Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 450: The Power of the Elixir
The ministers talked a lot.

Chen Xu still looked at the ministers in front of him expressionlessly, without any reaction.

The ministers had different ideas.

However, as just said, many people agree that Huang Fachu should not continue the pursuit and entangle the main force of Zhou.

However, these recognized ministers did not include military generals.

Xu Jingcheng expressed disbelief at the ministers' remarks.

His eyes widened as he questioned, "Is there any better time than now to take over Jiangling and Jingzhou?"

"Yuwen Yong is being attacked from both sides, and is in a dilemma. Compared to Jiangling and other places, Chang'an is more important to them. They are only thinking about returning to Chang'an as soon as possible, so how can they care about the rear? Why don't they capture Jiangling at this time, but let General Huang withdraw his troops? What's the logic behind this?"

Xu Jingcheng now suspects that his ministers have been bribed by the Zhou people.

However, these ministers naturally have their own excuses.

"General Xu is good at military affairs, but he doesn't know politics. The Zhou Kingdom is about to perish. If General Huang still insists on pestering and prevents the Zhou army from returning in time, then the Zhou Kingdom will really be completely destroyed. Who will benefit the most from the destruction of the Zhou Kingdom? I am afraid that wherever the King of Heaven goes, all the Zhou people will surrender. How can we have any chance?"

"General Huang must evacuate as soon as possible so that the Zhou army can return to relieve Chang'an."

These people spoke very convincingly, but Xu Jingcheng was so angry that he laughed.

"absurd!!"

"Didn't we unite with the Han Kingdom in order to jointly attack the Zhou Kingdom?"

"Our goal of conquering the Zhou Kingdom is about to be achieved, but you think we should stop?"

"What's the point!"

Xu Jingcheng looked at the generals around him and said, "Everyone, isn't this a good opportunity to attack Zhou?"

Although Xu Jingcheng had some military merits, he was not the first generation after all. As the son of Xu Du, his voice in the court was still a little weak. He needed these generals to help him speak. The generals naturally nodded one after another. Even Chunyu Liang did not shrink back at this moment, and nodded cautiously in approval.

Only then did Xu Jingcheng look at the emperor.

“Your Majesty, we must not let General Huang withdraw his troops now. We should let him continue the attack. Not only that, we must continue to prepare troops and launch another fierce attack. We can use ships to transport our troops to various places, concentrate our forces, and seize the strategic areas of Jingzhou as soon as possible! ”

"Then try to take over Bashu and divide the world equally!"

"We originally formed an alliance with the Han Kingdom in order to defeat the Zhou Kingdom and divide the world equally. Now that we are about to succeed, there is absolutely no reason to retreat. We have the advantage of the navy. If we can march straight in and advance along the waterways, we can capture the dangerous places first."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a minister beside him.

"Absolutely not!"

"The Zhou Kingdom is almost destroyed. If we continue to attack with all our strength, the Zhou people will really surrender to the Han Kingdom. At that time, the Han Kingdom will definitely turn against us. How can we resist?"

Xu Jingcheng was furious. "If they were afraid that the Han would betray their promise, shouldn't they have captured the strategic points earlier? The capital of Zhou has already been captured. Even if the emperor could be recaptured, what would happen? The people's morale has been crushed. The crown prince and all the officials have been taken prisoner. The secrets have been lost. If the weapons are taken away, they will be at the mercy of the Han army!"

"Given the King's bravery, I'm afraid that before next autumn harvest, he will once again gather his army and use the whole country's strength to attack and completely destroy the Zhou Kingdom!!"

"In this case, why not take more land, conquer strategic locations, strengthen the country, and then try to protect ourselves?"

"Could it be that if General Huang hadn't gone after them, the Zhou Kingdom would have been spared?"

The ministers still disagreed, and someone stood up to refute: "In the beginning, we formed an alliance with Han not to attack Zhou, but to protect ourselves. Now that Zhou is about to fall, General Huang should not attack Zhou, but help Zhou. Even if we join hands with Zhou to attack Han, it is all right!"

Xu Jingcheng laughed out loud.

"I see. I thought the king was going to betray us and do something mean. I never imagined that it was you all who wanted to do this!"

