Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 412 No Defense
Scorching sun.

There was no obstruction on the bare official road.

There were more than a thousand people, most of them barefoot, with ropes tied around their bodies, walking in teams of five, staggering on the road.

They were dressed in rags and had bloodstains all over their bodies, leaving a long trail of blood on the road.

Knights rode past them on both sides.

“Hurry up!! Hurry up!!”

"Crack~~"

The knight's whip made a cracking sound, and the group of people used all their strength to continue moving forward, not daring to show any slackness.

Several officials followed them on horseback.

The appearances of this group of prisoners were all strange and varied. Some looked like monks, some looked like members of wealthy families, and some looked like barbarians. They were all different and flourished.

I saw an older man who took a few steps and suddenly fell down, and several people in front and behind him were almost dragged down.

Several knights noticed the situation here, rushed over on their horses, and shouted loudly. As they shouted, the whips suddenly landed on the man. The man who was originally powerless, suddenly jumped up quickly and quickly returned to normal.

The man's head was broken and blood just flowed out, but no one cared.

There was a flash of pity in the eyes of the accompanying clerk.

He looked at the escort officer who was chatting and laughing with everyone nearby.

"My Lord, would you mind reining in your soldiers a little?"

"I see that the man is old and has a grey beard. How could he beat him so cruelly?"

The petty official interrupted the conversation, and the escort officer slowly looked at him. The escort officer was obviously much older than the petty official, and his beard was also mixed with some gray.

"You think he's pitiful?"

"It's really pitiful."

The bailiff grinned, revealing his white teeth.

He stared at the old man for a long time, then said with a smile: "This guy used to be a monk in the Great Sage Song Temple, and he was engaged in the business of the Changsheng Treasury."

The clerk was puzzled.

"What is the Changshengku?"

"Oh, it's interest. Interest."

The official explained seriously, "They specifically tricked the believers into coming to them whenever they encountered difficulties, saying that they were willing to lend them money and ask them to do something."

"Then they asked people to use their belongings as collateral."

"Clothes, land, house, children, wife, and even myself."

The official narrowed his eyes and said, "After lending out this money, it will increase a little bit every day. It may not seem like much, but it will accumulate. After ten days or half a month, not to mention the money you borrowed, you will also lose the collateral, and your whole family will be in trouble."

"They manipulate contracts, collude with officials, refuse to repay money, seize mortgages, and follow officials to play a role, pretending to be good people, but actually committing many evils and having no conscience."

The clerk was startled and didn't dare to respond.

The guard laughed grimly again, "So, they deserved it."

"It doesn't matter if they are beaten to death. I don't know how many people have been killed by these people. They deserve it. I am doing a good deed by allowing the soldiers to whip them a few times!"

The clerk cleared his throat and continued, "You are right, but the Han Dynasty has its own laws. The law prohibits beating and killing prisoners in custody, unless they rebel or resist escaping. They have already been sentenced, and we cannot make a second judgment."

The petty officials began to recite many laws.

The officer pursed his lips, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes, and shouted to the distance: "Be more restrained! Don't beat or kill, otherwise you will violate the law!"

After saying that, he ignored the boy and continued chatting with his colleagues around him.

The clerk rode his horse to the front to check.

After the clerk walked away, the old men around him could not help but say, "Your Majesty is good in everything except that the new recruits do not follow the rules. They talk about laws and regulations all day long and have no idea of ​​respect and inferiority."

"As soon as he opened his mouth, he said he was from the Law School. It's not easy to deal with him. If you send a letter to his teacher, you're doomed."

"Who are these people who are in the law school? This is a bad policy!"

The guard's expression suddenly changed. "What did you say? How is the Law School? Why is it so unfriendly?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he was confused and didn't know what to say. Someone next to him whispered something to him, and he suddenly understood.

"Oh, oh, so your son has also been to the Law School. I'm not saying that all the people in the Law School are bad, it's just that some people like to preach too much, cough."

The escort's expression looked much better.

The old officer was somewhat confused. He asked, "However, Prince, with your status, it shouldn't be difficult to hire a few teachers for your child. Why would you send him to the Law School? Isn't that like being an official?"

The bailiff glared at him.

"What do you know, old man?"

"You still look down on the Law School? Let me tell you, last year, many people from the Law School passed the imperial examination and became local officials. Among the officials from the eight states this time, several county magistrates came from the Law School."

"In the future, there will definitely be more and more officials who come from law schools. In another twenty years, it is possible that the government will be filled with their men!"

"Why should I send my son to prison? When he becomes an official in the local government, his superiors will all be his classmates. Wouldn't his life be much easier?"

The old officer suddenly realized.

"Yup!"

"Why didn't I think of that? When I get back, I'll let my son go to the law school, too!"

Hearing his words, the other officers burst into laughter.

"Su Liujin! You've finally given up!"

