Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 338: Some Leave, Some Die

Jinyang.

Pingyuan Palace.

Duan Shao sat in the upper seat, and it was also very lively here.

Many generals from Jinyang gathered together. All of these old Xianbei people looked unhappy and whispered to each other. The atmosphere was also wrong.

She Diluo stood up suddenly, looked at the people around him, and finally looked at Duan Shao, "Grand Sima! We all have something to say!"

Duan Shao's face no longer had the carefree look he had before. He looked a little gloomy and worried.

"You said."

"There is nothing we can do now. This month alone, the emperor appointed six more Lieutenants-General. Including the previous ones, there are now more than fifty Lieutenants-General. These people are in charge of the central army. Among them, only two or three can fight in battles. The rest are carpenters, musicians, and there is even a fucking dancer!!"

"I have lived for most of my life and have never heard of such a ridiculous thing!"

"The officers and soldiers don't know whose orders to obey. The titles of Shangshu Ling and Zhongshu Ling are appointed without regard for their lives. The court is in chaos. Everyone can be in charge and everyone is a prince. It is difficult to go out without a prince title!"

"How shameful!!"

After She Diluo asked this question, the others followed suit.

These old Xianbei people have always been very tolerant of major national affairs. Whether the emperor likes to run naked or play games in the palace, they don't care much anyway.

But some of the emperor's actions have now begun to affect them.

These randomly conferred titles and positions turned the entire Jinyang into a mess, including for these old Xianbei people, who had never seen such a chaotic situation.

Another point is the deterioration of the situation.

Liu Taozi became increasingly powerful, and Jinyang was surrounded on all sides. Liu Taozi even established a Bingzhou. Since the two sides began to confront each other, the people in Jinyang began to run frantically to Liu Taozi's rule.

There were people running away almost every day. Initially, only people from the bordering areas fled, but now, officials, businessmen, soldiers, and countless others have fled.

When Gao Wei learned about this, he was very angry and sent a large army to guard all the important roads and prohibit anyone from entering or leaving.

He also planned to build several large watchtowers around Jinyang to monitor the entry and exit.

The nobles could feel that their doomsday was approaching little by little. Several cities around Jinyang successively surrendered to Liu Taozi. Now the areas under the control of the court were getting smaller and smaller, and even the soldiers under their command were somewhat unwilling to obey.

Since Emperor Gao came, the treatment of the soldiers has also suffered a certain impact.

Originally, no matter how hard he tried in Yecheng, it was difficult to influence those people in Jinyang who were acting independently. But now the situation is a little different.

These old Xianbei people are not weak and can be bullied.

The wise rulers of the past generations could not completely suppress them, let alone this little emperor.

Once the emperor's actions began to truly infringe upon their rights, they immediately began to think about resisting.

You, Gao Wei, are not the only one who can be emperor, but only people like us can be military leaders.

Duan Shao looked down and saw that the military leaders were no longer concealing their intentions.

This tendency had actually already existed since Gao Wei came to Jinyang, because the generals were extremely dissatisfied because of the random awarding of titles.

They worked very hard and used the efforts of several generations to create a duke or a prince. But when the emperor came, he conferred so many titles at once, and many of them were lowly and incompetent villains.

It would be fine if it was just a nominal position, but they were also given official positions, making Jinyang a chaotic place.

Duan Shao had a very high prestige in the army, so he was able to suppress such tendencies time and time again.

But now, Duan Shao can no longer control them.

He looked at everyone calmly and sighed, "Don't worry, I will tell His Majesty about this matter."

She Diluo looked at the others and said seriously, "Grand Sima, it's not that we don't trust you, but you have submitted your petition many times, but nothing has changed."

"This time, it will definitely work. If it doesn't work, I won't stop you anymore."

Duan Shao said very calmly.

Everyone looked at each other. She Diluo had nothing to say. He bowed to Duan Shaoxing and then turned and left.

Duan Shao sat alone in the room and sighed again.

These days are really getting worse and worse.

Just as he was having his men prepare a carriage and horses for him, a soldier came in to report that King Ande was here to see him.

King Ande Gao Yanzong.

Hearing his name, Duan Shao's expression finally looked better.

King Ande is an example of a prodigal son among the royal family. When he was young, he was a devil and did many ridiculous things. But now, he has become a general who can be used. If he is taught carefully, he may become the next Gao Changgong or the next Hulugu in the future.

Duan Shao let him in to meet him.

Gao Yanzong, wearing ordinary clothes, walked quickly into the house. Duan Shao smiled and waved, "Come here and sit next to me."

Gao Yanzong bowed and then sat aside.

"Tell me, what's there that you don't understand?"

During these days, Gao Yanzong occasionally came to visit Duan Shao to ask questions about military strategy. If there was something he didn't understand, he would come to him to solve his confusion.

In Duan Shao's opinion, Gao Yanzong was not a pure reckless man. He had certain attainments in the art of war. This might be related to the fact that Emperor Wenxuan had personally taught him the art of war. Although Emperor Wenxuan was also crazy, he was proficient in the art of war and was very good at fighting, which was quite different from the current one.

