Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 418 Don't become like the person you hate the most

Youzhou.

As dawn broke, the fire was extinguished, but most of the houses where Gao Huan and the others lived were now ruins.

The people of Fanyang were watching the spectacle around the house.

Gao Huan and his Huai Shuo troops now look quite disheveled.

After last night's assassination and arson, the other side made no further moves, and even the arsonists escaped without a trace.

Gao Huan glanced at the people around him, including many of Yuwen Tai's Wuchuan generals.

They knew Gao Huan and the others, but at this moment they pretended to be strangers, watching from afar without saying a word.

The loudest voices came from the scions of noble families who had been captured and released by Gao Huan and his men a few days earlier; they were mocking Gao Huan and his men's sorry state.

Upon hearing this, Wei Jing and the others were filled with rage and were about to take action when Gao Huan stopped them.

"If we make a move here, we'll be the ones who suffer."

Gao Huan spoke in the Xianbei language, and Wei Jing and the others could only suppress their anger.

Gao Huan already had some guesses about who was behind this operation. However, to his surprise, the other party actually appeared in front of him.

"He Liuhun, why do you look like this?"

Liu Lingzhu appeared in front of Gao Huan carrying two bottles of wine, looking quite surprised.

Gao Huan squinted at the white-haired, youthful-looking man before him, a smile spreading across his face.

“Last night my servant accidentally caused a fire, please forgive me, Lord Liu.”

"How could we be so negligent? Are the court's most wanted criminals not a concern?"

Liu Lingzhu looked behind Gao Huan, but did not see the person he was looking for.

In addition to holding the title of Grand Ambassador for the Expedition to Liaodong, Gao Huan also held the temporary positions of Supervising Censor and Imperial Envoy, granted by the imperial court. He was able to handle officials below the rank of prefect. For officials above the rank of prefect, he could also submit a memorial to the imperial court for further action.

The same goes for Yuwentai.

However, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake; Youzhou was, after all, someone else's territory.

Gao Huan suffered a loss in silence, but did not retaliate.

"It's alright, everything is here."

Liu Lingzhu nodded, and said meaningfully:
"Then you must be careful in the future, and don't let the fire go unchecked again."

Upon hearing this, Gao Huan's smile widened, and he said:
"Don't worry, Mr. Liu."

As he spoke, Gao Huan asked:
"Where does Master Liu intend to go with those two bottles of wine?"

"I brought this mare's milk wine to He Liuhun a few days ago, and I was thinking of letting General Lu have a taste!"

"I've heard that General Lu doesn't like this kind of thing."

"General Lu doesn't like this kind of food, but someone in his family does."

After Liu Lingzhu finished speaking, he left with the wine.

Wei Jing looked at Liu Lingzhu, listened to his long explanation, and, not understanding what he was saying, asked:

"What does this old guy mean?"

Gao Huan waved his hand and said:

"Let's leave the city and talk about it at the camp outside the city."

Gao Huan led a thousand men north this time, well-equipped with military force, and stationed them outside Fanyang City.

Once they arrived at the camp, Gao Huan and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Confused, Wei Jing asked:

"What does that old bastard Liu Lingzhu mean?"

Gao Huan sat under the table and smiled:
"He's here to demonstrate, of course."

Sima Ziru, who was standing nearby, heard this and asked:

"Did he start the fire?"

Gao Huan guessed:
"He didn't put it there himself, but he instructed him to do it from behind the scenes."

After Gao Huan finished speaking, the people of Huai Shuo immediately became agitated.

"I'm going to arrest him right now and see if this old bastard confesses!"

Wei Jing was furious when he thought of what happened last night. He was about to lash out when Gao Huan stopped him.

"He is the governor of Yanzhou, but we have no evidence against him. How can we arrest him?"

"Then let's just leave it at that."

"Don't learn from those Wuchuan people, who are always shouting for war and killing."

Gao Huan's words calmed everyone present down.

Upon seeing this, Sima Ziru advised:
“Liu Lingzhu has been managing the Youyan region since the time of Erzhu Rong, and has a deep foundation. In addition, there is the Lu family of Fanyang behind him. We must plan carefully and not act rashly.”

Sima Ziru, being from Huai Shuo Town, still held considerable prestige among the people of Huai Shuo. His words calmed the previously furious Huai Shuo residents, who all turned to Gao Huan, awaiting his decision.

"If that old bastard Liu Lingzhu wants to throw Youzhou into chaos, then let him throw it into chaos."

Gao Huan didn't care, since Youzhou wasn't his territory anyway. However, there was one thing that still bothered him.

"It's not surprising that Liu Lingzhu would resort to desperate measures, but the fact that he mentioned Lu Wenwei suggests that he wants to drag him into this as well."

Sima Ziru asked with some doubt:
"Weren't they always in cahoots?"

Gao Huan shook his head, his expression turning serious.

