Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 207 Isolated and helpless
Shuozhou.

Under the dazzling sunlight, the tall city wall in the distance, with shadows and flares intertwined, seemed to be even larger.

He Shikai blocked the glaring light with his hands, his face full of helplessness.

A knight came forward and said, "Sir, Zhaoyuan is ahead."

"I'm not blind!!"

He Shikai scolded him, then complained, "This is a shitty place! This is a hell of a place!!"

It has been a long time since we set out from Yecheng. When we set out, Yecheng was still very cold, but when we got here, it was already hot summer.

This is a shabby road. Once you leave Sizhou, you can’t even take a car. Otherwise, you’ll die in the car and even pee and shit.

He Shikai could only move forward on horseback. He rode like this for many days in a row. His legs were sore and he almost lost consciousness.

He Shikai was a good horse rider, but he hadn't ridden a horse for so long for a long time.

Looking at the city in front of him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He asked his knights to go and inform the gatekeeper to lead him into the city.

The city gate was quite deserted. When the knight approached to negotiate, the gatekeeper dared not make things difficult for him. Soon, someone led them towards the governor's office.

As soon as they entered the city, someone tried to block their way.

"My dear! Do you want to buy a woman?"

"Cheap, all good women, complete, not damaged, only three hundred coins each!!"

He Shikai had a stern face and said nothing. The knight's whip made a few crackling sounds in the air, and those people didn't dare to approach and retreated to their positions.

Some people did not give up and chased after him, shouting, "There are men too!"

He Shikai was filled with anger. He looked at the official in front of him and cursed, "Are the people under your rule such evil people?"

"No etiquette, no shame!"

"How do you govern?"

The official lowered his head and dared not refute him. He spoke a few words to the person next to him, and that person rushed out shouting.

Soon, bursts of wailing and crying were heard behind him.

At the corner in the distance, you can see a group of people sitting on the ground, looking blankly at the nobles passing by. They don't avoid them, but just stare at them and watch them leave.

He Shikai was brought to the gate of the government office, and the clerk went in to report.

After a while, a man came out.

The man had a handsome face and was well-mannered. He had no ugliness of a frontier man. Without waiting for the official to introduce him, he smiled and saluted, "Mr. He, I am Guo Yuanzhen, the chief officer of Shuozhou! Greetings, Mr. He!"

He Shikai saw that this man was quite polite, so he quickly bowed to greet him.

"It turned out to be Mr. Guo!"

"I don't deserve it. Just call me cousin uncle."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and He Shikai calmly held his hand and said, "Mr. Guo, I will definitely meet you after I meet the governor!"

Guo Yuanzhen nodded, "Of course."

He Shikai followed him to the government office. Guo Yuanzhen smiled and said, "I was shocked when the clerk came to report just now. It's a bitter and cold place in this frontier, so it must be difficult for you to come here, right?"

“It’s not easy.”

"I hate coming to places like this. But the king always sends me out for a walk. The border is hot in summer and cold in winter, and the people here are all the same."

He Shikai didn't say it explicitly, but he winked at Guo Yuanzhen.

Guo Yuanzhen laughed, "That's right."

The two of them walked through three gates before they arrived at the door of a main house.

Guo Yuanzhen asked the soldiers at the door to move aside and led He Shikai into the house.

Inside the house, a burly man was lying on the bed, with beauties on both sides gently fanning him.

Hearing the footsteps, the sturdy man suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were extremely sharp, and he stared at He Shikai.

He Shikai felt a chill on his back and quickly bowed to him.

"Greetings, Lord Hulu!!"

Huluxian looked at He Shikai in front of him, slowly sat up, and signaled for the beauty to leave.

"Prince Changguang asked you to come?"

"Yes."

Huluxian glanced at Guo Yuanzhen and said, "Mr. Guo, please go back first."

Guo Yuanzhen didn't say much. He just bowed and turned to leave.

Only Huluxian and He Shikai were left in the room. Huluxian then asked, "What did the king ask you to do here?"

"I have come to pay my respects to Lord Hulu and to present a letter."

"Oh, where's the letter?"

