Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 134 Don’t Let It Go
"come over!!"

Kou Liu tied up two people with reins. Chains were hung on their legs and their hands were also tied up. Their faces were full of fear as they were dragged in front of everyone.

Kou Liu raised his whip and said, "Now that you have met the governor, why don't you bow?!"

The two men knelt in front of Gao Yanzong in fear and begged for mercy.

Liu Taozi said, "This man is called Wang Sizong. He officially opened a restaurant in Anping. The man next to him is called Wang San. He is officially his servant."

"But in fact, these two people are spies of the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty."

"Bring it up."

Liu Taozi spoke, and Kou Liu hurried forward and handed the two tokens to Gao Yanzong. Gao Yanzong stared at them for a long time before handing them to Lu Zhuangzhi who was standing beside him.

Lu Zhuangzhi picked up the token, turned it over, and was shocked, "It's really a fake Zhou token!!"

He glanced at Taozi and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Gao Yanzong looked at the two captives in front of him and asked with a sneer, "Tell me! Are you two related to the Cui family?!"

The uncle was so frightened that he trembled and immediately knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, we were forced to do this. We made a big mistake because we were careless. Please forgive us!!"

Gao Yanzong snorted, "If you tell me the truth today, I'll spare your life. If you don't, I'll make sure you have a taste of my torture methods!!"

Wang Sizong was so frightened that he trembled. He hurriedly said, "I said, we came here to contact Cui Renshi. His brother Cui Mou is one of ours. He was captured and executed by the late emperor. General Wei was very angry and wanted to avenge him. We came here to contact the Cui family and take advantage of the death of the late emperor to cause chaos."

"Master Cui was extremely dissatisfied with his brother's death. After his brother's death, he wore black clothes all day and said he wanted to kill Gao. He exchanged letters with our general, trying to instigate high-level officials and cause unrest."

"Earlier, he ordered us to rob and kill Liu Junwei and put the blame on the local Xianbei people, causing Anping to fall into chaos. Later, we were killed and defeated, and he sent us to the parade ground to rob prisoners and corpses, and also took away military officials."

Wang Sizong described these things clearly, and Liu Taozi asked someone to produce the evidence.

Including the bloody attack scene that is still there, the remains of corpses that suddenly disappeared from the parade ground, and the reply letter from the Pseudo-Zhou to Cui Renshi. The reply letter even had the seal of the Pseudo-Zhou on it.

Gao Yanzong continued to interrogate, becoming more and more excited the more he asked.

Lu Zhuangzhi, who was standing aside, became more and more frightened the more he listened.

As Gao Yanzong continued to interrogate him, Lu Zhuangzhi hurriedly grabbed Gao Yanzong's hand and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say. Even if you want to kill me or humiliate me, I must say it!"

Gao Yanzong was young after all. When he came to take up his post, his elders warned him not to interfere in local government affairs. If he encountered any problems, he should ask the deputy driver. Therefore, although Gao Yanzong was angry, he still suppressed his anger. "Do you still want to defend these traitors?"

Lu Zhuangzhi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the identities of these two spies may be true, but I don't believe what they said."

"The spies under Wei Xiaokuan's command are all known for their loyalty and bravery. Until now, we have never captured a spy from the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty alive. Those people are all die-hard fans of Wei Xiaokuan. How could they be willing to betray their master for glory?"

"What? You mean that only people like me in Daqi would sell out their masters for fame?"

Lu Zhuangzhi hurriedly shook his head, "Not really. I suspect they are planning to murder the Cui family. The Cui family is the pillar of the Qi Dynasty, with many talented people. First of all, although Cui Renshi stayed in the local area, he had no official title or status. If they wanted to contact him, they should have contacted his father or brother. Why would they discuss such an important matter with him? In addition, why would this Pseudo-Zhou keep the reply letter to Cui Renshi? And he even stamped it with his own seal, as if he was afraid that others would not know."

"Also, why would the pseudo-Zhou spy obey an outsider and help him assassinate the county lieutenant? Why would he leave behind so many physical evidence?"

Lu Zhuangzhi pointed out many doubts.

Gao Yanzong frowned and looked at Liu Taozi beside him.

The two captives below were also a little stunned at this moment.

Liu Taozi said softly: "It is better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go."

Gao Yanzong slapped his thigh fiercely, "Yes, that's it!!"

