Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 203 Wuchuan has the air of an emperor
Gold River.

Zhouqianying Dazhai.

A tall, strong and sturdy man riding a war horse raised his head and looked into the distance.

On the hillside in the distance, people were coming and going, and it was particularly noisy.

The civilians of the Pseudo-Qi were digging ditches, building high walls, and setting up camps and arrow towers there.

Those camps have been formed and the other side has begun to do the cleanup work.

The deputy general at the side widened his eyes and began to tremble with anger.

"It's too much to bully others, it's too much to bully others!!"

These Eastern thieves do not shy away from people when they do things. Their actions are like they climb over the wall while the neighbors are still at home and rebuild the wall in their yard in front of them.

The deputy general was furious.

"Captain! Fight!"

"Can we just watch them bully us like this?!"

"Even if we can't defeat them, we can't let them start building buildings so brazenly, right?!"

The tall and mighty general was not angry at this moment. He smiled and said, "I heard from General Wei earlier that this man is very bold and decisive. He should not be underestimated."

"I finally saw it today."

"My Great Zhou has a large number of troops, but he turned a blind eye and built a wall right in front of me. This is such courage. He is really a brave man! No wonder my father asked me to come here. He is really my enemy!"

"Governor Han, you."

The deputy general was a little confused, and most of his anger had dissipated.

The general looked rough and powerful, like a reckless warrior, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his voice destroyed that rough feeling.

This General Han is different from the General Han from Da Qi.

His voice was very calm, not as loud and rough as that of other warriors. He spoke in a very organized manner, often quoting from classics, and his words were seriously inconsistent with his appearance.

Looking at the bewildered deputy general, Han Qinhu said calmly: "The more dangerous the situation is, the more you need to stay calm and not act on impulse."

"The enemy is currently occupying an advantageous position. We have few soldiers and have not received any orders. How can we attack on our own?"

The deputy general gritted his teeth and said, "Are we just going to watch them finish the repairs and go back?"

Han Qinhu smiled and shook his head. He looked around and asked a general to lead the knights to evacuate. Then he selected dozens of his trusted men and asked them to follow him, then rushed out on horseback.

They rushed towards the enemy camp.

As the distance got closer, exclamations came from the Qi people. A moment later, a small group of Qi knights appeared in front of them.

Han Qinhu then stopped, took a few cautious steps forward, and looked at the Qi army in front of him.

Of course, the Qi knights on the opposite side were also looking at the dozens of them.

Han Qinhu saw their solemn formation and murderous aura, and praised them again in his heart.

He cleared his throat, looked up and shouted:
"Liu Taozi!! You bald little slave!"

"You have been a filthy person for generations!!"

"How dare you invade my borders and build a fortress?!"

At this moment, the voice and appearance finally matched.

The Qi army immediately erupted in an uproar. The knights drew their bows one after another. The officers took the lead in drawing their swords, their faces grim. “This son of a bitch!! I must chop him to death!!”

They rushed out without waiting for military orders.

The next moment, Han Qinhu turned around and ran.

Arrows flew.

Han Qinhu and others ran very fast, and the Qi people chased them for a long time. The officer realized that something was wrong and hurriedly stopped everyone.

Han Qinhu and others who were still shouting just now had now run away and disappeared without a trace.

The officer spat, angrily led everyone back, and hurried to the rear to report the important matter.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat, with Tian Zili and Yao Xiong sitting on both sides.

The officer told what happened outside.

"Damn it! You don't even have the guts to fight me, but you dare to provoke me?!"

Yao Xiong was furious, "Brother, give me a hundred men, and I will burn their front camp now!"

Liu Taozi didn't say anything. Tian Zili said calmly, "I'm afraid their front camp is already empty. They are clearly trying to provoke us and make us take the first step."

The officer was shocked and quickly bowed his head and confessed his guilt.

Tian Zili waved his hand. "It's okay. It's no big deal. The promise of living in harmony is just nonsense. He did this just to find an excuse to face his commander."

He looked at Liu Taozi, "Brother, it seems that General Zhou is going to take action this time."

