Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 118 The True Strangeness

The exquisite reliefs inside and outside the outer walls of the county government office present different postures as the sun moves.

The gravel path was sparkling, and outside the pavilions on both sides, the rockery was still covered with green. The water in the small pond was clear, and you could see all kinds of fish swimming back and forth.

The high walls in the backyard are all red, and beautiful pavilions have pointed tips poking out from them.

The minor officials in the county stood at the gate of the county government office, looking at each other, but did not dare to go in.

Logically speaking, they should be working here, but since Lou Rui came here, they have lost the qualifications to enter the county government office, and the entire county government office has been renovated for more than a year.

Of course, Lou Rui could not directly order the county officials to work somewhere else, so he found an excuse, saying that while the county government office was being renovated, the county officials should work in the side courtyard.

That so-called side yard is not even as good as the county government office.

From then on, Lou Rui began to monopolize the county government office and renovated it into a place that even the county officials were afraid to live in.

At this moment, Lou Rui left, but the county officials felt troubled when they looked at the luxurious mansion in front of them.

The county official looked at Liu Taozi and whispered, "Mr. Liu, why don't we go back to the villa? We are used to living there, but we are not used to living here."

Shi Yao was standing next to Liu Taozi. At this moment, he looked really energetic.

Liu Taozi still remembered that when he first went to Cheng'an County, Lu Qubing told him more than once that as long as the emperor died and the prince ascended the throne, the world would be saved.

Almost all the scholars and officials seemed to be waiting for this moment, waiting for Yang Xiang to assist the new emperor, open their own chapter, drive out the Xianbei people who only knew how to ride horses and fight, and establish a real country.

The wish they had been looking forward to for many years has finally come true.

After the death of the late emperor, the new emperor ascended the throne and Yang Xiang took power. As expected, the new emperor did not disappoint them. After ascending the throne, he issued a general amnesty for all the dead, pardoned the elderly military households and slaves, and at the same time banned large-scale construction in various places and stopped many projects.

Now he has sent people to investigate local areas, remove corrupt officials and promote talented people.

Everything went perfectly as they had imagined, and these scholars and officials celebrated the carnival.

Shi Yao looked up, very unhappy with what everyone said. He picked up the appointment letter in his hand and said, "Before Envoy Cui left, he ordered me to act as the county magistrate! I will be in charge of the affairs of the county!"

"You are county officials, how can you hide in a small courtyard to do your work?!"

"You must move in today. No disobedience!"

Several county officials were in a dilemma. They secretly looked at Liu Taozi with fear in their eyes.

It’s okay to move in, but what if I offend Lou Rui and get retaliated against by him in the future?
Shi Yao became even angrier when he saw that they were silent. "Lou Rui has already been captured. What are you afraid of? Lou Rui is scary, but the imperial decree is not scary either?!"

Liu Taozi looked at the evasive gazes of the crowd and said softly, "Come in. If Lord Lou asks you for punishment, just say it was my order."

Several county officials breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed to Liu Taozi.

"Thank you, Mr. Liu!! Thank you, Mr. Liu!!"

They hurried into the courtyard, followed by more officials.

Shi Yao was a little angry.

"How can you be so scared? You have no courage, how can you..."

"Shi Jun."

Liu Taozi interrupted him, then glanced at him coldly, "Have you ever been an official, Mr. Shishi?"

Shi Yao was stunned, "No."

"The life of an official is very lowly, unlike someone like Shi Jun. Even if Lou Rui hates Jun, he dare not execute him directly because he is an official. But it is different for an official. He can kill him at will. He lives today and dies tomorrow. No matter how many people die, no one will investigate."

"You don't have to use your own morals to demand these people, just do your own thing well."

Shi Yao was criticized like this, but he did not refute.

He was still very convinced of Liu Taozi. He cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Liu is right."

"What should we do next?"

"Prepare plenty of winter clothes and charcoal to survive the cold winter."

Shi Yao seemed to be thinking, "Mr. Liu means that those villains are about to counterattack? We should be prepared to fight them?"

"No, I mean that I want you to prepare thick clothes and charcoal for heating so that the people of Liyang County will not freeze to death."

"Oh, okay."

"There is plenty of cloth, money and grain in the county government office. Shi Jun can use it."

"But aren't these all Lou Rui's private property?"

