Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 212: Talented and Villainous
Gao Zhan led the elite soldiers into the house.

Walking in, he lowered his head and looked at the corpses on the ground, then raised his head and looked at Gao Yu, "Brother, it seems that you have offended a lot of people."

"Those who wanted to murder you dared to do it in front of my eyes."

"Uncle Nine?!"

Gao Yanzong put away his knife with some surprise and walked quickly to Gao Zhan's side. Gao Zhan subconsciously took a few steps back and the soldiers surrounded him.

Gao Yanzong didn't realize this. He said angrily, "Uncle Nine!! Someone actually wants to murder Uncle Five!!"

"If I hadn't been here, I'm afraid Uncle Wu would have been killed."

Gao Zhan looked at the murderous little fat boy in front of him with childish eyes and chuckled. He pushed aside the soldiers on both sides and walked to his side. "Yes, I used to think you were naughty and useless, but I didn't expect that you have made some progress."

He took off his sword and threw it to him.

"Take it, it's your reward."

Gao Yanzong was overjoyed and bowed again hurriedly, "Thank you, uncle!"

Compared to the cold and icy Gao Yun, Gao Zhan is closer to the royal family members, and everyone is more willing to interact with him.

At this moment, Gao Yu slowly walked forward and looked at Gao Zhan face to face.

Seeing Gao Yun approaching, the soldiers on Gao Zhan's left and right showed some hesitation in their eyes and lowered the bows and crossbows in their hands slightly.

Gao Zhan frowned and looked at his brother without saying a word for a long time.

Just as he was clenching his fists, there was another noise outside, "What happened?!"

Then someone shouted, and soon a general led his troops, pushed aside the soldiers in front of him and came here.

The person who came was Lou Rui.

Lou Rui looked at the corpse on the ground, and looked at Gao Yu and Gao Zhan in astonishment, "My King, what happened?"

Gao Zhan let go of his hand and pointed at the body on the ground. "Someone wanted to murder King Pengcheng, but luckily King Ande came with him and protected him."

Lou Rui then noticed the fat boy standing next to him. He reached out and rubbed his head. "It's you. How come you've grown so much taller?"

"Uncle!"

Gao Yanzong saluted him.

Lou Rui looked at the corpses on the ground, then looked at Gao Zhan again, "What should we do?"

Gao Zhan laughed and said, "Take King Pengcheng and have some rest. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."

Lou Rui was about to take Gao Yu away, but Gao Yu said, "No need. I still have something to discuss with Prince Changguang. Prince Dong'an, please take Yanzong to rest."

Lou Rui didn't say anything, but looked at Gao Zhan. Gao Zhan nodded, and Lou Rui led Gao Yanzong away from here. The soldiers carried the corpses away one by one. Gao Zhan asked the soldiers to guard outside, and only the two brothers were left in the house.

Gao Yu watched everyone leave before asking, "What do you think is wrong with the equal distribution of land order?"

Gao Zhan was stunned, "What?"

"The farmland, the people, the mines, the pastures, are almost all in the hands of the great families and the nobles."

"If the government can't collect taxes, it has to be shared by the farmers."

"There are fewer and fewer farmers, and taxes are getting lower every year. When the wasteland can be cultivated, no one knows who it belongs to."

"Only by forcibly reclaiming the arable land and distributing it to the people can we ensure the normal operation of the temple. Otherwise, Da Qi will occupy the richest land but become the poorest among the three kingdoms."

Gao Yin carefully analyzed the current situation.

Gao Zhan nodded, "I know all this. I used to..."

"No, you don't."

Gao Yu interrupted his brother without hesitation and asked, "Do you know how much the tax revenue was in the first year of Huangjian? Do you know the comparison of the tax revenue in previous years?"

"Do you know how the tax revenue of Pseudo-Zhou is this year?"

"Do you know how many people there are in Da Qi in name? How many of them actually exist? What are the standards for collecting taxes? How many people can actually pay taxes?"

"Do you know how much food the border areas consume each year? Do you know that Da Qi can no longer afford to supply the border areas with military rations?"

Gao Yu's speech speed became faster and faster. He said sternly: "At present, the tax revenue is insufficient. In order to maintain the army, we have to share the tax with the farmers. The farmers go bankrupt and become tenants. The tax collection becomes lower. The army has no food, so we allow them to rob themselves. As a result, more people go bankrupt. This cycle continues, and each year is worse than the previous one, and each day is worse than the previous one! Disasters cannot be relieved, and they are just treated as nothing. When the people cannot pay the taxes, we send the army to massacre villages and towns, and confiscate homes and exterminate families."

