Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 413 Emperor Wu of Zhou

Changan.

Yuwen Xian, riding a warhorse and leading a large group of knights, appeared on the northern official road.

Yuwen Xian looked particularly tired. He had lost a lot of weight, his face was dull and his eyes were bloodshot and he couldn't open them.

After receiving the order from Yuwen Yong, he had to give up the claim to retake Xiazhou and only took back a ruined Yanzhou.

After arranging the battle deployment on the front line, he hurried back to Chang'an. The emperor ordered to summon important officials in the country to discuss important matters together.

In previous wars, Yuwen Xian was one of the few generals who could confront Gao Changgong, Hulu Xian, and Hulu Guang head-on, and could put some pressure on them, and had wins and losses against them. His status was therefore improved. In the past, he was only valued because of his identity as the emperor's brother. Now, many people recognized his military talents and treated him as a real commander.

No one knew what Yuwen Xian was thinking, and there was deep worry in his eyes.

When they arrived at the city gate, someone came to greet them from afar.

Several of Yuwen Yong's trusted ministers were among them, which showed the emperor's importance to Yuwen Xian. The leader was none other than the emperor's eldest son, Yuwen Yun, Duke of Lu.

Yuwen Yun was wearing ordinary clothes, standing at the front of the crowd, looking around, with unspeakable grievance and pity in his eyes.

Yuwen Xian quickly got off his horse and led many other ministers, walking quickly in the direction of Duke Lu.

Although Yuwen Yun has not been officially named the crown prince until now, as the eldest son, he has no flaws or shortcomings, so it is only a matter of time before he becomes the crown prince.

This can be seen from the fact that Yuwen Yun asked him to come and welcome his uncle.

Yuwen Xian looked at the little guy in front of him.

Yuwen Yun was one year younger than the young emperor of Northern Qi and had just turned ten.

He looked timid, his eyes full of fear, there was an obvious scar on his forehead, and half of his face was red and swollen. Looking at him, the smile on Yuwen Xian's face froze a little.

"Ayun, how did you do this?"

Yuwen Yun looked at his uncle, but did not dare to speak, just shook his head.

Yuwen Xian originally had a lot to say to him, but now he couldn't say it. He sighed and touched Yuwen Yun's head.

Then, he looked directly at another minister not far away.

Dou Chi, Duke of Deng.

Dou Chi was injured in the previous battlefield and had no choice but to retreat, so he returned to the temple first.

Yuwen Yong trusted him quite a bit and asked for his opinions on many things.

After the two met, they walked into the city together.

Yuwen Yong did not say anything, but followed the two dukes silently.

Yuwen Xian glanced at him, and then looked at Dou Chi, "Brother, why are you so harsh? It's just a kid!"

Dou Chi was stunned and hesitated, "This is the emperor's family matter."

Yuwen Xian did not ask any more questions. The two men rode side by side on horseback. Dou Chi was filled with confusion.

"I heard that Yanzhou was severely damaged. Is this true?"

Yuwen Xian did not hide the truth from the other party and said: "Gao Changgong almost emptied Yanzhou. He took away everything that could be taken away. Only some people were spared. The garrisons in the north were also burned and knocked down by him. The sentry towers in the south were not saved either."

“We put in a lot of effort, but we got an empty space.”

"Fortunately, the cities under my control have not been destroyed. At least they will not become empty land."

Yuwen Xian looked depressed. He added, "Gao Changgong is really cunning. He never thought of keeping Yanzhou from the beginning. He Ruobi is right. He has been transporting materials and manpower to the rear."

Seeing Yuwen Xian so sad, Dou Chi didn't dare to ask anything else.

He just consoled him, "Duke Qi, this is just a temporary setback. Despite this setback, many young talents have emerged. We are old, some can't ride a horse, and some can't lift a sword, but with these young people, the Great Zhou is not without hope."

"Especially the Duke of Qi. When he followed Yuwen Hu to the war, he only knew a little about military affairs. But now he can fight Gao Changgong head-on and not lose. The Duke is still young. In the future, he may have a chance to defeat Liu Taozi!"

Dou Chi was very optimistic and kept trying to persuade him.

Yuwen Xian just gave him a slightly bitter smile in response.

The three dukes returned to the palace with smooth travel and were soon able to meet Yuwen Yong.

When Yuwen Yong saw Dou Chi and Yuwen Xian standing together, while Yuwen Yun was at the end, a long distance away from them, the joy in his eyes suddenly disappeared, and a trace of anger flashed across his eyes, then disappeared immediately.

