Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 317 Stop it, A-Zu
Pingcheng.

The General's Mansion.

The carriage came galloping and quickly stopped at the door. Zu Ting jumped out of the carriage like a flying bird and strode into the mansion.

The soldiers at the door were stunned and had no time to stop him. They saw Zu Ting flying past them.

This person doesn't look like an old man at all. Several soldiers looked at each other.

"Master? Do you want to chase him?"

Shi Wansui looked at Zu Ting who flew in, was silent for a moment, and then said to several soldiers: "It seems that Zugong has something important to report. Just record it."

Shi Wansui continued to guard the door of the general's mansion, marveling in his heart.

This great general has a lot of talented people under his command, and there are all kinds of people.

At this moment, Zu Ting spread his legs and ran all the way, finally rushing to the door of the inner room.

He shouted loudly: "My Lord! I have something important to report!!"

The room suddenly became quiet.

The next moment, Liu Zhang gently opened the door. Zu Ting was stunned and hurriedly bowed to meet the old mistress.

Liu Zhang smiled and said, "Since you have something important to do, I won't bother you any more."

She turned and left with a maid.

Zu Ting walked quickly into the house. Liu Taozi was sitting beside him with a half-eaten meal in front of her.

Zu Ting didn't care about that. He hurriedly said, "My Lord! Something big has happened to the Pseudo-Zhou!!"

"Yuwen Yong attacked and killed Yuwen Hu in the palace, and then summoned his confidants to the palace. He also summoned Yuwen Hu's descendants and confidants to the palace in the name of Yuwen Hu and killed them all."

"The provincial governors, prefects, and generals from all over the country have submitted petitions to apologize!"

"We underestimated this villain Yuwen Yong. We didn't expect him to be so decisive and ruthless, and his ability to govern is extremely superb. After he killed Yuwen Hu, he quickly divided the officials that Yuwen Hu valued, rewarded and promoted them, and killed or dismissed those who he couldn't win over. He easily took back the government! He is really a strong enemy! A strong enemy!"

Zu Ting was obviously a little panicked.

In the past, they looked down on the Pseudo-Zhou because it had a very good ruler.

Yuwen Hu was an expert at civil wars but a novice at foreign wars. He was invincible in killing people at home and abroad, but once he went abroad, he would be beaten everywhere.

During these years, Yuwen Yong behaved exceptionally mediocrely. He hardly interacted with anyone, did not study, and did not do anything to consolidate his prestige or cause trouble for Yuwen Hu.

Many people, including Zu Ting and other counselors, believed that the future of the Pseudo-Zhou was bleak. Yuwen Hu was not very capable, and his sons were even more "dragons and phoenixes among men". Yuwen Yong was mediocre and incompetent, and could not seize power.
If Yuwen Yong does not make a name for himself, he will be a surprise to everyone when he does.

This seemingly most mediocre, kindest and most incompetent man suddenly rose up and killed Yuwen Hu, who held great power. This was not the most amazing thing. The most amazing thing was that he was able to actually take back the power without causing any civil unrest.

This is not a tyrant at all, he is the most powerful emperor in the Yuwen family!
Zu Ting's expression was particularly grim. "My Lord, we can't let this guy take power so easily. We have to find a way."

Liu Taozi remained calm, and even after hearing the news, he was not very surprised.

"He started pretty early."

"what?"

"Grandfather, didn't you say that as long as we can do our own things well and become strong, we don't have to worry about any external enemies?"

Zu Ting scratched his head, feeling upset.

At this moment, he could imagine how proud Cui Jishu's old face was. If Cui Jishu's decision had been used before and pressure had been continuously put on the border of the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty, perhaps Yuwen Hu would have been able to run the government for a few more years. After all, under pressure from foreign enemies, as long as they were not crazy, they would not rush to take action against the powerful officials. No one knew what impact this would have on the troops on the front line.

"My Lord, I..."

“I’m not asking for guilt.”

