Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 121 Three Moves in One Year

Despite the palace maids' repeated dissuasion, Li Zu'e was determined to worship Buddha.

The crowd had no choice but to prepare a carriage, put all the supplies to keep warm, and ordered more than a hundred soldiers to lead the way. Then they left the palace in a mighty manner and headed for Zhaoxuan Temple.

It was freezing cold, and even while sitting in the carriage, Li Zu'e could feel the biting chill. However, this cold made her more sober and drove away some of her fear.

When the Queen Mother suddenly arrived at Zhaoxuan Temple, the local officials and monks were in chaos.

This is not an ordinary temple, but the government office that manages all the temples in the world. Of course, there are also Buddha statues and masters here.

Li Zu'e ignored the people who came to greet her and walked straight to the Dazheng Hall.

Armored soldiers were guarding the door, and Li Zu'e only walked in with a few female officials. They spread out cushions on the ground, lit candles, picked up incense, and prepared to worship the Buddha.

At this moment, Li Zu'e was kneeling in front of the Buddha statue, reciting Buddhist scriptures in a low voice.

The female officials stood in various places, shivering with cold, waiting for her to finish worshiping Buddha.

Li Zu'e finally finished reading. She looked up at the tall and kind Buddha statue in front of her and said, "I only pray that the Bodhisattva will bless me and enable me to accomplish this great task, kill the two kings, take charge of the harem, and keep my son safe."

At this moment, the female official standing beside her and holding incense for her trembled all over and looked at Li Zu'e in horror.

The blizzard didn't last long.

After the strong wind stopped, the sun slowly rose, and the snow-white ground looked golden and crystal clear in the sunlight.

There were six knights, riding on fine horses, wrapped in thick clothes. The horses were also very cold and were moving forward slowly.

"What is this? After winter comes, he wants us to run around everywhere, and if we waste time, we will be beheaded, while he just stays in the house!"

The leader cursed under his breath.

The other people were also trembling at this moment, "Our lives are worthless, why would they care?"

There was snow all around, and if they looked into the distance for too long, their eyes would begin to feel a stinging pain, which made them even more angry.

The Da Qi at the moment was truly clean. Looking around, there were no more dead bodies, bandits, or wild dogs or wolves to be seen. Everything was white as snow. The ice and snow covered all the dirt and weirdness. For the first time, the Da Qi became so normal. However, it was not completely normal.

You can see several snowmen on the dead trees on both sides.

The snowman clung to the tree trunk tightly, trying to stay away from the snow on the ground, but was then frozen to the tree, motionless. In the places that were not completely covered, tattered cloth and a terrified face could be seen.

If you don't look carefully, it's as if the trees have grown faces, making all kinds of weird expressions and looking at passers-by.

Several knights felt awkward and didn't want to look any longer.

Finally, the true appearance of the city in the distance was revealed. Seeing the short city walls, several knights couldn't help but speed up. They could finally take a short rest.

They endured the cold wind blowing in their faces and quickly arrived at the city gate.

At this moment, two county soldiers were standing outside the city gate, both dressed warmly. Inside was a county official, shivering all over.

Seeing so many knights, the county soldiers hurriedly stopped them.

The knight trembled as he took out the pass from his arms and said, "I came to the county government to convey the imperial decree!"

The county official came forward to check, then quickly let them go and arranged for a county soldier to lead them to the county government office.

The knights followed the county soldiers and headed towards the county government office.

There is no difference between inside and outside the city, both are quiet and deserted. After such a heavy snowstorm, it is often the coldest. No one dares to go out, and there are no traces of trampling on the snow on the road.

When they arrived at the county government office, the county clerk took over and took them to the county magistrate's mansion.

"This is Ren Shu. It should have been delivered six days ago, but the snow blocked the way. I hope you won't blame me. I also hope you can arrange a room and hot meals for us to rest for a while."

The knight handed the order to Shi Yao and said tremblingly. Shi Yao looked at the exhausted knights in front of him and hurriedly ordered everyone to take them to rest.

When Shi Yao opened the document, he realized that it was not issued to him, but to Liu Taozi!
He shook his head. These knights were really exhausted.

