Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 10 I am Lu Qubing from Yangping
"I'll run the school sign."

The person in front of the familiar case has been replaced.

This is a fat man with big ears, but his obesity is completely different from Zhang Cheng in the countryside.

He was all white, and perhaps because the weather was hot, he pulled open his sleeves, revealing his white flesh, which was even a little pink.

The sweat flows down, crystal clear.

He narrowed his eyes, held a fan in his hand, and smiled in a particularly kind and benevolent manner.

There were two guards standing next to him. Both of them were extremely sturdy and strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. Their physiques were not smaller than Taozi at all.

The man looked at the peach in front of him and asked with a smile: "Han people? What is your origin?"

"He is a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan in the Former Han Dynasty."

"Pfft~"

The followers on both sides almost couldn't help themselves.

The fat man did not laugh. He asked in surprise, "Aren't they relatives of Lord Anle?"

Liu Taozi pursed her lips and was speechless for a moment.

This man was very happy. He said to his attendants, "This shows how prosperous the current literary style is. In the past, such petty officials had to be forcibly recruited, which was very indecent. Now, with the great achievements of civil and military governance, we can see such a grand occasion!"

They both nodded, but didn't dare to laugh anymore.

The man asked again: "What is your family situation like? Can you afford the three hundred coins?"

"Do you need my help?"

"There's enough money."

"Okay, that's good. I'm in the county government office, studying classics. My last name is Fei. If you need anything, come find me."

The man spoke generously, took the money, and quickly asked his servants to prepare the school badge and handed it to Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi saluted and walked towards the county school with his school badge.

The man stared at Taozi as he went away, his eyes wandering up and down his back, his whole body feeling increasingly hot and dry.

"What a strong young man."

The burly man behind him frowned and asked roughly, "Fatty! Are you going to change your mind?"

"Aren't we two serving well enough?!"

Hearing their questioning, Fei Zongxian smiled guiltily, "How could that be? I just saw some talented people and wanted to promote one or two of them."

He once again secretly glanced at the young man who was walking away.

The eyes are faint.

That's the look a hungry wolf gives a lamb.

This time, with the school badge, the official at the door finally stopped stopping me.

He looked at the school card, glanced at the fat man in the distance, and then looked at Taozi deeply, motioning him to follow him.

The mansion was huge, with roads extending in all directions and green trees on both sides of the roads. A main road led to the tall inner courtyard opposite, and the gate was locked.

That was not Liu Taozi's destination. The old official slowly led Liu Taozi through several small paths and finally stopped outside the gate of an inner courtyard in the westernmost corner.

The door here was open, and the courtyard wall was dark and dirty. In terms of temperament alone, it was much inferior to the other courtyards.

Liu Taozi looked at the courtyard in front of her with calm eyes.

This is a brand new starting point.

"Brother Taozi!"

A man walked out of the yard in surprise, and the moment he saw Liu Taozi, his eyes lit up.

Seeing this man, the old official took a few steps back and said, "This man is here to learn law."

After saying this, the old official left in a hurry without even looking back.

The person standing in front of Liu Taozi at this moment was the official who had handled matters for him in the county government office not long ago.

He held Liu Taozi's hand in a familiar manner, "This is fate! Brother Taozi! Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were here to study? I would have brought you here directly!"

"Come, come, and enter!"

He just held Liu Taozi's hand and walked into the inner courtyard.

A foul odor greeted me.

The inner courtyard was extremely dirty, with all kinds of old and new dirt intertwined on the ground.

The smell was enough to suffocate anyone who walked in.

The ground had almost turned black.

There is a well in the middle of the courtyard, and houses are lined up on three sides. They are all very small houses, similar to where Liu Taozi lived in the past. Several people secretly looked at the newlyweds from the door, their faces full of vigilance.

"Brother Taozi, my surname is Lu, my given name is Qubing, and my courtesy name is Rongzu."

"Temporarily appointed as the Secretary of the Law School."

"Before, I went to the county government office to help look after it. Something big happened outside, and many people haven't come back yet. I really didn't expect to see you again!"

He enthusiastically took Taozi to a separate house and said, "Look, how about you live here?"

"We usually stay here, eat, and study. I'll find the book for you later. You can stay in this bed."

"By the way, there is a fixed meal time every day. Someone will come into the courtyard to serve food. You just go and eat with them."

"There are about twenty people in the law office, all of whom are preparing to become clerks just like you."

Once this person started talking, he would talk endlessly, and his lips kept moving together without stopping.

"We can take a break once every ten days. We just took a break yesterday. You have to wait another ten days. You can't be discharged from the hospital the rest of the time."

"If you encounter outsiders, lock the door and do not confront them."

He was talking nonstop when someone outside suddenly called out his name.

Lu Qubing glanced at Taozi reluctantly and said, "Brother Taozi, I'll come back later!"

After this person left, Liu Taozi suddenly felt a lot quieter.

The inner room was very small, with an aisle in the middle and two beds on both sides. The other bed was made very cleanly. There was a dagger hanging on the wall, nothing else.