Gao Yu became more and more excited as he spoke. Suddenly, some fatigue appeared on his face and he closed his mouth helplessly.

Gao Zhan was still a little surprised at this moment. He had a general idea of ​​what Gao Yun said, but he had never really read it carefully.

The situation can't be that bad, right?
Gao Yu said quietly, "Old Nine, even Liu Taozi can see the truth behind this, why can't you see through it?"

Gao Zhan suddenly felt a little angry.

Recently, he got angry when he heard this name, but before he could get angry, Gao Yu said, "When I left Jinyang, His Majesty asked me who would inherit the throne between you and the crown prince."

Gao Zhan's anger disappeared completely, and he looked at him eagerly, "What did you say, brother?"

"I said that if you inherit the throne, it will be more beneficial to the world."

Gao Zhan was stunned.

He was dazed for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses and angrily asked, "Brother!! How could you take such a big risk for me?"

"If His Majesty harms you because of me, how can I live with dignity?"

"Brother, do you really not care about your own safety?"

At this moment, Gao Yun was stunned, as if he had come to an unfamiliar track.

Gao Zhan took the initiative to step forward, grabbed his hand, and angrily scolded him: "Brother, please don't do such worrying things again in the future!"

Gao Yu didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Gao Zhan hurriedly asked someone to bring wine and food to calm his beloved brother. He ignored Gao Yin's objections and forced Gao Yin to sit in the upper seat, while he sat close to him and poured wine for him.

"Brother, remember when you were young, you always studied with those great scholars. One time, a doctor punished you, and I washed him with a chicken egg!!"

Gao Zhan smiled and talked about his childhood.

Gao Yu sat in the upper seat, with some memories in his eyes, "Yes, I remember that my elder brother beat you up so badly that you couldn't get out of bed for several days."

"Hahaha, yes, that doctor was specially invited by my eldest brother, but after what I did to him, he insisted on leaving. I hid under my second brother's bed, but was pulled out by my eldest brother and beaten up badly."

Gao Yu nodded, chuckled and said, "I remember that you were just like Yanzong at that time, very naughty."

"Hey, Fifth Brother, what you said is wrong. Yanzong is not as good-looking as me, but Second Brother looks like him."

"Haha, you bastard."

The two brothers were chatting intimately. Half an hour ago, it was these two brothers who attempted to murder them, and now it was still these two brothers who were so close. The desire for power turned brothers into enemies, and turned enemies into brothers.

Gao Zhan was drinking and suddenly asked, "Brother, are you still acquainted with Liu Taozi?"

Gao Yu put down the wine cup in his hand and said seriously, "We have never met before."

He added, "Some time ago, Gao Yanzong came to me and said that he would protect me as I went to Yecheng. He kept mentioning Liu Taozi."

"And just now, many of the people who protected me spoke with Cheng'an accents."

Gao Zhan frowned.

Gao Yu continued, "I thought he was an ambitious man and should not be trusted. Now it seems that I was wrong."

"Oh?"

"Why do you say that, brother?"

"At first, His Majesty wanted him to be promoted to General of the Western Expedition, hold envoys, serve as Governor of Shuozhou, and command the military affairs of the six states of Shuo, Heng, and Yan."

Gao Zhan was immediately startled, "What?"

Gao Yu added: "It was my advice that made His Majesty change his mind and re-establish Beishuo and Beiheng, without giving him the post of governor and envoy. It was also my request that Hulu Xian and Bao Xian be assigned to his side, so that the three of them could defend together and oppose each other."

Gao Zhan wiped the sweat from his forehead, luckily it didn't work.

He had caused so much trouble with those two ruined states. If he really became the governor of six states, what would happen? ?

Gao Yu said: "He must have known all these things, but this time, he still sent someone to rescue me."

Gao Zhan felt a little uncomfortable when talking about this matter, but fortunately Gao Yun had no intention of delving into it further.

Gao Yu said: "If he really wants to rebel, then there is no need to save me."

"If the land distribution fails, the government will be in chaos and no one can control it. This is a good thing for ambitious people." Gao Zhan glanced at Gao Yun and said nothing.

“He is truly a man who is devoted to his country.”

