Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 124: No One in the Training Ground
When the group approached Anping County, they discovered that it was extremely lively in the distance.

Even in such a cold season, the city gate is still extremely noisy.

More than a thousand people gathered here, young and old, officials and clerks, surrounded by armored soldiers and servants coming in and out, and luxurious carriages piled on both sides, forming a wall of carriages.

The place was bustling with people coming and going.

Incense or smoke from cooking slowly rises, and you can see children running back and forth.

The big dog followed the child, and the beautiful horses lowered their heads to eat.

Everyone was standing on the slope of the official road, looking at the scene in front of them, all a little surprised.

Yao Xiong exclaimed in amazement, "The treatment of the county lieutenant is really different!"

“There are so many people coming to greet you?”

Tian Zili frowned, "It doesn't look like they are here to greet us."

"If they are not here to greet us, then who are they here to greet?"

Yao Xiong had just opened his mouth when he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from behind him.

Then I saw more than forty knights leading the way, followed by five or six carriages. Slaves followed behind the carriages with their heads lowered. It was a huge group of people coming towards this place.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

The leading knight saw the people in front of him and started scolding them hurriedly.

Yao Xiong clenched the knife in his hand, but Liu Taozi said softly: "Make way for them."

The crowd then separated into two sides of the road, and the knights passed through them arrogantly. The tall carriage was like a small mountain, and the horses pulling the carriage were no ordinary ones, and were comparable to Liu Taozi's blue lion. These war horses were also quite arrogant, and when they saw the dusty blue lion standing aside, they shook their heads proudly as if they were proud, and passed by them with their heads raised.

Yao Xiong couldn't help but laugh, "What a beast!"

The group of people passed by and continued to head towards the city gate. As they moved forward a little, the people in the distance discovered them, and in a moment, that side became more lively.

Then I saw the crowd coming forward, dozens of musicians playing instruments, some singing classical music, and those people lined up neatly, young and old, and in order of status.

The country bumpkins from Cheng'an had never seen such a scene before and were all stunned.

Liu Taozi signaled to everyone and then led everyone towards the city gate.

The knights gathered on both sides and the carriage stopped.

Soon, a little old man in very simple clothes came out from the hill-like carriage.

Everyone hurriedly saluted and stood in neat order.

Looking at the situation in front of him, the old man didn't show any joy on his face, but instead frowned.

"Cui Gang!"

"I sent someone to write you a letter, asking you not to mobilize a large force. What do you mean by this?!"

A man standing at the front raised his head. This man looked very similar to the old man, but was taller.

"Father, Magistrate Lu and the elders of the clan have said they will come to greet you, so I can't refuse."

This old man was Cui Jishu, who had just been dismissed from his official position.

One of them stood up and walked to Cui Jishu with a smile, "Mr. Cui, please don't blame me. Zijian knew you were coming, how could I neglect you?"

Several more people stood up and also tried to persuade him.

"Brother, your return to Anping is a big deal, you can't neglect it! You can't neglect it!"

Cui Jishu still had some worries in his eyes, but facing these people, he did not scold them, but just smiled and responded, "I am just an ordinary citizen now, how dare I ask the governor to come and greet me in person?"

"There are many brothers from our family. It's so cold and I really need your help."

"Where are you talking?"

Everyone started talking at once. Some called their children over to pay their respects, while others recited poems to Cui Jishu on the spot to express their respect and love.

The scene fell into chaos for a while.

At this moment, a shout suddenly came from outside, interrupting the meeting of everyone.

Before Cui Jishu could speak, a fat official looked over there and said, "Mr. Cui is here! How dare you be rude?!"

Everyone looked up.

Several knights were seen being knocked to the ground, and a group of people were slowly coming here under the vigilance of many knights.

The people on the road looked ferocious, holding weapons and had hideous faces. Among them were some Hu people with strange hair and beards, which were frightening. The leader was tall and murderous.

Everyone was horrified. Governor Lu looked around hastily, his mind in a state of panic, "There are bad guys?! There are bad guys?!"

