Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 483: His appearance resembles the great general of the universe
November.

Jiankang.

"Huang Fate missed a golden opportunity! He wasted food and fodder but never achieved anything to repay his gratitude. He should be dismissed!!"

As soon as the court meeting began, someone started to criticize Huang Fachi at the top of his voice.

Huang Fachi did not return to Jiankang, but stationed at the front line, taking Jingbei as the first line of defense and resisting carefully.

In fact, Huang Fachi did not cause too many casualties among the nobles this time, and everyone should not treat him like this again. However, the problem lies in Huang Fachi's memorial.

Huang Fate proposed a river defense system.

This included abandoning dispersed defense and concentrating troops to defend several important ferry crossings and checkpoints.

Then a tight security network was set up to strengthen control over the border through water patrols and beacon towers, reinforce river defenses, blockade some areas, strictly prohibit the entry and exit of merchant ships, and so on.

In fact, if Huang Fachu had only proposed a strategy, which was detrimental to the interests of all parties, no one would have opposed it so much. What was most infuriating was that Huang Fachu believed that the army should be actively expanded. Specific methods included learning from the military experience of the north, releasing tenants to join the army, making some monks return to secular life, reclaiming arable land and granting it to military households, and establishing military farms on both sides of the river.

Huang Fachi’s idea was very clear: to increase the country’s available population, increase the country’s taxes, and ensure that the army is fully staffed and the granaries are full of grain.

Everything else is fine, but if you want to free slave tenants and let monks return to secular life in the south, you will violate the "Heavenly Law".

When part of Huang Fachi's proposal was leaked, it immediately caused an uproar.

Huang Fateh has become a public enemy.

The usually kind monks all thought that Huang Fachu was bewitched by the barbarians and actually wanted to attack Buddhism! !

The emperor did not even want to hold this court meeting, but was forced to do so because there were too many impeachment memorials from his ministers.

As soon as the court meeting began, the ministers began to criticize Huang Fachi in various ways. The criticism became more and more severe, and some people swore that he was a spy sent by Liu Taozi.

Huang Fachi's son Huang Wan was among the ministers at this moment.

Listening to the crowd's abuse, his face turned red, his breathing became heavy, and veins appeared on his forehead.

“Everyone!!!”

Yuan Xian spoke, his voice was hoarse and almost broken.

The noisy court suddenly fell silent.

Yuan Xian was blatantly violating the law. If he had done this on a normal day, the censor would definitely not have let him go.

But today is an exception. The situation is urgent and the censor himself is making loud noises over there, which is impolite in front of the emperor.

Yuan Xian looked at everyone in disbelief, "Everyone! Think about it carefully!"

"Although General Huang failed to capture Jiangling this time, didn't he capture An, Mian and other states? Didn't he also deal with the bandits along the way? How can you say he has no achievements?!"

"I know why you are so fierce!"

"It's simply because of General Huang's petition!"

"Logically, the general's letter to the emperor should not be known to the ministers. I don't know what went wrong, but even my servants heard about it!"

"The person who did this has no father or king, and should be cut into pieces!"

Yuan Xian was furious. As the situation gradually went towards the abyss, this gentleman's temper became worse and worse, and he could never return to his former gentlemanly state.

Yuan Xian stared at the people in front of him, his eyes moving from them little by little.

"Everyone, isn't General Huang's petition for the sake of preserving the country?"

"Do you know what the current situation is like?"

Yuan Xian pressed the issue: "Do you know how many people the Han State has now?"

"After destroying the Zhou Kingdom, I estimate that their registered population must be over 30 million, maybe even more. After pacifying the bandits and comforting the dead, it may even be 40 million!!"

"Do you know how many people there are in Dachen?"

"Two million, one hundred and seventy thousand people!!"

Yuan Xian said, with deep despair in his eyes, "Our entire country has a population of only over two million!"

"Everyone, how much difference is there between these two million and forty million?"

