Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 181 Khan or His Majesty
"Lead the horse for me!"

Liu Taozi walked forward, grabbed the reins of the warhorse under Gao Yan's crotch, and stood aside.

This is not a humiliation, but a great gift to the border generals.

Gao Yan was not in a hurry to enter the city. He looked at the people who came to greet him and said, "When I was in Yecheng, I heard that most of General Zhaoyong's generals were brave and powerful. Seeing them today, they are indeed brave and powerful."

He first looked at Yao Xiong, who had the most outstanding figure. Yao Xiong quickly raised his head and tried to look more "brave".

Gao Yan looked him up and down and could not help but nod, "He is indeed a brave man."

He looked at Liu Taozi, "Who is this?"

"Khan, this is the commander of my personal army. His name is Yao Xiong. He is from Cheng'an. He has been with me for a long time and has made many military achievements."

"Yao Xiong."

Gao Yan nodded and looked at the unique-looking Yao Xiong with a smile, "Are you a Xiongnu?"

"His Majesty!!"

Yao Xiong's voice was trembling, "I am a Di people! I have settled in Cheng'an since my grandfather's time!"

Gao Yan was stunned for a moment, "Okay, not bad, the Di people are very brave."

He complimented politely, but Yao Xiong could no longer suppress the smile on his face, and Gao Yan looked at Kou Liu who was beside him.

"Your Majesty, this is my personal scout, named Kouliu, from Cheng'an, who is good at riding and shooting, and can use the bow with both hands."

Kou Liu hurried forward.

"qaγan!"

Gao Yan laughed loudly, "How about oral introduction? Okay, okay."

Gao Yan suddenly became very curious about the people under Liu Taozi's command. He was originally just saying a few words to the soldiers out of courtesy, but the composition of Liu Taozi's forces opened Gao Yan's eyes.

He found that Liu Taozi's subordinates included Xianbei people, Han people, Di people, Xiongnu people, Cheng'an people, Linzhang people, Liyang people, Boling people, Wuchuan people, Huaishuo people, etc.
Even the son of Cui Jishu was standing here, right among the Xianbei and Xiongnu people!
Not only Gao Yan, but also the several cavalrymen behind Gao Yan were marveling at this moment.

How is this done?

If they are all frontier people, it is not surprising that their composition is complex, after all, frontier people have their own unique regional identity.

But they come from various different regions.

Gao Yan couldn't help but start chatting with them. It was not until Wang Xi started to clear his throat that Gao Yan ended the conversation and asked Liu Taozi to take him to the government office.

Liu Taozi led the warhorse and strode forward, while Gao Yan looked solemn and stared straight ahead.

The generals knelt on both sides of the city gate and watched the army slowly enter the city.

The Wuchuan government office was rather crude and not fit to be the emperor’s temporary palace.

The city inside and outside had long been controlled by Gao Yan's army. Even the government offices were clean at this moment. Everyone had been driven out, and Gao Yan's men were everywhere inside and outside.

Gao Yan sat in the upper seat, while Wang Xi and many other confidants stood below.

He waved his hand, motioning Liu Taozi to come to him.

"Everyone, please go out. I have something to discuss with General Zhaoyong!"

After hearing Gao Yan's words, the ministers dared not stay any longer.

Gao Yan and Liu Taozi were the only ones left in the room.

This was the first time Gao Yan saw this "confidant" under his command, although in the eyes of outsiders, this person was his real and loyal confidant.

He looked at the handsome and extraordinary young man in front of him.

He knew that Liu Taozi was young, but he didn't expect her to be so young. She looked much younger than his good-for-nothing brother, and about the same age as his older nephews.

He was tall, with a broad back, wasp waist and ape arms, and a dark complexion. He had a light beard that just covered his cheeks. His face shape was exactly like his mother's, and he didn't look much like his father. But his eyes, eyebrows and expression were exactly the same as his father's!
"Can I call you that?"

"can."

"Your grandfather was a third-rank general, a second-rank special promotion, and was deeply favored by the emperor. How could you go to Cheng'an to be a lowly official?"

"At that time, I didn't even know he was an important official, I only knew he was a hunter."

"Hunter?? What's going on?"

"Emperor Wenxuan implemented many cruel laws and tortured his family members, so he placed me in Cheng'an to protect me from disaster."

