Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 195: A General is Hard to Find

The snow inside and outside Jinyang was dirty and black.

This place is not like Wuchuan, where you can’t see the endless white world.

Liu Taozi rode a green lion and walked on the official road outside Jinyang, which had been cleared.

The snow was swept to the sides, revealing solid ground, allowing knights and carriages to pass safely.

But this snow.

Whether it's in front, behind, or on the sides.

They all appeared to be a strange black color, not like accumulated snow, but more like piled up mud, and they always emitted a strong stench.

There were a lot more people around Liu Taozi at this moment.

The general Han Jinming was responsible for leading Liu Taozi to Yecheng.

General Han is much older than Liu Taozi, but he looks much more delicate than Liu Taozi. He wraps himself tightly with three layers of clothes inside and outside.

When going out to fight, he did not forget to decorate himself and took care of himself meticulously from head to toe.

In addition to his soldiers, there were also some of his personal followers behind him.

The number of followers is almost the same as that of knights, or even more.

They were carrying all kinds of things, including General Han's special chamber pot. That chamber pot was no ordinary chamber pot and it looked to be much more valuable than the life of the person holding it.

General Han's face flushed.

He likes wine.

He has never stopped talking since leaving the city.

Either he's talking nonsense or he's drinking waste wine.

"The general has really made us proud this time."

"Those countrymen, who boasted all day long about marching and fighting, dare not show their teeth anymore after the general killed them like this."

"It's better to let people like the general do the fighting."

"I usually like making friends, but I didn't meet the general earlier. Otherwise, I would definitely invite the general to host a banquet at my home!"

General Han blinked his eyes, with a lewd smile on his face, "I have three pairs of twin girls in my family. They look almost identical to each other. I bought them at a high price."

"If the general is willing to visit me someday, I would like to let them come and serve him. Hahahaha, the general doesn't know the feeling of this, but others don't know it."

Liu Taozi ignored him and just looked straight ahead.

General Han didn't get a response, but he didn't feel embarrassed and continued to talk about other things.

"Many Han officials in the city are looking forward to making friends with you, General. Although you may think we don't know military affairs, we have never lost face for the Han people in our daily lives!"

“We have backbone!”

"That country uses ten cows for a banquet, we use a hundred cows!"

"It costs them 10,000 coins to travel, so we'll spend 100,000 coins!"

"Like the general, we don't want to be looked down upon or despised by our compatriots. Hahahaha, they are always outshined by us, who knows how angry they must be!"

Han Jinming looked around and whispered to Liu Taozi, "On weekdays, when my servants go out to vent their anger, I always ask them to try to find women from other countries."

The corner of Liu Taozi's left eye twitched, and there was something in her eyes.
"Brother!"

Tian Zili rode out on his horse and pointed to the distance, "Brother, if you keep walking along this official road, you will reach Yecheng. I have walked this road before."

"Your Majesty really values ​​my brother and specially sent General Han to escort him."

"When we finish our work over there and return to Jinyang, we can go to his house for a banquet."

Yao Xiong and Kou Liu half lowered their heads at this moment, staring straight at Liu Taozi. Both of them were ready to kill.

Hearing Tian Zili's words, Liu Taozi's brows relaxed slightly and she just nodded slightly.

Tian Zili breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced at Han Jinming again, his eyes full of displeasure.

You better stop talking, damn it!
If you keep talking, I won't be able to protect you!
Han Jinming obviously didn't realize what kind of situation he was in. Hearing Tian Zili's words, he was very happy and said hurriedly: "That's right, that's right! General, you can come anytime. I have good wine, good meat, and everything at home!!"

So they continued on their way.

That is to say, in the cold winter, the knights' marching speed was not very fast, otherwise, General Han would have been left behind long ago.

This person has a lot of things to do.

After walking some distance, he would ask his subordinates to bring him honey water. After walking a few more steps, he would ask his followers to get him some fruit.

Even in such a cold winter, his followers were actually able to bring out fruits.

He also warmly invited Liu Taozi to enjoy it together.

But Liu Taozi ignored him and just hurried on.

After walking for a whole day, Han Jinming sat in the temporary luxurious tent with a look of extreme pain on his face.

