Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 260 Dragon Rises in Wuchuan
Wuchuan.

The strong wind blew, making a whistling sound, but it did not affect the noise in the city at all.

The roads in the city were crowded with people, and all kinds of carriages were parked on the roadside, some of which were even unable to accommodate.

It was as if a bunch of people were thrown into the city out of thin air. There was no vacant space in the entire city. There were crowds of people everywhere.

The military households in Wuchuan opened the door, looked at the situation outside in confusion, and marveled at it.

A man stuck his head out, looked outside, and then closed the door helplessly.

A young man was eating barbecue in the courtyard. When he saw the man coming back, he asked, "Brother, are there still so many people outside?"

"There are more than yesterday. There haven't been so many people in Wuchuan in many years. It's really scary."

The young man grinned foolishly, "The city can hardly accommodate so many people. I heard that temporary tents have been set up outside the city for them to stay in. I'm afraid the banquet can't be held in the government office. Hahaha, maybe it will have to be held on the parade ground."

The man nodded. "That's probably what's going to happen."

The general returned to his Wuchuan, and he brought many people with him.

Of course, if it were just the people he brought back, they would not be enough to make Wuchuan so crowded. The main reason was that the general was going to hold a banquet.

Officials and generals from all over the country had to come to Wuchuan to attend the banquet.

The young man listened to the noise on the street with envy on his face, "Brother, why don't you live up to your expectations? If you can do something good, you can also go to the banquet with us, and I can go with you to see the general!"

The man glanced at him and said, "If you think the barbecue is not tasty, I have some sticks and stones here to feed you."

The young man chuckled and continued to chew the meat.

The carriages could no longer pass on the road outside the house. The drivers dared to be angry but not to say anything. No one could say whose carriage was in front. After all, they were all dignitaries and were still quite polite to each other.

The office inside and outside was already bustling with activity.

Officials were coming in and out, and the several doors were no longer enough.

Several walls of the government office were demolished again because it could not accommodate so many people.

In the courtyard, Zu Ting stroked his beard and looked around calmly.

"The banquet really has to be held in the parade grounds. The government office can't accommodate so many people."

"We have to move Wuchuan too. It's too small and remote to be the capital."

The clerk beside him suddenly raised his head and asked in confusion, "What did the grandfather say?"

"Oh, I think Wuchuan is not a good place to start a government."

"Okay, hurry up and get ready. The banquet will start soon. We can't be late."

"only!!"

The clerk left quickly, and Zu Ting walked towards the inner room with a smile.

This banquet gathered all the people under Liu Taozi, ostensibly to celebrate Liu Taozi's attainment of the title.

But in fact, this banquet was a big meeting about personnel arrangements, future work, and most importantly, government affairs.

Zu Ting was extremely confident about this.

Just as he walked to the front of the inner room, he heard a commotion in the distance. A sturdy man pushed aside several people in front of him, rushed forward, and squeezed out of the way. When he walked to the front of the house, he saw Zu Ting standing aside, who suddenly raised his head and rushed over.

Zu Ting was unable to dodge and was hit hard by the opponent. Zu Ting staggered and fell to the ground.

Zu Ting raised his head and looked at the burly man with displeasure.

The sturdy man lowered his head, as if he had just seen Zu Ting, "Oh!"

He hurriedly helped Zu Ting up and said, "Don't blame me, don't blame me. I was in such a hurry to get on the road that I didn't see you."

Zu Ting asked slowly, "But General Yao Xiong?"

"It's me, it's me, but Grandpa Zu Ting?"

"Oh? General Yao Xiong also knows me?"

"I know, I know. Kou Liu told me about you before. My brother is well taken care of by Grandpa! Thank you so much! Thank you so much!"

Yao Xiong immediately stretched out his hand and patted Zu Ting's shoulders heavily several times.

Zu Ting grimaced in pain.

This Qihu was clearly helping the bandits to vent their anger on him.

Zu Ting, who has always been eloquent and silver-tongued, did not rush to mock or ridicule this Khitan. Damn it, there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with you in the future!
Yao Xiong ignored him and walked into the house.

