Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 140 Liu Taozhi, go kill him
It was pitch dark when Gao Guiyan's carriage drove into the yard from the side door. He got out of the carriage, glanced at the soldiers on both sides, and suddenly reached out his hand, grabbed one of them, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Then he strode into the inner room.

The inner room was brightly lit. Gao Guiyan roughly took off his clothes and threw them on the ground. A servant rushed up to pick them up. Gao Guiyan looked around and flew into a rage, "Where's the beauty?! Where's the wine?! Where's the musician?!"

The housekeeper was shocked and hurriedly explained: "The king did not say when he would be back."

"No matter when I come back, you must prepare beauties, wine and meat. The musician has been with me for so many years, don't you even understand this?! Come! Take this guy away and give him thirty lashes!"

The servant did not dare to beg for mercy. Instead, he shouted loudly to express his gratitude and was then taken away by the soldiers.

The door to the inner room was tightly closed.

It was unknown how long it had been before a few soldiers, leading a man, arrived here.

The man who came forward was tall, wearing armor, with a strange smile mask on his face. He walked behind several soldiers. The soldiers felt uneasy and turned their heads frequently.

When the group arrived at the door, the soldier went forward and knocked on it.

"Come in!!"

Gao Guiyan's roar was heard from inside.

The soldiers stood on both sides, holding the hilts of their swords. The masked soldier strode forward, pushed open the door in front of him, and rushed in.

At this moment, the house was in a mess.

The musicians were playing cheerful music. Gao Guiyan was lying on the ground, surrounded by all kinds of beauties. Wine cups were spilled all over the floor, and meat was thrown away at random.

The beauties looked up and saw that the mask looked even more bizarre under the light. Several of them screamed in fright, and some even ran inside holding their clothes.

Gao Guiyan waved his hand and asked the musicians to stop playing.

He stood up angrily and put on his clothes, but his lower body was still exposed. He looked at the masked warrior in front of him, "How dare you! How dare you scare my beauty?!"

The soldier bowed slowly towards him, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Gao Guiyan snorted coldly, sat in the upper seat, and signaled the beauties to leave.

Soon, they were the only two people left in the room.

Gao Guiyan took another sip of wine, stared at the person in front of him, and shouted irritably: "The mask has been taken off! It's taken off! It makes me panic just by looking at it!"

The masked soldier took off his mask, and the face under the mask was none other than 'Liu Da', Liu Taozhi, who had not been seen for a long time.

Liu Taozhi looked calmly at Gao Guiyan in front of her, her eyes were cold and her emotions could not be seen.

Gao Guiyan spoke up, "Taozhi, why did you disappear after Emperor Wenxuan passed away?"

"Your Majesty, I have been training the warriors in the palace and have not been outside."

"Oh, you don't dare to go out. Let me think about it. Prime Minister Gao Dezheng, well, he was very benevolent and had a very high prestige among the scholars. Even if Yang Yin didn't like him, he had to pretend to respect him when he was outside. He was killed by you. Well, the third son of my cousin, the Prince of Yong'an, and the seventh son, the Prince of Shangdang. Even if the sixth son, Gao Yan, didn't like them, he had to pretend to miss them when he was outside. They were also killed by you."

Gao Guiyan suddenly laughed grimly, "It seems that without the protection of His Majesty, no matter who takes office, you will not be able to escape death."

Liu Taozhi's expression remained cold and unmoved.

Gao Guiyan waved his hand. "You are a very boring person. Let me ask you, before Emperor Wenxuan passed away, he left a will for me to take charge of the imperial guards inside and outside the palace. Is your Warrior Battalion under my command?!"

Liu Taozhi then bowed her head and said, "Here."

"Okay, from now on, I will call you General, not King."

"only."

"Right now, there is something you need to do."

"Please give me your orders, General."

"There is a lieutenant in Boling County named Liu Taozi. You have to go there for me and kill him."

A little bit of unrest finally appeared on Liu Taozhi's calm face. He raised his head and glanced at Gao Guiyan.

Gao Guiyan suddenly laughed, "This guy's name is quite similar to yours, Taozhi, Taozi, could you be a relative?"

Gao Guiyan's eyes gradually became sharper, "Where are you from?"

"General, I am from Huaishuo Town."