"Fan Yang Lu sacrificed the pawn to save the king. Logically speaking, Liu Lingzhu should have stopped there, but he rushed forward. It's probably because the old man has been up to no good over the years and is afraid that we will dig it up."

"What about that?"

"Help him stir up trouble!"

Everyone was puzzled, but then Gao Huan sneered and said:
"If he wants to drag this into it, let him. It doesn't matter if he drags the Hebei aristocratic families and Wuchuan people into it."

Sima Ziru was somewhat worried and said:

"But if we really get dragged into this, can all of us, a thousand people, stay here in Youyan?"

Gao Huan, with a "the more the merrier" mentality, said:
“Yuwen Hu, the nephew Yuwen Tai left behind to guard Fanyang, is no pushover. He won’t fall into this trap so easily. He’s been watching from the sidelines for so long; it’s time for him to lend a hand.”

After Gao Huan finished speaking, a faint hint of killing intent lingered in his voice.

"It would be even better if he got involved."

……

Qinghe County.

In front of Cui Ling's residence, Yuwen Tai and his men waited for a long time, wanting to see Cui Ling.

However, after waiting for half an hour, there was still no movement at the gate of the Cui residence.

Yuwen Tai was in no hurry, but the group of Wuchuan generals behind him were getting impatient and their tempers were rising.

"That old man is so rude."

Liu Liang roared angrily, but Yuwen Tai glanced at him and he suppressed his anger.

Soon after, the side gate next to the mansion, where servants used to enter and exit, opened, and an old man dressed in plain clothes, who looked like a steward or similar figure, walked out.

He walked up to Yuwentai and bowed.

"I am Cui Er, and I greet General Yuwen!"

"No need to be polite!"

Yuwen Tai's official rank and title were higher than those of Cui Ling, the owner of this mansion. Yuwen Tai took the initiative to visit, but Cui Ling refused to see him and even left him waiting outside the mansion for half an hour before sending a servant out to dismiss him.

"Our lord is ill and cannot receive guests. He is already aware of what General Yuwen said. Our lord said that the Cui family of Qinghe is a model of aristocratic families, and if any of their members commit illegal acts, they should be dealt with accordingly. General Yuwen need not come to see him specifically."

The glares of the Wuchuan generals behind Yuwentai were enough to kill, and Cui Er saw them too, but he simply waved his hand behind his back, turned his head away, and remained arrogant.

"Then I'll take my leave." Yuwen Tai suppressed his anger and returned to the post station. He didn't speak, but the Wuchuan general behind him couldn't help but erupt.

"What kind of exemplary family is he? What is that old scoundrel pretending for? He acts like nothing has anything to do with him."

"My lord, in my opinion, we should just storm into his mansion, seize him, and interrogate him. Let's see if he can still act this way."

……

Although Yuwentai was furious, he knew that anger would not solve the problem.

"The evidence we found does not implicate Cui Ling. He is doing this because he has nothing to fear."

Yuwen Tai came from the north and had heard from his elders since childhood about how glorious the Six Garrisons were and how honorable they, the sons of the Six Garrisons, were.

But why did they all decline later on?

It's all the fault of those wicked and cunning Han people who bewitched Emperor Xiaowen, causing him to abandon the traditions of the Xianbei people and learn the Han people's set of rites and customs.

When Yuwentai was a child, he also regarded the sinister and cunning Han people that his elders talked about as big bad guys.

However, as he grew older and personally witnessed the chaos caused by the Six Garrisons in Hebei, his understanding of the sinister and cunning Han people that his elders had described deepened.

Du Luozhou and Ge Rong seemed to be at the height of their power back then, but without the support of the Hebei aristocratic families, they were like trees without roots.

Even if they captured these members of noble families, they dared not kill them and could only treat them as servants.

Yuwen Tai was young at the time and not in the high ranks of the Six Garrisons. He was just watching from the sidelines and realized for the first time that his father's description seemed to be wrong.

Now, Yuwentai has gained a deeper understanding.

He was an imperial envoy, the Grand General of the Northeast Circuit, and a supreme general, yet he couldn't even enter the residence of someone without an official title. Furthermore, his attendants looked down upon the generals behind him who had achieved great military exploits.

"What a fine family of the Cui clan of Qinghe!"

Everyone was puzzled by Yuwen Tai's sudden remark.

Yuwentai, however, temporarily suppressed his anger and resentment, and instead asked:
Has news arrived from Fanyang?

"There is one!"

Yuwen Tai took the letter from his nephew Yuwen Hu, read it, and smiled.

“Sabao can’t sit still anymore. It seems that Youzhou is even more lively than here.”

Everyone was somewhat worried upon hearing this. Liu Liang asked:
"My lord, did those Huai Shuo people resort to underhanded tactics?"

Yuwen Tai shook his head and said:
"It's Liu Lingzhu!"

"he?"