Cui Jishu calmly looked at the people in the distance, "Cui Gang, go over and ask them who they are and why they beat up my guards. Be more friendly."

"only!"

Cui Jishu's youngest son Cui Gang hurriedly walked forward and stood in front of the passerby.

"Gentlemen."

He bowed, then asked, "Who are you? Why did you hurt my guards?"

Yao Xiong suddenly took out the letter and showed it to him, "Bo Ling County Magistrate has taken office. How dare you block the city gate? Get out of the way immediately!!"

Cui Gang had no expression on his face. He turned around and trotted to Cui Jishu's side. He said in a daze, "Father, he said: The Bo Ling County Magistrate has taken office. How dare you..."

He repeated the other person's words word for word. Cui Jishu looked at his youngest son with complicated eyes.

Governor Lu was furious. "County lieutenant?! Okay, okay, Zijian, go over and tell him to come over and see me!"

Cui Jishu frowned immediately. Seeing that Cui Gang was about to run over, he grabbed his son and pushed him behind him. Then he looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, the county lieutenant is right. Don't block the road. Please get out of the way. My son, please follow me back to the mansion. If you miss me, you can come to see me. But the city gate cannot be blocked because of me! Go back!"

After Cui Jishu said this, his relatives naturally did not dare to neglect him and turned around and began to leave.

Governor Lu looked anxious, "Mr. Cui, I am not... This county lieutenant is new. I..."

Cui Jishu looked at him with a sharp look in his eyes. "Lu Taishou, I am very grateful that you can come to greet a useless old man like me in person. However, it is not advisable to delay official business for personal matters. Today, the county lieutenant came to take office, but the Taishou did not arrange for anyone to greet him, but blocked the city gate and did not allow anyone to come in. Is this what a wise official would do? Your father has a quiet personality, is indifferent to fame and fortune, wears tattered clothes and eats coarse food, and is at peace with himself."

"Can't the governor emulate his character?!"

Cui Jishu's tone became stern, and Governor Lu lowered his head and nodded in agreement.

Cui Jishu then walked towards the city, and people rushed into the city.

Governor Lu watched them enter the city respectfully, then raised his head to look at the approaching group of people and his expression became extremely gloomy.

He turned around, climbed onto his horse, and, whip in hand, rushed towards the pedestrians.

When the two sides met, Governor Lu glared at the group of people in front of him, gritting his teeth in anger, and raised the whip in his hand.

"You crude warrior! You lowly bastard. Get off your horse!"

Liu Taozi looked at the stupid thing in front of him calmly.

This fool seemed to be about forty years old, with an ordinary appearance, but he was dressed very luxuriously. The jade bead belt around his waist and the gold thread edges on his cuffs were all very valuable. Even the warhorses under his command were carefully dressed up and shining with gold.

However, the many minions around Taozi were staring at each other fiercely at this moment, with ferocious faces and very angry.

Seeing that these people did not obey orders at all and dared to stare at him like this, Governor Lu became even more angry, "Bastard! Someone, give these people to me!"

Immediately someone pulled the reins of the horse under Governor Lu's crotch.

He was a handsome young man. "Mr. Lu and Mr. Cui have just arrived, so don't be reckless."

Governor Lu gritted his teeth and stared at Liu Taozi fiercely, then laughed again, "Okay, okay, wait and see."

He immediately turned around and rode away.

The young man watched him leave, then looked at Liu Taozi and others with a wry smile and slowly saluted.

"County Lieutenant! I am a minor official in the county, my surname is Cui. My governor has a fierce temper, but he does not bear grudges. Do you mind if I take you to the county government office?"

"it is good."

The people at the city gate were still coming in, so they changed to another city gate. The young man walked in front on foot, smiling and introducing the surrounding situation to everyone.

Anping City looks extremely ordinary.

The buildings in the city are neither as neat and tall as those in Cheng'an, nor as shabby and short as those in Liyang. Everything is just ordinary.

The county government is located in the center of Anping County.

There is nothing special about it, just ordinary.

