Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 369 Family Banquet
The border area is also recovering rapidly this year.

It is not yet March, but the ice and snow have already begun to melt. In the bare mountains and forests in the distance, a little bit of green can be vaguely seen.

In the past, snowfall could be seen in the border areas by April and it was quite common.

The snow on the mountain melted, and the accumulated water flowed from the top of the mountain all the way to the foot of the mountain. The water was clear.

As you walk along the stream, you can see many farmers in the distance, busy working by the stream.

They were diverting the water, digging a small channel to divert part of the stream to their own village.

Gao Changgong, wearing armor, passed by on the official road nearby.

Several local officials were patrolling along the stream on horseback, prohibiting the common people along the way from stealing or blocking the water without permission.

The village is hidden on the hillside in the distance. Even from a long distance away, you can see a lot of rising smoke and the occasional barking of dogs.

A peaceful countryside atmosphere.

Gao Changgong really didn't expect that one day he would be able to experience this kind of atmosphere on the frontier.

As the poorest, most dangerous and most difficult area in the whole country in the past, it now has such a rural atmosphere.

No wonder everyone says Liu Taozi has a destiny. Even if others don’t believe it, the people on the border must believe it.

Gao Changgong walked around the official road in front of him and came to a fork in the road.

There was a post house at the fork in the road, with post officials and soldiers stopping and checking people.

Gao Changgong led more than a hundred people, but he did not show any official documents. However, with this posture, the clerks did not dare to be rude to him. When they came to check, they were cautious and smiling. However, they still had to register. If they did not have the registration of this posthouse, they would be arrested if they could not produce relevant certificates when they arrived at the next place.
After normally informing the group of his identity information and destination, Gao Changgong was able to continue the journey.

The closer you get to Pingcheng, the more inspections of this kind there are.

Pingcheng is now about to hold the coronation ceremony, and the entire Hengzhou has begun to strengthen its defenses, fearing that some ignorant people will take advantage of the gathering of people in Pingcheng to cause trouble.

Sometimes the official road passes through villages, and villagers on both sides will take out some things to sell to passers-by.

Gao Changgong saw that many villages along the way had begun to prepare for the celebration. Some village officials tied up livestock with brightly colored cloth, which were to be enjoyed by the villagers during the celebration.

Gao Changgong looked at the farmers in the distance in surprise. Just as he was about to move forward, someone suddenly stopped him.

He was a half-grown child, wearing thick clothes, with thick black eyebrows and bright eyes, and two soldiers following behind him.

"May I ask if you are the Governor Gao of Lingzhou?"

Gao Changgong was stunned, and stared down at the little baby in front of him for a moment before he said, "It's me."

"It's really Governor Gao!!"

"I have admired you for a long time!"

The little kid was a little excited, and quickly pointed in the direction of the village nearby, "My elder brother has been waiting for you over there for a long time!"

Gao Changgong was a little confused. He asked curiously, "Who is your elder brother?"

"My eldest brother is Liu Taozi, the King of Han."

Gao Changgong was even more surprised, "So he has a younger brother?"

He didn't think that the little kid was lying to him. He asked the knights to dismount, and he handed the reins of the warhorse to the guard beside him. Then he followed the little kid towards the village.

"Sir, my name is Liu Wuzhi, you can just call me Xiao Wu."

"We have been waiting for you for a long time"

Xiao Wu was quite attentive to Gao Changgong. Every time he looked at him, a flattering smile appeared on his face, as if he had other intentions.

They walked along the village path, turned a corner, and came to a big fork in the village. There was a very nice mansion there, with stables on both sides.

When the soldiers saw Xiao Wu, Gao Changgong and others, they hurried in to report.

As soon as Gao Changgong walked to the door, he saw two people coming out.

One is Liu Taozi and the other is Lu Qubing.

"Your Majesty!"

Gao Changgong bowed to greet him, and Liu Taozi helped him up directly, "This is a family dinner, there is no need to be so polite."

Lu Qubing laughed, nodded and said, "There is no outsider here, so there is no need to be so polite. Please come in first."

Gao Changgong followed Liu Taozi into the yard.

The yard was much smaller and did not have that many houses. It was considered good in the countryside, but it was still incomparable to the big mansions in the city. Gao Changgong saw two women standing in the yard, one older and the other younger.

