Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 147 How to relieve worries
"Whoosh!"

Liu Taozi raised his hand and shot an arrow.

The arrow pierced He Laigan's neck directly. He Laigan still maintained his arrogant expression, but his body had already fallen off his horse.

The owner of the building was stunned. He was trembling and speechless when he saw this scene.

The knights who came with the other side also drew their bows at this moment, but the next moment, they were aimed at by the bows of the people around Liu Taozi, and they dared not move.

Liu Taozi looked at Tian Zili and said, "The deputy garrison commander fell off his horse and died. Report this to Yecheng."

"only."

Liu Taozi then looked at the owner of the building. The owner Tu Xiyue was so frightened that his eyes widened, "General! I don't know."

"Get off your horse and clean this place up for me."

"only!!"

Tu Xiyue almost jumped down, he called a few people, and rushed into the yard. Liu Taozi then looked at the knights who followed He Laigan, and said coldly: "The garrison commander fell to death, and you failed to protect him. Kill him."

"Whoosh~~~"

The next moment they were shot into hedgehogs, and both the horses and the people fell down together.

Tu Xi in the courtyard worked harder and harder, and so did the soldiers.

Liu Taozi led everyone into the courtyard. He asked Yao Xiong to settle the knights. He jumped off his horse, grabbed Tu Xiyue, and took Tian Zilie and others to the inner room. Tu Xiyue was forcibly dragged into the house by Liu Taozi.

Tu Xiyue was so scared that there was something strange in the look he gave Liu Taozi.

Is this fucking person really from Yecheng? ?

The information is not right!!
Liu Taozi grabbed him and walked into the inner room, found a place and sat down. Several people stood beside him, all looking at Tu Xiyue.

"Then why did He Laigan go against me?"

Tu Xiyue said hurriedly: "He is afraid that you will ruin the business here."

"what business?"

Tu Xiyue pursed his lips and dared not say anything. Kou Liu slowly raised the bow and aimed at him.

Tu Xiyue looked distressed, "General, it's business with the bandits outside the Great Wall and in the west."

"General, you may not know that the money and food have not been distributed in full in the past two years, and we have always been asked to raise food on our own. Therefore, the deputy garrison commander led the small and medium garrison commanders to find ways to prepare some food and grass."

"Speak clearly and I can pardon your crime."

Tu Xiyue then said: "I only know that He Laigan has business dealings with the Kumo Xi people. The Kumo Xi people gave him gold, food, women, and strong servants. He gave them military equipment, weapons, and some information."

"And the Western Bandits, they need some information."

"I am a lowly official, I have only heard some things, I don't know any more details."

He suddenly knelt in front of Liu Taozi, "Please spare my life, Lord!"

Liu Taozi looked at Tian Zili and said, "No need to report that he fell to his death."

"Those who have colluded with foreign enemies should be put to death."

Cui Gang also couldn't believe what he heard. He said in astonishment: "How is this possible? Although our countrymen are arrogant, they are also loyal. How could they collaborate with the enemy?"

Tian Zili said coldly: "Even if it is a dog you raise yourself, it will bite people if you don't give it food."

Liu Taozi immediately looked at Tian Zili, "Zili, take Tu Xiyue with you and lead three hundred people to He Laigan's house quickly, search his house, find the evidence, and send it to me."

Tian Zili quickly stood up and said yes.

He pulled Tu Xiyue away.

Kou Liu also stood up and said, "Brother, I will go to set up sentry around."

Liu Taozi nodded and he hurried away.

Liu Taozi looked at Chu Jiande and said, "Prepare your magic weapon, maybe it can be used."

He finally looked at Cui Gang and said, "Tell me about the configuration of the garrison."

Cui Gang said hurriedly: "All the people in the city are military households, and the rest are slaves. For every 20 military households, a lower garrison commander will be appointed; for every 30 military households, a middle garrison commander will be appointed; and for every 50 military households, an upper garrison commander will be appointed."

"The garrison commanders are stationed in various places and command the military households. There is a great garrison commander in the city who is in charge of the garrison commanders. There is also an assistant garrison commander, a secretary, and a recorder."

