Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 215 Murder of Liu Taozi

Yecheng.

The sky was covered with dark clouds.

The whole city was terrifyingly cold, as if it was covered by a dark filter.

A long staircase led to the hall in the distance. Gao Zhan, wearing a crown and robes, looked dignified and dignified. He strode forward with unparalleled momentum, much more domineering than Gao Yan.

Zu Ting followed him in a panic, having to jog to catch up with him. He held many documents in his hands and lowered his head to report.

"Xu Zhicai sent someone to deliver the prescription. He also said that Your Majesty should drink less alcohol in the future."

Gao Zhan continued forward and said disdainfully: "Healing is his job. What does it have to do with me drinking?"

"Besides, his medicine is quite effective. After I took it, I recovered immediately. Just prepare more medicine and take it regularly!"

"Have you asked someone to look at the prescription? Is there anything wrong?"

"Your Majesty, there is no need to invite outsiders. I know a little bit about medicine. I have examined it myself. They are all tranquilizing medicines. Although they are not harmful, they are not a fundamental solution. They are just suppressive."

"That's enough! Then you can take charge of this matter!"

"only!!"

Zu Ting took out another document and said, "Your Majesty, I have prepared the sacrifice for the King of Jinan. The royal family has many sympathies for the King of Jinan. Please bury him with great ceremony and have someone discuss a good posthumous title for him."

"Do you understand the Five Elements Feng Shui?"

"I understand a little bit."

"Then you should find a better place to bury him yourself."

"only."

"Your Majesty must also give some words of comfort to Empress Wenxuan and let the royal family know that you are different from the late emperor."

Gao Zhan then stopped. Zu Ting nearly bumped into him. He hurriedly stopped, staggering and making strange noises.

Gao Zhan glared at him unhappily, "What are your eyes for?"

Zu Ting lowered his head and quickly apologized.

Gao Zhan looked into the distance and pondered for a moment. "However, what you said makes sense. The burial matter will be decided by you."

"The Queen Wenxuan lives in the Wenxuan Palace?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'll go and comfort you."

Gao Zhan changed direction, and Zu Ting still followed behind him, telling him about important matters in other places. After Gao Zhan ascended the throne, he immediately promoted Zu Ting, the writer, to the position of Zhongshu Shilang, and had him follow him around, play with him, and give him advice.

The two of them climbed up the high steps, walked through many corridors and outer halls, and came to the position of Empress Wenxuan. After the female official reported, Gao Zhan took Zu Ting into the hall. Gao Zhan asked Zu Ting to wait in the outer hall while he walked into the inner hall.

Zu Ting stood there, looking around.

The hall was magnificent and there were small beds on both sides of the door with a small copper plate on top for placing candles. The workmanship was pretty good.

Zu Ting looked around and took advantage of no one's attention to wave his sleeves.

The next moment, the small object disappeared.

Zu Ting raised his head and hummed something softly, as if nothing had happened.

Li Zu'e was wearing mourning clothes, wiping her tears, standing aside, looking very charming.

Gao Zhan looked at her with a heavy expression and sighed.

"What happened to Ah Yin was all my brother's fault. It's also my fault for not being able to protect him."

"Don't blame me, sister-in-law."

Li Zu'e shook her head, her eyes reddening, "How dare I blame Your Majesty."

Gao Zhan said seriously: "You lost a son, I am going to give you another one."

He stood up and took off his clothes immediately.

Li Zu'e screamed in fear when she saw this scene. Gao Zhan quickly walked up to her and grabbed her hand. With a ferocious look on his face, he asked angrily, "You only have one son left now. Do you want to lose him too?!"

Zu Ting was standing outside, waiting for the emperor to come out.

Suddenly, screams were heard in the hall, followed by high-pitched screams and wails.

Zu Ting trembled and looked towards the inner hall in astonishment. At this moment, Zu Ting was stunned. The bronze plate fell directly from his sleeve to the ground, making a loud noise.

Zu Ting hurriedly picked it up and hid it in his arms.

After an unknown amount of time, Gao Zhan came out, putting on his clothes as he walked. He looked at Zu Ting who was waiting outside and motioned him to follow him, "I have already comforted her."

Zu Ting was stunned for a moment before he nodded.

Gao Zhan's face was stern, his eyes full of fierceness, "You can handle those trivial matters yourself, but now there is a big thing that makes me restless and unable to enjoy myself. You must solve this matter for me!"