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot that you are the old man from Liuzhen. Well, let me say what I said just now, we have to kill him."

Liu Taozhi bowed again, "Yes."

Gao Guiyan then said: "This is the order of the Prime Minister. You should tell the public that I will send someone to read the imperial edict. You take some of your own people with you to protect the envoy to Boling County safely and then..."

Gao Guiyan explained in a low voice.

Liu Taozhi listened very carefully.

It was quiet in Yecheng. In the night, one could occasionally hear the sound of armor colliding and cursing from the soldiers outside. The sound spread from the road to the inner courtyard. The people in the houses huddled up in fear, and the mothers covered their children's mouths, not daring to make the slightest sound.

On the quiet road, you can't see your hand in front of you.

All that could be heard was the footsteps of the soldiers patrolling back and forth. Occasionally they stopped, and then screaming and crying could be heard.

Something seemed to come out from the shadows.

There were ordinary houses on both sides, looking ordinary. Liu Taozhi walked out from the shadows and gently pushed open the door. He looked around and entered the yard quietly.

When he walked into the inner room, it was still empty, without even a candle.

Liu Taozhi came to a wall, moved the shabby wooden cabinet in front of her, and saw a secret door.

He knocked on the secret door rhythmically, and soon someone opened it.

Xiao Wu's eyes brightened, and he hurriedly bowed to Liu Taozhi. Liu Taozhi didn't even look at him, pushed him away rudely, and then quickly walked into the dark room.

Liu Zhang stood up excitedly and walked over quickly, "If I had known that my beloved was back, I would have left some food for him."

"No, I've already eaten."

Liu Taozhi sat here immediately, waved her hand, and motioned Xiao Wu to come over and massage her shoulders.

He looked at Liu Zhang who was standing beside him. His expression was extremely complicated. His lips trembled for a long time before he said, "I have to go out for a while. It may take more than ten days."

Liu Zhang quickly became alert, "Going out at this time? Could it be that the King of Changshan is going to take action and wants to get rid of Liangren?"

"It was an order from Gao Guiyan."

"Gao Guiyan and Yang Yin are not on good terms. Could it be that he has already surrendered to the King of Changshan and wants to get rid of the good man and then start a rebellion?"

Liu Taozhi sneered, "These are not important. What's important is the person he asked me to go out and kill."

"Kill who?"

"Liu Gong, the commander of Boling County of the Great Qi!!!"

Liu Taozhi gritted his teeth at this moment, and the two words "Mr. Liu" were almost squeezed out from between his teeth.

Liu Zhang's face changed drastically, and she frowned, "Then we have to find someone who looks like him quickly."

"Hey, why don't you just look for me? I look similar to him. I can take my men to Boling, chop off my head, and send it to Gao Guiyan, saying that this is Liu Taozi."

Xiao Wu burst out laughing. Liu Taozhi turned around and glared at him. Xiao Wu quickly lowered his head.

Liu Zhang looked at him helplessly, "Taozi is kind-hearted, too simple-minded, and easily trusts bad people. He is used by these bad people and finally abandoned. Alas, I told him before not to do this."

Liu Taozhi then said: "Okay, don't worry, we didn't really want to kill him, we did it for Yang Yin to see. You are right, Gao Guiyan has indeed surrendered to Gao Yan."

Liu Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. She hurriedly said, "Maybe we can bring Taozi back this time? Let him not take risks again?"

"Oh, Mr. Liu is not a stupid official at the moment. He has reached the ninth rank. The disappearance of this official is different from the disappearance of a petty official!"

"Damn it, I think Gao Yan wants to continue promoting him. If this continues, this guy's official rank will probably surpass that of Nai Gong."

Liu Zhang was worried, "In short, my dear, you should persuade him more. Taozi is a good child. I am afraid that bad people from other families will lead him astray."

Liu Taozhi did not speak. He sighed again, "If Gao Yan wants to take action, Yang Yin may not be able to stop him. Gao Yan has a good relationship with Prince Yong'an." Liu Zhang comforted him again, "Don't worry, my dear. Gao Yan has a good relationship with Prince Yong'an, but they are not particularly close. However, Gao Zhan has a very bad relationship with Prince Shangdang. The two are incompatible. With this incident, Gao Zhan can save me."

