and Mian.

Because the emperor was in person, their morale was high, the generals did not dare to be negligent, and the soldiers were even more motivated.

But in Nanyang, Huang Fachi was holding the document in his hand with a confused look on his face.

He didn't know what his emperor meant.

End the hunting party, but take Jiangling?

Why does Your Majesty think that you can take Jiangling without the help of the Heavenly King?
Our own treasury has just been replenished a little, are we going to fight the Zhou people at all costs?

Moreover, why should we stop cooperating? Isn't the purpose of forming an alliance to fight against the Zhou people together?
Huang Fachi thought hard for more than an hour, but still couldn't figure out the reason.

Just when Huang Fachi picked up the pen again and was about to refute, a soldier came in and told him that Chunyu Liang wanted to see him.

Huang Fachi put down his pen first and let Chunyu Liang come in.

Chunyu Liang was still the same as before, with no expression on his face, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. After meeting Huang Fachi, he sat aside.

"I wonder if General Huang has received the imperial decree from His Majesty regarding this hunting event?"

"I have received it. I am preparing to write to your majesty to advise him."

Chun Yuliang smiled and shook his head, "I advise the general not to do this."

"Why?"

"If the king does not join us in fighting the enemy, we..."

"General."

Chunyu Liang interrupted him and whispered, "The general and the King of Han have been in too much contact. You are now the commander-in-chief, and all the troops on the front line are under your command."

"General, please think again."

Huang Fachi's expression changed instantly. He stood up, his face flushed, and pointed at Chunyu Liang, "How could I be a traitor? I..."

He shivered for a long time, then slowly put away his hands and bowed to Chunyu Liang.

"I just lost my composure."

Chun Yuliang did not blame him. He said quietly, "Sometimes, it is good to only know military affairs. I am already old and just want to spend my old age in peace. But looking at the current situation, I am afraid that we will all be in trouble."

"General, the current emperor is not the Emperor Wen. Things that were possible in the past may not be possible now. You must think twice before doing anything."

"Thank you."

(End of this chapter)