Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 114 No Clear Leader
"Mr. Liu! You went to Chongguang Temple?!"

Shi Yao hurried into the inner room, his face full of worry.

"Don't be fooled by these thieves!"

Liu Taozi ignored him and continued to instruct Yao Xiong beside him: "Take the county officials with you and expand the scope of the inspection. Don't forget to go to Dunqiu as well. Urge the patrol officers there to cooperate with your inspection."

Yao Xiong listened very carefully. He took note of Taozi's instructions and turned to leave.

Shi Yao walked closer again, "Mr. Liu, the words of that thief monk from Chongguang Temple cannot be trusted!"

Liu Taozi finally looked at him, "Mr. Shi, please sit down."

Shi Yao then sat down next to Liu Taozi. He frowned and looked solemn.

"What did you go to Soko-ji for?"

"have a look."

"So what did they say?"

"They say I'm haunted by evil spirits."

"Ghost?"

Shi Yao's face became a little distorted, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"What a joke! If there really are wronged souls, then Chongguang Temple should be filled with evil spirits and a living hell!"

Shi Yao's face was solemn. "The evil deeds of the thief monks in Chongguang Temple over the years are too numerous to mention."

"There is no need to talk about tricks, cheating people out of money, seizing farmland, forcing people into slavery, hoarding food and fodder, and driving up food prices."

"These people also engage in the sale of women and children, kidnapping children, and other evil deeds in private."

Shi Yao's lips trembled for a long time, and he shook his head, "I really can't say it."

"And they are extremely cunning. If they meet someone like Lou Rui, they can't wait to come out and commit crimes. If they meet someone like Liu Jun, they will quickly close the door and hide in the temple and refuse to come out. No matter what they say to Liu Jun, please don't believe it. If you want to govern Liyang, you must get rid of this group of evil monks first! ”

Liu Taozi could not deny it and did not respond.

Shi Yao added: "Although they did it covertly, their evil deeds cannot be concealed. I have discovered that they have built many secret passages inside and outside the temple. If we go and check, we will definitely find evidence. In addition, there are many people in the city who have suffered from their evil hands, but they are afraid of their power and dare not speak out. As long as Liu Jun takes action, he will make them stand up and accuse!"

"In addition, if we can find out their financial dealings with many wealthy families, it will also be irrefutable evidence!"

"I am willing to find these people for Liu Jun."

Liu Taozi finally interrupted him and asked, "Ayanna said that Chongguang Temple was close to the Queen Mother. Is that true?"

Shi Yao hesitated for a moment and nodded, "It's true."

"After I took office, the Queen Mother came three times. The whole city was under martial law. I was of low rank and could not meet her. I only heard that they sent some magical instruments to the Queen Mother and that we often exchanged letters. Lou Rui was very partial to them because of this."

"What's the point of you asking for evidence?"

"To whom?"

"Show it to Prime Minister Yang!"

Shi Yao said confidently: "I know what kind of person Yang Xiang is. If he knew how filthy and dirty Chongguang Temple is, he would never condone these evil thieves!!"

Liu Taozi was calm, "This place is only three days away from Yecheng. The Queen Mother has come here three times. Does Prime Minister Yang really not know the situation here?"

Shi Yao shook his head. "That's because the late Emperor was still alive, and Prime Minister Yang was powerless! It's different now!"

"But why do I feel that without the late emperor, Prime Minister Yang is even more powerless?"

Shi Yao still had that stubborn face. In Taozi's hometown Cheng'an, they usually call this kind of people "pen-bull", which means a stubborn bull that cannot be driven without a nose collar. In Liyang, they call it "stubborn donkey".

Shi Yao firmly believes in his judgment.

Liu Taozi didn't say anything more, "Okay, then Shi Gong, go find some evidence and let me know when you find it."

Shi Yao then accepted the order. Just as he was about to leave, he saw a man walking in from the door, looking exhausted.

"Brother!!"

Kou Liu bowed to Liu Taozi and Shi Yao was overjoyed, "Have you delivered the letter?!"

Kou Liu ignored him and just looked at Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi motioned him to stand up, and Kou Liu sat down next to Liu Taozi. He looked thinner and darker, but his spirit was good and his eyes were bright. He hurriedly took out a book from his arms and handed it to Liu Taozi carefully.

"Brother, this is the book that Prime Minister Yang asked me to give you. It says it is a strategy for governing the country."

