Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 268 The Retired Emperors
The Queen Mother came in a hurry and left in a hurry as well.

After all, she didn't dare to forcefully grab Lu Lingxuan to question her, and she didn't even dare to say anything harsh.

However, when she left, the look she gave Gao Rui was particularly cold.

There is no need to say much about the desire for revenge; anyone with a discerning eye can see it.

Gao Wei watched his mother leave, and he felt particularly happy.

Over the years, his parents have not been very kind to him. In their eyes, they only have Gao Yan as their younger brother.
Especially Empress Dowager Hu, who was always particularly disgusted when facing her eldest son and hardly ever got close to him. Every time Gao Wei went to pay a visit to her, he was ruthlessly driven away by her, as if he was some shameful trash.

Gao Wei did not have the horrible idea of ​​killing his mother in his mind, but being able to make his mother speechless and leave in disgrace was a rare victory for him.

At this moment, he looked at Gao Rui again, and his eyes became much brighter.

My elder sister didn’t lie to me!

Gao Rui's eyes became somewhat complicated when he looked at Gao Wei at this moment.

Apart from anything else, Gao Wei's performance during the few times Gao Rui came to visit him was impeccable. He was a wise ruler among wise rulers. He agreed with everything Gao Wei said, but this time he contradicted the empress dowager for his own sake.

Unfortunately, Emperor Gao’s credibility is too low.

Every generation of emperors has caused great harm to those who believed in them.

His Majesty is still young, and Gao Rui knows very well that these were all taught by others. He just looked at Lu Lingxuan calmly, said goodbye to the emperor, and left.

Lu Lingxuan hurriedly followed him.

"Prince Zhao."

Gao Rui stopped, turned around and looked at Lu Lingxuan indifferently.

Lu Lingxuan's face was solemn. She said seriously, "As a woman, I shouldn't get involved in these major events. However, I saw the Queen Mother's expression just now. She was extremely angry. Your Majesty also contradicted the Queen Mother for you. I only hope that the King can protect Your Majesty and not let him be implicated."

Gao Rui narrowed his eyes and looked at the hall in the distance again.

"You want to take over the harem from the Queen Mother?"

Lu Lingxuan was stunned, "How dare I."

"Before Your Majesty ascended the throne, I met him. He was still ignorant and naive, and he was afraid of me. How come he suddenly dotes on me so much now, and even dares to contradict the Queen Mother?"

"Isn't this what you taught me?"

"it's me."

Lu Lingxuan's face was full of solemnity. She said, "As the mother of the emperor, the queen mother never thought of teaching the emperor anything. She was afraid that others would get close to the emperor, and she did not allow the King of Pengcheng to send great scholars to teach him. These things can only be taught by me. I have no ability and I don't know how to teach him. I just told him that you are a loyal minister, and he should respect you and listen to you."

"I know His Majesty is young and not very talented, but at least he is obedient."

Gao Rui turned around and was about to leave.

Lu Lingxuan immediately raised her voice, "Does the king really not care about Da Qi at all?!!"

Gao Rui stopped again.

Lu Lingxuan said loudly: "Even a woman like me knows that the white disaster in the north has turned into a blessing, the wasteland has grown grass, and the dry river has flowed again."

"Even in the palace, people are talking about this matter, saying it is destiny."

"Prince Zhao is an important official of the Great Qi Dynasty. Doesn't he want to do something?!"

Gao Rui looked at her, frowning, "Is the palace also talking about it?"

"good."

"I don't know what major events are happening in the world, but I raised your Majesty. He was not loved by his parents, and now he is forced to be the emperor. I really don't want to see him suffer any humiliation and torture in the future. I know that the king is a loyal minister of the country. I can help you accomplish great things."

Gao Rui nodded gently, "I will protect your majesty."

He turned to leave for the third time.

Lu Lingxuan quickly said, "Tan Xian!"

Gao Rui frowned, "What?"

"Daxingsheng Temple, Tanxian."

"The Queen Mother went here several times and had an affair with this monk."