According to Cui Gang, military control was being implemented in the garrison at that time. The Xianbei soldiers had slaves, armor, and horses, similar to military nobles. And for every twenty such Xianbei households, there was a garrison master to manage them.

According to Cui Gang's previous calculations, a soldier can lead more than 20 to 30 military slaves into battle. That means a lower garrison lord has about 600 soldiers under his command, and a higher garrison lord may have about 1,500 soldiers under his command.

Logically speaking, there should be detailed information in the government office, explaining the population of the city, the number of garrison commanders and so on, but now there is no information about the local situation in this abandoned government office. Cui Gang and his people searched it several times, but they couldn't find even half a piece of paper.

At this moment, Tian Zili arrived at He Laigan's mansion.

It is called a mansion, but in fact it is a small castle.

Armored soldiers were patrolling back and forth above the gate, which was tall and sturdy.

Fortunately, the door was not closed. Before Tian Zili got close, he asked everyone to slow down, raised his head, and let Tu Xiyue walk in front of him.

The group slowly approached, which aroused the vigilance of the soldiers above, but they did not start to be on guard.

Tu Xiyue wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked forward quickly, and shouted: "Hurry up and prepare the food. The deputy garrison commander and the chief garrison commander will be here soon. These are the nobles under the garrison commander, and they are guests! Don't scare the guests!"

After hearing Tu Xiyue's words, the people above slowly put away their bows and crossbows and exchanged a few words in Xianbei language.

Tian Zili approached slowly, and suddenly, he raised his bow and shot.

The soldier on the city wall was shot by him immediately and fell down screaming. Everyone started shooting.

The two sides were very close to each other, and the armored soldiers were suddenly attacked, suffering many casualties. However, they soon began to fight back. Tian Zilie led his men to rush into the city gate, and knights rushed out in front of them, and a melee broke out between the two sides.

The knights charged at each other, slashing with swords and stabbing with spears, and from time to time someone screamed and fell to the ground.

Tian Zilie had more people on his side and easily killed the Xianbei knights who blocked their way and rushed towards the backyard.

The buildings inside the fortress were also quite simple. There were probably more than eighty Xianbei soldiers, but less than half of them were left at this moment. They were still fighting tenaciously without any fear.

Tu Xiyue had no choice but to draw his bow and shoot arrows, killing several soldiers in a row.

After fighting for a long time, all the soldiers were killed, and Tian Zilie was also injured, with blood flowing from his left arm.

This group of Xianbei guarding the border were really good at fighting. Even though dozens of people were attacked by surprise, they still caused quite a lot of casualties and resisted for such a long time!

Tian Zili asked someone to guard the place while he rushed into the inner room.

At the same time, Cui Gang looked at the two knights standing behind him, took a deep breath, and rode his horse in the city with the military order in his hand.

"The Grand Garrison Lord has issued an order! All Garrison Lords, go to the government office immediately to pay respect and receive food!"

"The Grand Garrison Lord has issued an order! All Garrison Lords, go to the government office immediately to pay respect and receive food!"

Cui Gang walked along the main road, shouting continuously.

The next moment, a burly man rushed out of the yard, drunkenly grabbed the reins of Cui Gang's horse, stared at him with wide eyes, "You Han Chinese! What did you say?!"

Cui Gang looked at the ferocious look of this guy and said hesitantly: "The court sent the chief garrison commander to record the food that was short of distribution in recent years and prepare to make up for it. He and the deputy garrison commander are waiting in the government office and ask you to go and register to receive it."

The sturdy man suddenly let out a strange cry, and the words sounded like Xianbei language, but not quite. He shouted behind him, then loosened Cui Gang's reins and walked away quickly.

A moment later, a large crowd of people appeared around Cui Gang. They surrounded Cui Gang and looked at him with ill intentions.

Cui Gang repeated loudly what he had just said.

This immediately caused a commotion. People were shouting and talking to each other, and then they saw a few more people hurriedly walking towards the government office.

Cui Gang's face was full of fear. He gritted his teeth and walked forward. Suddenly, someone called out to him, and Cui Gang was so scared that he galloped away on his horse.

Everyone pointed at him and laughed.