Liu Taozi took the book and put it aside.

Shi Yao was stunned for a moment, "Tell me, has the letter been delivered?"

"It has been delivered. Prime Minister Yang has taken a look at it. He said that the matter will be resolved in fifteen days. Let Shi Gong wait a little longer."

"Fifteenth Day"

Shi Yao suddenly became very excited, "Liyang is saved, the world is finally saved!"

"These fresh"

As soon as Shi Yao opened his mouth, he saw Kou Liu sitting next to him. He closed his mouth, saluted Liu Taozi, and left with an excited look on his face.

Kou Liu was very unhappy at the moment. He frowned and no one knew what he was thinking.

Liu Taozi looked at the back of Shi Yao who was walking away, but his eyes were a little complicated. He shook his head lightly, then looked at Kou Liu, "I'll give you three days off, take a rest, we will do something big soon."

"only!!"

"Brother, can I go back to Cheng'an?"

"I want to see my mother."

"Okay, say hello to her for me."

"only!!"

Riding his horse on the official road, Kouliu did not feel tired.

He liked riding horses and traveling since he was young and never felt how tiring it was. When he was a little boy, he would ride a bamboo horse and run away, and he would disappear as soon as he ran away. This often led his mother to shout everywhere on the streets, looking for him. It would often take a whole day to find him. After his mother caught him, she would always pinch his ears and laugh and scold him as "little Hu'er".

It’s not winter yet, but the weather is getting a bit cooler.

Although the sun was still hanging in the sky, people could not feel any warmth. All the vegetation seemed to have withered, and the roadsides became bare. Fallen leaves and mud were mixed together, emitting a rotten smell.

Kou Liu's eyes were quite alert. Even though he was galloping on his horse, his hand was always holding the hilt of the knife. He kept his body as low as possible, almost lying on the horse's back.

Fortunately, he did not encounter any bandits along the way.

At present, the area around Cheng'an is still relatively safe. There are a few groups of bandits in Liyang, but they seem to dare not show up.

So I arrived at the familiar Zhang Village.

At this moment, wooden fences have been erected outside Zhang Village, as have all the entrances. There are also people guarding the doors, watching the situation outside.

Several wisps of smoke can be seen rising from afar.

When the gatekeeper saw Kou Liu, he hurriedly ran away. Kou Liu was not in a hurry to go in. Zhang Erlang soon appeared here with his men. When he saw it was Kou Liu, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as he asked someone to open the door.

"Kou-kun!!"

Zhang Erlang was not very old, and although he was wearing an official uniform, he looked too young. There was an indescribable sense of incongruity when he led everyone out to greet them.

Kou Liu got off his horse, met everyone, and then walked into the village.

The village was not too lively, but it was quite pleasant. There were children driving sheep and skipping on the path. Kou Liu and others took the initiative to avoid them.

Kou's mother currently lives in Zhang Village. Compared to the past, she is now much more energetic. There are quite a few people of her age here, and they can get together to chat from time to time.

"Don't worry, my son!"

“I am doing very well here, with kind neighbors helping to look after me.”

Kou Liu stayed at home for a day. The next day, as soon as he said goodbye to his mother and went out, Zhang Erlang stopped him.

"Mr. Kou, Lord Lu sent someone to ask if Brother Taozi had returned. He said that he hadn't received a reply for a long time and told me that if anyone had returned, I should go to the county government office to look for him."

"okay."

The road from here to the county town is not far and it won’t take much time. The bandits rode their horses towards Cheng’an City.

The road leading to Cheng'an has become much more lively at this moment. Along the way, one can see vendors leading donkeys and people pushing carts. People are coming and going, and it is not as desolate as in the past.

When Kou Liu arrived at the city gate, he was stopped by the gatekeepers. They walked up to him excitedly and greeted him.

"What about Liyang? Where is Mr. Liu? Why didn't he come back?"

Kou Liu chatted with them for a few words and then went to the county government office. The city was quite lively with people coming and going. As soon as Kou Liu reached the gate of the county government office, someone rushed up and grabbed his hand.

That was the county government's doorman, Old Man Xu.

"Kouliu?! Is that you?!"

"Why is there no news after he left?" "What about Mr. Liu? Didn't he come back?"

Old man Xu stuck his head out and looked around. Kou Liu replied, "Brother hasn't come back. He's quite busy over there."

