Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 242 Please Confer the Title of Liu Taozi!!

Yecheng.

There was dead silence outside the city at this moment.

The common people no longer dared to travel. On the official road outside Yecheng, knights kept running back and forth.

A large army gathered at the parade ground twenty miles outside the city.

Gao Rui, Gao Xiaoyu, Lou Rui, Hu Changren, Zhao Yanshen, Heba Ren and other royal relatives, civil and military ministers all gathered here.

The knights galloped back and forth, while the soldiers were stationed in various places.

Gao Rui frowned, looking unwilling.

"How can we run? How can we leave Jinyang?"

"If I were by your Majesty's side, I would have persuaded him to stay even if I died! Yang Zhong raided the hinterland, how could he have any intention of breaking into the city and occupying it? Besides, their reinforcements were blocked in Pingyang, how could they abandon the city?"

Whenever Gao Rui thought of this incident, he was so angry that he wanted to slap himself.

What happened to those people in Jinyang?
His Majesty was allowed to escape under such circumstances? ?
Gao Xiaoyu frowned and glanced at Gao Rui beside him. He could see more clearly than Gao Rui.

Your Majesty went to Jinyang obviously to get rid of these people, so why would he take us with him?

When they arrived in Jinyang, they drove all the capable generals to other places. It was really... Gao Xiaoyu didn't know what to say.

Hu Changren narrowed his eyes at this moment. Before the emperor left, he and several of his brothers were responsible for commanding the army of Yecheng.

Come to think of it, it seems that he is the one with the largest army in the entire Yecheng?

Lou Rui, however, had a sad face and said nothing.

The Queen Mother's condition is getting worse and worse. She is now in a coma. I am afraid she will not survive this month.

Lou Rui was in no mood to care about these trivial matters at the moment. He just hoped that his aunt would get better.

Heba Ren swallowed and was extremely nervous. His nephew's affairs put him in an awkward situation. Those who were close to the emperor thought he was Liu Taozi's man, and those who were close to Liu Taozi thought he was the emperor's man.

Heba Cheng directly turned him into a lone minister. He could not find any allies anywhere. He was anxious to find someone to join forces with, but he could not find a suitable candidate.

Even the emperor no longer trusted him.

Zhao Yanshen closed his eyes and rested, looking very old and frail, as if he knew nothing.

The ministers had different thoughts and expressions.

While they were anxiously waiting, a group of people slowly appeared in the distance.

Seeing this group of people, Gao Rui breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly went forward to pay their respects with many ministers.

Gao Yu came on horseback, accompanied by two members of the royal family.

Gao Rui and others were quite surprised and hurried forward to greet him.

Gao Yu looked at everyone calmly, "Your Majesty is safe and sound, he just has an occasional illness and needs to return to the palace to rest as soon as possible."

"This is an imperial decree from His Majesty, appointing me as the Left Prime Minister, in charge of all state affairs."

Gao Rui frowned and looked at the carriage in the distance.

"Your Majesty, we want to see His Majesty."

"When we return to the palace, His Majesty will summon all the ministers."

Gao Yu immediately ordered the generals and soldiers to return to Yecheng in batches, and ordered his ministers to lead the way in the direction of Yecheng.

Gao Xiaoyu appeared beside Gao Rui without knowing when. He frowned and said, "Minister, something is wrong."

"You mean the edict?"

"No, think about it, isn't this incident very strange?"

"At the beginning, none of us knew about the siege of Jinyang, but King Pengcheng suddenly went out, taking my brother and King Rencheng with them, as well as hundreds of guards. When we asked him, he said he was going to inspect the local area and root out corrupt officials."

Gao Rui nodded.

Gao Xiaoyu continued, "Then we learned the news that Jinyang was under siege. At the same time, we also learned that King Pengcheng led his troops to rescue the emperor and returned to Yecheng."

"How far is Yecheng from Jinyang?"

"The army returning to Luo is in Jinglin Mountain."

"If King Pengcheng learns the news in Qingdu, how long will it take him to rush to Jinglin Mountain as quickly as possible and then rush to Jinyang from Jinglin?"

"Besides, how does he know where Hui Luo's army is?"

Faced with Gao Xiaoyu's many questions, Gao Rui suddenly reacted. Previously, he was only paying attention to the news of the attack on Jinyang, and was so worried that he didn't even think about this matter. Now that he thought about it, he felt that there were all kinds of things wrong here.

