Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 313 By any means necessary
In Pingcheng, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The whole city woke up from its sleep, with only the occasional barking of dogs.

The night watchman was walking on the road, followed by a big dog, telling the time as he walked.

"Boom, boom, boom."

The rough knock on the door instantly broke the silence of the mansion. The servant who was cleaning the front yard heard the sound and did not dare to delay and hurriedly opened the door.

There were four or five people standing at the door.

The leader pushed aside the servants, walked into the front yard, stuck his head out, and looked around, "Is your master awake?"

The servant knew the distinguished guest before him.

The head of the family had repeatedly instructed that if this person came to visit, he must be kept under close watch and not be left alone in the courtyard.

This person is Zu Ting, the chief secretary of the General's Mansion, the Grand Master of Imperial Households, and the powerful ancestor.

The servant was helpless, "Grandfather, my master hasn't even gotten up yet, please wait for a moment."

The servant did not dare to leave just like that. He shouted loudly several times and called another person over, asking him to report to the master of the house. He then stayed beside Zu Ting with a smile on his face, watching his every move.

Zu Ting looked around curiously, sighing from time to time.

"Has your master started decorating his own house?"

"Is there still construction going on over there? Are they building a warehouse or something?"

The servant did not answer, but just smiled foolishly.

After a long time, the man returned to the front yard and asked Zu Ting to follow him to meet the head of the family.

Zu Ting looked around, followed the servant through a long corridor, walked around a few times, and finally arrived in front of the inner room.

Wei Shou was wearing a felt blanket with underwear underneath, looking like he hadn't gotten enough sleep. He stood at the door and frowned when he saw Zu Ting approaching. Then he smiled and made way for him, "Please come in, Zugong."

Zu Ting curled his lips and walked quickly into the house.

Wei Shou followed him slowly until Zu Ting sat down. He was still shaking his coat, and then he sat in front of Zu Ting.

"What do you want, Grandpa?"

Zu Ting laughed immediately.

"Or maybe Duke Wei has always been magnanimous!"

"Oh?"

"There are few people as frank as you in the world. I still remember that when you were in a hurry to leave Yecheng, you saw me from afar and bowed to me. No matter what I proposed, you would agree. It can be said that you were flattering to the extreme."

"When I came here, someone would lead me to the guest room and prepare tea, food, wine and meat."

"Now Duke Wei is firmly in the position of the Executive Yuan, and my power is not as strong as before. Duke Wei immediately changed his face again."

"Even those villains know how to pretend in front of others and then attack behind their backs. Duke Wei did this in front of me. He is truly frank! He is a gentleman!"

Upon hearing Zu Ting's words, Wei Shou burst into laughter.

"Ancestor, I am this kind of person, what about you?"

"When you were in power, you never came to visit me like this. I always invited you to come, and you also stole a lot of things from my house."

"Ancestor, it's not that you no longer have the general's love, nor that your power has decreased. It's just that now, the general has many talented people under his command and is in charge of the North. You can't just dominate alone."

"So, you don't have to be too angry."

Wei Shou gently picked up the tea and poured him some.

"In this government, where are there any true friends? We each take what we need. You needed me to support your ideas, and I also needed you to take me out of Yecheng."

“But now it’s a little different.”

Zu Ting said, "What's the difference?"

Wei Shou's old face was full of smiles. "Since I joined the general, I have never made any mistakes. On the contrary, many of the policies in the north are revised by me. I have made a lot of contributions. I no longer need anyone to protect me."

"And Zujun, you need someone to help you more than before."

"Cui Jishu, Yang Xiuzhi, Bai Jian, Feng Shu, Yuan Xiubo and others all want to be by the side of the general and give him advice."

"During this pacification of the North, I heard that these people all had their own ideas, and most of them were different from my grandfather's."

Wei Shou took another sip of hot tea and said with emotion: "The current government is becoming more and more similar to Yecheng."

