Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 225 Inhuman
Jizhou, Xindu.

The tall city walls stretched as far as the eye could see, and many birds suddenly flew out from the woods outside the city.

I saw the trees screaming and then falling down one by one.

The once lush forest is now being cut down, exposing a large amount of land to the sun.

The soldiers carried the wood onto carts, and some drove away quickly.

Everyone is extremely busy.

The city gates were wide open.

There were knights coming in and out frequently. After entering the city gate, they saw many warriors. They were selecting young and strong men from house to house and forcibly taking them away.

The whole city was in an uproar, and all places were occupied by knights and infantrymen, some were arresting people, some were delivering letters, and some were stealing food.

In the state office.

Gao Guiyan was wearing armor and sitting in the upper seat.

His face was exceptionally solemn, without any smell of alcohol anymore. He seemed to have returned to the time when he followed King Gao into battle, looking exceptionally majestic.

He looked at the many officials kneeling before him.

The hall was surrounded by many armored soldiers, all holding sharp blades and staring at the officials.

The officials were trembling with fear at this moment.

They were all officials from Jizhou, including prefects, county lieutenants, county magistrates, etc.

There were also some officials from state offices, such as the Chief Secretary, the Deputy Governor, the Sima, and so on.

Gao Guiyan looked at the people in front of him one by one, with murderous intent in his eyes. Everyone lowered their heads and dared not speak.

As soon as Gao Guiyan arrived in Xindu, he summoned officials from all over the place to pay him a visit. In theory, this was quite normal, as when a local chief took office, the officials should come to pay him a visit. However, when they arrived, they were immediately detained in the office. Then Gao Guiyan sent people to seize the military power of various places and mobilized local troops to come to his side. At the same time, he opened the granaries to release grain, recruited troops, cut down trees, and manufactured weapons.

In short, in just four or five days, he had the words "I'm planning a rebellion" written directly on his face, without hiding it at all.

These detained officials were terrified and could not sleep or eat well these days.

Gao Guiyan looked at them and said, "When Emperor Xiao Zhao passed away, he told me that the crown prince was young and asked me to choose a wise man from the royal family to inherit the throne. I let Prince Changguang inherit the throne because he was wise and capable."

"I never thought that Prince Changguang has been on the throne for less than half a year, but he has committed many evil deeds. He has usurped the throne of Queen Wenxuan, committed adultery in the harem, promoted villains such as He Shikai and Gao Anagong, and attempted to cause chaos in the border troops. He has neglected important officials. He is really not fit for office."

"At this moment, Prince Changguang is preparing to leave Yecheng and go to Jinyang to offer sacrifices. I am preparing to send troops to Yecheng to support the crown prince Gao Bainian of Yecheng and protect our Great Qi country."

"What do you think?"

When Gao Guiyan asked this, his trusted followers immediately spoke up, "We are willing to follow the king!!"

Gao Guiyan didn't look at them, but only looked at the officials.

The officials looked pale and looked at each other, not daring to speak.

Gao Guiyan sneered and asked, "Yuwen Changshi, you are the chief official of the state, what do you think?"

Chief Clerk Yuwen Zhongluan's face turned pale as paper. He quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I think this is absolutely unacceptable."

"Although Your Majesty has done something wrong, you have promoted the King of Pengcheng, implemented equal distribution of land, and issued an edict to exempt various local taxes. You cannot be considered mediocre. Moreover, Your Majesty is a senior official of the royal family. If you raise an army at this time, I am afraid it will only be a favor to the Pseudo-Zhou. Please think twice!"

Gao Guiyan narrowed his eyes and looked at the state Sima Li Zuyi again.

"Do you think so too?!"

Li Zuyi said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, the Jizhou army is just a few local troops, not many in number, and not well-trained enough. You want to attack Yecheng with a large army. I think this matter cannot be concealed. If the imperial court sends a large army to attack, how can these people resist?"

"Please don't do such a disobedient thing, my king!"

Gao Guiyan burst into laughter immediately.

"Disobedience?? I disobeyed??"

"How much have I done for the emperor's cause? How many contributions have I made? He once told me that after I succeeded, he would make me the prime minister!"

"But what about now? They threw me here, clearly intending to kill me!"

"How can I tolerate this?!"

Gao Guiyan stood up suddenly and said, "Someone come here!"