Old man Xu was a little disappointed. He sighed and said, "I was thinking of taking Mr. Liu as my grandson-in-law, but I didn't expect him to be gone like this! What a pity! What a pity!"

Kou Liu didn't have time to continue listening to what Old Man Xu said. He said a few perfunctory words to him and hurried into the county government office.

Old Man Xu watched him walk in and shook his head again.

When Lu Qubing saw Kou Liu, he could not hide the surprise in his eyes. He jumped up suddenly and walked quickly to Kou Liu's side. He seemed to have forgotten that Kou Liu was the "Xianbei who brought disaster to the country" that he hated the most, and held his hand enthusiastically.

"Since you left, there has been no news. I wrote two letters to Brother Taozi, but he never replied. Is that all there is to know about Liyang?"

Speaking of this incident, Lu Qubing felt particularly aggrieved.

Kou Liu hurriedly said: "Brother is indeed quite busy in Liyang"

"Come, come, sit down, someone, bring some tea!"

Lu Qubing pulled Kou Liu to sit down, his eyes bright, "Are you all doing well? How about Brother Taozi? How is he? How is he getting along with the local officials?"

Kou Liu hesitated for a moment, "Everything is fine, brother gets along well with the local officials and they are all very polite."

"Oh? It seems like a lot of things happened over there?"

Kou Liu smiled bitterly, "Actually, I don't know either. I've been running around these days. I just returned to Liyang yesterday, and as soon as I got back, I heard Yao Xiong talking about what happened over there."

"What did he say?"

Kou Liu hesitantly relayed Yao Xiong's words to Lu Qubing.

Yao Xiong's words were, of course, exaggerated. He said that he fought with powerful people in Nancheng, killed 6,000 bandits, beheaded the bandit chief in battle, and the blood flowed like a river. He also said that he attacked the rebels in Dongli, destroyed their clan, and left no one alive.

Lu Qubing was stunned when he heard this.

"Is the Liyang Li family the home of the late Minister of Personnel Li Gou?"

"I don't know either. Anyway, everyone in their family died. I thought Yao Xiong was bluffing me, so I went to check before I left. They were indeed all dead. There was no place to hang the heads on the city gate, so they made a pole and hung them outside. The drainage ditch on the street in the south city is still black and smells terrible. There are rats and wild dogs everywhere. It's really scary, even scarier than our east city."

"I haven't been to Dongli, but it should be about the same."

Listening to Kou Liu's words, Lu Qubing's face was a little tangled, "The traitors who harmed the people should be killed, but these people have a background, Taozi is just a county magistrate, how can the governor forgive him for killing so many people?"

"That governor seems to think highly of my brother. He gave me a sword called Huajian. I heard it was the sword worn by the Emperor of Wei in the past."

"Hua Ting Sword???"

"Yes, it seems to be called this name, and it's quite nice."

"You go on, keep talking."

Lu Qubing stared into Kou Liu's mouth, listening to his awkward narration of Li Yang.

Most of the information was heard by Kou Liu. When he was in Liyang, he was either catching up on sleep during the day or going out to deliver letters. He didn't participate in many major events. He just heard it from Yao Xiong when he boasted.

He spoke until his mouth was dry, but Lu Qubing still didn't let him go. Lu Gong not only liked to tell stories, he also liked to listen to stories.

After making sure that Kou Liu could no longer speak, Lu Qubing let Kou Liu go in disappointment.

He took out the letter from his arms again and handed it to Kou Liu, "Give this letter to Brother Taozi in person for me! Tell him to write back to me!!"

"only!!"

"You have to work hard, don't just be an errand boy, you have to find opportunities to study more and improve your skills, otherwise how can you continue to follow Taozi in the future?"

"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Lu!"

Kou Liu left in a hurry. Taozi only gave him three days of leave, so he had to return to Liyang early.

After sending the bandits away, Lu Qubing walked into the county government office with a smile on his face.

In the backyard, County Magistrate Lu Yao was smiling, drinking tea, and looking through the many documents in front of him.

Cheng'an was greatly governed in his leadership.

There was peace both inside and outside the country, and the people could be said to be living and working in peace and contentment. There were no bandits outside and no cruel officials inside. Everything was just as Yang Gong had expected.

The land had been distributed, the deceased had been properly resettled, there had been no disease or riots, and the county government also obeyed his orders and was of one mind.

Lu Yao couldn't help but laugh. Sending Liu Taozi away was indeed a good idea. With him gone, everything became fine and he had nothing to worry about.

