Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 169 Liu Gong wants to harm me

The evil bird flapped its wings and flew into the sky.

The courtyard is quite simple, with only four houses.

However, there were many soldiers guarding inside and outside the courtyard. These soldiers were fully armed, had stern expressions, and patrolled the surroundings back and forth.

He Shikai held the general's order and looked at Liu Taozhi in front of him arrogantly.

This familiar figure made He Shikai immediately angry.

He suppressed his anger and said, "I am here to read out the order from the Grand Commander. Please take off your mask, General!!"

Liu Taozhi slowly took off the mask on her face, revealing the ugly face that made He Shikai hate her so much, it was this fucking face!!
He Shikai raised the order in his hand and shouted: "Immediately dismiss General Liu Taozhi of the Wuwei Army, let him return home in poverty and teach his children well!!"

He then shook the order in his hand and said, "That's all."

Liu Taozhi's face was calm, she looked straight ahead, unmoved.

This familiar feeling made He Shikai even more angry.

He cursed, "General Liu, my king has always been on good terms with you. Considering your reputation, he specially recruited your son to join the army, but he was humiliated by him in every way. The king was so angry that he couldn't even eat. What a good son General Liu taught! What a good son!!"

"Who do you think you are? Just because the king treats you with great courtesy, do you think you can look down on him?"

He Shikai started cursing.

Liu Taozhi's expression remained calm.

He Shikai was even more angry, "And your son, he doesn't know what life and death is!! If you can't teach him well, someone else will teach him!!"

Liu Taozhi's expression gradually became solemn. He slowly lowered his head and looked straight into He Shikai's eyes.

He Shikai saw that the corner of his left eye twitched and his eyes became somewhat fierce.

He Shikai quickly took a half step back, "Your Majesty, take command of the central army! What do you want to do?!"

Liu Taozhi still didn't speak.

He Shikai seemed to feel ashamed of his cowardice just now. He shouted: "General, you'd better accept the military order now. Under heaven, those who obey my great king will live, and those who disobey my great king will die!"

"Yeah?!"

Suddenly, I heard a questioning voice coming from the inner room.

He Shikai was shocked and looked quickly.

Then I saw a man slowly walking out from the inner room, followed by many armored soldiers.

The man had a solemn expression, was tall and looked very powerful. Who else could he be but the Prime Minister?

At this moment, He Shikai was like a chicken being strangled by the neck, making coughing sounds, not knowing how to answer. He was so scared that he quickly knelt on the ground, "Grand Prime Minister!!"

Gao Yan walked a few steps to Liu Taozhi's side. Liu Taozhi hurriedly saluted, but Gao Yan helped him up and then looked at He Shikai in shock and anger.

“I really can’t tell!”

"Normally, you are so timid and cowardly in front of me, but in front of outsiders, you are so arrogant?"

"Come on, I have rebelled against your king today, how do you want me to die?"

He Shikai was so frightened that his face turned pale and he kept kowtowing.

"Grand Prime Minister, I made a slip of the tongue! Please forgive me! Please forgive me!"

Gao Yan's calm face suddenly became irritable, as if he was suddenly ignited, his whole body trembling, his face extremely ferocious, he suddenly took off his belt, and hit He Shikai hard on the head. He Shikai fell to the ground with a scream, wailing and begging for mercy, but Gao Yan hit him on the head, again and again, with increasing force and his expression becoming more and more ferocious.

Wang Xi, who had remained silent, saw the ferocious look on the king's face at this moment.

On that distorted face, Wang Xi suddenly saw the smile of Emperor Wenxuan.

At this moment, he trembled all over and hurried forward.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Wang Xi suddenly came out and grabbed Gao Yan's hand. Gao Yan subconsciously pushed him and Wang Xi was thrown to the ground.

Hearing Wang Xi's screams, the ferocity on Gao Yan's face suddenly disappeared. He took a deep breath and put away his belt.

Wang Xi stood up and said softly, "Your Majesty, if you want to punish him, let Prince Changguang punish him, don't hurt the harmony between the brothers."

Looking at He Shikai crying on the ground after being beaten, Gao Yan cursed: "Send this guy back to Prince Changguang's mansion!!"

