Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 119 It’s your turn
November.

A light white frost formed on the bare tree trunks, and when the strong wind blew, the dark branches could not help but tremble.

Hundreds of people gathered at the gate of Liyang County.

They all curled up and shivered in the strong wind. Their faces were red from the wind. They kept rubbing their hands and shivering all over.

The weather in Liyang changes suddenly. Although it has not snowed heavily yet, the weather turned cold suddenly and almost took the lives of these people.

They were still wearing tattered clothes, which could not keep out the cold at all.

Every year, Da Qi could control the number of refugees from various places, relying on the cold winter. A harsh and merciless winter could kill 80 to 90 percent of the refugees for Da Qi.

These criminals without identity simply cannot survive the cold winter.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he issued a general amnesty, allowing many dead people to return to the government, which was a great thing.

However, returning is not that easy.

After the amnesty, the officials will squeeze out all the blood and flesh of the dead who come to surrender. You cannot get promoted without benefits, and the emperor's pardon is useless. If there is no benefit, they will delay it and let you survive this cold winter before you can come back.
Therefore, those people whose children are living away from home often have to spend all their money and be left with nothing if they want their relatives to come back.

Of course, the officials will not be heartless and will give you a way out in the end, such as kindly asking a wealthy family to take you in as a tenant or servant.

But in Liyang County, the situation is obviously different.

The dead were gradually coming forward, and the officials were sitting at the city gate, verifying the information with them one by one. Their attitude was not bad, and they did not blackmail or extort.

After confirmation, they were directly given the relevant documents and allowed to enter the city, which was extremely efficient.

Just as everyone was working, there was a sudden noise in the city, and a group of people were seen rushing out of the city gate.

The deceased was shocked and quickly dodged.

Shi Yao rode on his horse and said to his attendants, "Tell them to go to the South City Gate! We are here to welcome our distinguished guest!"

The county officials hurriedly stood up, called the dead men and began to leave. Shi Yao then ordered everyone to open the city gates and ordered the county soldiers to set up guard all the way to the official road.

A few old men came out and stood at the city gate, preparing their speeches.

Shi Yao was busy running around, giving instructions everywhere.

Liu Taozi rode on a green lion and led his entourage, staggering to the city gate.

Seeing Liu Taozi, Shi Yao was very anxious, "Why did Mr. Liu come just now?! The new governor is coming soon. We can't offend him!"

Shi Yao has been on duty for a long time, but this is the first time he has met such a cooperative governor. That's right, before the governor arrived, he specially sent someone to inform him of the exact time of his arrival, and all his actions were in accordance with etiquette!

Unlike the previous Xianbei people, who rushed over on horseback with the Hu people, those who knew said they were here to take up their posts, while those who didn't think they came here to rob the grass and grain.

Shi Yao's heart was full of anticipation. He stood on the side of the road excitedly, muttering something.

On the other hand, the people on Liu Taozi's side were very calm.

Dugu Jie stood beside Liu Taozi, looked at Shi Yao with disdain, and whispered: "If you don't know, you might think it's his grandfather."

Several important people in the county were standing beside Liu Taozi at this moment.

Especially the county soldiers, after Tian Zili's efforts, everyone from top to bottom had some connection with Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi didn't say anything, so everyone stopped complaining.

After waiting for a while, I saw a servant riding a horse and rushing over, "The governor is only three miles away! Get ready to welcome him!!"

After saying this, the man rode back on his horse.

Not long after he returned, another servant came riding up on horseback, "The governor is only two miles away! Get ready to welcome him!!"

The servants reported back and forth in this way, making quite a big fuss.

And Shi Yao also patiently shouted out again and again that he knew.

Finally, a group of people appeared in the distance, followed by dozens of servants. Six luxurious carriages were driving in an orderly manner on the official road. Shi Yao hurriedly led everyone forward to pay their respects.

The carriage stopped and a man got out.

This man seemed to be in his forties. He was very tall but quite thin. He had a very long beard that almost reached his chest. He looked even weirder than Kou Liu.

Judging from his appearance, he was a serious person. He stood there with one hand behind his back, not saying a word.

Immediately, a servant stepped forward and held up the appointment letter in his hand, "Your Majesty has specially ordered Hou Yuan Wenyao of Xiangcheng County to serve as the governor of Liyang."

