Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 280 New World, New Doctor

Inside the palace.

Lu Lingxuan opened her mouth wide and looked at Hu Changren in disbelief, not daring to believe what she heard.

Is this guy crazy too? ?

Hu Changren had no idea what a huge impact his words had on Lu Lingxuan. He smiled and said, "I think this is a good thing. Throw all our enemies out."

He looked at Lu Lingxuan's shocked face, thinking that she was unwilling to be an enemy of Liu Taozi. He immediately raised his head and said proudly: "I know you are close to Liu Taozi, but I still want to remind you that my influence is now spread all over the court and the country. I can make Liu Taozi a commoner with just one decree!"

"Of course, this doesn't mean that I must be an enemy of Liu Taozi, but you have to see the situation clearly. You are in Yecheng, and Liu Taozi is at the border... Speaking of assistance, I can still help you do more things. If you are willing to help me deal with Liu Taozi, then I can leave all the important matters in the harem to you! ”

Lu Lingxuan looked at Hu Changren in front of her. He had changed a lot. Just a while ago, he still looked worried and full of concerns about domestic and international affairs. Now he has some sense of the overall situation and can win over others. He is considered a good ally.

But within a short period of time, Hu Changren had undergone a drastic change.

His face was ferocious, his eyes were fiery, and his whole body seemed to be distorted.

As soon as he opened his mouth, his unbridled arrogance and conceit were revealed without any concealment.

Seeing Lu Lingxuan's eyes, Hu Changren even felt a little angry. He raised his voice again and said loudly: "This is a gift to you because you helped me win over those ministers. If not, I would drive you out of the palace right now!"

"The places that Liu Taozi governs are all remote and poor. The people in ten frontier fortresses combined are not as many as those in Qingdu. As for strong troops, the troops from Jinyang are with me. What are his troops?"

"Don't make a mistake!"

Hu Changren made a harsh remark, raised his head, and waited for the other party to bow his head.

Lu Lingxuan was now finally certain that Hu Changren was also crazy.

Like the emperors before him, he was poisoned by power and began to lose himself in endless illusions.

Lu Lingxuan smiled and nodded gently, "Of course I am willing to work for the king."

Hu Changren laughed loudly, and at this moment his laughter already sounded a bit like Emperor Wenxuan's.

He immediately stated his demands. What he wanted was very simple. He wanted to drive all the opposition factions including Gao Yun to the border. This required Lu Lingxuan and the emperor to issue an imperial decree, and then he, as the chief minister, would take charge of it. After these people were driven away, he could fill the vacant positions with his own people.

By then, the whole court will be filled with talented people whom he can trust, there will be no more traitors causing chaos, and the world will surely be in great order.

Lu Lingxuan approved of the other party's idea and praised his wisdom.
Hu Changren left the palace triumphantly.

Luo Deva came out from behind the screen in astonishment, looked at Hu Changren leading the soldiers away, and asked in confusion: "What happened to Hu Changren?"

Lu Lingxuan remained calm. "A person like him, who suddenly has great power in his hands, will definitely want to use it to the greatest extent possible to let others know how powerful he is."

"Everyone flattered him, so he felt that he was really that powerful, that he knew everything, and that no one could defeat him."

Luo Deva was silent for a while, then asked: "What should we do then?"

"Just do as he says."

"If we want Liu Taozi to stand on our side, we naturally need to give him something in exchange. If we can't give him soldiers and food, then we can only give him power. Hu Changren was afraid of Liu Taozi and regarded this as a humiliation, so he found an excuse for himself."

Lu Lingxuan pondered for a long time before saying, "We can't do anything to him right now. Let's just listen to him and calm down the border situation. As for Hu Changren, don't worry. If things continue like this, maybe we don't even need to do anything. He will destroy himself."

Luo Deva nodded blankly.

...........
Outside the palace.

Gao Yu roared angrily.

The soldiers just stood in front of him without saying a word, but did not let him in.