"Brother!!!"

The house was exceptionally lively.

Zu Ting followed closely behind. There were five or six people standing in the room at this moment, all of them were old people from Cheng'an. Lu Qubing was sitting aside, and the rest were standing. Everyone was in a good mood.

Zu Ting stood not far away and did not disturb them.

Liu Taozi saw him and motioned for him to come forward.

Zu Ting stepped forward, and Lu Qubing, Tian Zilie, Kou Liu, Yao Xiong, Zhu Jiande and others immediately fell silent and stopped talking.

"My Lord, I have made arrangements and can proceed tomorrow."

"Ah, very good."

Zu Ting raised his head at this moment and said with a smile: "My Lord, Lord Tian and I have different opinions on the issue of seat division."

"explain."

Zu Ting said hurriedly, "Mr. Tian is in charge of the division of seats. I have seen it. Mr. Tian divides the seats into civil and military positions. The civil officials are headed by Mr. Lu, and the military officials are headed by General Bao Lao."

Tian Zili interrupted him immediately, "What's wrong with this? Lord Lu was once our teacher and we admire him the most. Even someone like Lord Wei who once served as one of the Three Officials is now a commoner and has no right to take the seat. As for the military commander, General Bao is the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and his official position is higher than my brother's. Is there anything wrong with him sitting in the first seat?"

Zu Ting shook his head and said with a smile: "It's not that the ranking is wrong, but the classification is wrong."

Hearing this, Tian Zili was very confused, "Classification?"

Zu Ting looked at Liu Taozi and continued, "My Lord, now that you have opened a government, you must make full use of the advantages of opening a government."

"Opening a government means you can appoint your own officials, and you can have your own officials."

"These seats should be divided into government officials and Da Qi officials."

Yao Xiong was confused. He gently pulled Kou Liu and asked, "What is he talking about?"

Tian Zili and Lu Qubing naturally understood.

After an official has the privilege of establishing a government office, he can recruit officials on his own to act as a good hand. These people regard the general who established the government office as their lord and receive his salary, while the rest of the officials receive the salary of Da Qi and are still officials of Da Qi in name.

Zu Ting said calmly: "In the future, the general will be responsible for many things, and can't just rely on local officials to maintain it."

"A general must have his own officials. To put it simply, he must have his own three towers and his own departments."

"The court officials and the local officials should be separated."

Yao Xiong suddenly realized at this moment.

Isn’t this just setting up a small court?
Liu Taozi nodded slightly. Zu Ting's words were not excessive. After all, as the founder of a government, he had such privileges and could have his own team.

Lu Qubing and Tian Zili looked at each other, then lowered his head and said nothing.

In the past, whenever powerful officials wanted to usurp the throne, they would use this method. They would set up their own team in the name of establishing a government and establish a small court. Then, once they ascended the throne, the small court would immediately become the real court.

This was the tactic commonly used by Wei Wu and Jin Wu.
Now that Liu Taozi's sphere of influence is quite large, he can no longer govern so many areas alone, and he needs a centralized group of officials.

Zu Ting immediately took out the memorial and put it aside.

"My lord, this is my proposal. According to the authority of opening a government office, the general should have one chief secretary, one military officer, two assistants, twenty-nine subordinates, and thirty-one subordinates!"

"The Chief Secretary makes plans, the Minister of War drafts decrees, and the Assistant Secretary directs the work of the subordinates. Six of the twenty-nine subordinates are selected to serve as the Li Yuan, Duzhi Yuan, Li Yuan, Bing Yuan, Duguan Yuan, and Gong Yuan. The remaining twenty-three are placed below the subordinates and serve as Lang and Cheng."

Lu Qubing was terrified when he heard this, and Tian Zili was shocked when he heard this.