He began to read a long passage from the book, and Shi Yao listened attentively.

After the man finished speaking, he hurried forward to greet him, "Liyang County Magistrate, I am here to greet Lord Yuan on behalf of Liyang County Magistrate Shi Yao!!"

Yuan Wenyao was stunned, looked at Shi Yao in front of him, and slowly walked forward, "Mr. Shi, there is no need to be polite."

Shi Yao stood up, his eyes even more excited.

That's right, that's it!
He quickly asked everyone to come and pay their respects.

Yuan Wen Yao accepted the greetings from everyone and then stepped forward to greet the old men in the city.

"How old are you, father-in-law?"

Watching Yuan Wen Yao chatting with the old men, several officials just waited on the side.

They talked for a long time. Yuan Wen Yao took the gifts, thanked the old men, got in the car, and headed towards the city.

Everyone returned to the county government office, but Taozi and others had to stay outside. After all, they were county officials, and unless they summoned officials from all counties, they were not qualified to enter the county government office for a meeting.

Only Shi Yao, Dugu Jie and other county officials were allowed to enter.

Yuan Wen Yao immediately summoned many officials from the county government and told them to put the country and the people first and to govern the country diligently.

Finally, after finishing these trivial tasks, Yuan Wen Yao called Shi Yao and asked the others to leave.

The two of them came to the backyard together. Looking at the decorations on both sides, Yuan Wenyao was stunned for a moment, "Why is this county government so luxurious?"

"These were all renovated by Lou Rui."

Hearing this, Yuan Wenyao frowned, "These evil thieves are the most greedy and lawless."

Shi Yao agreed with it deeply and nodded continuously.

The two walked into the inner room, and Yuan Wenyao sat down. "I just arrived, and I'm not familiar with the situation in the county. Please tell me about it, starting with the officials."

"The first one is Dugu Jie. He is a Xianbei and was born in the military. Although he is not good at politics, he knows a lot about training troops and fighting. He..."

"Well, what's there to say about a crude warrior? Let's talk about someone else."

"That's my Liyang County Magistrate Liu Taozi. He is brave and courageous. The bandits were eliminated earlier because of his merits. I will let him in to meet Lord Yuan later!"

"Oh, who is he from?"

"He was born as a minor official and was promoted because of his merits."

"Then we'll see each other later. Where's the Magistrate of Dunqiu County?"

For some reason, Shi Yao suddenly realized something was wrong, but he still seriously described the official's situation.

"anything else?"

"Gone."

"How could it be gone? Aren't there any wise men in the area? No great men?"

Yuan Wenyao said seriously: "This is my first time here, so I should visit the local wise men and ask about local affairs. Why don't you recommend these people?"

"Lord Yuan, Liyang has gone through several changes, I'm afraid there are no great sages."

"Okay, then prepare the frame. I'm going to go to the county school to take a look."

"only!!"

Yuan Wenyao’s first stop was the county school. Shi Yao understood that because, after all, education was the most important thing.

Liyang was a small county with only a county school but no county school. When they arrived at Liyang County School, the lecturers here hurried out to greet them.

Yuan Wen Yao followed everyone to visit the county school. The more he looked, the more serious his expression became.

He suddenly stopped and looked around. "Why are there only people studying law in Liyang County School? Where are the scholars? Where are the students?"

"You have ignored the knowledge of the saints and instead supported some future clerks? Is this how you abuse the county government's grain?!"

Shi Yao was stunned. He quickly explained, "Mr. Yuan, that's not the case. We just dismissed many petty officials. Liyang is short of capable officials, so we recruited them." "Don't say more!"

"go back!"

Yuan Wen Yao got into the car angrily, but Shi Yao was a little confused.

After the carriage left, Shi Yao stared blankly at it and didn't speak for a long time.

Liu Taozi came back from outside the county with his men. As soon as they arrived at the city gate, they saw several county officials whispering.

When they saw Liu Taozi, they hurriedly stood up to greet her.

Liu Taozi nodded and was about to pass by, but a clerk hurriedly asked, "Mr. Liu, the county government said they want to dismiss cruel officials and promote good ones. Is our county government the same?"