"The General's Mansion has become a palace for the secretaries and secretaries. It does not participate in specific matters, but is only responsible for providing decisions to the General, drafting and issuing orders, and promoting major events."

"The executive office does not participate in decision-making, it can only make proposals and then execute them."

"The Xingtai specially set up the Censorate, which basically only obeys the General's Office and is not under the jurisdiction of the Xingtai."

"These people want to compete with our grandfather for the position of 'Shizhong and Zhongshuling'."

"Grandfather, if your proposal this time cannot beat others, I am afraid that this position of Chief of the General's Mansion will have to be handed over to someone else."

Wei Shou looked at Zu Ting with a smile, "Grandpa, you came here early in the morning so that I can help you and support you, right? Unfortunately, I am an official of the Xingtai Office and cannot interfere in decision-making matters."

"Of course, if Grandpa can still get what we need from each other like before, I am still willing to find a way."

Zu Ting laughed out loud.

He suddenly stretched out his hand, snatched the other person's teacup, and took a few big gulps.

"I'm not here to ask for your help, I'm here to order you to stand on my side."

"Oh?"

"Order?"

"When did Zujun take on the role of Shangshu? How come I didn't know?"

Looking at Wei Shou with a smug look on his face, Zu Ting smiled and took out a document from his arms and put it on the table.

"what is this?"

"This is the secret report that Duke Wei gave to Minister Gao Yuanhai in the first year of Heqing."

Wei Shou trembled all over, snatched the document and was about to tear it up.

Zu Ting laughed again, "You can tear it up as much as you want. This is handwritten. I have a lot more and I can bring more to you. You can tear it up slowly."

Wei Shou's hands were shaking as he held the memorial.

Zu Ting said calmly: "In the first year of Heqing, Gao Yuanhai asked you for a way to deal with the Northland. It was you who proposed to withhold the grain and fodder shipped to the Northland, and proposed to frame Huluxian for this matter."

"And it seems that 20% of these withheld grains went into your account?"

"Why is Duke Wei only 20%?"

Wei Shou shuddered and murmured, "My general said at that time that past crimes should not be taken into account. I have made contributions."

"Yes, the general always keeps his word. He will definitely not care about it. But I am not sure whether Hulu Guang and Hulu Xian will care about it."

"I think, considering Huluxian's character, if he knew that this matter was related to Duke Wei, he would certainly forgive you generously and would definitely not lead people to fight you. In the future, after his niece marries the general, his relatives will also treat you well."

Wei Shou began to tremble, and he looked down at the document in front of him.

"You, when were you?"

"When you came to me, I was already prepared. Not only you, but also all those who asked me for help, I have ways to deal with them. Otherwise, how could I dare to recommend you?"

"Wei Jun, I'll give you one day."

"I need the support of everyone, and my decision must be passed."

"Otherwise, everything I have here will end up in the hands of those who should see it."

Wei Shou's lips trembled and he slowly looked at Zu Ting.

"Ancestor, this is not the way to govern the world."

"I don't care about that."

"I just need to achieve my goal! As for the means used, I don't care at all!"

"Do as I say!"

Wei Shou slowly lowered his head, "Yes."

Zu Ting stood up and left. Wei Shou took the document and trembled as he wanted to drink some tea to calm himself down. However, when he stretched out his hand, he grabbed nothing. He looked around blankly.

The teacup is gone.

At this moment, Zu Ting sat on the carriage, holding the teacup in his hand. He looked at it for a moment, and then threw it out of the carriage.

He looked outside again. The city had become bustling with people coming and going. Zu Ting's eyes flickered with pride.

No matter who it is, don't even think about competing with me for the position of the head minister.
The carriage passed through the busy alley, attracting a lot of people's attention.

In another mansion outside the city.

The mansion was quite simple, with only a few old slaves carrying things, while the two men stood in the yard, watching the slaves busy at work.

One of them was Cui Jishu and the other was Yang Xiuzhi.

Cui Jishu smiled and said, "Don't be offended. I haven't prepared everything in my house yet. I don't know where to invite you in."