Several soldiers rushed forward and lifted the man.

Wang Xi looked at his king worriedly.

His king has always been wise, and is well-versed in both government and military affairs. No one around him can find fault with him.

But there is one thing. Sometimes, Gao Yan would suddenly become very irritable, unable to suppress his anger, and would resort to violence.

Many people were beaten to death by him, some even being beaten to death during meetings in the temple.

Of course, those who were beaten to death all deserved it, and it was not an indiscriminate killing.

However, in that state, he really looked like Emperor Wenxuan.

Wang Xi shuddered suddenly and shook his head quickly. No, his king was wise and brave, he would never become crazy.
Gao Yan had already put away his anger and looked at Liu Taozhi calmly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Liu. You watched us grow up. When Grandpa was still alive, he pointed at you and said to us: This is the person you can rely on in the future."

"My little brother is naughty and has not made any progress. I will teach him a lesson."

"However, he is the most unruly. From now on, General, please stay in the mansion for a while and rest. How about that?"

"only."

"Hahaha, that's great. Mr. Liu has raised an excellent son. His future is limitless!"

Liu Taozhi's face twitched when she heard his words, but she didn't say anything.

Gao Yan came out of Liu Taozhi's house, drove directly to his own prime minister's residence.

As soon as his car arrived in front of the mansion, he saw Gao Zhan standing at the door with disheveled hair and a frustrated look on his face.

Gao Yan frowned and said, "Let's talk about it after we go in."

Gao Zhan got on the carriage, and the two brothers entered the mansion together.

As soon as he walked into the backyard, Gao Zhan couldn't help it. He walked a few steps to Gao Yan and stopped his brother.

"Brother, I really don't understand."

“I really don’t understand”

Gao Zhan frowned, looking irritable, "It was my brother who asked me to send people to conquer Liu Taozi, and it was my brother who asked me to temporarily dismiss Liu Taozhi to facilitate my great work. Why is my brother coming out to beat up the people I sent out now?!"

"Brother wants to win over Liu Taozhi and make me a bad guy. I can understand and I support it."

"But brother, why didn't you tell me in advance? Why did you beat my people so badly?!"

"If I knew about this in advance, would it ruin my brother's plans?!"

"Brother, we grew up together. Gao Jun relied on his age to bully us and complained to Grandpa, which led to you being punished. It was me who led the others to smash his head, and we've been at war with him ever since!!"

"When my brother was the Minister of Chancellery, all the ministers looked down on him. I led people to visit every household!!"

"Later, when my elder brother became Sikong, my second elder brother brought those people you punished to me, pointed a knife at your neck, and asked them to tell me your faults. It was me who held the knife and stared at them, so that they dared not say anything nonsense!!"

"My brother wanted to kill Yang Yin. The two thousand soldiers in the harem and many generals all obeyed the emperor's orders. We were just a few hundred servants. I was the first to rush over and hold Yang Yin down!! I was the first to control the palace!! I killed him myself!!"

"Why is it that today, brother has begun to be wary of me?!"

Looking at Gao Zhan in front of him with an irritable look, Gao Yan's expression gradually softened.

"Zhan, you act rashly and without regard for the consequences. I am not on guard against you, nor do I want to harm you. I am doing this for the sake of the important matter at hand. For this important matter, I must be cautious."

The anger on Gao Zhan's face also dissipated a lot, and he complained: "Brother, I just feel wronged."

"My brother wants me to be a bad guy. I have no complaints, but I don't like being coaxed by my brother."

"Okay, don't be angry, go back, I won't coax you anymore."

Gao Zhan's complexion improved a lot, and he asked, "Brother, how is Liu Taozhi's situation?"

"I've already talked about it, and he's unwilling to express his feelings, so this is for the best."

"He is an old man left by my grandfather, the number one slave. Although they are not prominent, they have many relatives and friends, and they know each other. The whole army is made up of their people. If one of them is moved, the others will be dissatisfied."

"If you want to control the central army, you can't offend them."

at the same time.

Liu Taozhi sat in the dark room with a livid face.

Liu Zhang sat aside, looking at him cautiously.

