Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 194 Tiger and Bear General
This is the sentence Gao Guiyan fears the most.

The next moment, Heba Ren stood up and bowed to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I think you can send envoys to various places to thoroughly investigate the officials and generals who are incompetent and immoral and dismiss them."

This was the rhetoric that Yang Yin used when he dismissed nobles on a large scale in the past, but now it was taken the initiative by the nobles. Yang Yin would never have thought that after he died after doing this, the biggest opposition groups in the country would take over his slogans and implement his ideas.

This is the result of discussions among the nobles.

It is a last resort.

The impact of Liu Taozi's attack on Jinyang was too great. It could not be resolved by simply pushing one person out and asking the emperor to kill him.

This incident exposed the serious decline of the military power of the Great Qi. The emperor used this as an excuse to even directly lift the restrictions, re-issue the Equal Field Order, and recruit a large number of Han people to serve as soldiers.

By then, I wonder how many Liu Taozi and Gao Aocao will emerge.

Whoever holds the knife has the final say. If the Han people, who number tens of millions, have knives in their hands, can their current privileges still be protected?
However, it is not easy to cover up this matter.

What's more, the behavior of some nobles really made Gao Guiyan and others feel ashamed.

Being beaten by fifty people, this is a fucking joke!!

Therefore, they were willing to make concessions. Simply put, they allowed the emperor to eliminate some stupid people among the nobles and then replace them with capable nobles from the country, but not to directly restrict the use of Han people.

Gao Yan knew this very well.

He immediately flew into a rage. He stood up abruptly and pointed at the people in front of him, "If you want to remove me, you should all be removed!!"

"We were unable to completely annihilate the weak Xi people when we attacked them before, and we let their main force escape. Now, outside of Jinzhou, all the generals are like pigs and dogs, and no one is useful!!"

"Heba Ren! I asked you to guard Loufan Pass! Will you go?!"

"At this point, do you still have the nerve to beg for mercy from me?!"

"I will first punish those villains who murdered my general!"

"I'll come and cure you fools!"

"Where is the Grand Marshal?!"

"Chen is here!"

Gao Yan hurried forward, and Gao Yan ordered: "Investigate this case strictly. All those involved in the murder of General Zhen must not be let off and must be dealt with according to the law!"

At this moment, the ministers were in an uproar.

Gao Guiyan stood up hurriedly, "Your Majesty!! You must not do that!!"

"Why not?!"

Gao Guiyan knelt in front of Gao Yan, tears streaming down his face. "Your Majesty!! This was all done by Liu Honghui himself. The others were just instigated by him. These are the descendants of meritorious officials and the foundation of the Great Qi. Your Majesty, please consider the merits of their fathers and brothers and forgive them a little!!"

Many ministers came forward and asked for forgiveness.

They no longer had their previous arrogance, tears were streaming down their faces, and it was hard to tell whether they were genuine or not, but at least their attitude was there.

Gao Yan said coldly: "How can we forget the meritorious service?"

"However, this time Liu Taozi came to see me at the order of the Queen Mother. The soldiers were so brutal, the Queen Mother already knew about it, and she was so angry that she fell ill on her bed. If I don't deal with it, how can I be a son?!"

"As for your merits, pass on my decree!"

"The former Grand Tutor Wei Jing! The former Grand Tutor Dou Tai! The former Grand Tutor Taiyuan Wang Lou Zhao! The former Grand Chancellor Zhangwu Wang She Di Gan! The former Grand Commandant Duan Rong! The former Grand Tutor Wanqi Pu! The former Minister of Education Cai Jun! The former Grand Tutor Gao Qian! The former Minister of Education Moduo Lou Dai Wen! The former Grand Protector Liu Gui! The former Grand Protector Feng Zuyi! The former Governor of Guangzhou Wang Huai, twelve people, are honored in the Taizu Temple!"

"The former Grand Tutor Qinghe Wang Yue! The former Grand Chancellor Ande Wang Han Gui! The former Grand Chancellor Fufeng Wang Ke Zhuhun Daoyuan! The former Grand Tutor Gaoang! The former Grand Marshal Liu Feng! The former Grand Tutor Wanqi Shouluo Gan! The former Grand Commandant Murong Shaozong, seven of them, will be honored in the temple of Emperor Shizong!"

"The former Grand Commandant, King of Hedong, Pan Xiangle! The former Minister of Works, Xue Xiuyi! The former Grand Tutor, Po Liu, and Han Chang, the three of them will be honored in the Xianzu Temple!"

