Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 209 Evil Man
"King Changguang has taken all of us hostage. This man is moody, fickle, tyrannical and ungrateful."

"If we don't take him back soon, there will be disaster."

Inside the house, Tian Zilie sat beside Liu Taozi with a worried look on his face. Originally, they had agreed with Lu Qubing that when the weather got a little warmer, they would send all the close relatives in the village to Wuchuan.

Unexpectedly, things progressed faster than anyone had expected. Gao Zhan escaped successfully, and Cheng An was just outside Yecheng. It only took Gao Zhan's cavalry three hours to get there.

Yao Xiong walked into the house quickly, closed the door hastily, and came in front of the two people. He sneered and said, "That guy was so scared that he peed himself. He really has no courage. What a coward!"

"I was put in another courtyard."

"Brother, my sister, brother-in-law, and several nephews are all in Cheng'an."

Yao Xiong paused, "They are all good people who have never done anything bad. Even my brother-in-law, although he never treated me badly in the past, never gave me less food."

"Brother, please give me a cavalry, and I will go and rescue everyone in Cheng'an."

Tian Zili rejected his proposal immediately. "Yecheng is the base camp of Prince Changguang. Although he is a man of no virtue, the soldiers under his command are all elite. Besides, how can those people follow you on horseback? It is impossible."

Yao Xiong asked again: "Then why don't we just kidnap He Shikai and use him to threaten Gao Zhan? Isn't it said that Gao Zhan loves He Shikai very much? Use him as a trade!"

Tian Zili shook his head again. "I said the same thing. Gao Zhan is moody. No matter how much he loves He Shikai, He Shikai is just a servant of his. Besides, if brother does this, Gao Zhan will know that these are indeed brother's handles."

"Then what shall we do?"

Yao Xiong's face was filled with frustration. He said with some annoyance, "I shouldn't have listened to Lu Gong in the first place. I should have taken them all away."

Tian Zili let out a long sigh.

"How can you blame Lu Gong for this?"

"It was originally a safe thing to do, but Your Majesty insisted on killing the King of Jinan. I really don't understand why the King of Jinan, who has no power, no relatives, and is indifferent to the aggressive Gao Zhan, was sent to brutally kill the King of Jinan?"

Yao Xiong and Tian Zili were both a little impatient and worried at this moment.

"Don't worry about it."

Liu Taozi said calmly: "As long as I am alive, Gao Zhan will not dare to touch these people."

"He sent He Shikai to talk to me because he was afraid that I would surrender to the Pseudo-Zhou. We are blocking the way here. If I surrender to the Pseudo-Zhou, then he can forget about being the emperor and will have to think about how not to be a prisoner."

Tian Zili added: "That is true, but they are in Gao Zhan's hands, so we have to be controlled by him."

Liu Taozi narrowed her eyes.

“Where is Zheng Daoqian?”

"who??"

"The witch from Yecheng."

Two soldiers roughly broke open the door, and He Shikai was so scared that he hid in the corner. There was only a bed in the room, and there was really no place to hide.

He Shikai looked at them in horror and shouted, "Everyone! Everyone!! Don't do anything!"

The fierce soldier ignored his words, walked up to him, grabbed his shoulders, and forced him out. He Shikai almost cried again.

If he had known this would happen, he would never have come to the border.

This guy is simply a lunatic. Your own king is about to ascend the throne, and you still dare to arrest me? ?

Could it be that this guy is really going to surrender to the fake Zhou?

He Shikai was extremely scared.

The soldiers dragged him all the way to the rear of the government office, where there were even more soldiers stationed in various places.

When they arrived at a long row of houses, a soldier opened the lock and the two men pushed the soldier inside.

There are no windows in the house, so it is pitch black even during the day.

There were auxiliary soldiers holding torches and walking back and forth.

The torches illuminated the surroundings. There were wooden fences on both sides. Inside the fences, one could see a person, either lying or sitting, staring at them.

He Shikai became more and more frightened and struggled desperately, "You can't put me in jail! I came here on the king's order! I came here on the king's order!!"

The soldier didn't care about that. Someone opened the door and the soldier threw him in.

He Shikai fell to the ground, grimacing in pain.

The soldier locked the door and turned away.

He Shikai rushed to the gate and looked at the soldier walking away in despair, "I have something to see General Anxi!!"

