Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 285: Grand Chancellor Yuwen Hu
Chang'an, Imperial Palace.

Yuwen Yong sat with a serious expression, while Yuwen Hu looked up and was telling him to put state affairs first.

Yuwen Hu had to go into battle personally this time, even though he was not very confident and was reluctant, but things had suddenly developed to this point and he had no choice but to go.

He didn't dare to hand over so many troops to others, and he didn't even dare to divide his troops easily.

He was afraid that if he divided his troops, these generals would turn around and attack him.

Of course, he was also worried about the capital. He was not worried about Yuwen Yong, but he was worried that those old and immortal guys would kidnap or instigate Yuwen Yong to cause trouble.

Therefore, before leaving, he repeatedly reminded Yuwen Yong not to be deceived by the thieves.

Yuwen Yong listened very seriously.

"Are you leaving, my Lord?"

"Yes, the troops will be dispatched in twenty days. Your Majesty will come to see them off."

Yuwen Yong nodded quickly, "Of course."

"Sir, when I was chatting with Sanqi Yuwen Qianjia a few days ago, I heard him say that there was a war in Lingzhou and that Duke Suiguo had died. Is this true?"

Yuwen Hu frowned immediately, "Nonsense!!"

Yuwen Yong asked fearfully, "Sir, if the enemy has already reached Lingzhou, should I hide in the south?"

Looking at the useless Yuwen Yong, Yuwen Hu was a little angry, "How can the emperor avoid a thief general?!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The enemy general is only outside Lingzhou. Duke Sui is a famous general of the time and will not be defeated. Your Majesty can rest assured!!"

Speaking of this, Yuwen Hu's face turned very bad. He was even too lazy to tell Yuwen Yong about those important matters. He said perfunctorily and stood up to leave. However, Yuwen Yong stood up again and pulled his sleeve, "Sir, is Lingzhou really safe?"

Yuwen Hu's face was clearly filled with dissatisfaction. He pulled out his sleeves and said coldly, "Your Majesty, don't worry. If the country is to be destroyed, I will die first."

He turned and left without giving Yuwen Yong a chance to speak.

Yuwen Yong stood there in a daze, watching Yuwen Hu leave.

After Yuwen Hu walked out and there was no one in the room, Yuwen Yong's eyes became a little gloomy.

Yang Zhong was besieged in Lingzhou with a small force and the situation was critical, but Yuwen Hu refused to rescue him.

Does this guy have to destroy the country before he can feel at ease? ?

The Duke of Liang has already died, and we have to kill another Duke of Sui?

Yuwen Yong's fists were shaking. The current situation was all because of this guy.

He originally wanted to accumulate strength in secret, and when the time was right and he had the strength to succeed Yuwen Hu, he would suddenly take action to kill this guy, or simply wait for him to die of old age and then take action against his stupid sons.

But as things have developed to this point, Yuwen Yong can't wait any longer.

Yongfeng was lost, Shiya was lost, if Lingwu was also lost, then what was the point of governing the world? !

No, we must get rid of this bastard as soon as possible.

The elite soldiers and generals of the Great Zhou were allowed to suffer such harm by this bastard, and Liu Taozi took advantage of them!
Yuwen Yong narrowed his eyes, filled with murderous intent, and had already begun to ponder the grand plan of killing the traitorous ministers in his mind.

Yuwen Hu got on the car and hurried back to the mansion. As soon as he entered the study, he couldn't help but roar, "Go and bring Qian Jia to me!!"

The servants were terrified and hurried out.

A moment later, a man walked into the mansion. He looked at Yuwen Hu with fear and knelt on the ground.

"Father!"

"Who told you to tell the emperor about Lingzhou's affairs?!"

"You bastard! Are you planning to ruin my family's plans?!"

Yuwen Hu was furious and asked loudly.

The cavalry officer who leaked the military information that Yuwen Yong mentioned was Yuwen Hu's youngest son.

Yuwen Hu snatched the whip from the servant and began to whip his son. Yuwen Qianjia hid and said, "Father, I didn't mean it. I just blurted it out when we were talking about military affairs."

At this moment, a man walked quickly into the room and stopped Yuwen Hu.

"Father."

Yuwen Hu looked at his other son, Yuwen Zhi, who was standing in front of him.

"Father, calm down. Calm down."