The attendants on both sides served him.

He asked his followers in a low voice, "We have been walking for several hours without stopping. How long will it take to reach Yecheng?"

The attendant thought for a moment and replied: "There are still many days."

General Han couldn't help it immediately.

Early the next morning, Han Jinming rode his horse to Liu Taozi's side and suddenly started coughing.

"General Liu"

Looking at Han Jinming, whose voice suddenly became low and hoarse, Liu Taozi looked him up and down.

"What do you want, General?"

Han Jinming suddenly started to cough violently again. He said in great pain, "I have been ordered to escort the general to Yecheng, but I am weak and have been seriously ill before. I am afraid I can no longer accompany you. I am going to return to Jinyang, resign my official position, and recuperate at home. Please forgive me, general."

Without waiting for Liu Taozi to speak, he said goodbye to his followers and headed in the opposite direction.

At this moment, whether it was Tian Zili, Yao Xiong, or Kou Liu, they were all stunned.

Yao Xiong's lips trembled, and he asked in disbelief: "He ran away???"

Tian Zili was also speechless. He was silent for a long time before he looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Brother, I know how the Jin Dynasty perished."

Han Jinming simply abandoned the accompanying army, resigned from his post and returned to Jinyang, while Liu Taozi and others continued to move forward.

Walking on the road, everyone was silent.

Living in Da Qi, every day is filled with surprises and shocks.

They had just walked a distance when they saw a group of people busying about in the distance.

In the distance, there were hundreds of people, including knights and officials, shouting something loudly.

They were clearing snow from the official road.

Someone suddenly screamed.

A young man rushed out from the crowd, yelling like a madman. He took off his thin clothes, ran back and forth, and shouted loudly.

The official scolded him angrily and the knight beat him with a whip.

The man didn't react at all. He didn't know how long he ran before he suddenly fell to the ground and didn't move.

A knight dismounted cursing, grabbed him and threw him into the mud and snow nearby.

See this army coming.

Several knights rode up hastily to pay their respects.

The knight looked at Liu Taozi with eyes full of fear and did not dare to raise his head to look at the nobleman.

"We have failed to do our job properly and delayed important matters. Please forgive us, sir!!"

Looking at the knights kneeling in front of him, Liu Taozi looked at the farmers who were working hard in the distance.

"What is this doing?"

"We are following General Han's order to gather the civilians along the way to clean the roads in advance in preparation for your march."

"There was a heavy snowstorm last night, so we were delayed here, General."

Looking at the frightened knights, Liu Taozi was silent for a long time.

"My warhorse is strong and not afraid of the snow. Send someone to tell them to go back."

The knight was a little surprised, but he didn't dare to disobey, so he quickly got up and left.

In the distance, the laborers began to leave the official road under the leadership of the officials. They shivered in the strong wind, some of them wiped their tears and looked back several times at the high piles of dirty snow.

Liu Taozi looked at Kou Liu standing aside.

"Liu, come here."

Without Liu Taozi's urging, General Han's marching speed became even slower.

After walking less than four miles, he set up camp to rest.

His followers also knew what kind of person he was.

This is not the first or second time that General Han has resigned. Every time the government is ready to use him for something, he would pretend to be sick and run away.

Because of his father's merits, the government let him go several times. He once said to his attendants: A real man should have fun and not work hard.

At this moment, the man was lying in his tent, drinking hot water, and enjoying the service of two women who were temporarily captured.

General Han was also somewhat dissatisfied with this.

The quality of the women around here was so poor that he had thought about gritting his teeth and rushing on at full speed, enduring the severe pain, and returning to Jinyang to enjoy himself, but he just couldn't bear the hardship.

General Han stretched out his legs and took a nap comfortably in the tent.

He stretched himself and thought about the beauties waiting for him at home. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed outside the tent.

The bandits rode their horses and caught up with the army.

It's already dark.

Liu Taozi sat in front of the campfire, with Tian Zilie and Yao Xiong sitting on either side of him.

The soldiers in the distance had already rested, and some were patrolling back and forth.

Kou Liu dismounted his warhorse, walked quickly to the campfire, and saluted Liu Taozi, "Brother, it's done."