Lu Zhuangzhi stood up hastily, "How can this be possible?! He is truly a cruel official! A cruel official!"

Liu Taozi added: "When the governor first arrived, I had already sent people to surround the second branch of the Cui family. Now, they should have started to shoot at them."

Lu Zhuangzhi's eyes widened, "You, you, you are simply lawless!!!"

Gao Yanzong was also very angry after hearing this. He quickly stood up and looked at Liu Taozi, "How could Liu Jun do this?!"

"Quick! Take me there!!"

Cui's village.

The second branch of the Cui family has always been arrogant. Even the first branch didn't dare to name itself Cui, but the second branch did, as if they were "the legitimate daughter".

But the domineering second house was in chaos at this moment, with people crying and wailing in the air.

Master Cui stood by the city wall, looking at the arrows that kept coming at him, his eyes wide open, his whole body trembling, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

The head of the guard stood beside him. Wooden boards were erected on the city wall to block the arrows of the Xianbei people. At the same time, some people began to reinforce the city gates, fully learning from the lesson of the first wife.

But the Xianbei people also learned their lesson. Well, not only did they learn their lesson, they also learned the weapons of the Dafang family! !

Seeing that the Xianbei people were wearing armor and holding large bows and powerful crossbows, the face of the guard leader turned particularly pale.

They had tasted the sweetness of success with the eldest wife, and now, under the leadership of Yao Xiong, they were charging back and forth again and again, full of passion.

Watching the arrows flying overhead, Master Cui finally spoke, his face full of cruelty, "This fellow wants to kill first and then play cruelly, he is really vicious!"

"In this case, we can no longer endure it. We need to get our crossbows and put on our armor. We don't care whether they are plotting a rebellion or not. We need to kill these bastards first. After we drive them away, we can apologize to the governor. We can find a way to resolve the charge of hiding armor, but if they kill us, we will have no chance!"

The head of the guards was very uneasy, "Young Master, this powerful crossbow."

"Listen to me!!!"

Master Cui's expression turned extremely ferocious.

The chief guard dared not say anything more and immediately ordered his men to start making preparations.

"Whoosh!!!"

A crossbow arrow flew from the city wall and hit Yao Xiong's shoulder hard. Yao Xiong fell to the ground. Several Xianbei knights around him hurriedly bent down, one of them grabbed him and threw him on the back of his horse, ending the charge hastily and quickly retreating to their original place.

Yao Xiong gritted his teeth and trembled as he pulled out the crossbow arrow stuck in his armor. He said in fear, "If I had moved a little further, I would have been shot to death by this bastard. Crossbow arrow? A powerful crossbow?"

He raised the crossbow in his hand high, "These bastards are not hiding anymore, they are rebelling!!"

"Everyone be careful!!"

When the other side replaced their powerful crossbows with longer range, the Xianbei people's offensive slowed down, and people were shot and fell to the ground from time to time.

Not only did these people secretly hide powerful crossbows, they also hid a lot of them. I'm afraid they have much more than the big house! !

But even so, these Xianbei people were not afraid and continued to try to suppress the city walls and break through the city gates with great bravery.

When the governor led his personal army to this place, the two sides were fighting fiercely. When Gao Yanzong saw this scene, his face turned red, his whole body was shaking, and he didn't move. His lips trembled.

Just as Lu Zhuangzhi was about to speak, he saw Gao Yanzong suddenly draw out his sword, "Follow me and kill!!!"

He roared with all his might at this moment and led the charge. His followers did not hesitate at all and followed Gao Yanzong to charge forward. Lu Zhuangzhi widened his eyes and raised his head to shout, but his shouting was drowned out by the sound of the army's horses' hooves and could not be heard at all.

Gao Yanzong took off the longbow from his back and looked at the city wall in the distance excitedly.

He was raised by Gao Yang since he was a child, who taught him many things, and the most important thing was about military affairs.

He admired Gao Yang very much. Every time he listened to Gao Yang telling about his past war experiences and how he chopped off the heads of his enemies, he was always very excited. He always fantasized in his heart that he could become a powerful enemy like his uncle! !
And now, finally there is a chance!!
Gao Yanzong raised the bow, and his hands were shaking with excitement.

From today on, I will let everyone in the world know what kind of a warrior I, Gao Yanzong, am! !

This is the first step to becoming a famous general of Da Qi! !