Gao Zhan disagreed a little bit, he asked: "Brother, he is far away in the frontier, how can he know the things here so well? Maybe this is his strategy? He deliberately wants you to think this way."

Gao Yu looked at him, "Why would he do this?"

Gao Zhan could only answer vaguely and nodded, "Well, maybe so."

Gao Zhan was really reluctant to talk too much about the assassination. Gao Yu said, "This man is not an ambitious person. What he wants is stability in the court and peace in the world. If that's the case, there's no need to force him too much."

"You have to let go of your prejudices and past grudges. If you want to govern the world, don't you rely on people like this? You have to make use of him."

Gao Zhan did not refute, but just nodded, "Brother, what you said makes sense."

He doesn't care much whether what the other person says makes sense or not, but he cares a lot about where the other person stands. If he stands on his side, then what he says probably makes some sense.

The two brothers then discussed the affairs of Yecheng.

When faced with his brother's concerns about the equal distribution of land in Yecheng, Gao Zhan immediately patted his chest.

"Brother, when you go to check the local situation tomorrow, I will send a cavalry to accompany you. You will make all the decisions on matters inside and outside Yecheng. If anyone disobeys, I will intervene."

After Gao Yin expressed his stance, things suddenly became clear.

Gao Zhan stayed directly at Gao Yin's house that night, saying it was to protect his safety.

The next day, Gao Yu, accompanied by Gao Zhan's confidants, began to inspect the local areas and implement the new policies. The officials who had previously thought of various ways to delay, neglect, and refuse to obey were now quite cooperative, running around Gao Yu with smiles on their faces.

Before Gao Yu arrived, the equal distribution of land in Yecheng was progressing at the slowest pace.

Officials have been using various excuses to shirk responsibility, and there are three main ones.

There is a shortage of manpower, people resist, and there is confusion about ownership.

But after the masked knights began to wander around Gao Yu, the officials suddenly became diligent and had sufficient manpower. The nobles lined the streets to welcome them and no longer resisted. The affiliation was also clear and obvious.

A few days passed like this.

When Gao Zhan came to inquire about the situation, Gao Yu was still setting up camp outside the city, lighting lanterns, and checking the land documents.

"Brother, how is it?"

"You haven't had any trouble?"

Gao Zhan sat beside his brother with a smug look on his face and blinked. Gao Yu stroked his short beard and said, "You have sent out all the guards. What trouble can there be?"

Gao Zhan laughed loudly, looking at the pile of memorials in front of Gao Yu, and couldn't help but say: "Brother, you have too many things to do, but too few people can help you. I can send a few good people to serve you."

"There is no one under your command who can do anything."

Gao Yu answered seriously.

Gao Zhan's smile froze, but he nodded, "Of course I can't judge people as well as my brother."

Gao Yu didn't care whether his brother felt comfortable or not. He said, "There is someone I want to recommend to you."

"Brother, please tell me, who is it?"

"This man is from a prominent family, the descendant of a famous minister. He became famous at a young age, and is a man of both literary and military skills, with extraordinary talent and learning. However, Lord Yang was close to him and had promoted him to replace other ministers. Therefore, after Lord Yang fell into trouble, this man was implicated and was unable to take up his post. He is now serving as a writer."

"Not long ago, he wrote to Your Majesty, telling You Majesty the bad politics in the country and refutation of Your Majesty's policies for the past year. Your Majesty was furious, and although he did not punish him, he stopped being close to him and told him to stay in Yecheng and not return to Jinyang."

"I think you don't have many capable people around you, maybe you can promote one, but this person's mind is not very upright, he is selfish, if you can use him well, there is no one more wise than him, if you can't use him well, there is no one more evil than him."

Gao Zhan interrupted Gao Yu before he finished listening, "Brother, which talented person are you talking about?"

Inside the palace.

The luxurious Changguang Palace was brightly lit, and the dancers were dancing to their heart's content. Gao Zhan was shirtless, and there were men and women on both sides. He hugged them and drank with them one by one. He exuded a strong smell of alcohol and his eyes were dazed.

There were two beauties, holding a painting, each holding one side of the painting, standing in front of Gao Zhan. Gao Zhan looked at the picture of a flying dragon soaring into the sky and couldn't help laughing.

He leaned his head out and looked at the scribe who was kneeling not far away.

The scholar was much older than Gao Zhan, and was plain-looking and ordinary, with nothing special about him.