Gao Rui's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Gao Xiaoyu said coldly: "There is only one explanation. King Pengcheng knew that Yang Zhong would attack Jinyang very early, and he also knew the exact location of Huiluo. That's why he was able to gather Huiluo's troops in advance and rush to the vicinity of Jinyang. When things changed, he took action immediately."

Gao Rui suddenly remembered what Gao Yin had said to him before, and at this moment, his face turned pale.

It was unlikely that Gao Yan knew about Yang Zhong's news in advance, and he would not collude with Yang Zhong. The only explanation Gao Rui could think of was that Gao Yan originally wanted to lead the troops back to Luo to attack Jinyang and rebel, but he happened to meet Yang Zhong and captured the emperor.

The imperial edict was fake and the emperor had been taken hostage.

The reason why he had to wait until the palace to summon the ministers was probably because he wanted to wait until the ministers were separated from the army before launching the attack.

Gao Rui looked at Gao Xiaoyu again.

The relationship between these two people was actually very bad. Gao Rui looked down on Gao Xiaoyu's love of entertainment and repeatedly accused him of extravagance and indulgence in alcohol and sex. Gao Xiaoyu looked down on Gao Rui's background. Gao Rui's father Gao Chen was beaten to death because he had an affair with Gao Huan's harem.

That’s right, Gao Rui’s father is Gao Huan’s younger brother, and Gao Rui is the cousin of Gao Yu and Gao Zhan.

It’s just because of his father’s relationship that his status as a member of the royal family is somewhat different from that of other members of the royal family.

But at this moment, the two of them temporarily put aside their prejudices, looked at each other, and for a moment they didn't know what to say.

Gao Xiaoyu also sighed helplessly.

Although Gao Zhan had a good relationship with him, Gao Yu also had a good relationship with him. Gao Yu was a good person. He had no choice but to say, "I hope things haven't deteriorated to this point. I'll go to Yanzong to ask about the situation. Please don't act rashly."

Gao Xiaoyu took advantage of the fact that no one was around and quietly followed the fat boy.

The little fat boy's eyes lit up, "Brother!!"

Gao Xiaoyu has a very good relationship with the fat boy, but his relationship with Gao Changgong is just average.

Gao Xiaoyu smiled and examined his brother in armor in front of him, "He looks quite good now."

"Practice a little more and you'll be stronger."

Gao Yanzong looked up and said, "Brother, I am different now than I was before. I practice hard every day. If you don't believe me, we can fight each other and try it out."

Gao Xiaoyu laughed loudly. The two brothers chatted for a while. Gao Xiaoyu suddenly asked, "Where did you meet His Majesty?"

"Ah, it was on that mountain, I forgot which one, but it was just a mountain pass."

"So how is His Majesty doing? Is he okay?"

"not too good."

Gao Yanzong laughed, "We shot He Shikai to death!"

"Brother, I took the lead myself and shot him in the lower body with an arrow. My shooting is getting more and more accurate! Hahaha~~"

Gao Xiaoyu's eyes widened, "He Shikai is dead?"

"Yeah, what's so strange about that?"

"What about Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty is just crying and sad, as if his father has died!"

"nonsense!"

Gao Xiaoyu glared at him, and Gao Yanzong immediately shut his mouth. Gao Xiaoyu looked towards the direction of the carriage with worry. Gao Yanzong couldn't help but say, "Brother, He Shikai is a villain, so let him die!"

"It's definitely a good thing that He Shikai is dead."

“But I’m worried.”

"You don't know, I now suspect that King Pengcheng has colluded with foreign officials, gathered some people, and done something he shouldn't have done, or there is some conspiracy!"

Gao Xiaoyu whispered, "I'm afraid he will attack Your Majesty!"

Gao Yanzong narrowed his eyes, "Brother, don't worry about this. As long as His Majesty doesn't do anything stupid, he won't die."

Gao Xiaoyu was about to respond when he suddenly realized what was happening.

He widened his eyes and looked at the little fat boy in front of him in astonishment, as if he had met his own brother for the first time.

He was at a loss for a long time.

"You participated too?"

"Brother, this beast will kill us sooner or later. Did you know that he gave poisoned wine to King Pingyang? Did you know that he wanted to murder King Pengcheng?"

"Also, he even secretly arranged with He Shikai to prepare poisoned wine to attack us brothers at the prince's wedding."

"What did you say?!"