"Ah Xian."

Yuwen Yong smiled and took his brother's hand, enthusiastically inviting them to sit down.

Dou Chi understood the situation very well, and did not dare to stay, so he asked to leave. Yuwen Yun wanted to leave but did not dare to, so he stood aside, at a loss. Yuwen Yun looked at him and became even more angry, "What are you doing here?!"

Yuwen Yun didn't quite understand, so he asked cautiously, "Then I should sit down too?"

"What are you sitting here for? Get out! Get out now!"

Yuwen Yun looked at his father's expression and became even more confused. He didn't know whether he should leave or stay.

Yuwen Xian spoke up in time, "Ayun, go back and have a rest first."

Only then did Yuwen Yun lower his head and leave.

Yuwen Yong looked at his son who was leaving with disappointment, and then looked at his younger brother beside him, "This guy never understands what people say, he doesn't understand angry words, nor does he understand kind words. He is stupid and incompetent!"

Yuwen Xian said softly: "Brother, Ayun is still young, how can you be so harsh to him?"

"Besides, I see he still has injuries on his body. Brother, you went too far."

"This is the future crown prince of the country, please don't be so harsh on me, brother."

Yuwen Yong frowned and said softly, "It is because he is the eldest son that I am strict with him."

"It's not because I don't love him. You know the current situation. He can't read well, can't use a sword well, and can't even treat people well. How can he inherit the business left by his father? How can he deal with those vicious enemies?"

"I'll let you say whatever you want about other matters, but please don't try to persuade me about Ayun's matter!"

Yuwen Yong had a stubborn character and would never change his mind once he had made up his mind.

Yuwen Xian had no choice but to give up.

The two stopped talking about Yuwen Yun, and Yuwen Yong's mood immediately improved a lot. He did not blame Yuwen Xian for the previous defeat. Instead, he praised his brother's bravery and was particularly pleased with the extraordinary military talent he had shown.

After praising him for a long time, Yuwen Yong finally talked to him about serious matters.

Yuwen Yong asked everyone to leave for the time being, and when only the two brothers were left in the room, he slowly spoke of his thoughts.

When Yuwen Xian heard this, he was horrified.

"Brother wants to attack Chen?"

Yuwen Xian looked at his brother in disbelief and said hurriedly: "Brother, how can we send troops now? We just suffered a defeat in the north, and the area around Chang'an is in ruins."

“What you lose to the north, you gain to the south.”

Yuwen Yong said calmly: "I will not easily fight with Liu Taozi again."

"This battle is enough to prove that Liu Taozi's national strength is already above ours."

"We have to find ways to improve our national strength now and think about the future."

"I am going to confer the title of king on the royal family."

"Become a king?"

Yuwen Xian still couldn't quite understand.

Yuwen Yong explained: "I previously issued edicts to crack down on the big families and Buddhists, but I didn't achieve much breakthrough. All policies could only be limited to Chang'an and could not be implemented in other places."

"I later realized that this was because the local people had become influential."

"The officials in various places may be loyal to me, but they are more loyal to their clans and friends than to me."

"These officials are either from wealthy families or military leaders. Their interests are intertwined with each other. They don't care about the prosperity of the country at all. All they can see is their own interests."

"And the people of my Great Zhou would actually help Liu Taozi's army to deal with our own people."

"How sad is this?"

"To what extent have these local insects brought harm to my people?"

Yuwen Yong's face was gloomy. "I need you to help me." "In the past, Yuwen Hu used his sons too much and allowed them to do whatever they wanted. I always hated him, but now I understand his thoughts."

"The only people who can rule these great noble families are the royal family."

"I plan to confer the title of king, and let the royal family gradually control the military power and the local areas, and use them to implement the reforms I want."

"Ah Xian."

Yuwen Yong looked at his younger brother and asked, "What do you think?"

"Don't hide anything, and don't be afraid that it will affect our relationship. Just say whatever you want to say, and be sure to tell the truth."

He held his brother's hand and said, "The Great Zhou is now on the edge of a cliff. If brothers can't work together, then father's legacy will really be ruined in our hands."

Yuwen Xian looked extremely hesitant as he listened to Yuwen Yong's words.

There are some things that he really shouldn't be allowed to say, and he really shouldn't be involved in them, but thinking about the current situation, Yuwen Xian simply gritted his teeth and didn't care.

"Brother, you only see the results of the royal family, but nothing else."

"In ancient times, the Wei Kingdom did its utmost to suppress the royal family, but the Jin Dynasty did the opposite."