"Is the Emperor's covenant so easy for you to give up?"

"Are we still going to attack Han?"

Xu Jingcheng nodded, "Okay, Wang Lin, who defeated dozens of Chen's generals, is stationed on the coast, leading the navy, and is eyeing us covetously. He once flew across Longmen and defeated Xia. Yao Xiong of Yan led his troops beside him, and they joined forces. There is also Gao Yanzong, a fierce general who led hundreds of cavalry to attack Yuwen Yong's army not long ago, forcing Yuwen Yong to change horses and escape. These three are all to the north of our army. Why don't you lead the troops to attack them?"

"How dare you! Why are you praising that Han general so much? Are you harboring rebellious intentions?!"

Everyone jumped directly from the stage of reasoning to the stage of cursing, and began to curse each other. One said that the other was a spy from the Zhou State, and that one said that this one was an undercover agent from the Han State. One called the other an incompetent child, and that one called this one a shameless man.

Seeing that the argument had directly entered the stage of personal attacks, Chen Xu finally could not sit still anymore.

"Shut up!!"

At Chen Xu's order, the temple finally became quiet.

Chen Xu pondered for a moment, "This matter is serious, we will discuss it later!!"

He waved his hand and everyone left.

He signaled Yuan Xian and Zhang Zhaoda to stay.

After everyone left, Chen Xu asked, "What can we do about it?"

"We can't retreat, but we can't continue to harass Yuwen Yong's army."

Yuan Xian spoke first, "Yuwen Yong's army is in a hurry to go back, and General Huang is entangled. If Yuwen Yong had gone back earlier, he could have appeased the people around him. Even if he was unable to defend, at least there would not be an immediate incident."

"But if General Huang continues to persist, Chang'an will fall and the emperor will be unable to come back to help. I think everyone who was watching will quickly surrender to the Han Kingdom, and even the rear will be in chaos. Therefore, I think General Huang can slow down the offensive a little, but he must not withdraw like this. Jiangling must be taken!"

Chen Xu looked at Zhang Zhaoda again.

But he found that Zhang Zhaoda was lost in thought, as if he did not hear Yuan Xian's words.

"What do you think?"

Chen Xu interrupted the other party's contemplation, and Zhang Zhaoda finally reacted. He said, "Your Majesty, I am thinking about another thing now."

"You said."

"General Huang was defeated in the previous battle, but he met Gao Yanzong in his own territory, and Gao Yanzong helped him defeat the enemy."

"Ah."

"I never understood why Gao Yanzong appeared there. Was he really attracted by the rebels? If there were rebels, why would they run to the Han Kingdom when there were so many places to run?"

"As for Yao Xiong, Wang Lin and others, they have also disappeared in recent days and there is no news at all."

Chen Xu turned pale with fear, "They are going to attack me?!"

Zhang Zhaoda hurriedly explained: "That's not what I meant. I think Liu Taozi may have made preparations long ago and sent these three brave generals to investigate and guard against us. Once we show that we want to break the alliance or help Zhou, they will take action immediately!"

"They are all cavalrymen, and Lianghuai is short of troops. If we are attacked by them."

"Cunning!! Very cunning!"

Chen Xu shouted, "Is there anyone who is so wary of his allies?!"

Zhang Zhaoda was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Chen Xu frowned, the situation changed too quickly.

Liu Taozi really did not hesitate at all when he took action. Once, when Yuwen Yong was out, Liu Taozi found the opportunity and crippled the Zhou Kingdom.

In the past, he had been at odds with the State of Zhou, and wanted to make up for it through the State of Han, so he took a lot of ironware and war horses.

But now, these things suddenly became useless. Even if we bought more war horses, what would it matter? Could they stop the Han Kingdom?

He thought quietly for a long time.

"Pass on my decree, tell General Huang not to be distracted and focus on taking Jiangling first!!"

"Also, send someone to the Han Kingdom to congratulate the King on his achievement in conquering Chang'an!!"

On the official road, everyone was moving forward slowly.

Along the way, there were constant cries. These wealthy families were also extremely miserable at this moment.

Under the escort of the mighty Han knights, they moved towards Xiazhou little by little.