Just as he was about to convey the military order, a scout rushed into the house in a panic and knelt down in front of Gao Guiyan, "Your Majesty! Hurry!"

Gao Guiyan was stunned and realized something. He immediately ordered the soldiers to take all the officials away, while those close to him stayed behind.

Gao Guiyan hurriedly took the document sent by the scout, took a few glances at it, and became furious.

"How dare you betray me! Lu Sili reported what I was going to do to the emperor!!"

All his close associates were horrified.

Gao Guiyan dared to lead the local army to attack Yecheng because he had many friends in Yecheng. He believed that once his army arrived, the flags in the city would change and the people in the city would come out to greet him. However, the confidants he had contacted in advance suddenly turned against him, catching Gao Guiyan off guard.

"Gao Zhan has already sent troops."

The confidant hurriedly asked, "Who was sent?"

"Commander Duan Shao."

"Front Army Lou Rui."

At this moment, the confidants were even more panicked and at a loss. Gao Guiyan forced himself to calm down, "Don't be afraid! Duan Shao and Lou Rui are both experienced warriors. Don't underestimate them and don't attack them lightly."

"And kill those officials who are unwilling to obey, and then close the city gates and defend with all our strength!"

"I have my own way to repel the enemy!!"

Gao Guiyan asked everyone to go out and make preparations, leaving only one trusted confidant behind. This man was called Gao Qu, and he had always been loyal to Gao Guiyan.

When everyone left, Gao Guiyan suddenly lost his strength and nearly fell to the ground. Gao Qu supported him and said with great concern, "My King."

Gao Guiyan was panting and his hands were shaking slightly.

Duan Shao, Lou Rui.

Two brave warriors who followed King Gao all the way here.

Gao Guiyan looked at Gao Qu who was standing beside him, "Qu, I have an important task that I need you to complete."

"I am willing to die for the king!!"

"I will write a letter later. You take the letter and go to Shuozhou as quickly as possible to find Liu Taozi and give it to him."

"Only by joining forces with him can we have a chance to survive"

Yecheng.

He Shikai stood outside the palace, and Gao Zhan yawned as he walked out of Empress Wenxuan's bedroom.

He Shikai hurried forward, put clothes on him, and asked someone to bring him medicine.

Gao Zhan looked better after taking the medicine, and immediately asked, "How's it going? Did Duan Shao win?"

He Shikai's eyes widened, "Your Majesty, he has only been sending troops for six days."

"Oh, then send someone to urge him to put down the rebellion as soon as possible!"

"only."

Gao Zhan took a few more steps forward and suddenly asked, "Is Zu Ting not back yet?!"

He Shikai quickly narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that Zu Ting surrendered to General Anxi and is now being used by General Anxi."

Hearing this, Gao Zhan flew into a rage. He grabbed He Shikai's sleeve and angrily asked, "He said his mother was seriously ill, so I allowed him to resign and go back, but he ended up joining the rebels?!"

"It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense!"

"Give Liu Taozi an order to send Zu Ting to me!"

"only!"

He Shikai quickly agreed.

Gao Zhan led He Shikai towards the main hall. When the two arrived at the hall, several important ministers had already been waiting for him there. They hurriedly stood up and saluted. Gao Zhan returned the salute with a smile, and then they began to discuss the important matters of the day.

There were not many ministers sitting here, but they were all Gao Zhan's confidants and core officials in the court.

Including Gao Zhan’s two elder brothers, Gao Yan and Gao Yu, as well as his confidants Gao Rui, Gao Yuanhai, Gao Qian, Gao Xiaoyu and others.

Except for He Shikai, all of Gao Zhan's important ministers were of the surname Gao. Compared with nobles and powerful families, Gao Zhan preferred to use royal family members, which was also the consistent tradition of Northern Qi.

He looked at his family members around him and said solemnly, "I treated Gao Guiyan so well, but he dared to rebel. It really pains me. Now I have sent King Pingyuan and King Dong'an to lead the army to attack him, but I am worried that he will contact others to rebel together. What do you think?"

Everyone fell into deep thought, and no one was in a hurry to speak.

Gao Guiyan's matter was not too critical. Although the current emperor of Da Qi was seriously ill, he was not going to die. At least in terms of martial virtue, he was still very strong. There were many capable generals and elite troops in the court. Gao Guiyan, who rebelled with the local army of Jizhou, was simply courting death.