He Shikai handed the letter to the other party respectfully, and Huluxian did not avoid others and opened the letter and read it in front of him.

There was no real content in the letter. It just recalled their past friendship, reminisced about the past, expressed feelings, and said that He Shikai had been entrusted to send some gifts to the other party.

After reading it, Huluxian's eyes became slightly complicated.

To be honest, he is closer to Gao Zhan and has a better relationship with him.

Gao Zhan has many friends.

The current situation has become delicate and complicated.

There are rumors that His Majesty sent people to strangle the King of Jinan, there are rumors that His Majesty is seriously ill, and there are rumors that His Majesty is crazy.

When Gao Zhan was imprisoned, his official title was not revoked, and after he was released, his influence became even greater.

I don’t know if His Majesty is really ill, but the Queen Mother seems to be really ill.

Yecheng fell completely into the hands of Prince Changguang, and everyone suspected whether he was issuing the decree in the name of the Queen Mother.

The situation is extremely complicated.

The Hulugu family was a direct participant in the incident. The moment Hulugu Guang agreed to the emperor to marry his daughter to Liu Taozi, their family could no longer extricate themselves.

Hulu Xian hated such tedious matters the most, and he couldn't escape them even if he fled to the frontier!
Looking at Huluxian who frowned and said nothing, He Shikai said with a smile: "I know what you are worried about."

"Please don't worry. Your brother agreed to His Majesty because my king was serving the Queen Mother in the palace and couldn't pay attention to the situation outside. My king understands and he will never blame your brother for this matter."

"The situation now is different from before. I think Governor Luo Diao will reconsider and know which side to stand on."

When Huluxian heard this, he was immediately displeased.

"What will you do if my brother doesn't support your king?"

He Shikai realized that his tone was inappropriate and apologized quickly. He said sincerely: "This is not something I can discuss."

"General, I am not here for Governor Luo Diao, but for you."

"I?"

"General, you are a smart man. The two brothers naturally have their own choices. It has been like this since ancient times. How could the general not know such a simple truth?"

Huluxian curled his lips, "You don't need to discuss these things."

"Yes, Governor, I will continue my mission. However, there is one thing I want to ask you. I wonder if you can help me."

Looking at He Shikai who was hesitating, Huluxian asked unhappily, "What's the matter?"

"The king sent me to General Liu. General Liu and I had some misunderstandings in the past."

"I know that General Liu is impatient and is afraid that something will happen again. I wonder if the governor can send someone to escort me there?"

Huluxian pointed at He Shikai and laughed, "Everyone says you're as brave as a tiger, how come you were scared like this by Liu Taozi today?!"

He Shikai clasped his hands pitifully, "Who wouldn't be afraid of meeting a brave general like you and General Liu? I really don't dare to go alone. I know you are close to General Liu. As long as you send someone to go with me, I will feel at ease. Please have mercy on me, General!!"

Huluxian waved his hand and put away the letter, "Okay, no need to say more."

"How about this, I'll send someone to go with you, remember to come back early."

"Yes! Thank you, Governor!"

He Shikai thanked him again and again, then said goodbye to Huluxian and went to the separate courtyard where officials came and went to rest. As soon as he entered the courtyard, the secret joy and grievance on He Shikai's face disappeared.

He sneered unhappily and cursed in a low voice: "Idiot."

He looked around and said, "Get the gifts ready. Let's go and pay a visit to that Minister Guo."

He Shikai only rested for a while before setting out again to visit Guo Yuanzhen. Guo Yuanzhen had already prepared a banquet and was waiting for him to come.

When the two met, the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious. They ate and drank, talked about poetry and prose, and discussed the general situation of the world, and they were having a great time.

I don’t know how long they talked, but when the atmosphere was at its most intense, He Shikai wiped away his tears.

"Mr. Guo, my king is too ashamed to face you."

"Your Majesty is truly powerless to help with your brother-in-law's affairs!!"

The smile on Guo Yuanzhen's face paused, he took a sip of wine and said nothing.

Guo Yuanzhen's wife, whose surname was Yang, was Yang Yin's younger sister.