This time, the method the emperor used against Gao Yu was exactly the same method that Gao Zhan had used against Gao Guiyan in the past.

He bypassed the other party and directly issued an imperial edict to reward the ministers. By the time the other party knew about this, it was too late and they couldn't even enter the palace.

At that time, Gao Guiyan drank for several days in his own house. When he woke up and got on the carriage to the palace, he found out that he had become a governor of another place and his power had been taken away. He could only leave in anger.

Now Gao Yun was handling government affairs in the mansion all night. When he was done, he came to the palace to report, but was also stopped at the door. He learned that he had become the acting Shangshu Ling.

The impact of this on Gao Xin can be imagined.

At this moment, Gao Yu was so angry that he could hardly control himself.

He had lost the demeanor of a wise king in the past and even swore.

The soldiers didn't dare to attack him, but they didn't dare to let him in either.

Gao Yin was breathing heavily, various emotions constantly intertwining in his mind. He looked up at the city wall in front of him angrily and was about to pounce on it.

“Oh!! You can’t do this!! You can’t do this!!”

Gao Yan hurriedly jumped off the carriage, ran here, and stopped Gao Yin who was about to attack the palace.

"Brother, you don't know, these people..."

"Let's talk about it when we get home! Let's talk about it when we get home!"

Gao Yan hurriedly called for help and forced his brother onto the carriage, which quickly disappeared.

The soldiers then breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off their foreheads.

If Gao Yun really attacked the palace regardless of the consequences, they really wouldn't know how to respond.

If I let him in, I'll die. If I try to subdue him, I'm afraid I'll also die...
At this moment, Gao Yin was sitting in the car, shaking with anger.

"Brother, the Northern Dao Grand Chancellor, they are crazy, crazy, this is openly splitting the temple! How can this be? How can this be?"

"Don't they understand what the Northern Dao Daxingtai is?"

"Hu Changren is courting disaster..."

Gao Xin speaks very fast.

Gao Yan sat opposite him, listening to his words, his face full of unspeakable pain.

"Yun... forget it. You can't be a powerful official. Gao Rui can't be one, and neither can I."

"Haven't you noticed yet? There are no more of our people in the three platforms. I just found out about this. Hu Changren has won over many ministers and can decide the world's affairs at will. Even the army of Yecheng has fallen into the hands of Lou Rui and him."

"Even Gao Xiaoyu is hanging out with Lou Rui and the others, who else can you use?"

"You can't give them power or money, and no one is willing to help you. No matter how great your ambition is, how can you achieve it?"

Gao Yu raised his head and looked at Gao Yan.

"Brother, are you going to leave me too?"

Gao Yan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, "I'm not leaving you, I just want to save your life. I know you are not afraid of death, and Gao Rui is not afraid of death either, but if you die, no matter how many ambitions and ideas you have, you won't be able to realize them. Now in Yecheng, you don't have any chance."

"Today's decree can be issued completely bypassing us, so tomorrow's decree to kill you can also be issued without your knowledge."

"Yan, you have no chance of winning."

Gao Yu was speechless.

He looked out of the car window blankly. "The emperor is gone, and everything is in the hands of the ministers. In the past, it was said that the emperor was the root of the chaos in the world, but now the emperor is young, and the situation has become worse. Many important ministers in the court who are known for their virtues can do anything, but they can't govern the world well? Why?"

"If tyrants and incompetent rulers are not the real reason for the decline of the world, then what is it?"

Hearing Gao Yin's question, Gao Yan remained silent.

Gao Yu did not expect his brother to solve his doubts for him, he answered his own questions himself.

"Brother, everything nowadays is the root cause and cannot be cured."

"From Emperor Wenxuan, to Emperor Xiaozhao, to the present day, the country has been declining step by step. The disease is deep-rooted and there is no cure."

Gao Yan suddenly interrupted his brother.

“That’s not the case.”

Gao Yu looked at him suddenly.

"When I was in Shuozhou, I saw a way to cure it."