After some persuasion, Yuwen Hu put away the whip, told his youngest son to get out, and left Yuwen Zhi behind.

"Today, I went to see the emperor. When he talked about Lingzhou, he seemed particularly frightened and wanted to escape."

Yuwen Zhi smiled disdainfully, "Yuwen Yong has always been timid, it's not surprising."

"Father, as for Yang Zhong, this is a good time to get rid of him."

Yuwen Hu looked around, sat back in his seat, and let his son sit beside him.

"I'm in a dilemma, too."

"Spiritual weapons cannot be lost, but if Yang Zhong can be defeated miserably, it would be a good thing. What do you think we should do?"

Yuwen Zhi raised his head, with the same pride as his father on his face, "Father, I am willing to lead the troops to Lingwu."

"Oh?"

"Yang Zhong is asking for support now. If father does not take action, others will inevitably say something. Besides, Lingwu cannot be lost. Let me lead the troops. I will wait until Yang Zhong is about to give up. Then I will send troops to defeat Liu Taozi and drive him back. Perhaps we can recapture Yongfeng!"

"But you've never fought a battle before. Can you defeat Liu Taozi?"

"I've read a lot of military strategies!"

Yuwen Zhi asked again: "Father has never fought in a war, but he still wants to lead the army to attack Qi. Why can't I do the same?"

Although Yuwen Hu had many shortcomings, they were all due to considerations. At least in other aspects, he was unambiguous. He shook his head immediately and said, "I dealt with Yang Zhong and others because they were unwilling to submit. Now I am leading the army myself because there is no one else available. You are different. You have never been to school and have no prestige. If I hand over the army to you, I am afraid that Lingwu will not be able to be defended and your life will be lost there."

Hearing his father look down on him like that, Yuwen Zhi felt a little annoyed. He frowned but didn't dare to refute.

Yuwen Hu gently stroked his beard, "However, if I assign you someone who understands war, you can listen to him throughout the process."

Yuwen Zhi was a little anxious, "Father! Why can't I command the army?"

"If you think so, then I won't allow you to go to war."

"If you promise me that you will obey me completely and not give me orders, I will let you go."

Yu Wenzhi had no choice but to lower his head and said, "Yes."

"My son, you can't fight a war just by reading a few books. Didn't Yang Zhong and Liu Taozi become famous generals after experiencing countless battles? You can go with me this time to broaden your horizons and accumulate experience. Fighting a war is easy to say, but it's a different story when you actually do it."

"only."

At this moment, Yuwen Hu was thinking about who to send out to fight.

He is now preparing to lead a large army to attack the enemy of Qi. The positions of the three armies have been determined and the personnel arrangements have also been completed.

However, Lingzhou is extremely important and really needs someone with real military talent to go there.

Soon, Yuwen Hu found a candidate.

He gave the order, and soon, a burly man with the demeanor of a fierce general came to the Duke's Mansion and hurried to pay his respects to Yuwen Hu.

The man's name is Hou Longen.

He is the current general of the state.

Seeing him, Yuwen Hu's expression became friendly.

Hou Longen was an old veteran who had participated in many wars with Yuwen Tai and had once saved Yuwen Hu's life, so he gained Yuwen Hu's trust. Yuwen Hu had a special preference for him and rewarded him many times. Now he has become a general of the state.

"Greetings, Duke of Jin."

Hou Longen greeted the other party, but there was some uneasiness in his eyes.

He said hurriedly: "I really don't know what happened to my inferior brother. I hope Duke Jin can tell me the truth."

Yuwen Hu laughed, "No problem, why should we be so restrained between you and me?"

"Don't I know you yet?"

"I don't care about your cousin anymore, but you have to tell him to stop talking nonsense!!"

"only!!"

Hou Longen lowered his head again. His cousin Hou Zhi was also a general of the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty. However, in terms of appearance, military achievements and moral character, he was much better than his cousin.

He knew that his cousin was highly regarded by Yuwen Hu, so he asked Hou Longen to help him persuade Yuwen Hu, but Hou Longen dared not do such a thing. Finally, Hou Zhi had no choice but to personally take action and make the dangerous persuasion. As expected, he was hated by Yuwen Hu from then on. Yuwen Hu even said in public that he wanted to kill Hou Zhi.

Hou Zhi was so worried that he fell ill and remains bedridden to this day.