"only!!"

The two of them came to the bedroom, where He Shikai had already been waiting.

The bedroom was exceptionally warm and filled with fragrance.

Gao Zhan sat in the upper seat, while Zu Ting and He Shikai knelt on both sides.

"Liu Taozi."

Gao Zhan gritted his teeth and said angrily: "When I was still the Prince of Changguang, this guy was quite rude to me and even offended me in the Queen's Palace!"

"Now that I have inherited the throne, how can I forgive him? You must find a way to kill him for me today."

He Shikai was overjoyed, he had been waiting for this day for a long time!!
He will take revenge a hundredfold for what he suffered in Wuchuan! !
He Shikai said immediately: "Your Majesty, this is easy to handle. Send an angel to Shuozhou in the name of rewarding Liu Taozi, and ask the governor of Shuozhou to send troops to escort the angel. When the angel arrives in Wuchuan, read the emperor's edict in front of everyone, capture Liu Taozi on the spot, cut off his mouth, and escort him back to Yecheng!"

Zu Ting glanced at him and said nothing.

Gao Zhan sneered, "If it were so easy, why would I let you guys figure it out?"

"Who do you think Liu Taozi is? Is he Yang Yin? You can catch him in Wuchuan by sending a few people? Or should I let you go?"

Hearing Gao Zhan's question, He Shikai was a little flustered. "With the Shuozhou soldiers escorting them and His Majesty's order, the foreign troops will not listen to his orders."

Gao Zhan glared at him, then looked at Zu Ting, "What do you think, Zu Jun?"

Zu Ting smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is really not easy to handle. As Your Majesty said, if we send people to arrest him, Liu Taozi is extremely brave and I am afraid that few ministers can easily subdue him. Even if they can subdue him, his prestige in the border is extremely high. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and has no military merits. I am afraid that the border soldiers will rebel. If he is forced to lead Beishuo and Beiheng to surrender to the Pseudo-Zhou, it will be a great disaster."

"I know all this! Tell me something I don't know!"

"The first solution is to summon him to Yecheng and promote him to an important position in the court. As long as he leaves the border and arrives in Yecheng, he will be at our mercy."

"However, Liu Taozi had a disagreement with Your Majesty before, so I'm afraid he won't come easily. However, Your Majesty can use his trusted people in the court to trick him into coming, such as Lou Rui, Gao Su, Lu Yao and others. They can all trick him into coming."

"Well, keep talking."

"The second method is for Your Majesty to inspect the border and have him come out of Wuchuan to welcome us, just like the story of Emperor Gaozu of Han and Han Xin."

"Ah."

"The third method is to use the fake Zhou to kill him. This is not a good method, but if there is no other way, we can do it. Wei Xiaokuan has wanted to kill him for a long time. If we send someone to contact Wei Xiaokuan, we can just create some opportunities for his killers and we won't have to dirty our hands."

Gao Zhan suddenly realized what was happening. He asked coldly, "Wei Xiaokuan is in Yubi City. How can you contact him?"

Zu Ting smiled and stroked his beard. "Your Majesty, you may not know that in the past, when I was traveling around Yecheng, I always found some restaurants that were set up in very remote places. There were not many customers, but they were able to continue to operate without being affected by any disasters. I guess these restaurants were set up by foreign bandits to gather information and exchange information. Starting this year, there are fewer restaurants, but I found that there are more porters in the city. They are said to be transporting goods for others. You can't make a living by relying on these. These porters must be Wei Xiaokuan's men."

He Shikai was a little impatient, he quickly asked:
"Since you know this, why don't you report it?!"

"I submitted a memorial but the late emperor did not listen to me. He even said that I had bad intentions and drove me out."

He Shikai suddenly didn't know what to say.

Gao Zhan frowned, "Is what you said really useful?" Zu Ting shook his head, "Your Majesty, it's actually useless. Liu Taozi's real threat is his army, which is the root. We must disintegrate his power, divide his left and right, and isolate him. If Your Majesty doesn't trust him, you should prepare to fight against the rebels as soon as possible. Only by destroying him can you be the safest."

"However, the Pseudo-Zhou is ready to make a move. Yuwen Hu is an indecisive person. But if he knew that the late emperor had passed away, he would definitely send troops without any hesitation."