He didn't dare to look down, but just took the things and went to find Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat, holding the imperial edict, and his minions sat on both sides of him. A raging fire was burning in the room.

Under the flames, Liu Taozi's expression kept changing.

"Liu Taozi, the county magistrate of Liyang, is specially appointed as the prefect of Boling."

Among all the nonsense, Liu Taozi only saw this paragraph. The first part praised Liu Taozi's achievements, while the second part urged and encouraged him. Only the middle paragraph was the core content.

Hearing this, Yao Xiong couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Great! Great! Brother, you skipped the county magistrate position and were promoted two levels to become the county lieutenant!"

"fart!"

Tian Zili cursed, then said: "Officials are all ranked by rank. The Da Qi official is a 30th rank official, and the county magistrate is a 29th rank official, starting from the 9th rank."

"And the county lieutenant is the twenty-seventh rank, which is above the ninth rank."

Yao Xiong pondered for a moment, "Yes, isn't it still a promotion of two levels?"

Yao Xiong looked around and asked, "Is your rank higher than County Magistrate Lu now?"

"Oh, County Magistrate Lu is the County Magistrate of Imperial City, 13th rank, 14th rank below 5th rank!"

"What about Magistrate Shi?"

This time, without Tian Zili saying anything, Shi Yao smiled and said, "I am the magistrate of Zhong County, rank nineteen."

"What about Yuan Wenyao?"

"He is the governor of a small county, on the same level as Magistrate Lu, and is of the thirteenth rank."

Yao Xiong just felt a little confused, but he cleared his throat again, "Anyway, it has been upgraded by two levels to the twenty-seventh level, right?"

"Yes."

"Hahaha, that's great! My brother was just an official half a year ago! Who would have thought that he is now a lieutenant of a county with the 27th rank! By the way, are lieutenants of counties also divided into large and small counties?"

"Only the county magistrate, prefect, and county magistrate are divided into big, medium, and small. There is no distinction between county lieutenants."

"What a pity."

Yao Xiong was the happiest, and the others were also talking and laughing. Getting promoted was definitely a good thing.

Only Liu Taozi had a calm expression, and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry. Shi Yao couldn't help but sigh, "Mr. Liu has been favored by Prime Minister Yang!"

"Logically speaking, Mr. Liu just came here to serve as an official two months ago, so he should not be promoted until February of next year, which means at least a full year. Otherwise, it will be considered an exceptional promotion."

"Look at this text, it's mostly instructions, the words used are very elegant, but there are not many allusions. It's obviously the work of Prime Minister Yang!"

"Congratulations, Mr. Liu!"

As Shi Yao was speaking, he suddenly thought of something, his face changed, and his smile disappeared.

Everyone was staring at him, listening to his congratulations, and when they saw his expression suddenly change, they were all surprised.

"what happened?"

Shi Yao said solemnly, "Mr. Liu, why don't you resign this position and not accept it."

"I am an old official of Prime Minister Yang. No matter what happens to Prime Minister Yang in the future, I will be implicated. I have already thought about this. But Lord Liu is different. Lord Liu has the Lu family as his backer. If I accept Prime Minister Yang's kindness this time, and if something happens to Prime Minister Yang in the future..."

After hearing his words, Yao Xiong, Kou Liu and others found it incredible.

As the prime minister, what could possibly happen?
Tian Zili frowned, thinking, "Brother, I think it's okay to accept his kindness. He is just a county lieutenant. Even if something happens, it is not his turn to bear any consequences. On the contrary, if we miss this opportunity, we will have to wait for a full year to get promoted, and there may not be anyone to promote us. We have no one in the court, and the so-called Lu family just wants to drive us away. We can't miss this opportunity!!"

Chu Jiande smiled and nodded, "That makes sense. We were just patrolmen when we first met, but now he has become a county lieutenant in just a few years. I dare not think about it, I dare not think about it!" Kou Liu also had his own ideas. He plucked up the courage to say, "Brother, I also think we can leave. Liyang has been cleaned up from top to bottom. There is nothing to do. The people are living well. Shi Gong will take care of the rest. Wherever you go, you eliminate the local evil bandits and make the place peaceful. Now that this place has been pacified, why don't you go somewhere else to make new achievements?"