The soldiers had already gone far away, and the stench of decay wafted from all around. He Shikai could not help but shout again: "Someone come! Someone come!"

"Why is it so noisy?!"

A voice came from the side, and He Shikai looked over there angrily, and saw a few skinny men sitting not far away, staring at him viciously.

He Shikai shouted, "I am a military officer under the command of Prince Changguang! If you want to live, don't mess with me!"

Hearing this, the men stood up with a fierce smile, "How dare you act so arrogantly even though you're locked up here?!"

"Tell this Yecheng bastard our rules!"

A moment later, screams were heard from the prison.

Life in prison was very regular. The soldiers delivered meals once a day, but He Shikai could not eat them. His cellmates snatched his meals away. He told the soldiers about this, but the soldiers ignored them. However, his cellmates would not let him go.

Shuozhou, the governor's office.

Inside the house, Huluxian sat in the upper seat, holding a lamb leg in his hand. He tore off a large piece of meat in one bite, then chewed it hard, bit it into pieces and swallowed it.

The deputy general stood aside respectfully, watching the general eat.

"Caught?"

"Yes, I don't know where I am imprisoned. Anyway, I can't find it."

"Why were you arrested?"

"I don't know. After we had just said a few words, He Shikai said he wanted to talk alone, so I was kicked out."

Huluxian raised his head and glanced at him, "Did they ever make things difficult for you?"

"No, I didn't dare to contradict Liu Taozi. That was his territory. Besides, he was a ruthless person who could break into Yubi City. I was afraid of being at a disadvantage and losing face as a general."

Huluxian laughed, "You are always good at making excuses for yourself. Well, sit down and eat together."

"Thank you, General!"

The deputy general hurriedly sat down next to Huluxian, and without hesitation, he reached out to take it. Huluxian asked again: "How do you feel about going to Beishuo this time?"

"The whole of Beishuo is under the control of Liu Taozi. Even if the emperor comes, I'm afraid he won't be able to mobilize them."

Huluxian rubbed his forehead and sighed, "This should have been a great opportunity for us to join forces and deal with the Pseudo-Zhou. Why can't there be peace in this temple?"

"General. Are we not going to care about what happened to Shi Kai?"

Huluxian narrowed his eyes, "How can I just ignore it?"

"My appointment as the governor of Shuozhou has already undermined the system. Your Majesty is doing this to force me to join forces with Liu Taozi and Bao Xian to deal with Yang Zhong."

"Yang Zhong is a swift and decisive commander of the army. Our scouts discovered that he was heading for Guizhen, so he must have already reached Guizhen."

"Scouts discovered that he was returning to the true self, so he must have been outside the city preparing to launch an attack."

"This guy is not easy to deal with. My brother can't leave, so it's just the three of us who have to resist him."

"I am now in Shuo, commanding a large army, and I am also married to Liu Taozi. If I get too close to him, I will definitely be replaced. Who will be able to take over from me to resist Yang Zhong?"

"My elder brother is not able to succeed. King Pingyuan wants to stay in Jinyang. Lou Rui is unwilling to leave the Queen Mother. Li Di has returned to Luoyang. Heba Ren and many other generals are at odds with Liu Taozi."

"If the court issues a random order to transfer me now, then Yang Zhong will really attack with all his strength. Yang Zhong is a famous general who has fought for many years and has elite soldiers and generals under his command. Can Liu Taozi withstand him by himself?"

The deputy general nodded and asked, "General, when will Yang Zhong come?"

"Oh, the situation in the court is chaotic right now, and the envoys of Prince Changguang have all come to Wuchuan. Yang Zhong will definitely not attack."

"If he attacks at this time, it will help us and allow us to stabilize the situation."

“He will definitely choose the best time”

Huluxian waved his hand and said, "Let's put Yang Zhong aside for now and think about He Shikai's matter."

"How about this, go and call Guo Changshi over."

“But I haven’t finished eating yet.”

“Take it on the way!”

Wuchuan.

In the dark and dirty prison, He Shikai curled up in a corner, crying silently. He didn't dare to cry loudly, because every time he cried, he would be beaten and humiliated by the prisoners.

He Shikai had never suffered such hardship in his life.