"Your son, who is over 20 and can't even write his own name, is still going to the law school? Let him serve in the Yanzhou Army with peace of mind, hone his archery skills, and strive to make military achievements as soon as possible. Who knows, he may have a better future in the future. Don't talk about studying or anything like that."

Everyone was talking and laughing, and they walked for more than a day.

Finally, they came to a mountain pass.

Officials and soldiers had already been waiting here.

This place is close to Lingshan and is an important mine in Puyang County.

There are not as many iron mines in the south as in the north, nor are they as easy to mine as in the north, but it is not entirely without them. For example, there are still iron mines of a certain scale around Puyang in the Central Plains.

This is also one of the few areas in Henan where the Qi State established iron officials in the past.

They handed over the prisoners they were escorting to the other side. Only after the other side found out the identities of the prisoners and signed their names did the officials in charge of the escort leave.

The newly appointed railway official will be responsible for resettling these people.

Officials from all over the Central Plains have not all taken up their posts yet, and there are still many vacancies, but the iron officials here have been gathered first.

After all, governing the Central Plains requires a lot of tools.

Although tools and emergency food from Hebei are being sent to Henan continuously, the eight newly acquired states are not small at all, and a lot of supplies are needed, so a little effort must be made locally.

Especially these tools, in today's Henan Province, manufacturing and commerce are obviously more beneficial than the less effective agriculture and sericulture.

The railway officials have recruited many unemployed people to work in the iron mines. Of course, their working hours, residence and many other aspects are different from those of the prisoners who come to serve.

At the beginning, some officials submitted a memorial hoping to recruit more people to work in the iron mine.

And in Henan, this proposal finally came in handy.

The government can provide temporary relief, but it cannot do so all the time. It has to find something for people to do, and manufacturing has become the most suitable thing to do at the moment.

For example, Yuan Biao, the governor of Luozhou, found work for the proletariat by hiring laborers to build roads and repair traffic. In the Yanzhou area, the government resettled the people through iron mines, which was a win-win situation.

Tieguan ordered the soldiers around him to keep a close eye on these new prisoners and prevent any chaos from occurring.

Then he went on with his own business.

The prisoners were escorted by soldiers to temporary residences.

These people used to be high and mighty.

Some of them are local nobles, some are high monks in temples, and some are born nobles.

But now, they are all prisoners. These people are even considered good, and those who have committed many evil things would never be able to come here alive to work, and would have been beheaded long ago, dying one by one.

These are the ones who have survived trials, escaped the death penalty, and been sentenced to prison.

Some of them committed relatively minor crimes and were sentenced to three or four years. As long as they can survive here until that day, they can leave and regain their freedom. But there are also those who have been sentenced to ten or even more years. Basically, they can forget about escaping in this life.

How could they have suffered such hardships in the past? The huge change in their status was difficult for them to accept. However, the knives in the hands of the soldiers around them forced them to accept it.

They didn't even dare to cry.

The normal miners were quite curious. They gathered together, stared at these people and talked about them.

A miner pointed at a guy in the distance and exclaimed, "Isn't that the rich man Zhou from the south of the city?"

Upon hearing this, the other fellow villagers hurried over and shouted, "It's really him!"

"How did this guy end up like this?"

The person who just spoke became excited. "This guy was so cruel in the past. His servants never paid when they went to restaurants in the city. Do you remember Xing Laowu? Just because his sheep ate a few bites of his crops, he hung him up and beat him for several hours. Laowu fell ill after that and passed away last year."

"Hey, don't tell me, they are all noble people!"

"Look, Sun Tu, the butcher from the city, is here too!"

"This guy relies on his wealth and his brother who works as a clerk to act arrogantly in the city, flirting with women and bullying the good. With his physique, he is a good miner!"

The prisoners seemed to have noticed the untouchables pointing at them in the distance. If it were in the past, these people would not be worthy of standing in front of them, but now, the positions were reversed.

These guys who usually show off their might are now tied up with ropes and ready to go to work under the urging of the sergeants.

However, the lowly people sat in the upper seats, proudly holding up the big cakes in their hands. Some were sitting, some were lying, eating with gusto, making particularly loud noises so that they could hear clearly.

At this moment, Liu Taozi was already leading his men towards Bingzhou.

Zu Ting followed Liu Taozi, holding the documents in his hand, looking at them with disdain for a long time, and then put them away.

"I think this Chen guy deserves a beating."

"Chen Xu is taking in a large number of people who have fled south. These evil thieves have been transformed into nobles in the country by him."

"Heh, he even took in Dugu Yongye's sons, under the pretext that he admired Dugu Yongye's courage to die for his country."

"Dugu Yongye's son is also stupid. He doesn't know how to conceal his identity and crosses the river in a blatant manner."

Zu Ting began to curse in a low voice.

Zu Ting possessed almost all the shortcomings of the people of Qi, including, of course, the people of Qi's consistent prejudice against the people of Zhou and the southerners.

