Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 302: Run!!!

"Are you Gao Yun?"

Inside the city gate, Gao Yun was pinned to the ground by two armored soldiers. Gao Yun was covered in dust and dirt, without any sign of being a royal family member.

Faced with Hu Changcan's questioning, he didn't even dare to look up and answer.

"The culprit is Gao Yun!"

"I hope you generals can forgive my personal sins. I am willing to go to Pingcheng and be questioned."

The gates of Fuyang were wide open at this moment, and the bandits only took one charge to take down the city. The combat power of both sides was completely unequal. Cangzhou, like Yingzhou, also had two counties, but it had one more county town, making a total of four counties.

But even if the defenders of these four counties were added together, they were less than half of Kouliu's army. What's more, the combat power of the two sides was completely not on the same level. When Kouliu officially attacked the city, the defenders couldn't even cause any decent damage.

The soldiers were carrying corpses down from the city wall, and some of them were kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.

The city was extremely noisy, and shouts of killing could be heard in the distance.

Hu Changcan frowned and asked unhappily, "You are a prince of the royal family, why did you start a rebellion?"

Gao Yun then raised his head and looked around, "I was forced to do this! I had no choice!"

"The Beijia, Changshi, Sima, Dazhongzheng, and even the prefect in the city hold great power and want me to go up to the city wall to resist. My private soldiers are trapped in the government office and cannot go out. Please understand, Mr. Hu!!"

Gao Yun was not like Xu Dun who accepted his fate directly. He explained his experience in detail.

Hu Changcan then ordered him to be arrested and sent to Pingcheng.

Gao Yun heaved a sigh of relief upon learning that he would not be killed on the spot, and hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude.

The situation was different from that in Yingzhou. Because of the resistance of the Cangzhou government, the situation changed from handover to occupation. All the officials here were captured, and not a single one was left. Of course, the leading big families in the city were now fighting a bloody battle with the elite troops under Kou Liu.

Hu Changcan simply went to the government office first and asked someone to look for local documents in the office, but these had been destroyed by local officials and it was almost impossible to find anything complete.

Just when Hu Changcan was busy, Kou Liu finally arrived at the government office.

His body was covered in blood.

It's all over my face.

When he laughed, his expression became extremely terrifying.

Hu Changcan glanced at him, then lowered his head and continued to look through the surviving documents.

Kou Liu swaggered and sat beside him, "Mr. Hu, I have sent people to the other three cities, and the pest control will be completed tomorrow."

Because of the way Liu Taozi called these guys in the cholera area, all of them followed suit.

Hu Changcan put down the document in his hand, his expression slightly complicated.

Hu Changcan originally did not agree with such a bloody massacre in the north. This idea was proposed by Zu Ting before the war even started.

At that time, Zu Ting's proposal was to allow the Northern Dao Daxingtai to control the states north of the river.

During the detailed discussion, Zu Ting proposed to solve three problems.

The first is officials, the second is the powerful, and the third is temples.

The solution that Zu Ting mentioned was not to solve the problem in the literal sense, but to kill and get rid of these people.

Of course, everyone under Gao Yu was opposed to it. Zu Ting's idea was too crude and even crazy.

But Zu Ting had so many supporters that even Gao Yun was finally convinced.

So, after Liu Taozi arrived, they began to work on this big thing.

The situation in each state and county is extremely bad and chaotic, and has reached a hopeless point. In this case, the only option is to tear it down and rebuild it, clean up the entire North, and then get to work.

After Hu Changcan followed the bandits south, his thoughts kept changing.

From being skeptical at first to being convinced now.

Even members of the royal family like Gao Yun could be directly sidelined, and old ministers like Xu Dun were unable to get out of their predicament.

This further proves Zu Ting's point of view that there is no way to improve the local problems at the moment except killing.

In order to perfect his policies, Zu Ting frantically prepared to take over the job in the past few months. He made arrangements for officials very early on, and then prepared enough clerks. His goal was to take over quickly after resolving the local bureaucratic system and minimize the damage to the local area.