Liu Taozi introduced: "This is my mother, and that is my wife."

Gao Changgong was surprised and quickly took off the mask on his face. He bowed formally to Liu Zhangshi, and then bowed to Huluqian.

Liu Zhang looked at Gao Changgong who had taken off his mask, was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile: "As expected of the grandson of King Gao, he is truly a handsome young man."

"Thank you very much, sir. I am unworthy of it."

"Have you ever had a family?"

"Not yet."

Liu Zhang asked a few more questions and left with Huoluqian. Xiao Wu followed behind them, still a little reluctant to leave.

Gao Changgong glanced at Liu Taozi and asked, "Is it really a family dinner?"

Lu Qubing said first, "Yes, Taozi wanted to come and greet you when she knew you were coming. It just so happened that her family hadn't been out for a long time, so she simply took them out of the city for a walk. The old lady insisted on taking me along, so I followed her."

"It just so happens that there is nothing much that can be done in the court."

Liu Taozi had just opened her mouth at this moment. Seeing that Lu Qubing had been talking for a long time, Taozi just nodded, "As he said."

"I didn't even know you had a mother, a wife, and a brother. I only knew your father. Why didn't your father come?"

Liu Taozi looked at Lu Qubing and motioned for him to continue.

Lu Qubing said hastily, “I met his parents when I was in Cheng’an, but I didn’t know the identity of his father at that time.”

"Then he suddenly disappeared. I didn't dare to ask and just thought it was an accident."

"Taozi's parents had been hiding in Cheng'an, and later went to Yecheng and hid in the mansion. His wife was just married, the youngest daughter of General Hulugu. In fact, it was not considered that he married her. It was just that Taozi issued a manifesto that caused many people to panic. Then the old lady took the initiative to contact General Hulugu and married his daughter to appease these old people."

When Lu Qubing had almost finished explaining, Liu Taozi found the right opportunity to interrupt him.

"It's not spring yet, but the scenery of the villages outside the city is quite beautiful."

"The village officials slaughtered livestock and ate with the villagers to celebrate my accession to the throne."

"I used a fake identity and stayed here to see what the situation was like."

Gao Changgong looked around and asked, "Want to go out for a walk?"

"it is good."

Soon, the three men mounted their horses, without armor but armed with bows and arrows, and left the village.

With Lu Qubing around, there's no need to worry about the atmosphere cooling down, but it seems like there's no prey to be found.

Liu Taozi walked side by side with Gao Changgong.

"Don't worry about your brothers."

"Yanzong has become the General of the Left Guard of the Mandrill Camp. He is now in Jinyang, responsible for escorting the Jinyang soldiers to various places."

"Your eldest brother is smart, intelligent, and can treat people well. I plan to let him work in the Shangshutai."

"Zu Ting advised me to establish the Imperial College in Pingcheng. If it can be established this year, your second brother Gao Xiaoheng would be very suitable to teach and study classics in the Imperial College."

"As for Gao Xiaowan, he is an upright person who sticks to his word. He can be used by the Censorate."

"They didn't object too much to my taking the throne. After all, they were all nearly killed by the emperor, and they knew that if it weren't for me, they would have all become corpses by now."

Gao Changgong said, "Zhizhi is the first one who can take in so many royal family members of the previous dynasty and dare to let them take on important tasks."

"I don't keep people based on their background. In this country today, there are many insects who only know how to exploit the people, but few who can do things."

"If you have talent, have never done anything harmful to the world, and are willing to work with me, I will accept you. Of course, you must abide by the laws of the Han Dynasty in the future."

As Liu Taozi spoke, he pulled the bow sharply.

"Whoosh~~"

Arrows flew out.

A hare in the distance had no time to dodge and was nailed to the tree. Liu Taozi quickly stepped forward, picked up the hare and hung it on the side of the saddle.

Gao Changgong looked around and said, "You have a really good eye."

Lu Qubing smiled and said, "Taozi's eyes have always been good. I remember when Gao Jun first came to Cheng'an, Taozi thought you were a good official. He has always been accurate in judging people."

Gao Changgong was somewhat stunned, "I see."

"Keep looking. This one rabbit is not enough for us to eat."

The group slowly advanced through the dense forest again, and Gao Changgong asked again: "What about the future strategy?"