Chang'an behind me is getting smaller and smaller.

Liu Taozi rode a war horse and walked to the rear army. Shi Wansui followed him, looking back at Chang'an from time to time.

"Your Majesty, we really shouldn't have withdrawn like this. There are still many good things in Chang'an. It would be a pity if we couldn't take away so many people." Liu Taozi did not burn down the city of Chang'an.

Apart from the fire caused by uncontrollable factors during the battle, the Han army did not deliberately burn, kill or destroy the city. Of course, the city walls were still destroyed.

As for the people of Chang'an, Liu Taozi did not force them to go to Xiazhou.

There are too many people in Chang'an. Moreover, excessive destruction of Chang'an will not be conducive to future unification.

At this point, the Han army has gained enough.

The group marched forward like this, from Yanzhou to Chang'an. Many Zhou troops nearby had long been defeated by Liu Taozi, and no one could stand up to stop them at this time.

Zu Ting suddenly appeared at this moment, "What's the pity? It's just that if we stay there, it will be ours sooner or later."

Shi Wansui was stunned for a moment. "I haven't seen Grandpa for a long time. When we entered the city earlier, everyone was clamoring for military merits, but Grandpa was missing. What was Grandpa doing?"

Zu Ting waved his hand and said, "Don't ask any more questions. Take the scouts to see if anyone is chasing us!"

"only"

Shi Wansui said yes and quickly left with his men.

Zu Ting then looked at Liu Taozi with a smile.

"I congratulate Your Majesty on defeating the Zhou Dynasty and unifying the world."

"We have only captured Chang'an and captured some people. Yuwen Yong is still alive, and the Zhou territory is still vast and the troops are very large. How can we say that unification is in sight?"

Zu Ting looked around and whispered, "Your Majesty, Zheng Daoqian sent another secret letter, saying two things. The first thing is that after Yuwen Yong learned that Your Majesty had captured Chang'an, his blood rushed to his heart and he fainted on the spot. He was unable to speak and was dying."

"The second thing is that Huang Fachu launched a fierce attack behind the army, making it impossible for Yuwen Xian to return home in peace."

Zu Ting quietly handed a letter to Liu Taozi, who lowered her head and took a look. "Yuwen Xian's army hasn't returned yet, but the secret letter has arrived first. This Zheng Jun is getting more and more powerful."

"Over the years, he has deployed a lot of people in various places, even in the post stations."

"Your Majesty, Yuwen Yong is ill, Chang'an has been captured, and the Zhou Kingdom is about to fall!"

"Perhaps we don't even need to take action, the Zhou Kingdom will be destroyed."

"Oh?"

"Yuwen Yong is seriously ill, and Your Majesty has seized his crown prince, leaving Yuwen Xian in charge of important matters. Hahahaha, I just feel familiar. After thinking for a long time, isn't this the story of Yuwen Hu?"

"But Yuwen Xian is not Yuwen Hu."

"Yuwen Xian is not Yuwen Hu, but what's the difference between the people around them?"

"Once Yuwen Xian takes power, the Zhou Kingdom will go back to its old ways. This has nothing to do with Yuwen Xian or Yuwen Hu."

Zu Ting's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, "I can still help."

In just a moment, the fierceness in Zu Ting's eyes disappeared, and a sunny smile appeared on his face.

"Your Majesty, even if there were no internal strife, the Zhou Kingdom would surely perish."

"We didn't just capture people this time. All the secrets of the Zhou Kingdom fell into our hands. They can change the deployment of defenses, but they can't change the post stations, roads, camps, and garrisons, right? You can talk nonsense about the cultivated land, but you can't fool around with the grain, iron, and warhorse reserves in various places, right?"

"The Zhou Kingdom no longer has any secrets. In my opinion, it is like a beauty without clothes. There are no secrets at all!"

Zu Ting felt that his words were a bit too vulgar and quickly changed his words.

Liu Taozi asked calmly: "Can we destroy Zhou after this autumn?"

"can."

Zu Ting said with absolute certainty: "In October this year, Your Majesty can lead the elite troops of Hebei and divide them into three groups to attack Zhou State. I predict that within half a year, the north will be pacified. Places like Gansu and Liang will be pacified without the need for troops and horses. An imperial decree will be issued to pacify them. The enemy will retreat to Bashu."