Gao Rui's face became even uglier. He was about to interrupt the other party, but Lu Lingxuan said, "The Queen Mother secretly summoned Tan Xian into the palace and had sex with him in the bedroom of the retired emperor, on the retired emperor's dragon bed. She called him the retired emperor."

Gao Rui's face was red as blood at this moment. He walked forward and stared at Lu Lingxuan, "What did you say?"

Lu Lingxuan looked at him calmly, "I have never lied. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to ask at Daxingsheng Temple. The monks in the temple all call him the Supreme Emperor."

At this moment, Gao Rui could hardly suppress the anger in his heart.

His teeth were clashing violently and he couldn't speak.

What a shame!!!

He could allow the emperor to be undermined, but he would never allow such humiliation to the royal family.

If this matter were to spread, he couldn't imagine to what extent the current temple's shaky reputation would fall.

Looking at Gao Rui, whose face was red, Lu Lingxuan said again: "Your Majesty, although I am a woman, I also know propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame. The Queen Mother's behavior is really excessive."

"If we let them do whatever they want, I'm afraid something big will happen."

"Besides, you and King Pengcheng punished many people, and they all went to seek refuge with the Queen Mother's clan. This angered the Queen Mother, and I don't know if it will endanger Your Majesty in the future."

"The Queen Mother has long wanted to make her youngest son the emperor."

"Your Majesty, please consider this matter seriously!"

Lu Lingxuan bowed to him and turned to leave.

This time, Gao Rui stood there in a daze, but Lu Lingxuan went back.

Back in the hall, Lu Lingxuan couldn't help but smile when she saw the emperor surrounded by palace maids again.

The Queen Mother is a complete fool.

Gao Yin and Gao Rui could never become powerful officials.

Because they are all good people.

Unable to do some of the things that are required of a powerful official.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner according to my ideas. Next, I need more allies to join.

Liu Mansion.

Liu Taozhi walked into the mansion with a tired face. With Liu Taozi's departure, the mansion became desolate again as before, and all the servants were driven away by Liu Taozhi.

He trusted no one except his own soldiers.

The soldier helped him take off his armor. He walked into the inner room, closed the door, and sat on the bed.

After sitting like this for a long time, Liu Zhang finally appeared beside Liu Taozhi.

Liu Taozhi rubbed his eyes and said helplessly, "I have been kept guarding for another day."

He took out a jade pendant from his arms and put it aside. "This is a gift from him."

Liu Zhang took the jade pendant and chuckled, "What a great reward! This is not an ordinary item."

Liu Taozhi frowned, her face full of confusion.

The new emperor's attitude towards him became increasingly strange and he was overly pampered.

The emperor would ask Liu Taozhi to stand guard for him from time to time, for a whole day. This was not abuse, but a great favor to the generals.

He often rewarded him with gifts and even mentioned making him a king.

Liu Taozhi really couldn't figure out what the other party was thinking.

Liu Zhang held the jade pendant in her hand, but she knew clearly in her heart.

"Your Majesty is still young, how could he know about things like winning over confidants, etc. Lu Lingxuan taught him."

"I am also suspicious. This woman is very strange. She was the one who proposed the matter of making him king."

"My dear, please do not underestimate this woman. Lu Lingxuan has great ambitions."

Liu Taozhi didn't care much. He shook his head and said, "She's just a woman."

"Besides, she only has one son who has no power. His Majesty is young and has no power. Whether it's Queen Mother Hu, Prince Pengcheng, or Prince Zhaojun, none of them can compare to her. What else can she plot?"

Lu Lingxuan was very close to the emperor, but she herself had no power. The only person who could move around was her son, and that son was not very smart.

There is no one from my parents' or husband's family.

There is not a single ally in the court, and even less a general outside.

If she dared to have any plans, it would be a bit unrealistic.

Liu Zhang did not answer Liu Taozhi's question. She frowned and began to think.

"This may be an opportunity for Taozi." "Opportunity??"

"Yes, it's a good opportunity."

"Most of the places where peaches now occupy are remote and bitterly cold, and peaches are weak, so how can they withstand such weather?"

"If it's Dingzhou, Youzhou, Jizhou, etc., it's still possible."

