Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 137: Missing the Old Friends
Cui Jishu frowned and looked haggard. He and his son were pushed into the tent one after another.

He looked up and saw Liu Taozi sitting in the upper seat, and sighed dejectedly.

"Please sit down."

Cui Jishu slowly sat aside, and Cui Gang stood behind him.

"I need a favor from you."

Liu Taozi spoke, and Cui Jishu slowly raised his head and narrowed his eyes. He was still analyzing Taozi's motives and origins. Perhaps, he could know the truth now?

Cui Jishu recovered quickly and put on his old shrewd expression again, looking kind, "Mr. Liu, please speak."

"Help me dismantle the Cui family and pacify the local area."

Cui Jishu opened his mouth subconsciously. He wanted to curse, but his upbringing stopped him. His lips trembled. "When I came to you to discuss this matter, you refused and said you wouldn't listen. Now you have destroyed the two largest branches of the Cui family. You can dispatch troops to destroy the rest at any time. But now you want to ask me for help? What on earth do you want to do? Why?!"

"If you help me, I can spare the rest of the Cuis. If you don't help me, I will kill them all later."

Cui Jishu suddenly smiled bitterly, "I knew it would be like this."

"Well, well, what do you want me to do?"

"It's very simple. Count the remaining money, grain and land of each family, distribute them to the people according to the system, and then disperse them, destroy their Wubao, and make them move to various places in Dingzhou. They are not allowed to return to Boling."

"This land grant will be implemented throughout the state. The governor does not have the talent, and the other lieutenants may not be willing to do it. Lord Cui can help."

Cui Jishu stroked his beard, a little surprised, "Promote it throughout the state? How courageous."

He nodded, "That's right. In this way, the harvest of the whole state can be greatly improved this year. I remember that the King of Changshan had mentioned many times before that he wanted to improve the agriculture and sericulture in Hebei and solve the problem of shortage of money and grain. Your idea coincides with that of the King of Changshan."

Cui Jishu said this and looked at Liu Taozi again, trying to see some changes on his face.

But disappointingly, Liu Taozi still had that unchanged face. He looked at Cui Jishu calmly, "Do it or not?"

"Do it, do it, of course. This matter is beneficial to the government. The problem of shortage of money and grain is getting more and more serious. If it is not solved, the military pay this year will be in trouble. Besides, Lord Liu has a knife in his hand, how dare I disobey him?"

Cui Jishu said proudly: "Mr. Liu is quite good at judging people, and I am quite good at governing. If it is a county, it can be done by ordinary people. If it is a county, it needs wise people. Now, I have to be the one to grant land in this state!"

Cui Gang secretly glanced at his boastful father, then slowly lowered his head.

Cui Jishu asked: "When will this thing start?"

"No hurry yet. Take care of Anping's affairs now. Next, you will expand the work to the entire county, and then to the entire state."

Cui Jishu nodded, "That's fine, but the evidence is irrefutable that the Second Branch is plotting a rebellion. As a member of the Second Branch, do I have to act as a prisoner?"

"With Cui Ang in the court, he won't die. I'm afraid you won't die either."

Liu Taozi said this grimly, as if he felt sorry that these two people could not die.

Cui Jishu still failed to find out the information he wanted.

Liu Taozi had already stood up and motioned for them to follow her.

The three of them just walked outside. The parade ground was still very lively. Even when they saw Liu Taozi, these people did not stop training. Looking at the knights who were training with all their strength, Cui Jishu was amazed. He glanced at the sword worn by Liu Taozi, and his expression kept changing.

Liu Taozi sent the two of them to the entrance of the training ground.

"You can go back now. I will send someone to contact you."

After Liu Taozi finished speaking, she turned around and was about to leave.

Cui Jishu stopped him.

"Liu Jun."

"I can do something for you, but there is one thing I must find out. Which side does Liu Jun stand on? I have to know who I am following, right?"

After hearing Cui Jishu's words, Liu Taozi stopped, looked into the distance, stared for a moment, and then pointed in a direction.