Although there was great turmoil in the imperial court, it had nothing to do with Lu Yao. He had some connections with both Yang Yin and the King of Changshan.
"Mr. Lu! It's bad!!"

There was a scream, and Lu Yao choked on the tea and started coughing. Qian Zhubu rushed in in panic, sweating profusely.

Lu Yao cleared his throat and looked at him, "What happened?"

"Liu Taozi! It's that Liu Taozi!"

"What?! He's back again?!"

"No, Liu Taozi got into big trouble in Liyang!!"

Qian Zhubu panted and said intermittently: "He killed several large families in Liyang. I heard that he killed tens of thousands of people at one time, and the moat became a river of blood."

Lu Yao pursed his lips and said, "Nonsense!"

"How many people are there in Liyang? Kill tens of thousands? Then Liyang will be an empty city! Also, Liyang doesn't even have a moat!"

"Liu Taozi sent people to the county government office and met with County Magistrate Lu. Now everyone in the county government office knows it. It's true! Several big families in Liyang County were killed by Liu Taozi. It is said that they killed all the chickens and dogs, and burned down their mansions."

Lu Yao stared at Qian Zhubu in amazement and was speechless for a long time.

He didn't believe that Liu Taozi killed tens of thousands of people in Liyang, but if he said that Liu Taozi killed an entire family in Liyang, it really sounded like something he could do.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly picked up the tea and put it into his mouth.

"Mr. Lu, what should we do now? You pushed him to the top with all your strength, and now he's killing people like crazy, will they think this has something to do with you?"

Lu Yao's hand holding the tea trembled and he almost spilled the tea.

He stared blankly ahead, ate his tea stiffly, and said nothing.

The county government office was particularly lively.

Everyone was talking about this matter happily and excitedly. When they talked about Liu Taozi's experience in Liyang, they looked very proud and pleased.

Old man Xu stood at the door, listening happily to the conversations of people coming and going.

The sky gradually darkened, and a curfew began in the city. Old Man Xu also closed the door. As an official, he could live in the county government office or at home, and it was not fixed, as long as it did not delay the closing and opening of the door.

That day, he went home.

His home was not far from the county government office. After passing an alley, he arrived at his home.

Back in the yard, he closed the door and walked into the inner room.

A beautiful young lady was sitting in the room. She was less than 20 years old, with fair skin, clear eyes, and fangs when she smiled. She was really pretty, and made people feel itchy. She was sitting on the bed, mending something. When she saw Old Man Xu come in, she hurriedly put the things down.

Old Man Xu sat opposite her with an expressionless face and looked towards the inner room. "Come out."

An ordinary-looking middle-aged man came out from the inner room, emitting a foul smell. He waved his hand, and the beautiful lady hurriedly got up and left, and he sat in that position.

"Liu Taozi sent someone back to the county government office today, but he himself never came back. This woman came in vain, and there was no chance for Liu Taozi to meet her at all."

The person sitting opposite the old man was the dung carrier, a spy from the Northern Zhou Dynasty who had contacted the store owner before.

Old man Xu complained, "What a pity that this guy is gone. When he was in Cheng'an, we didn't have to do anything. Every time he did something, it was a 'great achievement'. We just watched him give it his all. The general praised us several times and paid special attention to us. Now, those people in Liyang are going to take advantage of us."

The dung picker did not respond. He said coldly, "I am here to announce an important event to you today."

"The Heavenly King has officially been named Emperor. The title of Emperor Wen shall be given to Heavenly King Wen posthumously. From now on, you shall be called Your Majesty and not Heavenly King."

"what??"

Old Man Xu was overjoyed. He said excitedly, "Great! Great! He finally ascended the throne as emperor! It should have been done long ago!!"

He raised his head again and asked, "Has my general been promoted to a higher rank?"

The dung picker, who was originally calm, now showed some displeasure, "No."

"Since you have ascended the throne as emperor, how can you not become my general?"

"The general has not been promoted, but others have been promoted to the rank of General of the State and Duke of Sui. Do you still remember his son who was appointed General of the Cavalry at the age of sixteen?"

"I remember, his name is Yang Yang Jian?"

"Yes, even he became a county duke. Only my family has never been appointed as a general, and is still a county duke."

"Alas, my general has made great contributions, but in the end, this title is not as good as a child?"

"When will I meet a wise master?"

(End of this chapter)