Hou Longen was very angry about this.

Why are you pretending to be virtuous here? Are you the only loyal minister?
I was almost afraid of it.

Yuwen Hu was not thinking about this matter at the moment, so he skipped it and talked about the matter in Lingzhou.

Yuwen Hu hoped that Hou Longen would lead the troops and his son Yuwen Zhi would follow, so that the two of them could rescue Yang Zhong together.

Of course, the specific method of rescue needs to be discussed carefully.

Chang'an, Imperial Palace.

The imperial guards gathered, and the brave generals were like clouds. Yuwen Hu stood at the front, wearing armor, looking at the generals below. Although he was not confident about this battle, he was indescribably excited at this moment.

At this moment, there were more than a thousand generals and officers standing in the palace. They were so powerful that no one could defeat them.

There is a large army gathered outside, more than 200,000 troops. This is no longer a small fight.

Yuwen Hu stood at the bottom of the stairs, fully armed and with his head down. Emperor Yuwen Yong stood at the top, looking at the generals gathered in the palace. He was also somewhat excited.

Under the military system, the Great Zhou had a large number of generals, and most of them had good combat effectiveness. As long as there was a strong leader, great things could be accomplished.

As Yuwen Yong looked at these people, he found Yuwen Hu more and more annoying.

But he was still smiling. He looked at the official beside him, who walked quickly forward with the imperial edict in his hand.

"Grand Chancellor Jin, Duke!"

"Wisdom encompasses all things, and virtue benefits the world"

"I now grant you the Yellow Axe."

Yuwen Yong came personally to see Yuwen Hu off and gave him the Yellow Axe. Yuwen Hu was of course grateful and cried bitterly.

After the sacrifice, Yuwen Hu led the army and attacked towards Tongguan.

Yuwen Hu summoned the troops from 24 prefectures across the country, and they came out in full force. The army of more than 200,000 soldiers was so powerful that it resounded through the sky. This army of more than 200,000 soldiers, together with the civilians, was even more terrifying. The vanguard was almost reaching Tongguan, and the rearguard had not even left Chang'an.

Such a scale is really scary.

The army began to move into Tongguan. There was a lot of noise inside and outside Tongguan. When the Qi camp in the distance heard the noise, the soldiers began to flee.

In the Tongguan government office, Yuwen Hu sat in the upper seat and looked at the many generals in front of him.

He mainly looked at those confidants.

"Duke of Shu!"

"The general is here!"

Yuchi Jiong strode out. He was extremely handsome. Even at his age, he still looked extraordinary. He was much better looking than Yuwen Hu.

He was the nephew of Yuwen Tai, and among the many Zhou generals, he was considered to be a very capable fighter. He was the one who pacified Shu, and because of his contributions in pacifying Shu, he gradually rose to the position of Duke of Shu.

He was swift in battle, able to pacify his soldiers and cherish his troops, and he was famous for his ability.

He was one of the few brave generals in Zhou who was not too feared by Yuwen Hu. Of course, he was not completely fearless.

"You will be the vanguard, lead 100,000 troops, and attack Luoyang!"

"only!!"

Yuchi Jiong saluted and then stood back in his original position.

Yuwen Hu looked at the second person again, "Young Master!"

"My subordinate is here!"

Junior Tutor Yang Yu stepped forward and bowed deeply to Yuwen Hu, who was also a fierce general who had experienced countless battles and fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Yuwen Hu said: "You lead 30,000 elite troops and attack Chenguan Pass from a detour!!"

Yang Yu raised his head, extremely confident, "Don't worry, Duke. I have fought hundreds of battles with the Qi people and never lost a single one!"

"Good, Master Yang is mighty!"

Yuwen Hu looked at the last person again.

"General, you should go to Xuanhu now and capture Yuzhou and Yongzhou from Qi."

General Quan Jingxuan hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "Yes!!"

After making preliminary personnel arrangements, Yuwen Hu led the other brave generals and began to advance slowly.

Various groups of people have already started moving.

The war against the Pseudo-Qi officially began.

The troop movements within the Zhou territory could not be concealed from the Qi people. When Yuwen Hu just left Chang'an, the Qi people had already learned the news of Yuwen Hu's military attack.

Yecheng, Imperial Palace.

