Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 282 Great Joy!

Wuchuan, Dongtai.

The sky was dim, not yet completely bright.

Dongtai was empty and the officials had not arrived yet.

Suddenly, a warrior rushed in quickly and ran towards the inner room. The warrior walked hurriedly and looked tired. The chaotic footsteps interrupted the silence in the office.

Suddenly, a candle was lit in the inner room.

The door was opened, Zu Ting hurriedly stuck his head out, and saw a warrior coming towards him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The warrior hurriedly saluted and said, "Grandfather, there are urgent documents coming. One is from Yecheng, and the other two are from General Kouliu."

Zu Ting took them and nodded casually.

"Okay, I see."

"You go and rest first."

He searched his body and went back into the house. When he came out, he had some money in his hand and handed it to the warrior.

The warrior dared not accept it, but Zu Ting smiled and said, "You post riders have a hard time. You walked at night, didn't you? Take it back and buy some food to replenish your body!"

"Thank you, Grandfather!!"

The warrior then took the things, bowed repeatedly, and left.

Zu Ting watched the other person leave with a smile, then he quickly looked inside the house, "Come out!"

The next moment, an elderly woman came out of the house in a hurry. She was disheveled and looked around nervously, "No one here?"

"What are you afraid of? Your beloved has been dead for many years. Come on, I'll take you away."

"Bah! You ugly fellow tricked me into coming here last night, and now you're in a hurry to chase me away at dawn?"

"Hahaha, if you don't want to leave, you can stay."

"Don't joke, take me to the car quickly."

Zu Ting hurriedly led the woman away secretly. After seeing her off, Zu Ting returned to the inner room with the letters.

Sitting at the desk, he opened the document from Yecheng.

He obtained this letter through private channels.

Zugong had many friends in Yecheng. In many cases, Zu Ting would know the news in advance before others did.

Zu Ting lowered his head and looked through the contents of the letter. After reading it once, he frowned.

Couldn't help but watch it again.

Look at it over and over again.

Zu Ting read this document over and over again countless times.

Suddenly, he put the letter down, "Pa~~"

Zu Ting gave himself a sharp slap in the face, then picked up the letter to read again.

"Haha. Hahahaha~~~"

Zu Ting's laughter gradually changed from low to high.

In the end, he laughed so exaggeratedly that he could not sit still. He looked excited. He took a deep breath, opened the letter sent by Kou Liu, and looked at it a few more times. He laughed even louder.

"Someone is coming!!"

"Come here!!!"

Zu Ting rushed out of the study and shouted loudly.

The next moment, the soldiers guarding the government office rushed in, holding weapons and looking around vigilantly. They saw Zu Ting, who was disheveled and barefoot. Zu Ting shouted, "Quickly gather the officials!!"

"Let them come to Dongtai now! Quickly! Quickly!!"

For a time, the soldiers were running around everywhere, and the officials all had their own residences. They were not like Zu Ting who lived directly in the government office.

The soldiers went to report one by one. Many people were still asleep and were woken up by the soldiers. When they learned that it was Zu Ting who urgently summoned them, they all believed that something big had happened. No one dared to delay and they all rushed to the government office.

When the officials gathered in Dongtai, each one was shabbier than the other.

Some had messy hair, some wore the wrong shoes, and some were listless.

Everyone rushed into the Dongtai lobby, clamoring.

As soon as I came in, I saw Zu Ting sitting in the upper seat with a refreshed look on his face, wearing brand new clothes and looking very energetic.

"Everyone, please take a seat!!"

Everyone didn't ask too many questions at this moment and hurriedly took their seats.

Zu Ting looked at them with a grin on his face.

"Everyone."

"Hahahaha~~"

As soon as Zu Ting opened his mouth, he couldn't help laughing again.

Everyone was confused. Is this guy crazy?
Zu Ting laughed for a long time before he calmed down again, "Everyone, this is such a great joyous event!!"

"The imperial court has established the Northern Dao Grand Secretariat!!"

When Zu Ting said this, everyone was in an uproar. There was a look of joy on everyone's face and they all started to chuckle.

This is indeed a great thing.