Countless thoughts flashed through Gao Yanzong's mind.

"Whoosh~~"

The crossbow arrow flew and hit the breastplate of this "famous general". Gao Yanzong felt a huge force in his chest and could no longer control his body. He fell backwards. Just as he was about to fall under the horse's hooves, Liu Taozi, who was following behind him, suddenly reached out his hand, grabbed the fat man again, and pulled him onto the horse's back. He then turned and left. The first round of knights who had just launched the charge stopped one after another and followed him away.

At this moment, Lu Zhuangzhi felt his mind go blank and he was so scared that he stood there in a daze, motionless.

Liu Taozi got off the horse and threw the little fat man to the ground.

Gao Yanzong's face turned red, he started coughing violently, and his whole body was shaking unconsciously.

Liu Taozi looked at his injuries, pulled out the crossbow arrow, and took a look. "Your Majesty's armor is thick enough, otherwise his life would be lost here."

Gao Yanzong still did not react. As someone who was going to the battlefield for the first time, being hit in the face by a crossbow arrow was too frightening.

Gao Yanzong lay on the ground with his eyes wide open, his face stiff and without any reaction.

Liu Taozi raised her hand and slapped him. "Pa, pa!!!"

Two crisp slapping sounds were heard, and the faces of the surrounding knights twitched.

Gao Yanzong sat up suddenly. There were two huge slap marks on his face. His nose was bleeding and his mouth seemed to be swollen. He looked around and quickly stroked his body, "I'm not dead?"

"I clearly saw my uncle just now."

Liu Taozi frowned, "Your Majesty, it's alright, go and recuperate, Chu Jiande!!"

Then they saw an ugly guy running towards them. Liu Taozi said, "Take the king down to rest."

Gao Yanzong hurriedly shook his head, "No, no!"

"How can a man of the Gao family retreat on the battlefield?!"

He looked at the crossbow arrow in Liu Taozi's hand and snatched it away, "Lu Zhuangzhi!! Where's Lu Zhuangzhi?!"

Soon, Lu Zhuangzhi ran to him, and when he saw that Gao Yanzong was fine, he cried with joy.

Gao Yanzong was very angry, "Come, come, look at this, didn't you say that the pseudo-Zhou framed him?! This is also a frame-up? "

Lu Zhuangzhi knelt down hurriedly, "Your Majesty!! The Cui family is definitely rebelling!! I am the one who is stupid."

"Humph, I'll deal with you when I get back!"

Gao Yanzong covered his face again and gasped in pain, "Mr. Liu is too cruel!"

"This is all for the king."

Gao Yanzong walked forward quickly and looked at Cui's family in the distance. "Attack, attack with all your might. Go and call the county and prefectural governments over here and ask them to bring me siege equipment. If they don't have any, make them! Ask them to bring all the officials over here. If I don't take down Cui's family today, I will not be a human being!!"

On the outer wall, the head of the guards stared at the crowd in the distance and hurriedly reported to Master Cui, "Young Master, a large number of Xianbei people have arrived, all cavalry, and something seems amiss."

"Oh?"

At this moment, Master Cui was hiding beside the steps, teasing a little civet cat with his head down.

Arrows flew overhead and he didn't dare go up to check.

"What are you wearing? What's your flag?"

"They didn't raise any flags, but they were dressed much neater than the Xianbei just now. They were all covered in armor, and each had several horses. It seemed like they had quite a few people."

"Ok??"

Master Cui was stunned for a moment, then he stood up and kicked the little civet cat in front of him away. The little civet cat screamed and ran away. Master Cui quickly walked to the leader of the guards and carefully stuck his head out.

The knights below were already densely packed, among which those fully armed and neatly formed troops were particularly eye-catching.

After just one look, Master Cui quickly retracted his head and quickly returned to his original position.

At this moment, his expression was extremely complicated.

"They are not the county lieutenant's men. They are the personal followers of the nobles. The personal followers of the princes are the army of the governor."

Master Cui looked at the head of the guards again, "You guys fought back just now?"

The head of the guard nodded and said, "Yes, there was a little fat guy leading the group just now, he was so aggressive, I shot him with an arrow."

Master Cui's lips trembled for a moment.

"What about the others?"

His voice was trembling.

"I don't know. He fell into the crowd of cavalry and was probably trampled to death."