Gao Xiaoyu's eyes widened and he shook his head, "Impossible! His Majesty would not want to kill us. Who told you this?!" "Don't ask me who told me this. Anyway, this is true!!"

"I know that my eldest brother has a good relationship with my uncle, and I mistakenly thought he was a good person before."

"But look at what he did!"

"He wants to kill us all!"

"Kill a few uncles, kill a few of our brothers, and the rest of the ministers and generals must be dismissed!"

"Is this killing people? This is killing Da Qi!"

"Brother, I hope you can understand that everything we do is for Da Qi."

Gao Xiaoyu frowned and said, "You are rebelling, which is intolerable to heaven."

"Fuck God."

"If you run away when you see an enemy and only care about harming your own family, that is unacceptable to heaven."

"Brother, if you want to fight King Pengcheng for such a person, I can only fight you. Either you kill me, or you pretend you know nothing."

Gao Xiaoyu looked at Gao Yanzong in astonishment, untied his belt directly, and hit Gao Yanzong several times. Gao Yanzong's momentum was gone, and he dodged in a hurry and almost fell down.

"You just gained some skills, and you dare to threaten me?!"

"Come on, get off your horse, and let me see how you fight me!"

Gao Yanzong was born with supernatural power, but Gao Xiaoyu was equally strong and sturdy. Moreover, he was suppressed by his brother who had been beaten since childhood. Gao Yanzong did not dare to fight back. He took a few hits before he shouted, "Big brother always taught me to help the world! Why are you hitting me today just because I help the world?!"

Gao Xiaoyu had no choice but to put away the belt.

He sighed and said, "Don't get involved in this matter."

"Brother, even if you want to kill me, I will still participate. I really didn't lie to you. They really are going to kill us!"

"Brother, don't you want to believe me?!"

Gao Yanzong's eyes widened.

Gao Xiaoyu looked at his younger brother again. He believed in his younger brother, but he didn't quite believe in his younger brother's IQ. This stupid younger brother was too easy to be deceived. He believed whatever others said.

At this moment, the look he gave Gao Yun also became somewhat fierce.

You dare to use my brother to do things? ?

"Brother, can you just trust me this time? If you don't trust me, you can trust Fourth Brother!"

"Fourth brother did it too!"

Gao Xiaoyu's eyes went dark and he almost vomited blood.

I came here to investigate the rebels, but they are all from my family? ?
His face darkened as he coldly questioned, "He was involved too? Who else?!"

Gao Yanzong, in the spirit of "I can't be the only one to be beaten", quickly sold out the main force of his own camp, "And the third brother."

"And my second brother."

Gao Xiaoyu's eyes widened and his lips trembled uncontrollably.

"Good, very good, very good."

"Old Two, Old Three, Old Four, and you Old Five, why didn't you bring Old Six along?!?"

“He’s still a child.”

Gao Xiaoyu trembled all over, and then suddenly relaxed.

It’s over.

Among his six brothers, four have gotten on the pirate ship. What can he, the eldest brother, do?

The saddest thing is that these people didn’t even tell me when they rebelled.

Looking at his distraught elder brother, Gao Yanzong hurriedly said, "Brother, we are all doing this for you."

"He Shikai and Gao Zhan planned to murder several of us, including my eldest brother, third brother, and fourth brother. He wanted to poison my eldest brother, beat my second brother to death, and finally charge my fourth brother with treason by disobeying military orders and taking the whole family with him."

"I saw the letter that recorded the conspiracy between He Shikai and his subordinates. Their every word was recorded. I have no doubt that He Shikai could do such a thing."

"Please believe me, brother."

Gao Xiaoyu waved his hand casually, "As long as you don't harm His Majesty's life, you can do it."

He ignored it and rode away.

Gao Rui waited for a long time but Gao Xiaoyu didn't come back, so he had to send someone to inquire. As a result, the person he sent came back and reported that Gao Xiaoyu suddenly fell ill.

Gao Rui was immediately stunned and started cursing.

So they entered Yecheng. Gao Yun led his men all the way to the palace. The ministers stayed outside, waiting for the emperor's summons.

Taking advantage of this time, Gao Rui had already stood together with Hu Changren, and the two were chatting in low voices.

Hu Changren nodded, turned around and left.

Several ministers also saw it, but dared not say anything.

Gao Yuanhai was terrified at the moment. He walked to Gao Rui tremblingly, with a flattering look on his face, "Prince Zhao, is everything okay?"