Looking at Hu Changcan who suddenly fell silent, Kou Liu asked helplessly: "Mr. Hu, are you going to plead for these people again?"

Although Gao Yun's arrival gave Liu Taozi a name and a complete system, it also brought a lot of quarrels.

For example, in this general cleanup, almost all the elders supported it, but many of the people brought by Gao Yin opposed it. Hu Changcan was an old-fashioned person. If Gao Yin asked him to do it, he would definitely do it, but he was still somewhat resistant to such things. He had persuaded the bandits several times before not to kill too many people and just kill the main culprits.

The two sides have different backgrounds and experiences, so naturally they have different ideas.

Hu Changcan shook his head, "No."

He gestured at the document in his hand, and then said solemnly: "Only some household registration documents have been preserved. Judging from the contents of the documents, from the first year of Tianbao to the last registration in the ninth year of Tianbao, Cangzhou actually lost 70,000 households."

"How many???"

Kou Liu's voice couldn't help but become louder.

This is not the number of people, this is the number of households!

One family at a time, 70,000 families have been lost in nine years, which translates to hundreds of thousands of people.

Seeing Kou Liu's astonished look, Hu Changcan said in disbelief: "But the equal distribution of land is still going on. Even though the population has dropped drastically, the equal distribution of land is increasing. The arable land in the hands of the government is all in the hands of the people. If we go by the records in the books, every household in Cangzhou probably has tens of thousands of acres of good land..."

Kou Liu just shook his head and had nothing to say.

Hu Changcan looked at him and said, "These counties in Cangzhou must be cleaned up. Don't leave any trouble. Kill those who need to be killed. Don't worry too much."

"Oh?"

Kou Liu was a little surprised. Hu Changcan suppressed his anger and said quietly, "Before I set out, King Pengcheng told me a lot about the local area. He was very familiar with the situation here because he had served as the governor of Cangzhou. He also told me about the many achievements made under his administration."

"But today it seems that no matter how well it is governed, as long as people leave, everything will become the same as before, without any change."

"Zu Ting is right."

"There is no cure, only killing!"

Kou Liu was even more surprised.

"I never thought I would hear such words from Mr. Hu."

"However, you don't need to worry about these things. These people never hide their crimes. The evidence we have found is complete and I won't leave any harm behind."

After Kou Liu and Hu Changcan successively captured Ying and Cang states, the rest of the states and counties quickly learned the news and fell into chaos.

In an instant, officials and powerful people from various states and counties began to flee. Almost all the officials fled to Yecheng, while the rest of the powerful people went south. The price of ferry boats on the river kept rising. They spread rumors everywhere, claiming that the general was massacring the city, causing more and more people to follow suit and flee.

Kou Liu's marching speed was also very fast. Another army under his command followed Gao Jie and marched from the west. Both sides were killing people indiscriminately.

Hebei became turbulent as a result, and bandits resurfaced, but there were some prefectures and counties that were not affected, such as Dingzhou. Liu Taozi had been an official here in the past, so fewer officials and civilians fled here, which was completely different from other places.

As Liu Taozi officially took action, more and more news spread to Yecheng and reached Hu Changren.

Yecheng, Hu Mansion.

The sky seemed a little dim.

But the house was brightly lit.

Hu Changren sat in the upper seat, with many important officials sitting on both sides of him.

Hu Changren still reeked of alcohol, but his face looked sober.

He was sobered up by the shock.

Just now, a servant came to inform that Liu Taozi, the Minister of the Northern Road, Prince of Pingcheng, General, Imperial Envoy, Governor of Hengshuo, Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of the ten states of Yanying, Anyou, Sixian, Dingji, Yingcang, had rebelled.

The bad news frightened Hu Changren so much that his face turned pale. He immediately summoned all his men to discuss important matters.

Hu Changren sat in the upper seat, and his many trusted followers sat on both sides. The important officials in the court were also present.

They all seemed a little uncomfortable as they had heard the latest news.

Some people were wiping the sweat from their foreheads from time to time, while others were whispering something to the people around them.