Looking at Guo Yuanzhen's frozen smile, He Shikai said hurriedly: "My king is following orders, and he thinks highly of Prime Minister Yang."

"When he thinks about this now, he feels upset."

Guo Yuanzhen shook his head. "There is no need to mention this matter again. Your Majesty is kind and has pardoned our crimes. We are grateful and have not punished you. We would never dare to blame you."

He Shikai suddenly said: "At that time, His Majesty began to promote many scholars, even you were promoted by him."

"It's all due to your majesty's grace."

Guo Yuanzhen replied, and He Shikai said again: "But the king feels that this matter of redistributing equal land is a little inappropriate."

"Your Majesty is lenient, but too lenient. Those princes can deceive your Majesty into doing many wrong things with just a few words."

"The land within thirty miles of Yecheng is to be taken back by the temple, forcibly taken back, and distributed to those lazy and lowly people. How can this be possible?"

Guo Yuanzhen's lips trembled, and he didn't respond.

He Shikai slapped his legs and cursed: "Not only you scholars, but also those old men in Jinyang are very angry!"

"The land in Jinyang was also taken!"

"Though the land of those people in Jinyang is not as much as yours, they do have mines, horse farms, etc. in various places. Are they going to take all of this away? How can this be justified?"

"I set out from Yecheng this time and came to the border. When I arrived in Jinyang, I met a few old men. You may know them as Heba Gong and his men. They sent someone to call me over and asked me about this matter. After drinking some wine, they angrily told me that it was only after King Pengcheng took charge of government affairs that he realized how valuable Yang Gong was!"

Guo Yuanzhen also took a sip of wine, "The King of Pengcheng is dedicated to the public, and his moral integrity is known to the world."

He Shikai shook his head. "The King of Pengcheng coveted fame. In the sixth year of Wuding, he was appointed as the governor of Cangzhou. He actually punished his chief clerk for eating a chicken from a commoner's house!"

"My great king said to me: That chief clerk was a well-known and capable official with excellent administration, but Gao Yu dismissed him for the sake of his own reputation and for a chicken. In Gao Yu's heart, an official is not as capable as a chicken. In his heart, the fact that he knows the world's affairs is not as important as his empty reputation!"

"Later, when he became the governor of Dingzhou, he did not take care of the state affairs first, but went to the people to take care of the theft of cattle and vegetables! Is this what a governor should do?"

"Even if he caught a few petty thieves, so what? It just made him famous. A governor should make a state prosperous, not catch petty thieves!"

"In the fourth year of Tianbao, he was appointed as the Minister of the Interior. He secretly instigated the people to come and see him off. He almost called out all the people in the city, including hundreds of elderly people. He did this for false reputation and delayed the affairs of the people of the city. How hypocritical!"

"When he was the governor of Qingdu, he did not select people with good reputations and high morals, but selected officials from those petty officials. He also took action against Qingdu nobles and encouraged his subordinates to expose them more!!"

"Now, he has become the Grand Marshal and Secretary of State!"

"Just after taking office, he said something about redistributing land equally, which made people's lives miserable!!"

"All court affairs are under his jurisdiction. The Prince of Pingyang and Zhao Yanshen are in charge! The other two are all blindly following his orders and have no opinions of their own. Isn't the world going to be ruined in his hands?"

Guo Yuanzhen remained silent, did not speak, and took another sip of wine.

He Shikai said with a smile: "In the past, the nobles quarreled with you, but in my opinion, it was all for official business and for the sake of the world. But now, it is disadvantageous to both of us."

"To be honest, my king has actually discussed this with several respected and virtuous officials in the court, and they share the same idea."

Hearing this, Guo Yuanzhen finally put down the broken wine in his hand. He looked at He Shikai and asked, "Why are you telling me this, Mr. He?"

"The King of Pengcheng is in the court, and he has many helpers in the local area. My king really doesn't want to see the governor of Hulu become one of his helpers. If you can help, persuade him for us, help see if there are any villains coming from Jinyang, and send someone to inform us in time, my king will certainly be grateful."

Guo Yuanzhen suddenly laughed.