Yao Xiong quickly took out a map from the side, and Tian Zili looked at it with him. After looking at it for a while, Yao Xiong frowned, "This guy has more than a thousand knights, he should not attack us. However, if he bypasses us and attacks Baima Fort or Wanshou Fort, we have stored a lot of food and grass in these places!"

"It is also possible to attack Dali from the south"

Looking at the map, Yao Xiong felt that there might be an attack wherever he looked.

"Let Zhang Heizu lead the auxiliary troops to garrison at strategic locations to strengthen defenses."

"Xiong, you lead a thousand knights and station them near Baima and Wanshou, and be ready to respond to the two places at any time."

"only."

At the same time, Han Qinhu was leading his army and quickly returning to his own Guizhen Camp.

The deputy general followed him and glanced at him secretly, "General, are we leaving just like this?"

"There's no use keeping it."

"General Xue and General Yuwen are not good at fighting. If we rely on them and march deep into the city alone, we won't be able to escape even if we break into the city. They won't send troops at all."

Han Qinhu talked about the two main generals from the north and the south, with a little sarcasm in his words.

The deputy general stopped talking immediately.

The Duke of Jin liked many of the generals in the country very much, but fearing that they would be exhausted, he recalled most of them to the capital and asked them to stay by his side. He left the dirty and tiring work of stationing in various places and taking up dangerous positions to his close associates.

After welcoming his mother back, the Duke of Jin even wanted to bring Wei Xiaokuan back to the capital to enjoy a good life, and arranged for one of his capable men to go with him.

The ministers of the court went there several times and jointly opposed it. Only then did the Duke of Jin give up this proposal that excited the people of Qi, and only exchanged some jade disks for the soldiers.

Yuwen Hu dismissed several important generals in the border towns and replaced them with his own confidants. Hulugu then used them as targets to shoot at. He led 10,000 people and acted arrogantly. The few small territories that were raised at that time were all Hulugu's masterpieces.

But Yuwen Hu did not care much about the gains and losses of a city or a pass. He was generous and forgiving to his confidants, and even promoted them and made them rich.

The deputy general suddenly let out a long sigh.

Feeling a little down.

Han Qinhu glanced at him and said with a smile: "Why are you so depressed?"

"My grandfather told me a good news."

"Oh?"

"General Zhuguo, Duke Suiguo is coming to the border."

The deputy general was stunned, "Is it coming again?"

Han Qinhu stroked his beard, his eyes bright, "It's always like this. Whenever the Qi people make unusual moves, Duke Sui has to come to the border and pull out those nails."

"However, the current situation is increasingly different. The Qi people's border defense is in decline, and their government is in turmoil. With the Duke's arrival this time, perhaps this is a great opportunity for us to destroy Qi and confer the title of nobility!"

The deputy general pursed his lips and wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to.

hope so.

Liu Taozi led everyone towards Wuchuan.

The camp was set up, but the enemy did not dare to attack.

The laborers left in batches. The General's Office had a very strong ability to organize these laborers. In the past, these laborers were scattered outside the city at random. When they were needed, the soldiers would drive them out to do work, regardless of the number of people or their lives. If they met others on the road, they would also be captured and used as laborers. The governance was quite chaotic, and the garrison town did not know how many laborers they had, so they just had to keep an eye on them and not let them run away.

After the establishment of an effective organization of household heads, the construction ability of the laborers was greatly enhanced.

There is a huge difference between disorder and order.

Most of the deployment of the laborers was completed by Tian Zili. It took him fourteen days to organize the laborers and supplies, and another twelve days to complete the construction. Before the enemy could make a decision, the camp had been built.

Although Tian Zili was a little tired, he was still quite happy. At this moment, he followed Liu Taozi and summed up his experience. For him, it was the first time to mobilize so many people to do one thing.

Fortunately, our organizational skills were strong enough, and even though we were unfamiliar with the process and made some mistakes, it still didn't take longer than expected.

"Brother, it's still a language problem. Our people come from all over the place and don't speak the same language. When we divided the land earlier, we didn't consider the regions. The heads of households even danced with joy when giving orders."

"I think some simple commands can unify them."

Just as the two were chatting, a knight suddenly rushed over from the front.

The knight reined in his horse and stopped in front of Liu Taozi.

"General! There is a wizard ahead, blocking the road, and he insists on seeing you."