"I'm on their side."

Cui Jishu looked in the direction he pointed. In the distance was a large muddy field, desolate and remote. There were two people, an old man and a young boy, pulling a donkey with great effort. The donkey's back was loaded with mountain products. They were heading towards the county town. There were a few dead trees standing alone in several corners, with birds flying from the treetops. There were also the wreckage of several horse-drawn carriages, which seemed to have been burned and were completely black.

Cui Jishu looked for a long time before he looked at Liu Taozi, hesitant.

"Mr. Liu, what's that over there?"

"There are people over there that people like you can't see."

"Father!"

"Father?!"

Cui Gang was driving the car and calling Cui Jishu's name hurriedly.

Cui Jishu sat in the car, his eyes wide open, and he began to mutter again, seeming to become more paranoid and crazy.

Cui Gang quickly stopped the car, opened the curtain, and looked at his weird-looking father. Cui Gang couldn't help crying.

My father was already worried about the affairs of the court, and he was detained these days. He didn't eat well, didn't wear warm clothes, didn't sleep well, and was frightened of all kinds of things. He turned out to be like this.

"Father!!"

Cui Gang called out again, and Cui Jishu suddenly woke up. He grabbed Cui Gang's hand and said, "Get in the car! Chase! Go to the city gate! Go to the city gate!!"

Cui Gang was at a loss, "Father, I'll go find a doctor."

"I am the doctor! Listen to me! Drive the car for me!!"

Cui Jishu gave the order hastily. Cui Gang did not dare to refuse. He quickly jumped into the car and drove towards the city gate with Cui Jishu. Cui Jishu stuck his head out, looking around absent-mindedly, looking nervous.

Finally, when they were about to reach the city gate, Cui Jishu hurriedly shouted: "Stop!!"

Cui Gang hurriedly stopped the carriage, Cui Jishu jumped off the carriage and rushed out quickly. His body was still very clear, and after running like this, Cui Gang couldn't catch up with him.

Cui Jishu was seen rushing to the side of the road. The father and son were looking at him in horror. The man hugged the child with one hand and held the reins tightly with the other.

The man had tears on his face. "My dear, I can't give you my donkey. Please."

Cui Jishu widened his eyes and stared at them angrily, "Who are you?!"

The man shuddered, "My lord, we are farmers in Anping. We have no food at home, so we went to get some mountain products to exchange for food."

Cui Jishu's face was grim and uncertain.

I don’t know how long he stood there. He suddenly put away all his anger and ferocity. He became silent and reserved. He suppressed all his emotions.

He got on the carriage and Cui Gang pulled him all the way towards his own house. Neither the father nor the son spoke.

When the two men arrived at the familiar house, they didn't know whether the servants had escaped or been killed. The place was in a mess and no one could be found.

Cui Jishu and Cui Gang walked into the inner room.

Cui Jishu came to the leftmost corner of the inner room, bent down, knocked on the ground, then took out the dagger hanging on the wall, inserted the dagger into the ground, and lifted it hard, and saw a wooden board pushed out by him.

The dust on the wooden board fell quickly, and Cui Jishu pulled the board apart with great effort and threw it aside.

Cui Gang walked to his side cautiously and looked down.

Under the wooden board, there were actually golden jewels shining brightly.

Cui Gang was horrified. He looked at his father in disbelief, who always required him to be honest and frugal.

Cui Jishu also looked at the money in a daze. He vaguely seemed to see a handsome young man standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile.

"Master Cui, many nobles are lawless nowadays, bullying the people and doing whatever they want. I cannot tolerate this. I know that you are upright and honest, so I specially order you to impeach the lawless and stop the bribery. I allow you to make a report at any time. I hope you will plead for the people and be honest. Don't be partial or conceal anything!!"

Cui Jishu's lips trembled, and he looked again, but the young man had disappeared.

The king who attacked the nobles is gone, and the ministers who were upright and honest are gone too.

Only in the soil in front of him was there a flicker of golden light, with the halo twisting on it, presenting charming colors.