Gao Yan gave a long list almost without thinking.

All those on this long list were important nobles who had participated in the founding of the country. Gao Yan allowed them all to enter the temple at once, namely the temples of Gao Huan, Gao Cheng and Gao Yang respectively.

The court suddenly became quiet.

All the ministers looked at the emperor in astonishment, even Gao Guiyan didn't know what to say at this moment.

Gao Yan issued two imperial edicts without hesitation, one to send the criminals to the temple and the other to punish them, thus ending the court meeting.

The Han officials sitting in the court all had indescribable smiles on their faces at this moment, and some of them were even trembling with excitement.

Liu Taozi was called over by the emperor.

Gao Yan turned his back to Liu Taozi. The people around them left one after another, leaving only the two of them in the room. Gao Yan slowly turned around at this moment. The anger on his face disappeared immediately, and he burst into laughter.

"Qi Hai Zhen!!"

"Surely a blessed general!!"

Gao Yan laughed like that for a long, long time.

It seemed like he hadn't laughed so heartily in a long time. Listening to his hearty laughter, Liu Taozi's expression softened slightly and was no longer so stern.

Gao Yan hurriedly grabbed Liu Taozi's hand and pulled him to sit down.

"Okay, great."

"This time, you made them dare not challenge me anymore. To be honest, I was a little afraid of them in the past."

"These people are all friends with each other and they all serve in the military. We dare not offend them easily."

"Now I am not afraid anymore, and neither are any of us."

"They are still very powerful, but they don't have the same aggressiveness as before. I regarded them as my great enemy, but now I finally understand that they are completely different from the people my brother and I are dealing with. They are so much worse!"

Gao Yan was extremely excited and even said some things he shouldn't have said.

But he didn't care about that at all. "Qi Haizhen, tell me, how did you do it? With fifty people, how could you achieve this?"

"Don't even mention them. I was shocked when I heard this. I've only heard of Gao Aocao's bravery in the past. Your feat this time is truly even braver than Gao Aocao's!! The nobles in the court were almost scared out of their wits by you. How on earth did you do it?"

Liu Taozi said slowly: "This time I came here, I actually only encountered two major enemies."

"The first time was when we just left Wuchuan. Someone attacked us with more than a thousand cavalrymen. Fortunately, they were tired and their general was arrogant. After I killed them, the rest of them fled."

"The second time was in Loufan. The commander led hundreds of elite soldiers. If I hadn't killed the commander in time, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to get through so easily."

"After that, there were no more threats. I didn't defeat them, but they defeated themselves."

"Oh?"

"Why did you say that?"

Liu Taozi said seriously: "The generals stationed along the way are arrogant and domineering. They bully the people, humiliate the soldiers, withhold food and grass, take bribes, extort money, and commit all kinds of evil."

"At Guyu Pass, the guard led his troops to ambush us, and a woodcutter secretly came to tell me the situation."

"In Sheping Garrison, a garrison commander forced his troops to march and killed dozens of knights who had strayed from the garrison. Before he could even reach me, he was assassinated by an angry soldier."

"In Chongshan Village, the commander took possession of many women. A commoner opened the city gate for me and brought me to the commander's bed."

"In Xiurong City, a prefect used his rewards to support his own warriors and looked down on the county soldiers. He later ordered the county lieutenant to kill me. The county lieutenant was unwilling to execute the order, so he committed suicide. The soldiers did not want to fight me and fled directly. He had no choice but to arrange his own warriors to kill me, but these warriors were vulnerable."

"When leaving Pingguan Pass, the commander sent someone to impersonate him and took me to the city wall to shoot me. But the person he sent directly revealed his identity."

"Someone even killed the commander and set fire to the fortress in my name."

Liu Taozi talked about what she saw and heard along the way.

Strictly speaking, he only fought two battles, and most of the rest had some hidden stories. However, the well-behaved men in Jinyang did not care much about these hidden stories.

Most of the soldiers along the way were also Chinese, but as Chinese, they only had an elite title and almost no privileges as Chinese. The privileges were only in the hands of the generals. Only when they went out to fight would the generals remember their Chinese identity. On weekdays, they were no different from other pigs and dogs.

Listening to Liu Taozi's story, the smile on Gao Yan's face gradually disappeared.

His expression became extremely solemn.