"Brother, do you still remember what happened to the Jin Dynasty?"

Yuwen Yong was stunned. He looked at his brother in front of him.

As a member of the royal family, it is not easy to take the initiative to say such words. Yuwen Yong's eyes softened and he gently held his brother's hand. "Because of what you said, I don't need to worry about the royal family."

"Not all members of the royal family are like Yuwen Zhi. There are also people like you."

"The rebellion of the Jin Dynasty also broke out after the emperor passed away. When the emperor was still alive, they did not dare to make things difficult for him."

"We are still young and strong, and the danger is right in front of us, but we have no way to think about the future. Among the many policies in the world, how can there be a perfect one?"

"Any policy has its good side and its bad side."

"When my father and his people distributed land, the people were grateful. But now some people have turned it into a bad policy. It's the same with everything."

Yuwen Xian nodded, "Okay, I'm willing to help my brother."

Yuwen Yong then continued: "Promoting the royal family is just the beginning, the future reforms are the most important."

"I have prepared four plans at the moment."

"I will tell you about these in detail later. Besides these internal matters, there are external matters."

"Chen State."

"We have lost our strategic position. Liu Taozi has obtained Henan. Within a few years, his national strength will be raised to an even more terrifying level. I have already prepared myself for this."

"The national strength of Zhou is not as good as that of Qi, let alone Liu Taozi?"

"I want to capture the State of Chen, use the river as a line of defense, and wait for something unexpected to happen in the north."

Yuwen Yong cleared his throat and said, "Please listen to me carefully."

"We have suffered great losses in recent days. Food is in short supply everywhere, but there is no shortage in the south. The south has not suffered a disastrous defeat and has sufficient food. It is just not easy to transfer it to the north."

"Quan Jingxuan and others are building ships in the south, and Jingzhou has a very large navy."

"These naval forces occupy a favorable direction and can go all the way south along the river and attack Huanglong directly."

"The State of Chen was not prepared for us. They focused all their attention on the Huai River and Huai River areas, leaving many places in Jingzhou without any defense."

Yuwen Yong wanted to say more, but Yuwen Xian interrupted him directly.

After the brothers opened their hearts and talked freely, Yuwen Xian became much bolder. He said seriously: "Brother, I don't think it's feasible."

"Oh? Why?"

"What you said just now is all true, but although a sudden attack can capture many states and counties of the Chen State, it is not easy to completely destroy the Chen State."

"Even if we reach the outskirts of Jiankang City, Chen Xu will never surrender easily. The generals around him will not stand still like they did during the Hou Jing Rebellion. They will send troops to rescue us as quickly as possible. If we send too many troops, it will easily turn into a tug-of-war. By then, the food in the south will be consumed, which will have a greater impact on the national strength. If we send too few troops, we will be directly annihilated by them."

"The State of Chen is not short of great generals. These men are fully capable of dealing with such an attack."

"If this fails, we and the State of Chen will no longer be able to unite to fight against the Han army."

"On the one hand, we have to be on guard against Liu Taozi, and on the other hand, we have to keep an eye on Chen's attacks."

“The disadvantages outweigh the advantages.”

After hearing his brother's words, Yuwen Yong suddenly hesitated and was no longer as confident as before.

Yuwen Xian said seriously: "But I would like to hear about your arrangements for the country. We still have a lot of territory. As the ancients said: Virtue is more important than danger. If we can really complete the reforms you mentioned and let the people live and work in peace, even if we lose Xiazhou, Liu Taozi will not be able to easily defeat our army and climb our city."

Yuwen Yong's expression looked much better, and he seriously told Yuwen Xian about his ideas.

The Zhou State, which had just ended a war, was now arguing about other things.

In April, Emperor Yuwen Yong suddenly issued an order to reward and ennoble all members of the royal family.

Duke of Qi Yuwen Xian was promoted to King of Qi, Duke of Zhao Yuwen Zhao was promoted to King of Zhao, Duke of Yue Yuwen Sheng was promoted to King of Yue, Duke of Teng Yuwen Ju was promoted to King of Teng, and Duke of Lu Yuwen Yun was officially changed from Duke of Lu to Crown Prince of Zhou, and the title of Duke was removed.

This matter quickly caused great controversy, and the royal family members were particularly excited. From being a duke to being a king, their status directly surpassed those dukes in the past. The two sides were no longer on an equal footing, and the royal family began to suppress these dukes.

Nowadays, most of the dukes are dead, injured, or old. None of them can stand up against Yuwen Yong. On the contrary, Yuwen Yong has promoted many members of the royal family to the military and local areas over the years. These people have become Yuwen Yong's vanguards, staring at the dukes to see who dares to express their dissatisfaction openly.