Hu Changren panted and looked at everyone, "General... General, is there any misunderstanding about this matter?" Hearing Hu Changren's question, Zou Xiaoyu hurriedly stood up, "Your Majesty, there must be a misunderstanding about this matter."

"For example, the several prefectures and counties in the north were originally under the jurisdiction of the general. The general felt that the officials there had done something wrong and sent people to arrest them. How could this be considered a rebellion?"

Lu Renhui also hurriedly said: "That's exactly the reason. Besides, the order was issued by the Northern Dao Daxingtai, so it can't be considered treason."

The three dogs now stood on the same front and all believed that Liu Taozi's move was not treason.

Hu Changren wiped the sweat from his face again and let out a long sigh.

If the general rebelled, Hu Changren really didn't know how to deal with him.

The court officials looked at the response of Hu Changren and his three dogs with disdain in their eyes.

Gao Yuanhai looked around and said quietly, "The princes of the royal family can be arrested at will, and the princes who have made contributions can be killed at will. It's okay for Yingcang, but how do you explain this Fenzhou?"

"The general did not tell the court a word. His army was divided into two, one from Fenzhou to Jinzhou, and the other from Yingzhou to Cangzhou. They killed officials and harmed the virtuous and coerced the people along the way. If this is not considered treason, then I really don't know what is."

Hu Changren looked at him hurriedly, "Don't say that!"

"Perhaps the general has other ideas?"

"Why does it have to be a rebellion?"

Gao Yuanhai was stunned. The monk said angrily, "Does it matter to me whether the general rebels or not?"

"His army is unscrupulous. If they only killed officials and virtuous people, it would be fine. But his army even attacked the pure Buddhist places. They did not spare any temples along the way. Several world-famous masters were arrested by them. They simply have no respect for the law. Is the king going to watch him wreak havoc on the local area like this?!"

Gao Yuanhai was extremely angry.

This great monk was the most devout Buddhist in the court. However, his belief in Buddhism was different from that of others. He might be worshipping the Buddha of Money. He used his power to control Xuanzhao Temple and colluded with temples in various places to annex land and defraud money. He seemed harmless, but in fact he did a lot.

Gao Yuanhai didn't bother to care about Liu Taozi killing officials and wealthy families, but when it came to temple business, he became a little restless.

Faced with Gao Yuanhai's aggressiveness, Hu Changren was a little angry.

If I don't watch him causing trouble in the area, what do you want me to do?

Hu Changren leaned back immediately. "Well, since Minister Gao thinks the general is rebelling, how do you think we should deal with him?"

Gao Yuanhai looked at the ministers around him and said, "Everyone, I respect the general very much and I dare not be rude to him, but the general's behavior this time is really inappropriate!"

"The entire north has been thrown into chaos by him. There are people fleeing everywhere. Many people have drowned in the river just to escape to the south!"

"Several gates of Yecheng have been almost blocked in the past few days!"

"Also, many people died on the roads and lost their homes. Officials have no interest in governing the local area, and the people have no interest in farming. If this continues, how will we harvest this autumn?"

"Have you heard about the rumors from various places?"

Gao Yuanhai closed his eyes, his face full of pain. "I heard these tragic news from the local area, and my heart is filled with grief. How can I watch the people suffer with mercy?"

"Everyone, the only solution we can implement now is to issue an imperial decree in the name of the imperial court, demanding that the general immediately stop harming the people!"

"Stop burning, killing and looting!"

"If he wants food and supplies, we can give them to him, but how can we take them from the people?"

Gao Yuanhai had a face full of pity, looking like an enlightened monk. He looked at everyone eagerly, hoping to get some support from them.

But the ministers remained silent at this moment.

Gao Yuanhai was very surprised. He couldn't help but ask, "Does everyone take the affairs of the people so lightly?"

Hu Changren sneered, "Minister Gao, so your solution is to let the court give the general an order to stop?"

"What if the general doesn't comply? What should we do?"