"Husband." "Fuck you!!"

Liu Taozhi started to curse as soon as she opened her mouth. Liu Zhang quickly looked at Xiao Wu and said, "Xiao Wu, go play in the side room for a while!"

Xiao Wu nodded and left the place timidly.

Liu Taozhi gritted her teeth and looked at Liu Zhang who was standing beside her. "Your son will kill us all sooner or later!!"

"Do you know what he did? He led his troops to rob the government office. Hui Luo was so angry that he vomited blood. He is still lying on the bed unable to get up. Now he has offended Gao Zhan. That kid has been a ruthless person since he was a child. I might as well go to the border and chop him up first, so as not to implicate us!!"

Liu Zhang was stunned and frowned.

"It's his own fault to go back to Luo. But the Prince of Changguang has always been friendly with my husband and respects him very much. How could he have a conflict with Taozi?"

"I heard from the people he sent that he wanted to promote Liu Gong to be a military officer. Liu Gong had the ambition to be one of the three highest officials, so he didn't think highly of a young military officer and kicked the people he sent out."

"No, although my Taozi is impatient, she knows the important things. Even if she is angry, she will never treat the confidants of Prince Changguang like this."

Liu Taozhi sneered, "Then it was Prince Changguang who framed me?"

Liu Zhang frowned, "Everyone in the world now thinks Taozi is the Prime Minister's confidant. Even if Prince Changguang is very close to my husband, how could he send someone to recruit Taozi to serve him? To seize the Prime Minister's confidant? Prince Changguang will not do that."

"I think this might be a conspiracy between the two of them. On the one hand, they want the King of Changshan to show goodwill and win him over, and on the other hand, they want my husband not to get involved in their next big event."

Liu Taozhi pondered for a moment and said, "Maybe that's the case."

"My husband, don't be angry. Stay at home for the next few days and don't go out. His Majesty is in a desperate situation now. Even if you want to do something, you can't do anything. It's better to stay at home and wait for it to end."

Liu Taozhi had a stern face and said nothing.

He was silent for a long time before he spoke: "I can stay out of this, but Mr. Liu will never give up. He has offended more and more people, and they are getting more and more powerful. If he can't be stopped, he will be killed sooner or later."

Liu Zhang pondered for a long time, "My husband, don't be anxious. Let's wait for the Prime Minister to do his job. Once the important matter is settled, we will think of a solution."

A smile appeared on her face.

"Taozi has reached the age to get married. Find him a wife who can be relied on and a virtuous wife who can manage the household. This will surely make him less impatient."

Liu Taozhi couldn't help laughing as if she had heard a joke.

"I can't even control him, but finding a woman can control him?"

"Besides, this guy already has the Grand Chancellor as his backer, so what strong wife family does he need?"

Wuchuan.

The governor Wei Jiong rode on his war horse, squinting his eyes and looking at the majestic city in the distance.

The knights he brought with him were a little uneasy at this moment.

After all, we had heard about the atrocities committed by the knights here not long ago.

Wei Jiong was not in a hurry and just waited here.

After waiting for a long time, someone finally came galloping towards him on horseback. It was a young scholar. He got off the horse and paid his respects to Wei Jiong.

"Please forgive me for keeping you waiting!"

Wei Jiong looked at the young man in front of him. He heard that this man was the son of the current Minister of War, Cui Jishu. He wondered why such a person would work under a mere border garrison general.

He forced a smile and said, "Don't be too polite, sir. When I first interacted with your father, you were still young and probably didn't know me."

Cui Gang was stunned, and hurriedly said: "I only knew the elegant name of Wei Gong, but I didn't know there was a history."

Wei Jiong smiled, and the two exchanged a few words. Wei Jiong then pointed to the convoy behind him.

"These were sent here by order of the governor."

Several clerks came out holding thick documents. Wei Jiong said, "These are the lists of supplies. Gentleman can send someone to verify them."

Cui Gang hurriedly said, "It's not that I don't trust Mr. Wei, I just want to verify it to avoid any villains causing trouble."

Wei Jiong didn't care and just nodded. Cui Gang then sent someone to verify and collect the supplies.

Wei Jiong asked, "Is your general in the city?"