"Besides, seeing that such a big incident is about to happen here, it is a good thing for my beloved to leave Yecheng."

"I hope so."

Changshan, Zhending.

The previously empty road was now bustling with people. People were crowded together, stretching their necks and looking to the front, their eyes full of urgency.

Their eyes were eager and they kept pushing forward.

The county official held a long whip in his hand, and the whip made a series of breaking sounds in the air, creating beautiful whip flowers and crackling sounds.

The people around were all frightened and retreated.

The county official shouted, "No pushing allowed! Line up now!"

"Anyone who dares to squeeze again will no longer be compensated!!"

The common people retreated one after another. Looking at the huge crowds in front of them, the county officials were also having a headache. They could only keep shouting around, asking everyone to line up to avoid being trampled and injured.

At the front, there was a county official sitting, sorting out the people who had arrived.

"What standard did we use to collect grain from you last year?"

"I was granted 40 mu of farmland and 20 mu of mulberry fields."

"How much do you have in your name? Tell the truth. We are going to investigate thoroughly. If you lie, do you know the consequences?"

"I know, I know. There are indeed eight acres of mulberry fields, but no land has been granted."

The county official picked up a pen and began to write, "Okay, take this and go over there to collect the compensation. In addition, your household registration should be granted 40 acres of land. The county government will compensate you as soon as possible. Don't go out for the next few days. There will be officials coming to your door."

"Yes, yes."

The magistrate of Zhending County stood not far away, watching the lively scene in front of him, and couldn't help but chuckle. He stroked his beard and said to his attendants, "The person who came up with this idea is really smart."

“If we tell the people that we are going to conduct a thorough investigation of the land grants and ask them to come to the county government to report, I’m afraid they won’t dare to come.”

"But if they use the excuse of compensation, these people will come one after another, and spread the word among them. Without even asking, they will tell the actual amount of cultivated land."

“Who came up with this idea?”

The county magistrate beside him hurriedly said, "I heard that it was proposed by Zheng Zifan, the Anping magistrate of Boling County."

"Oh, it turned out to be him. No wonder. Zheng Zifan was born into a famous family. He is indeed talented and will definitely be used in the future."

The county magistrate looked at the smiling county magistrate and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

The county magistrate said softly, "Why, do you think there is something wrong?"

The county magistrate hurriedly said, "Mr. Yang, it's not that there is anything wrong, but the governor has been so agitated, bullying famous families in Dingzhou, and even the family of Confucianism has not been spared. This has caused great controversy in various places. I heard that in Quyang and other counties in Julu, scholars are running around shouting, calling for the vindication of Confucianism and demanding the execution of cruel officials. Scholars from all over Dingzhou responded, and officials dared not to punish them."

"There are also many scholars in Zhending. If these people also start making trouble, what should we do?"

Seeing the worried county magistrate, the county magistrate sneered, "Why should we be afraid of them? These people don't care about studying classics, let alone state affairs. They hang out together all day, enjoy music and dance, and sing all day long. What do you mean by redressing the injustice of Confucianism? They just don't want to pay grain and give up farmland. They just want to force Prince Ande and Liu Junwei to leave."

"They may be able to scare scholars like you with this method, but if they use it against King Ande, they will only bring disaster upon themselves. Have these people ever cared about their own reputation?"

"These scholars have become stupid because of reading too much. They think they are noble and think they can influence the reputation of others and threaten the powerful. Ha, this is like treating King Ande as the King of Kaifeng. It's absurd and ridiculous."

"If something like this happens in the county, you can just lead the county officials to shoot the ringleader."

Hearing the county magistrate's words, the county magistrate's eyes widened, "Shooting the scholar..."

"This is for their own good. If we don't shoot the leader, when King Ande leads the army here, it won't be a matter of two or three lives."

"only!!"

Just as the two were talking, shouting and cursing were heard in the distance.

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

Then I heard someone shouting angrily.

The coachman waved his whip and drove the people in front of him. The road was originally blocked by these people, and because of the forced driving, some people bumped into each other. The whole outside the county government office became chaotic. Some people began to flee, and some people shouted. The order that the county officials had worked so hard to maintain was destroyed at this moment.

The county officials were furious, but looking at the carriage, they did not dare to get angry.