Faced with Yuan Xian's questioning, only a few ministers lowered their heads, but there were still many who were willing to lower their heads.

"Since ancient times, victory or defeat has been determined by benevolence. How can it be determined by household registration? If a king is virtuous, he can be invincible in the world with few soldiers. Xunzi said that a benevolent person is invincible. In ancient times, when King Wen was fighting against King Zhou."

"Don't mention the ancient times!!!"

Yuan Xian interrupted him rudely, "Xunzi said that the benevolent are invincible, which is of course true, but Xunzi also said that the laws of nature are long-lasting, and they do not exist for the sake of Yao or die for the sake of Jie!"

"What is virtue? It is the one who protects the people and stabilizes the country!"

"Isn't General Huang's petition just to make Chen Youde?"

"The power disparity between the two countries is so huge right now. Our army is very small. We can only send out less than 40,000 troops to fight. The combined number of troops stationed in various places is unlikely to even reach 100,000!"

"Liu Taozi can mobilize more than 100,000 troops for field battles!"

"Now that we have Zhou land, when he comes to invade us, how much will the number be? Two hundred thousand? Three hundred thousand? Or four hundred thousand?!"

"Everyone, Liu Taozi is a thief with a cruel nature. After he usurped the State of Qi, he started a massacre. Many famous scholars in Hebei, including those who had served him, were not spared. The farmland they had cultivated for many years was plundered, and many people had their homes confiscated and their families exterminated! The few who survived could only hand over their farmland, dismiss their tenants, and live in humiliation!"

"When he destroyed the Zhou Kingdom, so many great clans submitted to him. The great clans of Bashu even led the way for him and actively sent troops, making great contributions. But how did he do it?"

"The Zhou Kingdom had just fallen, and the armies of these great clans were attacked by the remnants of the Zhou Kingdom. They suffered heavy casualties, and few survived. How could there be any remnants of the Zhou Kingdom? Didn't Liu Taozi send people to kill them himself?"

"From Hebei to Henan and then to Guanzhong, no Han clan was spared. This shows that this man falsely claimed to be the King of Han, but secretly hated the Han people just like Gao Huan and other Hu chieftains. Therefore, wherever he went, the clans suffered!"

"If we let such a person cross the river, who else can escape his reckoning? Even if we surrender, we will definitely be killed by him!"

After Yuan Xian said this, he immediately added: "In addition, this man particularly hates monks. During his rise to power, he colluded with Yuwen Yong and committed many crimes, and monks were not spared either."

"If we don't find a way to resist now, when this person goes south, the whole world will surely suffer great harm and no one will be spared!!"

Yuan Xian has always considered himself a gentleman, but today, for the sake of national affairs, he has to say some exaggerated words.

Maybe the population of the Han State is not as large as he said, and maybe the other party is not slaughtering people along the way, but if I don’t say this now, there is no way to alert these people.

Sure enough, after Yuan Xian finished speaking, the man who was eager to attack Huang Fachi also fell silent for a moment.

Although what Yuan Xian said was exaggerated, it was all based on facts.

Especially Liu Taozi's indiscriminate killing and cruelty, those are all true. Those big families that were able to survive in the hands of the Hu people were actually wiped out in his hands. This guy is much more brutal than those Hu bandits in the past.

But despite this, why do we have to contribute?

Besides, we have the natural barrier of the river, so we won’t necessarily be conquered by the Han State, right?
The North and the South have been at war for so many years, maybe something will happen to the other side?
For example, Liu Taozi suddenly died of illness, and then civil unrest broke out?
The court was silent for a moment, and then became noisy again.

"Mr. Yuan, we impeached Huang Fachi because of state affairs, not because of the petition you mentioned!"

"Not bad!"

"The matter of resisting a powerful enemy is something that all the ministers should discuss together, but isn't what they are discussing right now about the impeachment of Huang Fachu?"