Liu Lingzhu's relationship with them was not exactly close, but they were quite familiar with each other.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Yuwentai reminded them:

"Have you forgotten how many women Liu Lingzhu has given to you over the years?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked embarrassed.

"My lord, we..."

Yuwen Tai waved his hand, indicating that he did not want to pursue the matter, and said:
"Liu Lingzhu is quite capable, but his ambition is even greater. Now, Gao Huan has probably hit a nerve, and he wants to stir up trouble. Gao Huan is also adding fuel to the fire, trying to disrupt the situation."

Upon hearing Yuwentai's words, everyone's anger surged.

If the actions of the Cui family of Qinghe only angered and infuriated them, then the actions of Gao Huan and his Huai Shuo people aroused their innate hostility.

"These Huai Shuo people are jealous of our promotions and resort to underhanded tactics. If they're so capable, let's go to the battlefield and see who's the best!"

"That's right, if they want to cause chaos in Youzhou, we'll cause chaos in Xiangzhou too."

……

Yuwen Tai reassured everyone and said:

"Don't learn from the people of Huai Shuo, who always want to stir things up."

As soon as he said that, everyone fell silent.

Yuwen Tai was also somewhat surprised. The Huai Shuo people in Ye City were more united and tightly knit than he had imagined.

Trying to defeat the Huai Shuo people in their area of ​​expertise is futile.

"What about that?"

"Tell Sabao to arrest all those who are connected with Liu Lingzhu and send them to Gao Huan."
-
Cangzhou.

There are already about a dozen villages near the Yongji Canal, but not much farmland has been developed around the newly built villages.

The people under the Qin King's residence lived in a village with three hundred families in one group.

The grain that Li Shuang brought solved their food shortage problem at the beginning of building the village.

While Youzhou and Xiangzhou were in turmoil, Cangzhou remained peaceful, even idyllic in its pastoral scenes.

Cangzhou was one of the areas where the equal-field system was first implemented.

The equal-field system was destroyed by war, and now Li Shuang wants to reinstate it. In fact, it is easier to implement in Cangzhou than in the other states.

In Xiangzhou and Jizhou, the population was dense, the fields were interspersed, and the situation was complex. In Cangzhou, where the salt industry was prosperous, the resistance from the aristocratic families was much less.

Li Shuang spent more time in Cangzhou than in the other two prefectures combined. He inspected the villages inhabited by the 30,000 households under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Qin's mansion, replaced all the officials in the counties and cities of Cangzhou, and established three military prefectures in Fuyang, Leling, and Ande.

In June, Li Shuang and his group arrived in Zhangwu.

Here stands the Wanghai Terrace, left behind by Emperor Wu of Han!

Li Shuang led Liu Sixia to the Wanghaitai (Sea-Viewing Platform). Gazing at the distant Bohai Sea, Li Shuang didn't feel much, but Liu Sixia was deeply moved by the scene.

She has never seen the sea in her entire life.

"It is said that when Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han toured the coastal areas, they sought immortality overseas and visited this place."

Looking at the emotionally charged Liu Sixia, Li Shuang couldn't understand her current sentimentality at all, and sighed:

"If we want to go to sea, we probably can't do it without conquering the Liang Kingdom!"

Across the sea lay Silla, Baekje, Goguryeo, and Japan. However, given the shipbuilding technology of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was probably impossible to build a large fleet to cross the sea and reach the other side.

There were craftsmen with such shipbuilding skills in Nanliang, in Jiankang.

Merchant ships that now travel between the Bohai Sea and Korea and Japan can carry cargo and people, but they are unable to provide logistical support for tens of thousands of troops.

Liu Sixia misunderstood what she heard.

Do you also want to live forever?

Li Shuang burst into laughter after hearing this.

Liu Sixia followed behind Li Shuang like a little shadow, and advised:

"Listen to me, seeking immortality is utterly wasteful."

Ignoring Liu Sixia's words, Li Shuang went down from the Wanghaitai Terrace and met with the envoys from Baekje and Silla.

Baekje and Goguryeo were of the same lineage, both being kingdoms established by the Buyeo people, while Silla was a kingdom established by the local indigenous people of the Three Han.

They all shared the same predicament, being threatened by Goguryeo.

"See you, Your Majesty!"

"It doesn't have to be this way!"

Li Shuang summoned them and, without saying much, went straight to the point:
"You all witnessed what happened in the court that day. Goguryeo, relying on the natural barrier of the Liaoze River, paid tribute for three years and rebelled for five, becoming increasingly arrogant. I have also heard that Goguryeo has been advancing south and seizing your land all these years."

The two envoys glanced at each other, looking uneasy.

Li Shuang laughed and said:

"I do not want you to immediately oppose Goguryeo. I only ask that you convey a message to your king."

"Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

"If the Goguryeo army can't cross the Liaoze River, surely they can cross your Yuli River and Nihe River?"

……

(End of this chapter)