The smile on Gao Yan's face froze immediately, and he said quietly, "How can I tell the king about this in person?"

"Khan, I never lie."

Gao Yan pondered for a moment and nodded, "However, what you said is true. Many ministers in the court at that time were like this, so I will not blame you. You are a straightforward person, so you should be more careful in your words and deeds in the future, especially don't say these things in front of outsiders."

"only."

"Qi Haizhen, when I came here, I heard that you did a lot of things here, looting temples, plundering cities, and rewarding the border troops with the spoils. You also said that it was a reward from me. Is this true?"

"Have."

"You also used my name to place the laborers, and informed everyone every time you distributed them. Is this my favor?"

"Indeed."

"Why do you do that?"

"Because this is the Khan's kindness. I led troops to attack government offices, plunder temples, disturb the ancestors, privately appointed officials to settle civilians, and win over border soldiers. These are all capital crimes, but the Khan has indulged me until today. Without the Khan, how could I have done such great things?"

Gao Yan laughed, "Then don't you have any idea of ​​raising a big banner to intimidate the people around you and appease the government at the same time?"

"Yes, I have the Khan's order. I dare not violate it. I praise the Khan's kindness and cannot frame him."

"You bastard! My governors and important ministers are all villains in your mouth?!"

Gao Yan cursed with a smile, and the smile on his face became more and more obvious.

"He cannot assist the ruler above, nor can he keep the people at peace. He is a mean person."

Gao Yan didn't know what to say for a moment. When Gao Yan chatted with the people around him, he would always subconsciously think about the purpose of every word they said.

Gao Yan doesn't believe that there are any so-called upright people who are loyal to the country and the emperor in this world. When they speak, they always have a purpose, and this purpose is often hidden. The superiors need to understand it themselves and then make a deal. What you give me, I give you.

But in front of Liu Taozi, Gao Yan's performance was a little abnormal.

He couldn't quite understand what the other party was seeking.

As for official titles, relying solely on his father, with his ability, he was able to study in the Warrior Camp, enter the Imperial College, and even go straight to being a Lang in the imperial palace.

Da Qi was a place that didn't care much about seniority. Perhaps it was because the Xianbei nobles didn't like to hide their talents, and their children were often promoted to high-ranking officials before they were twenty years old. In Da Qi, there were a lot of provincial governors, prefects, and generals in their twenties.

There are some who are only in their teens.

Lou Rui looked at him with an air of old age and started to say "old". In fact, he was only 29 years old this year. A 29-year-old governor of a powerful state would be quite shocking in other dynasties.

If Liu Taozi was keen on official titles, he should be a real general at this moment.
When it comes to seeking wealth, the Xianbei people have no problem talking about it. They are happy to show off their wealth. Liu Taozi has had too many opportunities to make money along the way, but he either used it as rewards or to bribe his superiors. His own mansion is simple, he does not have wives or concubines, and he is a frugal person.

At this moment, he insulted the ministers around him in person, but these people had no interest in him.

Gao Yan pondered for a long time before asking, "Then how do you think we should assist the king and stabilize the people?"

"I often hear these two sentences from my people. They are all about reducing taxes and levies, encouraging agriculture and sericulture, and cultivating land for farming. These things are mentioned every year, but I just can't see any results. What do you think?"

Liu Taozi nodded and said, "It's right that we can't see the results."

"The Khan sits in the temple and issues many decrees, but in the end, the executors are still those who are unwilling to carry them out. How can we see any results?"

"The laws of our Great Qi today encompass the essence of ancient laws, and our Great Qi's systems also draw on the experience of past generations."

"It's just that no one is executing it, it's just a piece of empty paper."

"It's just like the Khan's decree."

Gao Yan was a little angry, "You said my edict is just a piece of empty paper?"

"Khan, you issued the order to cultivate land, and the border guards were unhappy, but the Central Plains were very happy. Why do you think this is the case?"

"What do you think."

"The border fortresses objected because the nobles there were worried that the amount of grain sent to the border fortresses by the imperial court would decrease, leaving their granaries empty."

"The Central Plains was overjoyed because the great families in the Central Plains could finally openly reclaim wasteland, occupy more arable land in the name of reclamation, and replenish their own granaries."