The hall was quiet. Emperor Gao Wei, sitting on the throne, couldn't help yawning.

Things in the temple were too boring for him.

Originally he was reluctant to come out, but Lu Lingxuan persuaded him, saying that it would be good even if he just met the ministers. Only then did Gao Wei come out to participate in the court meeting.

But this court meeting was even more boring than he had imagined.

The ministers had been sitting here for a long time, but no one spoke.

He looked at the people in front of him.

Hu Changren's face turned pale, and he no longer had his usual majestic demeanor. Although he was mentally prepared, he was still frightened when he heard that the Zhou people had come out in full force with an army of 200,000 to attack the Qi Dynasty.

Hu Changren had never fought in a war and had no knowledge of military affairs, so he needed help from everyone.

He looked at the many ministers in the court.

The expressions of the court officials were similar to Hu Changren's, either with their heads lowered or their eyes closed.

With such a group of insects at hand, they are very good at eating, drinking and having fun, but if you ask them to resist the enemy, it would be better to send Hu Changren's Red General.

Not to mention resisting the enemy, they couldn't even discuss how to send troops.

Hu Changren only realized something was wrong at this moment.

Did I drive him away too harshly?
Although those people were a little rude to me, they could still give me some advice when encountering such things.

He cleared his throat and looked helplessly at one of the ministers.

"General, what do you think we should do?"

Lou Rui was sitting among the ministers. He had been resting with his eyes closed. When he heard Hu Changren asking, he slightly opened his eyes. He looked at Hu Changren and said, "I agree with your idea. You can fight however you want."

Hu Changren was speechless.

He didn't know how to fight at all.

The court became silent once again.

Lou Rui remained silent, and Hu Changren continued, "General, I don't understand military affairs. This time the enemy has sent out more than 200,000 troops, all of whom are elite. I am afraid that the Heluo area will be lost. Please put national affairs first."

Lou Rui saw the other party lower his head, and then he spoke: "He Luo does not need to worry for the time being. Dugu Yongye is a fierce general. He has many elite troops under his command. He has also made meritorious contributions in defending against the Zhou people many times. He will not be defeated easily. What we should worry about are the two armies from other routes. I am worried that wherever they go, the officials will surrender and not resist."

"I am willing to lead the elite troops of Yecheng to stop Yang Yu and Quan Jingxuan."

"But Luoyang still needs to send Jinyang soldiers to rescue. Currently, only King Pingyuan can go to Jinyang."

Hu Changren frowned again.

Jinyang Duan Shao and Lou Rui are in charge of the army, so what should I do?

He asked, "If you take the troops from Yecheng with you, won't Qingdu be in danger?"

Lou Rui said calmly: "I only need 10,000 people."

"well."

Hu Changren had no choice but to nod and asked someone to draft an imperial edict, working in a panic.

This funny look almost made Gao Wei laugh out loud.

"And one more thing."

Lou Rui interrupted Hu Changren. If it were in the past, Hu Changren would certainly be very angry, but now, he did not dare to show any dissatisfaction. Even if he was dissatisfied, he had to wait until the fight was over.

Lou Rui said slowly: "Pingcheng King Liu Taozi is currently in Zhou territory. I heard that he is leading a large army to attack Zhou's city."

"The food supply at the border was already insufficient, and this large-scale campaign will cost a lot."

"The imperial court must help us. If the Prince of Pingcheng can make a breakthrough in Zhou territory, it will be great news for us. The enemy will retreat without a fight."

Hu Changren shuddered.

"This"

"If Lord Hu is unwilling, then I have no other options. Can Duan Shao and I alone defeat this army of 200,000?!"

"If the Prince of Pingcheng retreats because he has no food, what other solutions are there?!"

Hu Changren hurriedly said: "Where is the money and grain in the national treasury?"

"Just split it evenly."

"When we were in the local area, the King of Pingcheng and I solved the problem of money and grain by sharing the money equally. Let me take care of this matter. What do you think?"

Hu Changren was completely deflated and just nodded in a daze.

When Lou Rui walked out of the palace, he felt refreshed.

If you share it equally, you can make a fortune. The food will be given away and the treasure will be left behind.

By the way, we can also deal with the Zhou people.

As for us old guys, we may not understand what you say about governing the world and supporting the country, but if you tell us to kill people, we are very good at it.

(End of this chapter)