"Even if they rely on the geographical advantages of Bashu, the Zhou Kingdom will exist in name only, and the Northern Kingdom will all belong to Your Majesty!"

"When the time comes, Your Majesty will select another general to lead the army, break through Bashu, advance by water, and then take Jingxiang. As for the State of Chen... Hahahaha, I'm sure this bandit is not a match for me!"

Zu Ting was talking when he suddenly remembered something and said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, now that Chang'an has been conquered, we must start to beware of the villains in Chen State. These villains have always been immoral and betrayal is common."

"I have asked Generals Wang, Yao, and Gao to be prepared. Even if the Chen people intend to betray the alliance, they cannot harm us."

"I'm not afraid of them coming to attack us. I don't have the power to do so. I'm just worried that they will ruin our plans."

"If you don't attack with military force, how can you destroy the great cause?"

"Of course they can, for example, to help the Zhou Kingdom. The Zhou Kingdom is in turmoil right now. I am not worried about them giving money, food and weapons to the Zhou Kingdom. I am just worried that these villains will replace Huang Fachu and let an incompetent person lead the army."

"Ah."

Liu Taozi roughly understood what Zu Ting meant.

"Chen Xu is not a great talent, but he is not a mediocre person either. This shouldn't be the case."

It was dark.

The Zhou army has reached Nanxiang.

Yuchi Jiong did not stop and continued to march towards Chang'an at a rapid speed, but Yuwen Xian had to stop.

The army was stationed here, and the entire camp exuded a decadent atmosphere from the inside out.

The soldier guarding the door looked pale and dispirited, with almost no fighting spirit.

The soldiers in the camp gathered around the campfire without saying a word. It was so quiet in such a large camp. Suddenly, someone jumped up, screaming wildly, and was quickly subdued by his left and right hands.

Yuwen Xian stood inside the general's tent, frowned, and stared at his brother.

A Taoist priest was sitting next to the emperor. He opened the wooden box and took out the elixir.

The elixir was indeed extraordinary. Just by taking a look at it, Yuwen Xian felt it was magical.

The imperial physician standing by suddenly stood in front of Yuwen Yong and looked at Yuwen Xian in panic, "Your Majesty, no, absolutely not. Your Majesty is suffering from a heart attack caused by anger. As long as you take care of yourself slowly and take many auxiliary medicines, you will be able to recover. What kind of elixir is this? I don't know where it came from. Don't trust it!!"

The Taoist priest was very angry.

"Do you think I want to murder His Majesty?"

"Your Majesty has been taking this pill for these years and is full of life. This pill has the ability to cure the dead, which is beyond the knowledge of ordinary doctors like you!!"

The imperial physician gritted his teeth and looked at the Taoist priest with a cold gaze.

This is no longer the era when shamans and doctors were inseparable. The two are completely different things. Although Taoists may also know some medical skills, the two are no longer the same profession.

The chief physician did not believe in this so-called elixir. If such a thing existed, why was there not a single immortal emperor among so many emperors in ancient times?
Every time the emperor took this medicine, his pulse would become chaotic, which frightened the old doctor so much that he trembled with fear. He had never seen such a situation in his life.

Besides, I’m seriously ill now, how can I use this thing?

The Taoist priest was not afraid at all.

He asked loudly, "What? You don't let me feed Dan, are you trying to murder His Majesty?"

The old doctor hurriedly looked at Yuwen Xian, wanting to get his support.

But at this time, Yuwen Xian was also confused.

He really didn't know what kind of elixir his brother was taking before.

So should I let him eat it now?

Yuwen Xian hesitated for a long time, then looked at his dying brother, came up to him, and whispered, "Brother, if you want to eat, just blink."

Yuwen Yong quickly began to blink.

Yuwen Xian stood up, "Hey Dan!!"

The imperial physician stood not far away and just sighed.

After taking the elixir, Yuwen Yong's face turned red again, and after a moment, he was able to utter some words.

Yuwen Xian was shocked. Could it really be an elixir?
(End of this chapter)