Liu Taozi picked up the dish in front of her and looked at Zu Ting, "Grandpa, would you like to eat something?"

Zu Ting nodded, and Liu Taozi asked someone to bring another pair of bowls and chopsticks. Zu Ting moved closer and started eating together.

For some reason, as he ate with Liu Taozi, Zu Ting's mood began to calm down gradually, and he was no longer as impatient as before.

Liu Taozi ate very fast, taking big mouthfuls of food, and neither of them spoke.

Soon, the food was eaten up by both of them.

Zu Ting was a little confused. He had clearly eaten before coming here, so why did he eat again? And he ate so much?

Liu Taozi wiped her mouth and stared at Zu Ting in front of her.

"Grandfather, is Cui Jishu so scary?"

"Ok?"

"I remember that no matter what happened to my grandfather in the past, he was always calm and could always come up with a way to deal with it. Ever since different voices emerged in the court, my grandfather has become more and more impatient in doing things."

"Because of my impatience, I am not as good as before."

"Did Grandpa do what happened to Gao Yuanhai?"

"If Grandfather wanted to kill him, why didn't he write a petition, but did it through such means?"

"And Wei Shou, he came to me and told me some things."

"Grandpa, can you rule the world by intimidating and blackmailing your colleagues and forcing them to work for you?"

Zu Ting fell silent.

Zu Ting looked at Liu Taozi, "My Lord, do you also think that I set fire to the prison cell?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you."

"My lord, I want to kill Gao Yuanhai and the others, but if I do it, they won't be burned to death. I won't use such a crude method to kill people. I can kill them without a trace."

"My lord has previously told me to obey the law and not to do anything that is forbidden by the law."

"Since then, I have never done anything against the law. Arson and murder are serious crimes. How could I do that?"

"As for the extortion you mentioned, the law stipulates that extorting money from others is a crime, and using a sharp weapon to intimidate others to do something is a crime. I never asked for any money, nor did I use any weapons. I just showed Wei Shou and others a few documents. According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, I am not guilty."

Liu Taozi nodded, "It seems that there are still some areas that need to be revised in Qi Law."

Zu Ting couldn't help but laugh, "My Lord, this is the first thing you think of?"

"Ah."

"Who committed the Gao Yuanhai case?"

"I don't know, but this villain's crude method is obviously an old trick of Yecheng."

Zu Ting said disdainfully: "My Lord, when the people from Ye City first arrived here, they were guests and we were the hosts."

"They all bowed their heads and breathed like cat slaves, not daring to do evil."

"Now that the Xingtai has been established and many ministers have gathered, they want to go back to the time when they were in Yecheng."

"Why do they oppose my killing of Gao Yuanhai and others?"

"They don't want to set a precedent. In Yecheng, only ministers died for offending the emperor, not for other crimes."

"This is the tradition of our dynasty. From the past to the present, my lord, do you know of a minister who was executed for corruption? Do you know of a minister who was executed for seizing women, grabbing land, and bullying the people?"

Zu Ting shook his head, "No."

"Those who were executed were those who had offended the emperor, the powerful officials, and the nobles."

"I want to kill them to set a precedent for the world. Under the new king, officials must be executed for committing mistakes even if they have not offended the emperor!"

"But they didn't want to, so they tried every possible way to harm me. I'm the strongest among the masters here, and the others are too young to pose any threat to them."

"In order to bring me down, they even resorted to framing me."

"Cui Jishu has never been here before. This is the so-called style of the big clan. If one person is here, there must be another person on the other side."

"Why did he suddenly come here? And when we just acquired the Northland?"

"He was invited here temporarily by these people in the court, with the purpose of challenging me."

"My lord, I beat Wei Shou and the others in order to maintain the status of host and guest. I don't want Pingcheng to become another Yecheng."

Zu Ting spoke very sincerely.

But one can only believe 70% to 80% of what this person says, not all of it. Liu Taozi nodded, not knowing how much he believed.

He said, "This is the first time I've heard of the host and guest argument, Grandpa."