"Don't worry about him."

Liu Taozi waved his hand and rode his horse into the city. The county official breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back to his seat.

"See, I told you, there's nothing to worry about!"

"That's all we can say, but it's us who have to do it. Besides, we have Mr. Liu to make the decision for us, so what if he's the governor?"

Liu Taozi rode his horse on the road, and everyone he met bowed to greet him. Yao Xiong rode his horse a little closer and said, "Brother, it seems that this new governor is not a good person either."

"He has been in Liyang for several days now. He has not visited the farmland, the poor, or the granary. He has been visiting the wealthy and talented people and summoning the elders with moral integrity all day long. The people in Dunqiu are so happy. These days, Liyang is full of people from Dunqiu. I have caught four or five of them. They are still shouting that they are the guests of the governor."

Liu Taozi didn't say anything. When they arrived at the county government office, several people turned their heads and looked in the direction of the county government office.

It was quite lively outside the county government office, with many luxurious carriages parked here. The few people who had escaped the net and dared not show up before were seen smiling and greeting each other in loud voices. It seemed that when they saw Liu Taozi coming, they dared not speak and turned around and ran into the government office.

Liu Taozi led the rest of the people into the county government office. As soon as they arrived at their house, they saw Shi Yao standing at the door.

At this moment, Shi Yao no longer had the high-spirited and expectant look he had before.

He looked haggard, with messy hair, and stood there motionless, like a corpse.

Hearing the footsteps, he suddenly woke up and looked at Liu Taozi. At this moment, he felt like he saw a savior and walked up quickly, "Mr. Liu, something big has happened, something big has happened."

"He forbade us to continue distributing land, and ordered the granary to be sealed, saying that distributing land and grain privately was not in line with the etiquette and law system of Da Qi. He also said that the winter supplies we prepared must be carefully checked and cannot be distributed at will. He also said that we took in too many dead people, and except for the local dead people in Liyang, the rest should be expelled."

Shi Yao spoke one thing after another, his lips trembling slightly.

"Mr. Liu, what should we do?"

"I do not know."

Liu Taozi replied and walked straight into the house. Shi Yao followed him in a daze.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat. Yao Xiong looked at Shi Yao unkindly, but Shi Yao's face was full of confusion at this moment.

"How could this be? The Yuan family is Yang Xiang's maternal uncle's family. They have a long history of learning and have produced many talented people. How could Yuan Gong not know the suffering of the people? What on earth does he want to do? What on earth is he doing?"

Shi Yao was devastated at this moment.

He simply couldn't understand Yuan Wenyao's purpose. He was not a greedy person, nor an incompetent person, nor a cruel person. He was completely different from a villain like Lou Rui.

But as soon as he came, he completely disrupted Shi Yao's many plans. Instead of being realized because of the arrival of the wise man, Shi Yao's ideas were interrupted.

He repeatedly told Yuan Wenyao the truth about these matters. The land was distributed because the list and the actual land distribution did not match, and the food was distributed because the people had no food to survive the winter, not to mention winter supplies. As for the victims, His Majesty had already granted amnesty, and Liyang had the ability to resettle more people. What was wrong with that?
He also said that most of the county officials were cruel, but if they were not cruel, how could they control the guests in his mansion?
He repeatedly told these guests about his past deeds, but Yuan Wen Yao always gave him answers that he could not expect.

How can a family of virtue and morality be deceived by clerks?
If the person who came this time was a huge villain who started to extort bribes and kill people for fun after his arrival, he might not have been so desperate. But the person who came this time was a wise man, a well-known wise man, but his ideas and what he wanted to do were not much different from Lou Rui's.

However, he was not as direct as Lou Rui. Lou Rui asked them for money and then gave them asylum, while Yuan Wenyao asked them for something else, such as a recommendation, exchange of classics, or the connection of a certain relative, and then gave them asylum.

Is this what I expected?!
In an instant, Shi Yao felt a splitting headache and became like a madman.

"Ah!!"

Liu Taozi scolded him and Shi Yao woke up immediately.

He raised his head and looked at Liu Taozi, only to see that Liu Taozi's face was full of anger. Shi Yao seldom saw Liu Taozi's angry expression. In the past, even when he was killing people, he always had a calm expression.