Taozi made her bed, sat on it, took out a cake from her bosom, and ate it. The courtyard was extremely quiet, no sound of reading could be heard, and the empty courtyard outside could be seen from the window.

The courtyard showed heat waves under the sunlight, and even the light became blurred.

Taozi drank up the water bag, then lay down on the bed and closed her eyes to rest.

I don't know how much time had passed, but the courtyard became dark and there was a rustling sound of chaotic footsteps.

"Bang!!"

There was a loud bang.

The door was violently slammed open.

Liu Taozi quickly turned over, sat on the bed, and looked towards the door.

A group of people staggered into the room and soon blocked the entire room. They looked down at Liu Taozi on the bed from different angles.

The leader stood in front of Liu Taozi. He lowered his head, his eyes moving back and forth between Liu Taozi and the package beside him.

"Have you never learned the principle of respecting teachers?"

"Since you are here to study, why don't you come and meet the brothers?"

Liu Taozi smelled a strong sense of malice and greed from them.

He did not speak.

Several people waited for a moment, and when he didn't reply, one of them got angry and raised his hand to slap him, "How dare you be so rude?!"

The others rushed to stop him.

The leader spoke again, "There are rules in the county school. Newcomers like you must greet the elder brothers, learn their names, remember their names, and pay respects every morning and evening."

"We in Daqi value morality and etiquette. You can't study without etiquette. This is also to teach you how to be a human being. Are you mute?"

Liu Taozi didn't say anything the whole time, and the leader was a little angry.

Taozi raised his head and stared at the leader coldly. The leader didn't dare to look him in the eye.

"How dare you be so presumptuous! Did you learn these principles of life from your mother?!"

The leader shouted loudly.

The corner of Liu Taozi's left eye twitched, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes.
"What?!"

Suddenly someone shouted outside.

The people blocking the room hurriedly made room for them, and Lu Qubing walked in angrily with a frown on his brow.

"Why are you gathering here so late instead of going back to study?!"

"Go back! Everyone, go back!!"

Hearing his shout, several people did not dare to refute. They just glared at Liu Taozi and then left one after another.

Lu Qubing watched them leave one by one, and only closed the door after they were far away.

He put the book in his hand aside and then looked at Liu Taozi.

"These people are so cruel and ruthless. I saved your life!"

"The leader is a Qihu. I don't think he came here to study. If it weren't for me."

He muttered a few words and sat down on the bed opposite Liu Taozi very naturally.

"Brother Taozi, don't worry too much. With me here, these people won't dare to cause trouble. They only have a few days left and will be taking the exam soon."

"In the past, these petty officials were forced to take up the post. If there was no salary, no one would take up the post. Now that there is a salary, a group of people are vying for it. This is the way the world is."

"You didn't give me a salary in the past?"

Liu Taozi spoke.

Lu Qubing nodded, "Yes, not only the minor officials were not given salaries, but even the officials had no salaries! It was not until the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Later Wei Dynasty that officials had salaries. As for the salaries of clerks, that was not until the reign of Emperor Wenxiang."

"Emperor Wenxiang was a man of great accomplishments in both civil and military affairs. It's a pity that he was murdered by a cook."

"Your Majesty is even more extraordinary. In the past, the county government and the county school were not like they are now. No one dared to cause trouble, and everyone from top to bottom was virtuous."

As Lu Qubing spoke, his eyes were filled with nostalgia, but his tone became heavy.

"Lu Lingshi."

"Ok?"

"I'm going to rest."

"Okay!"

Lu Qubing nodded and climbed onto the bed opposite.

Facing Taozi's eyes, he explained, "It's like this. The other students all have four people in a room, but I have two people in a room. And there's no other place to live. You can live with me! I can also take care of you in the future."

Liu Taozi was silent for a moment, then asked, "Lu Lingshi said something happened outside the city?"

"Yes, but this matter is a county secret and cannot be disclosed to outsiders."

"Forget it then."

"Oh, that's fine! I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else!"

"This is a long story! It's all related to Gong Shao from Pengcheng County!"

"This man is a member of the royal family of the Later Wei Dynasty. I heard that Your Majesty summoned him and asked him why Liu Xiu was able to revive the Han Dynasty."

"This person actually answered: It was because Wang Mang failed to completely exterminate the Liu family."

"Then His Majesty ordered the arrest of all the Yuan clan members, from the oldest to the youngest, without sparing a single one, and brought them to the Zhang River, where they were stabbed to death with spears and their bodies were thrown into the water to feed the fish."

"We heard that someone jumped into the water to escape, so we sent over a hundred knights to track them down, but three of them lost contact with us."

"Hearing that His Majesty was furious, the county magistrate ran to apologize, and all the county officials went out to search."

Lu Qubing was talking excitedly when he heard snoring from the side.

Lu Qubing hesitated for a moment and could only close his eyes obediently.

Although he was lying down, he was still whispering something.

ps: Lu Qubing was from Yangping, with a clear and open mind and a unique appearance. ——"The History of the Northern Dynasties: Biography of Officials Who Follow the Rules"

(End of this chapter)