"The situation there is different from anywhere else. I have never seen it in the past few decades."

"I think this might be an opportunity to govern the world."

Gao Yu asked in return: "What about things here?"

"Should we leave the affairs here to Hu Changren and the others?"

Gao Yan said seriously, "I will stay here." "Yun, you can't do anything here. You should have discovered that your decrees cannot leave Yecheng at all. If you force yourself to stay this time, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave your mansion."

"What can you do here?"

"Where are the people you promoted now? Where are the policies you promoted?"

Gao Yan shook his head. "I know Liu Taozi. He is not an ambitious person. Most of his subordinates care about the country. I think you can do more things there. Besides, if someone wants to instigate Liu Taozi to take the last step, you can stop him."

Gao Yan was very sincere at this moment. He held Gao Yu's hand and said seriously: "If the Northern Circuit Grand Secretariat is established, then most of the northern states will naturally be managed here. Hebei is fertile and rich, and it needs people like you to govern it. Besides, you can keep an eye on Liu Taozi and persuade him to be Huo Guang instead of Wang Mang."

"Neither you nor I can deal with these evil thieves in the world, but Liu Taozi can. He has all kinds of talents under his command, but he only lacks someone who can implement major policies and handle national affairs. Is there anyone more suitable than you?"

"Don't insist on staying here any longer. Listen to my advice and accept the imperial edict. With your help to Liu Taozi, perhaps we can join forces. Then, we can rule Hebei and the whole country, and accomplish an unprecedented feat..."

Gao Yan escorted the other party all the way to his own residence. Gao Yu was absent-minded at the moment and had no energy to discuss important matters with Gao Yan, so Gao Yan left temporarily.

Sitting in the carriage, Gao Yan's face was solemn, no longer as optimistic and comfortable as before.

All those words he just said were to fool his brother.

There is only one goal, to save his life.

Liu Taozi is an upright person. If he stays in the frontier, he may not die, but if he stays in Yecheng, he will be the next Gao Rui.

My younger brother doesn't have so many bad intentions and can't fight against these evil people.

It would be better to let him leave and leave himself to continue keeping an eye on Hu Changren.

Anyway, I don't have any talent, so it's not a pity for me to die.

....
The next day, an angel came to Gao Yin's house early and urged him to set off as soon as possible.

This time, Gao Yun's response was indeed much calmer.

Last night, he had been thinking about what his brother had said.

He knew the dangers of splitting the court, and he also knew the dangers of leaving Yecheng.

But if it is Yecheng, what can we do?

How could they force Hu Changren to change the imperial edict?
Gao Yu was unable to gather the people to work for his own benefit because he did not know how to reward them, to entertain them at banquets, or to promote and win over others.

He led those who were willing to follow him to work hard, but with little reward and with high risks.

Gradually, everyone was unwilling to follow him anymore.

In this situation, perhaps going to the border, governing the place first, and keeping an eye on Liu Taozi would be a good option.

While Gao Yu was still delaying, there were cries of grief and shouting everywhere in Yecheng.

Hu Changren did not even wait for the joint memorial from those people on the border to be sent to him. He took the initiative to summon all the ministers and proposed to set up the Northern Road Grand Secretariat in accordance with the emperor's edict and to appoint Gao Yun as the Minister of the Grand Secretariat.

For a time, all the ministers in the three palaces were in panic.

None of them understood what this meant.

But then, Hu Changren released the list of candidates going to the border.

Those who still have some morals, bottom line and integrity are all on this list.

What are Yang Xiuzhi, Cui Da'er, Zheng Chu, Pei Shiping, Feng Shu, Li Delin, Helian Ziyue, Xin Deyuan...

There was no room for negotiation on this matter. Hu Changren had already made all the preparations. He spent a large sum of money to win over Lou Rui and asked him to help maintain order. If anyone disobeyed the imperial edict, he would be dealt with according to the method for disobeying the imperial edict. Lou Rui agreed, but the King of Pengcheng was an exception.