"Why, when Lou Rui was doing evil things in the past, you were upright and had the courage to write to Prime Minister Yang many times!"

"Shongguang Temple has committed many evil deeds, how dare you lead the county officials to attack the temple!"

"Now that Yuan Wenyao is acting recklessly, many evil people have gathered in his house, but you have become so timid that you dare not speak or make a statement, and you only obey orders!"

"Does your fierceness and integrity vary from person to person?!"

"You read a lot of books, but what you learned is how to unite and reject dissidents, how to favor some and despise others?"

Every question from Liu Taozi rang in Shi Yao's ears like thunder. He suddenly raised his head and drew out his sword.

"I will go and persuade the governor to eliminate the evil thief!!"

"stop!"

Liu Taozi stopped him and said softly, "We are officials in the court. We should act according to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty. How can we kill innocent people and treat human lives as worthless?"

He slowly took out some papers from the side and put them aside.

"These are the evidences I found, the evidences of the guests in the governor's house."

The backyard of the county government office.

Everyone was sitting in the house, with food piled in front of them, talking and laughing. This scene was exactly the same as before.

The difference is that Lou Rui in charge was replaced by Yuan Wen Yao, and the dancers and musicians around him were replaced by talented people from all over the place.

But in essence, there seems to be no difference. Although these talented people don't know how to dance or play Hu music, they are also good at entertaining people! Sitting here, they all call each other "Yuan Gong", "Yuan Yuan", and "Relatives". The scene is particularly lively, much more lively than when Lou Rui was here.

Speaking of this Lord Yuan, all the wise men could not help but admire him from the bottom of their hearts.

Finally someone who understands has come.

Just as they were excitedly discussing Confucian classics and ancient sages, they suddenly heard a noise and a group of county officials, holding swords and shouting, rushed in.

At this moment, the banquet came to an abrupt end.

The wise men who had just spoken highly of morality were frightened out of their wits, some burst into tears, some shouted for rebellion, some crawled under the table, some stood up and ran away, and some knelt on the ground with their buttocks raised high.

Shi Yao led his men in and quickly subdued everyone. He looked around but could not see the prefect.

He turned around a few times, opened the case, and lifted up Yuan Wenyao, who was trembling under the case.

"Prefect! I learned that you were besieged by traitors, so I came to rescue you!"

Yuan Wenyao looked at him in astonishment, his lips trembling and unable to speak. Shi Yao looked at the others and said, "Do it!"

These cruel officials were merciless and started chopping with their swords. The guests screamed and dodged everywhere. In just a moment, only a pile of corpses were left in the backyard.

Yuan Wenyao still didn't dare to speak and was trembling all over.

"Shi Gong, just begging for life."

"What are you talking about! Lord Yuan, look, these are all charges. Each of these people in your house has committed a serious crime. They have gathered together today, clearly intending to harm you. Don't worry, I will report these matters to Prime Minister Yang!"

"Just rest in the mansion. If you need anything, you can call me!"

As Shi Yao spoke, he ordered his men to drag the bodies out.

After they left, Yuan Wenyao collapsed on the ground. He looked at the servant beside him and said, "Go and find the county lieutenant now!"

The servant nodded, and just as he walked out the door, he was stopped by several county officials.

"curfew."

"I am going out on the orders of the governor! Get out of the way!"

"curfew."

The servant pursed his lips and wanted to say something, but when he saw the unfriendly looks from these evil officials, he swallowed and turned back to the house.

Not far away, Liu Taozi, Shi Yao and Dugu Jie were standing together. Seeing this scene, Shi Yao and Dugu Jie couldn't help but chuckle.

Shi Yao asked: "Mr. Liu, if he ordered to attack us."

Dugu Jie interrupted him with disdain, "What did he rely on? Those servants? Does he have knights like Lord Lou?"

"You Han officials always try to suppress others by using titles like prime minister or governor. We are different. We speak with swords."

ps: I am offering two books. One is "Traveling on a Selected Day" written by a good friend. He is still a young author, but he is an old author, so the updates are guaranteed. The other book is "My Father Jehovah" written by a book friend of mine. I almost laughed when I saw the name. You can really read any book these days.
(End of this chapter)