Gao Yan's face was solemn. "Go on." "By next year, grain production in various places will certainly increase, and losses will certainly decrease. But this is not because the Khan's decree is effective, but because those who benefit from it will give you some benefits to coax you to continue the policy so that you can continue to eat."

Gao Yan slowly raised his head and remained silent for a long time.

"It has always been like this in every dynasty. The emperor sits in the palace, and the local areas still need these people to govern. Even if they send a governor to supervise, the governor is also one of their own. Do we still need to send people to keep an eye on the governor?"

"Officials, officials, among the ministers and officials, there are too many bad people and too few good people."

"Khan, if you want to govern Da Qi well, the first thing you need to do is to rectify the administration of officials."

"If we can't rectify this, no matter what edicts the Khan issues in the future, they will turn into bad governance in the local areas, and the people will become worse day by day. Sooner or later, something terrible will happen."

Gao Yan was quite helpless at this moment, "Then tell me how to govern officials?"

“Divide and conquer.”

"Most of the nobles nowadays regard scholars as one, and even regard all Han people as one. Even you may think the same way."

"But in reality, the literati are by no means a united whole. There are many contradictions among them, and there are many factions, based on region, school, family, and origin."

"The same is true for the nobles."

"The first step is to disperse these people, the scholars and nobles, and let them disperse. The more dispersed the better."

"After they disperse, let them supervise each other and check each other."

Gao Yan shook his head. "You are being too general. I don't like it. Be more realistic."

Liu Taozi then continued, "In today's world, most county magistrates and county chancellors are Han Chinese, and most county lieutenants and provincial governors are meritorious officials."

“This is not right.

"Use the nobles to supervise the literati, use the literati to supervise the nobles, use the people of the Central Plains to supervise the frontiers, use the people of the frontiers to supervise the Central Plains, use the Buddhists to supervise the Taoists, use the Taoists to supervise the Buddhists, use the high-born to supervise the low-born."

Gao Yan nodded again, "I understand this, but can the nobles supervise the literati, and can the literati supervise the nobles?"

"I let Lou Rui be the governor of the Central Plains, and the great families of the Central Plains will bribe him so that he will ignore the affairs under his rule."

"But if I let Wang Xi be the governor of Shuozhou, I'm afraid Wang Xi will die in the wild tomorrow."

"That requires the next step, to balance their power."

"Most nobles are greedy and tyrannical. The Khan can instruct them to punish the great clans in the Central Plains. When King Lou was in Liyang, he plundered the great clans and reaped a lot of rewards. After that, the people lived a good life."

"Using nobles to attack powerful families is just like this."

"The Khan feels that the nobles cannot be governed by the great families because the nobles are too powerful and tyrannical, and the ministers cannot control them. So the Khan should support these weak ministers, give them military power, limit the military power of the nobles, and personally serve as a support for these ministers."

"If Wang Xi had the military power of the entire state, with hundreds of soldiers guarding him when he went in and out, and the local nobles limited the number of their personal soldiers, which would not even be half of Wang Xi's total, would Wang Xi still have died in the wild?"

Gao Yan suddenly burst into laughter and shook his head.

"Qi Haizhen, you are still too young. Do you think that with just one word from the Khan, Wang Xi can have the military power of a state? Do you think that the nobles can obey you?"

"The Khan is the Khan because of the support of these nobles."

"If you want my nephew and the others, or even send Han people to punish them, then the Khan will have to change people."

"Then the Khan shouldn't be the Khan, he should be His Majesty!!"

"How many nobles are there in the world? All together, there are only a million people! And how many people are there in Da Qi? There are a full 20 million people!!"

"As the Khan of a hundred people, you will naturally be held hostage by the nobles. As the Emperor of twenty million people, what are those one million nobles?!"

"On the border alone, there are nearly 500,000 civilians! These are all men, with few old and weak people, and no women and children. From them, we can recruit 100,000 troops. If we feed them, give them good swords, and let them ride good horses, can't we use them to kill people?!"

Gao Yan was also very excited at this moment.

"Do you think no one has ever thought about this? No one has ever done this? Do you know Emperor Wenxuan?"

"I don't know Emperor Wenxuan."

"I only know Khan. Khan has courage and the ambition to help the world. He can indulge me in doing many great things!"