Gao Zhan looked at him, "Zu Ting?"

"Why do I seem to have seen you before?"

"Your Majesty, in the first year of Tianbao, I was summoned to accompany you to Jinyang to pay homage. I have met Your Majesty at the Jinyang Palace!"

"Nonsense!"

Gao Zhan said unhappily, "In the first year of Tianbao, I was only thirteen years old, standing among the clan members, nothing special about me. How dare you say you have seen me?"

"The king was wearing the royal crown, carrying a ceremonial sword with a black scabbard, and standing second on the left side of the Dragon Steps!"

"Although standing among the royal family, the king is full of vigor and spirit, with a majestic demeanor, magnificent appearance and noble demeanor!"

"Although he was young, his clothes were neat and dignified, and his expression was calm and profound. No other member of the royal family could compare to him! That's why I still remember him clearly!"

Zu Ting blurted out without any hesitation. Gao Zhan's close associates were all stunned at this moment, staring at him in astonishment with their eyes wide open.

Gao Zhan pursed his lips and looked at the painting again, "What does this painting of yours mean?"

"I am good at using walnut oil and I am also familiar with the art of divination. I once dreamed that the king rode a dragon to the sky, so I made this painting to present to the king!!"

The confidants remained in shock and dared not speak.

Gao Zhan was very happy. He asked someone to put away the painting and said, "Come, sit down!"

Zu Ting sat aside, and Gao Zhan asked someone to pour him some wine.

He then asked, "What are your hobbies?"

"My king! I don't have much to like, I just like playing with beautiful women."

Gao Zhan's eyes lit up, "Then can you play with the spear?"

"My Lord, I have been playing this game since I was a kid and I have never lost."

"Hahaha, what else can you play?"

"I was too bored in the past, so I created many ways to play, many games. I used to call famous scholars from all over the country to come to my house to play. Sometimes, I would call hundreds of beauties to play with me, and I would not feel bored."

This time, Gao Zhan was stunned.

He thought about the scene and said, "You know how to play it. Hundreds of people? How do you play it?"

"It's just some Chupu gambling game. If you lose, you have to take off your clothes."

Gao Zhan hurriedly said, "Come, sit next to me, and let's drink together."

Zu Ting stood up and moved closer. Gao Zhan asked again, "Can you sing or play?"

Zu Ting looked at Gao Zhan's face and said with a smile: "I liked it very much when I was young. Later, I felt that the songs were not good, so I wrote a lot of poems to sing. Later, I felt that the music was not good, so I wrote a lot of music. I am best at pipa, and there are many other instruments that I can play."

"oops!!"

Gao Zhan grabbed his hand fiercely, "Why did I meet you just now?"

"From now on, you stay by my side. If I can accomplish great things, I will definitely promote you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

In order to verify whether what the other party said was true, Gao Zhan asked someone to bring a pipa and asked Zu Ting to play it. Zu Ting did not say much, immediately let his hair down, and began to play, singing as he played. The music and poems were things Gao Zhan had never heard before. Zu Ting's playing skills were extremely high. The original musicians, looking at his hard work, all looked ashamed.

Gao Zhan was extremely happy that day, and the banquet lasted for two consecutive days.

Zu Ting performed various unique skills for him. Gao Zhan, who was sitting in the upper seat, suddenly said that he wanted to hear a song expressing his lofty ambitions. Zu Ting prepared poems and music for him and performed impromptu performances in a short time. His talent was so high that Gao Zhan's confidants could not sit still.

After his performance, Gao Zhan asked his old confidants to perform, but they could only stand there in amazement, not knowing what to do.

He Gong!!!

Please come back soon!!!
Something big happened!!!

ps: Ting was good at painting with walnut oil, so he presented it to Prince Changguang, who said: Your Highness has extraordinary bone skills, and Xiaozheng dreamed that Your Highness rode a dragon to heaven. ——"Book of Northern Qi·Biography of Zu Ting"

He also learned to play the pipa and could compose new songs. He invited young people in the city to sing and dance for entertainment and visited various singing houses. He and Chen Yuankang, Mu Zirong, Ren Zhou, Yuan Shiliang and others were involved in singing and dancing. They often stayed at Ting's place. He brought over a hundred pieces of Shandong Dawen silk and linked pearl peacock silk, and asked the old women to gamble with Chupu for fun. ——"Book of Northern Qi·Biography of Zu Ting"

(End of this chapter)