The court officials were also quite disapproving of this. They used the example of past incidents where lavish rewards to royal family members had led to rebellions to persuade Yuwen Yong.

Yuwen Yong remembered the names of these persuaders and then gave the list to his brothers in the royal family.

For a time, the royal family was extremely powerful and launched a fierce attack on the court officials and the dukes behind them. More and more positions fell into the hands of the royal family.

In May, Yuwen Yong issued the second edict: Continue to confer rewards!
Duke of Ji Yuwen Kang was King of Ji, Duke of Bi Yuwen Xian was King of Bi, Duke of Feng Yuwen Zhen was King of Feng, Duke of Song Yuwen Shi was King of Song, Duke of Han Yuwen Zan was King of Han, Duke of Qin Yuwen Zhi was King of Qin, and Duke of Cao Yuwen Yun was King of Cao.

While conferring titles of king on a large scale, rewards were also given to other members of the royal family. Capable members of the royal family were promoted first and sent to various places to serve as provincial governors, generals, prefects, etc.

Yuwen Yong even hinted to the elders of the royal family to find talented members of the royal family to succeed those dukes who had no descendants, in order to reward and win them over.

For a time, most of the important positions and armies in the country were named Yuwen.

The royal family members shouted, he is truly the Holy King! !

After completing the reform of internal officials, Yuwen Yong finally decided to carry out drastic reforms in the country.

The first thing Yuwen Yong wanted to do was to destroy Buddhism.

Yuwen Yong directly issued an edict, saying that the temples now occupied a large amount of fertile land and population, and did not bear corvée and taxes, but oppressed the people, disobeyed the government, colluded with the State of Chen in private, and promoted the benevolent rule of the State of Chen in various places, causing some people to flee from the State of Zhou to the State of Chen, etc. They hoarded food in the temples, hid military weapons and armor, and selected young people to serve as military forces, and were suspected of treason.

After accusing the other party of evil deeds, Yuwen Yong asked all places to start a movement to destroy Buddhism, following the example of Liu Han, clearing out temples, releasing their tenants, taking back their farmland, exiling eminent monks, and burning scriptures.

The whole Zhou Dynasty was shocked. Countless people cried and begged the emperor to revoke his order. Some officials rebelled against Yuwen Yong's edict by resigning or resisting its execution.

The royal family members came in handy at this moment. These young royal family members who had just gained power because of Yuwen Yong bared their fangs and began to attack those who disobeyed.

In just a few months, the situation in the Zhou Kingdom changed.

The small kind-hearted families were all crying, and the big kind-hearted families were all on the road.

Destroying Buddhism was just one of Yuwen Yong's many policies. He not only wanted to attack monks, he also wanted to attack the big families and the nobles.

The Taoists in the country could no longer sit still, and they wrote to the emperor, hoping to turn these temples into Taoist temples.

Little did he know that this had hit the muzzle of Yuwen Yong's gun.

Yuwen Yong also banned the Taoists and ordered all places not to forget to attack Taoist temples when attacking them.

Then, the emperor issued his fifth order, this time directly targeting the big families.

The emperor was courageous and had no fear of any changes or unrest in the country. He was no longer restrained as before. With the attitude of "either live or die with me", he began to take action against all injustices.

The emperor's fifth decree once again reiterated the issue of farmland and tenants: Those who concealed more than three hectares of land would be put to death! Those who falsely reported farmland would be put to death! Those who made common people slaves would be released!

A great transformation began in the West.

ps: In Dingyou, Duke Kang of Ji, Duke Xian of Bi, Duke Zhen of Feng, Duke Shi of Song, Duke Zan of Han, Duke Zhi of Qin, and Duke Yun of Cao were all promoted to kings. ——"Book of Zhou: Chronicle of Emperor Wu"

At first, Buddhism and Taoism were abolished, all scriptures and statues were destroyed, and monks and Taoists were dismissed and ordered to return to the people. All lewd sacrifices were also banned, and those not recorded in the rituals were completely eliminated. - "Book of Zhou: Chronicle of Emperor Wu"

I am used to wearing headphones while typing, and as a result my ears became inflamed. What I hear is blurry and painful. It was getting better before, but it has relapsed in the past few days. I have to drip medicine twice a day, so my updates are inevitably affected. I will try to make up for it as soon as possible. At the same time, I also advise readers not to wear headphones for a long time, especially in-ear headphones.

(End of this chapter)