After hearing what Liu Zhang said, Liu Taozhi's eyes widened, and she seemed to want to say something but stopped herself. She really had a lot to say, but didn't know where to start.

"We gave him all the elite warriors in the Warrior Battalion before, and now we are giving him several large states in Hebei?"

"how can that be possible?"

"If Lian Ding and Ji Du start to belong to that brat, King Pengcheng will probably be unable to sit still."

"What's the difference between this and occupying half of Da Qi?"

Liu Zhang looked at Liu Taozhi tenderly, "My dear, if Taozi were to raise an army to attack Yecheng now and replace Da Qi, what do you think are the chances of success?"

Liu Taozhi stood up as if rebounding. He shook his head, as if to get rid of this terrible idea from his mind. "I have received great favors from King Gao. Although I have no ability, I have never betrayed him. I will never..."

"My dear, if it weren't for Taozi, I would be considered an outsider. With the same power as Taozi, what are the chances of success if I were to attack Yecheng?"

Liu Taozhi finally calmed down a little and sat down again.

"Prince Pingyuan is in Jinyang. Even if Hulugu does not help the government, he will definitely not help him. Prince Pingyuan has elite soldiers and generals under his command. The chance of winning is about 30%."

"If we have Ji, we will definitely wait for the big state?"

Liu Taozhi pondered for a moment again, "Fifty percent?"

"I am just a woman. I don't know about the war or the situation. Even with my superficial vision, I can see that Taozi now has a 50% chance of winning."

"Taozi's border soldiers are already strong. The newly trained Han army has fought against Yang Zhong many times before and has extraordinary combat power. Now Baoxian is training another army for him. What he lacked in the past was just food. Now food from outside is continuously flowing into his army. Auspicious signs are beginning to appear in the north, and food and grass are gradually becoming sufficient. By autumn, he will no longer be restricted by food and grass."

"By that time, everyone will be united, have sufficient food and grass, be brave, and have a courageous general. No matter how powerful Duan Shao is and how strong his generals are, can we still say that he can easily defeat Taozi?"

"King Pengcheng may not be unaware of the Warrior Battalion's visit to Taozi, but he just doesn't dare to intervene."

"Not only him, Gao Rui doesn't dare to intervene either."

"Because they no longer have the confidence to win against Taozi, even Duan Shao is the same."

"Of course, the King of Pengcheng and the King of Zhao will not allow Taozi's power to expand again. If Taozi really has the great province of Hebei, then it will not be a border force. The troops can attack Yecheng at any time and bypass Jinyang to fight. But not everyone thinks so."

"For example, Lu Lingxuan, she has big ambitions and is quite conceited. She has no allies at the moment, and she will do anything to support the emperor in ruling the country."

"This is how I crown you king."

"If you can make your husband a king, why can't you make Taozi a state?"

"For her, it is important to gain power as quickly as possible and start doing things. As for what impact this will cause, she doesn't care."

Liu Taozhi frowned, "This is different. Conferring the title of king on me is just adding one more title. It won't have much impact."

"But if she wants to give Lord Liu a large state, isn't she afraid that Lord Liu's army will come and take her as a prisoner?"

Liu Zhang shook her head slightly. "People like her are often very selfish. They only care about themselves. They don't care about the means to achieve their goals. They don't care about the country or the harm. If Taozi's army came, maybe she would persuade the emperor to surrender in exchange for a title, and she can still live a comfortable life."

"how do you know?"

Liu Zhang smiled and did not answer the question.

Liu Taozhi sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"With a powerful enemy at hand, the country is still like this."

"Wei Xiaokuan's bandit army has started to frequently carry out activities in Yecheng again, but I can't stop them."

"Alas, the Western bandits will surely launch a massive attack this year. I don't know if we can resist them."

Zhou, Yubi City.

The office was quiet.

There were more than thirty warriors sitting in the front yard, all with their heads bowed.

Wei Xiaokuan put his hands behind his back and walked back and forth in front of them.

He looked much older than before, with more and more gray in his hair, and he just walked back and forth.

No one dared to speak, or even look up.

"It disappeared again. It disappeared again."

"Zhao Kuseng has also lost contact?"