Cui Gang continued on his way, shouting all the way.

The whole Wuchuan became a little noisy at this moment, with Xianbei people all over the streets, and some even followed Cui Gang just to watch the fun.

It has been a long time since Han people dressed like this have come here, it is really strange.

"Pululu!! Come out quickly!! Food is being distributed!!"

A burly man kicked the door open and rushed in.

I saw a man hurriedly putting on his clothes. There was a woman on the bed, crying with her face covered. The man ignored her, walked out with his upper body naked and closed the door.

"What are you yelling about?!"

"What do you mean by distributing food?!" The big man couldn't help but peek into the house a few times, then he looked at the man with a smile, "The great garrison commander is here, indeed he came from Yecheng, and he said he was summoning all the garrison commanders to distribute food!"

Hearing this, the man was overjoyed.

"Distribute food? Are you serious?!"

"Of course it's true. I've said it before. It was the Han people with the surname Yang who withheld the food and refused to distribute it to us!"

"The Yangs were killed. Now that our own family members are in power, the situation is really different. The great fortress leader has sent someone, and he is shouting on the road!"

The big man pulled the man out, both of them were in disheveled clothes.

As he walked, he said, "He really is a nobleman from Yecheng. The man he sent, hahahaha, is a Han Chinese, wearing a tall crown, with a snow-white face, timid, just like a lamb!"

"The deputy commander is indeed capable. It seems that he has already suppressed this noble man."

"Later, we have to be tough, understand? If we join forces, we won't be afraid of him, not to mention a nobleman from Yecheng, even if the fucking governor of the state comes. Later, we will intimidate him more and get more food."

As the two men talked, their eyes sparkled, they mounted their horses and rushed towards the government office.

The big man looked at his naked upper body and couldn't help but teasing him: "If you want to eat, it would be better to find a slave Han person, who has tender skin and flesh. Why bother to force yourself on yourself?"

"Oh, I like solid ones!"

"Aren't you afraid that her man will shoot you?"

"Ha, her husband died in the war a long time ago, and her two children are still young. If she wants to maintain her military household status, she has to let me control her. Otherwise, I will kick her out! Her family will also become slaves!"

"You are really capable. You have played with all the women in this city, right?"

The two men chatted about women all the way, with lewd looks and dirty words, and finally rushed to the door of the government office.

The two men rode their horses into the government office, and some soldiers came forward and helped them down.

"Where is the Great Guardian Lord?!"

The big man got off his horse and started shouting.

"In the backyard."

The soldier spoke, and the two men quickly walked towards the backyard.

When I walked into the backyard, I saw many familiar garrison commanders. They were all gathered together, talking loudly. The whole yard was filled with smoke and chaos.

There were twelve or thirteen people in total, all of whom were very familiar with each other. They were all ugly, tall, and untidy in their clothes.

Compared with them, Kouliu really doesn't look like the Xianbei at all.

Someone couldn't help but walked to the inner room and shouted inside: "Where's the person?! We have been standing here for a long time! Where's the person?!"

The soldier guarding the door stepped forward and said, "Lord, the chief lord and the deputy lord are looking for someone to divine something important, so they will be out later."

After hearing this, the man didn't dare to yell anymore. He returned to his seat muttering to himself.

Everyone waited here for a long time, and almost all the garrison commanders had arrived.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves was suddenly heard outside the door. In an instant, the courtyard became silent, and many garrison commanders looked outside the door.

I saw a line of cavalry parked outside the door, and the entire road seemed to be blocked by the knights.

These people looked like they had just been in a fierce battle.

Tian Zilie jumped off his horse, ignored the garrison commanders gathered in the backyard, walked through them, walked quickly to the door, said a few words to the soldiers, and then went in.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the entire backyard suddenly became a little different.

The garrison commanders looked vigilantly at the knights guarding the door, then looked at the armored soldiers around them, then looked at each other, their faces becoming more solemn.

The next moment, the door to the inner room was suddenly pushed open.

Some armored soldiers rushed out holding powerful crossbows, and rows of powerful crossbows were aimed at the dozen people.

Faced with the powerful crossbow, these strong men immediately stretched out their hands obediently to indicate that they had no weapons.