Everyone changed the topic directly. Yuan Xian's reminder only made them alert for a moment, but after a while, they returned to their original state.

They knew how bad the situation of the State of Chen was.

They knew how Liu Taozi would treat them when she came.

They are just greedy and shameless bastards.

Desire blinds the heart, luck becomes the pillar, and then, nothing else matters.

They were used to eating, and being eaten was something the common people were not familiar with. Yuan Xian looked around and saw that all the people standing in the palace were demons in human skins, with twisted desires struggling to pounce out of them, and there was no cure.

Chen Xu resisted the pressure from everyone and did not punish Huang Fachi.

However, he also made concessions. Regarding resisting a powerful enemy, he needed to think twice and not make a rash decision.

The court meeting ended and the monsters left.

Yuan Xian seemed to have had all his spirit drained away by these monsters; his face turned pale and he was at a loss.

Chen Xu ordered someone to bring the attendant with him and go back.

Looking at the distraught Yuan Xian, Chen Xu couldn't help but say, "What Huang Fachi said is not without reason."

"But the more dangerous it is, the more the country needs stability. If we follow his method, before we can improve our national strength and increase our military, chaos will break out in the country. By then, it will be even more disadvantageous to us."

"Therefore, we should focus on maintaining stability and avoid causing trouble."

Yuan Xian nodded dejectedly.

Chen Xu smiled and said, "Don't worry so much. I don't believe that there will be no turnaround."

He lowered his voice and said, "There is one thing that Yuan Qing doesn't know yet."

"Oh?"

Yuan Xian finally got rid of his previous decadent state. Could it be that there really was a turn for the better?
Chen Xu pulled him into another hall, and then whispered a few words to the guards.

Chen Xu did not tell Yuan Xianming. Yuan Xian frowned, not knowing what the emperor meant.

After waiting for a long time, I saw many soldiers surrounding two people, completely surrounding them and sending them here.

Neither of these two men is too old, but they are very elegant and dignified.

At this time, the two of them bowed to Chen Xu one after the other and of course read out their names.

"Yang Jian pays respect to His Majesty!!"

"Yang Su pays respect to His Majesty!!"

Chen Xu asked them to stand up with a smile, but Yuan Xian was shocked.

After the two of them sat down, Chen Xu looked at Yuan Xian, "Mr. Yuan, Duke Sui has come from afar to seek refuge with me. Duke Sui's reputation is known to the world. Is this a turning point?"

Yuan Xian didn't know what to say.

Yang Jian sighed first, "Alas, I am a defeated general. I have come here to seek refuge. I just want to find a place to settle down and fight against that thief Liu. I really don't deserve your praise."

Yang Su sat obediently behind Yang Jian, not saying a word.

Yuan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at them. "I heard that Duke Sui was defeated by the Han army and is nowhere to be found. When did he come to Chen State?"

Yang Jian quickly replied, "After being defeated, I fled everywhere in a panic, and then crossed the river. I didn't know where I was. I was afraid of being pursued by the Han people, so I didn't dare to get close to the city. I took the small road. I walked like this for a long time before I realized I was out of danger. Then I contacted the local officials and asked them to tell Your Majesty in secret."

"I have had to fight against the generals of the State of Chen in the past, so I dare not reveal my whereabouts."

Yuan Xian said "oh".

His reaction was somewhat cold, but Chen Xu's was very enthusiastic.

Chen Xu talked to Yang Jian for a long time, asking about his well-being, and then asked, "Did Duke Sui come here to borrow troops or to restore the country?"

Yang Jian trembled all over, stood up suddenly, and his eyes turned red.

"Your Majesty, the Zhou Kingdom has perished."

"My family has been living on Zhou's salary for generations. Before the late emperor passed away, he entrusted the country to me. However, I failed to fulfill my duties and caused the country to fall. I wanted to commit suicide to apologize, but my friends persuaded me to stop."