What Liu Taozi was talking about now seemed more terrifying than someone trying to murder General Zhen, or even more terrifying than Liu Taozi killing his way through the city with force.

If the people who came were the Zhou people, under the same circumstances.

Gao Yan didn't dare to imagine what would happen.

The Zhou people besieged Jinyang? ?
What a shame this is!!
Gao Yan fell into deep thought, his expression constantly changing. Liu Taozi beside him just looked at him calmly without disturbing him.

"Damn!!"

Gao Yan suddenly let out a loud roar and instantly came to his senses.

Looking at Liu Taozi who was sitting next to him, he took a deep breath and held Liu Taozi's hand tightly:
"We can't delay the contract any longer. We must make changes. We must make drastic changes. Da Qi must not be defeated by me!!"

"Come and help me!"

"Yes." This time, Gao Yan did not promote Liu Taozi, but as compensation, he promoted several of his subordinates, and approved the officials he had recommended, even Yilou was saved. Although he could not promote Liu Taozi, he could still give him rewards.

The food shortage in the north of Da Qi has shown a significant improvement since this year. In order to ensure that the food can reach the border soldiers safely, Gao Yan is even prepared to call on a confidant to be responsible for leading the troops to escort the food. Anyone who dares to raise a hand or stop him along the way will have his hand cut off first!

The two chatted again, and this time, they talked for a whole day.

The next day, just after dawn, Gao Yan took Liu Taozi to a horse farm inside the palace.

These are all Gao Yan’s personal fine horses, including a few war horses that are exceptionally good.

Gao Yan invited Liu Taozi to ride with him on horseback, and the two of them galloped back and forth.

Gao Yan seemed to have something on his mind, but he didn't say it clearly.

He didn't discuss any government affairs with Liu Taozi, but just kept commenting on the quality of his horses.

Watching the emperor riding his horse and galloping past him again and again, Liu Taozi did not rush to ask.

I don’t know how long it took, but finally, a soldier walked in from the side door and looked at Gao Yan.

Gao Yan then got off the horse, smiled and asked Taozi to wait here, while he walked quickly over.

Liu Taozi waited for a long time before she saw Gao Yan pulling an equally tall man and walking quickly towards them.

Liu Taozi had seen this man before.

Gao Changgong had introduced him to it when he was in Erhechuan.

General Hulugu Guang.

Gao Yan pulled him and walked to Liu Taozi's front, then said with a smile: "Mingyue, this is Qi Haizhen. Don't you want to meet him?"

"How about it, can you be considered a warrior?"

Hulugu was tall, with a stern face, a typical military appearance.

"I've seen him before. He's really strong."

"Qi Haizhen, this is Julu Duke Huluguang. Many of the garrisons under your command were conquered by him."

Liu Taozi bowed slightly to Hulugu, "I often hear the general's name when I am at the frontier."

Liu Taozi was not being polite. Hulugu was indeed very famous in the border areas. In the past few years, he often led border soldiers to fight and captured many garrisons of the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty. He often won with fewer troops and made great military achievements. He also had a very high prestige among the border soldiers.

Hulugu just nodded, not as polite as Duan Shao or Gao Guiyan.

Gao Yan held one of them with each hand, "Come, I will personally select a good warhorse for both of you!"

The two followed Gao Yan and were pulled forward by Gao Yan.

The two powerful generals guarded on the left and right like tigers and bears.

Gao Yan suddenly looked at Huluguang, "Mingyue, Qihai really came at the right time, just in time for this wedding!"

Gao Yan looked at Liu Taozi again and explained with a smile: "Ah, you don't know yet!"

"I plan to have the Crown Prince marry the eldest daughter of the Mingyue family, and I am preparing for the wedding."

Liu Taozi nodded slowly.

Gao Yan praised: "The daughter of Mingyue family is a perfect match for me as my daughter-in-law. She is virtuous and decent!"

Hulugu still had a stern face and said nothing.

Gao Yan suddenly shouted and stopped. He pulled Hulugu and pointed at Liu Taozi.

"Mingyue, my general has never married."

"What do you think if he becomes your son-in-law?"

Huluguang's face darkened, and he looked at Liu Taozi with a cold look, "Your Majesty, my daughter is still young, it's not time for her to get married yet."

"Then why not get engaged first and start a family later? Isn't that great?"

Hulugu looked at Liu Taozi in front of him again, and his eyes became a little fierce, a change from his usual friendliness.