Several of the drunk guys were now completely sober.

Liu Taozi walked out from behind the soldiers, stood among the powerful crossbows, and stared at the garrison commanders in front of him.

Everyone looked at Liu Taozi's cold eyes, looked at each other, and guessed each other's identity.

The new great garrison commander.

One of them cleared his throat and spoke in a friendly tone, "Great Lord, we are here to pay our respects to you. I wonder why?"

Liu Taozi slowly raised a blood-stained document.

"This was found in He Laigan's mansion."

"It contains detailed records of Wuchuan's dealings with the Kumo Xi, the Turks, and even the Western Bandits. Your names are also listed on it, so you can share the profits."

"Is this how he maintains his rule on weekdays?"

The garrison commanders suddenly woke up, they looked at each other, with some panic in their eyes.

The man spoke again, "Great Lord, this cannot be all our fault. The imperial court always provides insufficient food and fodder. We are stationed here, without food and fodder, how can we resist the enemy?"

"An envoy came earlier and told us to raise money on our own, but we killed him and hung him on the city gate. How do you think we should raise food and grass on our own? The Han slaves in this city are poorer than dogs in the wild. They can't rob anything. Even they themselves are just a layer of flesh and bones. Even if they are cooked, they are not enough for a meal!"

Hearing these words, Tian Zili's eyes suddenly turned red and his whole body began to tremble.

The man continued, "We are not collaborating with the enemy. What we threw to the Xi people were weapons that should have been eliminated and were useless. There were also some Han people who could read but couldn't even do farm work. I don't know why they were asked to serve and guard the border. We threw these useless things to the Xi people in exchange for food to feed ourselves. Isn't that great?"

"This should be considered meritorious!"

Liu Taozi continued, "I saw the division in the document. Of the food exchanged, He Laigan took 50%, the other garrison commanders took 40%, and the remaining 10% was distributed to the military households. You seventeen people actually ate more than thousands of people. With such a big appetite, how can you say you have made contributions?"

The man was stunned and said quickly: "The soldiers under our command are all ungrateful. We are worried that they will eat it all at once, so we save it for them!"

"Even the Western bandits want some information that everyone knows. We always tell them the news from a few months ago in exchange for food. This can't be considered as collaborating with the enemy!"

The more he spoke, the more confident he became, as if it were really as he said.

Everyone nodded and agreed.

Liu Taozi was not in a hurry at all. He listened to the man's story patiently.

After the man explained, he quickly knelt down in front of Liu Taozi and said, "Great Guard, in fact, all these things were forced upon us by He Laigan. He used the document to threaten us, and we were powerless to do anything."

"From now on, we will definitely obey your orders and will never dare to disobey. Whatever you say is what it is."

These people knelt down and began to beg for mercy.

Liu Taozi listened to what they said and then gave the order.

"killed."

The leader jumped up quickly, his face panicked, "Great Lord!! Don't scare us!! We are all officials appointed by the temple!! We are all children of the border town!!"

"My brother is the Great Fortress Lord of Huaishuo!!"

"Everyone here, all relatives are joining the army!!"

"If we die, all the military households in the city will rebel."

"Even if we break the law, we still need the Khan's order."

Everyone started begging for mercy, but the crossbows had already started firing. These strong and powerful guys were not wearing armor at this time, and most of them had no weapons. Of course, it would be useless even if they were wearing armor. At this distance, the crossbows could penetrate any armor. In an instant, the crossbows started firing.

"Pfft~~"

"Pfft~~"

After a round of crossbow arrows, there was no one standing in front of Liu Taozi.

Many garrison commanders fell in a pool of blood, motionless.

Tian Zili was still not satisfied with his anger, so he called a few soldiers forward and chopped off all their heads with knives.

Cui Gang looked at this scene and was so frightened that his face turned pale and he was trembling.

"Mr. Liu, you just killed him like that. You are such a jerk."

Liu Taozi turned and looked at him with some approval in her eyes.

"You have done a great service by tricking them here. You will be my assistant in the future."

"I will write a letter to the government to commend you for your achievements."

(End of this chapter)