Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 312 Two Friends and an Old Horse
In the backyard, Liu Zhang gently held her son's hand and asked about the current situation.

Xiao Wu ran around to bring them the food, then sat down next to Liu Taozi, listening to the adults' conversation with a smile on his face.

"I heard that Hulugu has also come to Pingcheng?"

"Yes, I have just arrived a few days ago. I have seen him just now."

"So what did he say about starting a family?"

"Never said."

"What did that say?"

"He talked about leading troops to guard the frontier."

Liu Zhang's face was full of helplessness. She looked towards the inner room and couldn't help but said, "Taozi, you are already in your twenties, how can you not get married?"

"Don't follow your grandfather's example. Your grandfather got married late because there were many wars and he had no place to live. You are now in charge of the North Road. I won't urge you to get married, but you have to take a concubine, right?"

"I see that there is no woman around you, only soldiers."

"Inappropriate, inappropriate."

Liu Taozi's expression was serious. "Mom, the current situation is more chaotic than before."

"I am in Pingcheng today, outside the Great Wall tomorrow, and maybe in Zhoujing the day after tomorrow."

"How can I care about these things when the big things haven't been completed yet?"

Mrs. Liu Zhang knew her son's temper, so she didn't try to persuade him. She simply skipped the topic and asked, "You started a war in the north this time and killed many people. Many people said you were a tyrant and fled to Henan. Why didn't you take over the southern areas in one fell swoop, but instead used the river as the boundary?"

"There are not enough officials and there are not enough soldiers."

"The Turks frequently invaded the north, and the Zhou people transferred Wei Xiaokuan to Xiazhou. Wei Xiaokuan frequently mobilized troops with ill intentions. The Chen people purchased a large amount of supplies and quelled the domestic unrest, and now they are ready to make a move."

"If I rush to capture the south, I'm afraid I'll be attacked from all sides."

"My advisers told me that we should first stabilize Hebei. Hebei is a precious land. If we manage it properly, we can conquer the world."

Liu Zhang laughed, "I thought my daughter Taozi was aggressive and hot-tempered. When I heard that you were planning to use troops, I thought you would march to all parts of Qi and not return until you had conquered it. I didn't expect that you would actually turn back at the river."

"I underestimated my son. He is a man who can listen to advice. Not bad, not bad."

"Isn't it difficult to deal with Wei Xiaokuan?"

Liu Taozi said calmly: "It is still unknown."

Liu Zhang then slowly said, "Wei Xiaokuan's men have been spread all over the place for a long time. I don't know how many of his men are hiding in your newly acquired land. Your grandfather has fought with them many times in the past. Perhaps you can ask him to help you deal with the bandit army."

Liu Taozi didn't say anything.

Liu Zhang just stopped there.

While the two were chatting, the soldier opened the door again, walked quickly in front of them, glanced at Liu Zhang, and whispered to Taozi, "My lord, Zhang Qianxiong wants to see you."

Liu Zhang was stunned. "Qianxiong? Didn't he say he was serving as the county magistrate in Youzhou?"

Liu Taozi looked at the sergeant and said, "Let him in."

The soldier turned and walked out. Liu Taozi looked at her mother. "He protected his subordinates in Youzhou, deceived the governor, and contradicted the governor."

"I dismissed him from his post and flogged him."

Liu Zhang was a little surprised. Before she could continue asking questions, Zhang Qianxiong limped into the house.

When he saw Liu Zhang, he immediately knelt down and cried with great respect.

"Big sister."

Liu Zhang hurriedly stood up and walked to his side. The two had not seen each other for a long time.

"Get up, get up."

"What's wrong with your legs?"

"Sister, the governor of Youzhou, Tang Yong, is a tyrant. He kills people at will for minor crimes. I just gave him a few words of advice, and he beat my legs like this!"

Zhang Qianxiong wiped his tears and began to complain.

Liu Taozi sat aside, without getting up or even looking.

Liu Zhang helped him up and let him sit aside. Then she began to ask about his situation. The two talked for a long time. When Zhang Qianxiong calmed down, she scolded him: "Which of the ten governors in this place is not Taozi's important official? Which one is not trusted by him?"