Master Cui nodded, his face pale. He drew out the dagger from his waist and stabbed it hard into his chest.

"Pfft!!"

The dagger pierced his chest and Master Cui Renshi let out a scream.

He trembled with pain all over, fell to the ground and began to convulse.

The head guard was stunned.

His eyes widened as he watched the young master suddenly commit suicide in front of him. His mind went blank. He rushed over and grabbed Master Cui Renshi, wanting to give him first aid, but the dagger had penetrated very deeply. Master Cui Renshi's mouth was bleeding continuously and his whole body was twitching. It was basically impossible to save him.

"Young Patriarch!! Young Patriarch!!"

The head of the guards shouted, but Master Cui did not move.

The head of the guard looked around blankly. The guards around him were also stunned at this moment. Looking at Master Cui lying in a pool of blood, they said, "Brother, you... Young Master."

The leader of the guards really didn't know what to do at this moment. He looked around, his eyes full of despair.

"Open the door and surrender!!"

"Open the door!!"

The chief of the guards gave an order, and the people on the city wall immediately stopped resisting. The gate of Wu Castle was slowly pushed open, and the knights rushed in.

Everyone had already knelt on the ground, throwing their weapons aside.

These knights did not attack them again, but just ran past them.

Gao Yanzong rode a war horse, led the crowd, and walked into Wu Castle with a sullen face and great displeasure.

He had just figured out how to attack the city, but Wu Fort surrendered and opened the city gates. Gao Yanzong was so frustrated that he couldn't vent his anger.

They walked into the fortress, and the knights began to tie up those on the ground. The first ones to rush in were Gao Yanzong's subordinates, so the captives who voluntarily opened the door to surrender were not killed, nor were they looted.

Gao Yanzong's face darkened as he asked, "Who led the guards to fight back just now?!"

The head of the guard stood up nervously, pointing at the body beside him, "My lord, it was our young master Cui Renshi, he just committed suicide."

"Suicide?!"

Gao Yanzong was furious. He walked forward and kicked the corpse several times, "Damn it, you got it easy!!"

"Cut off his head!!"

Gao Yanzong looked around angrily, but had no place to vent his anger.

Liu Taozi stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, there may be evidence of treason in Cui's mansion. You can send people to search."

Gao Yanzong immediately gave the order, and the knights received the order and rushed into the inner courtyard like wolves and tigers. For a moment, shouts of killing arose again.

Seeing the flames gradually rising in the distance, Gao Yanzong finally felt better. He clapped his hands happily, "Good! Good!"

Lu Zhuangzhi stepped forward and asked, "My lord, what shall we do with these prisoners?"

Gao Yanzong stroked his chin and said, "How about this, you take the captives and escort them to my place. Take all of them!"

"I was planning to expand the mansion earlier, and you said that we were short of manpower in the winter and people would freeze to death. With so many captives this time, we should finally have enough manpower, right? Aren't you afraid of freezing to death?"

Lu Zhuangzhi did not dare to refute.

Gao Yanzong continued, "I will stay here and investigate the Cui family. You should take half of your followers and the captives back to Changshan first!"

Gao Yanzong then looked at Liu Taozi again, "Brother Liu, now that the matter here has been resolved, why don't we go back to the training ground first?"

"My lord, it has not been resolved yet."

"The Cui family has more than just a second branch."

Lu Zhuangzhi stood up quickly, "No! The branches of the Cui family have already split up!!"

He looked at Liu Taozi in horror, "Don't you dare to instigate my king again."

He looked at Gao Yanzong and said, "Your Majesty, the branches of the Cui family have split up and are all five generations apart. Even if it is a crime punishable by genocide, it does not involve each other. It is the second branch that colluded with the Pseudo-Zhou, and it has nothing to do with the other branches! It has nothing to do with them!"

He jumped off his horse, walked quickly to Gao Yanzong's side, and held Gao Yanzong's leg tightly, "Your Majesty, we can't continue like this. Wait for the imperial edict first! Even for today's matter, I don't know how the imperial court will respond."

ps: Cui Ang had a graceful demeanor and was talented... but he liked to try to figure out the emperor's intentions, to express gratitude to the ruler of the time, or to point out his private faults. He was deeply appreciated by Emperor Xianzu, who praised and protected him, and no one could criticize him. ——"Book of Northern Qi·Biography of Cui Ang"

(End of this chapter)