"Since Grandfather has said it all, I think there is no need to be impatient. Now let's talk about the Pseudo-Zhou."

Zu Ting's face also became calm at this moment. He thought about Yuwen Yong's matter again. After putting aside the trivial domestic affairs of Cui Jishu, his thoughts became clear again.

"My lord, Yuwen Yong is a great enemy."

"However, Yuwen Hu's previous defeat cannot be erased by simply changing the king."

"Even if Yuwen Yong is a man of great talent and military strategy, it will not be easy for him to pacify the domestic affairs. Moreover, Yuwen Hu died at his hands. Many people in various parts of the Pseudo-Zhou were promoted by Yuwen Hu. If we want to completely eliminate these influences, restore national strength, and come to attack, it will take at least five or six years."

"These five or six years will be enough time for us to take over the land in the south and complete the integration."

"By then, considering the national strength of both sides, Yuwen Yong may not be able to stir up any trouble."

Liu Taozi nodded, "I think your idea is much better than the previous one. Recruiting Yuwen Hu? You have never seen what kind of people are under Yuwen Hu, but I have seen a lot of them."

"I decided to listen to you at the beginning, not because of Wei Shou and others who followed suit and wrote a petition."

"But I think that in order to defeat the enemy, you still need to be strong enough."

"Qi is the richest and most fertile region in the world. Even if it is just the land of Hebei, if we manage it carefully, we can be the first in the world. Why should we be afraid of it?"

Zu Ting lowered his head and said, "I will accept your instruction."

Liu Taozi slowly stood up and led Zu Ting to the wall.

On the wall, there is a huge map.

What is shown on the map is Liu Taozi's current sphere of influence.

"The ten provincial governors I appointed are quite outstanding and have lived up to my expectations."

"Although spring planting was delayed a lot, we have reaped a lot of rewards in various places. Next year, there will definitely be great changes."

"I don't have to worry about local affairs anymore. There are three things I should do most now."

"Zhongzheng Assessment, the Military Office, and the merchants in the south."

"I plan to let Qubing be in charge of the assessment."

Zu Ting laughed, "My lord is wise!!!"

The reason why Zu Ting was so happy was that when the North was preparing to implement the imperial examination system, many people expressed their special concern about this matter. These people were naturally the guests that Zu Ting mentioned.

These "guests" had long controlled the official promotion system during the Da Qi period.

The Zhongzheng in various places basically came from prominent families, and the scholars who wanted to take the examination had to be named by the Zhongzheng before they could participate.

After the Nine-Rank System proved how rotten this system of selecting officials was, knowledgeable people reformed it, thinking that there should be more assessment components and the content of the assessment should be strengthened, and that one should not just rely on family background to recommend officials.

As a result, the Zhongzheng system, disguised as the imperial examination system, appeared in the north.

You say he is Zhongzheng, he has to take exams; you say he is an imperial examiner, he needs someone to recommend him.

It is wishful thinking for scholars of commoner origin to participate in the examination. The number of recommendation places is limited, the number of examination places is limited. In short, go to hell.

In this regard, the solution in the south was much more advanced. During the Liang Dynasty, the bad habit of requiring recommendations to take the exam was officially broken. There were no restrictions on identity. As long as one was not a descendant of a criminal, anyone could participate in the selection of talents.

Few people know that the imperial examination system of the Sui Dynasty still used the system of the Northern Qi Dynasty, and scholars who participated in the imperial examination still needed to be recommended by someone.
From the selection of filial and honest officials to the Zhongzheng system, and then to the early imperial examination system, the selection of officials was still firmly in the hands of these powerful families. As for this, one only needs to open the history books and see the series of ministers with surnames such as Cui, Lu, Yang, Zheng, Zhang, and Wang to know.

After learning that Zu Ting was going to break the restrictions due to his family background, the guests all expressed their willingness to take charge of this matter.