Liu Taozi nodded and motioned for him to sit down.

The three of them sat next to Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi just said: "You three haven't been home for a long time."

"After arriving in Yecheng, you can't enter the palace, so you can go to Cheng'an first and stay with your family for a while."

"I will come to you after I finish my business in Yecheng."

Kou Liu trembled all over and asked dully, "Brother, did you take us with you?"

"Tomorrow, you will take your people and return to Cheng'an."

"Brother, let Yao Xiong and Kou Liu go. Even if they can't enter the palace, there are always places in Yecheng that need people. I am willing to run around for you, brother."

Hearing Tian Zili's words, Liu Taozi waved her hand and said, "No need."

"I don't have anything to do in Yecheng. After meeting the Queen Mother, I will return to my hometown in Cheng'an."

Tian Zili hurriedly said, "Kou Liu's mother is in Cheng'an, Yao Xiong's sister and brother-in-law are also there, and I don't have any relatives. It's better for me to stay with my brother."

"You have a lot of friends over there, and I don't feel comfortable letting Yao Xiong Kouliu go back alone."

"Just keep an eye on them for me, especially Yao Xiong. Don't let him get into trouble."

Yao Xiong hesitated to speak.

"Brother, I heard that the Prince of Changguang is stationed in Yecheng with a large army. Most of the nobles are close to him. He and you are not on good terms. How can you let you go into the tiger's den alone?"

"I have nothing to worry about when you're not here."

Tian Zili opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Okay, then I'll go to Cheng'an first. Brother, Zhangjia Village is not as safe as it used to be. I'll find a way."

Liu Taozi nodded slightly.

Tian Zili could not help but say, "But brother, when you get to Yecheng, don't be impulsive. Although the Prince of Changguang is evil, he is not stupid. The soldiers in Yecheng and Jinyang are completely different from the other soldiers. You must also be careful with the Queen Mother."

Yao Xiong said hurriedly, "Brother, why don't you let them go? I'll stay here. I'm the closest in size to you."

Its daybreak.

The knights split into two groups and continued to advance in two directions.

Tian Zilie and others quickened their pace as they still had a lot of things to do in Cheng'an.

Especially for Tian Zili, having offended the biggest leader in Yecheng, he would have to be on guard against them attacking Zhangjia Village. If he could not protect those confidants, the best way would be to take them away.

Let them go to Wuchuan together.

Wuchuan is always safe.

But if Kouliu's mother were to set out for Wuchuan at this moment in the cold winter, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to survive.

Tian Zili had a lot of things on his mind at the moment and was very worried.

Yao Xiong was more direct. "Brother, you are worried that we will be attacked while we are outside the palace. However, the Prince of Changguang is not tied up in Yecheng. We are in Cheng'an, and he can still send people to attack us."

Kou Liu glared at him, "You Qihu! Hope for the best!"

After both parties dispersed, they went their separate ways.

Here, Liu Taozi was followed by the knights under General Han. Liu Taozi continued to advance at the same speed as before, neither hurried nor slow.

The wind and snow here are not as strong as those in Wuchuan, but the number of corpses along the road is incomparable to that in Wuchuan.

Some villages along the road were now completely covered by ice and snow. This cover did not mean that snow had accumulated on the houses, but that they were really flooded. The entire village was covered in snow, and broken bricks and tiles were hidden underneath. There was no sign of any living creature at all.

The closer we got to Yecheng, the more corpses we saw.

In the distance, the naked corpses formed sculptures that maintained various strange postures.

They had smiles on their faces, some were hugging the non-existent stove in front of them, some seemed to be hugging their relatives, and some were stretching their bodies.

This year's winter is more severe than ever before.

More people died.

But not many people care.

The knights ignored the sculpture in the distance as long as it didn't block the road.

After passing through the jungle of corpses, you can see the tall walls of Yecheng.

Yecheng is very different from Jinyang. The style of Jinyang is mainly large, while that of Yecheng is exquisite. This does not mean that the city wall of Yecheng is small. It is just that while ensuring the solidity of the city wall of Yecheng, the design and reinforcement of auxiliary buildings such as battlements, horse walls, arrow towers, etc. are very excellent and even beautiful.

