Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 442: Border Security Strategy
Han army camp outside Nanyang city.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat, holding the letter from the Emperor of Chen in his hand, staring at the messenger in front of him with cold eyes.

The so-called envoy was actually Zhang Zhaoda, who had met Liu Taozi not long ago.

Liu Taozi pointed to the document in her hand.

"Master Chen, are you going to drive me away?"

"If Chen surrenders the two states, will the Han army be useless?"

"How dare you!"

Zhang Zhaoda looked sincere, and he said seriously: "I hope the Han Lord will not be suspicious!"

"During this battle, the Han Lord helped the State of Chen capture several cities. My Lord is truly grateful to you and I really don't know how to thank you. Now that the Zhou soldiers are coming, I really don't want the King to suffer greater casualties because of the cities of the State of Chen. My Lord wants to give you a gift."

Zhang Zhaoda said a lot.

His attitude was quite humble. He roughly meant that Chen Xu was really embarrassed to see Liu Taozi continue to fight to the death for the interests of Chen State. Considering his safety, he hoped to end this battle. Chen State would listen to his advice, hold on where it was, and would not rush to go to war. The King could leave with peace of mind.

After saying so much nonsense, Chen Xu prepared to give Liu Taozi a huge warship as a thank you, and it was said to be a new ship.

After saying this, Zhang Zhaoda said goodbye and left.

There wasn't even anyone from the Han army to see him off.

Gao Yanzong became more and more confused.

"Brother, what does this mean? I don't understand it at all. How can you get rid of your allies before a war? Is he afraid that we will steal his military merits?"

Shi Wansui laughed, "What's there to not understand? Isn't it just that he thinks that Your Majesty is a greater threat to him than Yuwen Yong?"

"What threat does your majesty have to him?"

"He was afraid that Yuwen Yong would seize the city, but he was even more afraid that his brother would seize his general."

"Ever since we entered the outer camp of Nanyang, General Chen in the city has come to pay us a visit every day. Even Zhang Zhaoda has come three times, hasn't he?"

"They all vie to make friends with Your Majesty, and General Huang comes every day and always talks until very late before leaving."

"It seems that he is more afraid of losing his general than taking the city."

Gao Yanzong's face was full of disdain. "This person really has no capacity, even more so than my brother."

"We have to be on guard against this one, we dare not use that one, we have to kill this one, and we have to force that one to rebel. We didn't realize how capable he was during the war, but he is so good at harming his own family!"

Liu Taozi interrupted Gao Yanzong and said, "Okay, don't say any more."

Liu Taozi stood up slowly, "Since Chen Xu doesn't want us to participate, then we won't participate."

"Yanzong, go and tell Ouyang He secretly to make preparations and keep it secret. Your Majesty, go and gather the army and prepare to return."

Liu Taozi gave instructions to his subordinates, and then looked towards the direction of Nanyang.

Shi Wansui suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to say goodbye to General Huang?"

"never mind."

"Chen Xu cannot tolerate others. If we meet again, it will harm him."

"Be prepared to leave!"

"only!!!"

The night was silent.

In Nanyang City, soldiers patrolled from time to time, and no other people were seen on the road.

As the cold wind blew, there was a sound of wooden doors being slapped again.

Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared on the road. The man wrapped himself tightly in black clothes. Behind him, more people appeared one after another. There were more than twenty people in total.

They approached quickly towards the north gate.

They walked very cautiously, looking around from time to time. When they heard the faint sound of dogs barking, they quickly hid in an alley.

A group of soldiers passed by with a big dog. The big dog had a blank expression on its face, as if it didn't notice anything and just passed by.

The dark shadows set off again and arrived at the city gate at an extremely fast speed.

An officer was standing at the city gate, surrounded by many soldiers, looking around.

They did not get closer, but walked slowly towards the north. After walking for a long time, they saw the person who came to pick them up. The person lifted a piece of rag on the ground, revealing a tunnel leading out of the city. The tunnel was extremely narrow, and everyone went in one by one and disappeared here.

After the Han army completed their preparations, they left Nanyang City without saying goodbye.

Liu Taozi rode in the front on horseback, with the soldiers following behind him.

The sky was getting light, and only a few stars remained in the sky.
At this moment, I suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind me.

A moment later, Gao Yanzong rode a big horse and brought more than ten knights to Liu Taozi's side.

"No need to dismount, just come over."

Liu Taozi said to them.

Gao Yanzong came on horseback, greeted Liu Taozi on horseback, and then pointed at the person next to him, "Brother! I have brought the person here!"

"Your Majesty, your servant Ouyang He pays respects to you!!"

Ouyang He saluted hurriedly, and Liu Taozi looked at him. The two had met in the military camp before, but Ouyang He came less often and they had never talked.

"Where are your family members?"

"Your Majesty, I boarded the ship a few days ago and am being escorted north by my subordinates. I should be able to reach Hai'an in eight days."

"Ah."

Liu Taozi gestured to continue on the journey and asked Ouyang He to follow her.