"When they arrived at the place, they were doing things according to Taozi's orders."

"How can you not distinguish between relatives and strangers?"

Zhang Qianxiong was a little surprised. I don’t know the difference? ?

Liu Zhang continued, "As Taozi's uncle, why don't you support what Taozi wants to promote, but go against him?"

Zhang Qianxiong thought for a while before answering: "I am not against Taozi, but what Tang Yong did is definitely not the right way."

"Why didn't you act so resolutely when we were in Yecheng?"

"When a villain like He Shikai was in charge of government, why didn't you stand up against him?"

"Now that you are under Taozi's command, you have begun to put public affairs before personal matters?"

Liu Zhang's few words made Zhang Qianxiong unable to cope.

Liu Zhang sighed and said, "What's more, Lord Tang is an old minister in the country. He has assisted several generations of kings and is well-known to the world. Do you know how to govern government affairs better than him?"

"What he wants to do must have his own reasons. You are a new official and have not thought about anything clearly. But you rely on your status to confront the governor. What on earth are you thinking?"

Listening to Liu Zhang's words, Zhang Qianxiong was speechless, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Liu Zhang then looked at Liu Taozi and said, "Taozi, just listen to me. Don't let him take up any official position for the time being. Let him read more and study more. With his current personality, he will cause trouble no matter where he serves as an official!"

She looked at Zhang Qianxiong seriously, "From now on, you just stay with us, read your books and write your articles with peace of mind! Don't cause me any trouble!"

Zhang Qianxiong lowered his head slowly, "Yes."

Liu Zhang's attitude then became gentle again. She talked with her brother for a long time before letting the soldiers send her brother back.

After Zhang Qianxiong left, Liu Zhang finally sighed and looked at Liu Taozi.

"Your uncle is not a bad person, and he has never done anything bad. It's just that he has been hanging out with the children of wealthy families since he was young, so naturally his thoughts are different from yours."

"Don't blame him. I will keep an eye on him from now on and won't let him cause trouble for you again."

Liu Taozi nodded.

"Will you stay home today?"

"I'll make you something to eat."

Liu Taozi was silent for a moment, "I still have some things to do."

"Then come over at dinner time? You have to eat, right?"

"it is good."

Walking out from the backyard, Liu Taozi hurried to the lobby of the general's mansion.

As the territory expanded, Liu Taozi had more and more things to do. Although he had Gao Yin who could handle most of the problems for him, Gao Yin's orders had to go through Liu Taozi first, otherwise it would be difficult to implement them.

In the lobby, there was already someone waiting for Liu Taozi.

When this man saw Liu Taozi appear, he suddenly jumped up from his seat and came forward with a smile on his face.

That’s right, it’s Zu Ting.

"The lord is finally back."

Zu Ting's eyes were bright. He walked to Liu Taozi's side, looked at the other officials, and signaled them to leave.

The officials did not dare to refute, they lowered their heads and left one after another.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat, and Zu Ting leaned close to her. He smiled and asked, "Things on the border should be worry-free now, right?"

"The Turks should not violate the border again in the near future."

"I plan to let Hulugu command all the border troops as the general of the guards, and be responsible for the defense of the north together with Bao Xian."

Zu Ting narrowed his eyes. "Hulugu and Baoxian are enough. Hulugu's younger brother is also quite talented. He can be sent to Lanling King's side. However, the troops they brought with them cannot be left to them. They are all elite troops. They can be divided among the other armies and dispersed."

"Huo Luguang and others have also arrived, and only Duan Shao is left in Jinyang."

Liu Taozi said slowly: "Huo Luguang told me that Duan Shao was unwilling to come, and said that if we want to destroy Qi, we must kill him first."

Zu Ting smiled and said, "I have also heard this saying."

Liu Taozi said: "Duan Shao is a strong enemy, and he has tens of thousands of Jinyang elite troops under his command. There are a lot of food and grass reserves in the city. It will take a long time to capture Jinyang."

"Maybe it won't take that long."

Zu Ting spoke in a low voice, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, and combined with his half-smiling face, it always gave people a chilling feeling.