"Mr. Liu!!"

"Why are you leaving so soon? Why don't you stay a little longer?"

Dugu Jie held Liu Taozi's hand tightly, his eyes full of reluctance.

At this moment, more than sixty people gathered at the gate of Liyang County.

There was less snow on the ground, but it was still cold.

Hot air came out of everyone's mouths and they all gathered around Liu Taozi.

Looking at Dugu Jie in front of him, Liu Taozi said softly: "I have already written a letter, Dugu Jun, don't worry. In addition, although there are no foreign thieves here, there are many bandits and traitors. The county soldiers still have to continue training, so I hope you don't neglect it."

"Never neglect!"

Dugu Jie looked up and said, "I will have to rely on Mr. Liu for promotion in the future!"

He lowered his voice again: "Don't worry, I will keep a close eye on Yuan Wenyao's grandson and will never let him run out and harm anyone!"

In Dugu Jie's view, Liu Taozi was definitely a genuine Xianbei noble, and he even suspected that Liu Taozi was his relative.

Because when the reform was first carried out, many Xianbei people with the surname Dugu changed their surname to Liu, which was just like Bu Liugu changing his surname to Lu, and was very common.

The story about him being a minor official was completely false. He was clearly a noble who had come to the local area to gild himself. His expression, his courage, his madness to kill people without blinking an eye, he must be a noble without a doubt! Maybe he was related to the current royal family!
Dugu Jie has a long history. He once followed Emperor Shenwu through the tunnel. Unfortunately, he was just a poor soldier and no one promoted him. After being injured, he was forced to leave the army and has been in a daze until today.

It was not until he met Liu Taozi that he felt that he had finally had the opportunity for promotion. Being valued by this noble person, how could he still be afraid of not having opportunities for promotion in the future?
Unlike the excited Dugu Jie, Shi Yao's eyes were half filled with sadness.

He just stood there and said nothing.

Liu Taozi instructed everyone to take good care of the Liyang affairs, and told them that he would send people to check on them from time to time. Only then did Tian Zilie and others prepare to leave.

This time, Liu Taozi took away more than 30 people.

In addition to his core minions, Tian Zilie also found some talented people who were willing to leave, including shrewd county officials, brave county soldiers, etc. Logically speaking, these people would never be able to escape for the rest of their lives, but it was not difficult to take them away, so everyone still gave Mr. Liu this face.

When everyone was about to leave, the county and prefecture officials knelt on the ground and bowed to see them off.

Shi Yao quickly caught up with Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi did not rush to get on the horse. He led the horse and walked slowly on the road. Shi Yao followed beside him. He turned his head and looked at Tian Zilie and others who were chatting excitedly behind him.

"Mr. Liu, I really envy them."

"I don't have an official position, I can come and go freely, and I can continue to follow Liu Gong."

Liu Taozi didn't reply.

"Alas, I have studied for so many years and thought I knew everything. But in these three months, I seem to have seen through all the major events in the world. The people in the upper echelons are fighting for power and profit. In this cold winter, no one, whether it is the King of Changshan or Prime Minister Yang, cares about the people's livelihood or sends people to inquire about the disaster situation in the local area. They are all only concerned with their own struggles."

"In the past, I always thought that the people were a very subtle concept. As long as I chose the right direction, I could save the people. Later, I realized that what I thought was a bit too empty and fake. It would be better to catch two rabbits myself and give them to the people to fill their stomachs!"

"Mr. Liu has taught me a lot. Don't worry about the affairs of Liyang. I will take care of it. I don't care who comes or who takes the position. I will just take care of my own affairs and protect the people."

Liu Taozi finally looked at him, nodded, and got on the horse.

When several people saw Liu Taozi getting on the horse, they also started to get on their horses. Liu Taozi was about to ride away.

Shi Yao was stunned, then he ran a few steps, shouting, "Mr. Liu! If Prime Minister Yang gets into trouble in the future, and I am lucky enough to survive but only dismissed from my post, I will go to Mr. Liu. I wonder if Mr. Liu is willing to take me in?"