"I have heard about this from Yanzong, and later I asked Huang Fachu and others about it. I heard that you set up your own official positions in the south, appointed your cronies, and acted in an overbearing manner. Is that true?"

Gao Yanzong was shocked and looked suddenly at Ouyang He.

Ouyang He was also frightened. He quickly explained, "Your Majesty, it's not like that. It's just that I have been guarding the south for many years. The local Baiyue tribes are particularly convinced of me. When they have positions in their tribes and someone takes office, they ask me to preside over and confer titles. I think it is a good thing to appease the Baiyue tribes for the court, so I preside over and confer titles on their tribal leaders. Who would have thought that this would become me setting up an official position on the frontier and appointing my confidants. What kind of self-established official position is this Baiyue chief, and what kind of appointment of a confidant is helping to confer titles on his leader."

Ouyang He's face was full of grievance.

Liu Taozi nodded, "I see."

"After you pick up your family, you can go to Gwangju. You may be able to make some contributions to General Wang."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

Gao Yanzong shook his head. "Chen Xu is a man I don't trust among the generals in my country. He can't fight a war himself. Why bother?"

Ouyang He hesitated for a moment. He had a lot to say, but since he was his old master, he could only sigh.

"Ever since he killed the previous king's crown prince, he has started to act like this. The generals in the country have become particularly close to Emperor Wen, and he is worried about this."

"Logically speaking, my father and I both served the State of Chen and were deeply indebted to Emperor Wen. We should not have the intention to escape. However, if I were convicted, I am afraid that my family would not be able to survive. My mother is still alive, my wife is virtuous, and my eldest son, Xun, is young but smart and well-behaved."

Liu Taozi suddenly turned her head and looked at him.

"Your son's name is Ouyang Xun?"

"Is there anything wrong? I have just arrived in the Northern Kingdom, and I don't know what to avoid."

"Don't be afraid, there's nothing wrong."

"This is a good name. Let's cultivate it well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

It was completely daybreak, and in Nanyang, Huang Fachi had just summoned all the generals to discuss important matters when he heard that the great general Ouyang He was missing.

Huang Fachi was shocked and immediately sent people to search for him.

But after searching for a long time, there was no trace of him. Judging from his mansion, he and his confidants had all left and taken away the more important things.

Huang Fate immediately understood that this was a betrayal.

He quickly reported the matter to Chen Xu and sent people to search the surrounding area.

But still no trace of Ouyang He was found. The atmosphere in Nanyang City suddenly became weird. First it was Hua Jiao, then Ouyang He, who would be next?

As for where Ouyang He had gone, everyone was talking about it.

Some think he voted for Zhou, others think he, well, can’t say it clearly.

Huang Fachi had no time to care where Ouyang He had gone. He had no choice but to change his original defensive deployment. Although the emperor hinted that he could continue to find ways to capture Jiangling after Liu Taozi left, Huang Fachi was unwilling to do so.

He himself led his troops to station in Nanyang, and asked Chunyu Liang to lead the troops to Mianyang, vowing to defend these two most critical places to the death.

Yuwen Yong's army arrived soon after. As a veteran, Yuchi Jiong was still very powerful without anyone holding him back. He led the elite cavalry to attack first, bypassing Nanyang City and attacking Yiyang Pass where Liu Taozi and others had entered. He retook the place and closed the passage to the north.

Afterwards, he and Yuwen Xian of Xiangyang attacked Nanyang from two directions together.

On the Liang State side, Quan Jingxuan, who took office again, did not dare to be so arrogant. He led the armies of Zhou and Liang to attack Mianyang, advancing both by land and sea.

A war between the two countries is imminent.

In Jiankang, after learning that Ouyang He had escaped, Chen Xu was also very angry. He ordered the arrest of Ouyang He's family, but found that his family had already escaped.

In a rage, he ordered the killing of several of Ouyang He's closest friends. It turned out that these friends were all very famous people in the south. After they were killed, Baiyue became restless again and was ready to make a move.

But these things have nothing to do with Liu Taozi.

At this moment, he was leading the knights, leisurely on the way home.

Unlike the grim atmosphere on the front line, the atmosphere on this road heading north is exceptionally harmonious.

Many caravans can be seen everywhere, including large caravans with dozens of horse-drawn carriages, and some small merchants who only ride mules to sell things.

Smoke rose from the village in the distance, and the sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking could be heard from within.

The unrest in Henan is disappearing, prices are returning to stability, and the problem of thieves is no longer that big. Along the way, I haven't encountered thieves too many times. I have encountered groups of thieves twice, and the number of people was less than ten in each case.

Liu Taozi and others were almost all cavalry, so they walked very fast.

When people along the way heard the news of the king's arrival, Liu Taozi had often already passed by.

After walking for a long time, Liu Taozi finally led his men across the river and returned to the north of the river.

Liyang County Pier.

Zu Ting was wearing thick clothes, standing there, rubbing his hands, his eyes fixed on the water in the distance.

General Yuchi Jia stood beside him, in charge of the welcoming mission.

Yuchi Jia glanced at Zu Ting secretly, then quickly looked away.

My own minister is really a strange person.