"No problem."

Gao Rui said this coldly. He didn't think much of this fellow who wore a monk's robe and played with prostitutes all day long.

Heba Ren stood in the crowd, looking around, at a loss. He knew that something big was happening at this moment, and he also knew that the ministers were dividing into camps. Sadly, he could not join any side. Thinking of this, he wished he could strangle his nephew to death.

You bastard! How could you harm me like this!
After much deliberation, Heba Ren finally plucked up the courage to come to the side of Rencheng King Gao Wei.

After King Pengcheng entered the palace, he left him outside, apparently keeping an eye on the ministers.

"Your Majesty."

Heba Ren bowed, then asked with a smile, "When can we see His Majesty?"

Gao Wei did not ignore him. He answered whatever he asked. However, he refused to explain himself and refused to form a clear camp.

While everyone was in a panic and busy with their own things, Gao Yu was sitting in a separate hall. He sat in the upper seat, Gao Yanzong and Yi Di Shenglie sat on both sides of him, and there was also a scholar sitting directly opposite Gao Yu.

And this scholar was none other than Zu Ting, who had disappeared for a long time.

Zu Ting looked at Gao Yu with a smile, "Your Majesty, by now, the matter has been mostly successful."

Gao Yu looked at him coldly.

More than ten days ago, Zu Ting suddenly appeared in Yecheng and came to pay a visit to Gao Yu.

He brought several pieces of news. The first one was that He Shikai believed the words of those spies, leaving the gate of Jinyang wide open, and Yang Zhong might take the opportunity to attack.

The second piece of news was the letters provided by Zheng Daoqian regarding Gao Zhan's plan to murder important members of the royal family.

Gao Zhan was extremely fond of He Shikai and wished he could give him everything to do. Almost all the murder plans against the royal family were handed over to He Shikai. He Shikai also trusted Zheng Daoqian and others very much, so he immediately stepped forward to take charge.

So, these things appeared in front of the royal family members who were about to become victims.

Gao Yanzong, Gao Changgong, and even Gao Xiaowan and others on the list quickly decided to help.

Zu Ting then requested Gao Yin to leave Yecheng and go take over Hui Luo's army. This army was without a commander, so it was a good time to take over. Then he led them quickly to Jinyang. Zu Ting's original idea was to launch a sudden attack in the name of rescue and control the emperor, but unexpectedly, the emperor ran over by himself and was hit.

This led to the very strange developments in the eyes of Gao Rui and others.

Zu Ting looked at the people in front of him, but still felt a little regretful.

It would be better if Gao Zhan had died on the front line. If he died, things might go more smoothly afterwards. But he is still alive. There are many idiots in the court. Even though the emperor is going to kill them, they still want to be loyal to him.

It would be much more difficult to kill Gao Zhan now.

Gao Yu asked softly, "What should we do next?"

Zu Ting said calmly: "It's very simple. There is only one most important thing at the moment."

"Please give the order immediately, Prime Minister."

"Appoint General Anxi Liu Taozi as General of the Guards, grant him the title of Grand Master of the Prefecture, and make him Governor of Shuozhou and Governor of Hengzhou, and Commander-in-Chief of the six prefectures of Shuo, Heng, Yan, An, You, and Ying. Immediately lead the troops to attack the bandits in Jinyang."

Gao Yu's brows couldn't help but twitch.

Gao Yanzong was stunned.

Gao Yanzong shook his head. "I know you like General Anxi very much, and so do I. But now is not the time to reward him. I just returned to the palace and haven't done anything yet. Why are you rewarding me? And such a huge reward?"

"Take care of those thieves outside first, then we can discuss this matter."

Zu Ting raised his head and said, "Prime Minister, although you now have elite troops and helpers inside and outside the palace, the army is not under your jurisdiction. Most of the troops in Yecheng are handed over to the Hu family's relatives. They dare not be disloyal to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty is dismissed, they will completely lose their power. Moreover, there are diehards like Gao Rui, and the Queen Mother's faction will not watch you govern."

"Therefore, only General Anxi can intimidate them and make all parties bow their heads."

"With such a reward, everyone knows who the outsider you are colluding with is. With him guarding the border, even if you don't have a single soldier, they won't dare to attack easily!!"

"Therefore, rewarding General Anxi is the best way to deal with it! The best solution!!"

"I'm definitely not doing this to ask for credit for General Anxi. This is all for the good of the world!!"

(End of this chapter)