"can."

Liu Taozi left a few words and led everyone away quickly. The sound of horse hooves was dull and the ground was shaking slightly. The group quickly disappeared on the official road and disappeared in the snow.

Shi Yao and Dugu Ji saw them off and they both sighed at the same time.

A group of people were walking on the road, but because of the cold wind, they didn't dare to ride their horses fast.

Tian Zili was following Liu Taozi at this moment and told him about the new place.

"Bo Ling County belongs to Dingzhou. I have inquired clearly. There are four counties there. It is much larger than Liyang, but the situation there is more chaotic. The military households of the six towns were distributed among the surrounding counties, and Boling County was one of them."

"I heard that there are many Xianbei here, and they often rob passing merchants, but no one dares to convict them."

"I think Yang Yin asked Brother to go there, not necessarily out of good intentions to promote him, but to let Brother go there to kill some nobles. These nobles are different from Liyang Cheng'an."

"Most of these people are brave. The wealthy families there all raise cavalry like Lou Rui."

Tian Zili had indeed found out a lot of things. Liu Taozi listened to his report and walked towards the destination.

Their destination was Cheng'an. Before going to Boling County to take up his post, Liu Taozi wanted to see his old friend again.

Tian Zilie was particularly wary of Boling County. He always felt that he had to change his approach this time when he went there. If he still wanted to suppress them by force, something big would happen. Those impoverished military households were not easy to deal with. If a real fight broke out, they would dare to kill officials and rebel. At the beginning, the county lieutenant Changsun had said that those people did not take officials seriously at all. They would kill them if they wanted, and no one would dare to ask for punishment.

The group finally arrived in Cheng'an.

They first went to Zhang Village.

In the cold winter, few people in the village dared to go out, but when they learned that Liu Taozi was bringing people, the villagers went out to greet him.

Zhang Village had changed its appearance. There was a wooden fence outside blocking the road, and there was a half-built village wall inside. The more Yao Xiong looked, the more confused he became. He pulled Tian Zili and whispered, "Why does this place look more and more like those big Wubaos we leveled in the past?"

The number of villagers is also increasing, and all kinds of houses have been repaired and look tall and solid.

Everyone, old and new, came out to greet Liu Taozi. They all surrounded him and talked excitedly.

The peach forest was still there, and no one dared to move it. However, the peach forest was covered in white snow, and Liu Taozi even went in and stayed for a while.

Liu Taozi had limited time, so after meeting his old friends here, he asked Zhang Erlang to take good care of everyone and hurried to Cheng'an.

"Brother Taozi!!"

Lu Qubing was wrapped in thick clothes and looked chubby. He rushed out of the county government office and almost bumped into Liu Taozi.

He quickly grabbed Liu Taozi's hand and said, "Brother Taozi, why don't you reply to my letter?!"

"I also specifically told Kou Liu not to forget to reply!!"

"Come, come, follow me in! Everyone misses you so much!"

Lu Qubing pulled Liu Taozi, chattering incessantly, and led everyone into the county government office. At this moment, some busy officials heard the voice and realized that it was Liu Taozi who came, so they hurried over to pay their respects.

For a moment, the cold and silent county government office became lively, and more and more minor officials came to pay their respects and exchange greetings.

Old man Xu stood at the door, watching the people going away, then looked around and left the county government office in a hurry.

Lu Qubing and Liu Taozi were sitting in the county magistrate's mansion, and he had a lot to say.

When Lu Qubing learned that Liu Taozi had been promoted again, he was very happy and hurried to congratulate him.

"Brother Taozi, your promotion is really amazing. Others get promoted once every three years, but you get promoted three times in one year!"

"Mr. Lu, what is your official rank?"

"what"

Lu Qubing was stunned for a moment, and replied, "From the ninth rank."

"If that's the case, you should call me Envoy."

Lu Qubing's eyes widened, and suddenly, he raised his head and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha~~~"

At this moment, a servant suddenly came in and saluted them, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Liu, County Magistrate Lu wants you to go to his residence and he said he has something important to discuss."

(End of this chapter)