"In the city's parade ground."

"Take me there, I need to see your general."

"only."

Cui Gang did not take him there personally, but only sent an armored soldier. Wei Jiong was very unhappy. He was a prefect and he personally escorted the supplies here, but Liu Taozi did not come out to greet him in person. That was fine, but even the people under his command were as rude as him.

But Wei Jiong did not get angry. At this moment, he came to Wuchuan, in addition to escorting supplies, there was another important matter.

He was taken all the way to the Xida Parade Ground.

The parade ground was really bustling, the knights were training with all their might, there was no idle person in the entire parade ground, the generals were roaring, the soldiers were dispersing, some were practicing riding and shooting, some were fighting hand-to-hand, some were charging, all kinds of things filled the entire parade ground. Such a huge parade ground was a little insufficient at the moment, and on the high platform, Wei Jiong saw the person he was looking for.

Liu Taozi was wearing military uniform and staring at the soldiers under his command.

The soldier stepped forward and informed them, and a moment later, Liu Taozi appeared in front of Wei Jiong.

Wei Jiong looked at the young man in front of him and said softly, "General Liu has a great reputation. Today I finally get to meet him."

“It is truly majestic and extraordinary.”

Liu Taozi looked at him calmly without saying anything.

Wei Jiong cleared his throat and said, "Why don't we find a quiet place?"

Only then did Liu Taozi lead Wei Jiong back to the office.

Wei Jiong tried to start a conversation several times, but Liu Taozi always looked cold and indifferent, making it difficult for Wei Jiong to deal with her.

Wei Jiong had many friends both inside and outside the court. Like Lu Yao, he had few enemies.

An ordinary nobleman.

The two of them came to the office together and sat down one after another.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat very naturally, while Wei Jiong, a fifth-rank official, had to sit on the side. Wei Jiong pursed his lips and did not care.

"What's the big deal, Lord Wei?"

"General Liu's voice is indeed loud and clear."

Wei Jiong praised, but there was something else in his words. But Liu Taozi didn't care about it either.

Wei Jiong said, "The governor asked us to provide farmland, but there is a shortage of farmland in the frontier. We can provide farm tools and other things, but not farmland."

"Ah."

"But if the general has the courage, he can go and get it himself."

"Fake week?"

"of course not."

Wei Jiong asked with a smile: "May I ask, General, do you know who is the richest among the counties in this frontier?"

"I don't know."

Wei Jiong slowly put his hands together, "It's the big Buddhas, they are the wealthiest."

"go on."

"Buddhism flourished in the border areas. There were 2,000 large temples approved by Zhaoxuan Temple alone, with more than 40,000 monks and nuns, second only to Ye City."

"The largest one is the Tianle Temple, which was built by the disciples of Master Fachang, who lectured to Emperor Wenxuan. There are more than 6,000 disciples now, and I don't even know how many farmlands and tenants they have."

"Now, the general needs farmland, why not ask them for it?"

Liu Taozi looked at Wei Jiong in front of her and didn't speak for a long time.

Wei Jiong felt a little uneasy when he looked at him, "General, do you not dare?"

"I was just wondering, I have no friendship with Lord Wei, but Lord Wei suddenly came and asked me to go to Tianle Temple to ask for land, why?"

Wei Jiong laughed, "The governor is pressing me hard, and I can't produce it, so I can only recommend someone rich and powerful to you. I won't hide it from you. This Tianle Temple is recognized by Zhaoxuan Temple. It has a wide range of believers and deep connections. Even the former Prince Shunyang went there many times to worship Buddha and give incense. Once you leave this door, I don't know anything else. If you have the courage, you can take it. If you don't, don't let the governor come to urge us in the future."

"The border counties are suffering. It is difficult to help the people under our rule, so how can we help the border soldiers?"

"The border counties have many deficiencies, but they also have everything. Whether you can get it depends entirely on your ability. I will take my leave now."

As Wei Jiong was about to stand up, Liu Taozi grabbed his arm.

Wei Jiong looked at him in astonishment.

"Don't leave in a hurry, Governor. Tell me more about Tianle Temple. It will be a good deed."

(End of this chapter)