"And if Khan agrees, I am willing to do this for Khan!"

"Among the Han people, there are also generals of Han and Wei, and generals of Xiang and Guan. Since the days of the dog Jin, the people have been living in poverty. These idiots relied on their clans to become generals and ministers, causing chaos in the world until today, and it has not gotten better!"

"If Khan is willing to serve Your Majesty, among these tens of millions of people, there are countless Han Wei, Xiao Zhang, and Xiang Guan who can serve you!!"

Gao Yan stood up suddenly, his face flushed and quite excited.

He hesitated for a long time, "What do you want to do?"

"Establish Han troops to strengthen local armies, and use brave Han people who are not of noble origin as their commanders!"

"Increase the size of the law school, lower the admission standards, improve treatment, and allow more common people from poor families to receive education!"

"What good is this to you?! What do you want to gain from this?!"

"I pray for a peaceful country and a peaceful people! I pray for a place in history that will go down in history!"

"Can it be done?!"

"I don't know! I just want to have peace of mind. If I can't do it, I will die without regrets! If I can't do it, I will die with regrets!"

"Okay! Let's fucking do it!"

This seemingly calm Emperor of Da Qi is 26 years old this year.

Twenty-six years old is truly an age of great ambition, high spirits, generous singing, and high morale. You are at the peak of your energy!
Gao Yan was quite agitated at the moment. Everyone knew about the problems of Da Qi and everyone could see them, but no one dared to tell him about them. Even Wang Xi and others whom he trusted the most never dared to talk about such things.

In Da Qi, some things cannot be said.

But Gao Yan has always wanted to do something, as can be seen from the many policies he implemented after coming to power, but Gao Yan doesn't know how to do it.

The officials of Da Qi are all bastards, the nobles of Da Qi are all bastards, and the people have a hard time. Everyone knows this, but how can we change it?

Gao Yan never had a long-term plan. When he felt that there was not enough food, he ordered the opening of military farms. When he felt that the quality of scholars was not good enough, he issued an edict to urge them to study. When he felt that the nobles were too cruel in enforcing the law, he issued an edict to ask them to be cautious.

It seems like everything is under control, but in fact nothing is done.

The government policies seem to be better than each other, but the situation in the world is getting worse day by day.

At least Emperor Wenxuan had a long-term plan before he went crazy, and even made great breakthroughs for it.

The foreign armies currently composed of Han people in various places are the legacy of failure.

Liu Taozi's proposal was simple and crude, different from the far-sightedness of Wang Xi and others. It was not profound and directly told him what to do.

Gao Yan likes it very much.

What he hated most was talking about things like benevolence, righteousness, and morality, which were profound and unfathomable, and leaving him to guess on his own.

What’s the point of talking a lot of empty words?

Gao Yan looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Let's take you as an example. You should settle the civilians here, and then select strong and brave men from among them to form an army in the name of auxiliary troops."

"I will give you enough food and supplies for the army to fill 20,000 men."

"If you can do it here, then other places can do it too."

"Compared to officials, the army is the most important."

Liu Taozi added: "Khan can promote some Han warriors from the Central Plains and let them serve as county lieutenants in various places, reorganize the county soldiers, provide them with military pay and weapons, and let the county lieutenants train them strictly so that they have fighting power."

"The Han warriors in the central army are called Han, but in fact they are made up of noble Han people from the border areas. For example, my grandfather is Han, but he is no different from the nobles!"

"Khan can recruit Han Chinese from the Central Plains to fill the Warriors Camp, and use Han Chinese generals from the Central Plains to replace my grandfather, who is a noble Han Chinese!"

Gao Yan was a little confused after listening to Liu Taozi's words.

Ban your grandfather? ?

"Qihaizhen, your grandfather is loyal and faithful. He is not close to those nobles, but is close to the royal family. He was born as a young slave. He is different from many young slaves. He is a noble, but he is a noble of my family, different from those nobles outside. If I give an order to my nephew to be a noble, they will stand by me and I won't have to stop him."

Liu Taozi looked at Gao Yan and asked quietly, "Your Majesty, when the Prime Minister wanted to depose the Emperor, did these Han Chinese slaves support the Emperor or the Prime Minister?"

Gao Yan immediately clenched his fists.

"you"

"That makes sense."

(End of this chapter)