Before he even got close to the city gate, he saw from afar the people coming to greet him.

I saw a man standing on the road, with his left and right companions, all bowing their heads.

When those people saw Liu Taozi coming, they immediately stopped chatting and walked towards here.

The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, but Liu Taozi did not dismount. He looked at the people in front of him ferociously. Facing his gaze, many people lowered their heads or looked away, not daring to look him in the face.

Only the one who walked among them had no fear.

He came to Liu Taozi, raised his head, looked at him, and had a smile on his face.

This man looks to be in his early twenties, energetic, handsome and sunny. With this outfit and his smile, he is the absolute protagonist standing here. Liu Taozi, with a gloomy face, looks like a damn villain.

There are many good-looking people in Da Qi, but most of the things they do are ugly.

The man smiled and said, "What a brave man!"

"No wonder he could lead fifty cavalrymen to fight their way through the northern frontier."

Suddenly a man walked out from beside him, and Liu Taozi knew this man.

And Shi Kai.

He Shikai said unhappily: "Even if the general is favored by His Majesty, he should not be so rude when meeting the king!"

Liu Taozi was stunned, then he got off his horse and bowed to the young man in front of him.

"Meet the king."

Seeing the tiger bear dismount and salute, the ministers around finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although there are not as many nobles in Yecheng as in Jinyang, there are some.

At this time, those who could follow Gao Zhan out were basically nobles and wealthy families.

They were truly frightened by Liu Taozi, and only when they saw the tiger bear lower its head did they regain the feeling of being nobles.

That's how it should be!!
You are the son of a slave. Your grandfather was only a horse feeder and horseman for King Gao. How dare you show off in front of us?
Gao Zhan was still smiling as he looked at Liu Taozi who was bowing. He walked a few steps in front of him and asked him to stand up.

He Shikai and others were shocked and wanted to step forward to dissuade them, but it was too late.

Several warriors behind him had their hands on their swords.

Gao Zhan, however, looked at Liu Taozi in front of him and said, "Zhizhi..., what did His Majesty call you? Qi Haizhen?"

He suddenly laughed, "Murderer? Not right, not right."

"You should be called Zhe Kui Zhen (law enforcer). You didn't kill people without reason. You killed people according to the law. How can you be called Qi Hai Zhen?"

Then, without waiting for the other party to refute, he directly grabbed his hand and said, "Zhe Kuizhen, when I heard that you were coming, I couldn't sleep for several nights. I have been waiting for you!"

"Come on, follow me into the city!!"

He took Liu Taozi's hand and strode towards the city.

Everyone followed behind him, looking at each other from time to time, their eyes full of joy and anticipation.

They hated Liu Taozi so much that they wanted him to pay a price when he came to Yecheng this time! !

He, and his grandfather.

The king will definitely not let him off easily!!
Gao Zhan pulled Liu Taozi into his car. After getting in, he suddenly whispered, "Zhe Kuizhen, I didn't call these people here. Your Majesty sent someone to secretly tell them that you were coming and asked them to come with you."

"Do you know why?"

Liu Taozi narrowed her eyes and said nothing.

Gao Zhan grinned, "Your Majesty is afraid that I will win you over, so he sent these nobles to keep an eye on you. If I get close to you, won't it make those nobles who are willing to follow me feel disappointed?"

Liu Taozi still didn't speak.

Gao Zhan suddenly raised his head and looked around.

"I want to bring Zhe Kuizhen to my house for a drink! The rest of you, please go back!"

He roared, and the people following him were stunned.

Gao Zhan looked at Liu Taozi beside him again, and his expression became friendly again.

"But I think so."

"These hundreds of nobles."

"It's not as good as you alone."

ps: Thanks to the enthusiastic reader uncle for the support of historical materials. The uncle is a great history enthusiast. He compiled and wrote "Records of Governors and Prefects of Western Liang", "Research on Governors of Eastern Wei and Northern Qi", etc. He has served as a historical consultant for many novels of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, such as "Plotting for Wei", "The Hegemony of Southern Chen", "The Emperor of Cao Wei", etc., and provided very excellent historical materials. Thank you very much, hahaha, he is in the group, and book friends can ask him if they don’t understand something.

(End of this chapter)