"Why, Mr. Shi doesn't even have this much courage? Why are you so afraid?"

"I'll do it right away!"

"Your Majesty has issued an edict granting amnesty to the entire nation. You should issue a notice to accept the deceased within and outside the county and properly place them. If you don't know how to do it, you can ask my subordinates."

"only!!"

Liu Taozi turned around and left the county government office, walking towards the opposite side. Just as he arrived at the gate of the county government office, Kou Liu was already waiting for him.

"Brother!!"

Seeing Kou Liu, Liu Taozi's expression eased a little, "Why did it take a day?"

"Brother, don't mention it. I encountered cavalry crossing the border on the road and they questioned me for a long time. There are cavalry everywhere on the official road now, and the official badge is useless in front of them."

Liu Taozi signaled Kou Liu to follow her, and then they walked into the county government office together.

The county government was very busy. It had now resumed normal operation. Under the leadership of Liu Taozi, Liyang was restored to Cheng'an, and a thorough investigation of land distribution began. A large amount of public land was once again distributed to the people.

Those poor people who were recorded by the temple as having been granted 40 acres of farmland and 20 acres of mulberry fields, but who actually did not even have five acres of land, now truly owned the arable land recorded in the register.

Starting tomorrow, they can cultivate these fields. Maybe this will not make them rich, but it can keep them alive.

As Liyang is a central county, it has few officials to begin with, and now it is even more crowded. There is almost no free time. Even Tian Zilie and other minions have gone out to do their work.

Liu Taozi and Kou Liu returned to the inner room and sat down.

"Is your mother okay?"

"Brother, she is very nice. She said she often hangs out with the neighbors. There are many people her age there."

"Well, it's a good thing for the elderly to hang out with people of the same age. When you have time, go over and see her. Even if she doesn't say it, she hopes to see more of you."

"only"

Kou Liu took out a pair of shoes from his arms and handed them to Liu Taozi a little embarrassedly, "My mother made these for you. She asked me to give them to my brother, but I don't know if they will fit my feet."

"Thank you."

"Brother, please don't thank me. Also, this is the letter that Lu Gong asked me to give you. He said he hopes you can reply."

Kou Liu gave all the things to Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi saw that he was a little tired. "Go and have some sleep first. There are many errands to be done in the county government office. You will help them starting tonight."

"only!!"

Kou Liu went out to rest. Liu Taozi put his shoes aside and opened the letter from Lu Qubing.

"My brother knows. I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you okay?"

In the letter, Lu Qubing first exchanged greetings, expressing his great concern for the current situation of Liu Taozi and others, and then talked about his own affairs.

Lu Qubing's letters were like talking to him, they were filled with words and it took a long time just to read them.

Cheng'an has already reached the state that Lu Qubing had envisioned, and can be said to be a great success.

Lu Qubing no longer has any worries.

However, Lu Qubing expressed considerable concern about the current situation in the government.

Lu Qubing is no longer the Lu Qubing he used to be. He has already seen that something is wrong with the current situation.

The prince ascended the throne and became emperor, with the empress dowager supporting him, Prime Minister Yang holding the power, and all officials obeying his orders. It seemed that everything was under control and on the right track, but Lu Qubing felt that things were not that simple. Name was just name, and Cheng'an could not be governed with this name alone. Cheng'an was governed with a knife, and the same was true for the world. Lu Qubing felt that it was inappropriate to govern the world in his own name as prime minister without using a knife.

At the end of the letter, Lu Qubing advised Liu Taozi to be more careful, act prudently, and not get involved in the struggle in the court.

Liu Taozi shook her head and put the letter away.

Just as I put it away, I saw Tian Zili walking in hurriedly.

"Brother."

He sat next to Liu Taozi, opened his mouth several times, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Do you want to use some of Lord Lou's money and food?"

Liu Taozi asked. Tian Zili was shocked, "How did you know that, brother?"

"Oh, use it if you want. You can use the money and grain as you like, but don't use the gold, jewelry, calligraphy and paintings, etc."

Tian Zili explained, "Brother, although we have a lot of money, we will need more and more money in the future. Besides, I am trying to win over officials at all levels, and there are also some officers in the county army. I think some of them are really good, brave and strong, but because of their background, they don't get the opportunity to be promoted!"