“Cui Jun!!”

A group of people broke into the house and saw Cui Gang quietly cleaning things. They couldn't help crying. They stepped forward and quickly surrounded Cui Gang.

"Is Mr. Cui all right?"

"Where is Mr. Cui?"

Everyone's faces were filled with worry. Cui Gang looked very strange at the moment. In the past, he was very kind and enthusiastic to these tribesmen, but now, his response was very cold and dull. He looked towards the inner room, "He's in the room."

These people didn't have time to think and rushed into the inner room.

"Mr. Cui?!"

They called out from outside. "Come in."

Hearing Cui Jishu's voice, these people rushed into the inner room in a panic. Seeing Cui Jishu sitting in the upper seat, they knelt down in front of him. There were more than ten people in total. At this moment, their faces were full of sadness and they were wiping away tears.

These are all the survivors of the Cui family.

Cui Jishu looked at them and said, "Stop crying."

After hearing Cui Jishu's words, they stopped talking. Cui Jishu was silent for a moment before saying, "If you are here to find me and want me to do justice for you, then you can leave now."

"There's nothing I can do about this matter. Not only me, but anyone else can do nothing about it."

Hearing his words, the old men who were leading the group quickly looked up.

"Mr. Cui, this county lieutenant is acting recklessly. Even Yang Yin cannot cover the sky with one hand. I heard that the King of Changshan..."

Cui Jishu shook his head. "Don't even think about it. We went too far. Do you know how much tribute was paid by Boling County last year? Do you know how many households were reduced?"

Everyone looked at him blankly.

Cui Jishu suddenly laughed, "I didn't know my family would become a disaster for the government. It's really strange."

"What Liu Junwei did was beneficial to the country and the people. There is no relationship between King Changshan and Prime Minister Yang here. No matter who is in power, they will not punish Liu Taozi."

Cui Jishu waved his hand and said, "Forget it. After going through such hardships, maybe you will learn your lesson. Go back. I will ask Liu Taozi to spare your lives, but I can't do anything about your property and farmland. Maybe he will expel you from Anping and send you to other places."

"There are too many people with the surname Cui in Anping. It's time to go to other places."

"I will do my best. You must not resist any longer. Otherwise, I will suffer as well."

Cui Jishu said this and slowly looked at the people in front of him.

Everyone in the Cui family looked ashen at this moment. Their eyes were full of despair and they had no strength left in their bodies. They sat there one by one, as if they were already dead.

Cui Jishu saw everyone off, then picked up his walking stick and slowly walked into the courtyard.

Cui Gang was still cleaning the yard with a dazed look on his face. Even when he saw his father coming out, he did not step forward to greet him.

Cui Jishu ignored him and just walked out of the house.

In front of his house, there is a small path that leads directly to the county town. People call this path Jiangzuo Road. Apparently, this was the road built when he had just taken office as the Minister of General Works. Cui Jishu walked on the road slowly with a cane. Gradually, he could see some people walking on the road, carrying food on their backs and with smiles on their faces.

They looked up and saw Cui Jishu, they were horrified and wanted to leave by taking a detour.

Cui Jishu hurried forward to stop them, "Do you know me?"

The men shook their heads.

"Then why do you avoid me when you see me?"

"Seeing you, I'm afraid to bother you."

Cui Jishu smiled and asked, "Where do you get all this food from?"

The leader said timidly: "The county government distributed grain today, saying it was to repay the extra tribute collected last year."

"Oh, you live around here?"

"We were originally tenants of the Cui family."

"I see. So it's just the distribution of food?"

"I was given 40 mu of land, but I didn't even have one mu of land in my name. The county government only compensated me for the farmland that was only in my name today."

Cui Jishu chatted with them for a while, then said goodbye to them with a smile and left.

When those people saw that Cui Jishu had no intention of making things difficult for them, they breathed a sigh of relief and walked quickly on the road. Even from a distance, their discussions could still be heard.

"Living Bodhisattva, living Bodhisattva."