The knight looked a little uneasy, but Tian Zili was a little angry and said unhappily: "You are treating my brother as a fool and driving him away!"

The knight glanced at Tian Zili and said with some fear: "The witch can spit fire and can see ghosts and gods. He told General Kou's origins at a glance."

Tian Zili became even angrier. He was about to ride his horse forward when Liu Taozi said softly, "Let him come over."

The knight breathed a sigh of relief and hurried away.

Tian Zili cursed: "How could such a trick of pretending to be a ghost stop our army!"

"Are you trying to trick my brother?"

"Kou Liu is indeed a Xianbei man, he can believe this!!"

Liu Taozi didn't care much and continued to ride forward. However, Tian Zilie kept cursing. He believed that the superstition prevalent in the border areas was the thing that should be eliminated most.

Before going to war, these people had to consult fortune-telling and perform rituals. There were always wizards in the barracks, and they would seek treatment from wizards when they were sick. What Tian Zilie could not understand the most was that they would seek the help of wizards for administrative decisions, and would ask for the wizards' opinions on whether a policy was good or not.

Tian Zili said to Liu Taozi, "Brother, let's not talk about the soldiers, most of the generals and officials under our command are also like this. If they were just used, it would be fine, but many people believe it without a doubt. This matter must be guarded against."

During the conversation, the wizard was brought over by the knights.

The knights on both sides looked at the wizard with fear in their eyes. They kept their distance and did not dare to get too close.

If someone else had blocked the road, he would have been hacked to death by the knights. Only wizards could scare these unruly knights.

This wizard doesn't look strange or have any special features. If it weren't for the magical weapons hanging on his body, you really can't tell that he is a wizard.

He is young, has a calm face and gentle eyes, and doesn't look like a wizard at all.

He was brought here, but Liu Taozi had no intention of stopping and continued to move forward slowly. The man saluted and came to Liu Taozi casually, pushing Tian Zili away and wanting to move forward together.

Tian Zili was furious, staring at the man fiercely, with one hand on the hilt of the sword, "You"

The wizard spoke.

"General, Wuchuan has the aura of an emperor."

Tian Zili slowly loosened his hand, his face was troubled for a moment, and then he slowly forced a smile.

Liu Taozi glanced at the witch and ignored her.

The man said again: "General, I am not lying. I came here in pursuit of the Emperor's spirit."

"I am best at observing the weather."

"The emperor of Jinyang has a weak aura, and seems to be on the verge of collapse. The emperor of Yecheng has a strong aura, which is condensed on the outside but scattered on the inside, and he does not have the appearance of supporting the sky. Only the emperor of Wuchuan has a strong aura and extraordinary momentum, and he has the potential to pierce the clouds and break through the sky. Given time, he will be extraordinary!"

Tian Zili cleared his throat and asked, "Where did this hermit practice and who was his master?"

The man looked at Tian Zili, smiled and bowed, "I am Zheng Daoqian! I have no master, I learned everything by myself, I have no place to live, I travel among the mountains and rivers to practice."

"It's Lord Zheng! I've heard of you for a long time!"

Tian Zili said, and then asked in a low voice: "Just now you said there are three emperor's auras, what's going on?"

Zheng Daoqian glanced at Liu Taozi, then looked at Tian Zili, "I originally wanted to come here to predict the general's fortune, but now it seems that the general does not like this, so I'd better leave."

He threw the hook skillfully.

Liu Taozi finally spoke, "Since you're here, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Zheng Daoqian laughed and wanted to decline, but Liu Taozi suddenly asked, "What's the situation in Yecheng and Jinyang?"

"what"

"Is your Majesty feeling better?"

"You speak with a Yecheng accent, and you said you saw the emperor's aura in Jinyang. How come you've never exorcised a ghost in Jinyang?"

Facing this general who was not following the rules in his questioning, Zheng Daoqian once again organized his words, "Drive him over."

"It has been exorcised. Your Majesty is no longer threatened by any evil spirits."

"Then why did you come to me again, saying that Wuchuan has the aura of an emperor? Are you trying to instigate me to rebel?"

Zheng Daoqian's original train of thought was interrupted, and he hurriedly said, "I came here to pursue the emperor's aura. It is true that Wuchuan has the emperor's aura, but I don't know who it will be reflected on. I am not here to instigate the general to do something illegal."