Wei Xiaokuan finally stopped and looked at the people in front of him with confusion.

He had never suffered such a great loss in this field. The border of Qi State, which had been one-way transparent to him in the past, was now filled with the fog of war, and there was a large area of ​​darkness in his vision.

He tried to place a ward to light up the map.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the war this year, he put in a lot of effort and set up a lighting plan.

A lantern-keeper went to Shuozhou in person, with a huge organization of over 800 people at his disposal. He vowed to light up all the places along the border and get to know Liu Taozi inside and out.

The plan has been implemented for three months, but the results are extremely limited.

A large number of people never returned, and many of them lost contact directly.

Wei Xiaokuan was confused for a moment. He didn't know what went wrong.

He looked at the people in front of him again, his brows furrowed.

Could it be that someone is around me? ?
Liu Taozi used my method to deal with me? ?

But the more than 30 people sitting in front of him at this moment were all old men who had followed Wei Xiaokuan for many years, and each of them was his die-hard confidant. Wei Xiaokuan didn't believe that anyone among these people would betray him.

But if there wasn't an insider, why would this happen?

Not only Wei Xiaokuan, but also many of his close confidants were feeling uneasy at the moment. They also felt that something was wrong around them.

Wei Xiaokuan sighed, "Such a huge investment, how can it be wasted?"

"Wenxian, you should continue to handle this matter and contact the lantern master as soon as possible to find out why everyone is missing!!"

"only!"

Wei Xiaokuan waved his hand and asked everyone to leave.

Just as he was dragging his tired body and preparing to go back to rest, another confidant hurriedly stood by his side. The man took out a document and whispered, "General, this is the intelligence from the Turks."

"What happened?"

"Shetu was killed in battle, and Ashina Yan was very angry. His advisers told him that the reason for such a disastrous defeat was that the intelligence we provided was wrong."

"They thought we misrepresented the situation in Youzhou, causing them to underestimate Gao Changgong, which led to this outcome, and they wanted us to compensate them."

Wei Xiaokuan was stunned. "Compensation?"

"Huh, are they crazy?"

"What's wrong with the information we reported? Youzhou Governor Gao Changgong is a young man with a small army. What's wrong with that?"

"Tens of thousands of people can't defeat Gao Changgong's hundreds of cavalrymen, and they want to come and ask us for punishment. Do you want me to give you an explanation? Give you compensation?"

The henchman said nothing.

In fact, a lot of the information they provided this time was completely different from the past. In the past, they could even find out how many deputy generals a person had, what his past battle records were, and what his personality was like. But now, at most they could know some information that everyone knew. Even the Turks could find out about Gao Changgong's experience as the governor of Youzhou if they were interested.

Wei Xiaokuan showed some impatience for the first time.

"The situation is not good. The people of Yandu dare not gather outside Youzhou anymore? If there are no Turks to raid the city, what will happen to Yongfeng?!"

"Liu Taozi Liu Taozi."

Wei Xiaokuan suddenly grabbed his confidant and said, "You must leave now and go to Chang'an immediately."

"Go tell the Duke of Jin."

"I want to go back to Chang'an to discuss the military deployment with him. Please ask him to let me go back to Chang'an once!!"

The confidant looked at the nervous Wei Xiaokuan and became solemn, "General, I will definitely fulfill my mission."

He turned and left.

If he fails to accomplish this task, he will not come back alive.

Wei Xiaokuan stretched out his hand and wanted to call him, but no sound came out.

He looked towards the north in dejection and confusion.

In another iron-like prison, there also lived a "little old man" in shackles, watching the situation deteriorate.

ps: He often went to Buddhist temples and had an affair with the monk Tan Xian. He spread gold and silver under Xian's seat and hung a bed decorated with precious stones on the wall of Xian's room, which Wu Cheng used to sleep with. He placed a hundred monks in the inner hall and asked them to listen to his lectures. He slept with Tan Xian day and night. He regarded Xian as Zhao Xuantong. The monks pointed to the empress dowager from afar to tease Tan Xian, and even called him the Supreme One. ——"Book of Northern Qi"

(End of this chapter)