As a result, a crazy wave of forced appointments began in Yecheng.

The soldiers came to protect these people and took their families to the border to take up their posts.

Except for these people, everyone was satisfied with this. After they left, many empty seats on the third stage were left, and these seats were naturally for those who stayed.

With the interests of many parties aligned, these people were forced to go to the border to take up their posts.

They themselves are confused and even more bewildered by the current situation.

Everyone was on their way up, but Gao Yin was the only one who didn't move.

Hu Changren became more and more anxious, and even summoned his three lackeys to discuss how to get rid of King Pengcheng.

Zou Xiaoyu persuaded Hu Changren earnestly and finally stopped him from killing him.

However, he failed to stop Hu Changren from meeting Gao Yun.

On this day, Hu Changren came to Gao Yun's mansion accompanied by more than a hundred soldiers.

When he wanted to force his way in, Gao Yin's servants opened the door and welcomed him in.

Gao Yin's mansion remains as simple and plain as ever.

Servants were preparing things, loading them onto the carriage, among them were many, many books.

Hu Changren looked at this scene, and the murderous look on his face suddenly dissipated a lot.

Gao Yun walked out from the busy crowd in the distance, wearing very simple clothes. His face was no longer frowned, and he no longer looked worried. He looked inexplicably relaxed, with a faint smile on his face, directing those people to move things.

"The King of Longdong is here."

Gao Yu walked forward and bowed gently, neither humble nor arrogant.

Hu Changren suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He returned the greeting and asked, "Is the King of Pengcheng preparing to go to the border?"

"Yes, there were a lot of things to take away, so it took some time."

"By the way, there is something I want to tell the King of Longdong. There are some documents in the Zhongshutai regarding the household registration and land of various states in Hebei. I want to take them all with me. Is that possible?"

"Hahaha, what's the big deal? Just take it away!"

Hu Changren laughed loudly, and the pride in his eyes became even more obvious. In his heart, he was sure that the other party had admitted defeat.

However, when facing losers, he is still willing to show more magnanimity.

He couldn't help but say, "King Pengcheng, don't feel discouraged. You can still do great things at the frontier."

Gao Yu nodded slightly, and then he looked at Hu Changren, "I heard that the King of Longdong sent many people to the border this time?"

"good."

"I was afraid that King Pengcheng was too weak to govern, so I selected some wise men and sent them on their journey ahead of time."

Gao Yu suddenly said, "Come to think of it, I don't have many people over there. There are still many young people in the court. I promoted them to study in various departments. I wonder if I can take these people with me?"

"Okay! If King Pengcheng wants anything else, just tell me!"

"Nothing."

Gao Yu shook his head and looked deeply at Hu Changren. "Then I would like to thank King Longdong. In this world, things always rise and fall. Your Majesty is now in charge of the government, so you must be cautious. The Zhou people are about to send troops. If you use the wrong people, it may bring disaster."

"I know."

"I have other important things to do, so I won't delay King Pengcheng from his journey!"

Hu Changren bowed and hurried away with everyone.

After getting in the car, Hu Changren's face became even more excited.

First he got rid of Gao Rui, and now he drove away Gao Yun. The entire Ye City finally fell into his hands. Even within the three towers, all those who were unwilling to be close to him were almost driven away, leaving behind a clean and wise temple.

If he has the power to appoint people to these vacant positions, then he owns the world.

He wished he could raise his head and let out a long roar at this moment.

The whole world belongs to me!!

Inside the mansion, Gao Yin was happily packing his things. He hadn't felt so relaxed in a long time, and had never even seen such a warm sun.

The sun hangs high in the sky, emitting warm light.

Everyone was talking and laughing while packing their bags.

Gao Yu felt so relaxed that even breathing seemed to be a special kind of comfort.

The root of the disease that could never be cured was finally abandoned by him.

He would take the part that could be cured and go to a new doctor.

(End of this chapter)