Liu Taozi suddenly looked at him, "What did you say?"

Zu Ting's expression changed instantly, returning to his original face filled with a sunny smile.

"My lord, I mean that under Gao Wei's rule, I'm afraid Duan Shao won't be able to hold out for too long and will definitely show his weakness."

"My lord, you shouldn't worry about these things." Liu Taozi stared at Zu Ting for a moment before reminding him, "If you want to do anything, let me know in advance."

"only."

Zu Ting agreed, and then he took out several documents from his sleeves and placed them in front of Liu Taozi.

"My Lord, our initial strategy has been achieved. I think we can move on to the second step."

"We have already occupied Hebei. The lord has ten governors under his command. These ten people have different ways of governing, but they are all rare wise ministers in the world. They are more than capable of governing a state. The local government affairs can be handed over to them first."

"The situation in the ten northern states is not very good. People's livelihood is exhausted and the administration is chaotic. If we want to implement more policies in the ten states, I am afraid it will be counterproductive. It is better to let these ten governors do it themselves. I believe that within three years, these ten states will definitely have great changes."

"As for the affairs of the court, Gao Yu thought that we should continue to concentrate on agriculture and sericulture. I argued with him several times, and his attitude was very firm."

"However, food is indeed important. Recently, the government has been repeatedly drafting new agricultural and sericulture policies, and almost all departments are busy with this matter."

"Then let's not change it for now and let Gao Yin continue to do it."

“There are two things that are most important.”

"The first is about the assessment of officials. I think we can follow the example of the South and set up standard assessments to promote officials."

"The second thing is the military government, ten states, ten generals, and ten government soldiers."

"If we can train these ten state soldiers within three years, we will have more than 100,000 soldiers and be completely self-sufficient in food and fodder."

Zu Ting once again set a short-term goal for Liu Taozi.

Ever since he had paid three visits to Liu Taozi, Zu Ting knew how to gain Liu Taozi's approval. Under the long-term goal of great unification, Zu Ting had smaller goals of varying levels.

But the problems Zu Ting faces now are different from those before.

At first he only thought about how to make Liu Taozi listen to him, but now he also has to consider how to make Liu Taozi not listen to others.

As Liu Taozi had more and more people under his command, the ancestral temple gradually lost its past monopoly.

Facing young men like Tian Zili and Cui Gang, Zu Ting can crush them with his experience and qualifications.

But now Liu Taozi has more than just these young people under his command. The old men who came from Yecheng are not much less talented than Zu Ting. To be honest, it is difficult to compare these founding heroes. They have walked out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood and survived to this day, and none of them is weak.

Especially recently, an old man came.

This old man has not met Liu Taozi yet, but he has talked to Zu Ting, and the two sides have different opinions.

Zu Ting was very worried that Liu Taozi would listen to the old man's slander.

Looking at Zu Ting, who was extremely excited in front of her, dancing and gesticulating, more excited than usual, Liu Taozi asked softly, "Has Grandpa Zu met with Mr. Cui?"

Zu Ting's face hardened, and he said slowly, "I have seen it."

"My lord, have you seen him?"

"Never seen it yet."

Just as Zu Ting breathed a sigh of relief, Liu Taozi took out a document from his sleeve.

"But I've seen what he thinks."

Looking at the document in Liu Taozi's hand, Zu Ting suddenly laughed, "This old man is really quick to act."

The new old man that Zu Ting was afraid of was Cui Gang's father, Cui Jishu.

Cui Jishu originally served as the governor of the south. It was not until Liu Taozi officially started to take action against the surrounding areas that the old man gave up his official position and came to surrender.

He seemed to have set his sights on Zu Ting's current position and wanted to become the "Shizhong" beside the general and participate in decision-making.

In terms of qualifications or other aspects, Zu Ting seems to be no match for him.

Liu Taozi placed the document next to Zu Ting's documents.

"Choi Ji-su's ideas are very different from yours."