With the army of the temple, even Liu Taozi is not a serious threat. The two sides are not at an equal level in military strength.

Gao Zhan was only afraid that he would defect to the enemy, so he did not dare to act rashly.

And what about Gao Guiyan? He was in the abdomen, where could he go to surrender to the enemy?
But Gao Zhan suddenly started talking about colluding with others, and it was obvious that he was planning to use Gao Guiyan's incident as an excuse to take action against other people.

Gao Zhan looked at the people around him and a smile slowly appeared on his face.

We can now slowly clear out Gao Yan’s old subordinates in the court.

He said, "During the time of the previous emperor, many local governments were in chaos. Gao Guiyan had frequent contacts with them and showed them many favors. I am worried that he will instigate the rest of the people to rebel together. I plan to select talented people to go to various places, take up important positions, pacify the local governments, and put an end to the rebellion. What do you think?"

"only."

Everyone bowed their heads again.

Gao Zhan then asked all the ministers to discuss the list of ministers to be sent out.

His confidants also suggested many good candidates.

For example, Lu Yao was a kind person, so he could be appointed as a governor in a remote place. Of course, it would not be appropriate for him to go to the north, so he was asked to go to the south, close to the Pseudo-Chen, to be a governor.

Well, there is also Cui Jishu. This man cut corners when building the palace and made a big mistake. So he can't stay in the central government. He is sent to serve as a governor in other places, also in the south.

There is also the talented Wang Xi. Well, let him go to East Xuzhou to be a governor.

She Di Xian'an went to Dongyan to be a governor.

Everyone talked one after another, and after a while, the list of people who needed to go to various places came out.

Gao Yin frowned, looking unhappy.

Just when everyone was laughing and feeling that the world was in great order, Gao Yu said, "Your Majesty, you are no longer a vassal king. You are the Son of Heaven, the master of all the talented people in the world. If you cannot treat them as your subjects, how can they treat you as their king? Just like General Anxi, he has always been loyal to the court. If Your Majesty can value him and use him, he will not let Your Majesty down."

"The same is true for these ministers now. Lu Yao is kind, upright, and decisive. He has the ability to lead the central government. Although Cui Jishu has bad habits, he is good at making plans. Your Majesty can keep him by your side and ask for advice from time to time. And Xian'an is upright and dares to write letters to give advice."

After hearing Gao Yun's words, the ministers who were celebrating just now immediately stopped talking. Even Gao Rui did not dare to say more and just nodded slightly.

"What King Pengcheng said is absolutely true."

Gao Zhan laughed and quickly grabbed Gao Yu's hand, "Brother, you are absolutely right. Your scolding is very correct. I will definitely correct it."

Gao Yu was horrified and stood up quickly, "Your Majesty, how dare I accept it as my brother."

Just as Gao Zhan was about to speak, Gao Yan suddenly said, "Your Majesty has always been kind to the royal family. Don't be afraid. There are no outsiders here. This is an intimate act."

He pulled Gao Yin to sit down, and then looked at Gao Zhan affectionately.

"Your Majesty, this person, Yan, has always been like this, speaking his mind. Others may not know, but how could Your Majesty not remember it?"

Gao Zhan laughed, "You're right."

King Pengcheng then put forward his own idea again. He reduced the list of officials originally to be sent to various places, leaving many people behind, and reprimanded some villains who acted recklessly in the name of Gao Zhan.

Of course, this includes He Shikai.

Gao Yin pointed at He Shikai and reprimanded him for allowing his cronies to plunder the people.

He Shikai did not dare to refute and could only lower his head and accept it.

This small meeting ended hastily.

After leaving the palace, Gao Yan pulled his brother into the car.

He stared at Gao Yu and asked unhappily, "Why do you have to openly disobey His Majesty for such a small matter?"

"Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and needs prestige. You can just advise him in private. Are you planning to become a powerful minister by refuting the emperor in front of everyone?"

Hearing the question, Gao Yu kept a straight face and said solemnly: "I have no selfish motives."

"The officials in the imperial court recommend local officials without considering their conduct, but are willing to unite with their own party and attack dissidents. How absurd is that?!"

"This time, nearly half of the ministers in the court will be expelled. If I don't speak up now, I'm afraid that the court will be filled with villains like He Shikai in the future."

Gao Yan shook his head and said again: "No matter what you think, don't be so direct."