He had clearly agreed to take me to Liyang to check the military equipment, but when we got here, he suddenly changed his mind and said he was here to welcome the lord.

Then he brought himself here. There were only two of them here, plus more than 400 soldiers who were originally used to protect Zu Ting. Yuchi Jia had no idea what his own minister was going to do.

While we were anxiously waiting, ships gradually appeared in the distance.

Zu Ting was overjoyed and pointed at Yuchi Jia who was standing beside him, "Look, it's the emperor who has come! I brought you here to receive the honor of welcoming him. You should thank me!"

Yuchi Jia quickly smiled a smile that was uglier than crying, "Thank you, Grandfather!"

Those large ships were approaching rapidly, but Zu Ting could no longer wait and hurried forward.

When Liu Taozi led everyone off the boat, Zu Ting was already kneeling beside them to greet them.

"His Majesty!!!"

Liu Taozi didn't say anything more and just grabbed him.

"Grandfather, it's only been two months since we last met."

"I miss your majesty day and night, and every day feels like a year."

"Okay, but why is Grandpa here?"

"I came to Liyang for work. When I learned that Your Majesty was coming, I hurried over to greet him."

Liu Taozi nodded, and Shi Wansui brought the warhorse to him. Ouyang He walked forward and looked at the old man in front of him somewhat at a loss. Liu Taozi introduced him to him, and Ouyang He showed a look of astonishment, "It turned out to be my grandfather!!"

"I've heard your name many times in the south!"

When the two met, Zu Ting happily rode on the mule and followed Liu Taozi.

"Your Majesty, is everything going well this time?"

"The threat from Luozhou has been resolved, but I think the Chen people may not be able to hold on to their territory in northern Jing."

"Oh?"

"The Chen army is approaching, and there are many generals in charge. Can they not stop the Zhou army?"

"Can't stop it."

Liu Taozi spoke briefly and to the point. Zu Ting laughed but did not ask any more questions.

He looked up and said disdainfully: "Chen Xu seems to be generous, but in fact he is narrow-minded."

"He is stubborn and self-righteous, trusting only himself and not caring about the advice of others."

"If he hadn't seen his son's misbehavior, he would probably still think that his son is a rare talent. This incident shows how narrow-minded this person is!"

"Although Chunyu Liang was feared during the reign of Emperor Wen, he dared to let him lead the army alone. But what about Chen Xu? He constantly rewarded Chunyu Liang, saying that he valued him, but in fact, he didn't want him to stay in one place for too long. He kept changing his position and subordinates, making it difficult for him to have his own power. For example, in the short period of more than a year, he changed the seat of the Huai River three times!"

"This time he asked Your Majesty to leave. I don't think it's just because he's afraid of Your Majesty. I think he's jealous of Your Majesty."

"envy?"

"After this man gained Lianghuai, he held many ceremonies to celebrate, and even reported to the temple to inform his predecessor. Who did he want to tell? Wasn't he telling Chen Qian? He wanted to say that he was better than Chen Qian. He would never be happy if Your Majesty took Jingbei with his troops. Only if he could do it alone and win it under his command, that would be true."

"It's just like some of our ministers. They all talk about the interests of the country, but in fact they only care about themselves. If things are not done by them, they would rather fail!"

Liu Taozi glanced at him.

"Grandpa really understands."

"I have been with this kind of people for a long time, and I know a little bit about them. For example, Cui Jishu is such a person."

Liu Taozi had no choice but to interrupt his framing and asked about the important matters.

"When I left, I heard that envoys from three countries had arrived. I wonder how they are doing?"

Zu Ting quickly said with a straight face, "One left, and two stayed."

"Oh?"

"The envoy from Goguryeo was very rude. After arriving in Yecheng, he was restless and robbed people's goods in the market. He wanted to pay with the so-called Goguryeo money. When the merchant disagreed, he wanted to beat him up."

"and then?"

"The sergeant who was responsible for protecting him beat him up."

"I took it upon myself to drive him out."

"The other two are a Khitan envoy named Mogo and a Kumoxi envoy named Mukunya."

"I have had many exchanges with the Khitan envoys, but rarely met with the Xi envoys."

Liu Taozi wrote down the two names, and then asked, "Grandfather, do you want to support Khitan?"

"No, no."

"I want to let the three of them fight, so I can use the strategy of two peaches to kill the forehead, and two fruits to kill three warriors!"

Zu Ting spoke so hastily that he almost forgot to be discreet.

"How do you kill him?"

"All three of them want to trade with us, so we will give them one quota and let them fight for it. After the winner is decided, we will give them another quota and let them fight for it again. In addition, there is the throne. Your Majesty can completely enthrone one of them as king and let him lead the other two countries. As long as we are willing, there are many ways. It is not easy to capture these three places at the moment, but we must also guard against them colluding with the Turks and becoming a hidden danger to the border."

"Therefore, the best way is to let them fight among themselves so that they have no time to be distracted. At this time, we can focus on dealing with the powerful enemies in the Central Plains. After the world is at peace, we can improve people's livelihood and our descendants will deal with them."

(End of this chapter)