He always thought that he was a person who could endure hardships and could ride a horse from Sizhou to Shuozhou. But when he arrived here, he knew what real hardship was.

He hadn't eaten for many days, and every time he could only pick up some rotten vegetable leaves that others didn't want to eat. The vicious criminals kept beating and humiliating him. In this environment, He Shikai even felt that it would be better to die, at least he would not have to suffer like this again.

At this time, a soldier opened the door and saw two people walking quickly in front of He Shikai.

He Shikai had dishevelled hair and a dirty face. He raised his head and looked at them with a dull look in his eyes.

Two soldiers pulled him and walked out of here quickly.

But they did not take He Shikai away from here, but continued to walk him inside. After walking a few steps, they stopped. The soldier opened the door and threw him in again.

"I've moved you to a new cell. Don't yell anymore!"

The soldier said, and looked forward again, "This gentleman is a big shot from Yecheng, don't bully him!"

He Shikai always felt that this sentence contained great malice.

Is this a hint for them to continue to beat themselves up???

Did the original group of people get too lazy to beat me up anymore, so they just replaced them with a new group of people? ?
After the soldiers left, the prisoners came up with grim smiles. Just as He Shikai closed his eyes in despair, someone suddenly came out from them and said, "Don't fight! Don't do it!"

As soon as this man opened his mouth, the prisoners around him stopped immediately, as if they listened to him very much, and sat back in their seats.

Then someone groped his way to He Shikai's side, "Mr. He? Is that you? Is it really you?"

With the help of the weak firelight outside, He Shikai stared at the dishevelled and dirty man in front of him, but he could not recognize him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Zheng Daoqian!"

"He Gong! The great wizard of Ye City!"

He Shikai recognized him immediately, "Mr. Zheng!"

"He Gong!"

Meeting an old friend in prison, He Shikai felt unspeakably aggrieved. The two hugged each other and cried bitterly.

The two cried for a long time before they separated. Zheng Daoqian wiped his tears and said, "He Gong, why are you here?"

When asked about this, He Shikai had a lot to say.

"After the king was captured, I followed the imperial order and came here. Unexpectedly, the general misunderstood me and put me in jail. These days, I have been..."

Thinking of the grievances he had suffered in the past few days, He Shikai started crying again.

"He Gong has been wronged, wronged!"

Zheng Daoqian hurried to comfort him, and He Shikai raised his head and looked at Zheng Daoqian, "Why are you here?"

Zheng Daoqian smiled bitterly, "I'm not good at my craft."

"Oh?"

"At the beginning, I calculated a big event for King Changguang and told the king to just wait patiently. But in the end, something like that happened to the king."

Zheng Daoqian had a look of despair on his face. "I felt that I had let the king down, so I left Yecheng and wanted to continue studying and improving myself. Then I heard that people in the border areas were good at fortune-telling and there were many experts, so I came here to seek a teacher and visit friends."

"Who would have thought that just because I helped the locals exorcise ghosts, I was regarded as rebelling against the general and was arrested. This stage lasted for a long time!"

"Exorcism??"

He Shikai looked confused. Zheng Daoqian looked around and whispered, "The general sent people to kill those wealthy families. They regarded Cheng'an Li as ghost messengers and wanted me to perform a ritual to beg these ghost messengers not to come near."

He Shikai understood immediately.

This is not surprising in Da Qi, where witchcraft is prevalent.

Zheng Daoqian cried, "I have been here for a long time and have suffered all kinds of torture. They want me to pay 20,000 yuan to atone for my crime, but they won't let me go out. How can I raise money for them?"

He Shikai looked at him and felt as if he saw himself. They were two brothers in distress. As they confided in each other, their relationship became much closer.

He Shikai looked at him and said helplessly: "The king is indeed very angry with you. After he got out, he sent people to look for you. But don't worry, if I can get out alive, I will definitely tell the king and ask him to pardon your crime. The most important thing now is to see the general and get out. Do you have any ideas?"

After saying that, He Shikai secretly glanced at Zheng Daoqian.

Zheng Daoqian suddenly asked: "The king came out?"

“When did it come out?”

He Shikai's brows relaxed immediately, and he quickly told Zheng Daoqian the whole cause and effect.

Zheng Daoqian said excitedly: "It seems that my divination was not wrong. As long as we wait patiently, everything will turn out well!"