Zu Ting absolutely did not believe them. They wanted to be responsible for this matter, but he was afraid that in the end it would turn into a gathering of children from large families with no restrictions on their backgrounds!
When Zu Ting heard Liu Taozi say that she was going to let Lu Qubing take over, he immediately knew that it was safe! !

Liu Taozi looked at him and saw the joy in his eyes.

"You think so too?"

"Yes! That's so right!"

Zu Ting said: "Although Lu Qubing is from a big family, his clan is not very large, and he himself does not have the consistent style of those big families. It is safest for him to handle this matter. However, many people in the court may make memorials, hoping to help him do this. My lord, you must not believe their lies! Lu Qubing is very young and is no match for these old men."

"These old guys have countless ways to ruin our new policy. The best way is to prevent any of them from interfering!"

Liu Taozi nodded slightly.

"For the second thing, I will personally do it."

The smile on Zu Ting's face suddenly disappeared, and he hurriedly said, "My Lord, this matter is actually..."

"No need to say more."

"The affairs of the military government are quite complicated, involving the Xingtai and the local governments, the prefectures and the military government, the governors and the generals, the food and fodder, the military equipment, and the officers. It is better for me to handle it myself."

Zu Ting bowed hastily and said, "My lord is wise! I am willing to assist you!"

"No need, this last thing has to be done by you."

Zu Ting frowned, "Trade?"

Liu Taozi's forces have long lived in poverty, lacking food, lacking food, and lacking food.

The border is barren, and even though the climate has warmed up in recent years and grain production has increased, it is still not enough to feed such a large population.

The newly acquired land had just been destroyed and it was impossible for it to benefit the government in a short period of time.

All localities needed investment, and they did get a lot of things from the confiscation of property and extermination of clans, but these things were only enough for investment in the local areas. The Xingtai did not let them transport food here, so the food reserves of the temple were still not up to standard.

In the past, Liu Taozi took the initiative to contact Lou Rui and others to purchase food from south of the river, and even had an indirect trade relationship with the Chen people for a time.

Liu Taozi said: "Since we have obtained the entire northern land, the number of convoys and fleets from the south transporting grain has become less and less."

"There are too many things to do at the current stage. If there is no food, nothing can be done."

Zu Ting hesitated for a moment, "What does my lord mean?"

"Trade is equally important. I hope you can restart the past trade so that both the north and the south can get what they need. Private trade cannot be interrupted."

"A lot of people advised me that I shouldn't be in charge of this kind of thing, saying that if I took over, there would definitely be problems."

Liu Taozi slowly looked towards Zu Ting.

"Grandfather, is it as they say?"

Zu Ting's expression gradually became solemn, his eyes cold, "Absolutely not."

"Then I will leave this matter to you. You can make your own decisions on all matters. If you want help from the local authorities, you can go to the Xingtai Office. I will ask the Xingtai Office to help you with all its strength."

"only!!"

Zu Ting paid great tribute.

When Zu Ting walked out of the General's Mansion, he felt inexplicably heavy in his heart. This heaviness was different from the heaviness he felt after hearing about the changes in the Pseudo-Zhou Dynasty.

As soon as he walked out of the General's Mansion, Zu Ting almost bumped into the person in front of him.

And the person who appeared in front of him was Cui Jishu.

Sure enough, when Cui Jishu saw him, he immediately showed the kind of smug smile that Zu Ting had imagined.

"Ancestor, I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you okay?"

Zu Ting looked at him calmly and said, "I heard that when you were the governor of the south, you often did business with the southerners."

"Do you know any great southern merchants?"

Cui Jishu frowned, "I don't know what Grandpa is talking about."

"No, forget it."

Zu Ting said this and quickly disappeared into the distance.

Cui Jishu frowned.

Why does this guy look a little different?
ps: He was appointed as the governor of Qizhou. He was accused of sending people to cross the Huai River for trade and bribery. He was impeached by the censor, but was pardoned. - "Book of Northern Qi·Biography of Cui Jishu"

(End of this chapter)