The Grand Secretariat of the Northern Circuit means that from now on they will be an imperial court of their own and can formally enthrone court officials, which is of extraordinary significance. After taking this step, they are no longer ordinary ministers, but basically a country within a country, an independent country.

Wei Shou clapped his hands excitedly.

"Great! Great! This is all thanks to Grandpa!"

No wonder this guy gathered everyone together so early in the morning and smiled so happily.

Zu Ting looked at everyone congratulating and celebrating, and said again: "It's not just that!!"

"Everyone!! The King of Longdong in the temple of Ye City! He is a true virtuous man! A great talent! A pillar of the Qi Dynasty!!"

"King Hu Xian feels that the Xingtai alone is not enough to govern the North!"

"He sent all those incompetent officials in the court, including the Shangshu, Langzhong, Yilang, Pushe, Zuocheng, Sanqi, Lingshi, etc., a total of 58 people, to the frontier to serve as officials!"

"I just took a look at the list, hahahaha~~"

Zu Ting couldn't help laughing again. He suppressed his ecstasy and said tremblingly, "Come on, pass this list around so that everyone can see it!"

The scholar at the side handed the list to Lu Qubing. Lu Qubing took a quick look at it and was stunned.

Oh my god! ! !
If Zu Ting hadn't said that this was the list of people coming to the frontier, Lu Qubing would have thought that this was the list of ministers in the three courts. Looking at it this way, all the famous and capable ministers of the court who were pragmatic were on the list! Not one was missing!
Is this setting up a branch office? ? Is this moving the three stations directly here? ?

Lu Qubing passed the list to the people around him, and the officials scrambled to see it.

Wherever the list went, there was silence.

When Wei Shou saw the list, he was completely panicked, "Grandfather?! Is this true??"

"How can it be false?"

"Why?!"

Wei Shou was a little confused at the moment. He didn't understand, if the government took these people away, what would be left?
A Gao Yu who is alone? ? A Zhao Yanshen who only knows how to save his life? ?

"Hu Changren has no foundation in the government, and he cannot make these people submit, so he is going to form his own team."

At this moment, all the ministers in the hall were talking about it in disbelief.

Zu Ting saw that they had almost finished discussing it, and finally said, "Well, there is one more thing."

"The new minister of the new government is held by Gao Yun, the Prince of Pengcheng. He has already passed Bingzhou and is about to reach Sixian."

Zu Ting divided the good news into three parts, and the officials were a little confused at this moment.

Wei Shou stood there in a daze, muttering to himself:
"Gao Yu is here? Is Yecheng still a temple?"

At this moment, Lu Qubing finally understood Zu Ting's inappropriate ecstasy, because Lu Qubing was also very excited and he was so excited that he was almost speechless.

"That's good. That's good."

"King Pengcheng is a talented ruler, and with so many capable ministers to help him, why should he worry about not prospering?!"

Zu Ting gave everyone time to digest the news. After a while, he stood up and said, "Lord Lu, the affairs of the General Wei's Mansion will be handed over to you for the time being. I have to go to Shuozhou immediately to welcome King Pengcheng and many other ministers."

"I have sent someone to inform the king. The king is on his way and will be back soon."

Zu Ting temporarily handed the matter over to Lu Qubing and quickly left the office. There was already a carriage waiting for him outside. Zu Ting did not hesitate and quickly got into the carriage. Surrounded by many knights, he galloped towards the city gate.

At this moment, the officials in the office came out in twos and threes.

Wei Shou looked a little frustrated. He smiled bitterly and said, "I was still thinking about the establishment of the Xingtai and my reinstatement. If these people come, how can I fight for them?"

Cui Gang heard his words and said seriously: "In the past, you were able to hold your own among these people, so what do you have to worry about now?"

Wei Shou suddenly realized what was happening. He pulled Cui Gang's hand and asked, "When will your grandfather come?"

"My grandfather was banished from the imperial court a long time ago. He is now in the countryside, but I don't know when he will come back."

"Let him come earlier so he can keep me company!"

"What kind of local official want to be? Come here to be the Shangshu!" Liu, Shuozhou.

On the official road leading to Sizhou, Zu Ting stood excitedly among the crowd, walking back and forth.