"Are you still going to stick with the Pseudo-Zhou? Or are you going to move to Yecheng and retake Henan?"

"Let's focus on the Pseudo-Zhou." Liu Taozi said calmly, "I'm not worried about Duan Shao. Although Duan Shao is strong, Henan is in a state of decline. Dugu Yongye and Duan Shao don't get along, and it's only a matter of time before they kill each other. Officials from all over the country are only strong when they treat the people, and they are weak at other times. Duan Shao is good at military affairs, but not at governing the country. Even if he has 200,000 strong soldiers in Henan, it's not worth mentioning in my opinion."

"On the contrary, Yuwen Yong of the Pseudo-Zhou is an extraordinary man with many talented people under his command. If he is given time, I am afraid he will become stronger and stronger and difficult to deal with."

"Therefore, Yuwen Yong should be given priority, and Duan Shao should be secondary."

Gao Changgong agreed, "I think so too."

"But that Wei Xiaokuan is really hard to deal with."

"This guy is good at defense and is very popular among the people."

"After he arrived, Zhou people often came out to surrender voluntarily, but after he arrived, there were no more such people."

"He implemented various policies in his own administration, requiring officials to treat the people with kindness, and actively trained soldiers, making the people united and difficult to deal with."

"Huo Luxian and I went on three expeditions, hoping to tear down his defenses while he was still struggling to gain a firm foothold."

"But I didn't get any benefit from it three times, and I was almost ambushed by him."

Gao Changgong frowned. Each general gave him a different feeling. When facing Duan Shao, it was like facing a towering mountain, which made people feel scared and at a loss as to where to start. When facing Hulugu, it was like facing a sharp crossbow arrow that he could not block head-on. And when facing Wei Xiaokuan, he felt like facing a turtle.

Let you hammer it, then it will bite you, it hurts so much!!
Gao Changgong talked about his several fights with Wei Xiaokuan, and both Liu Taozi and Lu Qubing listened very seriously.

"As Zhizhi just said, the Zhou people were indeed carrying out reforms."

"The scouts I sent said that the Emperor of Zhou issued an edict: requiring all localities to implement equal distribution of land, prohibiting the private possession of population and land, prohibiting officials from falsely reporting cultivated land and household registration, and violating the edict will be punished with death."

"Wei Xiaokuan is stuck in Xiazhou. We are restricted in many places. We must find a way to get rid of him."

Liu Taozi was about to answer when he suddenly stretched out his hand and shot another arrow.

Another hare fell to the ground after being shot.

Liu Taozi picked up the body again and got on the horse. "When I was in Jinyang before, Yao Xiong said he wanted to launch a surprise attack on Suizhou."

"I promised him."

Gao Changgong said softly: "I'm afraid we won't be able to gain much advantage. Wei Xiaokuan is not that easy to deal with."

"I know."

"But Yao Xiong's words made me think a lot."

"He said that the most important thing to deal with someone like Wei Xiaokuan is not to let him have any time."

Liu Taozi frowned and said seriously, "Wei Xiaokuan is a cautious person. He wants to do everything by himself. This is his advantage, but also his disadvantage. If we continue to stretch his front line and use three, four, or five generals to attack from different directions and harass him, this old man will be exhausted to death sooner or later."

"Tired of killing?"

It was the first time that Gao Changgong had heard of such a tactic.

"It's not that I can really tire him to death, but at least I can make him unable to spare the energy to think about other things. I can make him exhausted from running around. It's impossible for him to defend six states by himself!"

"Even if a state sends a general, I will knock out his front teeth!"

"Unfortunately, the temperature has warmed up too quickly this year. It's too late to mobilize a large number of troops to cross the river for battle."

The three of them had already started to walk back. Lu Qubing couldn't help but ask, "Is the war going to start again?"

"The war in the south has just subsided."

"Don't worry, it's just some friction and collision. There's no chance of a fight now."

"Even if I want to fight, I have to wait until after the autumn harvest this year."

The three of them returned to the village. The only animals they could hunt around the village were rabbits. The other species were not used to staying too close to the village.

Liu Taozi made a simple oven in the yard.

Two rabbits were not enough to eat, so Xiao Wu bought two poultry from the village. Even if they were not enough, everyone could still share a piece of meat.

Xiao Wu's mouth was full of oil, and he sat carefully next to Gao Changgong.