Every time Gao Yanzong came to ask questions, Duan Shao would explain diligently. He had a bit of a teachable nature, and Gao Yanzong had good talent, so he favored him even more.

But today, Gao Yanzong's expression was unusually solemn, very different from his past frivolous expression.

He looked at Duan Shao seriously, and suddenly said, "Grand Sima, I'm leaving."

"Let's go, you go ahead."

Duan Shao was about to ask subconsciously, but then he suddenly reacted and his face turned pale in an instant.

He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but looking at Gao Yanzong who was staring at him, he couldn't even ask why.

why?
Could it be that Duan Shao still doesn't know why this is happening?
The young emperor hated Gao Yanzong very much. After arriving in Jinyang and successfully escaping, he sent people to humiliate Gao Yanzong more than once, and always said to his left and right: All the brothers in this family have rebellious hearts.

At this moment, Gao Yanzong's two elder brothers were still in Jinyang, but they dared not contact each other.

The reason why Gao Yanzong can stay until today may be because of Gao Yan.

Duan Shao didn't say anything, and the two of them were silent for a long time.

Duan Shao suddenly asked: "What about Prince Pingyang? What is he going to do?"

Gao Yanzong said seriously: "He is also preparing to leave."

"He's leaving too. Even he's leaving?"

Duan Shao's voice became a little louder. He could understand that Gao Yanzong wanted to leave. After all, he had suffered so much injustice and experienced so many absurd things.

But even Gao Yan is leaving? ?
Why?

It was clear that the two of them were discussing the important issue of saving the country some time ago.

Looking at the somewhat excited Duan Shao, Gao Yanzong said very straightforwardly: "Not only him, my brothers, those people in the city who have not lost their conscience, are all preparing to leave. The general is fighting the barbarians in the south, and I want to join him as soon as possible. I heard that he has a baboon camp under his command. Isn't it just right for me to lead it?!"

"My brothers thought the same thing. Some of them couldn't stand it any longer. My eldest brother was beaten with a hundred military sticks a few days ago because he didn't get up in time to greet the emperor. Every stick hit his flesh."

"If this continues, all of us brothers will die at his hands."

"Da Sima, you should follow us too."

"I do not go."

Duan Shao rejected Gao Yanzong's proposal without any hesitation.

Gao Yanzong was not discouraged. "Okay, you don't have to leave. Then the Grand Marshal will lead us to capture the emperor. Most of the soldiers in Jinyang obey you. No one dares to disobey your orders. Let's capture Gao Wei first, and then discuss other things. Whether it's to establish a new emperor or to surrender to the general, I have no objection, as long as we can kill Gao Wei, the little beast."

"presumptuous!!"

Duan Shao slammed the table in front of him, extremely angry.

The next moment, a soldier rushed in from the door and looked at Gao Yanzong with a fierce look.

Gao Yanzong looked at these people without any fear on his face. He just shook his head, "Why bother? The Grand Marshal is so capable, the best general in the country, why would he waste his time doing meaningless things, and even become an accomplice of Jie and Zhou?"

Duan Shao's face was solemn. He stared at Gao Yanzong and said, "I will pretend that I didn't hear what you said today. You can leave now. From today on, I don't know you anymore. If we meet on the battlefield, I will definitely show no mercy."

Gao Yanzong stood up and saluted Duan Shao again.

Then he left the place surrounded by those soldiers.

Just as he reached the door, someone called him.

Gao Yanzong turned around and found that it was the old servant in Duan Shao's mansion.

The man handed a package to Gao Yanzong and said, "This is what my master asked me to give you. Take care."

The old servant bowed, walked back quickly and closed the door.

Gao Yanzong opened the package in his hand and found several thick books on military strategy.

Gao Yanzong looked towards the direction of the mansion again. At this moment, he had a strong urge to take people to kidnap Duan Shao and take him away from here.

But after thinking about it, Gao Yanzong gave up. He bowed towards the gate of the mansion and then left.

When Gao Yanzong returned to his mansion, many people had already gathered inside.

Among them were Gao Xiaoyu and Gao Xiaowan.

The two had some disagreements in the past, but at this moment, they had obviously put aside their prejudices.

In addition to their brothers, there were also several generals who got along well with Gao Yanzong and were ready to leave with him.

Gao Yanzong did not decide to go out on the first day. His brothers had been plotting to escape long before.

Only now are they ready to take action.

They have made detailed arrangements from the city gate to escape through, to which route to take, and to the final destination.

Gao Xiaowan glanced at Gao Xiaoyu and asked, "Brother, can you still ride a horse?"

Gao Xiaoyu was tortured by Gao Wei and his current situation was not very good. However, he knew that his younger brother was asking him not because he cared about him, so he did not answer.

Gao Yanzong waved his hand and said, "Let's go first. I have already arranged everything. Grab your things and go!"

Those who could ride horses chose to ride. Of course, they couldn't leave empty-handed, so they also prepared three carriages. Gao Yanzong placed his large package on the carriage, and then led everyone towards the north gate.

They didn't even hide their figures and just walked towards the city gate openly.

The city was in a mess, government affairs were in great chaos, no one was doing anything, everyone was just playing along with the emperor, it seemed that this was the only duty of officials in the world.