He Shikai was stunned, "That's not bad, but how do we get out now?"

Zheng Daoqian smiled bitterly, "If I could get out, why would I stay here for so long? I have no choice."

"You are the best at divination, and your reputation is known throughout the Central Plains. Why don't you tell me the fortune?"

"You don't know, this divination and observation of qi can only be used on others, but not on yourself."

"Then you come and tell fortunes for me!"

Zheng Daoqian took a deep breath, agreed, hurriedly prepared some stones, looked at He Shikai's face again, and muttered like this for a long time.

"He Gong! Good luck!"

Zheng Daoqian smiled and said, "You will no longer have to suffer soon!"

He Shikai was stunned. He Shikai was not a traditional Hu person. His family had served as officials in the Central Plains for several generations, and even had a Shangshu Ling. He was highly sinicized. He did not completely believe in things like witchcraft, but he still respected those who were good at witchcraft. He smiled bitterly and said, "Duke Zheng, I know you are smart. Why don't you give me some advice instead of comforting me?"

Zheng Daoqian whispered, "Why do you think Dugu Qi wanted to arrest you?"

He Shikai replied: "Because the king has held his people hostage. He wants to use me to threaten the king."

"No, Qi Haizhen is a man of unpredictable moods, tyrannical and cruel. How can he care about his people? With all the things he has done, haven't his people been badly hurt by him?"

"He was angry because He Gong threatened him in person. Although he didn't say anything, he was very irritable and couldn't stand being wronged or bullied."

He Shikai pondered for a moment, "That makes some sense, so what do you think will happen to him?"

"I think he might use you to threaten the king, but he won't exchange you for his clansmen or friends, not even his grandfather!"

"He will use you to blackmail the king and ask the king to give him money and rewards, just to vent his anger and take revenge."

He Shikai was a little confused. "Extorting money and food? He really doesn't even care about his grandfather?"

Zheng Daoqian whispered, "After I came to the border, I heard a lot of things. I heard that when Your Majesty first came here, he called Liu Taozi the general, and the general was furious. He said to the emperor: How can a general use the surname of an old man? Please give me a name, Your Majesty."

"The emperor called him Dugu and named him Qiehaizhen, and he gave up."

He Shikai was stunned.

He had always thought of himself as a bad guy, but now he knew what a real bad guy was.

Don't use the surname of Lao Cangtou? ? How can a man who is a son say this? ?

This Liu Taozi is a fucking beast!
How pitiful Liu Taozhi was, she actually gave birth to such a beast!
Thinking that he had provoked such a thing, He Shikai became even more desperate, "What should I do?"

Zheng Daoqian said, "Don't worry. I think he will let you go after he gets the money and food and takes something from you."

He Shikai was even more frightened, and he almost cried, "Duke Zheng, please think of a way to get rid of this disaster for me! If you can save me, I will definitely repay you!!"

Zheng Daoqian pondered for a long time before saying, "Then there is only one way. Promise him a high position and generous salary, and promise to compensate him after returning to Yecheng."

"For a man like Qi Haizhen, we can only use gentle means, and never use force. He is now loyal to Your Majesty, isn't it because Your Majesty has given him a great reward? He is a person who only cares about tangible rewards. In fact, it is not difficult to subdue him."

"Now, he just feels that his face has been damaged. As long as he feels that he has saved his face, he will naturally not make things difficult for He Gongke. I don't know the specific approach."

He Shikai was rubbing his hands at this moment, his eyes moving very fast, "How can he believe this? No, no, I have to find a way."

Zheng Daoqian pleaded: "He Gong! If you get out, please help me and take me out with you!! I will never forget your kindness."

He Shikai held his hand and said, "Don't worry, I am good at judging people, which is what I lack. If I can get out, you will stay by my side from now on!"

He Shikai raised his head, his eyes sparkling.

"When your majesty ascends the throne, I will be his chief minister in charge of governing the world!"

"Of course, I need some capable people to assist me! If you succeed, I will let you lead Zhaoxuan Temple! Manage the world's religious affairs!!"

"Thank you, Kazuo!!"

ps: Happy National Day!!
I plan to go to Beijing during the National Day holiday, so I will write one less chapter. Don't worry, I will be back in half a day and will not delay the update on the 2nd.

(End of this chapter)