Zu Ting rushed to Shuozhou as quickly as possible and arrived at the official road in advance to prepare for work.

At this moment, many officials of Shuozhou stood beside him, with their heads lowered, not daring to be rude.

Armored soldiers are setting up defenses around here to ensure the safety of everyone coming.

Zu Ting rubbed his hands. A middle-aged scholar stood beside him with a serious expression, also looking into the distance.

This scholar was called Hu Changcan. Although his name also began with "Hu Chang", he was not the brother of Hu Changren.

It's not that there is no relationship at all, but the relationship is not that close.

This former Shangshutai Zuo Pushe was the first to come to Shuozhou.

The reason why he was the first to arrive was because he was the first to leave Yecheng.

This gentleman was an extremely old-fashioned and serious person. When he was working in the Secretariat, he would show no mercy to anyone, and he offended many ministers including Zhao Yanshen early on.

Hu Changren originally wanted to use him, but he found out that the two of them had natural incompatible personalities and were not the same kind of people at all.

After enduring the old-fashioned and paranoid Hu Changcan for a long time, Hu Changren finally got his chance. On the day when he was preparing to set up the Xingtai, the first person he expelled was Hu Changcan.

He did not give the other party any chance to stay and forced his soldiers to escort him out.

Earlier than anyone else.

This resulted in the other party being the first to arrive in Shuozhou.

At this moment, it has been a month since Zu Ting left Wuchuan.

This means that Zu Ting missed the most important decision-making on autumn harvest and other matters this year, but Zu Ting did not regret it at all.

It's worth it.

It was this Hu Changcan that Zu Ting liked very much.

The current frontier model is suitable for this kind of minister who is particular about details. Hu Changcan is an honest person, has no hobbies, few friends, and is rigorous in his work. Isn't he a natural minister?

At this moment, Hu Changcan expressed his own opinion.

"Grandfather, according to the rules, the temple has set up a temporary office. When the Shangshu Ling comes, the Prince of Pingcheng should come to greet him personally. If the Prince of Pingcheng cannot come, the local governor should come. You are an official in the Wei General's mansion. It is not in accordance with the rules for you to come to greet him."

Zu Ting nodded with a smile, "You are right!"

He wasn't angry at all.

I even want to hear a few more sentences.

In the current power of Prince Pingcheng, there is no shortage of grassroots officials, not to mention brave generals. From top to bottom, they are all a group of brutes who can chop people. There are only two things that are lacking.

The first one is the important official who is capable of managing large-scale affairs, commonly known as important officials in the temple.

Governing one place is different from governing all places under your command. This requires practice, and there are very few people with this experience in the General's Office. Most of them are young people. It's not that they don't have talent, but they are too young. They have never been exposed to this level in the past, so it is inevitable that there will be some omissions in their work.

The second is the high-level clerks.

Officials in the temple are different from officials in the local areas. This also requires training.

This time, both were completed.

There are almost no shortcomings.

Well, maybe it’s time to consider the naval generals next.

There is water in many places on the border, and we will inevitably have to deal with people from the south in the future, so it is better to be prepared.

While listening to the other party's advice, Zu Ting was planning his future.

Suddenly, there was a noisy sound of conversation on the flat official road.

Zu Ting came back to his senses and looked into the distance.

Then I saw a group of people slowly appearing in the distance, with knights protecting them on both sides, running back and forth, with many carriages in the middle, and people riding horses, making a grand procession.

Zu Ting hurriedly led everyone forward on foot.

They were almost about to collide with the knight leading the way when Zu Ting stopped, stepped aside and bowed deeply.

"Zu Ting pays homage to King Pengcheng!!"

Gao Yu did not take a carriage. He rode a horse and walked in front of the team. Two men who looked like scholars followed him on his left and right. They were chatting animatedly, but Zu Ting's shout interrupted them.

Gao Yu looked at Zu Ting calmly, with neither wariness nor disgust in his eyes.

Gao Yun, who was driven out, seemed to be 20 years younger. Originally, when he was in his twenties, he looked like an old minister in his forties.

But now, he is just over 30 years old, wearing military uniform, with bright eyes and clean face, he looks like he is in his twenties.