The county magistrate looked at the county magistrate standing beside him secretly, and the county magistrate's face looked ugly.

He stared at the carriage in the distance, "Luzhuangzhi"

He shook off his sleeves suddenly, turned back, and the county magistrate hurriedly followed him.

Lu Zhuangzhi's carriage passed through the people unscrupulously. Lu Zhuangzhi frowned and urged the coachman anxiously. Finally, the carriage pushed through the crowd and galloped away into the distance.

The carriage stopped outside the provincial government office. Lu Zhuangzhi quickly dismounted and, led by several minor officials, hurried towards the other prefecture.

When I got here, I saw a handsome and energetic scholar coming out to greet me.

"Feng Jun!"

"Mr. Lu!"

The two men bowed and Lu Zhuangzhi followed him into the inner room. As soon as he sat down, Lu Zhuangzhi couldn't help complaining, "This guy is too much of a bully. He used the grain from the county offices to deceive the ignorant people and win over their hearts. He deserves death!!"

"The road in front of the county government office has been blocked by someone, and no one can get in or out."

Dingzhou Chief Clerk Feng Xun grabbed his hand and said, "Brother, please don't be angry."

Feng Xun slowly took out a letter, looked around, and handed it to Lu Zhuangzhi in front of him.

Lu Zhuangzhi hurriedly looked down, and after a few glances, he was overjoyed.

He asked excitedly: "Is the government going to send someone to kill Liu Taozi?"

"Brother! Keep your voice down!!"

Feng Xun quickly snatched the letter back and carefully hid it in his sleeve. Lu Zhuangzhi was very excited and asked: "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true. I heard that the envoy is Yan Gong's cousin, Huang Men Yan Zifei, who is escorted by more than a hundred warriors and holding an imperial edict. He is already on the way."

"They came here this time to, first, remove King Ande from his position as governor, and second, to kill the cruel official Liu Taozi!!"

Lu Zhuangzhi was so excited that he couldn't help crying. He wiped his tears and said, "Great, great, this guy is finally going to die."

He couldn't help but say, "How many murders has this thief committed? In Anping, he killed two branches of the Cui family, destroyed the rest of the Wubao, and robbed all the farmland. The dignified Cui family of Boling was tormented so badly by him. That's not all. He committed another murder in Raoyang. Liu Ruzong, the Five Classics of the world came from him. Who doesn't respect him? Even such a Confucian family was wiped out by him, and even women and children were not spared!!"

Lu Zhuangzhi's tears fell again.

Feng Xun couldn't help crying at this moment, "He did evil himself, but he also instigated King Ande. In the past month, King Ande followed him to many counties in Dingzhou. Everywhere he went was a bloody case, with families exterminated and homes confiscated. In more than 30 days, tens of thousands of people were killed!!"

"Lord Lu, you may not know yet, right now Liu Taozi led the governor to Quyang, saying that the scholars there were plotting a rebellion and that they wanted to suppress it with a large army. Who knows how much evil they have committed! Too numerous to list!!"

Thinking of these virtuous people who had suffered, the two men could not help but hug each other and cry. Lu Zhuangzhi even cried out, "What did the people of Dingzhou do to deserve such evil beasts to be sent down by heaven to commit murder!"

The two cried for a long time before they calmed down.

Lu Zhuangzhi hurriedly said, "Lord Feng, we must act quickly. Before they start to attack in Quyang, quickly send someone to summon the two of them to Zhending!"

Feng Xun nodded, "That's what I was thinking. I'm contacting wise men from all over the country. There are many who are dissatisfied with them. When the time comes, we can accuse them together in front of the angels! So that the angels can know the evil deeds of these two people, and let the people of Dingzhou know your and my determination to punish evil and eliminate evil!!"

Lu Zhuangzhi's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood the other party's idea. He smiled and said, "If that's the case, I'm afraid my brother will become famous all over the world. Both Cui and Yang will pay more attention to you in the future!"

Feng Xun shook his head, "Brother, I am just a chief historian. How can I accomplish such a big thing? You still have to make the decision."

"How about this? I'll contact the officials, and you contact the famous and wise men. How about this?"

"Hahaha, okay!!"

The two of them were making countless calculations in their minds at this moment, and they looked at each other with confident smiles on their faces.

(End of this chapter)