"Don't interfere in Liu Taozi's affairs anymore."

"Every time you bring this up, His Majesty gets very angry."

"I'll figure it out."

"it is good."

Gao Yu nodded, then suddenly raised his head and sighed, "It's a pity for Jizhou. In such a great war, I don't know how many people were displaced, how many soldiers died innocently, and how miserable the people of the world are."

"How miserable am I?!"

"You can't even decide whether a few officials stay or go? And you keep saying you are the master of the world? Does Gao Xun think I am the master?!"

Gao Zhan roared. Ever since the discussion ended, his mood had become unstable.

He was on the verge of an outburst, and He Shikai stood aside, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

He dared to slander many people in the court who dared to offend him, but when facing King Pengcheng, he really didn't dare to say too much. His Majesty was moody and had a changeable personality. He Shikai had seen the same scene many times.

Every time King Pengcheng came to contradict the emperor, the emperor would be very angry and scold him in various ways, but in the end, he would still forgive him and continue to use him.

King Pengcheng is different from King Pingqin. Gao Guiyan has many drinking buddies. Although he holds a high position, he does not exercise his power much and spends all his time drinking and showing off.

However, King Pengcheng was in charge of several key policies in the court and did the busiest and most tiring job.

Sure enough, after venting for a long time, Gao Zhan calmed down again. He sat back in his seat, shook his head and said, "However, he really has no selfish motives. He does not favor any side and is not polite to anyone. That's it, that's it."

He looked at He Shikai again and said, "Deal with Gao Guiyan, then deal with these people in the temple, and then it will be Liu Taozi."

"While Liu Taozi is fighting with Yang Zhong, get rid of those who are close to him."

"Shuozhou needs a strong governor, one with high prestige, who cannot be held hostage by Liu Taozi. Do you have any candidates?"

He Shikai narrowed his eyes, and suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and he said, "Your Majesty, Shangshu Ling Gao Rui can do it."

"No, his prestige is very high, but the affairs of the Shangshutai cannot be separated from him."

He Shikai was a little embarrassed. He rubbed his hands and said, "I do have another candidate. But..."

"You said."

"Prince Gao Yan of Pingyang will temporarily serve as the governor of Shuozhou. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Gao Zhan was stunned. "He?? He is the Grand Tutor!"

"Gao Guiyan was able to serve as the governor of Jizhou as the prime minister, so why couldn't he serve as the governor of Shuozhou as the imperial tutor?"

Gao Zhan stroked his beard and pondered for a long time. "In terms of prestige, his qualifications are sufficient. If he goes to Shuozhou, Liu Taozi will never dare to hold him hostage. If Liu Taozi continues to hold him hostage, Gao Yu will write a letter to attack Liu Taozi, and the ministers will be able to see his true colors and will not always hinder my great cause!"

He Shikai nodded, "That's right."

"However, the court still needs him to step in for important matters. If he leaves, what will happen to the government?"

"Your Majesty, most of the important matters of state are decided by the King of Pengcheng. Even if the King of Pingyang is not here, I don't think there will be any problems."

"it is good."

"However, we can't be impatient now. Let's wait until Gao Guiyan is dealt with."

Gao Zhan waved his hand and said, "No more talking. I'm going back to my bedroom. You should go back and rest as well."

He Shikai hurriedly stood in front of Gao Zhan and said, "Your Majesty, you haven't been to the Queen's place for several months. She misses you very much."

"What are you missing? Let her take good care of the child, don't miss her!"

"Just go and comfort her with a few words!"

Gao Zhan turned around and left with an unhappy look on his face. He Shikai could only watch him leave without saying a word.

Gao Zhan skillfully went to find Li Zu'e, while He Shikai came to Queen Hu's residence.

Queen Hu was in her early twenties, dignified and beautiful, but at the moment, her face looked extremely bad. She stared at He Shikai in front of her and asked quietly, "He still hasn't come yet?"

He Shikai sat down beside her helplessly, hugged her in his arms, and comforted her: "Don't be sad, Queen. His Majesty is just looking for something new and will be back soon."

Queen Hu wiped her tears and groped He Shikai's body with her jade hands. "In the past, whenever A Yan was sick, he would come running over. But this time, A Yan was sick twice, and he didn't come at all."

"Your Majesty is too busy"

"I don't care! Just tell me, can we make A Yan the crown prince?"

(End of this chapter)