Cui Jishu walked all the way to the gate of the county town. At the gate of the county town, people were coming in and out. Those people who lived outside the city but did not belong to the township government had to go into the city to get food. After getting the food, they had to go out again.

Cui Jishu passed through the city gate and strolled casually in the county town.

Cui Jishu suddenly realized that he hadn't walked for many years. The feeling of riding in a carriage in the city was really different from walking in the city.

The road leading to the county government office was almost blocked by the people, and it was crowded and noisy.

Cui Jishu saw through the county government's strategy at a glance. It must be that no one dared to come to distribute the land, so they used the method of distributing grain to "trick" the people to come, but in fact it was still to complete the land distribution.

This young county magistrate is still capable of getting something done.

He walked all the way to the gate of the county government office, which was much quieter.

But he was already out of breath. He told the clerk at the door his identity, and soon, Prefect Lu rushed to the door in person to greet him.

Seeing Cui Jishu walking towards him without anyone around him, Governor Lu was shocked, "Mr. Cui! What's going on?!"

Cui Jishu shook his head. "It's okay, it's okay. I just came out for a walk."

Prefect Lu hurriedly supported Cui Jishu and led him to his backyard. The county government office was very deserted at this moment. Except for the gatekeeper, there was no one inside.

Governor Lu explained awkwardly: "Everyone in the county has gone to the other counties, and the whole county is in turmoil."

"I know I know."

The two of them walked into the backyard, and Prefect Lu hurriedly ordered the servants to prepare delicious food to entertain Cui Jishu.

The two of them sat together, with no one around, and then Governor Lu said helplessly: "Mr. Cui, I really can't interfere in this matter of Boling. I hope you can understand."

"The imperial court has learned of what happened here, and has sent a fast horse to deliver an imperial edict, which was read to the governor and me."

Cui Jishu was stunned, "Oh?"

"What did the edict say?"

Governor Lu was silent for a moment.

"Read."

Cui Jishu shuddered all over, then smiled bitterly again, "It's just as I expected."

Governor Lu lowered his head, looking somewhat guilty, but Cui Jishu said gently: "You don't have to be like this. This may not be a bad thing. Just let the tribe members learn a lesson. Wasn't the Qinghe Cui even more miserable than us? Besides, this is not your fault. Next, you may need to help us."

"Help?"

Governor Lu looked at him in astonishment, "What is Lord Cui going to do?"

"Don't be afraid. I was recently recruited by Lord Liu to serve as his staff member and help with the land granting in Dingzhou."

"ah???"

"From now on, I will have to trouble you."

Governor Lu's eyes widened. He looked around and suddenly asked in a low voice, "Mr. Cui, this Mr. Liu, who is he?"

Cui Jishu laughed and stroked his beard. "This guy..."

"If you don't die, you will be the pillar of our Great Qi."

"I have always been good at recommending talented people. If I can be used by the government again in the future, I will definitely promote this person."

Governor Lu's face was gloomy, and he murmured in a low voice: "Liu Taozi"

Liu Taozi was standing outside the dense forest, and Tian Zilie was whispering to him about what was happening in various places.

He nodded, but his eyes were fixed straight ahead.

After Tian Zili finished speaking, Liu Taozi then instructed: "All counties should speed up and complete everything before spring planting. There should be no delay."

"only!!"

As the two were talking, Gao Yanzong suddenly emerged from the dense forest, carrying a huge wild boar on his back. He was panting and had wounds on his face. When the knights saw him like this, they rushed forward hastily, but Gao Yanzong unhappily asked them to retreat. He walked up to Liu Taozi with a smile on his face, threw the wild boar aside, raised his head proudly, and put his hands on his hips.

"Brother, how is it?!"

Liu Taozi took a look and said, "It's not bad to kill a piglet."

"Piglet?? This is a wild boar, look at its fur"

Gao Yanzong couldn't help but want to argue, but Liu Taozi suddenly said: "This is not considered a man-eating beast."

"It just so happens that there are man-eating beasts like this in several nearby counties. Do you want to come with me to hunt them?"

(End of this chapter)