Gao Yanzong and others arrived at the North Gate in a mighty procession. The officers at the North Gate were now ready with their soldiers.

They passed through the city gate, and the officers followed with their troops, then headed north.

Gao Yanzong walked in front, holding a horse lance.

If anyone dared to stop him or say something more, he would vent all the anger he had accumulated over the past few days.

Unfortunately, under the rule of the wise and powerful young emperor, no one did anything, including the officials sent by the emperor to keep an eye on the fugitives. They did not do anything because there were at least six or seven superiors in the same place, and no one could command anyone. In the end, no one did anything, anyway, they still got their salaries.

Gao Yanzong and others hurried on the road, a total of more than a hundred people, and they had a smooth journey.

Gao Xiaoyu sat in the carriage in disbelief, looking at the situation on both sides.

There were clearly many tall watchtowers built in the distance, but there was no one guarding them.

The checkpoints along the way didn't care about the people coming in and out at all, and were almost all in disarray.

Gao Xiaoyu hadn't been out of the city for a long time and never imagined that the situation here had become so bad.

Gao Yanzong did have some understanding of this.

There were many refugees in the distance. Seeing their posture, they all ran away and no one dared to approach them.

After walking for several hours, they finally decided to stop and rest.

If you go further, you will reach Taozi.

But here, there are still soldiers guarding the place, and it is not as simple as the road along the way.

The three brothers sat in front of the campfire, talking about the dire situation in the world today, and several of them couldn't help shaking their heads.

Gao Xiaoyu sighed, "What a pity, Prince Pingyang is unwilling to leave with us."

"The King of Pingyuan is fine. He has an army under his command. The emperor at least dares not do anything to him. But what about the King of Pingyang? On weekdays, he only has the support of the royal family. Now, there are only a few royal family members left by the emperor. The King of Pingyang is an upright and generous person. I am afraid that sooner or later he will die at the hands of Gao Wei."

Gao Yanzong was stunned and jumped up suddenly.

"oops!"

"I almost forgot!"

Gao Yanzong rushed to the carriage, took down his big package, and then opened it carefully.

Several people looked at Gao Yanzong blankly until they saw him take Prince Pingyang Gao Yan out of the bag.

Gao Yan looked dying at the moment, his mouth was blocked and he didn't even have the strength to whimper.

Gao Yanzong hurriedly took the silk cloth out of his mouth and asked someone to bring water to feed Gao Yan.

Gao Xiaoyu was stunned. He was stunned for a moment, then rushed up quickly and kicked his brother. Gao Yanzong felt pain and almost let go, causing Gao Yan to fall again.

"You bastard! What do you mean?!"

Looking at the exhausted Gao Yan, Gao Yanzong said helplessly: "We should have let him out earlier."

"I'm asking you why the hell is Prince Pingyang in your package? Didn't you say he didn't want to leave with us?"

"Yes, he didn't want to, but I swore to Brother Taozi that I would protect his safety, so I simply knocked him out and carried him out of the mansion. Didn't that mean we got him out of Jinyang?"

For a moment, Gao Xiaoyu's head was buzzing.

He hurriedly called his fellow doctor to diagnose his uncle.

Gao Yan gradually regained his strength. He stared at Gao Yanzong angrily, "Are you planning a rebellion?!"

Gao Yanzong scratched his head and said, "I just want to save my uncle."

"Uncle, you don't have to worry about the situation in your house. Before I left, I sent someone to inform them and asked them to escape."

"We have already fled Jinyang. You can't go back even if you want to."

Gao Xiaoyu glared at his brother again, and walked forward helplessly, "Uncle, please forgive me, I am your brother, and you know that I have always been like this."

Gao Yan frowned, his face full of worry.

“You guys are killing me.”

Duan Shao, wearing a thick coat, walked quickly up the steps and headed towards the Jinyang Palace in front.

The soldiers at the door saw Duan Shao and did not dare to stop him, so they quickly made way.

When Duan Shao walked into the hall, he saw two armored soldiers holding down a woman and another was peeling her face. As for Gao Wei, he was standing not far away, admiring this horrifying scene.

Duan Shao's sudden arrival startled the soldiers and they all stood in front of the emperor to protect him.

Gao Wei also looked at Duan Shao in astonishment, and then looked at the door angrily, "Are those people at the door dead? Why didn't anyone report it?"

"His Majesty."

Duan Shao slowly walked up to Gao Wei and lowered his head.

For a moment, Gao Wei suddenly felt a sense of oppression that he had not felt for a long time.

He raised his head and saw Duan Shao's increasingly ferocious face.

Gao Wei was so frightened that he took a few steps back. He asked in a low voice: "What is the Grand Marshal going to do? Is he going to send me to Liu Taozi to ask for merit?"

Duan Shao looked at the soldiers around him, but they did not dare to step forward when facing him.

"Your Majesty, from today on, please begin to observe mourning for the Emperor. Domestic affairs will be handled by reliable ministers. I will find a few teachers for your Majesty to teach you. When your Majesty comes of age, you can personally handle major affairs."

(End of this chapter)