"If you don't obey the imperial edict, it will be treason, and we should send troops to suppress it!"

Hu Changren asked: "Who should we send to fight? Which army should we bring to fight?"

Gao Yuanhai didn't believe it. "The elite troops of Jinyang are still here. Doesn't the general fear the Grand Marshal?"

"Besides, the general's family is all in Yecheng!"

The room was still quiet, and no one stood up to agree with Gao Yuanhai.

Hu Changren was silent for a long time before he looked at Zhao Yanshen, the only minister who could make some decisions at the moment.

Zhao Yanshen was still the same as before, looking harmless and confused.

"Mr. Zhao, what should we do now?"

"General, is this considered treason?"

Hearing Hu Changren's question, Zhao Yanshen gradually came back to life from his trance.

"The general has always been loyal, who dares to call him a traitor?!"

When Zhao Yanshen said this, Hu Changren glanced at Gao Yuanhai. Gao Yuanhai was shocked and was about to explain, but Zhao Yanshen added: "If you say that the general is a rebel, you must be killed!"

"However, Minister Gao is concerned about the people of the world, so he does not fall into this category."

Gao Yuanhai sat down immediately, not daring to be as tough as before.

In terms of skills and abilities, Zhao Yanshen is indeed several levels stronger than Hu Changren.

He looked at the people around him and said in a doddering voice, "The general has his own ideas, which we cannot guess."

"But we can't just stand by and watch Hebei in such turmoil."

"I think we can first inform His Majesty of the matter and let His Majesty know the current situation of the people. Then, let His Majesty contact King Pingyuan. There are many bandits in Hebei now, robbing along the way. Even in Cheng'an and other places, bandits have reappeared. Let King Pingyuan reorganize the army and prepare to attack the surrounding bandits."

"In addition, we need to contact the many states and counties in the south and ask them to accept these suffering people in the north and settle them down so that they don't have to suffer any more."

Zhao Yanshen calmly expressed a few thoughts.

Every thought seems to be concerned about the people, but every thought seems to have a deeper meaning.

The eyes of the ministers gradually brightened.

Hu Changren finally felt relieved. He immediately decided to do as Zhao Yanshen thought, and even handed the matter over to the other party, including informing His Majesty.

Zhao Yanshen declined several times, but finally accepted the order reluctantly.

When everyone walked out of the mansion, several people followed him, wanting to discuss something with him, but Zhao Yanshen just declined, refused to talk to them in detail, and hurriedly got into the car.

Hu Changren could now drink and eat in peace in his mansion again.

And at this moment, Zhao Yanshen appeared in front of Lu Lingxuan.

The young emperor sat on the upper throne, while Lu Lingxuan and Zhao Yanshen sat facing each other. Zhao Yanshen had a solemn expression and spoke very quickly.

"The general is about to take action."

"The reason why he hasn't sent anyone into Yecheng is entirely because of the presence of the Grand Marshal."

"Now he has occupied all the prefectures in Hebei. When he becomes even stronger, Bingzhou will be next. If you take over Bingzhou, Your Majesty will lose the country."

Gao Wei, who had not taken it seriously before, was startled awake at this moment.

"What did you say?"

Lu Lingxuan frowned. Of course she knew what Zhao Yanshen was talking about.

The general was obviously preparing to follow the path of Prince Gao. After returning victoriously, he could not wait to take action against the local people. He did not even hide his purpose and directly issued an edict from the executive office to pacify the prefectures and counties in Hebei.

Lu Lingxuan thought Liu Taozi would take action, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.

This guy is basically a pure Xianbei. He does things without considering the impact and consequences. He just kills people along the way, causing panic and unrest among the people.

As expected of a warrior from the frontier!
Lu Lingxuan looked at Zhao Yanshen, "Liu Taozi is planning a rebellion, what should we do?"

Gao Wei exclaimed again, "My great general is planning a rebellion?"

Zhao Yanshen still ignored the little emperor. He continued to look at Lu Lingxuan and said calmly, "There is only one way now."

"run."

(End of this chapter)