What is the Chief Secretary of the General of the Guards? You are the Attendant of the General of the Guards. The Sima of the General of the Guards is the Secretary of the General of the Guards, and the General of the Guards becomes the Secretary of the General of the Guards, the General of the Guards becomes the Secretary of the Six Ministries, and the rest of the subordinates become the staff of the Secretary.
Everything was legal and reasonable, the name was still the same, and there was no trace of usurpation of power, but a small centralized court was formed directly around General Wei.

The room was very quiet. No one spoke.

Zu Ting was extremely satisfied with the result. Even if all the young men were added together, they were not enough to defeat him.

He looked at Liu Taozi again and said with a smile: "My lord, people like Lu Gong, Tian Jun, and Cui Jun from outside are still young after all and have no experience in the court. If you want to recommend them to serve as local governors and prefects, I am afraid the court will not easily allow it, and some people will mistakenly think that you are disloyal to the court."

"Therefore, these people can enter the palace as officials."

"Lord Lu can serve as the military commander of the general, while Lord Tian and Lord Cui can serve as assistants. The rest of the positions can also be promoted from those close to you."

Zu Ting did not mention the position of the Chief Secretary. Obviously, he reserved this position for himself.

"As for the local people, people like Lord Yilou, Lord Yuan, Lord Wei, General Baolao, General Pi, Lord Shi and others can all serve as provincial governors."

"As for people like Wei Shou, they are not suitable to be sent out to serve as officials. It would be best if they could stay in the government."

Tian Zilie felt a little frustrated at the moment. Looking at Zu Ting who was talking in front of Liu Taozi, he felt a little powerless for a moment. He had discovered these problems a long time ago, but he was still at the stage of thinking while the other party had already given the answers.

Is the gap between him and me really that big?

Zu Ting was standing beside Liu Taozi at this moment and telling him about his many plans for appointments and dismissals.

Tian Zili sighed softly.

Lu Qubing smiled and held his hand, "Zili, stop sighing, come closer and learn from Grandpa."

"My grandfather may not have a good character, but his talent is unmatched in the world. Only Prime Minister Yang can rival him. Study hard, and one day, you will be able to help my lord solve his problems."

Only then did Tian Zili raise his head.

They discussed in the house for a whole day.

The next day, Wuchuan South Parade Ground became particularly lively.

Outside the parade ground, there were patrolling soldiers everywhere. They occupied various places, holding powerful crossbows and looking around vigilantly.

The South Parade Ground was temporarily converted into a huge "hall".

Well, the decoration is extremely simple and has no dignity at all.

Not to mention comparing it with Yecheng, even comparing it with Shuocheng, it seems unbearable.

Liu Taozi sat on the upper seat. He was wearing an exquisite royal crown. As the Duke of Da Qi, his clothes were not excessive. The whole clothes were pitch black, embroidered with various ferocious beasts. He had a jade belt around his waist and wore the Gaowang Sword.

His seat was very simple, but when he sat on it, it seemed a little different.

The whole person is majestic and awe-inspiring.

The officials sat on the left and right.

Lu Qubing, Tian Zili, Cui Gang, Zhu Jiande, Zu Ting, Wei Shou, Yuan Xiubo, Tang Yong, Lu Sidao, Shi Daozhi, Cheng Zhe, Gao Ma, Zhang Chong, Changsun Jiaye
Bao Xian, Pi Jinghe, Yi Lou, Wei Jiong, Shi Yao, Yao Xiong, Kou Liu, Zhang Hei Zu, Po Duo Luo Ku, Liu Cheng Cai, Tu Xi Yue, Yan Hei Ta, Li Qin Hu, Xu Zhi Cai, He Ba Cheng, Du Gu Jie
When Liu Taozi looked at it, she couldn't even see the end, it was so vast.

Zu Ting stood up first. He looked at everyone and then at Liu Taozi.

"Congratulations, General, on your promotion!!"

Everyone then stood up and saluted Liu Taozi, "Congratulations, General!!"

Everyone shouted in unison, the sound was deafening.

Even though the case, the stage, the surrounding fences and so on were so simple, at this moment this simplicity was completely overshadowed by the passion of the crowd.