"I want to gather these people together again, make more friends, and recruit more talents for my brother."

"I know, go ahead and do it."

"only!!"

Yecheng.

The tall palace reflected a warm red color under the sun, and fully armed soldiers stood inside and outside.

Lou Rui was wearing mourning clothes and walked up the stairs with his head lowered, surrounded by several armored soldiers.

The steps were extremely high, there were three of them, and they were decorated with various exquisite reliefs. The reliefs in Lou Rui's county government office were totally incomparable to these. Lou Rui walked on the leftmost step and all the way to the end. In front of him was a tall wall. There were five gates in a row, and each gate had a tower and was guarded by soldiers. Standing here, he could feel his own insignificance more and more.

The gate was slowly pushed open, and Lou Rui followed the soldiers into the gate. Outside the gate was the emperor and empress's palace, with left and right courtyards on each side. The soldiers took Lou Rui to the other hall on the right.

Lou Rui walked to the door in small steps and knelt down.

"I, Lou Rui, pay my respects to the Grand Empress Dowager!!"

He shouted three times in a row, and finally a palace maid came out, "Please follow me."

Lou Rui followed the palace maid and walked into the Xuanguang Hall.

Empress Dowager Lou was sitting on the upper seat with some food in front of her and some palace maids standing on both sides. Empress Dowager Lou had a stern face and looked gloomy. Lou Rui's heart trembled, and then he paid his respects to her again.

"All right."

"Pretending."

Empress Dowager Lou said, "Come and sit down."

Lou Rui carefully sat in front of Empress Dowager Lou, and then began to wipe away tears and sob, "Aunt Yang Dadu is too much."

Empress Dowager Lou was furious. She glared at Lou Rui and cursed, "What did I tell you normally?!"

"I told you to be diligent and frugal, not to be greedy for money or lust, to govern the place with all your heart, and to serve the country! But what did you do?!"

"aunt."

Lou Rui quickly raised his head and said seriously: "I have always followed your teachings and never done anything evil."

"You've never done anything evil?! Prime Minister Yang has told me about you!!"

"Aunt! These people framed me! When I was in Liyang, the Li County Marquis family was doing evil, occupying farmland and bullying the people! So I sent people to kill them, distributed food to the people, and used it as a county government office. Not only did we pay the tribute, but we also let the people have food to survive the winter!"

"Then the local tyrants of Dongli became afraid and attempted to rebel. I personally led the army to suppress them, destroyed their clan, released the slaves of Dongli, and settled them!"

"When Dunqiu learned of the situation, he also hurried to rectify it and did not dare to violate the law."

"And the Chongguang Temple. They relied on your protection to commit crimes. At first, I tolerated it because of my aunt's kindness to me, but they actually wanted to rebel! For the sake of state affairs, I can only abandon my personal feelings and send people to wipe out the Chongguang Temple! Distribute the farmland and food to the people again! "

"I have dealt with all the officials who did evil in the county, promoted and rewarded those who were talented, and even gave the sword my uncle gave me to those who had made contributions. I even trained the county soldiers."

Lou Rui's face was full of sincerity and tears were sparkling in his eyes.

"I have done so much, but Yang Dadu refused to give in. He sent people to investigate my crimes. In the end, he couldn't find any fault and said that I was too harsh. Aunt! Can't we use severe punishment on these cruel and wicked people? I think Yang Dadu is in the same group with these people. He was angry that I attacked his people, so he arrested me!!"

Empress Dowager Lou widened her eyes and looked at Lou Rui in front of her in astonishment.

After Lou Rui finished speaking, Empress Dowager Lou slowly said, "You grew up in front of me. Don't I know what kind of person you are?!"

"I believe you colluded with these people to bully the people, but I believe you eliminated harm for the people? You?"

Lou Rui raised his head and said righteously: "If you don't believe me, Aunt, I can confront Yang Dadu face to face. You can also send someone to Liyang to investigate. I am not lying!"

"I was young and ignorant in the past, but after so much time of teaching from my aunt, I have changed my ways. It was that Yang Dadu who wanted to harm me!!"

Empress Dowager Lou looked at Lou Rui in front of her again, her eyes full of scrutiny.

"Liu Zi helped you do this, right?"

Lou Rui was stunned. "Well, the King of Changshan did correspond with me and often advised me to do a good job in government affairs."