"The Pseudo-Zhou has been gathering strength for many years, but the border troops are in disarray. Your Majesty must make a decision soon."

"You want me to keep him?!"

"I dare not. Only Your Majesty can make the decision. How dare I speak nonsense in front of Your Majesty?"

"I am only informing Your Majesty of the situation so that you can make a better decision."

"At present, Liu Taozi has more than 40 towns under his command, more than 30,000 elite border troops, and more than 50,000 auxiliary troops."

Gao Zhan laughed disdainfully, "These are not his personal soldiers. There is no need to say more about the auxiliary soldiers, they are no different from civilians. There are 30,000 soldiers over there, scattered in various towns and garrisons. I wonder how many of them are completely obedient to him and willing to follow him. I think only the several thousand cavalrymen in Wuchuan are truly following him."

"With just one decree from me, those tens of thousands of border soldiers will no longer obey him. I am not afraid that he will start a rebellion. I am only worried that he will open the border and let the Pseudo-Zhou in!"

Zu Ting blinked again, but nodded with a smile, "Your Majesty is right."

"However, he has been operating at the border for a long time. If we replace the commander or kill him now, I am afraid it will affect the combat effectiveness of the border troops."

"In the past few years, the border soldiers have been short of food and pay, military discipline has been lax, and the officers at the garrisons along the way have been mediocre and tyrannical. The border soldiers have lost their former edge. Only after Liu Taozi took over have things improved. If we change people now, I'm afraid it will benefit the Pseudo-Zhou."

Gao Zhan was a little angry.

He really wanted to send someone to kill Liu Taozi right now, even if he had to trick him into killing him.

But the Pseudo-Zhou was disobedient and ready to make moves. If we replace the border soldiers and generals at this moment, it would be bad if our home was robbed.

Gao Zhan knows everything and understands everything, but many times, he is too lazy to understand.

However, there are some things that cannot be neglected, such as the fight against the Pseudo-Zhou.

If you are lazy in this matter, you will die easily.

Gao Zhan fell into deep thought, and Zu Ting remained silent as well. He just sat there with a smile on his face, secretly looking at the small wine cup placed in front of him.

Seeing Gao Zhan's hesitation, He Shikai said hastily, "Your Majesty, why don't you summon a wizard to divine and ask about the matter?"

Gao Zhan felt that what he said made sense. Zu Ting stood up hastily and cleared his throat. Just as he was about to speak, He Shikai said unhappily, "Your Majesty! Zu Ting said that you would inherit the throne only when things were clear. But that Zheng Daoqian, Lord Zheng, predicted what would happen next when you just arrived in Yecheng, and things were indeed as he said. If you don't move, it will be auspicious. Why don't you ask him to predict it?"

Gao Zhan still felt that what he said made sense, so he asked someone to call Zheng Daoqian over.

When Gao Zhan asked about the matter, Zheng Daoqian immediately began to cast spells for divination, and Zu Ting stood aside and watched.

After Zheng Daoqian finished his divination, he told Gao Zhan, "Your Majesty, it will be very disastrous if you act now. The star of the general will fall, and its color will fall to the west of Jinyang. There will be an ominous sign for the capital."

Gao Zhan frowned, and He Shikai tried to comfort him: "Your Majesty, why worry? This must be the Pseudo-Zhou army. When the enemy sends out troops, we just need to let Shuozhou wait for a while, so that Liu Taozi will not die, but weaken his strength, so that he will neither lose nor win. Then we can send troops to deal with the enemy, and then arrest Liu Taozi in the name of a disadvantageous battle. Isn't it done?"

Gao Zhan was a little worried. "The border troops are already weak. I am afraid that doing this will delay the military operations and allow the Zhou people to gain an advantage for nothing."

"Besides, Huluxian of Shuozhou is already close to Liu Taozi. Will he obey orders?"

"Then let's change people."

"Who to replace? Lou Rui? Huluguang? Duan Shao? Gao Su?"

"Which one of them would watch Liu Taozi fight to death without saving her?"

"Besides them, who else can guard Shuozhou and take on such an important task?"

He Shikai hurriedly said with a smile: "Your Majesty, I can recommend someone for you! He is definitely qualified!"

"Oh??"

Gao Zhan looked at He Shikai in surprise. He Shikai said hurriedly, "There is a man who is truly a great general. He once fought under the Emperor Shenwu as the governor of Kuzhi. He has made great achievements in battles and is invincible. He is brave and invincible. No one can stop him. This man is the Wuwei General Gao Anagong!"