The county government gate was open, and one could see county officials walking around in a hurry. When they saw Liu Taozi and his companions, the county officials who were walking outside became extremely frightened and turned around and ran inside. The county officials on both sides were about to rush up to close the door.

The young man hurriedly shouted, "This is the new county lieutenant!!"

He called out, and these people came out of their hiding places skillfully, turned around and left without greeting. Everyone was a little surprised. The young man led Liu Taozi into the yamen and explained with a smile: "A few months ago, there was a rebellion by the people, and the previous county lieutenant was dismissed because he was unable to suppress it. This time you come, we don't have to worry."

Liu Taozi did not have his own office or residence in the county government. His residence was on the parade ground, which meant he had to live with the soldiers from Anping County.

Occasionally, a few clerks could be seen sitting together to discuss things. When they saw Liu Taozi and others coming, they would turn around and walk away, and rarely come to pay a visit. This was a situation that neither Cheng'an nor Liyang had seen, because these people were just clerks, while Taozi was an official who could decide their life, death, wealth and honor.

Yao Xiong and others hesitated to speak.

The young man brought them to the governor's residence and said, "You all wait here."

"I see the governor hasn't come back yet. We can meet when he comes back later."

Tian Zili hurried forward to stop him, and took his hand with a smile, "Sir, who are you welcoming at the city gate today?"

The young man quickly replied, "It is the former Shangshu Pushe Cui Gong."

"Mr. Cui?"

"He is also a highly respected person in Anping. When he returns home this time, everyone will naturally go to welcome him."

"Oh, you are from the same clan as me?"

The young man chuckled, "You don't know, the Cui family is a large clan, divided into many branches, and each has a different residence. Mr. Cui and I are not from the same family, but I am indeed from the Cui family, but I don't have any skills, so I can only work as a minor official in the county."

"Thank you, thank you very much."

Tian Zili was about to stuff something into his sleeve. The young man was startled and quickly stepped back, "I dare not accept it, I dare not accept it."

After he finished speaking, he left in a hurry.

Liu Taozi was still looking around. This prefectural mansion was much simpler than Lou Rui's, but the petty officials here were very strange. They dared to ignore the officials when they saw them.
They gathered here and waited for a long time, but the gate in front of them did not change at all. No one went in and no one came out.

Liu Taozi looked at Yao Xiong.

Yao Xiong immediately walked forward and started pounding on the door frantically.

The silence in the backyard was suddenly broken by the chaotic noise.

Soon, the door was opened, and a man stuck his head out with an unhappy look on his face, "The governor asked the county lieutenant to come in and see us!"

Tian Zili, Yao Xiong and others looked at Liu Taozi with some worry in their eyes. Liu Taozi shook his head, walked a few steps to the man, lowered his head and looked at him for a moment, then pushed open the door in front of him and walked into the backyard.

The interior of the backyard is very nice. The ground is clean and tidy, and it is paved with various beautiful gravel. There is also a huge garden not far away. The pavilion in the middle is almost as big as the courtyard. One pavilion is connected to another, and some are directly built on top of each other. The style is unique, but very beautiful.

Liu Taozi followed the man into the inner room.

In the beautifully decorated inner room, Governor Lu was lying on the bed, half-closed his eyes, looking at the two people who came in.

Magistrate Lu picked up a document beside him and looked at Liu Taozi in front of him.

"You are Liu Taozi?"

"I am Liu Taozi."

"What is your origin?"

"Son of the Hunter."

"Oh, why is he so rude? Is he the son of a hunter? Even if he is the son of a hunter, he should know some etiquette!"

Governor Lu suddenly sat up and looked at Liu Taozi in anger, "You have completely disgraced me in front of Lord Cui today!!"

"There are so many city gates, why do you have to squeeze into the main gate with Cui Gong?"

"There are people here. Can't you go in through another gate?"

"You are a ninth-rank official, a ninth-rank official! I used to be a first-rank general! Even if I was dismissed, it would be as easy to crush you to death as crushing a bug!!"

Liu Taozi looked at him coldly without saying a word.