"He Gong, do you want me to help Prince Changguang fight against the court?"

"Prince Changguang killed my brother-in-law."

"Your Majesty personally issued an order to pardon the crimes of his family and promoted me to an official position."

"You want me to disobey him?"

He Shikai smiled and nodded, "Yes."

"Why??"

"Since you are so frank with me, I will be frank as well."

"What's the point of having your brother-in-law die? What's the point of being pardoned and promoted? What's the point of marrying a noble's sister? What's the point of being promoted to an official?"

"You are not worried about giving land according to your official rank, but what about your people? Without official rank, can they support themselves with only 80 acres of rotten land?"

“If you are deposed in the future, what will be left?”

"The accumulation of several generations of your ancestors was taken away with just one sentence. My king only killed your brother-in-law, but the court wants to kill your entire family."

"You are a smart person, you will naturally come to help."

"Otherwise, why did you come to greet me in person just now? Are you so magnanimous? Can you greet your enemy with a smile?"

Listening to He Shikai's words, Guo Yuanzhen gently stroked his beard and squinted his eyes. "To be honest, not everything King Pengcheng did was right. He took back the farmland during the spring plowing season, and the local farming was in chaos and disorder. No one was farming, and sooner or later it would cause a disaster."

He Shikai nodded, "That's the truth!"

"He thought he was doing a good thing, but he didn't know how many people would be killed!"

"Think about it. In the past, many people only needed to farm to get enough food to live without worrying about taxes and corvée. But now, they have to farm by themselves. After paying the grain tribute, they also have to pay oral calculation, labor service fee, and other gifts. After paying all these, how much food will be left? Maybe they even owe the government a lot!"

"If he continues like this, tens of millions of people will starve to death next year!!"

Guo Yuanzhen nodded, "That makes sense."

He raised the wine in his hand and gestured to He Shikai, "I am doing this not for anything else, but just for the people of the world."

"For the sake of the people of the world! Let's eat one!!"

The two of them were drunk and alone.

The next day, led by the deputy general sent by Hulu Xian, He Shikai left here in a mighty manner and headed for Wuchuan.

Like Liu Taozi, Huluxian, in addition to being a governor, also held a military position, the General of Zhenxi, which was just a head higher than Liu Taozi. Although this general was only a minor general, he was in charge of the personal guard camp and was a fierce general who had followed Huluxian for many years.

This person has a similar personality to Huluxian, and is quite reckless.

He Shikai treated him with great courtesy and gave him various gifts, which made this rough man very happy.

Not long after they left the city, they saw a group of knights driving a large group of people, several hundred in number, crying and walking towards the city.

Those who were escorted here were carrying packages and were in disarray. They included men, women, young and old.

He Shikai asked curiously: "General, who are these people?"

The deputy general scratched his head and said, "It seems that they caught a dead person."

"Dead people? There are dead people carrying packages?"

"Oh, he escaped from Shuozhou and went to Beishuo."

"Ah?? Go to Beishuo?"

He Shikai was even more surprised. "But I heard that Beishuo is desolate, with no arable land and even no big cities. How could they run there?"

The general's face immediately turned red. He cursed: "These fools don't know what's good for them! They heard some lies and believed them! They fled with their families!"

"We have our own system in Da Qi. We need a reason even if we want to go to another county. How can we let them go to another state like this?!"

He Shikai glanced at him and said with a smile: "I see, it seems that General Liu is not only good at fighting, but also good at administration. No wonder people flock to him. General Hulu is not good at this."

"What did you say?!"

The deputy general was furious.

He Shikai was stunned and quickly explained: "General Hulu is better at fighting."

"You are clearly saying that my general is a tyrant! That's why the people are fleeing!"

"That Liu Taozi is always good at pretending to be a good person!!"

"Back then, my general's brother conquered Jinhe and seized the Zhou people's mines. Several of my general's clansmen governed there. They were not good people and did many evil things. But even so, Liu Taozi arrested them and sent them to the general for punishment. But do you know what he did?"

"He killed himself!!"

"You really don't give the general any face at all!"

"Every time my general talks about this, he gets very unhappy!"

(End of this chapter)