"He believed that while the Zhou people were unable to move north, he should focus his energy on Lingzhou, build more fortresses there, settle the people, train new troops, accept the dead, and attack Lianggan and other places, so that the Zhou people would always be exhausted on the northern front, unable to extricate themselves, unable to rest, until they were completely devoured."

Liu Taozi slowly talked about Cui Jishu's thoughts.

Many ministers in the court wrote to Liu Taozi, expressing their ideas and plans.

The most mature plan came from Zu Ting and Cui Jishu.

The two men had almost opposite ideas. Zu Ting focused on his native land, while Cui Jishu focused on Zhou.

Liu Taozi looked at the two documents in front of her.

Both of them mentioned handing over local government affairs to the ten provincial governors. The main disagreement was whether to continue to build local forces or expand investment in Lingzhou.

Zu Ting glanced at the clerk and laughed.

"My Lord, why does Cui Jishu look down on you so much?"

"Oh?"

Zu Ting raised his head slightly, "Perhaps he is too afraid of the Zhou people."

"I can understand his idea. He wants to keep the Zhou people busy fighting with us, delay their recovery time, and push them into a quagmire from which they cannot climb out."

Zu Ting paused, and then said: "However, to defeat the opponent, it is not necessary to weaken the opponent's strength, but to improve your own ability."

"The Zhou people should not be underestimated, but why would my lord be so afraid?"

"Those who have accomplished great things in the past must have first established a strong foundation and then conquered the enemy. Cui Jishu is putting the cart before the horse and this is not advisable."

"I think the lord will not hesitate."

Zu Ting smiled and looked quite confident.

Liu Taozi nodded, "I'll consider it."

Zu Ting did not ask Liu Taozi to come up with a conclusion right now. Although he was wary of Cui Jishu, he was not afraid of him. Moreover, he felt that there was nothing wrong with his strategy. Instead of delaying the Zhou people, it would be better to use more energy to develop himself. The lord would surely be able to see this clearly.

After Zu Ting left, Liu Taozi met with several different ministers.

Cui Jishu was of course among them.

However, he arrived late, only arriving when it was dark.

Cui Jishu hasn't changed much compared to previous years. He has even become a lot kinder. After meeting Liu Taozi, he didn't show too much flattery and was still somewhat restrained.

"I knew from the beginning that the general could accomplish great things."

“I didn’t expect this day to come so quickly.”

"I wonder if the general has read my letter?"

"I think……"

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat, watching Cui Jishu talking. Many ministers came, one after another, each of them talking about his own philosophy of governance, and each of them had his own pursuits. It was already very dark, and a scout brought Liu Zhang's words, asking Liu Taozi to work with peace of mind, and they could have dinner together tomorrow.

When Liu Taozi walked out of the lobby, the sky was full of stars.

The whole world was dark, yet exceptionally bright.

"Busy working?"

Someone suddenly asked in the darkness.

Liu Taozi looked over there and saw Lu Qubing slowly walking out from the darkness.

"Get rid of the disease."

"Why are you standing here?"

"There are too many people looking for you. I don't dare to disturb you. I will just stand here and wait for you to finish your work."

"Do you have anything to write?"

Lu Qubing shook his head and raised the bag in his hand, "I brought some beans."

"Oh?"

"It's for the Blue Lion. I heard that the Blue Lion was injured?"

Liu Taozi looked at him.

In the darkness of night, the two men stood in front of the stable. Liu Taozi was feeding the blue lion with food in her hand, while Lu Qubing was sitting beside them, chattering incessantly.

"I didn't know that war horses could eat so well, even eggs. I don't usually eat so much."

"You don't usually carry soldiers on the battlefield."

"Hahaha, you're right. Can the Blue Lion still go to the battlefield?"

"The Blue Lion is getting old, maybe I should change the warhorse and let it rest."

"Why don't you change to a white one? White war horses look the best."

The moon is bright in the sky and the stars are twinkling.

Under the night sky, two good friends were chatting peacefully with an old horse.

ps: My wrist suddenly started to hurt severely in the afternoon and I couldn't move it up and down. I applied medicine and put on a bandage, but there was not much effect. I endured the pain and finished this chapter. I will make up for it tomorrow if I feel better.

(End of this chapter)