Liu Taozi motioned for everyone to sit down.

He then said, "Fortunately, your Majesty has appreciated me, bestowed upon me the title of Duke of a County, and entrusted me with important tasks."

"Today, you are willing to follow me, manage the frontier with me, repel foreign enemies, build achievements, and realize your ambitions. It is really my great honor."

"Today, the world is exhausted, with powerful enemies outside and traitors inside. It is time for us, people of noble character and lofty ideals, to contribute to stabilizing the world, supporting the country, and saving the people from danger."

"I hope to share this with you all!"

Liu Taozi raised the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"I am willing to follow the general!!"

Everyone shouted and drank.

The banquet officially began, and Liu Taozi started by giving out rewards and promotions.

Bao Xian was appointed as the governor of Yanzhou, Pi Jinghe as the governor of Anzhou, and Yao Xiong was ordered to guard the border of Yanzhou and follow Bao Xian. Zhang Heizu was ordered to follow Pi Jinghe and guard Anzhou, Kou Liu was ordered to guard Shuozhou, and Po Duoluo Ku was ordered to guard Hengzhou.
Liu Taozi had no shortage of local officials. Many officials came to him for help, and many of them stayed in the local area. Gao Rui also recommended a group of people to him.

After completing the appointment of local officials, he began to read out the appointments of prefectural officials.

Zu Ting, Tian Zili, Lu Qubing, Cui Gang and others were incorporated into the government officials and became "ministers of the temple", different from other local officials.

Only then did everyone realize that their seats were arranged according to their positions, namely, those of prefectural officials and those of local officials.

The general is planning to rebel! !
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was arranging a small court for himself on the premise of legality.

However, the government is becoming increasingly weak, and Liu Taozi has long shown a tendency to become more powerful in the border areas. The government could not control him in the past, and it is even less able to control him now.

Liu Taozi not only gave them official appointments, but also gave them many rewards.

Finally, he did not forget to remind everyone that under his rule, the law must be strictly enforced and must not be violated!
After discussing these important appointments, Zu Ting came out again and this time began to discuss matters such as the governance of various places.

This time, he came out as the chief secretary of General Wei.

It's actually very simple to say.

There are only three things to do right now.

The first thing is to grant land, and the land must be granted actually.

The second is the study rooms. We will open more study rooms and establish a more complete assessment mechanism to select real talents.

The third is the military government, which combines soldiers and civilians, implements the military government system, changes the original military system, and recruits strong farmers to form an army.

However, under these three major events, there are many smaller things. For example, the land grant included punishing local temples, taking back many mines, ensuring the safety of farmers from being harmed by officials, and so on.

However, the situation in each place is different, which requires the "temple" to continue to coordinate with the local areas.

After discussing these serious topics, the party became relaxed.

People can talk to each other and get to know each other.

People also frequently came to toast Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi's expression still looked a little cold and unfriendly. He was not very suitable for this lively atmosphere.

Just when everyone was chatting and the scene was extremely lively, a soldier walked in quickly.

The soldier ran all the way to Liu Taozi and whispered something.

Liu Taozi frowned. Zu Ting was the first to notice something was wrong and hurried to Liu Taozi's side.

"My Lord? What happened?"

"A group of warriors with more than 600 people have just entered Shuozhou."

"what??"

"Why did the Warrior Battalion come to Shuozhou?"

"They said they were here to take over the many garrisons outside Shuozhou and defend against the Zhou people."

"Send some soldiers over to replace them in the garrison, and let these warriors come directly to Wuchuan."

Zu Ting suddenly realized, oh, it was the people sent by the old man.

He looked at the parade ground again. It was very lively and full of talented people. Even Zu Ting couldn't help but feel excited when looking at this scene, and felt that great things were to come.

"My lord, we have to move the capital."

"what?"

"Well, Wuchuan is too small and too remote. I think the General Wei's Mansion can be set up in Pingcheng."

"Pingcheng is the center of all places. The city is large and there are ready-made palaces inside that can be used directly."

(End of this chapter)