"This man is extremely brave and has unparalleled skills in riding and shooting. He has the courage of Guan Zhang and the military strategy of Han Wei. What is rare and precious is that he is very loyal to Your Majesty. When Your Majesty had not yet started the rebellion, he came to me many times and expressed his desire to surrender to you. Do you remember? He once came to your banquet."

Gao Zhan thought for a moment, and suddenly realized, "Oh, I remember now, he was the one who performed the horse riding technique in the eastern suburbs of Jinyang?"

"It's him! It's him!"

Gao Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "This veteran general may be promoted and given important positions."

Gao Zhan immediately asked everyone to leave, leaving only He Shikai to continue discussing the matter.

The servants came up to clean up, and one of them was so anxious that he was running around, wondering why a wine cup was missing?
Zheng Daoqian walked out of the palace with a heavy heart. Just as he was about to get into the car, someone suddenly grabbed his clothes.

Zheng Daoqian stumbled and turned his head angrily, only to see Zu Ting looking at him with a smile. Zheng Daoqian frowned and asked unhappily, "Grandpa, what do you want me to do?"

Zu Ting looked around and suddenly moved closer, "I know who you are."

Zheng Daoqian felt a chill in his heart, "What does Grandfather mean by this?"

"I have only heard of people coming from the border to Yecheng to study the scriptures, but I have never heard of people going to the border to study. It is obvious that they went to Wuchuan to seek refuge with Liu Taozi."

"If such a big thing fails, how can you come back alive? If you can come back, then the matter is successful. You have already surrendered to Liu Taozi. It was Liu Taozi who asked you to come here to gather information and spread rumors, right?"

Zheng Daoqian laughed. "Grandfather, I know you are eager to be in the limelight and overshadow us, but you shouldn't use such means. If you think I am disloyal, just tell His Majesty. Why bother talking so much?"

"Hey, why don't you behave like that?"

Zu Ting rubbed his hands.

"What do you mean?"

"Money. Give me some money and I'll pretend I know nothing. How about that?"

Zheng Daoqian's eyes widened. He once again looked at Zu Ting in front of him for a long time and muttered, "Mad man."

After saying that, he got into the car and left quickly.

Zu Ting watched him walk away with a smile on his face. He looked around again to make sure there was no one around. Then he took out an exquisite wine cup from his sleeve. Looking at the cup, he grinned.

"It's not a loss!"

Just as Zu Ting was concentrating on admiring the wine cup in his hand, a group of people suddenly stopped in front of Zu Ting. Zu Ting was startled and hurriedly put away the stolen goods.

When he looked up, he saw a burly man who jumped off his horse and led many knights, striding towards the palace. They walked past Zu Ting. The man was tall, and even his hand was almost as thick as Zu Ting's thigh.

Zu Ting was amazed, but he also guessed the other party's identity.

"Gao Anagong?"

"Murder Liu Taozi?"

"Hehehe, it's clearly a murder of Da Qi"

Gao Anagong entered the palace and, under the guidance of the warriors, came to Gao Zhan.

He bowed respectfully to Gao Zhan and kowtowed heavily to the ground, "Your Majesty!!!"

Seeing such a strong warrior being so respectful to him, Gao Zhan was in a good mood and asked about other things. Gao Anagong answered fluently without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, I have long wanted to serve you, but I have never had the chance. Please rest assured that I will not disappoint Your Majesty when I go to Shuozhou!! Whether it is the Pseudo-Zhou or that Liu Taozi, I will eliminate them for Your Majesty!"

Gao Zhan laughed out loud when he heard his words, gave him rewards quickly, and made a decision in his mind.

Gao Zhan was very busy, so he just talked to him for a moment and then left, asking He Shikai to see him off.

He Shikai walked with Gao Anagong on the road and said with a smile: "Do you know whose credit it is that you can be reused this time?"

Gao Anagong lowered his head quickly, "Of course I won't forget the great kindness of He Gong!!"

He showed off his strong tendons and said in a rough voice: "Before I leave, I will definitely repay you well! Let you enjoy it!"

He Shikai rolled his eyes at him, his expression shy and tender.

"You reckless man."

ps: There is a TV series telling Gao Zhan’s love story. I specially searched it out and watched it. I was speechless.

(End of this chapter)