Zu Ting said unhappily, "This fellow not only accepted those people, but also spread rumors everywhere to discredit Your Majesty, and even sent people to Lianghuai to incite the people to rebel. I think he might want to imitate the Zhou people and set up a small Qi State in Lianghuai."

Liu Taozi's face was calm and she didn't say anything.

Liu Taozi feinted an attack on Chang'an and successfully forced the Zhou people to retreat.

The Zhou people were unwilling to continue to fight with Liu Taozi, and both sides evacuated from Yanzhou.

There are too many places that the Han State needs relief at the moment. Yanzhou is too far away from Xiazhou and there is no strategic place to defend. If it is taken, the cost will be something that Xiazhou and Lingzhou cannot afford.

Therefore, the Han State took the initiative to withdraw from here and focused its energy on Xiazhou.

The Zhou people accepted Yanzhou again, but they were not happy. This flat place could not stop the Han cavalry.

All the dangerous places in the north seemed to have fallen into the hands of the Han Kingdom. In the future, the expedition could be carried out by simply charging with cavalry. This was extremely bad news.

Liu Taozi’s life here is actually not easy either.

Emergency situations occurred frequently in various places.

The newly appointed governors kept urging the court to get assistance as soon as possible as the entire Central Plains was in ruins.

There is a lot that the temple needs to do.

Liu Taozi also needs to return to the capital as soon as possible.

After all, he is the king. No matter how capable his subordinates are, there will always be things that are not suitable for them to decide.

Liu Taozi said, "Don't worry about it."

"Chen Xu wanted to use the Buddhist public opinion to secure his position in Lianghuai."

"He didn't dare to attack."

"These things are ultimately minor matters. If he can concentrate on managing agriculture and sericulture in the country, developing people's livelihood, storing food, and training soldiers, then he will still pose some threat to us. But if he continues to indulge in these useless things, he will be captured by me sooner or later."

Hearing Liu Taozi's confident words, the anger on Zu Ting's face immediately dissipated and he grinned.

"Your Majesty is right, but I think Your Majesty will not be able to catch him."

"Oh?"

Liu Taozi was a little surprised, "What does this mean?"

Zu Ting's small eyes narrowed, once again filled with malice.

"The Zhou people."

"The Zhou people have lost the Xiazhou defense line this time. Chang'an is in danger. Yuwen Yong is a tough guy and will definitely not move the capital away easily."

"And he probably also realized that the Han Kingdom was not something he could easily resist."

"The gap between Zhou and Qi is huge, and the current Han is not comparable to Qi. What can he rely on to compete with us?"

"And Yuwen Yong's entourage is not full of fools. There are still a few talented people who are worth considering."

“These people should be able to find out that taking action against Chen State right now will only serve their interests.”

Liu Taozi was even more surprised, "Action against Chen Guo?"

"Yes, the Zhou people occupied Jingzhou and have been building ships and naval forces there. The reason why Quan Jingxuan was so highly regarded was because he was in charge of these things. If the Zhou people wanted to resist, they could only rely on the advantages of the terrain."

"But now, what terrain advantage do they have?"

"Do we need to rely on Hanzhong's terrain?"

"I think what they can rely on right now is to use the river water to resist us."

"Now the Han State is exhausted and unable to mobilize troops. The Chen State has focused all its attention on Lianghuai. A large army has been gathered and generals are stationed there to guard the area."

Zu Ting laughed, "Yuwen Yong sent someone to ask them to form an alliance, and they actually believed it."

"The Zhou people may use military force against the Chen people. Yuwen Yong will not be willing to be slaughtered by us like this. He will definitely find a way to struggle. If he can't beat us, can he beat the Chen people?"

"If we can start from the south and occupy Chen, then Zhou will have a strategic location and confidence. If Chang'an cannot be defended in the future, he can use the river as a boundary to confront us from north to south, just like in the past."

Listening to Zu Ting's analysis, Liu Taozi shook her head slightly.

"I don't think so."

"The Zhou people have no food and cannot send out large-scale troops."

"If you want to destroy the State of Chen, you will need at least 200,000 troops, or even more."

"How could Yuwen Yong mobilize so many troops? If he really had this ability, he should attack us instead of the State of Chen."

"In addition, Chen Xu, the Emperor of Chen, is by no means stupid. He does things with a purpose. He will never trust the Zhou people easily. If Yuwen Yong wants to attack suddenly, I'm afraid he will see through it."

"The most important thing is that we are standing by and watching covetously. How can Yuwen Yong have the courage to take action against the State of Chen?"

Hearing Liu Taozi's words, Zu Ting suddenly became excited.

"Your Majesty, would you like to make a bet with me?"

"What does Grandpa want to bet on?"

Liu Taozi turned around suddenly, and Zu Ting was startled.

"Your Majesty, I have always been timid. Don't scare me like this. I won't gamble my life."

He cleared his throat, his face full of expectation, "If what I say is right, Your Majesty will reward me with the position of Prime Minister. If what Your Majesty says is right, I will no longer fight for this position, okay?"

"No gambling."

(End of this chapter)