Governor Lu waved his hands in annoyance. "You are a person who doesn't know the big picture. You are destined to be with the Xianbei soldiers for the rest of your life. Get out. Go to the county magistrate for any matters. Don't come to see me again! I get angry when I see you! Get out!"

Liu Taozi turned around and left.

Governor Lu looked at Liu Taozi who was leaving and was so angry that his beard was blowing. He clapped his hands and several servants came over quickly.

Liu Taozi walked out from the backyard, and everyone was still waiting for him.

Taozi led everyone out of the backyard and grabbed a county official to ask for directions. Only then did they find out where the county magistrate lived. They soon arrived at the county magistrate's place.

There was not much to do here at the county magistrate's place, so the clerk opened the door and invited everyone in.

When everyone walked in, they saw a young man sitting in the upper seat. He was tall and strong, with a rough appearance and wearing tight clothes. He didn't look like a county magistrate, but more like a county lieutenant.

When the man saw everyone coming in, he suddenly raised his head, frowned, and looked worried.

The clerk hurriedly introduced Liu Taozi to him.

He then stood up and saluted towards Liu Taozi, "I am County Magistrate Cheng Zhe! Greetings to the County Commandant!!"

This man has a very loud voice.

Liu Taozi returned the greeting, "Meet Cheng Juncheng."

The man motioned Liu Taozi to sit down.

"Mr. Liu has come a long way, you haven't rested yet, right?"

"Never."

"Then take a few days off. This place has many talented people and officials. They are all pretty good anyway."

The two of them exchanged a few awkward greetings. It seemed that this person was not very good at speaking. He wanted to say a few elegant words, but ended up stuttering.

He slapped his thigh suddenly, which scared everyone around him.

"Oh, forget it. I think Dugu Junwei is a rough man! I won't say any nonsense! Anyway, we will be colleagues in the future!"

"My last name is not Dugu, my last name is Liu."

"Isn't this Dugu?"

Cheng Zhe was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Aren't you a Xianbei? Xiongnu?"

"I am Han Chinese."

"Ah? Han Chinese? This county lieutenant is not usually... Oh, that's right, the county lieutenant here should be Han Chinese."

Cheng Zhe's face suddenly fell, and he looked annoyed, "We are all miserable people."

"Who did Liu Jun offend that got him thrown here?"

"I have never offended anyone."

"That means he was harmed by someone!"

Cheng Zhe didn't hold back his voice at all as he spoke. As if on purpose, he raised his head and said in a loud voice, "If you can leave, leave now! Staying in this damn place is full of villains!!"

The petty officials in the distance just lowered their heads, pretending they heard nothing.

Cheng Zhe cursed a few more times under his breath.

Liu Taozi frowned slightly, "Grandmaster Lu asked me to do errands."

Cheng Zhe shook his head. "Brother Liu, forget it. Why are you still listening to me? It's only three months. After three months, both of us will be gone."

"Why?"

"This is really not a good place to go. My grandfather spent a lot of time and effort to send me here, saying that I should learn how to govern and not become a warrior. But in the end, I ended up in such a shitty place. I came here earlier than you, before winter came."

"None of our predecessors had served for more than three months. The titles of county magistrate and county lieutenant were just two people who were sent to take the blame!"

"Brother, even if you come here to have fun, don't worry about your job. Go out and have some fun. I will be back next month to take care of the government. I will go back to my military post!"

Cheng Zhe then began to enthusiastically invite Liu Taozi to go hunting with him, but Liu Taozi rejected his kindness and walked out with everyone.

When they arrived outside the prefectural government, everyone was confused.

Tian Zili looked confused, "Brother, this..."

"Let's go to the parade grounds."

Liu Taozi also grabbed a county official who was out on the road, and with the other party's friendly help, he finally arrived at the parade ground.

The parade ground is outside the city, not far from the west gate. This place may have been a village in the past, and some ruins of buildings can be seen. It is surrounded by wooden fences, and tents can be seen inside. But when I walked to the gate, it was empty.

The group walked into the parade ground and looked around, but could not see a single living person.

In the huge parade ground, there were only a few straw men standing upright with a few rusty arrows stuck on them, guarding the place.

(End of this chapter)