"Hasn't your son been here all along? Didn't he prepare anything?"

"My son, he has many important things to do, how can he care about me?"

Yang Xiuzhi glanced at him and said, "Mr. Cui is indeed from a prestigious family, and his family tradition is indeed excellent."

Cui Jishu laughed again, "Sometimes, I can't tell whether Yang Jun is praising or scolding people."

Yang Xiuzhi looked around and asked, "How is it going?"

"Is there hope?"

Cui Jishu shook his head gently, "I'm afraid it won't be easy."

He looked at Yang Xiuzhi in confusion, "I don't quite understand. I heard that Zu Ting made great contributions to the general's occupation of the North."

"Why are you all so eager to pull him down?"

Yang Xiuzhi snorted coldly, "You just got here. When you get along with him for a long time, you will know."

"Let's not talk about the moral issues for now."

"That's the point. This guy will do anything to achieve his goal."

"When Gao Yuanhai and others came before, Zu Ting even wanted to kill them all to avoid future troubles."

"And the world has not been pacified yet. Gao Yuanhai surrendered. He can't say how many crimes he has committed. He just ate, drank and had fun. Can we kill him for these things?"

“What’s the point of the law then?”

"All those unpleasant and morally flawed people should be taken out and killed? Just put an end to it all?"

"Even in the laws of Qin, there is no law that would punish a person's entire family for eating, drinking and having fun."

"Zu Ting's cruelty has reached such a level that he wants to kill not only Gao Yuanhai, but also Gao Ji, Xu Dun, and even King Pengcheng's younger brother Gao Ning. He wants to kill all the provincial governors and prefects who have come to him. He says this is to eliminate future troubles and prevent them from colluding again."

"He didn't consider the consequences of doing this at all. Since the governor opposed him doing this, he wanted to accomplish it through assassination."

"The day after Gao Yuanhai was brought in, the prison cell caught fire. If the soldiers hadn't acted properly, Gao Yuanhai and his men would have died in prison."

"We have no evidence to indicate that this was done by Zu Ting, but we all know it in our hearts."

"Mr. Cui, we all hope that your proposal can be used by the general, and you can serve as the chief secretary in the future and lead everyone to make plans."

As the two were talking, the servant hurried over and saluted them, "Master, the study has been tidied up."

"Okay, prepare some wine and tea for us."

"only."

Cui Jishu followed Yang Xiuzhi into the study.

The study was filled with books, which made Yang Xiuzhi a little stunned. The two of them sat down slowly.

Cui Jishu had just arrived, and without the support of the elders, he would not dare to fight with Zu Ting right away.

Cui Jishu frowned and said solemnly: "I can understand your thoughts, but this time, I am afraid that the general will still listen to Zu Ting's words."

"Why?"

Yang Xiuzhi frowned, "The current situation in Qi is very clear."

"What else can the little emperor do? He is worse than the emperor you beat him up."

"With only half of Bingzhou, they want to support tens of thousands of elite soldiers? No way!"

"Let me put it this way. With Jinyang's reserves, we can feed these elite troops for about two years. By the third year, we don't even need to do anything. Those people will take the initiative to capture the emperor and send him to us."

"Let's talk about the situation in the south. Although the south is rich, there is no capable general, and no one can organize them."

"Lou Rui is fine, but who is Lou Rui? As long as he is given money, he dares to sell even his grandfather's spirit tablet! The country??"

"In the current situation, there is no need to worry too much about local affairs. Ten governors are more than enough."

"On the contrary, it's the Zhou people here. The Zhou people should not be underestimated."

Cui Jishu listened to Yang Xiuzhi's analysis without interrupting him.

After the other party finished speaking, he slowly said, "I went to see the general last night."

"The general is not that concerned about what I have said."

"I think he is more inclined to focus on domestic affairs."

"Actually, this is understandable. The army under the general's command is still far inferior to the Zhou people. The Zhou people's main force will definitely be aimed at us next time. I want to delay the Zhou people's attack, while Zu Ting wants to have the strength to fight the Zhou people head-on as soon as possible."