"Then why are you blocking my carriage?!"

Liu Taozi's eyes suddenly widened, filled with murderous intent.

Zheng Daoqian explained: "I am here to remind the general! I am kindly reminding the general that when the emperor is angry, the demons will predict and then show up to murder you."

"You were the first to know, are you the demon?"

"I really came here with good intentions to tell the general. I am not a demon."

Zheng Daoqian's voice no longer sounded as pleasant as before.

Tian Zili suddenly stepped forward and said, "Brother, leave this man to me and ignore him."

Liu Taozi did not ask any more questions and continued to move forward, but Tian Zili and the wizard slowed down and kept their distance.

The two of them walked on the road together, and Tian Zili looked at Zheng Daoqian with interest.

"Duke Zheng, we are alone here, so let's not talk about divination. I just want to ask you, you just said that the emperor's aura in Jinyang is tending to weaken, why do you say that?"

Zheng Daoqian said confidently: "This is what I observed."

Tian Zili said sternly, "If you continue to talk nonsense like this, I will execute you for spreading rumors and misleading the public."

"I didn't say anything nonsense."

"Just tell me the truth, and I won't tell anyone else."

"From what I have observed, the Emperor's aura is weak and could dissipate at any time."

Tian Zili pulled like this several times and finally gave up.

He was not suitable to deal with this group of people, but he knew that there was someone who knew how to deal with them.

Gao Changgong sent people to inform about the situation in Jinyang several times, but Gao Changgong himself was not very clear about much of the information. Instead, the wizards were the ones who knew the most. They had done a lot of things in Yecheng and Jinyang and participated in many major events.

Tian Zili asked someone to keep an eye on him and followed Liu Taozi back to Wuchuan. While Liu Taozi was busy, Tian Zili brought him to Chu Jiande.

Chu Jiande actually recognized this witch. As soon as they met, they recognized each other and went into the house hand in hand.

Tian Zilie was standing outside waiting. After a while, Chu Jiande asked someone to bring Tian Zilie in.

The three of them sat in the house. Chu Jiande said with a smile, "This Mr. Zheng has a great reputation in Qing City. Many people have come to learn divination from him. Who would have thought that he would come to Wuchuan!"

Tian Zili gestured to him and Chu Jiande nodded.

Tian Zili then asked: "I just want to know the situation of His Majesty."

Zheng Daoqian said, "Your Majesty is haunted by an evil spirit. Although we have performed a ritual to drive away the evil spirit, it is still close to you and will surely cause you to lose your yang energy and destroy your positive energy."

Chu Jiande explained to Tian Zili in a low voice: "He said: The emperor is in very poor health, and the effect is not very good. If he insists on holding on without telling the public, I am afraid it will not last long."

"Prince Changguang had asked me to predict a major event before. I observed the celestial phenomena at night and it was not favorable for the event. Only by keeping quiet could good fortune come. But after the general arrived in Yecheng, the evil spirit collided with the good fortune, and the celestial phenomena changed drastically."

"He said: Prince Changguang asked him if he could use cavalry to rebel, and he said the situation was not good, so he should wait. As a result, the general went to Yecheng and arrested Prince Changguang, and the situation in the world changed drastically."

"I was in the north of Jinyang City, and I saw a green aura rising to the sky from afar. I said goodbye to everyone and chased it on horseback, all the way to Wuchuan. The aura of the emperor here is so strong that it cannot be compared with the auras in Ye and Jinyang."

"He said that he heard about his brother in Jinyang, so he came to Wuchuan to see the strong army and the people who were loyal to the general. He felt that the general was more capable than Prince Changguang and His Majesty."

Zheng Daoqian said with a straight face, "The aura of the Emperor of Wuchuan is blue, and the aura of the Emperor of Yecheng is white. The two are incompatible and conflicting by nature. They cannot coexist!"

He looked up at the sky, "Two Qis are rising to the sky, and the Emperor Star is dimming!!"

Chu Jiande's expression also became solemn.

"He said that between Prince Changguang and the general, only one can survive, and he must not inherit the throne. We must act now."

"The emperor is dying."

(End of this chapter)