"Governor, are you still short of people in Lingzhou?"

"I'll just be a soldier. My brother won't let me enter the Mandrill Camp."

Gao Changgong's elegant way of eating was different from the rough man Liu Taozi. He glanced at Xiao Wu and then looked at Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi said nothing, so Gao Changgong asked, "Can you draw the bow?"

"can!"

"Can I ride a horse?"

"I can shoot while riding!"

"Well, if that's the case, I'm short of a personal guard, would you like to come?"

Xiao Wu was overjoyed, "Thank you, General! Thank you, General!"

He quickly looked at Liu Taozi again, "Brother, this is what Governor Gao himself promised."

"Let's go eat over there!"

Liu Taozi waved her hand, and Xiao Wu ran away with a silly smile.

Gao Changgong stared at Xiao Wu and said seriously, "Children of this age are prone to bad behavior. It is better to keep them by your side to train them and let them suffer. My brother's temperament changed drastically because he stayed in the mansion for a long time without anyone to discipline him. Leave your brother to me. I will take good care of him."

Liu Taozi nodded, said nothing more, and finished the meat in her hand in a few bites.

"Go back early after you finish eating."

"I still have to ascend the throne."

Pingcheng.

Wei Shou was wearing new clothes, looking very proud, with a flushed face and full of energy.

He didn't expect that he would have the honor to arrange the King of Han's admission.

Of course, he was the most familiar with etiquette and rules, but in terms of status, he always felt that he was not as close to the lord as others.

Zu Ting was deeply moved when he learned that this was something his lord had personally instructed him to do.

He was determined to arrange this matter.

However, when Zu Ting came to see him, he had already warned him not to be too extravagant and to keep everything simple.

Wei Shou also knew his master's character and he did not like complicated rules and useless etiquette.

Wei Shou has been thinking about a solution these days.

How can we hold a ceremony that is simple yet grand, capable yet dignified?

Old man Wei pondered and finally discovered the secret.

He decided to change the old ways and use a new and different ceremony to celebrate the new king's accession to the throne.

He bet that the king would like it. If his bet was right, he might be able to take charge of all matters related to etiquette in the future and become one of the important officials in the court.

He is ready.

Next, it’s time to see the results.

Ministers from all over the country arrived one after another, and the expected date of enthronement officially arrived.

Wei Shou asked his ministers to wait at the gate of the Han Palace.

The ministers didn't know what it meant, but since Wei Shou had designated it, they had no choice but to obey.

Wei Shou ordered the palace gates to be opened wide, and Liu Taozi rode in a carriage used by ancient princes, dressed in formal attire, with knights leading the way in front and behind. He walked out of the palace, and all the ministers knelt in worship. Then they followed the new king all the way to the north gate.

Soldiers were on guard along the road, forming a human wall, and outside the wall were crowds of civilians.
Wei Shou signaled, and the soldiers took the lead in shouting "Long live the emperor", followed by the common people, and the officials had no choice but to follow suit.

Amid the mountainous cheers of "Long live the emperor", Liu Taozi left the city by car and came to the high slope in the northern suburbs.

Wei Shou built a high altar here, led the new king forward, and slaughtered animals to offer sacrifices to the gods.

Wei Shou then issued a formal decree: establishing a country and establishing a system, promoting the king and establishing a system.

It was announced that from now on the royal decrees must be called imperial edicts, and when paying a visit to someone the royal address must be changed to "Your Majesty", etc.

After the announcement, the ministers once again surrounded the emperor and followed the route back to the palace. Etiquette officials scattered coins along the way to allow the people to celebrate together.

When they arrived at the palace, the king sat on the upper throne with his ministers on both sides. They paid their respects once more and the ceremony ended.

Many ministers were still confused. They said keeping it simple, but this seemed too simple? Hou Jing had made it more rigorous than this, right?
The generals were quite happy. Following the emperor along the way, they heard cheers from all directions, which was quite exciting.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat and had someone read out the results of rewards for officials.

The Xingtai official finally became a temple official. Only the prefix changed, but the nature became different.

Gao Yun, the acting Shangshu Ling, suddenly became the Shangshu Ling of the Han Dynasty.

The one who underwent the biggest change was Zu Ting, who went from being the Grand General's Chief Clerk to being the Palace Attendant and the Supervisor of the Secretariat.

(End of this chapter)