Empress Dowager Lou fell silent.

Lou Rui took the opportunity to say, "Aunt, don't be fooled by Yang Dadu. He said he wanted to rule the world, but I think he just wanted to dismiss us Xianbei nobles and promote the Han people around him!"

"This is an attempt to seize our Great Qi kingdom!"

"If the government and the people, from top to bottom, are all the Han clans, then is the Great Qi still ours?"

"What are these great clans? Although I am not well-educated, I have heard that in the past dynasties, the people suffered from poverty and the country was in turmoil because of these great clans. We can't let these parasites come up and suck our blood again!!"

"Aunt, you may not know since you are in the palace, but I know it very well. Take the Li family in Liyang for example. Li Gou has a good reputation, right? But what about his descendants? They are inhumane in Liyang. They occupy all the arable land for themselves and leave all the taxes to the poor people. Those people are listed as having been granted countless fields, but in fact they cannot even keep their own mulberry fields. In the end, they have to pay extra taxes. I don't know how many people have been forced to death!"

"Aunt!! Think about the world!!"

"enough!"

Empress Dowager Lou reprimanded harshly.

Lou Rui lowered his head and dared not say anything.

Empress Dowager Lou was silent for a moment before she asked, "Did you destroy Chongguang Temple?"

"Aunt, they secretly hid armor and weapons, deceived the ignorant people, said that the dead Gao were dressed in black, and occupied farmland, doing some shameful things. If you want to punish them, punish me! As a local governor, how can I turn a blind eye to this? When I ordered the attack, I was already prepared to be punished by you! I am willing to die! ”

Empress Dowager Lou laughed and swung her cane at Lou Rui's head.

"You can't do anything else, but when it comes to bragging, no one can compare to you! Can I still kill you for some monks?"

"I will restore your original title, and you will stay in Yecheng and study hard for me!"

Lou Rui's eyes lit up, and he quickly stood up and saluted, "Thank you, aunt! Thank you, aunt!"

"Get out!"

"only!!"

After Lou Rui came out of the palace, he got in the car and headed straight to the military headquarters.

Soon, Gao Yan walked out quickly, accompanied by many of his trusted followers. He pushed open the door, looked at Lou Rui standing outside, bowed and greeted him, "Brother!"

Lou Rui hurriedly grabbed him, took a few steps back, and immediately wanted to salute him.

Gao Yan hurriedly supported him again, "Brother, what are you going to do? How dare I accept your gift?"

Lou Rui had tears in his eyes. "My king, if it weren't for you this time, I would have suffered more humiliation. I really have no way to repay your kindness!!"

Gao Yan was stunned for a moment, he looked around and said, "Brother, let's go inside and talk."

Gao Yan's military residence was quite simple, not at all like a place where Gao family members would live. Gao Yan held Lou Rui's hand, and the two of them walked all the way to the inner room. Gao Yan asked everyone around him to leave, and they were the only two people left in the room.

Lou Rui held Gao Yan's hand tightly, "My lord, because of your instigation, I almost misunderstood you. Now I realize how stupid I was."

"Brother, you don't have to do this. This is what I should do."

"No, it's all thanks to Liu Taozi. The king is right. This Liu Taozi is really a talented person in our family. I wonder what his real name is?"

Gao Yan pursed his lips and said, "Actually, he is somewhat close to the Lu family. I just gave him a few instructions. I have not learned about Li Yang's situation yet. Brother, why don't you tell me about what's going on over there?"

Lou Rui nodded, and then began to narrate the many things that happened after Liu Taozi arrived in Liyang, from when he started killing county officials, to when he started looking for wealthy families to share the profits, and then to when he started looking for Chongguang Temple to share the profits.

Gao Yan was stunned by what he heard.

"Luckily I have him, otherwise I would have lost all my face this time and wouldn't even have the face to see the Queen Mother!"

"I see."

Lou Rui said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I will not thank you for your kindness. Although I have lost my official position, I still have my title, many followers and friends around me, and I have a killer at home! If Your Majesty has anything to do in the future, just give me an order, I will never refuse!"

"But I still want to know Liu Taozi's real name. Can the king tell me?"

"Um"

"His name is Qi Haizhen."

Lou Rui was stunned. "Murderer? He really deserves the title!!"

(End of this chapter)