Cui Jishu held Yang Xiuzhi's hand and said seriously, "Don't worry, Mr. Yang."

"I used to be acquainted with Zu Ting, and I know what kind of person he is."

"He is definitely more anxious than us, and once he is anxious, he will do many things that will make the general unhappy."

"In the future, there will be a chance to bring him down sooner or later."

Yang Xiuzhi sighed and said nothing more.

The two started talking about other things.

What happened in the following few days proved that Cui Jishu's judgment was correct. Many ministers in the court suddenly changed their minds and chose to support Zu Ting's strategy, vying with each other.

The general also formally summoned everyone and read out his orders.

Military offices and generals were set up in each state, and the number of troops was increased.

Corresponding official examinations were set up in each state, called the imperial examinations.

This means that the decision-making direction of the government in the future will revolve around the local military and the promotion of officials.

The decision maker for these two major events was Zu Ting, which means that in the future, the Shangshu Tai would be responsible to Zu Ting and obey his orders on this matter.

The ministers had different reactions.

Only King Pengcheng remained as calm as ever. All he had to do was get his work done. He didn't think there was any big problem with either Zu Ting's or Cui Jishu's decisions.

The equal distribution of land was coordinated with the military government, which was the reason why the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty grew rapidly.

Zu Ting immediately retained some of the ministers and convened a second round of negotiations.

The first thing is the number of generals in each state.

There were 24 military offices in the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty. The Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty established 24 generals to manage the military offices. Twelve generals were also established. Each general managed two military offices. There was also a general who managed two generals. In this way, the Grand Chancellor managed all the generals.
But Zu Ting obviously did not intend to imitate directly.

He appointed a founding general in each military office, for a total of ten founding generals, and then, these ten founding generals had to obey the command of the general.

This is because the middle layers have been deleted. After all, the generals of the Great Qi are different from those of the Pseudo-Zhou. It is equivalent to the military government directly obeying the "emperor".

These military offices would recruit soldiers locally and incorporate them into military households, but they had no connection with the local governor's office.

The governors of Da Qi often hold the title of general.

Only a governor could be in charge of both military and political affairs if he was given the title of general, but under the military government system, the two were separated.

Military affairs require huge investment. It may take a very long time to formally train the ten armies.

Compared to military affairs, imperial examinations are much easier to handle as there is so much experience and precedents, and the cost is not that huge.

Zu Ting wanted to emulate the systems of the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom. Both had assessments, but the difference was that the Southern Kingdom had no identity requirements, while the Northern Kingdom still required recommendations. Zhongzheng recommended outstanding talents to participate in the examinations. The Northern Dynasty was like a combination of the Zhongzheng system and the imperial examinations.

Zu Ting, on the other hand, while emulating the southern countries, also applied some northern characteristics.

The Zhongzheng examinations in various places had to be changed. In the past, officials from the three departments of Zhongshu, Jishu and Kaogonglang separately assessed the scholars, Gongshi and Lianliang. Now, a nationwide unified examination would be established. There would no longer be restrictions on the candidates' backgrounds, no recommendations were required, and there would be no limit on the number of participants. Instead, a selection method would be adopted, and only those who passed the first few announcements could participate in the final examination.

The General's Mansion and the Executive Office began to get busy again. This time, the happiest people were the generals. With ten vacancies, almost all the generals could take up the positions and there was no need to worry about not having a place to use their talents.

The imperial examination made those ambitious scholars from the lower classes extremely happy. In the past, only those who were recommended could participate in the formal examination, and those who passed could become officials.

Now, after the revision, everyone is the same. There is no such thing as special recommendation or direct participation in the final examination. Everyone must be selected first, participate in multiple assessments, and then the ranking will be determined and the official will be appointed.

ps: I would like to present to you a new book by an old friend, "Director's Life". If you like this type of entertainment, you can go and have a look.

(End of this chapter)