"They said that I had a blood feud with Liu Taozi. My father died in their hands and my country was destroyed in their hands. As a real man, I don't want revenge, but only want to commit suicide. How can I be called a real man?"

Yang Jian wiped his tears and suddenly knelt in front of Chen Xu.

"His Majesty!!"

"Now, you are the only one in the world who can resist Liu the thief. If Your Majesty does not mind, I am willing to follow Your Majesty and go all out to resist Liu Taozi to avenge my hatred!!"

As Yang Jian spoke, he bowed to Chen Xu again and again.

Chen Xu was stunned for a moment, then hurried forward and helped Yang Jian up, his face full of grief, "Why is Duke Sui like this?"

"After hearing about the Zhou Kingdom, I was also deeply saddened."

"If the Duke is willing to follow me, how can I refuse?"

"Please stand up! Please stand up!"

Chen Xu helped the man up again, and this time, he let him sit closer to the front.

Yuan Xian sat on the other side, with a somewhat confused look on his face.

Why did he always feel that the emperor was a little too close to this person?
After Yang Jian's repeated pleas and flattery, Chen Xu formally accepted the other party's loyalty, and in the way of the State of Chen, he changed the Duke of Suiguo into the Duke of Suijun, and gave him a relatively high position of general.

Yang Jian thanked him again and again.

Chen Xu then asked him about how to deal with Liu Taozi.

Yang Jian expressed his thoughts without hesitation.

In front of Yang Jian, Huang Fachi's ideas seemed too conservative.

Yang Jian thought that he could directly issue an order to confiscate the land and wealth of the temples, force them to return to secular life, and then limit the number of tenants that the big families could own, release them on a large scale, and order a required amount, and then grant land in the country to appease the people. Chen Xu was shocked and hurriedly reminded him: "Yang Qing, don't tell anyone about this."

"General Huang was impeached by many people because of similar petitions."

"Your Majesty, I have always been a straight-talking person and I don't know how to tell lies. Besides, as a minister, why should I be afraid of other people's opinions?"

"What I am worried about is that I cannot help Your Majesty defeat the bandits."

Chen Xu's face was calm, but he was very happy in his heart. The two of them continued to discuss for a long time.

When Yang Jian left, Chen Xu rewarded him with many things, from houses to carriages and horses, and even clothes.

Yang Jian thanked him again and again and then left.

Chen Xu looked at Yuan Xian and asked with a smile, "This man has fought with Liu Taozi for many years. He is familiar with the strategy of the North and knows how to lead cavalry. It is said that Yang Su, who is under his command, is also a man of both civil and military talents and extraordinary bravery."

"No wonder your majesty is so excited."

"Not only that, Yang Jian has quite a few connections among the Zhou people. After Liu Taozi conquered the Zhou Kingdom, he couldn't wait to start killing people and lost the support of the people. Yang Jian can help us win over those old friends of the Zhou Kingdom, which can play a huge role. Isn't this a turning point?"

"Um"

Yuan Xian always felt that the emperor was so happy because Yang Jian was an outsider.

People like Huang Fachi, no matter how much criticism they suffer in their country, are locals after all. They have friends, relatives, connections and supporters here.

But Yang Jian was a complete outsider, he had no connections here, and basically no chance of achieving anything great.
Could this be the reason why the emperor attaches so much importance to it?
However, Yuan Xian didn't like Yang Jian very much.

When the Zhou Kingdom had not yet perished, they sent people to write a letter to the Zhou Kingdom. The leader was Yang Jian. The letter said that they wanted to take the Zhou Lord to the Chen Kingdom, and there was a hint of betrayal.

Yuan Xian felt that this man might not be as loyal as he appeared to be.

He cleared his throat, looked at the very happy Chen Xu, and suddenly said: "The people from the north really look different from those from the south. I see that Duke Sui is tall and strong, and looks very much like Hou Jing."

The smile on Chen Xu's face disappeared instantly.

(End of this chapter)