"Your Majesty, I am devoted to assisting the king and managing the affairs of the country. There is no need to be so anxious about family matters."

Liu Taozi suddenly said, "General, what you said makes sense. I agree with you as well."

Hearing this, Hulugu was stunned, and the ferocity in his eyes dissipated a little. He glanced at Liu Taozi, then looked at Gao Yan.

"His Majesty."

He didn't know how to start.

Gao Yan smiled and waved his hand, "No problem, I just mentioned it casually. If you have other ideas, I won't force you."

Hulugu suddenly became anxious.

“I am not.”

"Mingyue, I heard that Prince Changguang also sent someone to ask you about your daughter?"

"minister"

During the period when Gao Yang no longer launched reckless expeditions, Hulugu won several major victories in a row and made military achievements almost every year. In the tenth year of Tianbao, when Liu Taozi was still an official in Cheng'an, he fought on the border and led 10,000 cavalry to attack Cao Huigong, the founder of the pseudo-Zhou Dynasty, killed him, captured Wenhou, set up garrisons and fences, and then returned.

His outstanding military ability and distinguished family background earned him great attention from Gao Yan.

However, this will naturally attract the attention of others.

Just like Gao Zhan.

He also wanted his son to marry Hulugu's daughter and become his relative.

After all, although everyone pretends to be tough on a daily basis, they at least have some idea of ​​who can be beaten and who cannot be beaten.

The atmosphere became increasingly tense. Looking at Hulugu, who was unable to refute and whose face turned red, Liu Taozi said, "Your Majesty is right. The daughter of General Hulugu must be extremely virtuous."

Gao Yan was stunned for a moment, then he chuckled, "What a pity, such a virtuous woman has no chance to be with Qi Hai."

"General Hulu is still strong and may have a daughter in the future. I will wait a little longer."

"Hahaha~~~"

Gao Yan did not mention the matter again and continued to take the two of them to race horses. Hulugu's riding skills were indeed amazing. The three of them had some tacit understanding at the beginning, running together and showing off their postures, but later, Hulugu and Liu Taozi somehow began to compete with each other. The two began to run as fast as they could and show off their riding skills. Gao Yan was immediately left behind by the two. Gao Yan's eyes widened, watching the two of them riding horses around and around, sometimes standing up, sometimes lying on their sides, and sometimes drawing the bow.

He had no choice but to ride his horse to the side and dismount. Wang Xi hurried forward to wipe the sweat off his face.

Gao Yan laughed and scolded: "These two reckless men!!"

"If someone else came, he would definitely not leave me alone to show off on his own!!"

"Look at them. They almost knocked me off my horse. They really don't take me seriously at all."

Wang Xi smiled and said, "This is because your Majesty is benevolent and righteous, so as a minister, you don't have to flatter him, and you can show off your martial arts in front of the emperor with all your strength!"

Gao Yan's face was slightly solemn, and he said, "The Queen Mother summoned Taozi to Yecheng because she wanted to find someone to start a family with."

"I originally wanted Hulugu to accept this son-in-law, but he was unwilling."

Wang Xi knew what his emperor was thinking. Marrying the daughters of the Lou family or the Gao family would only strengthen Liu Taozi's relationship with the entire royal family, not her relationship with the emperor.

Liu Taozi married a girl from the Lou family. Gao Yan was related to him, and Gao Zhan and Gao Guiyan were also related to him. But if he married Gao Yan's relatives, no matter whether they were his wife's family or his children's family, they would only be relatives of the emperor, not relatives of the entire royal family.

Unfortunately, Gao Yan's daughter has already been engaged to the Lu family, and he only has this one eldest daughter.
"Tell me, what exactly does Mingyue think? Which side is he on?"

"Your Majesty, General Hulu is a straightforward person. He never seeks personal gain, nor pays attention to state affairs. He only knows how to obey orders. You don't have to."

"Bang!!!"

Before Wang Xi could finish his words, the sound of a bow being drawn interrupted him, and he quickly turned around to look.

It turned out to be Hulugu who was drawing his bow and shooting. That arrow directly shattered the wooden target a hundred steps away.

Liu Taozi was stunned for a moment, then he also drew his bow and shot.

"Bang!!"

The corners of Wang Xi's eyes twitched and he looked at Gao Yan beside him.

Gao Yan's eyes turned red and he gritted his teeth.

"Wang Jun!! You have to think of a way!!"

"With tigers and bears like these, why should we fear the villains?!"

(End of this chapter)