"No need to be so polite, please stand up, ancestor."

Zu Ting then stood up and looked at the other people around Gao Yin, wanting to salute as well. However, these people did not dare to accept his salute, mainly because Zu Ting was old, older than many of them.

Zu Ting glanced at the number of people and asked, "Are there still people on the way?"

Gao Yu nodded and said, "Many old officials cannot walk too fast, so they followed behind, and we went ahead."

"I see."

"My king, I have prepared a banquet in the city. Please follow me."

Zu Ting hurriedly ordered everyone to clear the way, and Gao Yin asked him to ride a horse and follow him.

Gao Yu looked around curiously. After entering Shuozhou, the first thing that caught his eye was the endless farmland on both sides.

“It’s a good harvest.”

"Yes, thanks to the auspicious snow this year, conditions are very good everywhere. Even places like Wuchuan are lush and green this year."

Gao Yu took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped and looked around. "Grandfather, why don't you take them to rest first? I want to go and take a look at the farmland over there."

Zu Ting was not surprised. He immediately arranged for officials to lead the rest of the people to rest, and he wanted to accompany Gao Yun. However, these officials were also curious about this place, and most of them were unwilling to leave and wanted to follow to see it.

Zu Ting led them out of the official road and headed for the farmland and villages in the distance.

There are mostly wheat fields here, and the golden wheat is piled up on the roadside. Gao Yin even squatted down and picked up the wheat to check.

The farmers in the distance did not dare to approach, so an official stepped forward to answer them.

No matter what Gao Yu wanted to ask, there would be a corresponding official to answer him. After inspecting the farmland, he went to the countryside and villages.

Donkey carts went back and forth on the path, and children followed behind the carts, playing and laughing.

Gao Yun wandered around for the whole day and when he returned to the city, it was already midnight.

The next day, before daybreak, Gao Xun went out again.

Zu Ting did not feel annoyed, so he accompanied Gao Yin. The two of them went to many places, including farmland, villages, mines, horse farms, schools, temples, and parade grounds. They went to every place they could go.

The big trees on both sides shook off their yellow leaves, and the dead leaves piled up on the path, forming a beautiful carpet.

Gao Yu, wearing a loose robe and leading a horse, walked on the fallen leaves, while Zu Ting followed him, leading the horse.

"All those who are granted land must undergo training. The strong ones will join the army, and the rest can also play a role in protecting the village. Many of us officials have received military training. If we encounter thieves, we can call on the young and strong in the village to defend and capture them. There used to be many horse thieves here, but they have disappeared in the past two years. Occasionally, we hear news of villages being attacked, but only two or three times a year."

Zu Ting carefully introduced many local conditions to Gao Yin.

Gao Yin listened very seriously.

After walking through this path, we came to a high slope.

At the foot of the high slope, one could see the endless, ever-increasing farmland, with smoke rising from the sky. Several young men driving donkey carts stood up, laughing and racing. The donkey carts made a loud noise and rushed past, as if they were chariots.

Gao Yin looked at everything in the distance calmly.

Zu Ting was cursing, so he hurried forward and shouted, "Hey!!"

"Just you little brats! Drive slower! I'll go find your grandfather later!"

Hearing Zu Ting's scolding, the boys who were racing donkey carts were so scared that they slowed down and disappeared from the path with their heads down.

Zu Ting walked back with a smile, "Excuse me, Your Majesty. The people here are tough and sturdy. These guys are all like this, driving a donkey cart as if it were a chariot!"

Gao Yu laughed and said, "I am just young and ignorant."

The autumn wind blows slowly, it is very comfortable.

"Where is the Prince of Pingcheng now?"

"Maybe in Wuchuan."

"Then please trouble Grandpa to take me to see him."

"No hurry, no hurry. It's fine if Your Majesty wants to watch it for a few more days."

"I can watch these young men racing donkey carts for days without getting bored. But don't watch them for now. Go do your work first. Wait until you have finished everything."

“I plan to move here and settle down.”

"Hahaha, if there really comes a day like that, I would like to be your neighbor!"

"Hahaha~~~"

(End of this chapter)